3rd or 4th gen?????
#31
03-23-2009, 12:10 PM
Jason, I don't have time to edit your questions like you did with my post but I'll try to answer some of them.
I should've left off the rear brakes, obviously a wear item within 100k. The headlight assy was loose, the whole thing was replaced. Yes, I've dealt with every kind of remedy for pinging that includes any TSB or opinion anyone has had on any forum for the last 8 years.
The t-stats I say were Dodge's fault as a result of ping because if it wasn't for ping, I would have never replaced it and never had to replace it again due to a faulty one. Chain reaction.
The steering is bad due to the junk box and bad design. A simple rack and pinion would last forever.
Everything else IMO should not have failed once, much less several times, at 100k miles on a daily driver that is never off-roaded. I could see if I beat on it and used it on a farm or something.
The funny thing is, I'm ok with the dash crack since it's never garaged and sees all the sun and weather for 10 years.
I've never heard of any vehicle that needed this many repairs and re-repairs with such few miles. Whenever I ask owners of fords and chevys who have high miles what they've replaced, they say nothing. My Dad's 05 Tahoe has 66k and has had one O2 replaced and one steering column ($189). That's it. It gets 18+mpg and has tons more power. He doesn't even have to touch the fluids until 100k.
Please don't start an argument (anybody) I'm just stating my experience and opinion. Take it or leave it. I could have dumped the truck along time ago, but decided to fix and keep. So ultimately, it's my responsibility.
I should've left off the rear brakes, obviously a wear item within 100k. The headlight assy was loose, the whole thing was replaced. Yes, I've dealt with every kind of remedy for pinging that includes any TSB or opinion anyone has had on any forum for the last 8 years.
The t-stats I say were Dodge's fault as a result of ping because if it wasn't for ping, I would have never replaced it and never had to replace it again due to a faulty one. Chain reaction.
The steering is bad due to the junk box and bad design. A simple rack and pinion would last forever.
Everything else IMO should not have failed once, much less several times, at 100k miles on a daily driver that is never off-roaded. I could see if I beat on it and used it on a farm or something.
The funny thing is, I'm ok with the dash crack since it's never garaged and sees all the sun and weather for 10 years.
I've never heard of any vehicle that needed this many repairs and re-repairs with such few miles. Whenever I ask owners of fords and chevys who have high miles what they've replaced, they say nothing. My Dad's 05 Tahoe has 66k and has had one O2 replaced and one steering column ($189). That's it. It gets 18+mpg and has tons more power. He doesn't even have to touch the fluids until 100k.
Please don't start an argument (anybody) I'm just stating my experience and opinion. Take it or leave it. I could have dumped the truck along time ago, but decided to fix and keep. So ultimately, it's my responsibility.
#32
03-23-2009, 04:13 PM
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What exactly are these miracle "other" makes? The Chevrolets and Fords all have their problems, some different than ours, some more costly, others not so much.
Fords are underpowered compared to other makes (they brag about best fuel economy... what a laugh), and the newer ones are to new to tell about problems. Same with 4th Gen Dodges and the newer Chevys/GMCs.
When it comes to our model years, out here, Dodges have the highest resale value. If you want a serious workhorse, you buy a Dodge. If you want a grocery getter that can tow your horse trailer on the weekends, you get a Chevy/GMC. If you want a grocery getter, you get a Ford. (I'm talking about gassers here, not necessarily diesels.)
The Fords, from what I've read and heard from mechanics, have tranny problems almost as frequently as our Dodges do, BTW.
I think 95% of whatever make you get, as far as reliability is concerned, depends on the previous owner and what they did with it, usage wise and maintenance wise.
You think Kia Rios are cheaply made, try a Chevrolet Cavalier. My wife's 2001 Rio was extremely reliable, only thing that went wrong with it in the five years she/we owned it was the thermostat going out once. It was a stick, back when Kia used Mazda transmissions. Her parents bought a Cavalier once, ended up suing Chevrolet over it. The car had dozens of electrical issues, would speed up randomly sometimes when you hit the brake, sometimes on its own, would brake randomly when you hit the gas sometimes, windows wouldn't always work, so on and so forth. The dealership took it for a test drive (her parents looking to return it), pulled up next to my father-in-law who was standing in the parking lot and claimed their was nothing wrong with it. Then as the manager was going to park it, it throttled itself (on its own) over the curb and straight into the dealership wall. The dealership offered to get them a new one, they wanted their money back. Dealership and Chevrolet refused, but later paid them the money plus legal fees after my parents in law won the lawsuit.
