My 5* had never heard of anyone doing that or wanting to do that until I came along (I noticed it in the schedule B maintenance & I was trying to track down problems that ended up being a bad rack & pinion). I didn't replace the fluid, but I got a new R&P under warrany.
I remember talking to one of the shop guys who said it was a good idea to change it, but it sounded like he would have said replacing the air filter solenoid inverter was a good idea at 30K as well, if I had asked.
Thanks for your replies. I looked at the black plastic part at the end of the rear door. It seems a bit too loose. I will investigate some more and then I guess I have to take the car to the dealer. It sure seems like it rattles more now than it did a month ago. It's not the biggest deal since you can't hear it when the radio on. But it would be nice to know it is gone :-)
rstilp - look at the manual. The schedule B is a little more conservative, and I try to follow that myself. Go to a mechanic that you like and ask how much the individual things listed will run - my guess is it'll be about half what the dealer charges. Their price for the 'service' tends to be very high. Just keep records and receipts for warranty purposes
What parts do you need and what's involved in making the change? Of the two gears, connected by the chain, I'm assumming it's the gear on the output shaft (on the right) that changes? The other gear and chain stay the same?
How's this differ from the Prowler Pro gears? Less expensive? Not as much performance?
When I installed a high stall converter on my GTO, I got an immediate 1/2 sec increase in 1/4 mile times. You can really feel it in your seat dyno.
I'm considering my muffler system options, namely the Borla single exhaust v. the Hugo semi-dual exhaust. I don't think a true dual exhaust is necessary, and may adversely affect torque (to me, acceleration is more important than top speed).
Has anyone here had both systems installed on their car at some time? If so, which do you prefer? (If you've only installed one, then of course that one is better than the other!)
The Edelbrock looks interesting -- Is there a large difference between 74db and 88db?
How does the Aluminized Steel of the Hugo MagnaFlow 12258 muffler compare to the stock muffler and the Borla T-304 Stainless Steel muffler in terms of longevity? What type of metal is the Rhino 921 muffler made of?
OK, I was going to buy the 300M today but now I'm setting my sights on the Special. Here's the problem. Nobody has them in stock and NOBODY WANTS TO GIVE ME A QUOTE ON ONE.
I know the local sales guy is a tad perturbed with me right now because he thought he had an easy commision but it's my money. I don't spend over $30K very often and when I do, I want what I want. Has anyone here bought one yet or even test driven one?
I like the idea of the Dual Exhaust (It must sound NICE), the larger tires, the ground effects, a tad more power and better brakes. I'm somewhat hesitant about using only Premium Grade Gas but the Mercedes and BMW both recommend Premium Gas too..
So... Has anyone driven one or bought one on this site?
If you are willing to take an '01 M you can get it for $7k or more off MSRP. That means you can get a nicely equipped one for around $25k. Might also be worth considering.
I wouldnt do any more than is mentioned in the B schedule. I definitely would change the fluid and filter for the tranny. I changed mine at 17K as I feel it is important and the first change is the most important. After the first one, I plan on doing it about every 20K--its cheap insurance against having to replace the tranny due to worn out fluid.
As far as injector cleaning, that in my opinion is a snow job. I would only have them cleaned if car was idling very rough or overall running poorly indicated by a big drop in MPG.
Try to get them to do a pan drop with filter replacement and then a full tranny flush where ALL the fluid is replace. It may run a little over $100 for the above but its worth it. I would also consider the differential fluid replacement just because the manual recommends it However , I have never done that before in my many years of driving and have had a few cars with over 100K before I sold them. I would consider replacing the coolant at about 50K even though they say you can go 100K. Another case of cheap insurance. Be sure they use the proper ATF4 for the tranny and the proper diff fluid as well. Otherwise you could have premature problems. Do the oil change if its been about 3K since your last one. Nothing else should be necessary unless you are having symptoms of problems. I have never ever replaced the brake fluid although I would consider it at about 60K or so. Also I have never replaced power steering fluid in any of my cars and have not had problems with that area.
