CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2015 Chrysler 200 carries the torch of "never buy the 1st year of a new vehicle generation" with pride.
The 2015 model year is the first year of the Chrysler 200's 2nd generation. It has been plagued by problems from the start. Transmission failure at extremely low mileage, many recalls, problems stalling while driving... the list goes on. Maybe Chrysler should have stuck with the 1st generation.
I have been dealing with this issue ever since I purchased the vehicle from Champion Chrysler in Indianapolis. If you have the Alpine 9 speaker 506 watt stereo system it will completely overpower the interior's ability to remain snapped together. Inch up the bass and parts start rattling like a tin can. With the radio off , the interior will return to being church mouse quiet , even on rough roads. This is the best way to describe this sub woofer speaker issue and are the exact words from Top Speed,which is a company who's sole purpose is to review new cars. When I first took the car in for this issue the service tech stated that the sub woofer was blown and ordered a new one for installation. This did not fix the problem and then they said the speaker was not tightened against the deck causing a gap between the deck and foam. The problem still existed,so I took it back again and that's when they really started to back pedal. The service advisor was absolutely no help and I had a hard time getting them to return calls or recognize there was still an issue. Then the service manager got involved and turned of the surround sound on my touch screen, which made it a little less noticeable. When I asked why the surround sound was even an option he replied " it is just for movies if you had the video package ". I had a hard time believing that,but gave him the benefit of the doubt and tried to adjust my equalizer to stop the vibration/rattling before bringing it back for a fifth time. At that time I decided to look up reviews and problems on this vehicle. I immediately found the same issues and the displeasure others were having and a car review that hit the nail right on the head. When I pulled into the garage the electronics service tech came out with the advisor. I asked them if they had ever heard of any issues like this and both said no. The service advisor did state "he worked for Maserati before and their fix was to beef up the back deck and insulate properly". The service tech stated that cars now days are made with thin metal and plastic and he agreed that there was an issue. I immediately showed the data I looked up and told them I did not believe they were not aware of this. The tech said he would email Chrysler Tech support in which they replied that they do recognize this problem in the Chrysler vehicles with the Alpine 506 watt 9 speaker system. They even have an actual Chrysler part # that consist of an foam insulation kit to beef up the rear deck. I was elated to hear that they even recognized this issue and were going to attempt to fix it. I did receive a call at the first of the week and the advisor told me the part would be in a couple days and left his call back number. I tried to call him back twice during the week and left messages for him to call me back. When Friday rolled around I decided to call the Service manager again trying to find out why they do not return calls, himself included. I immediately received a call from the advisor stating " he just got his butt chewed out " in an aggressive manner and "he deals with 25 customers a day and was busy". At that time I told him this has been going on for me for over a month and did not care how many customers he has a day. My car is scheduled to go in next week for the repair but I have no confidence after this fiasco. The Alpine stereo upgrade cost an extra $1500 and is worse than the previous Chrysler 200 stereo systems (2010 & 2013 )/ vehicles that I purchased from this dealership. I have purchased 4 total vehicles from Champion Chrysler and do not understand why they would treat me in this manner but , they have failed miserably. The bottom line is they continue to sell these vehicles with out acknowledging there are issues and hope people just give up ! I will write another entry after the vibration kit is installed to let others know if it worked or to save others some steps in this ridiculous process of lies and deceit.
insulate rear shelf to isolate vibration w/ approved by eng
Update from Jan 20, 2016: The repair with the insulation kit to beef up rear deck did NOT work. After installing this Chrysler part the Service Manager has told me the seat belt retractor on the rear deck is still causing the vibration noise. They do not feel there is anything else they can try and have followed the repair steps recommended with no success. They have passed this on to Chrysler Corporate with my VIN # and all information pertaining to this. I will try to pursue this and find out if they feel some type of compensation is due for this $1500 stereo system that I am stuck with for a while. I hope these complaints here will help save some steps and aggravation for the next person or give them a course of action that is more effective than mine. GOOD LUCK !
Update from Jan 27, 2016: After my information was sent to Chrysler Corporation I received an email from Customer Service stating they were looking into my issue. What they are really saying is.....if you have a problem you will get no satisfaction or get anywhere by contacting them. I was told by my contact there that there are 300 Customer Service workers there ...which tells me many people have issues with this company. If you have time to deal with a person who makes $10 an hour that will be absolutely NO help then try yourself. It explains why the city of Detroit is in the position they are ! Buy American and you to can get a 36,000 mile warranty that is useless. I will never buy a Dodge or Chrysler Vehicle again and all over a $1500 stereo system.
