Experience with Dodge Service

[kb67mopar]

Hey folks,
I figured being a bunch of Mopar nuts I had to share my recent experience with Dodge. As many already know I have bought Dodge vehicles since I got my drivers license. So it shouldn't have been a surprise for anyone that I recently purchased a used 2013 Durango. Sometime after buying it we started to notice a shuddering sensation during acceleration events between 50-65 mph. After some research I found this has been a common problem on Jeep Grand Cherokees and Durango's from 2011-2013 with the 5.7 Hemi and 65RFE transmission. But they had come out with a programming flash that was supposed to help...so to the dealer I went.

Well 2 trips to 2 dealers later and a lot of arguing Dodge's official stance was "its operating as designed" They refused to do anything to fix the problem since they have chosen not to fix this issue. If you have the problem and bought used, you don't qualify for lemon law and you get to live with it. Well this pissed me off...so I emailed the CEO of Chrysler. Well that got me to an executive case manager....lots of badgering and threatening later I finally convinced them to inspect my transmission and pull the pan. They found some debris and replaced the torque converter and trans. You'd think the story would end here but that's unfortunately not true. The problem still persisted and once again Dodge turned their back on me with "this is normal" and "it operates as designed". Once again proving to me their engineers didn't do a good job designing the vehicle and their corporate culture is not to stand behind their products.

As a last ditch effort I turned to the aftermarket and a guy I had heard about for some time. He goes by the name "hemifever" and does tuning. You can visit him at http://www.hemifevertuning.com/. He was able to provide me with a custom tune for my engine that not only fixed my shudder problem, made the vehicle even more of a joy to drive. So if you have this problem, do yourself a favor and talk to Sean...he knows his stuff better than Dodge does.

So after all this I have to say I have lost a lot of faith in FCA/Dodge. Not sure what I'll do for my next vehicle purchase down the road...but chances are it won't be a Chrysler/Fiat/Dodge/Ram

KB

 

[Dennis H]

Normandin, San Jose. Outrageous costs and little problem resoution. Found a good local shop with a tech who worked for Chrysler for 10 years. Valaya Racing San Jose. Other brands may have similar issues. Who can afford a 30 thousand mile service at Chrysler? Don't trust them to replace the two Takata air bags in each car. They will surely screw up the dashboards. Only dealer experience that was worse was Volkswagen.

 

[khryslerkid]

It's a younger generation, just out of tech school working in the market today. They don't always have the experience to diagnose everything that they should. Not saying you won't find one that does but working in a dealership, they are taught time is money and something that they have seen before that wasn't a money maker, they'll find some excuse not to work on it. Just the shop rates today, $80 on up to way over $100 per. hr. is enough for me not to go to one.

 

[1967coronet440]

I stopped taking my car to the dealer for service shortly after purchasing my 2006 srt charger. Some real bad experiences with dealers in IL

 

[bee71]

Years ago our neighbor worked at Chrysler engineering. He helped in the design of transmissions for trucks. His boss insisted that they use a plastic part in the transmissions as the cost difference would help his bonus and stature. Our neighbor argued to no avail that a plastic part was prone to fail. It did and the company spent more money on repairs than the proper part would have cost.

 

[6t6slodart]

Car dealers = CAN'T FIX STUPID!!!!

 

[moose1]

Same kind of crap up here in Ontario. A friend bought a new Journey & the dealer gave him "free" life time oil & filter changes. He's not mechanically inclined & thought this was great. One day, in conversation, he mentioned that these free oil changes always cost him $$$$ for things the dealer insisted he need over & above the free oil change. I suggested he'd be further ahead going to Mr Lube or any other oil change place. Anyway, the last straw came when, on one visit, they told him his cabin air filter was filthy and HAD to be changed for roughly $60. - this according to the mechanic who gave him the sad news at the service desk. Luckily, he remembered that the filter had been changed on his last free oil change & challenged them on it. Sure enough, when they pulled up the record on their computer, there it was - and for only $42.!! He said you never saw a mechanic disappear so fast. Needless to say, he hasn't been back for any more "free" oil changes.

