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2008 T&C Ignition Switch Problem
Last Saturday, after washing my 08 T&C (including the inordinate amount of brake shoe crud off the wheels), I went to start it and it wouldn't crank, click or do anything. No accessory either. Checked it with my spare key and nothing.
I let it sit in the driveway until Sunday and checked it again. Still nothing. Call roadside and they brought it to the dealer Monday. Got a call from the dealer and they said they found nothing wrong.
This really scares me because now they have nothing to fix and I know this is going to happen again at a very inopportunistic time.
Anyone else have this problem? Perhaps I am imagining things or I have forgotten how to start a car after 26 years or driving. I was not drunk and trying to start the glove compartment so you can rule that out.
Oh yeah they tell me I need brakes at 21K too.
I let it sit in the driveway until Sunday and checked it again. Still nothing. Call roadside and they brought it to the dealer Monday. Got a call from the dealer and they said they found nothing wrong.
This really scares me because now they have nothing to fix and I know this is going to happen again at a very inopportunistic time.
Anyone else have this problem? Perhaps I am imagining things or I have forgotten how to start a car after 26 years or driving. I was not drunk and trying to start the glove compartment so you can rule that out.
Oh yeah they tell me I need brakes at 21K too.
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The navigation/radio randomly just shuts off and can't get it to turn back on. Shut the van off and then sometimes it will come back on. We had to put new brakes on it at 37,000 miles. Then at 40,000 miles we thought the wheel bearings were bad they replaced passenger side wheel bearing because it was humming so LOUDLY still didn't fix the humming took it back in turns out there was a bearing in the transmission that was out. They tore apart the transmission and then couldn't get a bearing from the factory so they had to put in a brand new transmission. Thank goodness the dealership we are going to is VERY helpful. They even gave us a vehicle to drive while ours was getting fixed. We have had the problem with the automatic doors sensing something was there when it wasn't fixed apparently there is a recall on that. Our keys had to be replaced there was a recall on that too. I wish we would've traded it off before the 36,000 miles warrenty went off. We did buy the bumper to bumper extended warranty with a $100 deductable but how many $100 deductables are we going to have to pay for this junker!!! :lemon:
My dealer says they have never heard of any of these problems before.
My 2008 T&C 3.8L van has had numerous problems.
I do have 42,000 miles on this van and it is out of warranty - so my issues are at my cost.
We have had to replace both front hubs.
I have had two sets of brakes AND rotors and guess what I need yet a third set put on this van.
AND let's not leave out the fact that about once a week I am left sitting to find someone to jump start me. It did this to the mechanic last week and he "tested" my starter and declared it was bad so I put a new one on and guess what three days later - I am left sitting with the same problem. It clicks but will not start.
I have had my battery tested, and my alternator and they all test good.
Other issues that I have are oil usage - did you know that it is "normal" for that van to use up to 1 quart of oil for every 1,000 miles driven - has anyone ever heard of that? Mine is about 2-3 quarts low at every 3,000 miles.
My hands free phone doesn't work for me or two different phones I have tried - yet it does work for the mechanic that looks at it.
My nav / sat. locks up periodically and I have to turn off the van to restart that, however I must admit that doesn't happen often.
Can anyone tell me what other makes of cars have sat. tv in them. That has by far been the best thing about this van for our family who travels alot. I am ready to trade it in.
We have put on the second set up front wheel bearings at 50,000 miles. The new nav/sat might help your hands free phone too..
And mine is using oil aswell 3.8l at 4200kms was down 2 litre now at 5k km and down .5 L already again.
There is a Technical Service Bullentin (TSB) #08-025-11 - a flash for WCM. I had this done a few days ago ($95) but it didn't fix the problem. I plan to take it back and ask them to check the voltage on the circuit board, etc.
Please post if you find a solution.
In June 10 I had an internal oil leak and all the oil was going into the lower mainfold.
Today, 10/5/11 the van is back at the dealership. One month ago I had an oil change and on 10/4/11 the oil light came on and the engine was 2 quarts low!
The dealerships is waiting to hear from Chrysler for approval to take the engine apart and possibly a replacement engine.
The dealership said there is no reason why a 08 van should be burning thru that much oil.
I would take your van to the dealer and tell them how much oil you are going thru.
1) Wireless Ignition Node(WIN)
2) Starter.
Once when this happened, my wife tried getting out of the car and using the "remote start" feature we have on the key flob... it did NOT work.
I am now personally suspect the entire problem has something to do with a re-call we had where the dealer had to take apart the dashboard. The problem started shortly after the deal did the recall work under the dash - they must have screwed something up.
