GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

ive noticed that pretty much no one on here likes Chrysler or Dodge, etc. Why is that? They dont last long? paint wears quick? why? thanx

If I could afford it I would have a Dodge Magnum Hemi.

I haven't noticed a dislike for Chrysler products here. I don't recall ever owning one of their cars, but not because I was avoiding them. I did have several Dodge vans which were less expensive and lasted forever. Their slant-6 and 318-V8 were real work horses.

I don't mind dodge at all...in fact i looked into getting a dodge caliber when they first came out...I just think that chrysler is just too much money for what you're getting. The only chrysler vehicle out there taht i really like is the 300 SRT-8 that thing is soo sick if i had the money i'd probably pick one of them up.

hey Joholste!! i love the hoood man! looooks alot diffferent=) anwyyas.....ive just noticed that alot of ppl here, dont like em b/c they had problems with the paint, and are not fans of the parts. i was looking to get a caliber as wwell....but dad works at GM. love the discount=)

Don't forget that Jeep is in the Chrysler/Dodge group as well. Hence the sharing of a lot of platforms which now give Jeep a lineup of 7 models instead of just 3.Jeep Rules btw and is probably the only SUV I'd wanna own, they look tough, drive tough, and can handle plenty of off road compared to other SUVs. Can't wait till me and my fience make our first Camp Jeep soon.

I have to drive a Jeep, Dodge or Chrysler for work because I call on DaimlerChrysler... Currently I have a Jeep Compass and really like it, when the lease is done I will get the Patriot. I think some are not forgetting Chrysler Transmissions were not the best in in years past. They are better today then years ago but still have a higher failure rate then others. GM for example builds a great transmission, engines too. Maybe some had quality issues in a past Chrysler and feel all are the same. One thing though, Chrysler seems to be a leader in recalls and that is never good for publicity!Chrysler did use some Mercedes Transmissions and Getrag manual transmissions in the past and current so that helps. Over all, Chrysler has the designs but just cannot win people over enough to gain more market share. Maybe if the warranty was extended that would help, I dunno...

"Over all, Chrysler has the designs but just cannot win people over enough to gain more market share. Maybe if the warranty was extended that would help, I dunno..."Beginning with the 2006 model year I believe, the marketing guru's at Chrysler decided (supposedly based on a survey) to eliminate their 7 year/70,000 mile powertrain warranty becasue it was not that important to consumers. I have a 2004 T&C with 20,000 miles. It has the 7/70 warranty. If they still had the 7/70 warranty I might trade it in for a new one. Obviously I was not a part of that consumer survey.I had a 96 Voyager, 98 Voyager, 01 PT, and now this 04 T&C. I gave my son the 98 Voyager and at about 65,000 miles it had a blown head gasket - est. repair about $600 - that the dealer fixed for $200 considering some known problems with that gasket. Other than that all have been pretty reliable. Daughter in law has an older mid-size Dodge sedan that has had no major issues as well.Another son's luck with GM has not been so good - a 96 Jimmy and a 01 Impala. My experience with GM and Ford products is 1977 and before. Not good but probably not relevant to current. 77 Buick wagon was so bad I still hold a grudge (I don't consider Vibe to be GM). Likewise a 71 Lincoln that was a oiece of junk at 30,000 miles. Inthose days the warranty was 12 months.

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Beginning with the 2006 model year I believe, the marketing guru's at Chrysler decided (supposedly based on a survey) to eliminate their 7 year/70,000 mile powertrain warranty because it was not that important to consumers. I have a 2004 T&C with 20,000 miles. It has the 7/70 warranty. If they still had the 7/70 warranty I might trade it in for a new one. Obviously I was not a part of that consumer survey.I agree! My 2003 PT Cruiser GT Turbo had the 7/70. I thought that was great! What bothers me though is with the PT Cruiser and Neon lower control arm bushings that constantly fail yet Chrysler will not approve a better bushing! Now that Caliber is out, I am sure Chrysler will totally forget about it. Mine failed under warranty, I was waiting for them to fail actually and they did. I had it fixed, the dealer decided to put two lower control arms on the car EVEN THOUGH we made tools for the dealers to replace the bushings. The new bushings are the same and will fail, so the next guy can replace them or put the better Energy Poly Bushings on the car which do not fail but are 3 times more money. It is not a safety issue so Chrysler will not recall them but it will make noise and wear out the tires.

