I was wondering about that whole dashboard thing. The plastic seems so thin and cheep so I try to park in the garage as much as possible. But I live in Ohio where the weather changes drasticly from hot to cold. And I wounder how long the thin plastic can withstand those changes. Being that my steering wheel couldnt stand up to my hand for that long.

 

Gang,

RE: steering wheel decaying issues

Appearently, factory reps. are a thing of the past or my dealer won't release the infomation. Does anyone have any contact information with Chrysler? I can't even find a mailing address for corporate. I really want to write a letter about my steering wheel issues.

Thanks,

 

Not a Dodge, but my old GMC (sold it when we got the Dodge) had a problem with the steering wheel starting to break up at the 12 o'clock position. I found a real lace-on leather steering wheel cover at Pep Boys that would fit. This was not the cheap vinyl thing with all the holes and the flat plastic wrap-around strap, either, but real leather with a needle and thread. It was a real pain to install because you had to lace it up just like a factory cover, but it looked good when it was done. I spent almost an hour running that needle through the holes, pulling the thread through, and then several hours working the thread tighter and tighter, working my way around the wheel. It looked like it came from the factory when it was done, though. And it was still there and still looked good several years later when we sold it.

 

The Dodge folks sent me a customer service survey. Please see my response below.

To whom it may concern,

I am very disappointed with Chrysler and their position not to replace my defective steering wheel. The last two new cars I purchased were Dodge products. Given the circumstances with my steering wheel..I will not buy another one. I also will not be using my local small town dealer (University Chrysler Jeep Dodge) for service any longer. I am through...and I expect if you don't start helping them by standing behind your defective products they will continue to lose customers. In todays economy you're not setting the world on fire selling full size pick ups, so I would think you would treasure the customers you do have. When I see the boards go up over the windows and the the sign come down, I will just smile and declare victory when I drive by the old dealership with my decaying steering wheel in hand. REFERENCE NUMBER: 17809561




----- Original Message -----
From: <SatisfactionSurvey@chrysler.com>
To:
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 7:43 PM
Subject: Please tell us how we did!


> Dear ,
>
> We here at Dodge are continuously looking for ways we can serve you better. Your assistance would be a significant help to our efforts if you could take a couple of minutes to give us your feedback.
>
> Recently you sent an email to Dodge, the subject of which you titled:
> 2005 Dodge Ram Steering Wheel Problems
>
> Please click on the link below to open our web page questionnaire and answer the questions based on this most recent email interaction.
>
> Thank you in advance for taking the time to help us improve. The answers you provide will assist us to gauge your satisfaction with our handling of your question (or issue).
>
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>

 

Yep its all about quantity not quality. Costomer service is hard to find anymore. These companies act like we owe them somthing. I wish I grew up in the 50's. If you had a steering wheel problem they would just give you a new car no questions asked.

 

Its a wear and tare item, some last longer than others but ultimately I have never seen a leather stearing wheel that did not have some sort of wear to it. My 05' has sat outside for 2yrs of baking in the Arizona heat and is barely wearing down. Mine will get flakey if its humid outside/inside the truck or if my hands are sweaty but otherwise its not an issue. and when it does get like that I change hand positions so that Im not grabbing the part of the wheel thats starting to flake/rub off and after it cools off or dries off its fine again... now if your wheel is quite litterally pealing off then thats a different story but if its just wearing down in general there's not really a problem with the wheel... As for the dash cracking, leave any vehicle out in the sun for long enough uncovered and they'll crack, the plastic getts brittel and when you hit a bump or put any type of stress on the plastic its going to crack.

 

I don't agree with you on this one truckin'. Although I concede the point that both the steering wheel and dash will show signs of wear to varying degrees because of environmental factors, these particular items are out and out failing, and at a much, much higher rate than Ford or GM's or the same years, in the same areas, seeing the same climates.
No, these are two items where they cut corners and the cheap materials used are falling apart. Like I said, my steering wheel was shot from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock within about a year and half. I was just stupid enough to not be bothered to take a trip to the dealer while it was under warranty and instead, covered it with a high quality cover. I personally know people with 2nd gens and early 3rd gens whose had the dash completely cave in. Now come on, I've not seen that happen to that extent on vehicles built 30+ years ago that are still on the road...

 

True but you cant really compare the steering wheels of other trucks of the same year in the same area and climates to each other as far as the wear that they get. IF you take the opinions of one person whose hand are the same texture as sand paper because they work outside all day or use their hands all day and then grip or rub their steering wheel in the same spot, in the same way every day for a year or two to someone who works inside all day and has smooth hands and does the exact same thing when they grab the wheel everyday, the wear wont be the same. Its basically the same concept as giving a construction worker and a model a pair of leather gloves and see who wears through their pair first. So as far as the steering wheel is concerned its a wear item.

The dash is a whole other thing though. if the right conditions are met they can and will cause a sink hole in the center of your dash. Any bit of moisture gets past that layer of paint thats on it and it rots from the inside out. Most of the time you will think its fine and it looks nice and smooth while the actual damage is being done inside from mold and rotting foam.... But that seems to be consistant with almost all vehicles on the road too, not just dodges...

 

I don't really dis-agree with the fact that a steering wheel is a wear item. However when Chrysler tells the dealerships that steering wheels are failing prematurely because of the PH of our skin its a problem. Are we suppose to drive with gloves on? They know they screwed up with the material they used and should stand behind it. My dealer offered me a pretty deep discount to replace the wheel but why should I spend the money...it will do the same thing again in 2 years. I'm done with Dodge and I hope these kinds of issues cut them to the quick. My truck cost 42K...I felt like a dumb A-- when I handed them cash and now I know why their loyalty to the customer is non-existent.

I am also happy to report the money I was getting ready to spend for a new Challenger will now be better spent on a new Camaro or Vette. I'm also selling my Viper. Again I'm done with Dodge!

 

What have you been using to clean and preserve the leather on the wheel. Our skin and sweat contains acid and will deteriorate leather, that's fact. I clean mine with Zaino leather cleaner and then put on their leather treatment and after three years, it still looks new. Your cutting your nose off spite your face.