I recently purchase a '99 300M with 39k. The owner did not purchase an extended warranty, so the policy expired after 36k.
For peace of mind, I am have been pricing extended warranties. One dealer has quoted me $1425 for 4yr/48k (w/$100 deductible)"High Tech" warranty (says it covered the electronics in addition to the "mechanical" warranty.
Can anyone tell me if this is a reasonable price?
Also, what problems have "you" experienced (mechanic/transmission/electric)with the 300M?
(FASTDRIVER - I have seen your comments.......post a picture of your car when you have a chance. What is "Zaino"?)
Can anyone recommend a product to use for cleaning/shining chome wheels?
You might look at www.chryslerwarranty.com They quote a 72 month, 100,000 mile Chrysler warranty for a car in service 13-24 months as $1,475 with a $100 deductable.
My 99 has 12,600 on it. I've had no problems at all.
Zaino is a polymer "wax" that's easy to use and shines pretty well. You can check the Zaino topic in this forum, or you can go to www.zainobros.com for more info.
I use Zaino on my chrome wheels. Nothing seems to stick to them, and they clean very easily. You just have to make sure that you dry them, lest they waterspot.
Don't think I'd pay $14,250 for a 9000 mi warranty. pjyoung offers a good suggestion, and there are other options such as Warranty Gold, that offer low priced alternatives. So far, I haven't seen a lot of evidence that an extended warranty is a good bet, but you never know, especially with a used car purchase.
Have absolutely no inside info but it seems to me a lot of people are experiencing failures of their DC auto trannies right after service. Seem to remember a couple of guys had failures after having a quick oil change place put in synthetic ATF.
It would really be sad if a large number of people are having to get their trannies rebuilt simply because someone used the wrong ATF.
butch11, what is worse in my case is that the transmission service was performed by a "five star" Dodge dealer.
It would be really sick if even the Dodge dealer was using the wrong transmission fluid. I can't discount it happening, but the problem is that I can't prove anything either.
we purchased a '96 dodge caravan to replace an '88 caravan (w/ trans. problems). we recently had the "scheduled maint." at 60,000 miles.(now out of warr.) at 72,000 miles the dealer says trans. must be replaced at aprox. $2000 cost. they nor chrysler accept no responsibility or offer any support in the repair. in light of the historically flawed transmissions and controversial trans. fluid in use, does anyone have any advise in pleading our case to chrysler or any published documents that would support our argument. thanks.
Scroll up to Posting #86, go to the link that's listed there (& bookmark it), and read some pretty interesting stuff. Maybe it'll help you.
Problem is, with 72K miles, you're going to have difficulty getting anyone to help out. In the continuing game of lowering expectations, I've had people tell me that having an automatic transmission last 100,000 miles or more is "unusual." Yeah, right, but only if everyone owns DC products.
Good luck.
Incidentally, if you decide there's no hope of getting DC to "participate" in the rebuild expense, consider going to a private rebuilder (NOT AAMCO or any of those chains). We ended up going with an outfit here in Phoenix that rebuilds a lot of commercial stuff (police cars, etc.), and they claim to put in a number of improved parts. Time will tell. We've got a '94 Caravan that we'll probably own long enough to see if the rebuild is an improvement over the original equipment. If you do think you can get DC to pony up part of the expense (which I frankly doubt), they'll only work with their own dealers, not with private service organizations.
<< I've had people tell me that having an automatic transmission last 100,000 miles or more is "unusual." Yeah, right, but only if everyone owns DC products. >>
Check out the NHTSA database for 1990-1998 Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, and Ford Windstar tranny problems. Happy reading.
I am the proud owner of one of the Lemons of all time. I bought a 97 Town and Country Van in June of 1998 with 5,000 miles on it. I am listed as the original owner and it came with a new car warranty. I was told that the dealership owner's wife drove it during the period prior to my buying it.
I (David) am presently suing Chrysler (Goliath) for Breach of Warranty and under the Virginia Lemon Law. The trial date is set for January 2001. Chrysler has refused to do anything productive up to now. I took the car in to the Chrysler Dealer that I bought the car from within about five months of buying it when the symptoms were in the infant stage. I have had the car in two different Chrysler shops and one independent shop for a total of 56 days. It is presently back at a Chrysler shop (at my expense - including a rental car).
