Chrysler Reliability?..

Hey all,
Back in 1995, my wife and I bought a Neon - the first Chrysler product
in my family in 2 generations (primarily we were a GM family).
A fun, cheap car that was a PITA until we got rid of it. Electric
problems (radio would cut out; cruise stopped working), blew a head
gasket, and by the end the transmission was slipping when it rained...
There are more, but that gives you an idea.
Unfortunately, almost every person I know who's had a
Chrysler/dodge/jeep product has a similar story. I had a cherokee, and
it had fuel pump/tranny problems. By Bro.-in-law's durango?
Computer,ABS,Distributor,Electric problems. The Trucks - the same
story.

I LOVE what Chrysler is doing now - the Pacifica especially. The 300
is gorgeous in person....But I'm just afraid of the quality.

What do ya'll think? Has it improved substantially? After our
Neon/Cherokee experience, we've had a Mazda (one of my fav. cars
ever), our Honda, and I bought a used (cheap) Focus...So I'm not
totally turned off from American!
Jon

 

hmm thats funny alll the gm's i had did what you said and all my
problems went away when i went mopar my early mopar rides rusted out way
before the motors or trans quit and my charger actually went faster with
time since the sheetmetal rusted off and it lost weight cutting a better
et here in michigan
the the new 300 cars are really tight and have few common failures
but there is a problem with people putting stuff on the front seat and
shutting off
the airbag and setting a airbag lite fault code

 

My wife and I bought our second PT Cruiser, very highly rated by Consumer
Guide/Reports, this one is the convertible. We traded in our 2003 sedan for
the 2005. I personally have had: 1964 and 1970 Dodge Darts, bulletproof
cars. My Mother had a 1967 Plymouth Fury, great car, 318 V-8, I had a 1973
Fury wagon, great car, 1948 Plymouth, one of the best cars I ever owned, and
I currently have a 1949 Chrysler Windsor sedan, all original and runs great!
My wife's son has a 2001 Neon with no problems. It just comes down to what
you like, how you take care of the car, etc. Any car, even the vaunted
Honda and Nissans can be PITA.

 

Hmm - had a 1975 Dodge B-200 (extended) van that went over 150,000 miles
before I replaced the tranny, and 172,000 before replacing the engine. Had
a 1990 Dodge Grand Caravan, replaced the water pump (under warrantee) at
2000 miles (there had been a bad run of the bolts Chrysler used to attach
the pumps), and the van continued for 179,000 miles before a got rid of it
(hit some black ice and bent the frame slamming into a curb sideways at 25
mph).

While there will be an occasional lemon (like any brand), I've found
Chrysler to be pretty reliable on the whole.

 

The 95's had a lot of those problems, probably because it was their first
year. Later years did do better, we had a 97 that was fairly trouble
free--except the head gasket--which Chrysler fixed. We also had a 97
Stratus, also had the headgasket problem, also was fixed by Chrysler and
also was a very dependable car. As far as I've heard, the auto
transmissions on the Neons very rarely had problems. We now own 2 PT
Cruiser and have very few problems with them.

What you should also be asking, in the GM and other newsgroups, is how are
these manufactures doing? Have GM and others had the headgasket,
electrical, computer and tranny problems? I remember in the late 80's I had
a Plymouth Reliant K car, almost problem free, while a friends Toyota Pickup
had blown headgasket etc. BTW, the K car was put to rest after 13 years by
a t-bone accident.

SRG

 

My '85 K car went 213,000 miles before giving up the ghost!

 

Oh yeah, and that was the Mitsushitty 2.6L engine!

 

I think it varies just as with any manufacturer. I had pretty good luck
with my 89 Acclaim. The biggest problem it had in 143K miles was a
cracked torque convertor flex plate (not sure that is the exact part
name, but it is close).

My 96 Grand Voyager has been fairly troublesome, but so far all have
been pretty much nuisance things, nothing major in the drive train.
Although I am now having a serious problem with it stalling at idle when
it is put into gear. The dealer thought it was a dirty TBI, but
cleaning it didn't help. They then thought last week that it was the
coil pack as it missfired when they sprayed a mist of water on it. But
replacing that didn't help as I found out yesterday. This is the first
problem I've had that has affected its driveability seriously.

I had an 84 Honda Accord that was the most troublesome car I've ever
owned. My current pickup, a 94 K1500, got off to a bad start with a
valve train failure at 5,200 miles (the ball came off the end of a
pushrod and it welded itself to the rocker arm), but has been pretty
reliable since then. Just the normal 4WD stuff like replacing a
u-joint, but nothing major in the drive train or otherwise. This truck
hauls wood and plows snow all winter so it has held up well for 85,000
miles of pretty heavy use.

Personally, I've not found Chryslers to be significantly worse than the
GM cars I've owned. I've not owned many Fords so I can't compare them.
My Jeep Comanche was one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned,
probably in the same league as the Acclaim. However, I bought it when
Jeep was still owned by AMC.


Matt

 

Been buying Chrysler products since 1987.

Had the head gasket problem also at about 60K on a 1997 Neon Sport (DHOC
engine)....which is a known common problem...replaced under 70K extended
warranty.

Had AC problems on a 1987 Grand Caravan V6 (1st year for the Grand and the
V6)...repaired twice under extended warranty...then gave up again after it was
out of warranty at 82K (didn't fix it after that). Started burning a little
oil by the time we sold it...but the people we sold it to drove it for several
more years and said it was one of their more reliable vehicles they'd ever
owned.

