Extremely dissatified with Chrysler products

[NHGUY]

I generally have had good luck with Chrysler.However,I stay away from all that electronic garbage,and never thought all these new conveniences were worth the hassle in repairs (that will eventually come).Give me a base older generation Caravan and I'm happy.I've owned plenty of GM pieces of garbage,and wont ever go back to that miserable brand.Also,I would avoid 2008 ChryCo minivans like the plague....1st year of redesign,and they are nothing but problems.A 2001-2007 would be much better.

 

[4x4chevydude]

DODGE DAKOTA= worst truck ever made...horrible to repair and exfessive wear on all components....I had one in the shop for the last week and it has 50k miles on it...replaced entire front suspension, the whole things was seized up becuase of [censored] bushings and the struts were bad already and a caliper....thats rediculous ive owned many s10's and never had so many issues

another Dakota has less than 30k on it and already had reverse gear go out in it and wiring issues just JUNK

 

[refaller]

The repair would bother me less than the run around. I have had a Neon and a PT Cruiser. Both had problems and with both Chrysler Corp. was awful to deal with. They treated me like it was my fault their cars broke under warranty. My Honda CRV had a minor rattle that I brought in with 35,996 miles on it. Honda gave me a rental car and replaced the entire transmission because it was a bearing. They were apologetic and wonderful- with no extended warranty or any of that. I often forget that the transmission had to be replaced. Customer service will keep me a Honda customer.

ref

 

[swirlparanoid]

my family's have been no different from the things you listed. i read there's more complaints and complaint websites about Chrysler than any other brand. (idk if thats true but..)

 

[OilNerd]

Sorry to hear about your experience with Chrysler.

My 2000 Caravan is still going strong at 200,000 miles, but if that's the way they're playing it now, I don't think my next van will be a Chrysler product.

 

[AandPDan]

Originally Posted By: nazareth


the extended warranty is through chrysler. i dont know enough to act like i am a expert on any of this. apparently when the wynn module and key were replaced the key wont release from the ignition. thats how the shift solenoid came into play.
My biggest complaint more than the repairs is the lack of accountability and compassion. if you disagree with what they are telling you they seem to give you a f off attitude how dare you question me.

there is noting chrysler could do at this point. i will never purchase another chrysler produt again.


That's insane. If the dealer tells you X$ to fix your car and then tell you the fob's won't work and that your shift solenoid won't work because of the new part, I'm not paying for that.

Call the district manager for a start.

 

[RamFan]

I wanted to reply to this thread a couple hours ago but I was in class and the response was to long to be typing away on my Droid, so here it goes.

Had a '97 Dakota Sport from new until '08. Great little pick-up, replaced the passenger side ball joints, A/C condenser and that was it as far as any "major" repairs. Had a leak on driver side door, probably due to the weatherstripping being torn up while trying to unlock the car with a coat hanger because of locked keys inside, there was also a leak on the back window but was repaired under warranty. Not sure about final mileage.

My mom traded in the Dakota for an '08 Sebring Convertible. What a piece of [censored] it is. Shift lock actuator snapped, the convertible bucket bracket broke, the rear driver side window stopped going down randomly then randomly started working again, the automatically dimming mirror stopped working randomly then started again randomly yet again, the driver side door catches on something when it closes and snaps and pops shut, thought I had isolated the problem and replaced the lower hinge and guess what, that wasn't the fix. She bought it in IL and then moved to GTMO 1 month later for work and Chrysler voided the warranty because it moved overseas even though if she had purchased the car in GTMO through the NEX Auto Sales it would be covered. Sebring currently has roughly 20k miles.

I had an '04 Ram 1500 was great, nothing wrong with it. Did the usual ball joint replacements that is often done on 1500s and then I had to replace the window washer fluid pump. Other than that, it was great, other than the 4.7l V8 being sludge prone. I know 440Mag will refute this claim. Sold the 1500 with 46k miles.

Now I've got an '07 Charger and other than the 3.5l being a bit of an oil burner I've got no issues. I'm very happy with it. Has 39k miles on it.