They may try to sell you other services, but just refuse.
If he tries to sell you a air filter solenoid inverter, just tell him you already changed it. As I told Doc, the inverter is located under the engine next to the tie rod ends just above the constant velocity rubber boots. You have to pull the whole engine to get to it. Knowledge is king! ;-)
I am with Sdmike (sorry otto) I would tend to get an PHG 300M and add some of the extras yourself. Some of us have done a lot of mods ourselves and actually perform better then the special.
aluminized steel will eventually rust--I give it about 2 or 3 years regardless of miles drive. A stainless muffler should last 8 to 10 years. You have to weigh the cost. If you plan on keeping the car for 5 or more years, you may be better off paying the extra cost for stainless and save time and aggravation when the aluminized muffler rusts out.
If you have read my previous posts you wlll know that about three weeks ago I bought "Beast" a 2001 Inferno red 300M. I've put about 1000m on it and get to love it better every day.I do seem however to frequent the gas station more often than I used to but what the heck, my company pays for the gas:). For you guys that have daughters with cars you (your turn will be coming up SDMike) will understand this. She has(had) a 1997 Grand Prix GTP. Gets me up at1:00 am in the morning one night and tells me(with tears) that her window won't close. I go out in the pouring rain and duct tape plastic over the window for the night. The next day it cost me $280.00 to have the window motor replaced. Last week she came in (again with tears) telling me that the water pump had gone. That cost me another $326.00. So last night we went down to the local D.C. dealer and got her into a brand new 2002 Sebring and although not a 300m it is a nice ride.(Now I'm in tears because I had to spring for the downpayment) Now for all you young guys out there with no daughters yet or those that have young ones, your turn is coming. I gotta figure that one tear is a least $50.00 out of your wallet. Gotta love them though.
I was pretty well convinced to get a brand new M that I can pamper from the beginning... anyone know of any pitfalls in getting a DC Certified car next year instead? Would the impending Crossfire, 300N, a slumped economy make dealers more eager (and more incentives) to unload the 300M? I just have to watch what DC is going to do now. I admit 7 yrs/70,000 miles /0 % is real attractive... if they go deferred payments ala Oldsmobile too I'd buy now.
I AM HOPING TO GET SOME INPUT..I LIVE IN SAN DIEGO NORTH COUNTY AND BOUGHT MY 300 USED FROM BUDGET CAR SALES IN ESCONDIDO HAVE A 1999 W/87000 MILES LAST YEAR WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN I NOTICED WATER WAS PUDDLING IN THE PASSENGERS SIDE FLOORBOARD IT ENDED UP GETTING WET FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK SEAT PAN AREA AT FIRST I WAS TOLD IT MIGHT BE FROM THE SUNROOF DRAIN WHICH RUNS TO THE DOOR JAMB AREA AFTER I CHECKED THAT AND EVERYTHING ELSE I TOOK IT BACK TO BUDGET (I THOUGHT THEY MIGHT HAVE MORE SYMPATHY ) THE SAID THERE WAS A TSB REGARDING THIS AND THEY REMOVED MOST OF THE FRONT FENDER AND WHEEL AREA AND RESEALED IT...$600.00 PLUS.. THEY SAID THEY WATER TESTED IT AND IT SHOULD BE FINE ...LOW AND BEHOLD OUR FIRST RAIN SINCE IT WAS FIXED AND THE SAME PROBLEM... ANY BODY ELSE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS ...ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.. ALSO INTERESTED IN ANY SAN DIEGO AREA RUNS OR MEETS OR SHOWS
scotian - The problem is, if you ask for x miles service, they charge you a set amount. Usually something obscene. However, if you ask for the individual items, it is usually less. If the dealer insists on charging $60 for oil change, etc... then take it to a mechanic you like and have them do the work. No prob. I took my wifes volvo in for the 30k service. Oil change and some 'checks' for $60. I told them, this much for an oil change? They shrugged. I told them, they wouldn't be getting my business again unless it was warranty. Oh well...
uxca - spoiling the child, huh? ;-D My daughter is getting her license in Jan. - the last thing I plan on doing is taking up another car payment. She's getting my mothers old 91 celica. 50k mi Great looking car, not too much power. Good for a new driver
makoman - might want to try to turn off the caps lock - tough to read. I've heard of the problem - don't know the fix.
