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Took it in for service & they tried to tell me this was w/in their "guidelines"! At 9200 miles they have now replaced valve seals & gaskets. Anybody else get a oil guzzling Concorde? I filed for arbitration & want new vehicle.Certainly not what I expected for $25 g's.
I can understand your position,and most of your bad experience comes from the bad service you had from your dealer,and also there you have to be lucky to have a good experience; just remember all cars are serviced by humans,and sometimes we don´t do our job good enough.
I also avoid situations,so I try to keep of my car from the service dept. but I take it for normal maintenance and I try to avoid looking for trouble.(I´m not saying you are looking for them),but sometimes we are more aphrensive,and we look more closely into things;I never mind you,I just think you should get another car,because no matter what you´ll never be happy with your 300M.
Just my 2 cents.
What burns me is when service depts try to alabi their way out with 'no trouble found', 'that's normal' or 'they all do that'. Do you think that they would accept those conditions for their own cars?
Good luck; I hope it worksout well for you.
Just drive and enjoy your Concordes!!
If you could see a car that was just delivered to the dealer,and NO ONE has touch it,you will see a green or red label at the wheels or tires,if you remove those labels you will read there,that you(the dealer( most set air pressure,because ALL tires are set at the assembly plant with high pressure,and the dealer MUST lower them.
But there is NO dealer from any make,that takes care of that,in many cases you may even see those labels at the showroom,if you can buy a GOOD air pressure gauge,and check your tires and even go to your dealer and test for yourself any vehicle ready at the showroom,or ready for delivery,or even have a quick check to any demo,you will see that those tires were not set.
So take my advice,go and set for yourself your car tires before driving it in the morning,set them at 28 psi. and you will have less noise and better grip in wet conditions.
Congratulations,and enjoy your beautiful car!
I had to replace the Goodyear tires on our 1998 Concorde LXi at 22,500 because of excessive wear even though I had (foolishly) kept the pressure in the 30-32psi range for the first year. Once I noticed the excessive wear, and upped the pressure to 35psi, it was too late. Our Michelin X-Ones now get regular checks and are kept at 35psi. I expect to get 60,000 mile on this set. (The Michelins are slightly quieter, and provide even better handling than the Goodyears ever did.)
Prematurely bald tires will NOT give you better traction in wet conditions!
Of course it will depend on your driving,and let me tell you again that with 28psi you will have more grip on wet surfaces than with 35psi.
I´m not in the mood to explain you why,but if you can get in touch with ANY guy who knows about TRACTION, or ask any real race driver,and for sure they will tell you that you will have to increase the tire pressure in DRY conditions if you want more grip,but in wet you have to lower it to have grip.
And with 28 psi you are OK to drive your car at highway speeds and safe also in the city and the most important issue is you will be safer in wet conditions.
But anyway,you can think whatever,be happy drive your car at 35psi,then feel all the road,have more road noise,AND god bless you in the rain!
PS. You better align,rotate,and balance your tires every 6000 miles,and you will see(if the job is well done),how much will your tires last.
Find a specialty shop for that job,make the alignment on the 4 wheels,and set air pressure at 28 psi,and enjoy your driving,you will drive quiter,and safer in wet!
This board is such a pleasure.
;-)
Happy Motoring.
I had thought about changing the tires back when my car had about 20,000 miles with the hope of reducing the outside road noise in the car until I had taken a ride in my neighbors Concorde which had Michelin tires on it and the Michelins made a little difference but the car still picked up a lot of road noise.
From the looks of the remaining tread I have I would think I should easily get over 50,000 miles on my Tires which falls in line with my previous new cars.
Regardless if you are driving on Goodyear, Michelin
or whatever brand I wish all of you a happy and safe driving experience with your Concordes.
The cost of a warranty is really not as much as it may appear to be because realistically the odds of driving any front wheel computerized fuel injected car with many power options for 100,000 miles without having some costly repairs are slim to none and with that in mind even if you are very lucky and only have a few repairs when you deduct the cost of those repairs from the cost of the warranty the warranty cost will not be be all that much....but on the other hand if your car needs lots of repairs the savings by having the warranty can be very much.
If you read a few of the posts just above yours you will see that 1 owner needs a transmission and the other an engine.
I have a 99 Concorde LXI with 42,000 miles which has been a good car mechanically but at 38,000 miles I developed a bad oil leak that turned out to be a minor repair but did require a 4 day car rental that was paid for by my extended warranty.
Another nice feature of the extended warranty is there is no reason to pay for the costly preventive maintenance that the dealers try and push on you saying they should be done if you want to keep you vehicle in good condition...some of the preventive maintenance suggested are...Tranny service,fuel injection service,timing belt,CV repacks and boots,ect..theses services can amout to more then the cost of the warranty itself and are not required to keep the warranty in effect.
