Burning Rom, how do you feel about the Cylinder Head problem on the Magnum engines? Shouldn't those be recalled as well? I love my Dodge and I can see how recalls hurt the bottom line of a business. But the whole point of building vehicles is to build them right and people will like them. Now as I said, I love my Dodge. It's by far the absolute best truck I've ever owned (I've owned or driven about 7 different makes and models). But the trackbar issue and the cylinder heads on the magnum 360's seem to be two items that DC should address.

I have filed a complaint with the NHTSA-ODI about the cylinder heads on my ram, and I did find one or two others there as well. So for me, I would recommend those of us who have had these two problems (I have and have paid good money to fix them) should start screaming about these.

I can see the problem with the cracked dash, but as was pointed out later in the thread, it appears to be limited to a certain vendor. A recall might be in order, but that is up to NHTSA to decide. We can complain all we want, but if it isn't a valid issue, one can only hope that NHTSA will see that and stop it there.

As for my cylinder heads and trackbar? Reimbursement seems fair enough to me. I don't want to RPP Chrysler for it. Just pay for the defective parts since I did the work myself.

Just my 5 cents worth (inflation you know!)

 

I agree that re-imbursment would be something they should look at, for the cylinder heads anyway. It's not a problem with EVERY motor and it doesn't warrant a NHTSA recall because it's not something that threatens your safety. If anything, it would be a manufacturer recall just as the dashes (if recalled) should be a manufacturer recall and NOT a safety recall. But with the 2nd gen models only getting older, it's not too likely either of those recalls (or any others for that matter) will ever happen. [>:]

As I mentioned, the track bars SHOULD be a safety recall and in addition I do agree that they should re-imburse owners that have already replaced them. Re-imburse them for at least one replacement anyway. Some owners have replaced their track bar multiple times. [:'(] But that's not too likely to happen either.

 

I'm paranoid about filling out my address on a site I've never heard of lol but I would like to file a complaint I may do it. This dash makes me mad as I don't think it should look like that and to me it's embarrasing when people get in my truck and look at that.

Mines cracked right down to the airbag I don't know that it would affect it though. It is also starting to rattle which is really making me mad. I definately think Dodge needs to recall them.

 

Hometheaterman, Don't worry about the NHTSA website. Unless you are one of those that looks to the sky for Black Helicopters!!! [sm=laughat.gif] Just kiddin' around!!

It is a US Government website, not a private company.

 

Ok I had just never heard of it before thats why I was cautious I didn't want to put my info in some random site some guy on here created.

 

I have a '99 ram and my dash is well.... Lets put it this way... Ever seen a jigsaw puzzle with 500 peices? I took my dash apart and spent hours getting sealing and glue to hold it together... The underside of my dash is a wad of duct tape, poly sealant, and plastic cement..

The dashboards on my truck and those of similar years (I know 6 other people with this problem, all trucks between '96 and 2001) are getting brittle. It's like brittle-bone disease for a dashboard basically.. It started out as 1 crack and turned into 5000. There fore awhile I was driving around with no dash... Most of the problem comes from no insulation. The dodge dashes are mostly plastic and even the reinforcement grooves and bridges don't protect the plastic from getting brittle.. One day you hit a pothole and there's a hole the size of a basketball... WTF? [&:]

 

ive been reading alot of the complaints about the dashboard, and now ill make my complaint as well.. mine looks like its just giving in. i asked my husband to kind of glue it back together for the time being as dodge wants just under 500 dollars for the part. its just plastic. and they told me it cost so much because they have pride in their parts. But when i him " if dodge takes so much pride in their parts. why is this now the second dashboard that has failed on me?" he couldnt give me an answere other than telling me i let my truck sit in the sun too much.
my truck sits in the shade, and is never in any kind of extreme weather.
but i was lucky enough to find the same color dashboard from somone that was parting out their ram with the same color dash and interior a couple of years ago.. so i picked up a couple of parts out of there. like the cup holder broke a few months ago.. luckily i had that sitting around.
but my dash has been broken for over a year, and like the last person said looks like a puzzle, but my puzzle is even missing peices.
is there any recall on this item considering it seems to be a rather comon problem for these trucks?
shannon
but this dash has been broken for over a year now

 

YOUR CUPHOLDER BROKE TOO EH!?!?!?! HAHAHAHAHAH!! Oh man this is classic..

I love my truck to death, don't get me wrong.. I've never had any problem with the engine.. (Although it's on transmission #2.. Another common Dodge problem.) Then there was the ABS issue.. which that was a quick fix.... Oh wait, and I have to get it re-aligned every 5-6 months... Wait no there's more.. All of my AC vents cracked and most fell off... Uhmm what else... OH!! THE BALL JOINTS! Yeah, that one sucked.... If you've ever had a joint go out on you while driving... Heh... Scariest **** ever..

This dash problem is my biggest grrrr... Atleast the other junk I could fix myself or get someone other than a Dodge retailer to fix... Right now looking for a dash for my truck is like impossible.. I've gone to junk yards and anywhere I can think of... The dashes are either 1-2 years off or guess what... THEY'RE CRACKED TOO!!

Also I suggest people get a dashboard cover.. That's my next investment after a new truck.. You can get em online for like 40 bucks.

 

My 01 has been cracking for a year. And then last week, a large piece of it fell in. Dodge makes crappy interiors - they are known for it. But this is ridiculous!

I sent an email on Dodge's website and I got back an email telling me to contact a certain number for Dodge - I think it was some kind of special customer service number. But I lost the email (too quick on the delete). Anybody else have that number?

Other question - what's the best price you have seen on a replacement dash? But then, am I just buying another 2001 part, which is obviously from a vendor that put these defective pieces of crap out in the first place?

 

I sent another email to the contact address on the Dodge site. They wrote back and got my phone number and called me. Very nice customer service, except they are not replacing anything out of warranty unless NHTSA makes them do it via a recall.

The customer service rep I spoke with said he had heard a few complaints but that he didn't expect it was enough for a recall. He said to keep my receipts if in the future a recall does come I would be reimbursed.

Dodge wants $450 for a new dash and $400 to install it. No thanks Dodge - I don't need to put in another dash for $900 only to have it shatter in three years from now.

So I ordered a plastic overlay from coverlaymfg.com They are the manufacturers of a nice looking replacement that glues on over the original. I just hope I have enough pieces left on the dash to actually stick something to! Coverlay says they are getting several calls a day from Dodge owners with shattered dashes.

So although Dodge/Chrysler says it's not a big problem, there is a company making a nice bit of money selling replacement overlays. Good for them - they are really nice people at Coverlay. Too bad for Dodge because they have lost my business forever.