To repeat an earlier caution: make sure the drain plug doesn't get over torqued. I had been using Q-Lube (or whoever it is that bought them out) until they over torqued that bolt. In the end they replaced the pan, but it was no fun.
Although it is less convenient, I've been using the dealer exclusively since then. It takes them an hour or an hour and a half for their "express" service, but they are about $10 cheaper than Jiffy Lube.
I had a simlar problem in my 2000. Execpt on the drivers side. Took the whole summer to fix! Finally found that TSB, & that fixed it. On yours it might be a bad body seam in the spare tire well. Another owner had that happen, & had water where you do. Remove the spare tire, & see if the well is wet.
sdmike2 -Hey mike ,have driven a few, and seat of the pants tells me the Special moves off the line better than any M I have driven. I did say back a few 1000 post ago that A trany guy said you could not switch the gears. Now I think he didn't know what he's talking about.
99_300m_ric_va -sounds good Rob ,cant wait to see these 04 cars.Better yet drive a HEMI
arby500 - man if you can do the Special DO IT !! You have not seen any because we have not shipped any out to owners yet.As of yesterday we have 1800 Specials on order. My thought is you can do the mods yourself on the basic M and hope all is ok or you can have DC do them when we build the car and have a warranty on the whole car. Lets say you wanted to lower the basic M then you start to have problems with the half-shafts wearing out ,well guess what you voided your warranty by the after market lowering. I think if you sat down and added up what it would cost to put all the different things on the Special ,it would cost way more than the Special package. HID lights at least 1000$, 18 rubber and rims 1000$, lowered suspension ,ground effects dual exhaust, the list goes on .
I personally don't like buying used cars if I don't have to because of the unknown about its previous life. While I'm sure the vast majority of cars, especially nice ones like the M, are treated nicely, I'd rather raise it myself. Just my personal opinion. As for your "grass is always greener" syndrome, shake out of it bud. While there is always the possibility that later on there will be a better car, a better warranty, or a better deal you can never be sure of it. The economy is in the toilet right now, and the deals are better than they've been in years. Is it going to get worse and the deals better? Who knows...but what I DO know is that if you wait to buy the car you also run the risk of the current incentives going away. You also miss out on driving your new car for as long as you wait, AND you will constantly agonize over what is the "right" time. Do what you think it best, but I'm a firm believer in doing the research, working the best deal, and pulling the trigger short of any firm indication that my deal might be better in the next few months. Of course you'll be able to get a better deal on the '02...next November when the '03s come out.
ottowrkr, I TOTALLY agree with everything you said about the 300M Special. I'll get it with the full warranty, If the exhaust rusts in a few years, I'll pay for a stainless exhaust "then" (ie... once it's paid off). The other standard features would cost me THOUSANDS in aftermarket costs.
You wanna know something? The salesman called me this morning to tell me he expects 2 within the next 2 weeks. One is the Silver one like I want. I'm gonna let him sweat a little because my son's friend works in the finance office of the largest Chysler dealer in NJ. I know the guy. Hopefully he get's me a good price too. I LOVE buying a new car.
We don't get much rain in San Diego, so just ignore it (just kidding of course). I think someone here ended up having a crack in a floorboard seam that was letting water in. Have the dealer check this too.
The mufflers I installed were both annondized, but I believe they are also available in stainless for a bit more $$. I didn't bother with stainless since our weather is so mild and dry in San Diego. My exhaust will probably outlive my M.
You ever think that your daughter was sabotaging her car so she could drive your M (while you drove hers to the shop)? Daughters are lovely...but they're also professional manipulators of dads. lol
My daughter is only 8 months old and just figuring out how to crawl. I'm sure in what seems like months she'll be asking for the car keys. I do understand the tear thing though. When my sons cry it's "what happened pal? Shake it off buddy"...when my daughter cries I want to give her everything I own.
