10th Aug 2002, 00:40
Wow. I feel like I'm amongst family. We have our own support group going. "My name is Joy and I hate my Dodge." ("Hi Joy...")
How is Chrysler still in business? God bless capitalism that they can so consistently produce such junk and get so much money for it. Hey, if cable can exploit the stupidity of Anna Nicole Smith, Dodge can certainly get $30,000+ for pretty scrap metal.
Here's my story: my husband (before I met him...) made the stupid mistake of getting into a 5 year lease with a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 5.9L quad cab. Don't think a day goes by that I don't kick his butt for it. Up to 45k miles it was perfect. Warranty up. We too have treated it better than most treat their pets and haven't used it for anything you don't expect to use a truck for. (Lots of tree hauling, boat towing, some off road, etc.) We are now at 63k and have replaced the compass, all gaskets, hoses, sensors, thermostat 3 times, and everything else including the warped heads. Yes people, warped heads at 45k. In addition, lots of what they call 'pinging' and hesitating, and a little bucking. Oh, and the transmission is on its way. But hey, the seats are comfy. :)
I've received customer service from dealerships (which Chrysler is always sure to remind me are independently owned) and from Chrysler themselves that would make Bruce Nordstrom throw up. I'm tired of being accused of putting abnormal wear and tear on this vehicle. I have owned a Ford, Honda, Hyundai, and 3 Toyotas and in my younger days put way worse wear and tear on them and they lasted for way longer.
I too have contacted an attorney who says lemon law doesn't apply because in Tennessee 18 months is as far as it carries you. The attorney says we have no case. I've contacted the dealership that ripped off..er...I mean provided the truck for my husband to lease and the finance company that had him bent over. All take the approach "I hate it for ya."
This is going to have to be a grass roots effort starting with all of us and the next step is contacting the media. If legal action doesn't talk, bad press will. I've got a big mouth and I'm not afraid to use it. I have no problem painting "don't buy a" above "Dodge" on my tailgate.
I don't want my money back, I just don't want the truck anymore. I can't sell it to anyone because I have something Chrysler doesn't: a conscience. The only choice I have now is deal with it and continue to hold my ankles, or call Chrysler daily and notify the media.
Please feel free to email me at ltvp15@yahoo.com if you want to get involved or have anything that will help me in my cause. All of your comments certainly do.
10th Aug 2002, 04:38
My 1997 Dodge 3500 quad-cab diesel has transmission problems, seat adjustment problems, etc. I bought the truck new and I bought the extended warranty. The local Dodge sales/service business has not nor will not honor the warranty with one exception when they permanently damaged two components trying to repair them. The Dodge regional rep has either not returned my calls or the rep states that they will look into the matter. They have yet to call back. What is really unusual is that recently they stopped providing me with any computerized paper work on any of my service visits. This happened again yesterday when they kept and seemed to have worked on my truck for two hours in response to a recall regarding the braking system. Based on these adverse experiences I do not trust the Dodge truck, the Dodge Company, the regional reps. nor the local (Melbourne, FL) Dodge ssales/service agency.
14th Aug 2002, 14:16
So many of these stories are just like mine, it’s sort of like a nightmare. My 1997 Dodge RAM has 99K miles. I have spent more on repairs than I ever did with my Chevy that had 200K miles. Why did I ever switch? This dodge was in the dealer service department three times before 12K miles after the Check Engine Light came on. Indication was always transmission. Third trip they replaced it. To this day it has never shifted correctly. It always shifts too early and has a hard time finding the right gear when I push it. A year ago, at <80K miles, I had to replace the transmission. It’s making noise in reverse again. Also I was having the pinging problem so many of you describe when engine is under a load. Pulling a boat, I would burn 1-2 quarts every 300 miles. A repair shop found a Dodge bulletin about a faulty gasket in the engine. After several hundred dollars and a new gasket, that problem has been fixed. I still haven’t resolved the brake problem. I have to give PLENTY of space in front of me. I never know when I slam the pedal if the brakes will work properly or not. About half the time I will lose pressure and end up with the pedal on the floor with the truck rolling to a slow stop. A new master cylinder from the repair shop did not fix it. I’m just trying to find time to take the truck back to the shop AGAIN. This has been an expensive lesson – If you are thinking about switching to Dodge…DON’T! Comments to bmni1@hotmail.com.
8th Aug 2002, 00:05
I have a 1999 Dodge Ram Quad Cab with a 5.9 Liter engine. First thing to go out were my tires at 22,000 miles. Come to find out the tires were passenger rated tires and not a light duty truck tire. Dodge would not do anything about my tires wearing out, so I called Michelin and they were very helpful by giving me half off on my new set of tires.
After that my truck start spark knocking and hesitating didn't think a lot about it at first. I called my dealer and they said we got a fix for that. Come to find out they did have a fix, they retarded my timing, therefore reducing my gas mileage by 4 miles per gallon and reducing my torque.
Truck still spark knocked and hesitated, but I learned to live with it, until the red light came on and my truck started bucking like a bull. There next fix was to replace the intake gasket and to retard the engine even more.
Truck just got worse. Called dealer up again and told him my truck was still spark knocking and he told me to call the service department. The service man told me that he could not do anything about the spark knocking and I would just have to live with it.
I could not live with it, so I called customer service and told them my problem. They said they would get in touch with the dealer and with the engineers and get back in touch with me. They never called me back, so I called them. I was then told to call my dealer back and they would set up an appointment and fix my truck. I took my truck in for my appointment and the service guy told me that I probably have carbon build up on my pistons. My truck now has 39,000 miles on it and even though it has a history of it spark knocking, I would have to pay to get it fixed. I still did not think that I should pay to get my truck fixed, so I called customer service again. Come to find out customer service said they would not cover this under warranty, because cleaning the carbon build up off was a maintenance issue not a warranty issue.
Truck is still at the dealership and I am thinking seriously about getting a lawyer.