When I took the car in to the Chrysler Dealer I bought it from shortly after the purchase I gave them detailed notes of the myriad of strange happenings. The details of the complaints are recorded on the initial Work Order of Shelor Chrysler the Dealership I bought the car from.
This is a direct quote from the Work Order of the shop - "Customer states when cutting the headlights on all dash lights go off, the driver's seat will move on its own even with the key out of the switch, battery has been replaced because the vehicle seemed it wouldn't start - still seem like it don't want to start even with the new battery - something wrong with the electrical system" and "Cust states overhead indicator went out while driving came back on later when vehilce was restarted" I was not given this Invoice at the time of the service. The only way we got the information was by Supoena.
The chief problem is with the Security System. About every other day now we can go out to start the vehicle. It will start and run about five seconds and then shuts itself off. It must then set for anywhere from two hours to three days and suddenly it will start and run fine....until the next time. My wife has been stranded five times, once in Virginia on her way back to South Carolina in the middle of the night no less. She now drives my car and I have the Van.
There are many other little weird things like the windshield wipers suddenly making one or two swipes without provocation, the overhead console display going off for varying time periods, all of the instrument panel going out so that you have no indication of the gear shift position, no RPM, no gas register, no speedometer, nothing. Then it will suddenly recover and all is well. The Seat Module has been unplugged for over a year because of the real danger of being suddenly run up against the steering wheel while driving. This has happened twice while it was in the shop, once trapping the technician under the front seat while he was trying to work on it and once trapping the girl that brought the car around for me to pick up and showing me how it was all fixed now.
The "Service Engine Soon" Display stays off until the engine is serviced, and then it comes on and stays on for a few days. It never comes on when the car is due to be serviced. The display goes off and on with such frequency that I have stopped even noting it in my Log. I started the Log right after taking the van in for the first time and they kept it for twenty days and fixed nothing. The Work Order simply states, "Vehicle operating properly at this time as designed".
I cannot believe I am the only one in the world with a Chrysler product so possessed. Somebody out there may have identified the problem and fixed it or perhaps could give me advice on how to proceed.
The legal fees are mounting and the car is in the shop at God knows what expense to me including $35 per day for a rental car.
I tried to find a Priest to play the "Exorcist" but none had the courage to take on the job.
Just in case you haven't found it yet, we have a whole conference that can help you with an extended warranty decision - check out Finance, Warranty and Insurance if you haven't already.
Good luck.
Pat Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
Hmmmm. New 1972 Volvo, New 1975 VW Rabbit, Used 1977 VW Bus (1 yr old), New 1980 Chevy Citation. I learned early in the purchasing of new vehicles that there are lemons in every brand and it is best to accept the financial loss and get rid of the accursed vehicle. I liked VW and owned a total of 5 but after the 75 Rabbit and 77 Bus, I woke up to the fact VW of the 70's were unreliable, underpowered...but worst of all was the rotten, lousy attitude of Volvo & VW Dealers. The Chevy dealer on the other hand, fixed everything promptly and at NO charge to me...even after the warranty expired the dealer (where I did NOT buy the Citation) rebuilt the 4 speed transmission when the synchronizers of 2nd gear of 4 speed manual quit working. I have been impressed with the prompt, courteous routine service at the Dodge dealer. We have had zero problems with our 99 GC SE that now has 20,030 miles.
The dealership would not give out my name but she noticed the VW dealership that finally was able to fix it and went to ask them about it. The good VW dealership told her everything that they had repaired. Since she liked the VW Bus very much and it looked to be mint condition, she got it. I called her a few months later to inquire how it was and she said she had to once more replace all 4 fuel injectors, etc...even though the good VW dealership had completely cleaned the gas tank when the injectors, air flow control box, cylinder head temperature sensor, etc. had been replaced. A LEMON is simply a lemon...and can be found in any brand. Get rid of the lemon and avoid a long, miserable experience. Tell others of the shoddy treatment you received at the dealership to reduce similar rotten experiences.