Hey, it seems that there are more and more posters in here from the San Diego area. Nice to see! If any of you guys (gals?) want to hook up informally for coffee, or if any of you want to check out anything that I have done to my car (e.g. dual exhaust, basslink) just let me know.
I've got an odd "hissing" sound coming from my 2001 M. It seems to be from the passenger side, from under the hood just beyond the dash. It seems to be more prominent when i ease up on the gas. My M is the only M I've driven so I don't know if it's normal, but the sound has been there since I got the car but seemd to be worse after I had my last lube/and oil and replaced air filter with KN. Is this a coomon noise of the workings of the M or is this something that my service dept should take a listen to.
Just thought I get some feedback, it's not a big deal obviously, but I'd like to get rid of it if it is not normal. I know the M is criticized for cabin noise, so I have just attributed it to that til now that it seems to have gotten worse.
no1trust - I like to go used, but it depends on the car. I hate to say it, but chrysler doesn't have a long track record of building a 10+ year car. Acrua, Volvo, and similar come to mind. I bought my wifes car - Volvo s70 as certified. I've got a bumper to bumper till 62k mi, and drivetrain till 84k that came from the dealer. And I expect we'll have it for quite a while. However...
OTOH - At the end of my lease, I will more than likely look for a slightly used M (<1yr/10k mi) since it'll have a nice chuck cut off the price, as well as being almost new.
cbwongus - is the hissing speed or engine related? I had a hissing sound in my concorde - turned out it was a small crack in the tire. When I drove over it, air escaped, but when it wasn't at the bottom of the wheel it would hold air. Sounded weird. But it wouldn't have lasted several weeks
I'm the proud owner of a '99 White, PHP,300M. 28K to date with no serious problems. I love the styling,performance but I have one worry. Before I bought the 300M I had read reviews of the car which mentioned "soft" brakes and general poor brake action. I thought that by buying the PHP package, I would get better brake performance!(Bigger is better?) Not so--- I just do not feel confident with the brake feel and action, especially in an emergency situation. Edmunds has a comparison tests which gives high marks to the 300M,except for the brakes which failed badly. It" could have been a contender" against the BMW and Audi but the brakes pulled it down to the # 4 slot out of 8. Did Chrysler ever redesign and or improve the brakes for 00,01 to make them equal to the 300's performance.??? Have any of you " techies" out there come up with a feasable and affordable modification of the brake system to improve them and bring them up to scratch.??? I'd like to hear your comments and suggestions.(May be someone at Chrysler reads this and will do something for future models.) Thanks!!!
I have an '01 and I didn't realize how soft the brakes were until I drove several rental cars that have much firmer brakes. The brakes on the Maxima are almost impossible to use gracefully below 10 mph because they stop you so fast. Same with the Volvo I drove. Therefore, my guess is that the brakes haven't changed much from 99 to 01. I still think, however, that if you really want to stop, the M will stop. It just takes more effort to do it.
I went to my questionable 5* today to see the service manager about getting all 4 window bezels replaced due to the design change. After checking with "management" they agreed to replace the other rear one, but not the front one (I admit...the difference there isn't as noticeable). I guess 3 out of 4 isn't bad (I should have wore a shorter skirt!). I'm going to call the parts department just to see how much one costs. If it's not too bad I'm going to see if they will install it w/o an extra labor charge if I pay for the part. I have a feeling the rubber between the bezel and car is going to fall out of this one eventually too, but I'm pretty sure it's not covered under the extended Max Care warranty.
And the rear door that wouldn't open....checked again last night. Still wouldn't budge. So what happens when I show it to the Service Manager? It opens. Figures! He had no idea what would have caused it.
