Dodge Avenger Repair and Maintenance

Comments

• kjc5 Member Posts: 1

  August 2009

  I am beginning to think that the Dodge Avenger is another american piece of @#@#. I have 33k on my car now and I am so disappointed in my decision to purchase this car.
  
  I have taken the car to the dealership 5 times in the last 3 months. Brakes, rotors,struts,rack and pinion, water in the trunk, airbag sensor lighting up, myGiG system replaced and still my car feels like I have no shocks. The ride quality has gone from fantastic to terrible. Has any body else had similar experiences?
  
  Why can't Dodge fix this car?

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• mek0123 Member Posts: 33

  September 2009

  I would suggest taking it to a different dealer and talking to their 'Lead/Head' mechanic. I have an '08 R/T with the 3.5L V6 and have been told that Cerberus' crew were penny pinchers.............kinda like Jack Nasser did formerly of Ford. If you live in Metro Detroit Michigan area, check out Crestwood or Oakland. Their service departments are exceptional. For your suspension stuff, you might need to check out a better tire. At 33K, tires may be showing signs of wearing out and that will stiffen the ride a lot. That can lead to excessive wear on front end components including struts, shocks and rack. Springs could be replaced too when the shocks/struts are done. (I prefer Monroe brand, as they have regular and sensa-trac type). Springs usually come with a lifetime warranty like the shocks/struts. What happened to you GIG system? I'm getting 29.3mpg at 65mph on hwy with cruise on flat land. Doesn't ride like my '01 minivan, but fuel economy is much better and it accelerates like a race horse.

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• sleeper6 Member Posts: 1

  November 2009

  I recommend that you get rid of it!
  
  I have a 2008 Dodge Avenger with 38,000 miles on it and it is coming apart faster than the dealership can patch it together. And never the same problem twice!
  
  Brakes
  Steering Gear Whine
  Water in the Trunk
  Water in the Trunk Lock
  Door Seal Water Leak
  Numerous Rattles in the IP
  MyGig Radio that Locks Up (can't turn it off, can't turn the volume up or down)
  Nav System that blanks all the street names out
  Tire Pressure Light that goes on and off intermittenly
  Interior Trim on the door where my arm rests that cracked
  Weird transmission downshift every so often
  
  It really was a great car for the first 6 months that I owned it. Now it is worth less than I can trade it in for so I am stuck with it.
  
  My wife has a 2008 Dodge Caliber with 19,000 miles on it that has a host of similar problems.
  
  I really like the look of Chrysler vehicles and we have always bought Chyrsler vehicles because we have family that works for them but I am afraid to buy another one.

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• bburkemper Member Posts: 1

  August 2011

  I bought my 2010 Avenger new in Jan. 2011. It has 7900 miles on it now. Beginning at about 6900 miles, when I start the car with the A/C on and the switch in the "vent" position, the air blows out of the defroster for approximately 10 seconds before coming out of the vents. If it sits for more than 5 minutes after turning off, the process starts again.
  
  I had it in for service two weeks ago and they replaced a control head on the unit, but the next morning, the same thing happened. I took it back this week, and this is what I was told:
  
  "The car is supposed to do that. We called Chrysler and they said the cars are programmed to do that. You are the first one who has ever complained about this." They had a brand new Chrysler 200 waiting there so they could show me it does the same thing. When I asked why mine just started doing this 1000 miles ago, they did not have an answer. A few minutes later, they said, "Well, when you brought it in two weeks ago and we replaced the control head, we updated the software to the most current edition and it reset it to a brand new car." I said, "Good try, but it was already doing this when I brought it in two weeks ago -- that is WHY I brought it in." The answer was, "Well, there goes that theory!" When I asked them why, if it is supposed to do this, did they replace a part two weeks ago, the answer was "That's a good question."
  
  Thanks for the read. Does anyone else have this issue with their A/C? I really love my car, and if it is truly supposed to do this, then so be it. I just don't have a lot of faith in the service department right now.

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• coryod14809 Member Posts: 2

  April 2012

  I just bought a 2010 avenger r/t yesterday w/ the 2.4L. 19k miles. Last night, after the car was sitting for about 6 hours, i went to start it up. For about the first twenty seconds, the car sounded like it was gonna stall. Idle was very irratic and bogged down. Exhaust note was louder than normal. Then the engine idled up to about 1500-1700 rpm real quick, then the idle went back down to normal and the exhaust quieted back down. Everything was fine there after, drove good. However this happened again tonight. Also, on the highway, at about 65-70 mph, with or without cruise control activated, the car chugs a lot when going uphill. Not even a steep hill though, i'm talking any incline in the road at all. Could this still be the dreaded crankshaft position sensor issue we've been dealing with on Chryslers since the mid 90's!!!???
  I would have hoped they'd have this issue resolved by now. Anyone else having issues like these?

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• jpf Member Posts: 496

  July 2012

  Sometimes a bad tank of gas causes drivability problems similar to what you are experiencing. The easiest thing to do is to run through the gas and then get your gas from another brand of gas dealer. Also, you may want to add a gas treatment with your next fill up. Be sure to check your owner's manual about additives to gasoline as some manufacturers do not recommend adding anything to the gas. Good luck.

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• coryod14809 Member Posts: 2

  September 2012

  It has now been almost 6 months since i bought my 2010 avenger r/t. Still have the same problem. The thing is, it doesn't activate the check engine light so it's basically impossible for a mechanic to know whats going on. It only happens for about 15-20 seconds when i first start it after it's been sitting for at least 5 hours. It sounds like the cylinders are running dry (no oil). I get my oil changed every 3000-3500 miles and use only mopar filters. I went to a local dealer and cold started another 2010 avenger with the same engine, and it did not do what mine does. Someone I talked to said something about a "spark knock" which I've never heard of. PLEASE reply, any help I could get with this would be greatly appreciated. I take very good care of my car and I'm really hoping this isn't going to cause more serious problems down the road. Thanks.

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