You have my sympathy. But, I agree with other posts. A lemon can be had in any car. I have a Honda now which has a strange problem that could probably easily be fixed, but the Honda dealer where I bought it has totally washed their hands of it. Once the "tailights went over the curb" they wanted nothing to do with me. I figured it out, and fixed it, or it would have been a problem for life. So you never know.
I drive EXTREMEly high mileage and have had good luck with Chryslers. 3 of which went ~200k virtually trouble free. The 2.5 litre with the 3 speed automatic is indestructible. They not a race horse, it's super reliable. But since that's not what you have, good luck and let us know how you make out.
I have a new Mercedes ML430 and a 93 Dodge intrepid I bougth new back then, I bougth the car at the time because the forward cab design interior space and overall design and have to admit the good handling too.
On the negative side I had; Brake rotors turned 3 times to get rid of vibrations Left me stranded 2 times for electrical problems Had to replace plug harness Water pump froze, got hot and went out of timing, left me stranded Radio burnt out AC problems with iceing the coils I have 2 recalls pending Hate the plastic fenders, one side has a depression since new, try a suction cup to pull it out, to no avail Black trim around doors starting to peel The thing that hurts is that it has been kept in the garage always and looks like new and after 7 years only has 45,000 miles, I think I worked the bugs out (paid) warranty expired by time for most of the problems. I would like to sell it, but I dont think I would get much money. On the other hand the mercedes is such a pleasure to drive, I hope chrysler is not going to break Daymler, seems like a lot of recalls are being made on past chrysler products.
Read the article, does not look good, ever since Daimler announced the purchase of Chrysler I tougth it was a bad idea, nothing but a financial drain for Daimler. Like a bad apple ruins the others, I hope the quality of Mercedes does not go down, the thing about Chrysler is that their engineering is good, just use better materials and put it together better = quality goes up = more sales = less recalls = profits.
But I am willing to bet on it, the top management will not think on those terms or will consider them or will not occur to them, instead they will come up with short terms gimicks, cut corners, shut down plants, find even cheaper sources, flashier designs, more gizmos, more advertising etc, to show an immediate profit, same old crap that is everywhere including goverment.
I hear you! Take a look at this- http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/000926/daimlerchr_2.html - looks like they're starting to panic! Sales are way down. Demand for the 2001 models is NOT there. Deja Vu all over again ala 1980's! Stay tuned!
In my post 196 I stated my opinion as to how Daimler Chrysler would deal with their problems. Just heard at CNN news, the shareholders of D/C agreed to give the top executives of Chrysler a gigantic amount of shares valued at millions, as an incentive to turn a profit soon.
Just like I predicted, in turn they will come up with nothing but gimmicks.
How can one tell this people !!! QUALITY!!! improve the QUALITY and rest improves by itself.
I think if you use the Topic Search feature on the left side of the page for Durango, you will find some active topics on this vehicle where you might find some assistance.
Good luck.
Pat Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
I know I am guilty of bashing dodge, since I am not too happy with my intrepid, but just read DC is spending hundred of millions in new plants, one of them in Indiana to build new transmissions designed by Mercedes for use in Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, and more technology is going to be shared by mercedes with chrysler. Hopefully they intend to address the quality issues,
One thing common to many posts, and to new Chrysler owners is the hope that somehow the one thay just bought, or a future one will not have the same problems. Kinda wishful thinking as proven by history to date.
Read a news report stating DC was building a new tranny plant in IN. Looks like the D of DC has figured out it would be a good idea to equip their US products with a new tranny as the current ones tend to die rather quickly with an alarming regularity. Hope D continues on that course-they have only one way to go.
(edwardh1) I do not know anything about vans but the 45RFE transmission in the Jeep Grand Cherokees, Dakota and Durangos has been somwhat troublesome.Additionally, the Ram is known for weak trannies too. These are ALL RWD applications.
Luckally, one can order a manual xmission in most of the above vehicles.
The only DaimlerChrysler automatic that isn't known for being trouble-prone is the 3-speed that goes into the Neon. Since it's been in production since 1978 (it is effectively the same unit used on the original Omni/Horizon and K-cars), they've got the bugs worked out of that one.