My girlfriend has an '04 Ram 1500 with the 5.7l V8 and it doesn't appear to have any issues. She bought it used, well her parents bought it for her, it has 5 previous owners which made me weary right off the bat when she told me but I checked it out a little and doesn't have any major issues. Has warped front rotors that need to be replaced and a squeak on the front end but I can't seem to locate what it is. The ball joints look good, but I haven't gotten underneath to see if it is a control arm or something else, it does it at low speeds like going through a parking lot but not elsewhere. Could be related to rotors but I haven't checked. Ram has 86k miles on it.

The point of all this is that it definitely seems as though Chrysler has gotten progressively worse as far as reliability, hopefully with the Fiat investment they will whip themselves into shape and get back on the ball. I'd love a new Charger when I get out of college but I don't think I could bring myself to buy a new Chrysler product other than a Ram until I know for certain that they've gotten their reliability woes under control.

 

[HyundaiGuy]

Originally Posted By: hypervish
Agreed, Chrysler should've been out of business a long time ago.


While I will never own another Chrysler product, I do sincerely wish Fiat the best of luck. They have a long battle ahead of them, not only in straightening out the products (which will take time) but also consumer perception (which will take longer and may be impossible.)

 

[Errtt]

wow - just last week a co-worker called in for taking off a work day. Next day talking to him he was telling about his wife's Chrysler van issues. One issue after another and how dissatisfied they are with it. Well, when it was ready to go get the van from its recent issue works, his dodge truck [censored] out - says 2nd time he has lost the fuel pump, and had the transmission replaced last year. I remember his transmission and fuel pump failure last year. He says he bought both the truck and van brand new, and although some things covered under warranty - no more Chrysler he says. He's still ranting this week about their dissatisfied opinion about Chrysler. I guess I can understand his frustration having both vehicles the same day [censored] out. Then again another friend has had good luck with his Chrysler van - go figure.

 

[Zaedock]

Good read. Sorry for the issues. We had a lot of problems with GM and our Malibu Maxx.

I was just looking at a 2010 Sebring with the 2.4L. It was nothing special, but decently equipped with the cert. used warranty. I had a 1990 Acclaim with the 2.5L that was a great car. It was cheap to maintain and except for the bit of engine noise the 2.5 had, never had any issues. I was hoping the Sebring would be similar.

 

[Kira]

Hello, I have to chime in (rant) here. I feel every tale of Chrysler cheapness. I worked in a Dodge dealership way back in the 70's and the stuff I saw there was eye popping. All the Chrysler dealerships were shady and generated lots of complaints. Build care was horrible. Nascent electronics of the day were screwed onto the firewall, say, with no provision for grounding; which was necessary. The front ends were held in place by something called a "K" frame. You never saw a more sloppily welded piece of junk in your life. Honestly, every Dodge truck looks like junk and has that reputation. People don't talk about the merger with Daimler-Benz at all any more. It came and went. What did Chrysler show us? A batch of silly things like the Jeep Compass. Those clowns never tried to improve quality. I never saw any advertising to that effect. Perhaps the parent company forbade their tinny partner from using their good German name? Add to that the insult of a cheap car company wrapping itself in the flag. I suppose they're not the only ones who do that. At least the V6 in my aunt's 2006 Caravan has a good rep. It was the 12th year for that engine and the only warning flag I could find pertained to an easily replaceable PCV assembly atop the valve cover. I think they are dirty dirty dogs. The 1964 Plymouth Valiant Barracuda and the 1968 Dodge Charger were a LONG time ago. Okay, my father's 1954 DeSoto Firedome was a good car. Even the Plymouth/DeSoto commercials from the "You Bet Your Life" show seem cheap. Good luck to the new Fiat-Chrysler company ONLY if they really set out to make good vehicles. Always remember, Chrysler was the company which gave us the Plymouth Caravel; a car which came with a woman's raincoat and matching lipstick. Kira

 

[Unearthed]

My real question here is the $256 key. You can buy replacement keys anywhere for $20-$30.

http://www.autotransponder.com/2008_chrysler_town_country_key_blank_transponder_chip_1

There's one for example. It doesn't cost the dealer a dime to reprogram the key. I bought a replacement key for my Honda on ebay and my dealer flashed it for me for $10. Locksmiths can also flash the key. If anyone tells you otherwise they are full of [censored].

