First and Last Dodge truck
#21
[quote=Boo Radley;2613136] i know they did some major corner cutting in the 2007 and 2008 chrysler and dodge vehicles.
My 07 definitely qualifies. I bought my Ram Quad 4X4 Hemi in July of 2010 with 19K miles. It was a lease turn in. It now has 30K miles, and I have had the following done:
Tie rod ends
EGR Valve (CEL)
Driver seat belt assembly
Power steering cooler
Driver side front wheel bearing
Front shocks
Now I have a driver door lock that will not work with the electronics. This has been the worst vehicle I have ever owned. The outward appearance when I bought it did not reflect abuse, but you never know with a used vehicle. I hope the 4th gens are better, as I will probably end up with one eventually. Thanks for letting me gripe about it.
My 07 definitely qualifies. I bought my Ram Quad 4X4 Hemi in July of 2010 with 19K miles. It was a lease turn in. It now has 30K miles, and I have had the following done:
Tie rod ends
EGR Valve (CEL)
Driver seat belt assembly
Power steering cooler
Driver side front wheel bearing
Front shocks
Now I have a driver door lock that will not work with the electronics. This has been the worst vehicle I have ever owned. The outward appearance when I bought it did not reflect abuse, but you never know with a used vehicle. I hope the 4th gens are better, as I will probably end up with one eventually. Thanks for letting me gripe about it.
#22
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Yeah, between knowing a few guys personally with '07 & '08 Rams and being on multiple forums, I see a lot more "nuisance" problems with them than prior 3rd Gens.
The '07s are NOTORIOUS for tie rod end problems and are a separate part number from prior years (at least on the 4x4s). Power Steering cooler is a rare one though, might just be a fluke.
Wheel bearings have always been hit and miss and the fact they can't be lubricated is a major contributor. Shocks have always been like the stock tires, just low quality. These have always been 3rd Gen issues.
The EGR I'm gonna say is pretty normal though, expect one to die anywhere from 30k to 50k in just about any vehicle, closer to 30k if trips tend to be shorter where unburnt fuel and dirtier emissions are more common. It's meant to be a part that is to be replaced as normal maintenance...
The '07s are NOTORIOUS for tie rod end problems and are a separate part number from prior years (at least on the 4x4s). Power Steering cooler is a rare one though, might just be a fluke.
Wheel bearings have always been hit and miss and the fact they can't be lubricated is a major contributor. Shocks have always been like the stock tires, just low quality. These have always been 3rd Gen issues.
The EGR I'm gonna say is pretty normal though, expect one to die anywhere from 30k to 50k in just about any vehicle, closer to 30k if trips tend to be shorter where unburnt fuel and dirtier emissions are more common. It's meant to be a part that is to be replaced as normal maintenance...
#23
now that Hammer mentions it I do seem to see this on the 06-08 3rd gens.. Not many "big" issues but lots of stupid annoying things that you really shouldn't see. I mean even mine I had one hell of an issue with a fuel lean code.. Which really wouldn't be an issue if dealers employed competent technicians nowadays.. but troubleshooting is a thing of the past.. I digress.. either way I do agree..
#24
#25
I love the Dodge trucks, and will buy another, but it is sure frustrating. The guys at work love to break my chops over the poor quality of my 07 Ram, they are Toyota and Honda owners. My wife's 06 Grand Caravan, my past 03 Dakota Quad 4X4 (4.7L), and my past 05 Durango 4X4 Hemi had nowhere near the problems of this truck. I am definitely planning to dump it before 50K miles out of fear of the problems that are likely to come-
#26
I've had front end issues myself on the '07, but some of them are probably self-inflicted by installing the 2.5" level kit. So while I'm not happy about them, I also take some responsibility for them. I've got a squeak now that's driving me crazy, but I haven't taken the time to check it out. For what it's worth, everything else seems to be good.
joe
joe
#27
#28
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That would be a personal attack, and I think you are going beyond the warning stage and just bashing at this point IMO.
Honestly, I've had a Ford I bought new drop a piston and need a complete engine rebuild at 14k miles and had a nightmare in dealing with the dealer and regional service rep over what constituted a proper repair on it.
I've had stupid nuisance problems with two Chevy trucks, although neither left me on the side of the road.
I've owned two Rams, and the single worst issue I've had with either over 10 years of combined ownership was a blown shock.
So I personally haven't seen issues, NOT that I'm saying others haven't or that Chrysler hasn't cut corners and used suspect components in their trucks.
