2016 town and country blind spot monitoring system has caused a serious short in the computer system, it will not respond to be serviced and new modules are not recognized by computer. Blind spot modules are located in the bumper and will get wet and short out the electric system of the car. Searching the internet shows that these modules in every car get damaged by water or mud because they are not covered and electric connectors are exposed to all elements. They cost $500 each and the bumper must be removed to replace them. What idiot designer would put exposed electric modules in the freaking bumper in the first place. Every vehicle should be recalled and these modules should be redesigned with sealed covers that would shield them from water damage. The designers should have put the modules in the trunk and not the bumper. I am ready to get rid of my beautiful immaculate van because of this. These failed at 35,000 miles. The public deserves to have these replaced at the manufacturers expense.
They need to be mounted in the bumper covers and at the extremities of the car to function properly.
Blind spot monitoring is an added convenience, like cruise control or a power sliding door, not a necessity to drive a car. Recalls are only for safety issues.
I assume the three mirrors the van is equipped with still function normally?
According to the NHTSA, there have been 5 complaints on 2015 T&Cs for the same problem. You might register your complaint there. That may or may not help lead to an investigation, but NHTSA needs to know of the problem before they contact Stellantis. .
my car is still in the shop and they are further investigating the lack of communication of the new blind spot monitors with the control panel that turns it on and off. Currently, the blind spot monitors OFF and the buttons that turn it back on are not responding. I will let you know what they actually find as the problem.
I dont understand who NHTSA are or who Stellantis is, please give me more information about them. I would love to contact them to file a complaint about this. The computer scanners are not able to identify the problem and now they are in contact with an ONLINE trouble shooting service. I may need a new control panel that could have shorted out from the blind spot modules malfunctioned.
Stellantis is the parent company of Chrysler
I’m seeing that you’re having several problems here.
First, you bought a Chrysler. They have not been well-known for reliability for a long time, and the picture didn’t get any better when Fiat acquired them.
Second, your shop may be over-relying on the computer to tell them what to do. If they suspect that a control panel has shorted out, there are ways to actually test for that that don’t involve asking people online. Asking online is fine for drivers who come here, but I’d be concerned if one of the mechanics who post here came on asking how to troubleshoot a car they were working on, y’know? One thing I’ve noticed as a shadetree hack is that some mechanics aren’t good at diagnosing problems anymore. They hook a scanner up to the car and replace whatever part gets flagged - even if it’s likely that the part is being flagged because it’s reacting to a problem happening elsewhere. It’s something you need to watch out for when taking a vehicle in for service.
Third, the “water gets on the sensors and shorts them out” thing doesn’t hold, erm, water for me. I’ve had vehicles with parking sensors and blind spot monitoring since probably 2012. I live in the upper midwest where we will have torrential rains and tornadoes one day, and a blizzard a few days later. I have never had a sensor die from water exposure. Not to say it can’t happen - see problem 1 - but I find it suspect, and I also find suspect the idea that a water damaged sensor will destroy the control board. If that’s true, it’s a terrible design, but it’s probably not a universal one because if it were, I’d have shorted something out by now with all the stupid weather I drive through.
I haven’t either, but we did have an ABS wheel speed sensor problem once on an old Silhouette. The van was about 12 years old at the time. The ABS light came on. While trouble shooting it, I unplugged the left front wheel sensor, then discovered I couldn’t remove the sensor without disassembling the wheel. I plugged it back in, and the light went out and never came back. I think it was contact oxidation. While that isn’t exactly a sensor shorting, it’s probably close enough a description if someone isn’t familiar with the systems.