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »I think some are not forgetting Chrysler Transmissions were not the best in in years past. They are better today then years ago but still have a higher failure rate then others. GM for example builds a great transmission, engines too. Case in point would be my buddies Ram 1500 Pickup with a lift kit, dump kit, plow setup. He went thre 3 trannies in under 50,000 miles. Yes he used it for plowing and stuff but it should have been able to handle that. If he had an Allison tranny he would probably still own the thing.As far as engines, one of my favorites will always be the 4.0L Jeep 6cyl. That thing had awesome torque and sounded great! My fience's Liberty has the 3.7L V6 which is just as much fun and sounds identical. Love it!

i had a 99 dodge dakota and loved it except for the gas mileage, 15 mpg in the summer and 13 mpg in the winter. while i had it, some vaccum seal broke but that was a cheap/easy fix and the only problem i had...then again i didnt drive much cause i was in high school and didnt need to go placeswhen i traded that in i looked at the stratus but liked the vibe more and thats why i'm here

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »Case in point would be my buddies Ram 1500 Pickup with a lift kit, dump kit, plow setup. He went thre 3 trannies in under 50,000 miles. Yes he used it for plowing and stuff but it should have been able to handle that. If he had an Allison tranny he would probably still own the thing.As far as engines, one of my favorites will always be the 4.0L Jeep 6cyl. That thing had awesome torque and sounded great! My fience's Liberty has the 3.7L V6 which is just as much fun and sounds identical. Love it!Yeah that 4.0L is unstoppable for sure! Sad about your friends trans! What probably happened was the trans cooler stored a lot of garbage when the transmission catastrophically failed. Then what happens is the cooler heats up again and the garbage becomes loose and gets into the new trans and fails it. We have tried to sell Chrysler a Transmission cooler flusher to prevent come backs but they only are somewhat interested and do not pursue it.

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »Sad about your friends trans! What probably happened was the trans cooler stored a lot of garbage when the transmissions catastrophically failed. Then what happens is the cooler heats up again and the garbage becomes loose and gets into the new trans and fails it. We have tried to sell Chrysler a Transmission cooler flusher to prevent come backs but they only are somewhat interested and do not pursue it. That's exactly what the techs told him about the cooler issue after he got the third one put in.

My immediate family and not so immediate family have had chryslers and pretty much all of them have had some repetitive issues with certain parts. Also yes my friend has a dodge dakota and the tranny sucks so bad on it. The caliber isnt getting the gas mileage it was suppose to get at launch so I like to stay away from them. Ive had fantastic luck with ford and now this vibe. before I buy cars I read and research before I pick one, CR usually has a decent reliability report overall.

Usually I'd say dodge/chry FTL...but all automakers are getting as bad, which is making it look like they are getting better. Nothing they make lasts worth a damn. Paint flakes off of brand new truck beds, Cummins is a joke, gas milage on the econocars is lacking... ect. The only thing that keeps them afloat is the SRT sales..and the 300c so all the wannabe's can transform their car into a fake bently.

yeah where is the SRT4 caliber, i keep trying to go test drive one, but there are NONE to be found! they keep delaying it...probably because the tranny issue with the neon...

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »yeah where is the SRT4 caliber, i keep trying to go test drive one, but there are NONE to be found! they keep delaying it...probably because the tranny issue with the neon...It is coming my friend... We shipped tools for the trans to all Dodge dealers in June, the car will follow soon! (I know more but I would have to kill myself if I said anymore)

well I hope its soon, the dealership kept telling me soon as well.... Im just gitty to see/drive a wagon with a turbo! hahaha I hopes its sweet.

Delayed is right... We have to ship dealers tools before the launch of the vehicle.

As if dealers don't have enough tools. lol

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »If I could afford it I would have a Dodge Magnum Hemi. Why? You already have a sweet Pontiac Vibe with a HEMI> LOL

Never been a DODGE fan - Haven't heard much good. But I agree with the MAGNUM talk... Those thing's are like friggen' HURSES (sp?) BUT the minute they came out I fell in love with them! I'm all TOYOTA - Even though Vibe is Pontiac (GM Product) - It is still in my eyes technically a TOYOTA product. Why not - they do have the highest re-sale value... And are built like OXEN!! *LOL*

I'm not opposed to buying one -- I'd much rather buy a Chrysler product than a Ford, that's for sure. They've had some pretty sharp designs lately. The Caliber, Sebring, and the new Avenger aren't bad to me, but I don't particularly care for their RWD offerings. One thing that does bug me about them though, is the fact that their line is rather thirsty bunch.. They have too many models getting 30. But good gas mileage isn't manly, so that's not good for the macho image that Dodge tries to portray anyway.