Just a suggestion....and I wish you the best of luck with whichever car you end up choosing
Also, I'm getting all four sets of brake pads replaced under warranty for a loud "groan" just as the car comes to a stop. Is this common?
Also, the rear door lock plunger fell down into the door,disappeared from sight, geez, what's next here, only 9,000 miles on it. Love the looks and performance though, and the trip computer is cool. Rear legroom astounding. Gets good mileage. Nice car, just hope it doesn't turn into car from hell with a bunch of weird problems.
Thanks for listening.
It is annoying but you'll just have to get used to it. I did. 15 months/15k later, I have enjoyed the car for the most part. From speaking with other Chrysler drivers the cars do seem to be plagued by various "weird" problems. For example, I have a driver's side window that from time to time will not open. There's no discernible pattern to it. It happens so infrequently that I really don't bother with it and I have serious doubts that the dealer will be able to solve the problem so I prefer to avoid the hassle until the problem becomes burdensome. All in all, the problems have been minor and have not sufficiently diminished my satisfaction with the car.
Enjoy!
Anyway, back in 1996, I saw a first-generation Intrepid that had rear-ended a 1989-91 or so Grand Marquis. The Merc buckled at the rear axle, causing the whole rear-end to drop down. The Intrepid only had a dent on the hood between the headlights.
In fact, a few moments later, I saw that same Intrepid driving behind me! Looking for its next target, perhaps? ;-) Thankfully my next turn was coming up, so I didn't have to see it behind me for long!
I don't know if insurance rates are higher on the Concorde as a result of their tendency to go under vehicles. I think most newer, low-slung cars will do that, anyway. I hit a '92-98 or so Grand Am with my Intrepid, and it didn't really do anything to either car. Bent my license plate, creased the bumper-grille a bit, and took a small chunk out of his rear bumper. My Intrepid would easily go under the bumper of, say, my 1968 Dart, for example. In fact, the Dart's bumpers look like they're angled to encourage that!
-Andre
Also, the ATC head unit crapped out since I got the car back. I'll replace that myself.
It might seem like I'm dishing on my car (in need of new paint and waiting for the district rep to call back...), but I love it. Well, I hate the 110 MPH speed limiter, and there is a lot of wind noise around the power moon roof... But it always fun to throw this car into a corner and accelerate out HARD!!! Turn off the Traction Control and leave a smoke trail off BOTH tires... Embarrass the fart piped imports... And shorten any trip involving two lane highways...
If I was given a quarter for each wiper blade I've had to replace, I would have enough money to fill my gas tank... at todays gas prices! With the "Cab Forward" design, you have to purchase wiper blades that are so long you could break one in half to replace two on a Toyota Corolla.
My new brakes were making a funny squeeling noises when coming to a stop. A Chrysler mechanic told me this was normal and should not be a problem. I guess that means all other car owners should have their brakes checked if they are quiet?! I dropped in on relatives one day and saw my brother carrying his trash cans from the driveway to the curb. He thought he heard the Garbage Truck pulling up. It was Sunday. The trash collectors do not work on Sunday. I think you know where I am going with this... I'm very happy to say my brakes are no longer attracting the neighborhood dogs... No more squeeling noise... I guess it's time to have them checked? My brake woes are not completely gone. I am now hearing a different noise coming from them. A "sha-sha-sha-sha-sha-sha" noise. I took it to a different Chrysler mechanic who told me... You guessed it... It is normal, there is nothing wrong with your brakes. So I asked, "There is nothing wrong with my brakes? Is there something wrong with your hearing?" It came as no surprise when he replied, "Huh?? You'll have to speak up, I've been using the air wrench all afternoon and can't hear a darn thing." I'm not worried about it. Except when I have to make an occasional abrupt stop and my "Anti-locking" brakes lock up and my dentures become my new hood ornament... Can you believe that? I don't even wear dentures!!
I may have added some humor but I have experienced all those problems. The biggest reason why I am in the Town Hall is because I am having a problem with what I think may be related to my transmission. At low speeds (5 -25 MPH) I hear a continuous "chug...chug...chug" noise and can also feel the vibration caused by it. The transmission fluid is full. I did not think it was the U-joints because as I increase speed, the noise smooths out and is not as loud and I feel less vibration or none at all. Could I be losing a wheel bearing? My wheels don't feel sloppy when making turns? With 149,000 miles on the motor, it's probably time to get rid of it... Only one problem, I still have a years worth of payments to make on it so I need to keep it running a little bit longer. All-in-all, I can't complain. I have not put a lot of money into this vehicle. Any advice you have to offer, would be much appreciated! Thank you.
The Tech Forum in the index is where you can connect with people who might be able to help.
This is a site for people who own and like Chryslers they are not affiliated with Dailmer Chrysler.
All the best!
I have similar transmission problems that some of you have stated. My vehicle is a 94 Plymouth Voyager Van, but probably has the same transmission.
