No Dodge NO!

[ACP230]

I drove a cab with a pushbutton transmission back when I was too young
to know better. Think it was a Plymouth.

Two nights ago I dreamed I was in a Plymouth Valiant with the same
trannsmission. It stuck and the passengers and I went on a round the world tour. Woke up as we passed through a country with gorillas, zebras and giraffes running around. Earlier we'd zipped past a bodega in the U.S., with Cheech and Chong sitting on the steps. I kept pushing buttons but couldn't get the car to stop. (No alcohol or anything else was indulged in before bed, either.)

Dad had a Dodge Coronet that worked well and towed a popup trailer
through Wisconsin, Minnesota and a bit of Alberta when we were
on vacation one year.

Later I had two Dakotas. The first one worked well enough for the hunting and fishing, and a few trips to town for me. My youngest son took it downstate to college and it fell apart before he graduated. The second one started out as a better truck, but didn't hold up as well as the first.

 

[BWNinja]

I currently have an 04 Ram 1500 4x4 with the Hemi, 108k and runs like a dream no issues. Bought it used last year. We had a 2015 Charger 3.6l and 8 speed trans..that thing would move for a v6 no issues before we traded. Like to get a Hemi Charger next

 

[bigchuck83]

I have seen many problems with Dodge vehicles in the last ten years at my job. Brake lights that burn out the bulb socket, the 3.5 liter engine in chargers seem to have a coolant leak problem, etc. I own a 2001 Dakota pickup and at just over 200,000 miles it is starting to have more and more problems so it doesn't get driven much. Has a slow coolant leak somewhere even though everything has been replaced properly, Now the A/C compressor has suddenly given up and the defrost no longer works properly.

From what i have seen most brands have their own problems, My 2010 chevy had a defective electric steering mechanism that has been a known issue for years, same as with the known ignition switch problems.

 

[BC38]

< DODGE >Speaks for itself. The early slant 6 made a good taxi and the diesels will pull a load.

LOL, my dad hated 'em.
Always said
"Yeah, they'll DODGE anything EXCEPT a gas pump or a repair shop"

 

[tg4360]

Dodge/Chrysler have always in my lifetime been number 3 of the big three for a reason.

If Ford or Chevy used 5 cents worth of plastic in a part, Mopar would use 3.

Cheap and made to a price point.

Interesting cars.... Gotta love a company that has a paint called, "Plum Crazy Purple" but cheaply made and fall apart quick.

 

[JM4151]

Chrysler Products

When I first started buying new cars in the 1960's they were all American cars. When you took delivery of them and I had about a dozen, you had 2 to 10 things to get repaired on a new american car. In 2008 I switched to Toyota because it was rated the best in their vehicle tests. Great cars very, very few problems other than necessary maintenance. Most of the foreign cars are made in America anyway. Toyota is made in Texas and Honda is made in Alabama.
I know that you don't have any control over the patrol cars that are given to you, but you do have control over what you and your family use off duty. Look at the Honda and Toyota, you won't be sorry! Even with police chases today as soon as you start your pursuit a helicopter in the air taking pictures of what you do. A lot fewer people get away from police than they did 10 years ago.

 

[S-W4EVER]

I guess I've been lucky. I bought my wife a new '15 Chrysler 300 Limited and I'm on my third new Ram 3500 (an '18, also had an '09 and a '12) and we've never had any problem with any of them. (I usually trade before they get 50,000 miles though.)

 

[soFlaNative]

Dad was a Mopar man, both my son and I bought a vehicle from him when he picked out something new. Many many years and miles of use from those vehicles, not always trouble free but nowhere near some of the problems described here.
The caveat being none of these were built after 2000, a Caravan my son had great luck with until he was creamed while stopped at an intersection in 2014.
Cars have changed a lot over the years but habits die hard.
I worked at a Chevy dealer service dept. briefly in the late 70's, swore off GM ever since.

 

[tedog]

1964 I had a 1950 Plymouth Mayflower 4 dr. Ran like Singer sewing machine.

 

[BigBoy99]

My parents bought a 1959 Plymouth and they had so many problems with it and it made such an impression on me that I've never had any desire to even look at a Chrysler product when I was shopping for cars!

 

[rubiranch]

Back in 1990 I worked at a Dodge Dealership in Ft Collins, CO.

I dealt with factory reps on cars with problems that were "incurable".

I was appalled by the customer no-service from the factory reps and how they literally did nothing to address the issues other than, "we didn't experience the problem" or "we don't feel that's an issue".

I swore I'd never own a Chrysler Dodge or Plymouth product and I never have and never will.

