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.