Dodge Ram pickup JUNK I have purchased over 179K personally of Dodge, Chrysler Jeep products, (this is not including the interest paid for financing) and I am truly upset over the lack of customer service for loyal customers as evidenced by the below correspondence from the corporation “customer service”. I also require fleet vehicles in my business, and have not included the dollars spent for Dodge products (Trucks and Vans) in the totals. I would like to warn anyone considering a Dodge, Chrysler, or Jeep product to do your homework and remember the old adage of “you get what you pay for” and the mantra that I am sure that the executives of the corporation have posted on their desks: PT Barnum: “there is a sucker born every minute”!

My fleet vehicles over the last 25 years have included all makes and models, the Dodge trucks have the worst record for duration of any of the other brands we have purchased. Generally we have to “retire” the Chrysler products at less than 100K miles, due to major failures or repeated minor failures. I made the decision to retire a RAM 1500 at only 30K due to repeated failures, a/c, sensors, rear end, etc. although these items were all covered under warranty, in the service industry, lost time is lost money, not to mention the transportation to the dealership, and all of the other associated direct cost. We traded it in on a Ford, it now has over 250K on it and is still running strong. With only the standard wear items being replaced, tires, belts, brakes, etc.

I purchased the Dodge vehicles personally due to the lower initial cost and the body styles and physical appearance. SUCKER!!! I write this to warn anyone that is considering a product from this company that you can either pay now, or pay later… Below is the actual copy of the “customer Service” correspondence.

Daniel:

Thank you for contacting the Dodge Assistance Center.

We are sorry to hear you are having an issue with your OEM doors. We fully appreciate your concern, particularly in view of the expense and inconvenience involved, however, we are unable to accommodate your request for out-of-warranty consideration. The vehicle has exceeded the time and/or mileage limitations of the warranty (or warranties) we offered on the vehicle at the time it was purchased. Although we are unable to provide a more favorable reply, we appreciate the opportunity to review your request.

Thank you again for taking the time to communicate with us. We're sorry we cannot provide a more favorable reply.

Sincerely,

Natasha

Customer Service Representative Dodge Customer Assistance Center

For any future communications related to this email, please refer to the following information: REFERENCE NUMBER: 24516455 EMAIL CASE NUMBER: 2926225

REPLY LINK: http://www.chrysler.com/wccs/brand_forms/us/reply.jsp?trk_ID=KMM8440472V30108L0KM&

Original Message Follows:

US Customer Service - Dodge Brand Site Brief Description: Ram Truck defective blower doors Comments: This is my second dodge ram, and my fourth Chrysler product that I have purchased new from the dealer. Currently my Ram 1500 has broken recirculation door, mode one and 2 doors. I took to dealership and was quoted 1500+ dollars for the repair, utilizing the same quality OEM doors that failed in the first place. I did research on the internet and found that this item is prevalent among the dodge ram trucks and they are all failing at the same point. This being the female portion of the door that the drive gear inserts into. To the point that there is a company "heater treater" making a living replacing these doors with upgraded metal doors and connectors, and providing DIY videos to help in this process. I find this very disconcerting that I would have to pay this amount and be without my vehicle while it is being replaced considering the large investment that I made in not only this vehicle but the other chrysler products that I have purchased. I did a search for recalls on this item, and found none. I would argue that the doors in question control the flow of air not only for passenger comfort but also to the windshield for defrost, making this a safety issue. I would request that I get this repair covered at no cost to myself and that I would be either given a vehicle to use while the repair is undertaken or compensated for a rental car. I also was told that the transmission pan gasket is leaking, (for how long I do not know) but that should not have failed in less than 70K miles either. I also would like that repaired during this process at no cost to myself.

2006 Dodge mega cab 1500 4x4 truck. First had defroster problems in first year of ownership, and problem was fixed "under warrenty." Then one year later, in December, had no wind shield defrosters. Had problem checked out, vent door shafts bent, and no fix it solution. Had to have both upper & lower ventilation housing units replaced...because they re-engineered them for 2007...go figure...and that also meant my 2006 evaporator which was was virtually brand new, also needed to be replaced. Total cost from dealer ship was $2500.00, but my mechanic did the job for $1800-1900.00!! When I called Chrysler, they had no complaints registered on this defect, and because my new truck...with 26000 miles was out of warrenty, they pretty much said...you on your own sir! After doing a internet search on this problem, I found pages and pages of this same problem, especially on the dodge jeeps! Now with 38,000 my water pump went, and altenator needs replacing. I like my truck, I like the room it has and the performance it gives me towing my boat, but dodge does not stand behind their products and all they give me is a run around and never a call back on my complaints. On my 1999 Durango, the front ball joints were bad, prematurely wearing out my front tires. It required new uper & lower ball joints, and the recall on this item only went back to the 2000 model, same part as my 1999 model, but they had to cut it off. total cost of that repair plus tires was $1700.00!! Twice burned by Dodge. Will not buy another dodge product again. They just don't back up their products!

