2006 engine 50+ day affair conclusion

[JonathanBurk]

JB, I think you did the right thing. I'd do close to the exact same thing (except I'd probably get a Ridgeline, if I didn't need the load capacity). However, did you take the suspension and wheels off your truck before you got rid of it?

This is the sad part, I didn't have all the stock parts to put back on the truck, so I sold it with everything. Whoever gets my truck is getting one sweet ride, they don't even know... assuming it holds together.

 

[Tomeygun]

Many of us added stuff to our 180-215HP 2nd and early 3rd gen trucks- going from 185/440 to 300/600 is one thing- going from 300/600 stock to 400/750 is ANOTHER all together... The older trucks were "de-tuned" from the factory- adding some power didnt really exceed the design parameters of the engine. These new CR fuel systems are running right at the ragged edge- (IMO) boosting them further is a RECIPE FOR DISASTER.

199hp stock -- 604hp modified...



And loving every minute of it, although the engine really isnt on the ragged edge, FYI

 

[jjordan1]

After reading all the bad info here on Dodge Im thinking about brand X.

 

[DPKetchum]

Go read brand x for a while. You'll return REALLY confused!

 

[MRaynor]

Go read brand x for a while. You'll return REALLY confused!

After my first trip back to the dealer, you are both exactly correct. :--)





Mike

 

[foolkiller]

so post a pic of the new toy in the readers rigs... ... what the h3ll.



i've been the proud owner of a couple toyota trucks (an '82 and '87) and loved them as much as my dc; especially the '82. great vehicles; they just excelled in a different arena than my dc. i wish you much luck.



jeff

 

[Byershome]

I have bought 5 Dodges in the last 21 years and have had zero problems with them with the exception of the CTD. Being the first year of a new run these were only minor issue easily fixed. That said Dodge has to be bottom of the barrel in service and I avoid them at ll cost. My first 3 (2 trucks one car, one still sits in my yard with 270000 miles with no major work ready if something else breaks) never saw the dealer after they left the lot, had no reason as they operated flawless. I think they build the best vehicles for the price in the market today, I also think they know it and and unfortunately many treat costumers like dirt because they don't believe it could be their problem.



So you have to ask yourself is the poor service worth it? For me it is, you could not give me a vehicle made by anyone else no matter how good their costumer service is, they aren't around on that cold dark rainy night in the middle of no where (at least for a few hours until the tow truck arrives, if your cell phone has coverage)... ... ... ... ... ... . it's just you and the truck. I'll take my chances and buy the best truck and hope I don't get the rare rotten egg. I'm zero for five in 20+ so things ain't to shabby right now.



You can be sure also that I would never... ..... I mean never go to a Dodge dealership for work that was not covered under the warranty... ... ..... not even a free oil change!

 

[DPKetchum]

If FIVE trucks or vehicles with ZERO problems HOW do you KNOW what KIND of service you would GET at ANY service dept? From what you have read or a CRYSTAL ball! Chezz Upon your own statement YOU have NEVER been back for service but YOUR a EXPERT in the WAY SERVICE ought to be! Yea RIGHT!I would and MANY thousands of others ONLY get work done at a DEALER service dept.

 

[Byershome]

"HOW do you KNOW what KIND of service you would GET "



"with the exception of the CTD. Being the first year of a new run these were only minor issue easily fixed. "



When I said "easily fixed" I was referring to the work itself not the battle to get it done.

 

[JCleary]

I've been to 4 DC dealerships with my trucks. The one that did have decent service (from a customer relations standpoint) had lame techs that thought the CTD took 15. 5 quarts of oil. I went home and drained all the oil and filled with 3 gallons of Delo, as my invoice indicated 10/30.



I've been servicing my truck myself since the second service at 10k.



I can definitely say that both Ford and Toyota dealerships in general are a lot better to deal with. It is a rare thing to find a good Dodge service department. In fact, the only one I know is good is in Carson City, Nevada. That's a 4 hour trip for me, but it's where I will go if my truck does need service.



Only bummer is if my truck's out of comission, I'll be towing it with a 6. 0h no. (F450 shop truck).



Good call on the Toyota. IMO there are not better built vehicles on the planet than Toyota.

 

[RVTRKN]

Boy, the report of bad Dodge trucks is starting to sound like a broken record around here. Is it me or are these new trucks bottom of the barrel in quality?

These seems to be a LOT of engine failures ... and not just on modified trucks.



I think I'd be very warry of purchasing a new Dodge anything these days.

Just check out Diesel Place or Diesel Stop.com if you want to read about engine failures, you will be back, besides I have not read about failures with stock Cummins engines. I'm not saying they don't fail, just haven't seen many threads complaining about the stock CTD engine. DMAX now have a recall on glow plugs destroying engines stock.

 

[DPKetchum]

Except a Nissan maybe. Always like Datsun/Nissan better then Toyota for the most part. Thats just me. Honda dosen't build a truck. Its a Yuppy vehicle. (Ridgeline that is)what a joke.

 

[PKitzman]

I personally don't think there are any more problems with the CTD than the Duramax or any other trucks. I think the problem is with some slimey dealerships.



If I had to guess I would say that DC is hurting pretty bad in sales since they don't have a good selection of hybrids and other fuel efficient vehicles to sell and they are trying to cut back costs in another area. The problem is EVERY time they deny a valid warranty they loose a customer (many times more than one). They can only get away with doing this for so long before word will get out and they will have to go the extra mile in the other direction to get customers to come back.