NetCruiser....wasn't that Edmunds review the one where they couldn't get a car from Chrysler and ended up getting one from a car rental agency? I agree...my brakes dont feel as hard as even my SUV, but it certainly stops way quicker than any car I have ever driven (and I don't even have the PHP). I don't think "luxury" cars are supposed to jerk you to a stop. All other reviews I have read have rated the M brakes pretty high (especially skid pad tests).
I had an inside leak in my 99 300M. I was vacuuming the back passenger side floor and noticed that the mat was wet on the TOP! When I picked up the mat, it was also wet underneath. Immediately, bells went off. I had quite a few problems with that car, so I was a daily reader/responder here and checked the NHTSA site at least once a week.
I immediately remembered reading about water in the spare tire wheel well. I opened the trunk and noticed that the trunk mat was soaked, as well as the spare tire area.
It did turn out to be a body seam "crack" in the rear wheel area. The 5-Star DODGE dealer had the car for 2 days to fix it. They had to send it out to be done. It never leaked again.
I'll look for the TSB at NHTSA. If I find it, I'll post the link here.
Here's the "summary" about the leak- the SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER is the key here that any Chrysler dealer can print out for you from their computer if they know how to use them since many don't seem to bother with TSB's. Guess they feel it's beneath them to check these out. Too bad, because they certainly could learn a lot.
Make: CHRYSLER Model: 300 M Year: 1999 Service Bulletin Number: 232898 Bulletin Sequence Number: 235 Date of Bulletin: 07/98 NHTSA Item Number: SB602334 Component: STRUCTURE:BODY Summary:
WATER AND / OR DUST COLLECTION IN THE SPARE TIRE WELL OR AT THE TRUNK FLOOR TO QUARTER PANEL SEAM. *YC
"chrysler doesn't have a long track record of building a 10+ year car. Acrua, Volvo, and similar come to mind."
I'd say Chrysler's track record of building 10+ year cars is longer than Acura's. My '67 Imperial was a great car in 1977, except I couldn't afford the gas. Every now and then I see a 60's era Chrysler, but I don't think I've ever seen a 60's Acura.
I could be wrong, but it's my opinion that a car will last as long as you want it to last. If you want it to last a long time, take care of it. Otherwise just drive it until it falls apart.
BTW, every car I've owned has lasted >10 years. I figure my 300M will do just as well.
The hissing is not wheel or tire related. it sounds like it is coming from right behind the passenger side dash. It's a weird sound, hiss might not even be a good description, but I don't have one.
I took my '99 M in for the 30k servie yesterday. They washed and vacuumed the car, nice. Even though they could not recreate the cd skipping problem that I occassionally experience, the SA said, "What the heck, it's under warranty. We ordered you a new one!" Since I have the '99 upgrade and the upgrade after '99 included the 4 disc changer, maybe that's what I'll get??? Doubt it....
Anywho, 30,500 great miles. The SA claims they ran a diagnostic on the BCM, no problem. I've gotten a couple of "light shows" but not in a few weeks. 5500 miles of warranty left, we'll see.
Wife wants a Lexus RX300, what woman doesn't? Unfortunately (for me), my wife is undefeated: whatever she wants, she gets!
29 months later, still diggin' my Platinum 300M!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Hi All, I'm new to this group & thinking about buying a 99 300m from a co-worker. I plan on making the typical performance mods. A few questions are: will Mother Mopar do anything about the paint chips on the hood, or power window motors after the car is out of warranty (I can dream can't I?). How big of a factor do the factory TSB's play in this? Do the 99 & newer 3.5's still suffer the water pump failure that trashs your crank pulley, etc. as the earlier 3.5's did? As for Mopar not building a 10+ year car, I'd beg to differ with you. My '90 Dakota has 169k on the clock, it's very reliable & tuff as nails & slow ( v-6, :-( Still nicer looking now than most trucks with half the mileage or age. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
had all have lasted between 15 to 17 years before I sold them still running. My 99 300M is holding up even better. I will keep it at lest until the "N" comes out, of course I will wait at least nine months for the additional improvements, like they did to the 99's when they first came out. As for the brakes you have to remember that the M is a lot bigger car then the BMW and Audi's. and the 126 foot stopping distance is a lot better then most in it's class.