 

[PRND21]

My wife's 09 Wrangler with a lifetime power train warranty was on its 4th torque convertor and reprogramming before the shuddering stopped. Traded it in 2013. The service writer turned out to be a real asshole before we got it fixed. Same excuses they used on you.

 

[Darthomas]

Thinking about replacing my cabin air filter with a simple stainless steel screen.
I miss having leaf particles and fine cold snow blow through the defrost vents into my face. Leaves in the heater are no fun though, maybe just the screen will be enough to stop them.

 

[Dennis H]

Seems like FCA is a victim of its own dealers.

 

[oldbee]

From what I've experienced and heard about "THEY" are all the same. Take ur money and try not to fix it. My oldest has a '15 GMC Colorado-leaking water thru 3rd brake light. 3rd time back it looks like it's fixed, one trip turned out their "leak guy"(?) wasn't available?????

 

[6t6slodart]

Back in the mid 70's to my recollection is when the BIG 3 started making cars like garbage, and that's when the foreign cars came crashing in being built with quality, never to leave! I have a '70 Dart and a '66 Satellite because they were my cars of youth and I enjoy them. However, I bought a '79 Toyota Corolla brand new and had it for 17 years before rust in Maine got it, still ran like a top. Then I bought a 1995 Toyota little truck brand new that I still have with 190,000 miles and hasn't given me any problems and looks almost new. See the point....... Sadly though another difference with today compared to 1970's is NO ACCOUNTABILITY with most people in general! When integrity comes back so will pride and good. Not holding my breath!! If God is the benchmark though, everything will work perfectly!!!

 

[Bladecutter]

Hey folks,
I figured being a bunch of Mopar nuts I had to share my recent experience with Dodge. As many already know I have bought Dodge vehicles since I got my drivers license. So it shouldn't have been a surprise for anyone that I recently purchased a used 2013 Durango. Sometime after buying it we started to notice a shuddering sensation during acceleration events between 50-65 mph. After some research I found this has been a common problem on Jeep Grand Cherokees and Durango's from 2011-2013 with the 5.7 Hemi and 65RFE transmission. But they had come out with a programming flash that was supposed to help...so to the dealer I went.

Well 2 trips to 2 dealers later and a lot of arguing Dodge's official stance was "its operating as designed" They refused to do anything to fix the problem since they have chosen not to fix this issue. If you have the problem and bought used, you don't qualify for lemon law and you get to live with it. Well this pissed me off...so I emailed the CEO of Chrysler. Well that got me to an executive case manager....lots of badgering and threatening later I finally convinced them to inspect my transmission and pull the pan. They found some debris and replaced the torque converter and trans. You'd think the story would end here but that's unfortunately not true. The problem still persisted and once again Dodge turned their back on me with "this is normal" and "it operates as designed". Once again proving to me their engineers didn't do a good job designing the vehicle and their corporate culture is not to stand behind their products.

As a last ditch effort I turned to the aftermarket and a guy I had heard about for some time. He goes by the name "hemifever" and does tuning. You can visit him at http://www.hemifevertuning.com/. He was able to provide me with a custom tune for my engine that not only fixed my shudder problem, made the vehicle even more of a joy to drive. So if you have this problem, do yourself a favor and talk to Sean...he knows his stuff better than Dodge does.

So after all this I have to say I have lost a lot of faith in FCA/Dodge. Not sure what I'll do for my next vehicle purchase down the road...but chances are it won't be a Chrysler/Fiat/Dodge/Ram

KB

Jaguar has a very nice SUV now that starts in the 40K range, much better looking than the Benz, Beemer, Porsche counterparts. Since Jags have been using Ford Drive lines, the modular cammer aluminum V8,s, the reliability quotient has improved dramatically. The fit & finish IMO is superior to the other quasi-exotic marques & the interiors have always been homier, warmer, less molded feel than the German marques, for considerably less dough.....the Porsche' SUV starts in the 90’s, going into the 200 K range.....preposterous!
When You shop, give Jags a look.
Since Jag is owned by Ford, the major money stays in American economy.