 

[DPKetchum]

Except a Ford 6. 0. YUK. WHENEVER sales gets slow with ANY car/truck manufacture warranty money gets TIGHT. YES thats even TOYOTA and HONDA etc. Its a CYCLE. Been there seen it lived it before. Its BUSINESS. They(manufactures)fellow the letter of how the warranty is written. They ALL DO THIS. Don't kid yourself they don't. In fact from my humble experiance the imports are WORSE. They get really TIGHT. Buy a LOT of trucks at window sticker,give the manufactures BIG sales numbers and they'll FIX and help with ANYTHING they can. Let it get tight they get tight. The guidelines are handed down from the TOP and trickles down all the way. DEALER REPS are TOLD BUDGET per week,month etc. as well as TRACKED on out of warranty good will,rental etc. It MAY get WORSE. I've seen the time that 500 miles out of warranty was OUT. Period. Told NO discussion etc. Same with loaner/rental. A emphatic NO! That was the last major gas crisis with Nissan.

 

[GAdams4570]

I bought a 2006 3500 CTD at Carson City Dodge in December. I called them on the phone and talked to Warren Phesant. He set the whole thing up, met my wife and myself at the airport in Reno and drove up back to the dealership. Everything about the deal was great. No bait and switch. The truck, features, price were all as discussed. John Holmes was there and went over some of the special features of the diesel motor. He gave us some handouts and several very good tips. I couldn't be happier with the truck. I hasn't given me any problems. It appears to be well designed and well made!

 

[DavidBurt]

Another thing guys, alot of the bad engine/crap waranty complaning is coming from just a few guys. The people having trouble is such a small percentage (of Dodge/Cummins out there) I couldn't even guess at a number. Just another perspecitve, not ment to offend.

Dave

 

[KBennett]

Good call on the Toyota. IMO there are not better built vehicles on the planet than Toyota.

I would agree with that but nothing tows like a Cummins! My previous trucks were Nissans and a Toyota. One of my Nissans gave me some problems and that's why I went with the Toyota but they were all left stock and the reliability was unbelievable.

 

[HOCummins04]

Except a Ford 6. 0. YUK. WHENEVER sales gets slow with ANY car/truck manufacture warranty money gets TIGHT. YES thats even TOYOTA and HONDA etc. Its a CYCLE. Been there seen it lived it before. Its BUSINESS. They(manufactures)fellow the letter of how the warranty is written. They ALL DO THIS. Don't kid yourself they don't. In fact from my humble experiance the imports are WORSE. They get really TIGHT. Buy a LOT of trucks at window sticker,give the manufactures BIG sales numbers and they'll FIX and help with ANYTHING they can. Let it get tight they get tight. The guidelines are handed down from the TOP and trickles down all the way. DEALER REPS are TOLD BUDGET per week,month etc. as well as TRACKED on out of warranty good will,rental etc. It MAY get WORSE. I've seen the time that 500 miles out of warranty was OUT. Period. Told NO discussion etc. Same with loaner/rental. A emphatic NO! That was the last major gas crisis with Nissan.

Well, my experience is very different. I have always bought from the big 3. Had some good ones, had some lemons. Getting hard to find dealerships to do business with these days that are not slime somewhere, either in the sales dept or the service department. I too have found good service dept with sodomites in sales. If it weren't for Joe Donnally's article about the 325/600, I was on the verge of buying a PSD - paperwork filled out - all I had to do was sign. I was so angry and fed up with BS from DC Factory Service Rep. I calmed down and bought another Cummins wrapped in a Dodge package. I have not regretted it. Nothing compares to the Cummins. That is a hard cold fact that just can not be denied. Read about Ford's warranty costs astronomically rising - I read somewhere 500 Million on the 6. 0 higher than anticipated - not better anywhere else yet. When the Japanese sell a heavy duty truck with a diesel, I expect it will be a wakeup call for big 3.



Guy I work with bought a Honda minivan. It was 4 years old, about 55,000 miles - well past 3/36 factory warranty. Received a letter from Honda said they had experienced higher than normal problems with the transmissions in that van, and that they were extending his transmission warranty to 100,000 miles free of charge. Have you EVER heard of a US company doing that? I have not. That van now is 5 years old with around 80,000 on it. Never a hickup. Don't expect any.

 

[DPKetchum]

Bet it was a CLASS ACTION law suit that brought that on with Honda. Look hard cause it wasn't just to be nice. It had to be forced for some reason.

 

[HOCummins04]

Bet it was a CLASS ACTION law suit that brought that on with Honda. Look hard cause it wasn't just to be nice. It had to be forced for some reason.

If it were a class action lawsuit, he would have received notice of the litigation. I am not a lawyer, but have worked in the past close enough to the legal profession to have learned a few things. He has never received any notification of any litigation regarding this van.



Please don't misunderstand me DPKetchum. Not trying to dog you man. I have been where I perceive you are - bitter, angry, upset, furious, call it what you want. I almost made a huge mistake in my anger. My brother is a die-hard Ford fan. Everyone has their own experiences. Mine are that things are no better anywhere else. He bought an F250 Super Duty, that after months of wrangling it was determined they put the lightest springs Ford makes on the rear rather than the heaviest. How does that happen on a Super Duty assembly line?