I used to love this truck until it started falling apart. 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty, yeah right!!! Try getting the dealership to honor this. CV boot for the front drive shaft broke prematurely, and when I took it to the dealership they informed me that it wasn't covered... UNTIL I presented them with the official Daimler-Chrysler paperwork itemizing what's actually covered, and lo and behold the driveshaft CV joint is listed. Warranty departments only comment was "dunno how I missed that!!!" Yeah I know how you missed it, you tried to bilk me for $800.00 bucks.

Now the truck pulls to the right and a horrible squeak in the back is evident. The driver side rear spring has broken off completely from the shackle. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE and I'm sure it's not a warranty item. AND just think that I traded in a Nissan Pathfinder for this POS.....

I've listed this twice because I've had 2 springs on this vehicle break in literally exactly the same manner, same spot, everything - so 2 listings with the same description:

The rear leaf springs in these vehicles are defective. The main leaf in the spring pack should literally never break. This is what not only forms the basis for the rear suspension, but also what holds your rear-end in alignment (basically what keeps it pointing in the right direction.) In any case, if the main leaf breaks at the front eye which is where it mounts to the frame, then the rear end is free to move back and forth as much as the shackle will let it, effectively allowing your rear axle to steer the rear of your vehicle wherever it may choose (read: very dangerous.) I purchased a new OEM rear leaf spring (dealer price $175) for the driver's side, 1.9 labor hours x $70/hr if I had the dealer do the labor. I thought that it was particular special that this Dodge factory part was prominently stamped as "Made In Mexico", buy American, yeah right, wonder why it broke. So, I replaced the Driver's side rear leaf spring (because the main leaf had broken at the front eye. Then, during my test drive I started noticing an awful squeak. Turns out that the Passenger side leaf spring had broken in EXACTLY the same place. The squeak was actually the main leaf rubbing free against the eye where it had broken off. Let me stress that this is a 2002 with only 60,000 miles. I purchased it with 28,000 miles and I can personally say that I've never towed, nor hauled anything with this vehicle - and I seriously doubt that the previous owner had either. It was Dodge certified and came with a Dodge 8 yr/80,000 mi. warranty - but they refuse to cover this repair, and refuse to admit that they have issues with the leaf springs in these vehicles. I could possibly accept that one failure of this nature was related to a single defective part, in fact as of the time that I fixed the first defect, I had decided on accepting that. One defective part, a possible anomaly. However, I cannot possibly accept that I happened to end up with 2 defective parts on the same vehicle and that it was just a coincidence. This is a very serious safety issue, when just one breaks, the rear end has enough movement to steer into the car next to you. If both were to break, this could very possibly lead to a chain of failures resulting in a serious incident.

The rear leaf springs in these vehicles are defective.

The main leaf in the spring pack should literally never break. This is what not only forms the basis for the rear suspension, but also what holds your rear-end in alignment (basically what keeps it pointing in the right direction.)

In any case, if the main leaf breaks at the front eye which is where it mounts to the frame, then the rear end is free to move back and forth as much as the shackle will let it, effectively allowing your rear axle to steer the rear of your vehicle wherever it may choose (read: very dangerous.)

I purchased a new OEM rear leaf spring (dealer price $175) for the driver's side, 1.9 labor hours x $70/hr if I had the dealer do the labor. I thought that it was particular special that this Dodge factory part was prominently stamped as "Made In Mexico", buy American, yeah right, wonder why it broke.

So, I replaced the Driver's side rear leaf spring (because the main leaf had broken at the front eye. Then, during my test drive I started noticing an awful squeak. Turns out that the Passenger side leaf spring had broken in EXACTLY the same place. The squeak was actually the main leaf rubbing free against the eye where it had broken off.

Let me stress that this is a 2002 with only 60,000 miles. I purchased it with 28,000 miles and I can personally say that I've never towed, nor hauled anything with this vehicle - and I seriously doubt that the previous owner had either. It was Dodge certified and came with a Dodge 8 yr/80,000 mi. warranty - but they refuse to cover this repair, and refuse to admit that they have issues with the leaf springs in these vehicles.

I could possibly accept that one failure of this nature was related to a single defective part, in fact as of the time that I fixed the first defect, I had decided on accepting that. One defective part, a possible anomaly. However, I cannot possibly accept that I happened to end up with 2 defective parts on the same vehicle and that it was just a coincidence.

This is a very serious safety issue, when just one breaks, the rear end has enough movement to steer into the car next to you. If both were to break, this could very possibly lead to a chain of failures resulting in a serious incident.