BraunAbility

BraunAbility

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Overall Rating1.9 out of 5
See all 151 reviews

About BraunAbility

With nearly 50 years of experience leading the mobility industry, no manufacturer knows better what you need when looking for a wheelchair accessible vehicle or wheelchair lift. With a nationwide dealer network with over 200 locations, you’re never far from a mobility expert to help you find the best fit for you and your budget.

BraunAbility Reviews

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Page 1 Reviews 0 - 10

Reviewed Aug. 11, 2023

I bought a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica for $83,000.Which is a BraunAbility conversion. This is my 2nd van from Braun. From day one there has been a sound from the muffler which fills the cabin with a low drone sound at certain RPMs and speeds. Braun states this is characteristic of the vehicle. After searching the internet, there is a condition called muffler drone, which is the engine and exhaust system is vibrating at incompatible frequencies and can be fixed. When they converted the van, they had to rework the exhaust system and I am sure a different muffler system which is the problem and Braun will do nothing.

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Response from BraunAbility
Richard,

Thank you for the additional information, it is very much appreciated. A case manager will be reaching out to discuss your concerns and to create a customer support case.

Regards,
Customer Experience Group

BraunAbility

Reviewed July 6, 2023

My mom is disabled and uses hand controls in her 2009 Toyota Sienna Rampvan, upon driving it as a non disabled person I was coming to a stop and using the normal brake pedal. In doing so as I neared my stop the gas pedal was engaged by the hand controls. The hand control moved forward as it should when applying the brakes but then suddenly jumped downwards which is how the gas is actuated. I was lunged forward into traffic and nearly got t boned by another driver. I took the van home and attempted to recreate the issue and was 100% successful at recreating the event again and again.

I then took the van to the company that installed it called "Team Adaptive" They wanted to charge me $120 to LOOK at the hand controls and said they may need to be adjusted. Imagine if a child ran out in the road and I hit the brake in an emergency situation and the gas was actuated causing me to run that child over. In my opinion, the gas pedal should in no way be able to be activated once the brake pedal has begun being depressed. This problem can never be realized by someone using the hand controls but rather only someone that is using the normal foot pedals to drive the vehicle because if you have your hand on the hand controls then you would restrict the downward motion that is occurring.

If and when this causes an accident I will be suing the company that installed the hand controls as well as whoever manufactures these hand controls as it is an inherent design flaw. The ramp broke as well after about five years of use and the van was rarely used, mainly just to go to and from doctors appts rather than on a daily basis. They want to charge her to fix it of course and it's somewhere in the ballpark of 700-1000 to fix. I just don't understand how they can design something that makes a bad situation worse in the event that you need to stop quickly.

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Response from BraunAbility
Javier,

I want to start out by saying we're truly sorry to hear about this experience and we're glad that you and everyone else is okay. BraunAbility does not any build hand controls, these are considered aftermarket equipment. We do care about the safety of anyone operating one of our vehicles that may have the equipment installed in it though.

Since the hand controls are not our product the only suggestion we can provide would be to ask the installing dealer of the hand controls to complete an inspection to prevent any possible incidents in the future. Additionally, we always recommend having a mobility dealer complete routine preventative maintenance on all mobility products to keep the products working as designed.

Thank you,

Customer Experience Group, BraunAbility

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    Reviewed May 29, 2023

    Spent 115k on a brand new Traverse door has been nothing but a problem since day 1. Been waiting almost a month for a callback from the dealer or the 2 different Braun customer service reps. Have spent over a quarter million dollars with this company and this is the treatment I get. Unacceptable, will definitely be shopping elsewhere for our next vehicle.

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    Response from BraunAbility
    Sherri,

    We are sorry to hear that you're having issues with getting your Traverse problems resolved. We would like to have a BraunAbility Case Manager reach out to you directly. At your earliest convenience, please respond to the private message we sent to you yesterday (5/30/2023) and provide the information we requested.