Other problems...not many?

1989 Dakota 4x4...Timing chain went at 130K
(which is unusual) Went through pittman arms
for some reason too. No other problems.
1997 Grand Caravan 3.3...Sticking lifters at 30K...replaced
under warranty
(I attributed this one to my 4 mile winter commutes and not
changing the oil often enough to prevent sludge)
2003 Stratus...Cabin blower fan at 2K...replaced under warranty
loose/leaking tranny coolant couplings...dealer tightened.
2004 Sebring...None so far

Other Family Members

Mother in Law...1989 Dodge Aries...still driving it
don't know the service details, but she isn't complaining
that the car is a problem
Son 1996 Dakota V8. Water pump at 85K. Bought it used
so don't know what happened to it before 50K
Daughter 2000 Neon. Clutch cable problem...nothing else.
She has about 80K on it at the moment

Neighbors

1996 Caravan - 190K miles..abuses it as his weekend
hauler for home improvement projects. Often comes
down the street sitting awfully low from weight. He
recently bought a SAAB 9.5 wagon and was going to
trade the Caravan... but changed his mind and decided
it was too good of a vehicle to get rid of just yet.

So, all-in-all, reliability seems to be quite good if you ask me! I've not
seen any of the electrical or transmission problems you have. I think 1995 was
the 1st year for the neon...I wouldn't buy a 1st or 2nd year model run from ANY
manufacturer...they statistically have the greatest number of problems. I'd
stay away from the new 300 for a couple of years...let them work the kinks out
The Pacifica? I'd wait one more year before buying that one too.


| Hey all,
| Back in 1995, my wife and I bought a Neon - the first Chrysler product
| in my family in 2 generations (primarily we were a GM family).
| A fun, cheap car that was a PITA until we got rid of it. Electric
| problems (radio would cut out; cruise stopped working), blew a head
| gasket, and by the end the transmission was slipping when it rained...
| There are more, but that gives you an idea.
| Unfortunately, almost every person I know who's had a
| Chrysler/dodge/jeep product has a similar story. I had a cherokee, and
| it had fuel pump/tranny problems. By Bro.-in-law's durango?
| Computer,ABS,Distributor,Electric problems. The Trucks - the same
| story.
|
| I LOVE what Chrysler is doing now - the Pacifica especially. The 300
| is gorgeous in person....But I'm just afraid of the quality.
|
| What do ya'll think? Has it improved substantially? After our
| Neon/Cherokee experience, we've had a Mazda (one of my fav. cars
| ever), our Honda, and I bought a used (cheap) Focus...So I'm not
| totally turned off from American!
| Jon

 

The paradox is that about the time they have the kinks worked out is
about the time they start de-contenting! 8^)

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

We had a '98 Neon and it was a good little car. Never had any trouble
with it. We now have two Chrysler minivans ('00 and '02) and both have
been relatively trouble free. We did have an issue of a leaking intake
manifold gasket and a faulty EGR valve, but both were fixed under
warranty years ago.

 

Go back to them and have them put a co-pilot in the van so you can push a
button to record the information whenever this happens. Our '96 T&C LXi was
doing this repeatedly, (after supposedly being fixed twice by the local dealer
who no longer gets our service) so we went to a different. They put the
co-pilot in for us to use for a week as no fault codes were stored (local
dealer wouldn't let us do so). When we took it back results indicated the MAP
sensor and EGR valve were erratic. Tests determined those items would have to
be replaced before further diagnostics could be performed. They replaced them,
service manager drove it home overnight, and all worked well. They told me at
that point the system was working as designed. That was 5/17/02 with 131,121
miles. It is now 8/29/04, the van has 180,496 miles on it and hasn't acted up
since.

RP

 

I was looking at the Pacifica and saw some of the last 300M's on the lot.
The assembly quality was pretty bad. Especially trim around the front and
back windshields. I don't think they has lost any features though in the
last year and gained hinged side mirrors in 2000 compared to my 99.

 

From 1989 to 1996 I drove a '88 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z. Fast car,
passed everything but a repair shop. Broke down a lot. Was leary of
another Mopar product but in 2001 I bought a '98 Cirrus. It has been
the best car I've ever owned and extremely reliable.

Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.

 

I'll ask about this. They have said both times I've had it back
recently that a code was set indicating "multiple cyliner missfires."
It must be a code that doesn't set the MIL, and doesn't get reported
with the key sequence trigger. I did the on-off-on-off-on sequence when
I got home this evening and got the normal 12 55 code sequence flashed
on the light.


Matt

 

Own a 99 300M. 42k miles. Purchased 11/98. Bought an extended warranty on
it but so far haven't used it once. Power windows were a problem first year
though and covered under regular warranty. Goodyear tires had to be
replaced by Goodyear. When new ones started vibrating I switched to
Michelin. So did Chyrsler in later years.

 

Matt,
The EGR valve is very likely causing your intermittent stalling. If the
valve sticks open then the engine will stall when coming to a stop.

Bill

 

Why would shifting into neutral and coasting to a stop prevent the
stalling if the EGR is the culprit? Seems like an open EGR would kill
the engine whether it was in gear or not.


Matt

 

Check for torque converter not going out of lockup.......

Bad EGR will kill engine in any gear at idle.

 

No load on the engine.
How does the engine idle when it is first started up and does it stall when
first put in gear or only after you have driven it?
The IAC motor is another possibility.

Bill