Rear deck rattles so bad that my choice to upgrade to the $1500.00 Apline system wasn't worth it! I have called Chrysler and they pretty much told me to screw off! They said I couldn't do anything about it. Nice, they really need to re-engineer the rear deck. I'm driving a 35k plus car and can't even enjoy my music. BTW, my bass is only at 6.
- Todd B.,
White Lake, MI, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I have been dealing with this issue ever since I purchased the vehicle from Champion Chrysler in Indianapolis. If you have the Alpine 9 speaker 506 watt stereo system it will completely overpower the interior's ability to remain snapped together. Inch up the bass and parts start rattling like a tin can. With the radio off , the interior will return to being church mouse quiet , even on rough roads. This is the best way to describe this sub woofer speaker issue and are the exact words from Top Speed,which is a company who's sole purpose is to review new cars. When I first took the car in for this issue the service tech stated that the sub woofer was blown and ordered a new one for installation. This did not fix the problem and then they said the speaker was not tightened against the deck causing a gap between the deck and foam. The problem still existed,so I took it back again and that's when they really started to back pedal. The service advisor was absolutely no help and I had a hard time getting them to return calls or recognize there was still an issue. Then the service manager got involved and turned of the surround sound on my touch screen, which made it a little less noticeable. When I asked why the surround sound was even an option he replied " it is just for movies if you had the video package ". I had a hard time believing that,but gave him the benefit of the doubt and tried to adjust my equalizer to stop the vibration/rattling before bringing it back for a fifth time. At that time I decided to look up reviews and problems on this vehicle. I immediately found the same issues and the displeasure others were having and a car review that hit the nail right on the head. When I pulled into the garage the electronics service tech came out with the advisor. I asked them if they had ever heard of any issues like this and both said no. The service advisor did state "he worked for Maserati before and their fix was to beef up the back deck and insulate properly". The service tech stated that cars now days are made with thin metal and plastic and he agreed that there was an issue. I immediately showed the data I looked up and told them I did not believe they were not aware of this. The tech said he would email Chrysler Tech support in which they replied that they do recognize this problem in the Chrysler vehicles with the Alpine 506 watt 9 speaker system. They even have an actual Chrysler part # that consist of an foam insulation kit to beef up the rear deck. I was elated to hear that they even recognized this issue and were going to attempt to fix it. I did receive a call at the first of the week and the advisor told me the part would be in a couple days and left his call back number. I tried to call him back twice during the week and left messages for him to call me back. When Friday rolled around I decided to call the Service manager again trying to find out why they do not return calls, himself included. I immediately received a call from the advisor stating " he just got his butt chewed out " in an aggressive manner and "he deals with 25 customers a day and was busy". At that time I told him this has been going on for me for over a month and did not care how many customers he has a day. My car is scheduled to go in next week for the repair but I have no confidence after this fiasco. The Alpine stereo upgrade cost an extra $1500 and is worse than the previous Chrysler 200 stereo systems (2010 & 2013 )/ vehicles that I purchased from this dealership. I have purchased 4 total vehicles from Champion Chrysler and do not understand why they would treat me in this manner but , they have failed miserably. The bottom line is they continue to sell these vehicles with out acknowledging there are issues and hope people just give up ! I will write another entry after the vibration kit is installed to let others know if it worked or to save others some steps in this ridiculous process of lies and deceit.
insulate rear shelf to isolate vibration w/ approved by eng
Update from Jan 20, 2016: The repair with the insulation kit to beef up rear deck did NOT work. After installing this Chrysler part the Service Manager has told me the seat belt retractor on the rear deck is still causing the vibration noise. They do not feel there is anything else they can try and have followed the repair steps recommended with no success. They have passed this on to Chrysler Corporate with my VIN # and all information pertaining to this. I will try to pursue this and find out if they feel some type of compensation is due for this $1500 stereo system that I am stuck with for a while. I hope these complaints here will help save some steps and aggravation for the next person or give them a course of action that is more effective than mine. GOOD LUCK !
Update from Jan 27, 2016: After my information was sent to Chrysler Corporation I received an email from Customer Service stating they were looking into my issue. What they are really saying is.....if you have a problem you will get no satisfaction or get anywhere by contacting them. I was told by my contact there that there are 300 Customer Service workers there ...which tells me many people have issues with this company. If you have time to deal with a person who makes $10 an hour that will be absolutely NO help then try yourself. It explains why the city of Detroit is in the position they are ! Buy American and you to can get a 36,000 mile warranty that is useless. I will never buy a Dodge or Chrysler Vehicle again and all over a $1500 stereo system.
- kennethrodgers1, Brownsburg, IN, US