But I will say that A) I'm **** about maintenance and do it all myself and B) I know potential problem areas with these trucks (like the stock LSD, tie rod ends, etc.) and have replaced these components with better/aftermarket ones BEFORE allowing them to become an issue. There's little doubt in my mind that if I didn't yank the stock LSD at 19k miles and put in an Auburn unit, that I'd have had rear differential problems by now and with the size tires I'm running, I'd have had tie rod ends gone and probably ball joints too had I not gone to bigger, beefier and greasable Moog components.
But, there are guys in my hunting club who have had spark plugs blow thru the hood on their Ford trucks, and require EXPENSIVE repairs to re-tap the heads, I know a guy who bought a 'Yota Tundra who lost the use of his truck for over 4 months in the first year of ownership due to a rear differential failure AND a cam that literally came apart and took most of the engine with it. One guy had a head crack on his Ford 6.0 PowerStroke on the highway with under 20k miles on it.
If you think it's just Dodge with issues recently, you are just kidding yourself.
Now consider this a warning, for the "Dodge Bashing" or the "if you don't like it buy something else" factions. If it goes on, I'm gonna lock this thread and people are going to lose their ability to post!!!
You want to list your issues or gripe about how sh*tty the dealers are in fixing them, fine. But just to sit there and make blanket "my truck sucks" statements is just intentionally trying to get a rise out of people and I'm not going to put up with it...
Honestly, I've had a Ford I bought new drop a piston and need a complete engine rebuild at 14k miles and had a nightmare in dealing with the dealer and regional service rep over what constituted a proper repair on it.
I've had stupid nuisance problems with two Chevy trucks, although neither left me on the side of the road.
I've owned two Rams, and the single worst issue I've had with either over 10 years of combined ownership was a blown shock.
So I personally haven't seen issues, NOT that I'm saying others haven't or that Chrysler hasn't cut corners and used suspect components in their trucks.
But I will say that A) I'm **** about maintenance and do it all myself and B) I know potential problem areas with these trucks (like the stock LSD, tie rod ends, etc.) and have replaced these components with better/aftermarket ones BEFORE allowing them to become an issue. There's little doubt in my mind that if I didn't yank the stock LSD at 19k miles and put in an Auburn unit, that I'd have had rear differential problems by now and with the size tires I'm running, I'd have had tie rod ends gone and probably ball joints too had I not gone to bigger, beefier and greasable Moog components.
But, there are guys in my hunting club who have had spark plugs blow thru the hood on their Ford trucks, and require EXPENSIVE repairs to re-tap the heads, I know a guy who bought a 'Yota Tundra who lost the use of his truck for over 4 months in the first year of ownership due to a rear differential failure AND a cam that literally came apart and took most of the engine with it. One guy had a head crack on his Ford 6.0 PowerStroke on the highway with under 20k miles on it.
If you think it's just Dodge with issues recently, you are just kidding yourself.
Now consider this a warning, for the "Dodge Bashing" or the "if you don't like it buy something else" factions. If it goes on, I'm gonna lock this thread and people are going to lose their ability to post!!!
You want to list your issues or gripe about how sh*tty the dealers are in fixing them, fine. But just to sit there and make blanket "my truck sucks" statements is just intentionally trying to get a rise out of people and I'm not going to put up with it...
#29
If you go back through the thread , you will see I have listed every single problem with this truck . I have never made a " blanket " statement " . If we can't have honest debate of Dodge Trucks , then all we have is a blind lovefest . I assure you , every problem I have listed is real and I will stand by all of my previous posts . There are other people who are lurkers to these forums and are looking to get REAL info from real owners . If you look back , I am not the only one having problems with the Gen 3 Dodge Truck .
Last edited by redtruck2500; 10-08-2011 at 01:33 AM.
#30
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No, you're not the only one who's had problems with their truck. But the "truck is a turd" and "piece of ***" are blanket statements used just to get a rise out of people.
If you have ever read MY posts across this forum, you'd see that I've gotten on Chrysler pretty good for shortcomings with these trucks on behalf of members many times, so much so that I've been given a "talking to" more than once. There ARE very real issues with these trucks in certain areas, just as there are with EVERY other truck made today. In some instances they coincide (front ends, death wobble, etc.) and some have their own unique problems like the heads on Fords or the rear end on Chevys or the LSDs on Rams.
I've owned seven full size, 4x4 pick up trucks in the 28 years I've been driving and a true sampling with one Jeep J10, two Fords, two Chevy and two Ram trucks as well as five Jeep and one Dodge SUVs, all but three of the above bought new off the lot. I am/have been a member of multiple Jeep forums, Ford forums, Dodge forums and have even been a moderator on a Chevy truck forum. I can assure you that if you look go on these forums and read, you'd find that the percentage of people who bi*ch about what total pieces of crap their trucks are are roughly the same no matter what forum you go to.
