NHTSA Complaint #11432664 — 2013 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY

Over a year ago, we began to have a problem in which the vehicle would, on occasion, not start. The “check engine” light would come on, along with another icon that looked like a lightning bolt between two inverted parentheses. Sometimes it started up on the first try, other times it would take a few attempts, and sometimes it would not start at all. Then a new wrinkle emerged: the van conked out on us a few times while on the road -- once while merging onto a highway. We now had a serious (and potentially dangerous) problem on our hands. We had the fuel pump replaced, but the problem persisted. I took the van to our local Chrysler dealership to have them figure it out. They replaced the throttle body and cleaned the fuel injectors and fuel system. I drove the car home without incident, but the following morning, I tried to start it, and the same old situation emerged — the engine cranked but never turned over. I then had it towed back to the dealer for another round of diagnostics. I mentioned that I had seen on the Internet about a possible faulty Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM), an issue in various Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram products. Later they called saying the battery was the problem (even though they earlier reported that the battery was okay), and had nothing to do with the TIPM. For about a week, the van is started up without a hitch, but then same old hesitating-before-starting situation reared its ugly head, albeit briefly. It is only a matter of time before it stalls out again in traffic. These vehicles should be recalled and the TIPM needs to be replaced.