All of the 604-derived units (the 604, 41TE and 42LE used in front-drive cars and minivans have terrible reputations for reliability). Blame gets placed on various factors - fluid, etc., but the bottom line is that none of these are world-class units - they all have problems.
My father owns a 97 Intrepid which he purchased new in Oct. 97. It has 20K miles on it. His right front tire wore-out so he took it in for alignment (to a non-dealer). The service man said he could not get the right front tire into alignment because the frame was bent.
The service man assumed the car was in an accident, which is not the case. My father asked if a pot-hole could have bent the frame. The technician said it would be one heck of a pot-hole, certainly one you would remember.
My father took it back to the dealer. Both the manager and the service manager knew what the problem was right away, something they called an "eccentric". They never said anything about the frame being bent, which the original service man indicated was the problem.
My question is has anyone had a similar problem? We think the frame is bent (or just built out of alignment). My father is a retired mechanical engineer who worked in manufacturing all of his career. He believes that it is possible that they built his Intrepid this way.
If you haven't had this problem, where could I look to see if anyone else has reported a similar problem? I'd appreciate any help/guidance that you could give me.
There is no separate frame, but you might consider having the car looked at by a body shop - they should be able to look at the alignment of the unibody.
(srau1) I have to agree with eneth. The shop manual has EXTENSIVE measurement points that describe the original blueprint measurements using holes in the frame as specific checkpoints.
A good frame shop should be able to verify the integrity of the frame using these documents.
HOWEVER... I suspect that the original problem is just one of the adjustment eccentrics that needed to be replaced with a superceeded part. Perhaps the "original" shop was assuming that the eccentric was the proper one thus came to the conclusion that the frame must be bent.
I am one of those who will buy the better or more appealing product, and have bought foreign makes until recently. Concerning Quality: My Chevrolet did not need much maintenance until 90k and my Neon has over 80k and is both dependable and a blast to drive. I am confident it will last another 2-3 years, when I may buy another foreign car, since Americans can't seem to develop interesting hatch-backs. (The Focus is actually European, but I prefer the VW's.)
Disappointed I am. I just traded my 1995 LHS with 59000 miles for an Acura. Rather I gave it away. Just a short history. At 26,000 miles transmission rebuild. At 37,000 miles motor rebuild. At 50,000 miles waterpump seized and destroyed timing belt. At 59,000 again transmission rebuild. This was too much. All repairs were under warranty. I took the dealers loaner, which they always graciously provided me, and went new car shopping. I bought a new Acura RL, my first Japaneese car and I am retirement age. It was still a beautiful car but I became tired of waiting on the tow truck. If you have any similar stories on the Acura RL, let me down slowly.
Chrysler reliability will improve with the influx of product and knowledge from Daimler and Hyundia. The "old Chrysler" will be a thing of the past, GOOD RIDDANCE!!
that acura rl is another honda. honda has a good reputation for solid cars. I wouldn't touch a chrslyer product if they paid me, but I drive a mitsubishi mirage, but the thing that worries me is that chrysler had a deal with mitsubishi to build economy cars for them. So I'm hoping there are not chrysler parts in my 92 mitsubishi.
I am the owner of 1999 Chrysler LHS. Until recently I have been extremely satisfied with this automobile. It rides and looks great. Within the last 6 months, I have had one of the power window motors replaced. Now the following problems have surfaced; another window not working, another window (this makes three of the four) is intermittently working, the digital odometer and overhead console display blinks for minutes at a time and when I turn the rear defroster on I get a static signal on my radio.
I am so bummed! Up until now, I have loved this car.
ANY ADVICE??? Should I continue to work on this relationship or get now while I am under 25K miles????
I owned two new lh cars,eagle visions,a 1993 and 1994 model. they were the most trouble prone cars i ever owned,held on to them,because i liked the way they looked.i could go into detail about the problems,most significantly a transmission rebuild in both,and now the owner of the '94 put in a second rebuild. take my advice,get rid of it now,when i decided to do the same, the resale was negligible.
