OK, over the past week I've been getting a MIL on and off, and I finally got it checked today. Turns out it is reporting a misfire on #4. So I have been trying to hunt down replacement NGK plugs for the van (nobody in Phoenix seems to carry the right one).

So I thought, try the Dodge Forum. And after doing a little searching, I am now under the realization that my early 2011 model probably needs the dreaded cylinder head replacement. My blood pressure is slowly rising (this after having had the van in the dealer shop several times for a multitude of issues last year, bad cluster, bad climate control unit, bad door panels, etc).

The bad news, I'm currently at 47K miles on the clock. We bought it used in Dec 2011 with 17,500 miles, and we think it was a rental for the first 8 months of life. We do a lot of traveling, so we put a lot of miles on it.

I'm guessing I will be calling the dealer tomorrow. I'm also guessing that I have the old (read: bad) cylinder heads. I can point to a lot of stuff here and elsewhere on the net about the issue, but the only recall/TSB I have currently outstanding is the trans module programming update. So, I just know the dealer is going to try and charge me a couple grand to change the heads.

Anyone got any suggestions as to how I should approach the dealer on this to get them to do the replacement at no charge?

 

You will not find a TSB of any kind for the misfire problem. The dealer already knows of this problem.
The cylinder head should be replaced under the powertrain warranty.

 

Thanks MT! Yeah, I see I have 5yr/100K on the powertrain (thank goodness!).

I called the Service Mgr I dealt with last year on all the other issues, and left him a message. Hopefully I won't have any issues getting the heads replaced. And I'm sure the misfire is what's been causing the engine to run a little rough at startup when it's cold outside like it has been here recently.

 

Bumping up my old thread. After having the heads replaced in Feb 2013, I'm getting a MIL again saying O2 sensor or misfire. The van is definitely misfiring again, and even when it doesn't seem to be obviously misfiring, the tach fluctuates about 100rpm both in idle and in cruise control.

Could I have gotten bad heads again? We only have 31K miles on the replacement heads.

And what is the expected lifespan of O2 sensors on a vehicle that does mostly highway driving in a hot climate?

 

It is possible. What are the codes in the PCM?

 

It wound up being a bad O2 sensor (Bank 2, Sensor 1). Had the dealer replace it. They also said it had a P0300 misfire code and it needed new plugs and a fuel service. Not sure why the plugs would be bad as they are supposed to last 100K, and my van only has 75K miles on it.

Went to NAPA and got my own plugs (Champion Iridium CHA 9407) and replaced the plugs today. The plugs on the front of the block near the radiator were all nice and white and the tips were very clean. The plugs on the back side were a different story. They were very yellowed and the tips were dirty, as well as the threads.

Runs good now with the new plugs in. Now to get the power sliding door issue fixed.