I found this while wasting some time today. It's a site full of articles about how Daimler/Chrysler brass are knowingly building defective vehicles and refusing warranty claims to save as little as 25 cents on a part, even bribing officials to look the other way.

Whether it's true or not I don't know but I can say that I've heard of alot of the mentioned issues on Chrysler/Dodge cars and trucks.

I AM POSTING THIS PURELY FOR DISCUSSION AND BECAUSE I FOUND IT INTERESTING I AM NOT TAKING SIDES BY SAYING FORD IS THE BEST AND DAIMLER/CHRYSLER SUCKS!

http://www.daimlerchryslervehicleproblems.com/

It's a large article so it'll take some time to go through, there's some testimony from one of their own techs as to the stuff he saw going on in his own shop. Take it for whatever you feel it's worth.

 

Just curious, but are you the one that was looking to get a Ram a few months back? Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

 

An ASE mechanic friend of mine had to fix every Viper engine on their lot and every one that shipped into their dealership because there was an issue in their early year v-10's, yet they kept producing them and putting them in cars. I'm not surprised.

 

there is websites like that for every make of vehicle.

 

I don't know what that has to do with my post but yeah, that was me. Finding this scares me and gives me a sense of relief that the deal fell through.

 

I meant nothing by it, just remembered that thread a while back were you were looking to get a Ram.

 

I would submit to you that EVERY vehicle manufacturer from Maybach to Kia knowingly let defective vehicles leave their factories. That's why EVERY vehicle available for legal sale in the US is required to have a warranty. If every vehicle were so good, the manufacturers would slap a 1 month/1000 mile warranty on it & call it a day and save millions every year.

KC-10 FE out...

 

I haven't read that whole site yet, but hell, I could sit down over a weekend and write a novel about the stupid and unacceptable things I've seen from Ford.

 

I agree. The varibles in the way we all use our trucks allows for the manufactor to allow a defective part to go on a vehicle. Think about just the differences that we discuss on this websight on a daily basis. We have those that only put less than a 100 miles per month, while others put over a 100 miles per day. Some are work trucks, some just grocery getters, some go to the dragstrip. Look at all of the 4 wheel drive trucks that have never gotten dirty, while others haven't been washed in months. We do oil changes from 3000 miles to 12000 miles. So when you have a defect, it may not show up on 80% of the vehicles within that 3 year or 36 month warranty period. I can drive a vehicle for 50,000 miles and have no problem. Someone else gets that truck and it nickles and dimes them to bankrupt.

I know that there are thousands of vehicles out there that have had the same problems that we have. But, either by the way they drive or the way the truck is used; the problem has not manifested itself.

Every car maker has problems. It's all a gamble as to how much to fix, or how much to let go and take care of it during the warranty period.

 

We're not talking about vehicles leaving the factory after passing inspection and then having issues show up over time. What's allegedly going on at Daimler/Chrysler is the top brass knowingly allowing defective cars and trucks to leave and doing nothing about it. They allowed Durangos to leave with bad ball joints knowing they would fail and cause the front wheels to come off, possibly killing someone in the process. Then they would bribe officials to avoid the recalls for these defects. You really have to take the time to go through the whole article to fully understand what it's all about.

I'm not saying that Ford doesn't have their problems as well. The government had to force them to recall the cruise modules affecting 800,000+ trucks and SUV's. There are still hundreds of thousands of Ford's out there with the same module that aren't part of the recall. Ford says they are safe because there's no evidence that says the same issues will occur on those vehicles.

 

I will freely admit my 1997 Dodge Ram was the single worst vehicle I've ever owned 4 or 2 wheels. Half the things in that website went wrong with my truck. 90% of the board members agree with me & believe me when I say this. As far as Chrysler not doing anything about it, well that's why I've said I will never own a Chrysler product again, ever. I hop MB dumps them quick and concentrates on making MB the best cars in the world.

Now, when I say that my current F150 is an absolute POS, not quite as bad as the Ram but close, everyone says I'm a retard, I'm a Ford hater, I don't know crap about trucks, etc... Where the Ram had major (in some cases, life threatening) defects, the F150 has mostly minor items that happen repeatedly that add up to one gigantic irritation.

What's the point you ask?

Yes, I 100% believe with every fiber of my being that every single manufacturer knowingly lets defects roll right off the factory line. Why? Simple, they are still built by humans & they know it will get fixed under a warranty claim. No matter what, they will not stop or slow down the assembly line to fix a single vehicle, it just won't happen.

What happens if Mr Smith (he installs windshields) just found out his wife is blowing the neighbor, his dog ran away & his son just said he was gay? Do you honestly believe Mr Smith is going to put in 100% that day? No he wont. So what happens to the shoddy work? The factories (every single manufacturer) lets these things slide & then depend on the dealerships to fix the issues as warranty claims. My F150 had a metal plate fall out of the dash the 2nd day I had it. It had 6 bolt holes in it but I only found 1 bolt on the floor. That means it left the factory that way. My wife's Jetta had a spring used to keep the fore/aft seat adjustment under tension just laying under the seat. I found it the first time I vacuumed the car. Again, it left the factory that way.

In some cases, this neglect is sheer laziness on the workers part. You can blame unions if you want, I don't care. Other times is a simple mistke, we all make them. Or it could be a genuine defective part.

So, no matter what flavor of Kool Aid you drink, if you really believe that whatever brand of vehicle could never possibly leave the factory with a known problem, I have some ocean front real estate in Wyoming you might be interested in.

KC-10 FE out...

 

I know that other manufacturers allow vehicles to leave with defects, but the majority of the time it's minor stuff that doesn't pose a safety risk to the public. Every manufacturer has unknowingly gotten a shipment of defective parts that found their way into 100,000 vehicles before it was discovered. What usually happens at those other factories is production is stopped, new parts are ordered from another supplier, and then production is restarted with the said new parts. Chrysler on the other hand knows the parts are bad and still allow them to be used and then deny warranty claims on them later, usually accusing the owner of abusing the vehicle. They recently told their employees that it was up to them as to what happened to their jobs if Daimler/Benz pulled out. What's allegedly going on in that company is criminal.

 

not to be taken as a defense of Chrylser etc:

1) I can find a (insert brand name here)sucks.whatever site for virtually every company in the US, all consisting of disgruntled people posting their complaints, some valid, some not.

2) I never give any credibility to people who claim to be in the know but always have a reason to be anonymous. It has as much credibility as "my brother who knows all about plumbing, cars, computers etc".

If you are an employee of a company that is operating dishonestly and the best you can come up with is "I'm posting anonymously because I'm scared for my job" then you're as much a part of the problem as the people you work for, you're helping them screw people.

 

now that's a shltty day

 

Read this article, no anonymity in this one. This guy was on Chrysler's safety team and was sued for $82 million by Chrysler for blowing the whistle on all the deaths and injuries happening to owners of their minivans. This is why the average person would choose to stay anonymous but they still want to come forward and do the right thing.

http://www.daimlerchryslervehiclepro...l_sheridan.htm