I own a 1999 300M. After appx 20K miles(1yr) my car got a gremlin. I have had problems with my window motors,too. I have had three of them replaced 3 times and one replaced 4. By the 4th time the dealership told me the original motors were not strong enough for the air sealed windows, and the new one they replaced it with will last this time. We will see... I have had major electrical problems: my electric seat would move as I was driving down the road, my radio turned on and off by itself, my headlights wouldn't work sometimes, the dash lights would and still sometimes ink on and off, and so every time I turned around my engine light came on. So I would take it in for a look-see. They never could say what the exact problem was; just replaced all computer parts, head light switch, and radio. It finally has pretty much stopped, except for the dash lights. That was a year ago. Now my gas throttle sticks, I will sit or turn my car off and sometimes the engine reeves real high. I have to put it in neutral to get it to normal. So don't feel lonely, it could be worse. You could have my 2 yr old car with 42K miles with problems. Other then that it's been a dependable car??
I will never buy a Chrysler product ever again after the experiences I had with their cars 25 years ago. Since that time, I have owned Toyotas, Nissans and Hondas which have been pretty reliable. I did notice that the Japanese built Carry's and Accord's seem to be of higher quality than their American counterparts. Paint seems to be much better on the Japanese manufactured vehicles. I have heard horror stories from friends of mine that have owned Chrysler mini-vans and other Chrysler/Dodge cars. One thing seems to be common, terrible transmissions! The 1975 Chrysler Cordoba and 1977 Volare Premier were both horrible cars that I owned and the service provided by Chrysler was even worse! If you gave me a new Chrysler, I would sell it immediately!
My wife and I are retirees in our late 60's. We take care of our cars. Never mistreat or abuse them. General comments on my '96 T&C minivan: Worst headlights in the industry. Dangerous! Cup holders everywhere, but no place to stow a WalMart road atlas. A broom handle falling against the fender of my $30,000 car left a dent in it. Mildew-like stench comes from air conditioned when first turning on. Specific problems: Now running 3rd transmission. First replacement supplied by Chrysler. Failed in less than a year. Second was a repair job done by dealer service man who said, "You've got nothing to lose. Factory reubuilts are junk, and I'll wind up re building whatever they send." Steering went out at 25k miles. Air conditioned compressor went out at 30k. Wipers turn off and on when the spirit moves them. Brakes squealed so badly at 10k miles people on street were startled when I applied them. Vibration in front end when turning left or right was blamed on poor original equipment tires. Replaced tires. Vibration soon started again. Alarm system failed repeatedly. Finally disarmed. Cooling system leaks on three ocassions. Engine shut down while underway. Bad detonation sensor. Plastic hood trim fell off of the car. Calls and letters to factory people have been a waste of time. Dealer in Mountain Home, AR is a gem. Fixed everything. He fought with factory for repair approvals beyond warranty. Still have minor problems at 63k miles, but in spite of it all, the T&C is a great car to drive and I'm reluctant to replace for fear of starting a new round of repair problems. This goes for Ford and GM vans as well as Chrysler. None of them seem to be free of defect. My car is now worth approx. $10k. New one is $36k. Cabs are cheaper and they take care of their own maintenance. Wife says we should all be thankful Chryler doesn't make airplanes.
I read of the reliable Toyota and Honda...but as good as they are, they cannot be better than my GC SE which has had ZERO problems. I read in TH of reliability problems with DC products, but none of my friends have had any problems? Do my friends drive more responsibly than most people or is high altitude less detrimental to vehicle wear?
No problems at all should be the norm for any 1999 car or truck, assuming anywhere near normal mileage. If it's still that way when it's 2003 or later, then you might have a case for claiming reliability.
I am glad to see that some DC owners are not having problems. Maybe you can campaign against CU and have them change their ratings. My DC minivan with lots of problems has a terrible resale value right now.
Comments
For peace of mind, I am have been pricing extended warranties. One dealer has quoted me $1425 for 4yr/48k (w/$100 deductible)"High Tech" warranty (says it covered the electronics in addition to the "mechanical" warranty.
Can anyone tell me if this is a reasonable price?
Also, what problems have "you" experienced (mechanic/transmission/electric)with the 300M?
(FASTDRIVER - I have seen your comments.......post a picture of your car when you have a chance. What is "Zaino"?)
Can anyone recommend a product to use for cleaning/shining chome wheels?
