Trying to remain positive...

[Dragao]

"I don't wanna go off on a rant here, but..." ...I am on familiar turf here, and I don’t like it.

I had a 2001 Mercedes ML430 (V8 SUV thing) which, like my MSRT, handled really well, and was quite fast (for a truck)...(actually, they are both classified as trucks, hmmm). However, the similarities are not ending there...

The Merc was a royal pain-in-the-a$$ with unreliable components that made the stealership tons of cash in warranty work! The truck was in the shop 13 times in 18 months for things like transmission problems, window switches, nav/radio, seat belts locking up for no apparent reason & staying that way, brake problems almost *exactly* like my SRT brakes, countless electrical gremlins, structural sunroof problems, faulty door latches...I could go on & on, but you get the idea.

This was, to date, the most expensive vehicle I had ever bought, and I couldn't believe that a $50k MERCEDES would have more than a problem, or two. This is supposed to be the uber-engineering "lesser" cars only dream about, ya? Apparently, many MB owners I spoke with were not only familiar with this, they told me it was part of the whole deal...something broke, and the stealership gives us a cappuccino and another Merc to drive while ours is in the shop...except that too many years of this business model had them cutting out the MB loaner cars and replacing them with econoboxes. Like I have the time to bring the truck into the shop every few weeks, or leave the doors, sunroof, or windows open (they never fail when you go to roll the window 'down', right?) until your next scheduled maintenance.

After 18 months of this crap and I took a loss and traded it in for an American-made Toyota. Two Toyotas and a Chevy Avalanche later, I get a woody for a Magnum SRT8.

I become fully aware that this car has deep Mercedes roots and I almost wave-off. But c'mon, they can't continue to do this, right?? They gotta get the bugs out at some point, right?

To date, my MSRT has had all the common SRT problems -- occasional 1-2 shift issue (sometimes it does it...sometimes it doesn’t...which is actually worse than doing it all the time, like my first MSRT did), badly grooved brake rotors, whine from engine -- PLUS, erratic ESP behavior (shut itself OFF in a fast corner, shortly after idling for a few minutes, got sideways, but saved it...had to reboot the car to get it to go back on again – has this car got Windows 95, or Macintosh System7?), erratic nav/radio behavior, and now the power windows are starting to fail...the right front stopped doing the Auto-Up thing a few days ago (SRTs have Auto-Up front windows), and now the left one has given up the ghost...

What the heck? Do I expect too much from cars, and the knuckleheads who design, build and sell them?? Am I the only one thinking that Chrysler got peeled by going with Daimler? Were Chryslers more reliable before, or is this par for the course?

I didn’t have a lick of trouble from the two Toyotas, the Avalanche, a Saturn, or 3 Explorers over the last 20 years...only the Mercedes, and its cousin, the LX Dodge.

I'm trying to remain positive about this...y'all are a great bunch of guys, and that is actually inspiring me to keep my head up. I had never really hit it off with any MB driver I'd met...guess my gear head was an alien concept to 'em -- they didn't understand why I expected cars (and trucks) to work properly.

Anyways, I was just hoping that my troubles with this car (truck?), were isolated incidents and that y'all were getting good service from the stealerships, even though we don't even get econobox loaner cars. So far, all these issues can wait for the next scheduled maintenance.

Sorry for the rant...keep the Faith. B^)>

[UnderTaker]

you cant win them all - ?


i have alot of problems with my RT - i sold my 15 year old truck for a reliable new car, and fancy that, my RT goes in more than the s10.


*sigh....

[MangoInTX]

IMHO luck of the draw... There are good ones and then there are the others.

The 03 QC RAM HEMI I had was a lemon. It had major electrical problems and prior to trading it in on the Charger it had a subtle miss in the engine after heating up. The dealer couldn't find where the miss was comming from.

I empathize with your pain, it’s no fun taking your pride and joy into the shop all the time and you probably struggle like I did with some of the responses you get from the stealership <= love the term.

But this is a good place to vent and get it out.

[hyperbolic]

14 months and 13,000 miles and my RT has never been back to the dealer. I have every option but the engine block heater. The AC has stopped working a couple of times forcing me to stop and restart the car, that's it. I don't know if I'm lucky or you're unlucky. I knew that Mercedes had a poor reliability record but haven't seen reports on DC vehicles yet. Hope your troubles end soon and you can really get to enjoy your ride.

[67alecto]

14 months and 13,000 miles and my RT has never been back to the dealer. I have every option but the engine block heater. The AC has stopped working a couple of times forcing me to stop and restart the car, that's it. I don't know if I'm lucky or you're unlucky.

Same for me. I had the TSB done for the a/c issue and it hasn't happened since. I've just ticked over 16k miles.

There have been over 100,000 magnums made - they can't all be perfect!

NExt dealer visit, I'm going to ask them to replace the steering wheel audio controls (they're getting little cracks in them) and a little rivet on the seat belt (I caught it in the door and cracked it) - it's the one that keeps the clasp from falling to the floor.