    Sincerely,
    Customer Experience Group

    BraunAbility

    Verified purchase

    Reviewed Oct. 19, 2022

    My muffler began failing just before the warranty expired but family health issues kept me from dealing with it right away. Also, it started as a fairly small rattle so it was tolerable for the time being. Once I had time to have it looked at by my muffler shop, they pointed out that it seemed to be a custom muffler so I later brought it up with the Braun dealer. They contacted Braun and were told that the muffler and repair would be covered by warranty because they knew the mufflers were an issue. After not hearing from Superior Van for a while, I called them and they said Braun changed their mind and they would not cover it. Eventually I reached out to Braun myself and got in touch with Brittany who was very pleasant and professional. She heard my complaints and made it right

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    Response from BraunAbility
    Eric,

    We are happy to hear our team member was able to assist you and that your concern has been resolved! We very much appreciate having you as our customer!

    Thank you,

    The BraunAbility Customer Experience Group

    Reviewed Sept. 12, 2022

    I have had a BraunAbility adapted Chrysler Pacifica since 2021. It is set up so that I can drive from my wheelchair. I like this feature but absolutely hate the process required to allow someone else to drive since there is no way to simply move the passenger seat across. Recently, my son drove us and by accident bent the plug on the passenger seat while dragging it into the house. About a week later, I began getting scary dashboard messages indicating engine malfunctions. To make a very long story short, it took nearly a month and over $2,000 to find out that the broken plug sent the Pacifica's computer system into insane malfunctioning. The replacement part wasn't sent to Drivemaster (where the work was finally being done after two failed attempts by regular mechanics) until a week after issue was diagnosed for reasons I will never know.

    I am upset that I was never told about the sensitivity between adaptations for mobility and the workings of the van. I'm upset that the warranty was voided completely because we had damaged the plug. I'm upset that it took so long to finally get my freedom back. BraunAbility's near monopoly in this area, should give them a greater sense of responsibility to people with mobility impairments. Clearly, it does not.

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    Response from BraunAbility
    Ms. Abigail,

    We are sorry to hear of your experience, but happy to see an authorized BraunAbility dealer was able to get your issue resolved. BraunAbility recommends working with our network of dealers for any of your mobility concerns because they have technicians trained and certified to repair the product.

    A BraunAbility case manager has reached out to you directly through email and is currently looking further into your concerns.

    Again, we are sorry to hear of your experience and apologize for any inconveniences this has caused you.

    BraunAbility Customer Experience Group

    Verified purchase

    Reviewed July 22, 2022

    Thank you Tracy for a fantastic conversion van, It will be great for both scooter and power chair. And I can drive again!. She was very patient to make sure I could enter and exit the van. I had to have a couple parts repeated and it was so easy to understand.

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    Reviewed June 24, 2022

    I purchased Toyota Sienna in 2022 that was converted with funding from OOD with handcontrols, easy lock, and foldout ramp 2021. I purchased the van. This was new conversion products by Braun. anyone who has engaged in the process of working with state/federal agency on getting a van conversion knows it's a journey in and of itself and it can take 2 years...

    In may 2022, less than one year since receiving the van conversion, the ramp began failing. Van was taken to local dealer, Mobility Works Dayton Ohio who then said it was a flawed Braunability ramp module. And of course a part needed to be ordered. Problem solved they told me. Covered under warranty but I still purchased the $250 6 months maintenance check to make sure everything else ok.

    A month later, this week, Wednesday afternoon June 22, 2022 again ramp began to fail. Today I learn from both my "National" Braunability "Case Manager" Carrie and local dealer Mobility Works Jeff (Tech) and Mike (manager) that the ramp is still not fixed and needs another "new" part replaced. Again...Mobility Works does not have the part and it needs to be ordered and "sometime" next week it will be fixed. Everyone tells me they are doing the "best" they can.

    In the meantime, my options are no vehicle or drive the van knowing that the ramp will fail BUT..I am told by technician all I have to do is Pull and/or push the fold out ramp and it will work. Context is everything, I am 3 and half feet tall, with severe osteopenia and the reason I got a van conversion was because my body is not able to do excessive physical exertion. It is Friday, I have a medical appointment in Chicago on Tuesday and no idea how this will ever be resolved, No rental, no good options and a lot of money and effort invested in the process of getting what I thought and what I was promised was reliability and freedom of movement. It is not ok to treat disability community like this..Future buyers beware....Proceed with caution...The money involved in this conversion business and poor quality control makes me sick to my stomach...

