Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) announced they will recall 4.3 million vehicles with dangerous Takata airbags
, and that includes plenty of Dodge models.…
keep reading article "Journey Leaks Power Steering Fluid When It’s Cold Outside"There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters.
We try to boil down it to the most important bits and pieces -- the recalls, service bulletins, and lawsuits that can help you solve you car problems. Interested in getting these quick story bits as an email? Signup over at CarComplaints.com.
, and that includes plenty of Dodge models.…
keep reading article "Journey Leaks Power Steering Fluid When It’s Cold Outside"Good thing summer is on the way:
FCA says an investigation determined power steering fluid lines can leak when the engine is started in cold weather. The automaker says steering will be more difficult but a driver won't lose steering control and no accidents or injuries have been reported.…
keep reading article "Journey Leaks Power Steering Fluid When It’s Cold Outside"
While the system is working as it was designed, it's the design that's the problem.
"A driver should know the gear-selection based on multiple sets of indicator lights, unlike normal shifters that use a gear-selector position. However, hundreds of drivers have caused their vehicles to roll away because of not realizing the vehicles aren't in Park."
An investigation was opened earlier this year. One or two rollaways might be an accident, but hundreds? That screams of a "back to the drawing board" situation for the FCA team.…
keep reading article "Electronic Gear Shifter Rollaways Lead to Massive FCA Recall"That is, unless, you're talking about the break in their braking system.
"Chrysler (FCA US) is recalling over 14,700 model year 2015-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs because the front brake calipers can break. Chrysler blames the problem on a supplier that manufactured the caliper with the wrong materials."…
keep reading article "Busted Brake Recall for the 2015-16 Dodge Durango"
in the powertrain control module (PCM).
"FCA is recalling 1,200 model year 2016 Dodge Dart cars equipped with 2-liter engines and manual transmissions. In addition, some 2015 Dodge Darts are included if they have the same engines and transmissions and were serviced between September 15, 2015, and January 12, 2016."
The PCM monitors the engine's torque output, and if it fails it won't be able to stop what FCA calls "an unauthorized torque event." That's twisted.
keep reading article "Dart Recalled for Missing PCM Software", but there's just one problem --- they've known about this for years:
"According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, Continental knew about the defective air bags as far back as 2008."
A new [lawsuit][3] wants compensation for injuries or other losses during that time between Continental discovered the problem and actually did anything about it.
The law firm Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg & Gilbert has [more on that class-action][4].
keep reading article "Grand Caravan and Journey Mentioned in Continental Airbag Lawsuit"And guess what? It's doing a terrible job stopping the windshields from falling out.
The automaker says lab results showed using urethane with a primer that expired in July 2015 always passed the tests. However, using urethane with a primer that expired in January 2015 failed 100 percent of the time.
Shocking.
keep reading article "Dodge Used Expired Primer to Hold Windshields in Place. It’s Not Working."They have since upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis and have included the Dodge Charger.
"NHTSA says to date, there are 306 incidents of Jeep Grand Cherokees rolling away after owners believed the SUVs were shifted into "Park." The 306 rollaway incidents resulted in 117 alleged crashes and 28 injuries. Those injuries include pelvic fractures, broken kneecaps, a ruptured bladder, busted ribs, sprained knees, trauma to the legs, lacerations to the face and various other injuries."…
keep reading article "Dodge Charger Added to FCA e-Shift Investigation"
They opened an internal investigation in July 2015 to find out why a 2009 Dodge Journey airbag deployed for no apparent reason. The automaker later found 13 potential inadvertent airbag deployments with airbags made by Continental Automotive Systems.
Recently, Continental announced they needed to recall 5 million airbags that were susceptible to corrosion. The airbags in question might not deploy in a crash, which really defeats the point.
FCA says they aren't sure when the recall will begin.
keep reading article "Grand Caravan and Journey Mentioned in Continental Airbag Lawsuit"While the owner's manual clearly says 'wheel chocks' should be used when changing a tire using a tire jack, not everyone follows instructions. Now at least three of those people ended up getting injured when changing their Charger's tires.
Darwin has an award for this sort of thing.
Rather than place blame, however, Dodge has decided to provide owners with free chocks.
They should be ready in April, 2016. Owners can call Dodge at 800-853-1403.
keep reading article "Dodge Offering Free Chocks to Charger Owners"The best way to find out what's wrong with a vehicle is from the people who drive them. Not only do owner complaints help us rank vehicles by reliability, but they're often used to spark class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions. Plus, they're a great way to vent.