My van is making a strange sound... Do you know anything about cars?

I have 2002 Chrystler Town & Country minivan. This morning, as I was going to drive my kids to school, I started down the long driveway. My dd says she forgot something, so I put it in reverse and backed up pretty fast. Stopped, put it in drive again. That's when I heard this funny sound. Just an even noice, like a hummmm. It was a little louder if I turned the steering wheel. I turned the motor off, then on again, still there. I parked the van and borrowed my neighbour's van to take them.
Do you know what could be up? If there is a transmission problem, will the car make noises? Would you recommend me to get the car towed to a shop, or can I drive it there?

Power steering pump, check the fluid in the pump, or have someone else check it.

I would take it to your closest service department to have them check it out, better safe than sorry
Or just call them and explain the noise to them and they can tell you if they think it is serious enough to have them tow it into their shop.
GOOD LUCK!

Could be a number of things (I'm no expert). To be safe, I would have it towed to your shop of choice to get it checked out. Because you took it out and put it into gear so quickly, I would be concerned that it is transmission related. My sister had 2 Chryster mini vans - both had major transmission issues (I think one went twice on her). I hope it's something minor. Good luck.

Maybe it wasn't warmed up enough before you did that. That could be the problem.

sounds like the power steering resevoir is a little low. Have the fluid level checked or have DH do it. You dont need to go to the dealer yet unless it is still under warrenty as they will charge you an arm and both legs. If DH cant or wont check it go to one of the Jiffy Lube type places.

my vote is towards power steering fluid. the fact that you quickly changed the momentum of the car could have sloshed around the remaining fluid causing it to be used and there being none left in reservoir. check you power steering fluid first.

as per anything with transmission. a transmission would not just humm. if you broke something inside that tranny it would grind or you would hear clunking noises from the metal inside. so i would say no damage there to the transmission. you may want to check the tranny fluid as well just to be safe. let me know what you find when you take a look.

You might check your hoses (water hose). Especially in mini-vans they tend to loosen and might become disconnected, which causes a humming sound, like you're in neutral and stepping on the gas. Your fan belt may also need an adjustment, which makes most of the operations on the car shut down or become "tight" and operate very sluggishly.

I just e-mailed my dh about what you said, and he said he had planned on getting power steering fluid on his way home. Sounds like he's going to take a look. I'll let you know what he says when he's done "looking". Hopefully it'll be something he can fix easily himself. We have sure had alot of expenses lately, we don't really need the transmission to go! But it sounds like there's a good chance it's not that, then. Thank's! I'll keep you posted!

don't know much about cars but sending you good vibes anyway!

Yep it may be the power steering fluid

Originally Posted by alexa

don't know much about cars but sending you good vibes anyway!

Click to expand...

Thank you!!
My dh says that there might be a leak, if it is the power steering fluid... Is that a major deal?

Not as major as say, changing the engine or transmission.
Fairly significant though.
Can also be fairly tedious to change out, depending on placement, etc.

Originally Posted by HappyViking

Thank you!!

My dh says that there might be a leak, if it is the power steering fluid... Is that a major deal?

Click to expand...

power steering fluid is no major issue. just buy yourself a container of the fluid that your manual tells you to use and fill it up. most cars, the reservoir for the power steering fluid is usually in eye sight when you pop the hood.

iT PROBABLY JUST NEEDS TOPPED OFF. aLL OF THE FLUID LEVELS SHOULD BE CHECKED EVERY SO OFTEN AND TOPPED UP...OIL, BRAKE, COOLANT, POWER STEERING, WINDOW WASHER AND BATTERY. uNLESS YOU HAVE A BIG STAIN THAT IS FRESHLY WET WHERE U USUALLY PARK IT IT SHOULD BE FINE.

If it's power steering, listen for a strange kind of moaning noise.

Well, my dh took a look yesterday, and said the power steering fluid seemed fine. He turned on the motor and drove it a little, and the noise was just barely there. This morning I took the kids to school in it, and everything was normal.......... Go figure! I don't understand, but for now I'm very happy that it seems to have resolved... Maybe it was a temporary "reaction" to the sudden changes in it yesterday morning?
Thank you anyway, for your input in this! I'd love to hear what you now have to say about it as I have no clue why this happened.

it could be just the car getting used to different weather situatuions. if everything is driving fine with it and fluids are fine then you have nothing to worry about. it has been getting colder in the mornings around here so your vans computer is adjusting to different weather situations during it warm up process for the car. my car is doing the same right now. its relearning the weather since it has gone from hot to cool. i would say you have nothing at all to worry about.

if you need anymore help feel free to pm me if you like.