Hey everyone,

I recently purchased my first Dakota (05 Quad Cab 4x4 ST 3.7L in "Mineral Grey").

I know many might say why the ST instead of one of the better equipped models but we really got what I thought was a good deal on it ($16,900) and I'm not big on all the bells and whistles,it just seems like more to go wrong after the warranty is gone.
I have added a K&N filter (well worth the money), power door locks with keyless entry,an alarm,in-channel wind deflectors and a Line-X bed liner (wheels are next).

We really like the truck...it handles very well, has good power for having the 3.7, decent sound system, and is comfortable and roomy. I do believe the gas mileage could be bettter (we get about 15.5 at about 2000 miles) and it definetly needs interior storage. The major drawback to the ST quad is no console in between the front buckets just blank space like a van. I hope to change that in the future.

Now to my problem...The back door on the drivers side does not line up with the front door when the doors are closed. From the body line at the door handle to the top of the door it sticks out almost a 1/4 inch more than the front (this is something that gets more and more noticable and annoying when you know what your looking for).
I took it back to the dealer and was told it was a factory problem and they could not fix it. My salesman and I looked at the rest of the Daks in stock and they all seemed to have the same problem (some worse than others, mine being one of the worst). I'm not sure which direction to persue about this.

Has anyone else noticed this and if so what have you done about it.

I will take some pics soon

 

I say the Squeaky wheel gets the oil. in other words if you feel it isnt right then Bitc$ about it. $16.9 is a good deal but dont let them lay on you saying well we gave you a good deal on your truck and so you should just live with it. If the dealer wont help you, You may want to think about sitting down and actually writing a letter to Dodge.

I dont have the QC just the CC. I didnt notice anything like that when i was looking at the QC's though.

Sorry i couldnt be more help.
Good luck tho. let us know what happens.



Jim.

 

I would definately march right back to that dealer and demand it be fixed if it clearly does not line up right. If they can't fix it then start investigating the lemon laws in your state. The car dealer can easily call someone at Dodge and let them know of the problem - don't let them blow you off. Does sound like a great deal on the truck though!! Heck I paid ten grand more than that for the Laramie and I thought I got a decent deal...

 

Thanks for the replys

I have now gone to two other dealers and they both told me the same thing "we can't fix it and Dodge won't replace the door"
I just got my dealer and service center surveys in the mail yesterday and needless to say they will be quite negative and contain letters explaining my situation in detail. I am definetly someone who will not back down so it will be interesting to see what happens.

As for the price I paid...they pretty much had to give me the truck for that price. Another dealer in Portland had an ad for an 05 QC 4x4 ST for $17,500 (loss leader vehicle, one only and it wasn't there when we went to look at it at 9:00 am). We then went to another dealer who was running an ad that said they would beat anyones advertised price by $500 as long as the MSRP matched up...sure enough they had one that did so we bought it. But just for fun my wife and I offered only $16,900 and they went for it. I thought for sure they would argue the $100 but they didn't at all.

The finance officer did try to sneak in the extended warranty and some kind of theft prevention service that put the price up over $20,000 but I called them on it and it was removed and when I let my salesman know what was going on they did my Line-X for cost, $300.

It's too bad because I am happy with the truck and the by far it was the easiest vehicle purchase I have ever had ....but....the service after the sale has been pretty poor.

 

I have the QC also. I never noticed it till I went looking after I read this. The top sticks out 1/16" roughly and the bottom is in about the same. But at the top the rear door sticks almost 1/4" farther towards the center of the vehicle. Alot of it looks like Dodge had a hard time making the doors...bad molds/dies. Next time I'm go by a dealer I will take a look at what they have in stock. Let us know if Dodge contacts you at all about it. Have you tried contacting Dodge Customer Service directly yet?

 

I have yet to contact dodge customer service directly yet.....I have been pretty busy lately, although my letters will be going out in the mail with my dealer and service surveys tommorow.
My first oil change is free so I will hound them again when I go in for it in about two weeks. Maybe if enough of us say something someone will listen.

 

My 05 had the same problem but on the passenger side. The doors were actually so far out of alignment that the bottom would not latch at all.
Mt first visit yielded "we couldn't find anything wrong".
So my second visit consisted of showing the service manager exactly what the problem was. As soon as I classified it as a "safety issue" (door not closing pcompletely), I was told to bring it in and the boys in the body shop would realign the doors.
I dropped it off and upon it's return everything was right where it should be. If anything, it latches a little too tight.
Be persistent. It's a brand new truck, you shouldn't have to accept any flaws.

 

First off sorry to hear of your problems. I just spoke to my father in-law about what to do. He has been an engineer for Chrysler for 35 yrs. He told me to look in the owners manual, and you should find contact information for issues you can't get resolved at your dealership. Also I don't know if you received one, but in my packet from the dealership I was given a book with all the lemon laws for each state. All this was found in my little folder thing that's in the glove box. If the truck isn't right they will fix it. They have to. Hope this helps.

 

I just took a look at our red 2005 QC Dakota rental and it appears to have the same issue. I'm shocked that Dodge refuses to fix the mistake they made on it. Nothing you can't live with though. Good luck.




-Matt-