 

[tndrfttom]

I worked for a state agency that bought its vehicles on "state contract" so we ended up with all Chrysler Corporation vehicles in the 1970s. The cars were small 4-door sedans (something like Plymouth Valiants or Dodge Darts, don't remember for sure) and Dodge Ramchargers after they came out. The cars in the early to mid-70s were awful. Mileage wasn't great for a 'small' sedan. Until they were thoroughly warmed-up they would hesitate or stall when you tried to accelerate. Several collisions occurred when employees were pulling out of the car pool parking lot into traffic, their vehicles stalled or hesitated and they were struck by oncoming traffic. Our car pool mechanics attributed it to the emissions equipment the cars were load up with. The local dealers said that the cars were within spec – "that's just the way they are".

On the other hand, the Ramcharges were nearly trouble free and ran well. I believe they were all 2 and 4WD 318s but had very minimal 'equipment' other than AM radio, PB, and heater.

Personally my only venture in to the Chrysler Corp. line was buying a YJ series Jeep. Mechanically it was fine but it was basically still an American Motors Corp. vehicle with somewhat nicer interior.

My wife had a Dodge Grand Caravan briefly. Twice an ignition module went bad and left her coasting to the curb. The most aggravating thing was each time we got the car back from the dealer something else wasn't working (rear AC and cruise control) that had been working when the car was towed in. It was handy for going to matches because it would carry 3 people and their equipment to service rifle matches or 4 people and their equipment when going to pistol matches.

 

[bulletslap]

The last Dodge I owned was a 2002 Dakota 4x4 with the 360 V8, I liked the concept and styling; all I can say is that the only reliable part of the truck was the engine.

 

[Cdog]

I felt like many others on here. Chrysler was a joke among my family, still is I guess.

Just over a year ago I was forced into the truck market.

The majority of trucks I've owned over the years have been Ford. I never really considered buying a Ram until I drove one. A friend has a 2015 1500 with everything you can imagine on it. That was the best riding truck I had ever sat my butt in.

So after test driving several brands I ended up at a Ram dealership. I now have a 2018 1500 crewcab 4wd that's a pleasure to drive. I ain't too crazy about the rotary knob transmission control, but otherwise I really like it.

One funny that I'll never forget. As I drove up to my near 40 year old daughters home I was met with "You Bought A Dodge?"

I may regret it, but it won't be the first time. After my adventure with General Motors with a new 2000 model Silverado I'll never buy another GM product.

 

[meaneyedcatz]

Other than the issued patrol cars why did you continue to buy the Chrysler products?
This is a question, not a snide remark.

Even some of the imports are better than Chrysler.

 

[meaneyedcatz]

When mini vans were all the rage Did you ever notice the vast majority of pre owned vans were Chrysler's?
There would one or two other makes but six or seven Chrysler's sitting on a dealerships lot.

 

[Farmer17]

The quality of car brands change over the years depending on management. My parents bought a new Toyota Corona and Toyota pickup back in the 70s and they were pure junk, Ford's were junk, Honda's were bad and had wheels about the size of a moped, and Chevy's were about the best car in the world but that changed FAST. Honda soon became the quality leader and they were so superior to all American cars that people wondered if American car makers would even be in business in a few years. Ford started improving their quality in the 90s and Toyota passed Honda as the most reliable vehicle and Nissan started improving significantly and became pretty good in 2000. The Korean Hyundai and Kia brands were awful then but in the last 5 years or so they have approached Toyota quality and are cheaper and have a much better warranty. My last pickup was a Nissan and it was excellent for 10 years and 265K miles and I was wanting another but all the trucks were really pricey. I got a new 2018 Ram quad cab with all the power features, camera, and trailer towing package, etc for $24K and it was not my favorite brand but it was way cheaper than the other full size trucks and a lot of friends have them and love them and I'm extremely happy with it at 49K miles. It's a better truck than my Titan and F-150 in many ways but we will have to wait and see how happy I will be when it gets 250K miles.

 

[K Frame Keith]

Got burned badly on a 1999 Durango and its replacement a 2006 Dakota. Both were money pits that ate air conditioning, electrical systems, suspensions and transmissions. Like the OP, I've wanted to love Chrysler products, but never again. Period.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Back in the 60's , here in Nevada, most sportsmen bought Ford or Chev. products, do to the fact if out hunting in the boonies and you needed a part or service, most towns had them.
If you had a Dodge truck parts were minimal and usually had to be mailed or ups to the area dealer................. not a good thing.

However, the 440 Charger was a Great "Strong & Fast" auto.

 

[CustomChevyGuy]

The last ownership experience I've had with a Dodge was the 90 Plymoth Voyager that I drove around when I first got my licence. It had vinyl boat seat style interior which always cleaned up nice, paint that didn't want to shine and a 3.2l Mitsubishi motor (if memory serves).
However for the last few years I've been making a decent living selling parts at a local CDJR dealership.

If asked I can give advice on what I would watch out for on the makes and motors across our entire line. Then again, I could say about the same thing for most lines across the board.