Did you ever get this problem resolved? We are dependent on this van... and I just can't count on it anymore. Please advise.
Don't know if anyone has tried this or not - it's not a fix but it is a definite workaround for my situation.
I leave the ingnition on, put the T&C in Neutral and turn key off and back on. Sure enough everytime it works for me. Hope this helps someone.
After the car stayed parked all afternoon in heavy heat after the AC has been fixed last week, came back to pick up the car, didn't start. Retried several times, finally started, drove back home.
Since, just got worse and worse. Yesterday I tried to start it for 15 minutes but nothing, dashboard stayed black. If door opened, alarm sound would come off and mileage would display.
Brought the car to the dealership this morning - they say they have to replace BOTH the key and the ignition system - it will cost me about $700!
Apparently this is a pretty common issue on those cars, why there isn't a recall on that, and why Chrysler doesn't pay its share since it's obviously a design issue?
Chrysler said they cannot reprogram my keys that I have to buy new ones.
This is frustrating!! :sick:
I have a 2006 Town & County Chrysler Van. The van sometimes will not start. When I turn the key it starts & immediately shut off. My mechanic said that the alarm system is not reading the key. I had someone reset the key, and after a while the problem occur again. Now it runs down the battery and I need a jump. If there is a recall on the keys or alarm, I would like to know who I can call or contact.
Also, the sliding door on the back right side will not lock or unlock. It get stuck all the time. If there is a recall on the door, I would like to know who to call or contact. I called the Chrysler 1-800 number, and they said that there is no recall for my vehicle. Thanks
I don't have a permanent solution, but possibly a temporary fix. First, let me tell you what my problem is. Like most of you have mentioned, I have been stranded with my 2008 T&C not starting. I turn the key and it gives one click. It doesn't attempt to turn over....just a click. I have had it towed to the dealer one time and been jump started by a tow truck one time. Many other times, I was able to turn the ignition from 2 to 100 times and eventually the van would start. I have tried switching the gear shifter as some have stated, it seemed to work from time to time. I have had the van at the dealer 5 times now, all for the same problem. A couple of times they couldn't recreate the problem. They changed the negative battery terminal one time and said that fixed it. It didn't. They changed the starter one time and said that fixed it. It didn't. The last time they changed the battery and said that fixed it. It didn't.
The most success I have had from getting my van to start was from my own non-mechanical knowledge tinkering. Here is what I did. I was trying to follow the cables in the wiring harness, beside the battery, to find any loose connections. After messing with it for about 5 minutes, I gave up and found nothing. When I went to start the car next. It started right up. It worked like that for about 3 months with no problems. Then it wouldn't start anymore. I went under the hood and messed with the wires again. Another 3 weeks of starting with no problems. Then, I couldn't get it to help anymore. That's when the starter was changed. 2 days of working and then the problem again. I messed with the wires and good for about a month. Then trouble again. Took to the dealer and they changed the battery. 2 days again of starting and then it gave me problems again. Now, every time it gives me problems, I mess with the wires and it works for a while.
I know this is not a permanent fix, but maybe someone can figure out how to relate this wiring issue with some of the other temporary fixes and come up with a real solution.
My wife's 2010 T&C Limited died at a stop light when it was only 3 months old. Wouldn't restart. Towed to dealer. Has it for 2 days and finds a place where the wiring harness in the engine was grounding out. Replaces entire wiring harness (under warranty, of course). That was 4 years ago. So far, so good (knocking on wood).
There was a recall on my 2010. but the recall only worked temporally. Now they want me to pay for a new ignition switch, where the key goes in on steering wheel. $500 repair. Crazy!.
Pins 5 and 6 are the high speed CAN data bus and the switch communicates the drivers inputs on the databus to the other modules. Pin 12 is the park signal and notice how the schematic doesn't effectively inform the technician if the signal comes from the shifter assembly, or if the signal comes from the ignition switch and the shifter controls it to ground. There is nothing with this system that can be reasonably performed without a scan tool that allows the user to see what modules are active on the data bus and what the inputs and outputs from each of them are. Even if someone worked hard enough to figure this out by hand, its very likely they could not complete the repair without a scan tool that can access the vehicle security system.
I also had the problem with no response from the ignition (no click, no lights, no nothing) but the remote start still worked. I had it towed to the dealer and they had to replace the WIN to fix the problem.
Thanks!
How come Chrysler claims they are not aware of the problem. There are pages of the same complaint here.