I hope it works out for you man.

 

Parts did not come in as promised. They are somewhere between the shipper and the dealer. Oh what fun it is to deal with this truck. So I actually had to go to the dealer because I can never talk to a live person or have anyone return a voicemail. And this mind you is a huge multiple franchise dealer(Chrysler, GM, Ford, Mercedes, Toyota all at the same place). The guy(service rep) who is relatively new was sort of understanding but I just don't know if I will ever buy another Dodge. He was telling me that he has been swamped with Chryslers in general coming in for service/repair. And after reading other posts on here and also talking to the staff at my friendly rent a car place noone has had luck with dodges lately, at least one or 2 others on here have similar gauge cluster issues. The girl at the rent a car place had a dodge with a bad cluster. In my case I have always driven either a dodge or jeep and until now have not had any major problems.

Since my first post on this issue I have compiled a list of all the services this truck has needed. Mind you it was bought at 37K and now has 64K.
Steering column- got clicking feed back under braking-replaced at 38K
Radio- CD player quit playing audibly- replaced at 38K and subsequently quit working not worth it to re-replace
Rear stabilizer bar links- during annual PA body inspection they were worn out of spec- replaced at 47K
Rear end- pretty much destroyed and completely replaced housing, spider gears, pinion and stock LSD- replaced at 55K
Tie rod ends outer and 1 lower ball joint- worn out to point of not being able to keep alignment- replaced under recall prior to my ownership~15K, replaced again with aftermarket MOOG parts at 59K( when will the other 3 ball joints and 2 tie rod ends wear out?)
Gauge cluster- began acting up in February gas gauge not reading, speedo not reading then went totally nuts as detailed in my first post- still not completely fixed pending receipt of new cluster at 64K

So by looking at the pattern either a major engine system or the tranny/transfer case will die in the next 8 to 10K. My warranty ends in August or at 67K and I still have to pay on this thing for 2 years.

Does this qualify as a lemon?

All this for a truck that maybe gets put into 4wd 2 days a year(snow) and hauls nothing 99.9% of the time(dump run, mulch, topsoil).

 

I will start out with #$%* Dodge.

Today is day 8. Officially as of 4pm EDT I have to start paying out of pocket for my rental car at 38.99 per day. Called the dealer today as I have been doing every day since last Tuesday. Still no part, still no idea as to when the part will be in. What does it take to call a guy in the part supplier and have him say, "Hey I have a cluster on the shelf and I will send it right out" or "No I don't have one but I should have one by (insert date or range here)". My service rep said the part is ordered "direct ship" which means the dealer won't know they have it or that it is coming until they have it, which I find a little hard to believe.

All I can say is Good luck to anyone else that needs a cluster.

 

Received a call on 7/16 saying that the "system" was updated with a delivery date of 7/31. I can't believe it. It takes 2 weeks for them to tell me that the part might come in another 2 weeks. No loaner, I turned the rental car back in cuz that was costing me $40/day after the first 8 days.

Again, GOOD LUCK to anyone whose cluster quits on them.

 

7/31 came and went. Cluster is still not in. The new "Maybe it will be in date" is 8/17. They are holding my truck hostage at this point. I have been in contact with chrysler customer service and they are covering a rental for 5 days at a clip until the part comes in, at least thats how it was explained to me. Now I am trying to get reimbursed for my original rental period which cost me $400 out of pocket. If they dont I am going to either an attorney or any of the local news outlets to shed light on this ridiculous treatment of chrysler customers.

 

wow, they've been treating you rediculously bad! I'd be pissed if I was you. My girlfriend had a bad cluster in her '98 Ford Contour (lemon) and it took a week to get it. I'd be raising some heck at that dealership, my friend.

It seemed to me there was a program on the TV about dealerships holding customers cars hostage. It might have been on CBS.

 

Just talked to the dealer today. Seems the system is telling him 9/24. But here is the kicker, his Chrysler Service Rep. said that the part just shipped from Mexico and once rerouted by Chrysler should be in my truck sometime next week. I won't believe it till I see it. In the mean time Chrysler has been picking up a rental car tab for me. After the nice folks at the Chrysler Customer Service Line denied me any further coverage, the guy at the dealer got in touch with his rep and got me covered free o' charge For the past 2 weeks I have been sporting a 2009 Ram QC. It has the 4.7 and gets like 4+ mpg better than my Dak. HMM same engine in heavier truck and gets better mileage, something does not add up there but anyway. It will be 2 full months with out my own vehicle on Monday(9/6).

So to sum it all up chrysler is going to have to put up $1200 for rental cars that I have had since 7/6. All this for an $800 cluster that my extended warranty company is paying for except for the $100 dollar deductible.

So just learning from this experience.........one can come to the conclusion that I will NEVER buy another Chrysler product again, new or used. But if you are stuck in a situation like mine plan to make dozens of calls to stay on top of them and get actual results.

 

Well I got the call at 5:15PM tonight to come and get it. All I can say is FINALLY. And I was getting used to driving that rental RAM that chrysler was so gracious to pay for, oh well. I got my truck back and now it is out of warranty.

I know you are all so happy that this will be my last post in this thread.

So any bets on what the next repair will be?