Has anyone experenced any 3.6 penstar motor cylinder misfires ?

its frequent when cold , then gradually lessens when warm , nothing under any kind if engine load , No check engine light on , gas milege is very good , can watch tach jump a little under no load in park when damp outoutside anyone have any thoughts ? it's a 2012 sxt grand caravan with 27k on the clock

 

called Dodge customer care and inquired about anyone else having this issue , they instructed me to go to the dealer first thing in the morning to have it checked out , I will keep you posted on the outcome......

 

Probably a bit late now but since it happens mainly when the engine is cold you may want to drive the van to the dealership the night before so they will be looking at a cold engine. Otherwise, they may not see it and kick it back on the street.

 

I went to the dealer the next morning after contacting customer care , spent almost the whold day there for them to tell me the " computer" isnt telling them anything , as if on cue , there clueless techs , what they have lost there ability to dignose problems wiothout the "computer" telling them what to do ??? I owned two repair shops on L.I. NY back in the early 90's and we ALWAYS found the problems the "old school way" be being a REAL machanic , not these robot dealer monkees ...lol former ASC cirt tech .....

 

wait, so is the check engine light ON or Off? your title is a little mis-leading.
the computer will tell you about the Mis-fire if it is missing, and it is pretty accurate. So, can you duplicate the Mis-fire or not in front of the tech?

Back in the old day, we have the Sun Scope. But unfortunately, we can't even hook it up on half of the newer cars nowaday...
you have to pull the intake manifold off to even get to the spark plugs.

 

I have seen this problem before. The dealer needs to start a star case on the vehicle, and the dealer needs to have the vehicle in the stall for the night. Have them hook up the witech pod and before starting the engine, they need to either have their lap top or desk top on which cylinder is misfiring and then start the engine and then print the page with misfire count. If you have a misfire on either #2,#4 or#6. The front cylinder needs to be replaced.

 

The mistfire on the cylinder #6 is a problem on a few Pentastar engine and every Dodge dealer knows about it since they replace those heads under warranty. Apparently my dealer did replace more than 12 heads (I was the fifth one) on pentastar engine, and probably more than 20 for Dodge dealers all together in my area. (the problem doesn't come from Dodge but from a bad supplier)

They have to replace the complete head just like they did on mine (compression lost more than 25% to be on the warranty)

Mine was shacking like a Harley Davidson and it's a lot better since they replace the head but not 100% perfect (99%). Since they have a few heads to replace due to their bad supplier, this part is B.O. most of the time.

At that time I was disapointed but I had a great service from my Dodge dealer (Landry Automobile). A big thank you to them and now my Dodge is running strong like it supposed to be

7.8L/100km on highway with the defective head on a 1200 km road trip with family and luggage.

 

Minor point. Why do folks at least imply the manufacturer, in this case Chrysler, is off the hook because a supplier screwed up. That supplier is chosen by the manufacturer to supply parts. Those parts are monitored throughout the manufacture/supply process by the buying manufacturer. The manufacturer installs those parts in there machines with their name on it. The manufacturer - Chrysler- deserves the majority of the blame.

 

Response to initial post just below this:
Hi, I just purchased a redline red 12 Grand Caravan Crew five star 17" wheels, 9 speaker entertainment 2 DVD's 1 Touch screen in dash, u connect voice command, back up Cam, basically loaded but no NAV or WI FI but module can be integrated into stock sys icons and buttons for a pretty penny. w/24000 miles picked up from Dealer for 19,000 not to include the added 100,000 mile B to B warranty, add TLDF, add life loan interest add 9,000 .....29,000
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(Edited to reflect new information about Pentastar Ticking noise coming from engine.)I initially felt hesitation? and the MIL light came on and off a few times and so I became a bit concerned however, I have a few things I have learned? through my independent observation that I would like to point out that might help.

When cold start- Engine should Idle up then idle down to about 600 RPM?
1. Sometimes feels like misfire. (due to (600-RPM) lowest possible idle down- makes sense ?) When at low idle, try jogging the steering wheel back and forth to communicate with the computer ( produce an engine load ) the Idle should jump to the normal 900 -1000 RPM.

2. Seems like misfire at times when compared to my several other older vehicles: 96 Volvo turbo wagon R 200,000 miles and going strong and 94 Ford Aerostar AWD 4.0. w/250,000 miles and running like a pair of scalded cats.

Caravan Phoenix"Pentastar" gas saving characteristic of automatic quick shifting for the lack of proper terminology. May have somthing to due with driver (old school) style of acceleration and deceleration?? ( Idea!-try to get used to the auto trans quick shifting if this is the case at all?)

I understand that we should not use ECON button in the city also.

3.MIL Lights go on and off in some vehicles frequently for almost any reason, including misfire( Pentastar head problems?) and even cheap gas and idling can expose the problem? However, not to be confused with idle down at 600RPM. And if / when MIL /light begins flashing! on the Caravan/Pentastar of course, Stop and turn off the vehicle but refer to manual if overheating. Otherwise do not worry(easier said) but monitor systems until you have time to get stored codes....from dealer or other. (!) but do not make a big deal about anything until the codes come back. In order to keep yourself and possiblythe dealer etc. from jumping to (costly to owner time/$$$) conclusions at anytime before the codes are in.

Lastly, Loud Pentastar injectors have a distinctive rattling tap :frequently mistaken for the real problems. Misdiagnosed even at a dealer? where mostly parts changers reside to my limited knowledge. If dealer is made to prematurely respond to customers worst case fears of low idle and engine noise, unrelated codes, /lack of codes? Customer fears / complaints of low idle shudders and point to engine noise ("cylinder head, what have you.)

Can reporting "noises" to a dealer finally-lead to a big mistake like tearing down an engine when there is no reason to? LOL. No real details or recall Re:a remedy for a real safety problem, regarding the phantom issues: reported all over the web and here, are given by "Chrysler corporation" that I know of.

Grab your stethoscope and listen to the injectors? TICK TICK TICK!!! LOL

Mopar-Pentastar

Jaysen

 

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