 

[dishdude]

My family had a ton of Chrysler products in the 80's-2002, and they were all great. Quit buying them when the styling and interiors got cheesy - not due to reliability. I am hoping Fiat and the new company can clean that up. Actually just inherited Grandma's 98 Cirrus that has been very solid, and still runs great.

 

[nazareth]

Originally Posted By: Unearthed
My real question here is the $256 key. You can buy replacement keys anywhere for $20-$30.

http://www.autotransponder.com/2008_chrysler_town_country_key_blank_transponder_chip_1

There's one for example. It doesn't cost the dealer a dime to reprogram the key. I bought a replacement key for my Honda on ebay and my dealer flashed it for me for $10. Locksmiths can also flash the key. If anyone tells you otherwise they are full of [censored].


its not a trasponder key. they are totally different. even if i bought them online dealers still want $50-$60 to program them.

 

[nazareth]

called the dealer back and talked with the service manager around 2pm. explained to him what was going on and that this was my only source of transpertation to get my whole family around, we have a pickup truck too but cant fit 6 people in it, i told him i need this resolved and i need my van back. .. He said he would look into it and get right back to me. service dept closes at 6pm never heard back from him. Flat out terrible customer service. Chrysler is a joke.we have bought 3 vehicles from this dealer. this has to be the worst customer service.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: EricF
Honestly.. it sounds like the dealer is playing games.
If they can't put the parts back in that means they broke them and want you to pay for new ones to cover their mistake.

also.. what were they doing messing around with the transmission?
Unless you gave them permission to look.. that would be a Remove & Inspect on your estimate... check to see if that's on there..


Yeah they shouldn't need to replace, just reprogram. They don't know what's going on and are throwing parts at it.

I had a 2000 T&C with unsolvable computer issues; dealer refused to even plug into it into their machine unless I spent $600 on a new PCM. A lousy dealer coupled with dealer-only diagnostics is a bad combo.

One *can* rent a DRB3 scan tool for $150 for three days (with a $4k deposit), but then they need to subscribe to chrysler's firmware service at $20/day. Hmm, wonder how many independents are going to jump on this.

 

[daves87rs]

That really sucks....somebody needs to put the dealership out of business...Quick! Make sure you give them heck when you get it back-NEVER go back there again. Indy's are much better at his point...

Whether people agree with me or not-Mini-vans in general are JUNK. Pick a company...they all have issues. They are too heavy...often loaded with gadgets (which are used and abused a bunch) fail. Most are run very hard and put away wet. These things aren't built like trucks, so why should they last like them?

If I want a van, I'll buy a real one. ( A FULL size one) I grew up around these...and they can really take a beating. I still see quite a few conversion vans floating around-new and old. Gas mileage sucks.....but yet another good reason for a diesel engine.

Mini vans can last if cared for, but in general most are not.

Sorry folks...I'm a bit opinionated on this subject...maybe because I've heard it in so many threads....

PS- to the OP-you need a be a very squeaky wheel at that dealership....

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: AandPDan
Everyone has tales of problems with all car makes.

True. I feel the same way about GM.

It seems like a bad service department. They are just guessing and throwing parts at the vehicle.
Testing by substitution. Dealer tech fail. "We don't know what's wrong with your car so we will just keep throwing parts at it at your expense until something works. Then we will pat ourselves in the back for how smart we are."

 

[SteveSRT8]

As a long term owner I have had horrible and/or substandard experiences at many stealerships.

These were not car problems. They were SERVICE problems.

I bought [censored] one time at the Dodge dealer in the 90's and the service department was so good that it was almost enjoyable to be there! Then I bought excellent GM products that the stealership screwed up even worse when you brought them in. It goes both ways!

 

[kb01]

I'm probably the exception to the rule, but outside of a Ford Focus, over the past 20 years I've owned nothing but Toyota and Chrysler products.

I've always had good luck with the Chrysler dealers, which tend to be small, established, and family owned, with very long legacies. It's always been very clear that they want and appreciate my business, both in sales and service.

The experience is completely different than the massive, multi-state, corporate owned, dealership chain where I bought my Matrix.