Las Vegas would make a nice place (more centeraly located) if we cam keep everyone out of the gambling casinos long enough to show there cars. Cheap food and Lodgeing, gota love it.
I've got to agree with blonda on the brakes thing. Brakes which grab are hard to modulate and thi is not really a good thing. I have found the PHG brakes on my 01 M to be the best of both worlds-smooth in normal situations with the power to stop quickly when needed. Edmunds is the only review which trashed the 300M's braking- most all the major car mag's have been very positive on the braking of PHG-equipped 300's. For example Motor Trend lists the 300M's 60-0 braking distance at 128ft (MT reprint #2462), compared to 131ft for the BMW 525i (#7183), 124ft for the Volvo S80 (#2492), and 132ft for the BMW 750i (#7167). This is not bad company for a large car.
Comments
I remember talking to one of the shop guys who said it was a good idea to change it, but it sounded like he would have said replacing the air filter solenoid inverter was a good idea at 30K as well, if I had asked.
Thanks again,
Hans
I will make my last payment on my M in January 2004, just in time to start anew.
How's this differ from the Prowler Pro gears? Less expensive? Not as much performance?
When I installed a high stall converter on my GTO, I got an immediate 1/2 sec increase in 1/4 mile times. You can really feel it in your seat dyno.
Has anyone here had both systems installed on their car at some time? If so, which do you prefer? (If you've only installed one, then of course that one is better than the other!)
Are the MagnaFlow 12258 and Rhino 921 the mufflers of choice for the Hugo system? Looking at the chart (http://pub88.ezboard.com/f300menthusiastsclubfrm5.showMessage?topicID=7.topic), it seems that there are other options. Has anyone tried any of these?
The Edelbrock looks interesting -- Is there a large difference between 74db and 88db?
How does the Aluminized Steel of the Hugo MagnaFlow 12258 muffler compare to the stock muffler and the Borla T-304 Stainless Steel muffler in terms of longevity? What type of metal is the Rhino 921 muffler made of?
I know the local sales guy is a tad perturbed with me right now because he thought he had an easy commision but it's my money. I don't spend over $30K very often and when I do, I want what I want. Has anyone here bought one yet or even test driven one?
I like the idea of the Dual Exhaust (It must sound NICE), the larger tires, the ground effects, a tad more power and better brakes. I'm somewhat hesitant about using only Premium Grade Gas but the Mercedes and BMW both recommend Premium Gas too..
So... Has anyone driven one or bought one on this site?
As far as injector cleaning, that in my opinion is a snow job. I would only have them cleaned if car was idling very rough or overall running poorly indicated by a big drop in MPG.
Try to get them to do a pan drop with filter replacement and then a full tranny flush where ALL the fluid is replace. It may run a little over $100 for the above but its worth it. I would also consider the differential fluid replacement just because the manual recommends it However , I have never done that before in my many years of driving and have had a few cars with over 100K before I sold them. I would consider replacing the coolant at about 50K even though they say you can go 100K. Another case of cheap insurance. Be sure they use the proper ATF4 for the tranny and the proper diff fluid as well. Otherwise you could have premature problems. Do the oil change if its been about 3K since your last one. Nothing else should be necessary unless you are having symptoms of problems. I have never ever replaced the brake fluid although I would consider it at about 60K or so. Also I have never replaced power steering fluid in any of my cars and have not had problems with that area.
They may try to sell you other services, but just refuse.
