Just wondering if anyone has any experience recently with National Backorder on parts. Any tips?

I've been waiting on a fuel tank since January - (mine is cracked on the top around the check valve) - so we're at 3 months now. Called and opened up a case with corporate 3 weeks ago. They assured me they would "expedite" the order and gave me an ETA of yesterday. No surprise, the part hasn't even shipped yet and they can't tell me if their supplier even has one made.

I'm kinda hesitant to grab a used tank due to the design flaw/wear and tear nature of the issue. But no A/M parts for this that I can see, so I've got a feeling I'm gonna have to drive it this way until I give in and purchase a decent used tank nearby.

Anyone dealt with this issue before?

'05 1500 5.7L

 

I haven't seen that issue. I got a salvaged tank for my truck when mine cracked. I had a piece of road debris hit it in the lower left corner.

 

Well - It has been a month since the original post, and still no part. A supervisor named Sharon at Dodge's parts department gave me a part # of a new fuel tank (55366067AE), and assured me it would be delivered the week of May 6'th. They won't provide a rental or any assistance while my truck is off the road.

This week they advised me the part is either lost or on someone else's truck (they say they can't locate it). Still no ETA, and the supplier's "promise date" for shipping gets bumped 2 weeks at a time. When I ask to speak with someone who can actually answer my questions (are these even being manufactured now? where is the part you promised me?), they refuse to bring anyone else on the line. When I requested a call from a regional director, he advised it wasn't his job to speak with me. Right now I'm waiting on a call back from Sharon next week, once she does some more research.

If this is the kind of customer service you get from Dodge, I definitely won't ever be buying another one, and will probably trade it for something else. It's a shame, because I've always been attracted to the Dodge models, but I can't support a company that doesn't support its customers.

 

Chevy and Ford aren't that much better, and Ford seems to be having problems with it's engines again.

Whatever floats your boat, dude. Never heard of the tanks cracking, dad's Ram is still running the original tank nearly 130k and 11 years since it rolled off the line.

 

If this is the kind of customer service you get from Dodge, I definitely won't ever be buying another one, and will probably trade it for something else. It's a shame, because I've always been attracted to the Dodge models, but I can't support a company that doesn't support its customers.

Matt: I can tell you a half a dozen horror stories involving other manufacturers. SOme vehicles even go to scrap because of parts unavailability. A post I made on this site about two years ago was met with indifference (I was thrown rocks on another site about the same subject) as I brought up the depletion of the parts warehouses initiated as Chrysler and GM were going under in 2008-2009.

Have you tried a fuel tank rebuilder in your area? To make you feel good, let me tell you the rack and pinion unit failed on my 2008 RAM last winter. Barely made it back home to start the Impala: 3 warning lights went on (two for braking). Limped to the office with the car. As far as the RAM was concerned, the first part received was the wrong one (of course). Then, the staff at the garage found one compatible unit, and ONE was all that was available. Do they refurbish these things one at the time, and on demand?

Good luck with your repair, Matt. Daniel

 

Somewhat of a topic change, if you've got a Reman rack and pinion, prepare to have it go out in about a year. My dad's Ram literally went through 3 racks in a year. The OEM, a reman, and a second reman that blew up on the shop's test drive. The shop GAVE (no labor or anything) my dad a brand new MOPAR R&P from the Dodge house. No problems since.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the responses and stories. My rack and pinion is leaking on the DS as well, but not badly...so good to know about your experience with that. The truck has several other petty (<$500) problems right now, and I understand all vehicles break, no manufacturer is perfect.
What upsets me is the way that Dodge has responded to my issue. I think this indefinite national backorder stuff is pitiful. If the company isn't planning on producing a product for the next 6-12 months (or ever?), let the customer know! So they can plan accordingly and get their truck back on the road another way. That is my problem with Dodge. Don't lead me on to believe the part is still coming each month when you know it isn't. Maybe Ford, GM, Toyota treat their customers the same way? I dunno. I love the Rams, but to me buying a vehicle is about 50% vehicle quality, and 50% customer service / company quality. They're all bound to have problems, it's what they do to fix it that counts.

 

By law, replacement parts must be available for 10 years. So 2005 parts should be available until 2015 by Chrysler. The problem is that some parts are not made by the supplier until a minimum amount of the part is ordered. (i was in the automotive plastic industry for 18yrs.) Sometimes the customer will not order until they need so many due to not wanting to pay a set-up fee more than once to run a small amount of parts.
I have never heard of this cracked fuel tank being an issue, and the issue on oem replacement parts that I mentioned above may not even be the case here, but if there is that big of a demand for OEM replacement tanks, they should be easy to obtain unless the company that has the tooling has gone under and new tooling has to be built and developed.
And as mentioned above, all manufacturers have customer service issues whether it's on purpose or due to an outside supplier issue.
Ford is currently being sued over their supposedly unbeatable EcoBoost due do poor performance, poor MPG's vs advertised numbers, and stalling/no power issues. This includes all EcoBoost engines from the Focus to the F150.