My 99 has 12,600 on it. I've had no problems at all.
Zaino is a polymer "wax" that's easy to use and shines pretty well. You can check the Zaino topic in this forum, or you can go to www.zainobros.com for more info.
I use Zaino on my chrome wheels. Nothing seems to stick to them, and they clean very easily. You just have to make sure that you dry them, lest they waterspot.
Enjoy your 300M...it's lots of fun!
It would really be sad if a large number of people are having to get their trannies rebuilt simply because someone used the wrong ATF.
It would be really sick if even the Dodge dealer was using the wrong transmission fluid. I can't discount it happening, but the problem is that I can't prove anything either.
Problem is, with 72K miles, you're going to have difficulty getting anyone to help out. In the continuing game of lowering expectations, I've had people tell me that having an automatic transmission last 100,000 miles or more is "unusual." Yeah, right, but only if everyone owns DC products.
Good luck.
Incidentally, if you decide there's no hope of getting DC to "participate" in the rebuild expense, consider going to a private rebuilder (NOT AAMCO or any of those chains). We ended up going with an outfit here in Phoenix that rebuilds a lot of commercial stuff (police cars, etc.), and they claim to put in a number of improved parts. Time will tell. We've got a '94 Caravan that we'll probably own long enough to see if the rebuild is an improvement over the original equipment. If you do think you can get DC to pony up part of the expense (which I frankly doubt), they'll only work with their own dealers, not with private service organizations.
Check out the NHTSA database for 1990-1998 Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, and Ford Windstar tranny problems. Happy reading.
Might help explain why the car I drive doesn't have anyone's automatic transmission in it.
time. I bought a 97 Town and Country Van in June
of
1998 with 5,000 miles on it. I am listed as the
original owner and it came with a new car
warranty.
I was told that the dealership owner's wife drove
it during the period prior to my buying it.
I (David) am presently suing Chrysler (Goliath)
for Breach of Warranty and under the Virginia
Lemon
Law. The trial date is set for January 2001.
Chrysler has refused to do anything productive up
to now. I took the car in to the Chrysler Dealer
that I bought the car from within about five
months
of buying it when the symptoms were in the infant
stage. I have had the car in two different
Chrysler
shops and one independent shop for a total of 56
days. It is presently back at a Chrysler shop (at
my expense - including a rental car).
When I took the car in to the Chrysler Dealer I
bought it from shortly after the purchase I gave
them detailed notes of the myriad of strange
happenings. The details of the complaints are
recorded on the initial Work Order of Shelor
Chrysler the Dealership I bought the car from.
This is a direct quote from the Work Order of the
shop - "Customer states when cutting the
headlights
on all dash lights go off, the driver's seat will
move on its own even with the key out of the
switch, battery has been replaced because the
vehicle seemed it wouldn't start - still seem like
it don't want to start even with the new battery -
something wrong with the electrical system" and
"Cust states overhead indicator went out while
driving came back on later when vehilce was
restarted" I was not given this Invoice at the
time of the service. The only way we got the
information was by Supoena.
The chief problem is with the Security System.
About every other day now we can go out to start
the vehicle. It will start and run about five
seconds and then shuts itself off. It must then
set for anywhere from two hours to three days and
suddenly it will start and run fine....until the
next time. My wife has been stranded five times,
once in Virginia on her way back to South Carolina
in the middle of the night no less. She now
drives
my car and I have the Van.
There are many other little weird things like the
windshield wipers suddenly making one or two
swipes
without provocation, the overhead console display
going off for varying time periods, all of the
instrument panel going out so that you have no
indication of the gear shift position, no RPM, no
gas register, no speedometer, nothing. Then it
will
suddenly recover and all is well. The Seat Module
has been unplugged for over a year because of the
real danger of being suddenly run up against the
steering wheel while driving. This has happened
twice while it was in the shop, once trapping the
technician under the front seat while he was
trying
to work on it and once trapping the girl that
brought the car around for me to pick up and
showing me how it was all fixed now.
The "Service Engine Soon" Display stays off until
the engine is serviced, and then it comes on and
stays on for a few days. It never comes on when
the
car is due to be serviced. The display goes off
and on with such frequency that I have stopped
even
noting it in my Log. I started the Log right after
taking the van in for the first time and they kept
it for twenty days and fixed nothing. The Work
Order simply states, "Vehicle operating properly
at
this time as designed".