According to a friend of mine who worked at a Kia dealership, the rios and Kia minivans have dozens of issues. The SUVs and Spectras seem to have few to none. My wife and I are looking at a Kia Borrego to replace her Grand Cherokee in a year and a half to two years when the truck is paid off. Trying to talk her into one of the newer Grand Cherokees, but she doesn't like the square-ish stance so much.
My wife would agree with you on the "in a stick" comment.
Fords are underpowered compared to other makes (they brag about best fuel economy... what a laugh), and the newer ones are to new to tell about problems. Same with 4th Gen Dodges and the newer Chevys/GMCs.
When it comes to our model years, out here, Dodges have the highest resale value. If you want a serious workhorse, you buy a Dodge. If you want a grocery getter that can tow your horse trailer on the weekends, you get a Chevy/GMC. If you want a grocery getter, you get a Ford. (I'm talking about gassers here, not necessarily diesels.)
The Fords, from what I've read and heard from mechanics, have tranny problems almost as frequently as our Dodges do, BTW.
I think 95% of whatever make you get, as far as reliability is concerned, depends on the previous owner and what they did with it, usage wise and maintenance wise.
You think Kia Rios are cheaply made, try a Chevrolet Cavalier. My wife's 2001 Rio was extremely reliable, only thing that went wrong with it in the five years she/we owned it was the thermostat going out once. It was a stick, back when Kia used Mazda transmissions. Her parents bought a Cavalier once, ended up suing Chevrolet over it. The car had dozens of electrical issues, would speed up randomly sometimes when you hit the brake, sometimes on its own, would brake randomly when you hit the gas sometimes, windows wouldn't always work, so on and so forth. The dealership took it for a test drive (her parents looking to return it), pulled up next to my father-in-law who was standing in the parking lot and claimed their was nothing wrong with it. Then as the manager was going to park it, it throttled itself (on its own) over the curb and straight into the dealership wall. The dealership offered to get them a new one, they wanted their money back. Dealership and Chevrolet refused, but later paid them the money plus legal fees after my parents in law won the lawsuit.
According to a friend of mine who worked at a Kia dealership, the rios and Kia minivans have dozens of issues. The SUVs and Spectras seem to have few to none. My wife and I are looking at a Kia Borrego to replace her Grand Cherokee in a year and a half to two years when the truck is paid off. Trying to talk her into one of the newer Grand Cherokees, but she doesn't like the square-ish stance so much.
My wife would agree with you on the "in a stick" comment.
#33
03-23-2009, 05:47 PM
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I agree with laramie1997. Fords, Chevys, and Dodges all have pros and cons. My parents used to drive nothing but ford, my father had a 96 F-150 bought it brand new, caught fire once and burnt the interior, that was replaced and 3 months later, it burnt to the ground. My mother had 2 explorers, first one was OK, not too many problems. 2nd one, not so much, it was in the garage every other month. My dad bought a 97 ram after his truck burnt, loved it, has had 4 rams since then (currently has an 04 hemi and a 07 Power Wagon) and will never change brands. My mom got a 98 durango, put 120k+ on it, and the ONLY repair other than normal wear and tear items (brakes, hubs etc...) was the A/C pump went bad at 90k. She now has a 07 Grand Cherokee with the Hemi, leather etc. Almost 50k on it and not one single problem.
So i think like laramie said, when it comes down to it, its all personal preference...
Just my $.02
So i think like laramie said, when it comes down to it, its all personal preference...
Just my $.02
#35
03-23-2009, 06:04 PM
I guess part of the reason for your Kia Rio being bad and my wife's good is the years. They changed body style after 2003 or so, redesigned almost everything. They've had tons of problems with the newer Rios. The first Rios, 2001-2003 I think, were pretty good.
