2nd repair needed in 3,100 miles

[cadzilla74]

Fortunately I have not been plagued by any of the "big issues" that I've seen in the Forums (pull to the right, ticking sound, Contis wearing out fast, windshield pop, etc) so I count myself kind of lucky. But I have now had 2 glitches pop up and I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.
The first one was when the car was 1 week old and the Airbag sensor light came on. Went to the dealer and they said "no problem" they'd just have to recalibrate the front passenger seat sensor to react at 110 lbs or less. Well, that didn't work and they had to replace the sensor. No charge and it only took them 3 days to get the part and 45 minutes to fix it.
Today I tried to put the left rear door window down for my dog and it didn't work. When I stopped the car I tried it from the switch on that door and still no go. Went to the dealer and they said this is the 3rd one they have seen and the motor in the door needs replacing. The service manager told me it took 2 weeks to get the last one because they were on "National" back-order because they have had so many fail. He hit the computer and said the long back-order was gone but it would still be a week to get one in. They'll call when they get it and it will take an hour to fix it. I'm really surprised they had seen so many fail and yet I haven't read about this problem in any of the Forums.
Oh well, my dealer, Longhorn Dodge in Fort Worth has been right on top of everything so far and they never give me any grief so I'll just get it fixed and move on. I love my Magnum RT though and it really seems like a car I want to keep for the long haul. But I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay for an extended warranty if I want to keep it.

[schmeky]

cadzilla,


For God's sake, DO NOT buy the extended warranty. What a gross waste of your hard earned money.

If you have an 05, the basic warranty coverage is 3 years/36K miles. These cars are not perfect. Don't know about you, but I've had GM's, Volvo's, Toyota's, Acura's, and now Chrysler's. None of them were 100% trouble-free. Don't freak out, at least the dealer is on top of the problems. It ain't about the product, it's about the service.

I have never read a single review that suggested taking out an extended warranty. The Ex-Warranty is for the benefit of the dealer and the manufacturer, not the owner. Get your RT fixed and keep driving down the road being confident you have a good product, not perfect, but very good.

My early model 05 has had some issues, nothing major, but they have all been fixed. If you want perfection, purchase an anvil on wheels.

[fnkychkn]

cadzilla,


The Ex-Warranty is for the benefit of the dealer and the manufacturer, not the owner. .

spoken like someone who's never had to pay for trans/engine/diff repair once warranty had expired.

[cadzilla74]

Ah, Vive la difference! We seem to have 2 very strong opinions on the subject of the Extended Warranty. From the little research I've done I can get the 800 point Ex-War for less than $1,000.00 but I have to decide before 12 months or 12,000 miles to add it at that price. I will be keeping a close eye on things as I get into the higher miles or nearing the 12th month. I was never expecting perfection and I have no argument with my RT, I love the friggin' thing to death. I'd like to keep it past 36mo/36k miles and that's why I'm considering the Ex-War. It doesn't have to be a flaw in the car, I could just do something completely stupid (it's happened before) that would hurt some parts. I'm still on the fence with this and you 2 haven't helped push me either way...lol, but thanks for posting.

By the way, the window started working without issue after the car was parked for a few hours. I'm debating telling the dealer to forget the whole thing but they did use the word "intermittent" when they told me they had seen this before. Now the big question is, do I fix something that seems to have "healed itself" and risk having a service jockey FUBAR the whole door or git-er-done and have the peace of mind that it has been "professionally" repaired? Of course nobody over there said the replacement part is any better, hence their inability to even get the darn things. (I wonder how much this repair would cost post-warranty out of pocket?)

[MCaesar]

I guess the extended warranty is good if

1. You plan on driving the car hard
2. You are not going to modify the car before the warranty period expires
3. You have reason to believe there is a good chance something expensive could break.


If you are a normal driver I would hope that not too much is going to go wrong of major importance.

[fnkychkn]

(I wonder how much this repair would cost post-warranty out of pocket?)

L/R window regulator/motor P/N 5065473AB $203.00 cdn + 1.0hr labor
this is today's parts price. in 3 years, it will most likely be more. i have seen some parts prices double when they change supplier or even reorder from same supplier.

[cadzilla74]

Thanks MCaesar for the input. Yes I drive it hard any chance I get. I often drive 20-30 miles west of Fort Worth via I-20 just to get to some real nice, twisty, backroad 2-laners (speed limit 55-60 and mostly deserted) where I can really play.
I have no intention of adding thousands of $$$ in mods until I can make friends with someone who can unlock the freakin' chip and get me some more top end. BFG KDW 255-55-18's are the only improvement I plan on making and my Conti's aren't showing any signs of wear at all yet (keeping 31psi in them).