I cannot believe I am the only one in the world
with a Chrysler product so possessed. Somebody out
there may have identified the problem and fixed it
or perhaps could give me advice on how to proceed.
The legal fees are mounting and the car is in the
shop at God knows what expense to me including $35
per day for a rental car.
I tried to find a Priest to play the "Exorcist"
but none had the courage to take on the job.
Thanks. Any help most appreciated
Still remain undecided on purchasing an extended warranty - may just decide to take the "risk" of paying for repairs as they come up.
Iowaegian
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
The Chevy dealer on the other hand, fixed everything promptly and at NO charge to me...even after the warranty expired the dealer (where I did NOT buy the Citation) rebuilt the 4 speed transmission when the synchronizers of 2nd gear of 4 speed manual quit working.
I have been impressed with the prompt, courteous routine service at the Dodge dealer. We have had zero problems with our 99 GC SE that now has 20,030 miles.
Since she liked the VW Bus very much and it looked to be mint condition, she got it. I called
her a few months later to inquire how it was and she said she had to once more replace all 4 fuel injectors, etc...even though the good VW dealership had completely cleaned the gas tank when the injectors, air flow control box, cylinder
head temperature sensor, etc. had been replaced.
A LEMON is simply a lemon...and can be found in any brand. Get rid of the lemon and avoid a long, miserable experience. Tell others of the shoddy treatment you received at the dealership to reduce similar rotten experiences.
I drive EXTREMEly high mileage and have had good luck with Chryslers. 3 of which went ~200k virtually trouble free. The 2.5 litre with the 3 speed automatic is indestructible. They not a race horse, it's super reliable. But since that's not what you have, good luck and let us know how you make out.
On the negative side I had;
Brake rotors turned 3 times to get rid of vibrations
Left me stranded 2 times for electrical problems
Had to replace plug harness
Water pump froze, got hot and went out of timing, left me stranded
Radio burnt out
AC problems with iceing the coils
I have 2 recalls pending
Hate the plastic fenders, one side has a depression since new, try a suction cup to pull it out, to no avail
Black trim around doors starting to peel
The thing that hurts is that it has been kept in the garage always and looks like new and after 7 years only has 45,000 miles, I think I worked the bugs out (paid) warranty expired by time for most of the problems.
I would like to sell it, but I dont think I would get much money. On the other hand the mercedes is such a pleasure to drive, I hope chrysler is not going to break Daymler, seems like a lot of recalls are being made on past chrysler products.
Things are only getting worse!
http://www.detnews.com/2000/autos/0009/27/b01-125690.htm
fastdriver
Like a bad apple ruins the others, I hope the quality of Mercedes does not go down, the thing about Chrysler is that their engineering is good, just use better materials and put it together better = quality goes up = more sales = less recalls = profits.
But I am willing to bet on it, the top management will not think on those terms or will consider them or will not occur to them, instead they will come up with short terms gimicks, cut corners, shut down plants, find even cheaper sources, flashier designs, more gizmos, more advertising etc, to show an immediate profit, same old crap that is everywhere including goverment.
I hear you! Take a look at this-
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/000926/daimlerchr_2.html - looks like they're starting to panic! Sales are way down. Demand for the 2001 models is NOT there. Deja Vu all over again ala 1980's! Stay tuned!
fastdriver
Now let's see how it goes on Nov 7.
Just heard at CNN news, the shareholders of D/C agreed to give the top executives of Chrysler a gigantic amount of shares valued at millions, as an incentive to turn a profit soon.
Just like I predicted, in turn they will come up with nothing but gimmicks.
How can one tell this people !!! QUALITY!!! improve the QUALITY and rest improves by itself.
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
Hopefully they intend to address the quality issues,
Kinda wishful thinking as proven by history to date.
http://www.autointell.com/news-2000-2/Oktober-2000/October-10-00-p2.htm
I thought most DC transmission problems were in front wheel drive - like mini vans?
Luckally, one can order a manual xmission in most of the above vehicles.
