I own a 2002 Chrylser Town & Country LXi (original owner). This past April with just under 39K miles on the odometer I noted a whirring noise from the engine compartment that grew progressively louder over the course of several weeks.
I suspected a bad alterator which the dealer confirmed. Since i was 3K miles beyond the 'bumper to bumper' warranty (36K miles) I assumed it would be replaced under the extended powertrain warranty. Surprise! An alternator is not considered part of the powertrain and I had to shell out $460 to have it replaced. What really frosts me is that I paid extra for the 'heavy duty - extra capacity' alternator package when I bought this car because I tow a trailer with it.
I have owned many different cars over the years from many different manufacturers (Volvo, Saab, Ford, GM, Audi, etc.) and I have never had to replace the alternator in any of those vehicles, many of which exceeded 100K miles while I owned them. I wrote a letter of complaint to D/C consumer affairs and received a polite form letter in return expressing regret for the problems I experienced, and that's all.
My brother-in-law also has a 2002 T&C (LX model) and guess what? He just had to pay to have his alternator replaced too and he has 58K miles on his odometer. Everyone seeing a pattern here?
Bottom line - D/C quality is crap and they don't stand behind their products. This is the first and last D/C product I will ever own.
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