I read EVERYDAY where one guy says his Ford is a total POS and it's his last Ford, same with Chevy, same with 'Yota.
I belong to a south Georgia hunting club with roughly 120 members, almost all full size 4x4 truck or suv owners. I've seen/heard it all. The guy with the Ford who's having nothing but problems when his last Chevy got 185,000 trouble free miles and the guy with a Chevy that's been in the shop more than out who's Ford never got a single CEL in the six years he's had it and on and on.
As stated, I've been fortunate to have had two Rams that have been trouble free and from the sounds of it, I'm a LOT harder on my trucks (especially my old 2nd Gen) than you are. Of my two Fords, my '93 diesel was great, power-train wise, but it absolutely ate ball joints. My '97 F150 defined the word "Lemon".
I had one Z71 that was plagued with electrical gremlins and the push button, electronic transfer case never worked reliably. The other one was built with an out-of-balance and improperly lubed drive shaft and once it was repaired never really had any other problems, although it couldn't get out of it's own way when I lifted it and put 35" tires on it despite having a 5.3L V8 engine.
I also will acknowledge that the company has changed hands TWICE in the last five years. I firmly believe that in the last year or two of Daimler (Mercedes) ownership, Chrysler didn't receive the priority it had in the past. The sale to Cerberus was a nightmare, as Cerberus is a financial company whose only experience in the automotive industry was as a lending company. There is NO question in my mind that corners were cut and parts were obtained based solely on the bottom line and I have seen first hand more problems in the '07 & '08 3rd Gens than in previous year trucks. Hopefully, now that it is again owned by an established automobile maker that things will be righted.
I think the only reason Ram trucks have survived is that despite all of their shortcomings, other vehicles on the market are not made significantly better enough to put a nail in the coffin of Dodge.
If you have ever read MY posts across this forum, you'd see that I've gotten on Chrysler pretty good for shortcomings with these trucks on behalf of members many times, so much so that I've been given a "talking to" more than once. There ARE very real issues with these trucks in certain areas, just as there are with EVERY other truck made today. In some instances they coincide (front ends, death wobble, etc.) and some have their own unique problems like the heads on Fords or the rear end on Chevys or the LSDs on Rams.
I've owned seven full size, 4x4 pick up trucks in the 28 years I've been driving and a true sampling with one Jeep J10, two Fords, two Chevy and two Ram trucks as well as five Jeep and one Dodge SUVs, all but three of the above bought new off the lot. I am/have been a member of multiple Jeep forums, Ford forums, Dodge forums and have even been a moderator on a Chevy truck forum. I can assure you that if you look go on these forums and read, you'd find that the percentage of people who bi*ch about what total pieces of crap their trucks are are roughly the same no matter what forum you go to.
I read EVERYDAY where one guy says his Ford is a total POS and it's his last Ford, same with Chevy, same with 'Yota.
I belong to a south Georgia hunting club with roughly 120 members, almost all full size 4x4 truck or suv owners. I've seen/heard it all. The guy with the Ford who's having nothing but problems when his last Chevy got 185,000 trouble free miles and the guy with a Chevy that's been in the shop more than out who's Ford never got a single CEL in the six years he's had it and on and on.
As stated, I've been fortunate to have had two Rams that have been trouble free and from the sounds of it, I'm a LOT harder on my trucks (especially my old 2nd Gen) than you are. Of my two Fords, my '93 diesel was great, power-train wise, but it absolutely ate ball joints. My '97 F150 defined the word "Lemon".
I had one Z71 that was plagued with electrical gremlins and the push button, electronic transfer case never worked reliably. The other one was built with an out-of-balance and improperly lubed drive shaft and once it was repaired never really had any other problems, although it couldn't get out of it's own way when I lifted it and put 35" tires on it despite having a 5.3L V8 engine.
I also will acknowledge that the company has changed hands TWICE in the last five years. I firmly believe that in the last year or two of Daimler (Mercedes) ownership, Chrysler didn't receive the priority it had in the past. The sale to Cerberus was a nightmare, as Cerberus is a financial company whose only experience in the automotive industry was as a lending company. There is NO question in my mind that corners were cut and parts were obtained based solely on the bottom line and I have seen first hand more problems in the '07 & '08 3rd Gens than in previous year trucks. Hopefully, now that it is again owned by an established automobile maker that things will be righted.
I think the only reason Ram trucks have survived is that despite all of their shortcomings, other vehicles on the market are not made significantly better enough to put a nail in the coffin of Dodge.
Last edited by HammerZ71; 10-08-2011 at 02:23 AM.