If he tries to sell you a air filter solenoid inverter, just tell him you already changed it. As I told Doc, the inverter is located under the engine next to the tie rod ends just above the constant velocity rubber boots. You have to pull the whole engine to get to it. Knowledge is king! ;-)
Easyrider300M
a 2001 Inferno red 300M. I've put about 1000m on it and get to love it better every day.I do seem however to frequent the gas station more often than I used to but what the heck, my company pays for the gas:). For you guys that have daughters with cars you (your turn will be coming up SDMike) will understand this. She has(had) a 1997 Grand Prix GTP. Gets me up at1:00 am in the morning one night and tells me(with tears) that her window won't close. I go out in the pouring rain and duct tape plastic over the window for the night. The next day it cost me $280.00 to have the window motor replaced. Last week she came in (again with tears) telling me that the water pump had gone. That cost me another $326.00. So last night we went down to the local D.C. dealer and got her into a brand new 2002 Sebring and although not a 300m it is a nice ride.(Now I'm in tears because I had to spring for the downpayment) Now for all you young guys out there with no daughters yet or those that have young ones, your turn is coming. I gotta figure that one tear is a least $50.00 out of your wallet. Gotta love them though.
THE SAID THERE WAS A TSB REGARDING THIS AND THEY REMOVED MOST OF THE FRONT FENDER AND WHEEL AREA AND RESEALED IT...$600.00 PLUS.. THEY SAID THEY WATER TESTED IT AND IT SHOULD BE FINE ...LOW AND BEHOLD OUR FIRST RAIN SINCE IT WAS FIXED AND THE SAME PROBLEM... ANY BODY ELSE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS ...ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.. ALSO INTERESTED IN ANY SAN DIEGO AREA RUNS OR MEETS OR SHOWS
uxca - spoiling the child, huh? ;-D My daughter is getting her license in Jan. - the last thing I plan on doing is taking up another car payment. She's getting my mothers old 91 celica. 50k mi
makoman - might want to try to turn off the caps lock - tough to read. I've heard of the problem - don't know the fix.
Although it is less convenient, I've been using the dealer exclusively since then. It takes them an hour or an hour and a half for their "express" service, but they are about $10 cheaper than Jiffy Lube.
Igor
Thanks
99_300m_ric_va -sounds good Rob ,cant wait to see these 04 cars.Better yet drive a HEMI
arby500 - man if you can do the Special DO IT !! You have not seen any because we have not shipped any out to owners yet.As of yesterday we have 1800 Specials on order. My thought is you can do the mods yourself on the basic M and hope all is ok or you can have DC do them when we build the car and have a warranty on the whole car. Lets say you wanted to lower the basic M then you start to have problems with the half-shafts wearing out ,well guess what you voided your warranty by the after market lowering. I think if you sat down and added up what it would cost to put all the different things on the Special ,it would cost way more than the Special package. HID lights at least 1000$, 18 rubber and rims 1000$, lowered suspension ,ground effects dual exhaust, the list goes on .
You wanna know something? The salesman called me this morning to tell me he expects 2 within the next 2 weeks. One is the Silver one like I want. I'm gonna let him sweat a little because my son's friend works in the finance office of the largest Chysler dealer in NJ. I know the guy. Hopefully he get's me a good price too. I LOVE buying a new car.
By the way, what part of No. County?
My daughter is only 8 months old and just figuring out how to crawl. I'm sure in what seems like months she'll be asking for the car keys. I do understand the tear thing though. When my sons cry it's "what happened pal? Shake it off buddy"...when my daughter cries I want to give her everything I own.
Just thought I get some feedback, it's not a big deal obviously, but I'd like to get rid of it if it is not normal. I know the M is criticized for cabin noise, so I have just attributed it to that til now that it seems to have gotten worse.
OTOH - At the end of my lease, I will more than likely look for a slightly used M (<1yr/10k mi) since it'll have a nice chuck cut off the price, as well as being almost new.
cbwongus - is the hissing speed or engine related? I had a hissing sound in my concorde - turned out it was a small crack in the tire. When I drove over it, air escaped, but when it wasn't at the bottom of the wheel it would hold air. Sounded weird. But it wouldn't have lasted several weeks
Edmunds has a comparison tests which gives high marks to the 300M,except for the brakes which failed badly. It" could have been a contender" against the BMW and Audi but the brakes pulled it down to the # 4 slot out of 8.
Did Chrysler ever redesign and or improve the brakes for 00,01 to make them equal to the 300's performance.???