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    Response from BraunAbility
    Ms. Julie,

    We’re truly sorry to hear about your experience with your 2018 BraunAbility Toyota. We never want for any of our customers to have an experience like you’ve had. We understand that the vehicles we manufacture are your source to get anywhere and everywhere you go. Unfortunately, our products are manmade and therefore, occasionally there are concerns with them. BraunAbility always stands behind the products that we manufacture and we will support you and work with MobilityWorks to ensure all the concerns are resolved with your vehicle.

    If you change your mind about the rental vehicle that was offered on Friday by our national case manager, we’ll be happy to look to find you an option.

    Once again, we’re truly sorry for this inconvenience.

    Sincerely,

    The BraunAbility Customer Experience Group

    Reviewed March 11, 2022

    My BraunAbility 2021 Toyota had multiple pieces of interior trim misaligned. Very sloppy fit and finish, contrary to Braunability’s quality marketing claims. To their credit, these pieces were replaced and properly re-installed. The passenger side Braunability lower door extension did not meet up with the weatherstripping, leaving a hole to the outside, with resultant road noise. Braun screwed a small piece of metal to their door extension to close up the hole. There is something wrong with the engineering design of the door opening/door extension that caused this problem, the screwed on piece of metal fixes the problem by patching it up. I guess this is the result of their “55,000 engineering design hours” that they advertise.

    Braunability also kindly replaced the weatherstripping which was poorly installed. So they have made a reasonable effort at correction, but buyer beware of the poor quality of their work. Now I have noticed that some of their lowered floor steel has already begun to show surface rust after 3 months of use. Appears the paint has been poorly/thinly applied. So that will be the next issue I have to deal with. I get considerable road noise through the sliding doors doors, especially on the passenger side. It is not horrible, but disappointing considering Braunability claims of “quiet drive” and “improved” Toyota door seal. Overall, not a confidence inspiring experience with my new Toyota conversion.

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    Response from BraunAbility
    Steven,

    We are truly sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with your BraunAbility Toyota. We understand that your vehicle was not delivered to you with the quality you expect from BraunAbility. This is why we brought your vehicle back to the factory and did everything possible to resolve your concerns. We will continue to do our best to provide the best quality product that we can and hope that you are satisfied with the work performed on your vehicle. We do value you as a customer and want for you to be happy with your BraunAbility vehicle.

    Sincerely,

    The BraunAbility Customer Experience Group

    Verified purchase

    Reviewed Feb. 2, 2022

    More flexibility in interior color options. Need to have an option for a small console for drinks. Current drink holders severely impact access & transfers. I hope to have a console designed in the near future and will send you photos when that happens.

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    Response from BraunAbility

    Robert, we appreciate your feedback and find it very valuable! We would be happy to have your photos reviewed if you care to share them!

    Verified purchase

    Reviewed May 17, 2021

    We are very happy with our vehicle. It has made such a difference in caring for our youngest son who is 10 years old and W/C dependent. Our dealer Mobility Express, and our sales (Paul) and service (Daniel and Josh) staff have been amazing! Our only issue is ongoing issues with the A/C, but we are confident that our dealer along with Braun Mobility will resolve any and all issues.

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    Response from BraunAbility
    Brigitte,

    We are very happy to hear you are happy with your vehicle and that it has made a difference in caring for your son! Mobility Express and BraunAbility appreciate having you as our customer!

    A BraunAbility Case Manager is working closely with your mobility dealer, as well as, our vehicle support team to resolve the issue. We assure you Mobility Express and BraunAbility want to resolve the issue.

    The BraunAbility Customer Experience Group

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    BraunAbility Company Information

    Company Name:
    BraunAbility
    Address:
    631 West 11th Street
    City:
    Winamac
    State/Province:
    IN
    Postal Code:
    46996
    Country:
    United States
    Website:
    www.braunability.com