Thanks fnkychkn for the research on the repair cost. About $300.00 is what I figured. So, a little thing like that a couple of times and there you are, right at what the Ex-War costs. Hmmmmm, the jury is still out but if the Mag keeps me smiling when 12 months rolls around I think the Ex-War is going to be a necessary evil.

[Blanchman]

I have no problem buying that Extended warranty simply for the sake of Piece of Mind. This is a First Year production vehicle.

My biggest concern is the Nav/CD/Radio system. Have you felt that thing after a 2 hour drive. It is burning HOT. And, CD's don't exactly have a sterling record of reliability over the long haul. So, what would that baby cost to replace ??? Probably about the whole price of the warranty. The rest is gravy!!

[SeadooSandi]

Thanks MCaesar for the input. Yes I drive it hard any chance I get. I often drive 20-30 miles west of Fort Worth via I-20 just to get to some real nice, twisty, backroad 2-laners (speed limit 55-60 and mostly deserted) where I can really play.
I have no intention of adding thousands of $$$ in mods until I can make friends with someone who can unlock the freakin' chip and get me some more top end. BFG KDW 255-55-18's are the only improvement I plan on making and my Conti's aren't showing any signs of wear at all yet (keeping 31psi in them).

Thanks fnkychkn for the research on the repair cost. About $300.00 is what I figured. So, a little thing like that a couple of times and there you are, right at what the Ex-War costs. Hmmmmm, the jury is still out but if the Mag keeps me smiling when 12 months rolls around I think the Ex-War is going to be a necessary evil.

What kind of gas mileage are you getting with only 31psi in your tires???? Seems awfully low to me but maybe you know something I don't.

[imehemi]

If you are going to buy an extended warranty DO NOT BUY IT FROM THE DEALER/ MANUFACTURER. Not only are they overpriced, but the so-called "bumper-to-bumper" coverage is almost meaningless as well. Yes, it does add coverage to items not on the original manufacturer's warranty, but they are loaded with exclusions. If you need to purchase an extended warranty do it from a 3rd party like http://www.warrantydirect.com/. They have different pricing levels based on how much is covered and for how long.

[Vaderwagon]

I have no problem buying that Extended warranty simply for the sake of Piece of Mind. This is a First Year production vehicle.

If you have an 05 you have the 7yr-70K factory warranty. DC covers everything with a $100.00 deductible up to that time period. At least that is my understanding. The 06 models only have 3yr-36K mile coverage.

[MCaesar]

You can buy from the dealer, but you have to negotiated. Years ago I worked for a Honda/BMW dealership and warranties that cost us $250 we sold for at least $695 or more if the traffic would bear it. Of course, occassionally a smart customer would negotiate us down to $450 and we would still take it.

[Dano]

I opted for the extended/enhanced warranty , the thing that won me over was the electronics being covered. I estimate very roughly that there must be a good half mile of wire and god knows how many electronic doodads on my loaded RT AWD. One burried fried component after the regular warranty is up and this thing pays for itself .

[SStlthy]

I bought an extended warranty on an '02 Chevy Tahoe with 42000 miles. Transmission went at 45000 and they paid for all but the $100 deductible. Bought the extended warranty from the dealer for my Magnum; I have 17500 miles on the car and it will 6 months old in 3 weeks. I suspect I'll make use of it, and would rather have that peace of mind.

Incidentally Cadzilla, my brother's Magnum also has the driver side rear window that won't roll down. He hasn't gotten around to taking it in.

[fnkychkn]

If you are going to buy an extended warranty DO NOT BUY IT FROM THE DEALER/ MANUFACTURER. Not only are they overpriced, but the so-called "bumper-to-bumper" coverage is almost meaningless as well. Yes, it does add coverage to items not on the original manufacturer's warranty, but they are loaded with exclusions. If you need to purchase an extended warranty do it from a 3rd party like http://www.warrantydirect.com/. They have different pricing levels based on how much is covered and for how long.

the problem i've found with aftermerket warranty companies is that
a- not every dealer will honor it
b- they don't have a problem using used/rebuilt/aftermarket parts, anything to keep the cost down.
c- in cases of assembly overhaul required (engine,trans,diff,etc), customer has to authorize diagnostic and teardown. once apart, if claim is denied for whatever reason, customer has to pay. also diagnostics are rarely covered.