Is anyone else having brake issues. At 8,000 km we took it in, last March 2010,. and they had to replace the rear brake pads and rotors, obviously covered under warranty.
Now a little over a yr ago they have gone again, at barely 41,000 km. They are telling me they are out of warranty. Does this not seem excessive? I do all highway driving and have never had a vehicle have brakes go this quickly!

 

Welcome to the forum. You could say these vans have had brake issues. They extended the warrenty for the front brakes on the '08 and '09 vans. They haven't done anything with the rear brakes because they are not as common an issue but I have seen some cases I would concider odd. Make sure the calipers get checked, I think it's usually more of a caliper sticking issue than anything else.

Oh, and love me some New Castle beer....mmmmmmm.

 

I had problems with the rear brakes on our Grand Caravan 2010. Callipers were seizing and were replaced with a different model (new design) free of charge. I was concerned at the time about excessive wear on the pads and the rotors but was told everything was fine.

10 months later, the rear rotors and pads had to be replaced but the front ones are fine! I argued that the premature rear brake wear was more than likely linked to the faulty calipers replaced less than a year ago. Might as well have been talking to a wall!

I was even told that it is common for rear brakes to wear out before the front ones on these vans. Anyone else having similar problems with rear brakes?

 

I have 45,000 kms on mine and front shakes again....have had front and rears replaced before 20000kms and it doesn't look good again.I take it easy on them too but now I don't care just drive the hell out of it....oh yeah I have rust showing along pillars of driver and passenger window on the doors.

 

Damm you should show me the list of things to add to mine too. you have had too many to date. mine 12,900km so far good. we dont drive it like we stole it but sometimes i push it. although my concern is tranny and little shake. other than that its been pretty great so far,
]

 

Just kidding on the hard driving ....can't afford the fuel if I did
It is frustrating though

 

I have a 2010 Grand Caravan sxt, bought new 11/09. This spring I noticed the rear brakes overheating at times. Not always the same wheel. When I would stop and get out of the van, I could smell them. The wheel would be so hot I couldn't touch it, while the other wheels were cool.
At about 21,000 miles the rear brakes began to squeal like Rob123 said. The dealer said it is now recommended that the brakes be taken apart, cleaned and relube the guides every 18 to 20,000 miles because of the salt used in our NY winters. I paid them to do this although I am NOT convinced that is the problem. I also found the pads were nearly warn out already while the fronts were still like new. Everyone knows that front brakes wear out twice as fast as rear pads. Rather than allow the dealer to replace the pads and rotors I wanted to be sure the heating problem was solved. I managed to get through this summer and although sometimes one wheel felt hotter than it should, I had to replace the pads and rotors. This week, after a short trip. I got out to smell hot brakes again. One rear wheel was hotter than a pistol again!!!
So I am going in tomorrow to complain again.
It could be bad calipers, these are the kind with the spiral emergency brake, or it could be a defect in the anti-lock brake system, thinking that a wheel is spinning and applying braking to it. Whatever the cause it is a defect in this van.

 

Just wanted to add my 2 cents.

I purchased a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country brand new from a dealership with 28 km on it in July 2010.

In september of 2011 I was getting wheel shaking and pulsing at 34000 km and after taking the car in the said rear rotors and pads should be replaced. Had it done for $500.

Recently I was having the same symptoms so I took the car to a different dealership yesterday to get their opinion and the vehicle now has 41000 km on it. The said the rear rotors have heat spots on them and they recommend replacing them. So after 70 days and depending on the 2 different odometer readings on the invoice anywhere between 6000 and 6935 km they need to be replaced again? What the heck.

They say that the caliper/pad is not moving/releasing properly and say that it could have been an improper service by the first dealership. It may be a bigger concern and for a new vehicle like this they should investigate why rear rotors are warping.

Any thoughts about what I should do? Thank you very much.

DJ

 

Hi all,

All I say is "Yep!"

I too have a 2010 with the same break issues. I didn't, however, go back to my Dodge dealer (the customer service level is - urm - 'in need of improvement'. They have a sign above the Service Desk which says "...Please Note: Brakes ARE NOT covered by your new vehicle warrenty...")

So I took my van (2010 SXT - 34000Km) to a trusted independant mechanic. He has just called me to advise the following:
1) The Brake Shake is 'normal' for this van - that does not mean that he agrees with it, but it is just that he has seen many other van of the same make/age/mileage with the same issue.
2) The Rear brakes are wearing faster than the front - this is because the brake bias on the 'new shape' vans is approx 50:50 (maybe more), as opposed to the more traditional 70:30.
3) The front brakes shake because the pads in those are made of a hard compound which heat up very quickly and start to cause the rotors to warp.

Since my van does mainly town driving (and the shake only really occurs when the brakes are hot from highway driving), the mechanic suggests living with it until spring and then having new pads & rotors fitted in preparation for the summer driving season.

In summary, it seems that what we all have here is a result of poor quality parts and/or some form of design issue.

Either way, I guess we just have to live with it.....

 

Where was the work done? I would call Chrysler and inform them of the problems and the work you have had done. Send them copies of the work done and see what results you get.Good luck and keep us updated.