[jfargus]

I too am having problems with my 06 charger.. TOday the temp is around 84, im driving and the temp jumps to 100 and let me tell you we didnt reach 100 here in chicago land area. Also it was only 7-8 oclock, it was more like a nice 74 degrees. Then I decided to do a test and floor it from a stop after a toll. The temp rose to 84 degrees instantly and stayed there the whole way home. I take it to service bay and park it in the bay. Had a talk with the service writter about the problem and agreed to come back tomm. When I jumped in the car and started up the temp went to 90. Then at night time when i turn the engine off, then turn my lights off so they can stay on for 30 0r 60 secs, if i get out of the car and get shocked the lights will cut off and the odometer will go out. What do you guys think is the problem with my car?

[mikeyb]

15 months and 13k miles and the only issue is one cold morning it did leave a small puddle of ATF fluid on the garage floor. Will have that taken care of when in for the tranny service.
Also very pleased with the Ram. Only one problem that warranted a trip to the dealer, a cross threaded hydroboost line at the power steering pump started leaking.


MikeyB

[COLORADOMAGNUM]

Sorry to hear about your problems guys. 15 months and 15000 miles and the only issue was the tranny o-ring leak that most of us have had. Most reliable car I've ever owned. Contact your dealer and make them fix it. If they can't, find one that can.

[Darthvader]

I would be very unhappy as well. I have not had any problems with my LX so far. In fact I have not had any car problems in the last 10 years with any car I have owned. I do remember the days when I did and how angry it would make me so I can relate. I hope your dealer can resolve the issues you have so you can be happy and worry about the important things in life. I feel bad for you and I hope things get better.

[Currently Cruzin]

Dragao...It is sad to hear you are having so much trouble with your car but I wouldn't give up on Chrysler cars yet. I had a PT Cruiser for 4 years without any problems at all. I have had my Magnum for a year and a half and the biggest problem I have had with that is the little rubber gaskets keep "sticking out" from the top of the tail gate. I owned a Toyota Avalon that had many problems and my wife's 2 year old Honda Accord has not been trouble free either.. I think you might have a problem car but overall I think the LX cars, despite a few small "quirks" are deffinitely built to last many trouble free years.. (Just my two cents)..

[da BoMM]

26000+ miles and nary a problem -- had 3 annoyances:

1) sunroof broke (and it's not a DCX part)
2) brake judder -- had the brakes done @ about 16000 mi ??
3) windshield "POP" -- fixed per TSB a long time ago

Other than that, she's silky smooth -- has been very reliable and FAST.

[Blanchman]

22,000 miles and no significant problems. The worst problem I've had is the transmission O-ring leak. Standard problem.

I am annoyed by the dash-board rattles and moans. This appears to be a winter/cold temperature thing, but it annoys the hell out of me.

I am currently dealing with a problem were the MDS has quit going into 4-cyl mode. I know some of you would love that, but I'm a MPG freak, so i need to get that fixed. Funny thing is it occured when I brought the car in to get the AC/Heater issue fixed, ie, got the climate control system re-flashed with latest software. I am getting a "little' grief from the dealer so far, as in, "how do you know?". I have LOUD exhaust, so I KNOW !!!.

Other than that, nothing significant. Drago, sounds like you got one of those problem cars.

[hpilichowski]

I have an SXT with 12,900 miles. I beat the hell out of it driving. ( very rough city streets with cobble stones) I have never had a major problem. I have had this vehicle for 18 months. the only problem has been a defective remote unlock. I ordered this vehicle in July and it was delivered 4 weeks later. One thing I have noticed over the years is how the quality of service work at dealerships have changed because the mechanics seem to come and go and not remain in the same place. This effects the quality of the service and quality checks when vehicles come of off the trucks at the dealerships.

[formerice]

I can't compare Dodge's quality with MB, but I had owned Toyotas and Mazdas since 1974 and so far both my Dodges, RT and Hemi Ram impress me as well built very reliable vehicles 59,000 trouble free miles on my RT, and 40,000 miles on my truck. I have been lucky to have a fantastic dealer also. Always dreaded going to my old Toyota dealer. Couldn't get out of there without spending at least$500 .

[cadzilla74]

Man, so sorry to hear you have these issues. You will find several sympathetic souls here but I think you'll also find some comfort. In the majority of cases the dealer network has worked to resolve issues and if they don't you'll get all the info you need here to escalate things to a higher level.

19,022 miles here on my 10/04 build date. No problems with my 05 Mag RT. Tracks straight, (sadly because I just can't bring myself to replace the Conti crap tires when they are still showing no signs of premature wear but I really want to put KDW's on) and the biggest problem I had was my radio reception sucked. My dealer went wild trying to fix it, they even replaced the head unit before tracking the problem down to a bad coax cable running from the rear antenna module to the head unit. You know with ANY asssembly line certain "marginal" pieces are going to pass inspection. With all the pieces and now all the computer control modules in today's cars, there is a lot that can go wrong. Oh, yes, my dealer also replaced the left rear passenger door window motor and regulator because it was a bit funky. I know I'm one of the licky ones (knock on wood) and a box of donuts gets me to the front of the line any time I need to take my baby in. Hope you get things squared away soon.