The blower motor noise level was intolerable. Upon replacing the motor, which I found to be relatively simple, I discovered one of the mounting posts for the blend door had broken loose and fallen into the blower cage causing the failure of the motor. The door itself remains loose inside the upper housing,as it is too large to be removed through the opening for the blower. The new motor was $104.60 and only took me 20 minutes to replace. The noise has subsided, however, I can no longer defrost the right side of my windshield, due to the broken air flow gate. Hopefully, the loose door will not find a way to fall into the new motor and ruin it. Upon contacting a local dealer, they tell me that this condition has been reported, but the Ram Specialist at Chrysler have not heard of this problem. I informed them of this website so that they may view the complaints. We'll see what happens next week, if and when they contact me as promised.

well dealership fixed the blend door under extended warr and i had to pay 100 ded, but the bad part is they blew my headlamp fuse in the process, i picked up the truck in the morning not needing the headlamps until after work, upon calling the dealer they told me to bring it back extended should cover it and i have a 100 dollar deduct, i told them they broke my headlamps and i would not pay another deduct the tech should pay it for breaking it, finally they fixed it like it should have been in the first place and didn't even offer any help for driving back and fourth taking a vacation day to repair the truck and the blend door should be a recall with all the problems i've seen, dodge please take pride in your product and help the guy that loves his dodge truck

Extremely Pissed Off!!! Bought my truck used in April of 2009 just before the birth of my second child. Like I said it was April, prime window down season. Well, once it started to get hot and I wanted to use the AC, I realized something didn't seem right. I would turn the AC on, and crank the blower full blast and it sounded like a f-18 was taking off from inside my dash, but the air was barely trickling out. Not having owned a Dodge before, or having any immediate friends or family with a Dodge to ask, I took it to my trusting neighborhood Dodge dealer. "Thats the way all Dodge truck blowers are" I was told. And I asked the service manager point blank, "so a truck this nice has a sh*tty blower system like that???" Yeah, we get "quite a few" complaints about that in this year and model. "But they beefed it up in the 07's" Nice sales pitch I thought.

So I went to the dealership for the issue, and was lied to, to my face, because they didn't want to fix the problem (which was covered under my warranty at the time). Now, after my brother in law bought a used 06, and i felt how it is really supposed to be, I went back to the same dealer, same service tech 2 years later to complain again and try to get some resolve. I was told, im sorry, thats not covered under your warranty, but we can repair it for $1,182.47 parts and labor! Assholes!

I love my truck but this really pisses me off. I would call and complain to Chrysler, but reading all of your stories, it doesn't seem like it would do much good. If anyone gets a class action going, let me know, i'll do what it takes to help. Can we report it to Better Business Bureau???? Looking for an easy fix if anyone has any advice. Even if its just propping the door open for now, or removing the damn thing?????? Thanks

Purchased car from Carmax Irvine.Salesman immediately noticed the lack of airflow from the vents , and the blower motor working so hard so a due bill was made to fix the problem.

Brought truck in on day 2 of ownership and service manager tried to tell me this was normal. They had another 2006 Ram on the lot but he would not compare it to mine for reference. So I went to Riverside Carmax and tried their 2006 Ram and airflow was normal (good) and no blower motor vibrations.

When service manager finally agreed to fix it , he said he couldnt guarantee the airflow could be fixed. I had already researched the fix online and knew it was over $800 !<p>During the time it was in service I found a different car to buy from another dealer , so I used my 5 day return policy and got my money back.<p>The truck was supposed to take a week and a half to repair but after I bailed on the purchase , they put it back on the lot as "for sale" available !!!<p>Do not purchase this truck as it has not been fixed.They are hoping the next sucker wont notice. 1D7HA16266J195769

Amazing, every problem I've had with this truck, I find hundreds with the same. I kept noticing that my feet freeze in the winter. FINALLY, I realized that no heat comes from the floor vents. Been going on for a couple years. With the economy...can't really part with $$$$'s to fix. I'm mechanical but not enough to pull the entire dash. If ANYONE has a way to rig it let me know or post it. Damn shame...really want to buy American..love the look of the Dodge but I'm getting tired (and poorer) supporting them. Wish they would support us (and their product)like we did them when they didn't have the money to continue. If they would at least make some effort I would meet them somewhere in the middle.. Guess that wasn't part of the Obama bailout.

this is the reason auto companies are going under.30,000 miles and the heater goes out.contacted dodge and they said out of luck,mechanic says around 800.00 to replace with dodge parts.that will not happen and soon there will be enough aftermarket parts that the emblems will no longer be needed.between 30,000 miles to 32000 miles i have had to replace the struts,front end work/heater,and now the turn signal switch does whatever it wants turn it left and maybe it turns right,left or not at all.and if it does work when you shut it off it keeps blinking.or blinks the other way.pretty impressed that the govt.bails out a company that cant stand behind their product for a dollar a mile.

Dodge A/C rip off with Blender Door breaking.

I brought my 2006 Dodge Ram in for week air conditoning blowing out. Also when I turned the air on full the motor vibrated. I brought my car into Dependable Dodge in Canoga Park. They took the glove capartment off and came back to say it will be $550 to fix the problem. I was not happy especially since my car was only out of warrenty 9 months.

I looked online and saw this is a common problem that happens around my mileage and 3 year time frame.

Bottomline: I undid three screws to take out the motor that was under the dash in back of the glove capartment. There was a loose peace raddling in the fan. That was the virbation. Then I looked up and a door (blender door) was loose. I took it out and re-installed the motor. Presto my air is back up working great.

I understand that this seperates outside air with inside circulation and now I can't. Who cares as long as i don't have to deal with this door breaking again. This is a complete wracket by all of the Dodge dealers and manufacturing. They know all about this and charge consumers crazy amount to fix. It took me 30 minutes at most.

Well, I read that just removing the door would work, so that is what I did. Apparently in the 2006 this is an ongoing issue as there was a body change that year, in 2007 they fixed this issue, of course no recall so you are SOL unless you are still under warranty. After removing the blend door through the fan motor opening it appears to work fine, the only thing I do not have now is "outside air" vs. "re-circulating air" (Max A/C) but it does work. I am calling Dodge to complain and will update.