Symptoms were it would not shift from 2nd to 3rd when 'cold'. Clutch plates in the transmission were 'burnt'. Transmission is currently being rebuilt. Fortuntately I am covered by the Chysler Ext Warrenty for 100K (Van currently has 89K).
I was thinking about looking into purchasing a Concord,...but after looking at some of these posts I may reconsider.
When the engine revs at stoplights, are you sure that's not just the cooling fan cycling on? My 2000 Intrepid does that sometimes when it's sitting. The idle speeds up for a few seconds, then slows back down.
-Andre
I have a 99 Concorde LXI with a little over 44,000 miles and have had it serviced by the selling dealer since day one.
My bumper to bumper warranty ran out at 36,000 miles and in the next 8,000 miles I required 2 repairs which totaled a little over $1,000 dollars
(thank god for the extended warranty as my cost for the repairs was..0..)
I'm sure if I had to pay for the repairs I would have a much different feeling about my car but not having to be concerned about repair costs on my Concorde and the fact that I still love the styling of both the interior and exterior I have to say that I still enjoy driving the Concorde after owning it for almost 45,000 miles.
Otherwise, the car's been fine. As for maintenance, I change my own oil about every 3K miles, and rotate the tires every 3rd oil change.
What kind of repairs did you have to get done after the factory warranty expired? I have a 5yr/100K mile extended warranty, but my deductible is $200.00.
Best of luck with your car,
-Andre
The repairs I needed on My Concorde after my factory warranty were 2 seperate repairs.....the first happened at about 38,000 miles when my car developed a bad oil leak but it turned out to be a minor repair...I think they just had to tighten my coolant lines but it required me renting a car a car for 4 days until the dealer was able to make the repair.
My second repair happened just the other day when my car had a little over 44,000 miles and devoleped a loud noise when the cooling fan came on and had to have my fans replaced which is a major job as I was told they had to remove the nose cone to replace it....the dealer listed the part on my invoice as a...fan radiator....the cost on that repair had I not had the extended warranty would have been about $800.00 dollars plus a one day car rental.
I have the Maxi Care 0 deductible warranty so Chrysler covered the entire cost of both repairs plus the total five day car rental.
Other then those repairs my Concorde has been a pretty good car and the way I look at it is costly repairs are not exclusive to only Chrysler and i'm sure GM owners and Ford owners have similar repairs needed on their cars as well.
I wish you the best of luck with your Intrepid and hope you have many safe and carefree driving miles in the future.
I also thought of the cooling fan as a possible culprit. But the engine actually goes from 500 to 1000 rpm in a matter of a second. And if you don't have your foot on the brake solidly the car actually wants to take off. I have never had a car do this. I feel it's actually dangerous. Once it happened when I was moving my foot from the brake to the gas. I'm just glad I didn't hit the guy in front of me. Thanks for the thought.
I was uncomfortable with this and had asked the dealer about it almost immediately after purchasing my car and was told that it was normal for the car to surge and that I should brake harder when at a stand still with the car in gear.
I have to say that I also found the surging to be a little dangerous but it's something that I have learned to live with.
By the sound of the rpm surge on your car it sounds much more drastic then my situation and if that was happening in my car I would ask the dealer to take you for a ride in another Concorde so you can see for yourself if in fact it is normal for the Concorde to surge from 500-1000 rpms at a stand still.
If your car is actually trying to lunge ahead when the engine starts revving then yes, I'd say something is definitely out of whack! I use my Intrepid to deliver pizzas part time, and that was when I first noticed the engine surging. It would usually be when I would be standing at a customer's front door, waiting for them to take their sweet time to open the door. I work in a pretty good neighborhood, so I'd usually leave the engine running to save on starters. Well, first, I'd hear a clicking noise, then the engine would start revving, for maybe 30 seconds, then it would slow down again. Also, at night, sometimes at a traffic light, my headlights would momentarily dim. I finally made the connection that this was when the cooling fan would cycle on...it's just that I'd usually have the stereo cranked up loud enough that I didn't hear the increased revving!
On a somewhat related note, I used to experience a problem when I would first start the car, and shift into reverse...it wouldn't engage, and I'd have to shift through the gears until it finally caught. Considering all the bad press about Chrysler trannies nowadays, I figured mine was starting to have some problems. The dealer could find nothing wrong with it, though. I discovered the "problem" myself one day. Ever notice how when you first start the car, it surges to about 1000 RPM or so, then after a few seconds, settles down to 500-600? Well, I discovered that if I shifted into reverse after it settled down, it was fine. But sometimes, when I was in a hurry (delivering pizzas, for example), I would hit reverse immediately, and that's when it would often not engage...it would just go into neutral. I guess maybe it's designed not to shift into gear when the engine does that initial surge.
