Que pasa..............Well, I Love my T&C '03 Limited..........HOWEVER..........purchased it as 2nd owner at 17,000 mi. It now has 23,000 mi. Has had regular service in last 6 months and under warranty had to replace all 4 wheels and wheel sensors as well as front sway bar/link. I then purchased 4 new tires at Chrysler -- every since then, it's off alignment and they just replaced all 4 tires under warranty, but still has a problem aligning and they can't seem to figure it out.....should I be leary of Chrysler T&Cs? They also told me the front brakes are thin and the rotors are thin and rusted. We don't think rotors should need to be replaced at 23,000 mi!!!!!!! Any feedback/similar problems out there? I'm driving a rental until they can figure it out!! I want my van back!!!!! Trust me, I baby my van!

 

I can give ya some general info (as I haven't even bought my first Chrysler yet but I'm putting the money on the table on Sunday!)
I've had a brand new GM van before that had front rotors & pads in warranty at under 20,000 miles. Since then my g/f has had another GM car where I've replaced the pads at 15,000 and pads & rotors at 30,000. However, I can do this work myself and as the parts are cheaper than dirt, even originals from GM (on a shop trade account, under US$100 for the whole front end) I consider it worthwhile as with this rotor/pad combo the brakes are INCREDIBLE. I can get cheaper rotors & pads from the auto supplier but for the money it actually costs I'll live with it.
When I researched my voyager before I decided to buy I discovered that the original pads & sometimes rotors can have a short life. I'm assuming the guy who told me this would mean the kind of lifespan you've seen. If you're not happy with that then I'd take the car to a different shop and have a different make of pads & rotor fitted that should give you a longer service life (and may well be cheaper too).
I'm at a loss as to why you'd need to replace all 4 wheels. Corrosion maybe?? I can't think of any other reason.
I also heard that the front sway bar links are a "constant repair item". Guess what? We have the same problem on g/f's GM subcompact; I replace at least 1 every 6-8 months on average!
Next, the alignment: Personally I wouldn't trust a shop that couldn't use it's alignment equipment, even if was the dealership!
Alignment should NOT be an issue. Ask them to take it to an alignment specialist to have a FULL LASER ALIGNMENT carried out, front and rear. OR, if they insist that they will "get it right this time" then ask them to give a warranty on that fact to safeguard your new tires. They probably won't. The third option is to collect it straight from them after they say they've "fixed" the alignment and take it straight to another, reputable shop and have them check it at your cost, it won't be very expensive but WILL give you peace of mind re: the tires. IF the dealership got it wrong they should reimburse you.
You shouldn't be wary of the T&C, it's an awesome car but like every other car on the market there are good, bad and middle-of-the-road examples even from new and the same applies to the people who work on them!
Keep it properly maintained and it'll reward you with a long, trouble free life. I don't think you have a lemon, just a car that had a hard first 17,000 miles with it's fiorst owner.

 

I had pads and rotors go on a gen 1 at about 23K miles on a work van. I don't think that's too uncommon for the stock pads. The rotors aren't much better and probably for safety's sake should be changed with the pads. It's all about lowest manufacturing cost, so they don't make rotors that are very good quality anymore.
Has anybody any experience with cross drilled/slotted rotors on the minivans?