Cheated on Their Seats? 2008 Chrysler Minivan Owner Weighs In

I’ve been curious about how the new 2008 Chrysler minivans have been fairing. I dropped by Edmunds’ forums and checked what buyers have been experiencing. I found an interesting story related by one owner who had a 2008 Town and Country Touring model with heated front and rear seats. After taking delivery of the van, the owner noticed that the rear heated seat buttons were present, but that the front heated seats seemed to be missing. As “luck” would turn out, a crimped wire stalled the van and while it was in the shop, the owner asked the staff to research the missing heated seats. The dealer did confirm the missing seats, but Chrysler sent out its own corporate representative to verify the situation. At this point, the owner requested a new van as he didn’t want heated seats retrofitted. After some back and forth with Chrysler, it was agreed that a new van would be on its way. The first available van happened to have more equipment on it, so it was refused because it would have cost an additional $2,100. Finally a van with the same equipment was located and delivered to the buyer. Overall, the owner said that he was very happy with his purchase.

Another owner related a story of approaching his van at night and noticing that it had two different tail lights, one side was the Town and Country design and the other side was Dodge Grand Caravan. Chrysler is shipping out a replacement direct to the customer since he is 160 miles from the dealer. The owner found it humorous that according to a sticker on the door, his van had been supposedly selected for a random quality check at the factory.

As with most vehicle launches, there are “teething” problems that crop up. There are some folks who won't buy a first model year vehicles in the hopes of avoiding these experiences. Hopefully Chrysler can get a handle on these issues quickly.

I have seen a few of the 2008 vans on the road and for a minivan they look sharp. The interior is the big letdown for me, it’s still too cheap for my taste. I’m very interesting in the VW version as it supposedly has a much richer interior.

Source: Edmunds forums