I've never noticed my car trying to lunge ahead at a traffic light, but I have discovered that if I don't keep my foot pretty firmly on the brake pedal, it will creep forward very gently.
-Andre
My wife loves this car, she is not a car person like myself. This maybe the best car for the 1st year that I have ever owned. And I have owned a lot of new cars
Has any one had trouble with their Infinity speakers rattling. This too is an ocassional happening which drives me nuts.
We're expecting a new edition to our family this year. So, we're contemplating trading our Concorde in on a more economical vehicle to allow for an addition to our home, until I saw the Blue Book value. Ouch , in 5 months a $29,000 car is worth $18,500. My 3 year old Explorer I traded in was worth more. I really hope buying a Chrysler was a sound decision, because I can't afford to change now as I have lost all my equity. Perhaps any car in this price range would have lost similar equity. Thanks for your posts everyone.
Seems as though I should re-up the warranty when it expires in July. It will cost me another $150 for an additional 3 months. Let me know if I should continue with the warranty, and what problems to expect in the '97 Concorde...thank you in advance......
To give you my opionion on your question about extending your warranty.....
First let me start off by saying that I have been self employed in the used car business for over 20 years and I feel that I am reasonably knowledgeable on repairs and the cost involved with these repairs.
The car you are buying as most newer cars today have front wheel drive with fuel injection as well as being computerized with many power features all of which are extremely costly to have repaired.
The fact that your Concorde has 100,000 miles on it is all the more reason an extended warranty make good sense...speaking for myself I would feel much more comfortable owning a car with 100,000 miles that was covered under warranty then a simalar car with 50,000 miles that had no warranty.
My suggestion would be to take the longest warranty available to you....you had said that the cost was about $50.00 dollars per month and in my opionion you won't be sorry that you did.
I have a 99 Concorde with 46,000 miles and it runs just fantastic now but It did require about 1,000 dollars in repairs in the last 10,000 miles.(which was covered by my extended warranty.)
I find that the majority of people employed in the service end of the car business such as service writers,mechanics ect do take out the extended warranty when purchasing a new car themself.
If you have any doubts of the importance of protecting yourself with an extended warranty just take an hour or so and scroll through the old posts and I'm sure then you will realize the importance of protecting yourself with a warranty.
The one thing to remember is a warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind it so it is very important to be sure the warranty is offered by a reputable company....one example of a common problem is a blown head gasket which is a costly repair and often caused by a car overheating.....A good manufactures extended warranty will cover that repair with no questions asked and even supply a rental car at no cost....on the other hand a not so good warranty offered by a not so reputable company may look for a way out of their contractual liability and investigate the cause of the overheating problem and if it turned out to be the thermostat sticking in the closed position and the thermostat not being a covered repair may refuse to cover the cost of the repair to the head gasket.
Well thats my opionion and again wish you the best with your car purchase.
While we admire the roominess, exterior design and good looks of the Concord, I would hope Chrysler would hold their suppliers of parts to a similar high standard of longevity and performance.
We have recently been looking to trade our eldest car (1990 Cadillac Seville) in for a new 2001 model. Since my wife is in real estate and needs large doors and a large trunk, we checked out Mercury Grand Marquis, Toyota Avalon, and similar semi-luxury models. We've come to the conclusion that the new Chrysler Concorde fits our requirements perfectly, and the manufacturer's incentives and pricing still make the Concorde a good buy. We're about to close the deal. However, we really hope that Chrysler has solved some of its supplier quality problems since its 1994 model year. (Say a little prayer for us!)
BOB IN DALLAS
I think most of the problems with the LH cars were eliminated when they were redesigned for 1998. There will still be some lemons in the batch, just like with any car.
I've put over 42,000 miles on my 2000 Intrepid, and the only thing that's broken so far is the power lock actuator in the driver's side door (replaced under warranty)
The Concorde's interior is stretched out a bit compared to the Intrepid, so it may actually have more legroom than cars like the Grand Marquis and Avalon.
Good luck with your purchase,
-Andre
Hey, I don't check the messages often. However, I would like to hear from you if you have any other worthwhile advice for me. By the way, did you ever have the problem of the "check engine" light coming on after getting gas? Some have told me that this may be the oxygen sensor and I shouldn't worry. Guess what?...worried!! Let me know what this problem may be attributed to, if you don't mind.
Once again, thanks for the invaluable help, and good luck in your continued endeavors
Good Luck.
1) Topping off the tank after the automatic shut off kicks in on the gas pump.
2) Over-tightening the gas cap. He said to turn it until it clicks once. No more, no less.
When I refuel, I'll usually round it up just enough so I don't get any pennies back in change, but nothing like on some of my older cars where you could still slip in a 1/2 gallon after the pump first shut off.
-Andre
People love the looks of this car, they stop and comment on it all the time. Only bad thing I can say is the resale value looks bad.