Have any of you " techies" out there come up with a feasable and affordable modification of the brake system to improve them and bring them up to scratch.???
I'd like to hear your comments and suggestions.(May be someone at Chrysler reads this and will do something for future models.)
Thanks!!!
And the rear door that wouldn't open....checked again last night. Still wouldn't budge. So what happens when I show it to the Service Manager? It opens. Figures! He had no idea what would have caused it.
NetCruiser....wasn't that Edmunds review the one where they couldn't get a car from Chrysler and ended up getting one from a car rental agency? I agree...my brakes dont feel as hard as even my SUV, but it certainly stops way quicker than any car I have ever driven (and I don't even have the PHP). I don't think "luxury" cars are supposed to jerk you to a stop. All other reviews I have read have rated the M brakes pretty high (especially skid pad tests).
I had an inside leak in my 99 300M. I was vacuuming the back passenger side floor and noticed that the mat was wet on the TOP! When I picked up the mat, it was also wet underneath. Immediately, bells went off. I had quite a few problems with that car, so I was a daily reader/responder here and checked the NHTSA site at least once a week.
I immediately remembered reading about water in the spare tire wheel well. I opened the trunk and noticed that the trunk mat was soaked, as well as the spare tire area.
It did turn out to be a body seam "crack" in the rear wheel area. The 5-Star DODGE dealer had the car for 2 days to fix it. They had to send it out to be done. It never leaked again.
I'll look for the TSB at NHTSA. If I find it, I'll post the link here.
fastdriver
Here's the "summary" about the leak- the SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER is the key here that any Chrysler dealer can print out for you from their computer if they know how to use them since many don't seem to bother with TSB's. Guess they feel it's beneath them to check these out. Too bad, because they certainly could learn a lot.
Make: CHRYSLER
Model: 300 M
Year: 1999
Service Bulletin Number:
232898
Bulletin Sequence Number:
235
Date of Bulletin: 07/98
NHTSA Item Number: SB602334
Component: STRUCTURE:BODY
Summary:
WATER AND / OR DUST COLLECTION IN THE SPARE TIRE WELL OR AT THE TRUNK FLOOR TO QUARTER PANEL SEAM. *YC
Hope this helps.
fastdriver
"chrysler doesn't have a long track record of building a 10+ year car. Acrua, Volvo, and similar come to mind."
I'd say Chrysler's track record of building 10+ year cars is longer than Acura's. My '67 Imperial was a great car in 1977, except I couldn't afford the gas. Every now and then I see a 60's era Chrysler, but I don't think I've ever seen a 60's Acura.
I could be wrong, but it's my opinion that a car will last as long as you want it to last. If you want it to last a long time, take care of it. Otherwise just drive it until it falls apart.
BTW, every car I've owned has lasted >10 years. I figure my 300M will do just as well.
Igor
Help
Anywho, 30,500 great miles. The SA claims they ran a diagnostic on the BCM, no problem. I've gotten a couple of "light shows" but not in a few weeks. 5500 miles of warranty left, we'll see.
Wife wants a Lexus RX300, what woman doesn't? Unfortunately (for me), my wife is undefeated: whatever she wants, she gets!
29 months later, still diggin' my Platinum 300M!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I'm new to this group & thinking about buying a 99 300m from a co-worker. I plan on making the typical performance mods. A few questions are: will Mother Mopar do anything about the paint chips on the hood, or power window motors after the car is out of warranty (I can dream can't I?). How big of a factor do the factory TSB's play in this?
Do the 99 & newer 3.5's still suffer the water pump failure that trashs your crank pulley, etc. as the earlier 3.5's did?
As for Mopar not building a 10+ year car, I'd beg to differ with you. My '90 Dakota has 169k on the clock, it's very reliable & tuff as nails & slow ( v-6, :-( Still nicer looking now than most trucks with half the mileage or age. Best vehicle I've ever owned.
As for the brakes you have to remember that the M is a lot bigger car then the BMW and Audi's. and the 126 foot stopping distance is a lot better then most in it's class.
Jon