Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (air conditioning, heater, defroster, HVAC controls).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Chrysler Town and Country owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
2000 Chrysler Town& Country (limited) owed for 2 years 11 months, 57300 miles -I went to my vehicle to run an errand. While sitting in my driveway, I turned on the seat heater to warm it up due to the severe cold. The seat began to smoke and burned through the leather seat. I immediately turned off the seat heater and saw glowing embers around the hole that was created from a high heat source. I turned seat heater back on to confirm the source of the glowing embers. Sparks began to shot out of hole in burnt leather seat. My thoughts are that something in the heater caused the smoke and glowing embers. Although, this car has high mileage, the leather seats are in excellent condition. I would expect that the seat heater would be reasonably durable. This car has the Chrysler basic warranty, but the issue of safety/hazard cannot be denied. …
While driving my car with the seat heater on, it suddenly got very hot, so I turned the heater off. When I got to my destination I saw a hole about the size of a pencil eraser had burned through the leather. I later realized that there was a hole in my pants and the back of my leg was burnt. When I contacted Chrysler, I was told that I would have to pay for all repairs since my 3 year warranty was up. By the way, the heater no longer functions, although the light on the switch still activates when depressed, meaning any fuse in the system never blew.
I have a year 2000 Chrysler Town & Country van the seat heater set fire to the leather on the seat. The dealer would not fix the seat due to the van being under extended warranty not the factory warranty. From the information on the net Chrysler knew about this problem in 1999 and it looks like they didn't bother to fix it in the vans built for the year 2000. Having to put out a fire while driving is not something I bargained for when I bought the van. What would have happened if no one saw the fire and left the van next to the house?
In 2005 a recall was issued for the front seat heating elements. The car was brought into brandow Chrysler and the elements were supposedly changed. 9/30/07 the replacement elements failed and the driver front seat caught fire. The car was towed to brandow Chrysler and the heating elements were replaced again. Chrysler has denied any responsibility. I will not put anyone back into that car.
The vehicle has a seat heater. While the consumer was driving, the passenger's seat heater caught on fire, burning a hole in the seat. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, who said they would repair it. However, the consumer wanted to inform NHTSA that this defect occurred, and wanted to know if the manufacturer had reported this defect.
9/4/02 Chrysler replaced heated seat element due to not functioning properly. 12/17/04 heated seat burnt hole in seat cushion Chrysler first refused to cover due to vehicle being over warranty period, I called Chrysler and they have offered to pay 50%.
The passenger side seat burned. The spontaneous ignition was caused by the heating element in the seat cushion which burned a hole through the leather seat. No one was occupying the seat at the time of the incident.
On September 30, 2003,while my wife was driving around Town on errands with our four children, she noticed smoke coming from the front passenger seat. Ultimately, a hole burned through the leather seat as a result of a malfunction/failure in the heated seat system. Luckily, my wife had the presence of mind to shut off the seat and get everyone out of the car in time to avoid a full blown fire. However, this situation was extremely dangerous and a tragedy was averted only by her quick reaction. A seat heating system that does not have a mechanism to shut itself off before it gets this hot is unreasonably dangerous and should be recalled immediately at the manufacturer's expense.
My Chrysler Town&Country with 3.8 eng.belt has come off when driving in heavy rain 4 times. Losing powersteering and causing engine to quickly to overheat. Dealers have no fix for this problem. This almost caused me to damage my car and possibly others since it came without any warning. I checked the internet to see if any one else had this problem and found many. It seems that so May that gates belt company designed a belt package to solve this problem. I purchase this repair package and seems to be working in the rain. Shouldn't this repair been a recall by Chrysler before someone gets hurt.
Water condensation from air condition leaks inside the vehicle at the driver's feet . I bought the vehicle ( Chrysler Town & Country minivan) in April 2000, and the leak started in 2002. The dealer attempted four times to fix it since 2002. Now the van is out of waranty, and the dealer thinks that the A/C evaporator is at fault and they want to charge me to fixt. I declined to pay because I believe that the dealer should have fixed the van before the warranty expired. The dealer still charged me $78 for telling me that in order to fix the problem they have to replace the evaporator.
NHTSA investigations
Overheating of seat heaters
Odi opened this investigation based on 24 complaints alleging that the electrically heated driver or passenger seat sparks/overheats.daimlerchrysler believes the failure is due to one of two factors:the stitching operation on the seat cover May cause the sewing needle to sever some strands of the wire heating grid in the seat, or a poor solder joint/wire connector fails due to improper processing or long term…
AC & Heater complaints in other Town and Country years
Frequently asked questions
How common are ac & heater problems on the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country?
NHTSA has 27 complaints about the a/c & heater of the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country, 9% of the model year's 306 complaints. The component named most often is front assembly › seat heater/cooler (22 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Chrysler Town and Country ac & heater problems?
No. NHTSA lists no a/c & heater recall for the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Chrysler Town and Country ac & heater problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 53,000 miles, and 16% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 12 fires and 5 injuries to a/c & heater problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.