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »I agree! My 2003 PT Cruiser GT Turbo had the 7/70. I thought that was great! What bothers me though is with the PT Cruiser and Neon lower control arm bushings that constantly fail yet Chrysler will not approve a better bushing! Now that Caliber is out, I am sure Chrysler will totally forget about it. Mine failed under warranty, I was waiting for them to fail actually and they did. I had it fixed, the dealer decided to put two lower control arms on the car EVEN THOUGH we made tools for the dealers to replace the bushings. The new bushings are the same and will fail, so the next guy can replace them or put the better Energy Poly Bushings on the car which do not fail but are 3 times more money. It is not a safety issue so Chrysler will not recall them but it will make noise and wear out the tires. A couple months before I traded my PT in it developed a sterring wheel shimmy/wobble - most notable at lower speeds. I wonder if that was due to failure of the lower control arm bushings. It was just out of warranty but only had about 26,000 miles.

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »A couple months before I traded my PT in it developed a sterring wheel shimmy/wobble - most notable at lower speeds. I wonder if that was due to failure of the lower control arm bushings. It was just out of warranty but only had about 26,000 miles.Probably right!

Never had any luck with Chrysler products, even back into the late-70's. Had an old '78 Newport that was in the shop more than on the road with carburetor issues. Had an '84 Lazer that I lost count of the problems it was in the shop for. Last one I had was a '92 Grand Caravan that left me stranded on the road twice with a failed transmission. That and the blasted ABS kept it in the shop too much for my liking. Swore off Chrysler products at that point.

HI,I've had several Chrysler, Dodge Jeep vehicles. I've owned an '87 Chrystler Lebarron(my Sis had one too at same time), '89 Grand Wagoneer 4x4, '90 Dodge Dakota(4cyl), '96 Neon and my last vehicle before the Vibe was an '03 Dodge Dakota QC 4x4(V8). Looooved that truck! It was just tooo thursty! Never a single problem w/any of them. And I've also had several Honda/Toyotas. The last ('02) Accord sedan I had was awful, esp. the paint! Turned me off of Honda for a while.

Its not that I hate the Chrysler products but in 15 years of playing with cars and dealing with them I have had the worst luck possible. One job that I was at we had a group of 7 1500 series trucks in 1998. Some of the repairs that we had to do were:Paint came off the tailgate x3 roof x1 and hood x42 transmissions1 Engine -- the oil pan gasket got sucked into the motorDashboard wiring harness 5 timesMy Moms 1998 NeonRUST all overO2 sensor 5 times in three yearsHead gasketThis does not include the others around me that have had problems.I just have a hard time with the quality of the products when you keep running into the same problems.

well....thts too much crap to go wrong with cars! soo...ill stick with GM's and others.......

I owned a 1968 plymouth satellite and it was a great car. it kicked (removed) with a 383 under the hood. never had a problem with it. I just rented an Avenger a week and 1/2 ago when I was In Idaho, not a bad car really the only problem I had was going through the mountains it could have used a little more oomph going up those hills.

We've had a 96 Cherokee Classic, 99 Cherokee Sport, 02 Grand Cherokee and the '05 Liberty Renegade. As far as Chrysler itself, my uncle owns a Sebring Convertible from like 97 or 98. Still looks good but he only drives it short distances. They use the Escape (pronounced Es-cop-aaay just like Dory says) for most other things. My other gripe with Chrysler is that they never appealed to me, the 300C does a good job but other than that, not really feelin it except for the first generation of Viper's, very sexy lines compared to the hard creases of today. And the PT Cruiser is ugly, slow (even with the turbo), is uncomfortable to sit in, and people make them look foolish with fake wood grain kits, truck style visors with lights on the front shield, decals galore, etc. trying to make them look overly retro. But I guess Chevy saw something cause they now make the HHR (pukey).