All of the 604-derived units (the 604, 41TE and 42LE used in front-drive cars and minivans have terrible reputations for reliability). Blame gets placed on various factors - fluid, etc., but the bottom line is that none of these are world-class units - they all have problems.
Must be a company wide problem.
The service man assumed the car was in an accident, which is not the case. My father asked if a pot-hole could have bent the frame. The technician said it would be one heck of a pot-hole, certainly one you would remember.
My father took it back to the dealer. Both the manager and the service manager knew what the problem was right away, something they called an "eccentric". They never said anything about the frame being bent, which the original service man indicated was the problem.
My question is has anyone had a similar problem? We think the frame is bent (or just built out of alignment). My father is a retired mechanical engineer who worked in manufacturing all of his career. He believes that it is possible that they built his Intrepid this way.
If you haven't had this problem, where could I look to see if anyone else has reported a similar problem? I'd appreciate any help/guidance that you could give me.
srau1
A good frame shop should be able to verify the integrity of the frame using these documents.
HOWEVER... I suspect that the original problem is just one of the adjustment eccentrics that needed to be replaced with a superceeded part.
Perhaps the "original" shop was assuming that the eccentric was the proper one thus came to the conclusion that the frame must be bent.
59000 miles for an Acura. Rather I gave it away.
Just a short history. At 26,000 miles transmission rebuild. At 37,000 miles motor rebuild. At 50,000 miles waterpump seized and
destroyed timing belt. At 59,000 again transmission rebuild. This was too much. All
repairs were under warranty. I took the dealers
loaner, which they always graciously provided me,
and went new car shopping. I bought a new Acura
RL, my first Japaneese car and I am retirement age. It was still a beautiful car but I became
tired of waiting on the tow truck. If you have
any similar stories on the Acura RL, let me down
slowly.
The "old Chrysler" will be a thing of the past, GOOD RIDDANCE!!
http://www.auto.com/industry/iwirj19_20001219.htm
Chrysler is making the vendors cut parts prices by 20 per cent over 2 years.
That ought to kick quality in the skins.
that acura rl is another honda. honda has a good reputation for solid cars. I wouldn't touch a chrslyer product if they paid me, but I drive a mitsubishi mirage, but the thing that worries me is that chrysler had a deal with mitsubishi to build economy cars for them. So I'm hoping there are not chrysler parts in my 92 mitsubishi.
I am so bummed! Up until now, I have loved this car.
ANY ADVICE??? Should I continue to work on this relationship or get now while I am under 25K miles????
take my advice,get rid of it now,when i decided to do the same, the resale was negligible.
Specific problems: Now running 3rd transmission. First replacement supplied by Chrysler. Failed in less than a year. Second was a repair job done by dealer service man who said, "You've got nothing to lose. Factory reubuilts are junk, and I'll wind up re building whatever they send." Steering went out at 25k miles. Air conditioned compressor went out at 30k. Wipers turn off and on when the spirit moves them. Brakes squealed so badly at 10k miles people on street were startled when I applied them. Vibration in front end when turning left or right was blamed on poor original equipment tires. Replaced tires. Vibration soon started again. Alarm system failed repeatedly. Finally disarmed. Cooling system leaks on three ocassions. Engine shut down while underway. Bad detonation sensor. Plastic hood trim fell off of the car. Calls and letters to factory people have been a waste of time. Dealer in Mountain Home, AR is a gem. Fixed everything. He fought with factory for repair approvals beyond warranty. Still have minor problems at 63k miles, but in spite of it all, the T&C is a great car to drive and I'm reluctant to replace for fear of starting a new round of repair problems. This goes for Ford and GM vans as well as Chrysler. None of them seem to be free of defect. My car is now worth approx. $10k. New one is $36k. Cabs are cheaper and they take care of their own maintenance. Wife says we should all be thankful Chryler doesn't make airplanes.
Chrysler did own Gulfstream (business jet manufacturer), and manufactured rockets (Saturn 1) for NASA in the 1960s and 1970s.
I read in TH of reliability problems with DC products, but none of my friends have had any problems? Do my friends drive more responsibly than most people or is high altitude less detrimental to vehicle wear?