Plymouth Voyager photo from the Cohort by J.C.
Our ’87 Plymouth Grand Voyager minivan had come with Chrysler’s 7/70 warranty on the power train, unfortunately much else was not covered and in our third year of ownership, the build quality issues started to show.
On the way to the family cabin in Schroon Lake for Labor Day the van stalled out in Rome NY. I was able to start it and run it for a few miles before it stalled again. Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend there was not much service available, but I managed to find a shop at about 4 pm and the mechanic quickly diagnosed an MAF sensor failure. After a few calls it was determined to be a dealer only part and there were none to be found locally. The mechanic tried to bypass the sensor, but Chrysler had made sure no one could disable the emission controls and we were stuck in Rome.
1988 Country Squire photo from the web.
My mother came to pick us up in her 1988 Ford Country Squire and we all rode to the cabin together. The following week the shop located a replacement for the failed sensor. When pressed, Chrysler reimbursed us for the repair since the emission controls were under a government-mandated 5/50 warranty. Of course, none of the time and added expenses were covered.
That same sensor failed again a year later after the warranty period, but by then the emissions warranty had expired. Fortunately, it was now available as an aftermarket item and I was able to easily replace it having seen it done before.
The van’s next major failure was the cooling system. On a summer vacation trip to Toronto, the Voyager started overheating on the 401 and after letting it cool down and adding water I limped it into a Canadian Tire Shop from where I called Enterprise Rental. The shop replaced the radiator while we crammed ourselves and essential luggage in a Corolla to continue our vacation. The following Monday we picked it up for the trip home.
The next year Barbara took the kids to her mother’s on the van for a week while I stayed home stripping wallpaper and painting for vacation. My choice. On the trip back she noticed a grinding sound and the minivan pulling to the right. On quick inspection, I found the curbside front brake had seized, no doubt due to salt corrosion, and the rotor was paper thin from 300 miles of abuse (but I really couldn’t see any alternative to her limping the Voyager home).
The entire brake assembly was rusted shut and in a measure of uncommon good sense, I had them replace the driver’s side caliper and rotor since it looked as bad as the one that had failed.
Plymouth Voyager photo from the Cohort by J.C.
However, by 1993 the 7-year warranty expired and the Voyager started having terminal issues. First, the valve guides started leaking at start up and any sort of acceleration would leave black oily clouds in its wake. Unsightly but livable, with a quart of oil every few weeks. Then came the electrical issues. While the body was very corrosion resistant the wiring was not. After rainy nights the battery would run down or the starter would not engage from short circuits in the wiring harness. I found some places where the insulation had worn against the sheet metal but I never located the real issues. Turning the steering wheel would sometimes cause the starter to work, but I couldn’t in good conscience let Barbara drive the children around in it.
Gen 2 Ford Taurus photo from the Cohort by gpoon49
My father had passed away in 1990 and my mother was driving the Country Squire mentioned earlier, a car they had bought for trips. She liked the wagon but felt it was too large and she wanted something that would fit in her garage –the 1953 Cape Cod house I had grown up in (The last car my parents had been able to garage was their 1956 Ford sedan).
Mom was in her late 60’s and tired of brushing off snow to go to the store and driving around town. So she offered us the Country Squire (paid for in weekly installments by us) and bought a Taurus sedan that fit nicely in the garage. The Taurus also had the added benefit of front-wheel drive, a pleasant surprise in the snow for her.
1988 Country Squire photo from the web.
The Country Squire was powered by the 5 liter EFI engine and riding on the plush red velour seats was in our children’s terms “like riding on the living room sofa”. The windows seemed to be dirty or faded, and after washing the outside numerous times I finally realized that because my mom and dad were smokers most of their lives, there was a film of yellow tar accumulated on the inside glass and upholstery. A Saturday scrubbing eventually cleared the film on the glass and mitigated the odor of smoke in the seats and carpet.
With one set of needs sorted, it was time to deal with the other car in my fleet. By 1994, the ’88 LeBaron I had bought for commuting was coming off its 7/70 warranty and the time had come to go shopping again.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1985 Dodge Caravan – Chrysler Hits A Grand Slam Homer
Curbside Classic: 1990 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE – Chrysler Rides The Fantastic Voyage
I’d have to agree with your kids about the living room sofa effect of those plush velour seats. I can also imagine that based on how you described the condition of the windows, it must have been quite difficult to get the smell of smoke out of that upholstery.
What a saga of cars that seem to barely hold together in an effort to provide you and your family with basic transportation! Maybe it’s just the time of year, but these tales give me reason to be thankful. Thankful that it’s no longer the 1980s or 90s.
My in-laws went through a series of minivans, Dodge and Plymouth but maybe not Chrysler-branded, all bought lightly used and sold within a few years. Coming from a family that owned just 4 cars over nearly 60 years, that was strange to me and seemed very expensive. On the other hand I don’t recall ever hearing my father-in-law mention any problems with these vans, which endured New England winters and an annual round trip to Florida, often pulling a utility trailer. I guess selling them before mechanical issues showed up worked well for them. They had 4 and 6 cylinder versions, short and long, and even one 5 speed manual Plymouth Voyager.
I worked in a transmission shop in the late nineties with about 10 hoists and there was times where every hoist had a Chrysler minivan on it getting a trans job. We could get those things in and out of the shop so fast it make your head spin
”valve guides started leaking at start up and any sort of acceleration would leave black oily clouds in its wake.” So typical of any Mitsubishi engines. My first rwd ’78 Colt did the same thing ,no oil change to do…always new one to add. I wasn’t worried about sludge at the bottom of the pan, I guess.