Thanks for all of your replies (other than the legal stuff). I am a tech guy in a different industry so I understand that stuff gets screwed up and everything can be fixed, but not even trying to satisfy the customer is unacceptable.

The first thing I'm going to do is check the spare tire, excellent idea. I already checked the jack and it is tight.

I'm sure that the noise underneath is coming from the back because I had the wife drive and I sat in the back to get a better idea. When I did that, the loudest bang was under the 3rd row on the passenger side but also noticed it under the driver side, so the suspension TSB may be the culprit but I am gonna check the spare later tonight when I get home.

I have a call in to Dodge Customer Service and just got a case # to try and find a better service dealer.

I appreciate all of the help.

Murf

 

Murf,

If you want to PM me your case # I would like to follow it and help out if I can.

 

Indy D

I fully understand where you are coming from In regards to my comments. I am a car fanatic and very OCD about quality of a new car, especially once the sticker goes over 40k. I tried and tried to tell her to buy a Lexus SUV but she is loyal to her Durango. I read these forum post before I even went out looking for the Gen 3 style and it is quiet amazing to see some of the issues. The factory that is pushing them off the assembly should be catching all these issues. I am in acft business and work as Field Serv Rep supporting the gov as my customer. We just don't build a airplane and shove it out the door and say come and get it. The factory test flies it first and if they are satisfied then the customer gets to test fly and they are not satisfied then they give it back until the problem is corrected. Gov test flights can go back and forth until they are staisfied with the product. Granted the Manufactors cannot do this but they should atleast make some kind of effort. All they do is kick it off the line and throw it on a truck bound for its destination.

The bad part about the one I am trying to buy, it was a Ddoge test vehicle and had 50 miles put on it b4 it made it to the dealership. How did I know this , yellow sticker on back window explaining it was test vehicle and seller was suppose to disclose to customer be 4 selling.

 

I'm not giving Dodge a pass here on quality. But you just can't compare government procurement with car buying. I too have been in goverenment contracting for longer than I want to admit. It's simply an apples to oranges comparison. If you contract with a manufacturer to build you a car (for several hundred K), where you create the specs, and you create the quality targets, you create the sourcing requirements , you are onsited during manufacturing, you are on the change control board, etc., etc., then I'll bet you'll get a car that is exactly what you expect.

 

OK, I checked the spare and everything else that I could. Nothing is loose. I'm calling the new dealer that was given to me by Dodge on Monday to set an appointment. I'll post the results. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

My 2011 Citadel has also developed a rattle in the headliner over the last couple of weeks. In thinking about it, I remembered that after reading the owner's manual and realizing that there is a storage area for the included remote control for the RSE DVD built into the rear DVD housing, I clipped it in there thinking it would be a good approach for it to be stored and out of the reach of kids in the back seat. After living with the rattle for several days, I finally took the remote out of of the overhead storage and the rattle is gone. So, for those of you that have the RSE option and a rattly headliner, you might want to try this before anything else if you have your remote stored overhead.

Good luck!

Chuck

 

Well FOLKS my new 2011 Citadel that was shipped in from North Carolina is still sitting at the dealership after arriving there just after Labor Day w/e. It arrived the around 7th of Sept and I told the dealer that I would be down on the 10th to take possesion. My Wife and I took a spin and that is when we noticed the noise in the headliner near the Rt Rear Passenger door ( See previous post).

Long story short IS dealer was heavily involved in the repair and I called numerous times this week to ensure it was ready and they were stating there pay checks ON IT that it was GTG. Wife and I arrived this morning to take delivery and once again we took it for a quick drive to verify it was fixed. Know more than turning out of the dealership and she heard the noise once more. We drove it about two miles over a seamed cement road and each time we hit a seam between the two concrete sections the noise was back ( sunroof area). We rtn'd to the dealer with disgust once again and I asked the our sales person which way they test drove it before we arrived. Coincidently when you turn right out of the dealer it is a freshly paved smooth black top road. When you go left it is sectioned cement. Test drives are good to the right and bad noise is heard if you go left.

Dealership said they would not be able to isolate the noise w/o completely removing headliner again, which had already been done after the first noise event. Basically they want to find us another vehicle and let somebody else take the noisy one. Since I have actually not bought the vehicle they would rather not deal with it. So someone else will buy it and either they will notice it and complain or deal with. If I am paying 45k for a vehicle it should not have noises like this one makes. My 2008 Durango Limited with 20k miles is tight and rattle free.

 

In the end, all that is missing (and will ultimately be the fix/solution/factory installed answer) is foam tape on the areas that touch causing the rattle. There is already a foam tape TSB for another rattle issue. Other manufacturer's cars have it from the get-go and Dodge saved 12 cents by not using it out of the gate thinking their tolerances were close enough to not need it. Whoops.

Isolation has been around since the development of the spring and pillows.

IndyDurango

 

i have a regular crew awd v6 with nav and moonroof. I have to say besides my '11 4.6 Genesis sedan, this is the quietest most solid riding vehicle i have owned in quite some time. the interior (even mine without leather) is put together very well, classier than all my previous GM's (including my '10 Yukon Denali). my wife loves it, i love it. very sorry to hear some guys having rattle issues, i wish you the best, but i still believe this is a great new SUV. hopefully you guys don't lose all faith in it before it's repaired.
Something else i noticed which is a nice touch is the stitching on the armrest/door panel, just upscale imo. Please let us know how you're making out. I know my dealer owns like 10 or more places, including a body shop with all new state of the art equipment. i had a bad experience with service when i picked up a new car there once, the owner of ALL THE DEALERS THEY OWN came out and personally saw to it that the issue was fixed. When it wasn't they put me in a NEW one which stickered for $2k more. not all dealers suck is my point.

My dealer is LesterGlenn Dodge, they own alot of them in the Toms River, NJ area. Owner is Adam Kraushaar. I have his cell number and he told me to never attempt to buy another car there again without calling him first, just like to get that out there.

 

TonyCrew, agree. Thankfully, we have no rattles. The Citadel is really sweet. I am very impressed with the look outside and inside.