Lemon Law

[WStoops]

Well I finally had to do it. I filed the papers for the Connecticut Lemon Law program yesterday as a result of the unrepaired vibration in my truck. For those who have not read my earlier posts, bought truck on 5/11/04 and complained about vibration at 880 miles, 10 days later. Vibration started in the low 60mph range and gets worse as speed increased. I have never had any response from Dodge, despite emails, phone calls, dealer visits, etc. They just ignore my attempts to get it fixed. Now, at 18,000 miles, it is worse than ever, starting at 60 mph. Yugo's pass me on the highway. I've had to buy another car just for highway driving.

They made one half-hearted attempt to fix it and 2 other dealers I have contacted will not work on it until Dodge comes out with a TSB, highly unlikely in my view. The attempt they did make screwed up the alignment and when they fixed that the vibes got worse. They all admit it is present and severe but say there is nothing they can do. The service mgr at the dealership where I bought it said I should "do what you have to do". I did yesterday. Except for this vibration I do love the truck though and when given the choice in the Lemon Law application, I opted for a replacement instead of a buy-back. From the standpoint of customer service DC has a HUGE amount of work to do. Not sure what the sales figures are between the big 3 but if Dodge intends to play with the other 2 in the marketplace they had better fire everyone in customer service and start over. I had a Ford in the past with a problem and my wife had a Subaru with a problem. Both companies stumbled over themselves to make it right. DC WAKE UP!! :{ :{ :{ :{ :{

 

[bpenrod]

Good for you! Sorry to hear about the problem but with what they charge for a vehicle they should make it right even if it means replacing it foir you. I hope it all works out well for you.

 

[tractorseller]

I had a Duramax lemon and GM isn't any better when it comes to making things right. 6 months, 8 trips to dealers for the same transfer case problem, they never could fix it, 4WD never worked, and they treated me like a common criminal when I told them I wanted a replacement or my money back. They finally bought it back after I played hardball with them.



Good luck to you. Customer service should be their number one priority.

 

[DPKetchum]

Let me say that at DEALER level the manufactures cram customer service down the dealers throats. Have for years. Then they hang the Dealers out to dry. The manufactures have FORKED tongues. This has been going on years also. Several dealers I worked at over a 25 year period "we"meaning from Dealer owner on down have had the discussion MANY times about FORKED tongue! I did see a dealer owner(owned G. M. and Nissan dealers)jump up in a in house meeting with FACTORY reps present and slam a fist down and YELL at them about these actions concerning CSI and THEIR problem about not backing said dealers up etc. Lots of Dropped jaws that day. "WE lost some of OUR politeness with THEM after that". Several years ago(1992 or so)I know a BUICK dealer that the factory service rep was such a axxx that THEY would not allow him back on their lot. Requested a review of HIM and a new rep.

 

[WStoops]

Let me say that at DEALER level the manufactures cram customer service down the dealers throats. Have for years. Then they hang the Dealers out to dry. The manufactures have FORKED tongues. This has been going on years also. Several dealers I worked at over a 25 year period "we"meaning from Dealer owner on down have had the discussion MANY times about FORKED tongue! I did see a dealer owner(owned G. M. and Nissan dealers)jump up in a in house meeting with FACTORY reps present and slam a fist down and YELL at them about these actions concerning CSI and THEIR problem about not backing said dealers up etc. Lots of Dropped jaws that day. "WE lost some of OUR politeness with THEM after that". Several years ago(1992 or so)I know a BUICK dealer that the factory service rep was such a axxx that THEY would not allow him back on their lot. Requested a review of HIM and a new rep.

Yes, the manufacturers not backing up the dealers is an old story. Went to work for my first dealer (GM) in 1965. They hammer the dealers on customer service because that is who the customer sees first. That and the fact that most problems are easily fixed. When bad engineering is the problem, as it is here, they still expect the dealer to make it right. Dodge has done alot in the time since these problems popped up in 2003, New models introduced, lots of changes to others like the PowerWagon. My thinking is that this problem is probably not too widespread and does not justify an engineering fix or TSB as the numbers just aren't large enough. I have spoken to some who have the problem and say thay are going to keep the truck as it is not so bad that it impairs usefullness. I have heard of some 05's with the problem too so they haven't been concerned enough about it to fix the new models. A set of manual locking front hubs would probably satisfy everyone, including me.

 

[BHolm]

I don't think ANY manufacturer wants to buy back a vehicle. They all make it painfully difficult. To some extent you can see their point, they don't want to be buying them back for petty stuff. Expect to have to get tough with them, hold out for a replacement and make them pay to transfer additions to your truck from the old to the new, stuff like hitches, brake controllers, running boards. Don't pay for that stuff yourself.



I have had issues with all three at the "customer service" level. Dealers are normally the good guys. They want to keep selling you vehicles and do not need a bad rep in a very competitive market. The manufacturers seem all to willing to hang them out to dry A simple example is not allowing the dealer to stock things like fuel injectors. Making the buyer of a $40k+ truck wait even a day or two is BAD business. Forcing dealers to PROVE there is a problem... bad, bad, bad.



Best of luck, I hope they take care of you.

 

[jungledave]

I had my 04 bought back last June and although I am sorry to see it go I don't have to worry about the payment either. I am sorry I didn't keep the 02 cummins that I traded in. I have a coworker who has an 05 Duramax truck that he traded his 02 Duramax in on. He has had repeated injector problems. His pride doesn't allow him to seek out a lemmon law fix, I think in part cause I had my dodge bought back. I too am a little embarassed for DC for not tackling this VIBE problem 3 years ago

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"I had a Duramax lemon and GM isn't any better when it comes to making things right. "



YUP - our son-in-law is going thru the same vibration problem with his 02 GM truck - been working on either a fix or buy-back for over a year now - lots of promises by GM, but no follow-thru, and it's looking like he will now have to get a lawyer involved...

 

[DPKetchum]

The dealer I use recently made mention of same memo. To pull caps on ALL u/joints replaced and add grease!Vendor problem.

 

[ceaman]

I filed for my arbitration in may and just got the decision for a replacement vehicle on 1/20/2005

 

[WStoops]

Just my input... my dealer (Nolf Chrysler /Dodge) has found that the "Lifetime" Spicer Drivelines are going dry early or are being assembled dry by Spicer. They hve disassembled several drivelines and repacked the u-joints. Others required U-joint replacement (mine did). Problem went away. Your Dealer is not looking there is a dealer memo on this, not a TSB! Yours (vibration) can go away too. you have 2 bad u-joints (both ends of rear driveshaft). Mine was replaced under warranty. Tell your dealer to wake up & check memo or call Nolf's talk to Greg Nolf (Service Manager) He will fill them in on how to fix.

My dealer says that when the front driveshaft was removed the vibration went away. Not to say that I don't have that problem as well. For now, it's in the hands of the state Lemon law people. I'm still willing to work with DC but they didn't call me before the filing and haven't called me since.

 

[WStoops]

I filed for my arbitration in may and just got the decision for a replacement vehicle on 1/20/2005

In this state, CT, the hearings are usually scheduled 45 days or so from the date of application. They said it takes 10 days or so to render a decision and the manufacturer has 10 days to comply after the they receive the notice of a decision. I got the numbers for 2003 from the state and DC never failed to comply with the decision, whatever that may be. My hearing is scheduled for Feb 24th. Since the truck really fits me well and is the most comfortable for me to drive after my 3 back surgeries, I requested a replacement vehicle instead of a buyback, should a decision be rendered in my favor. I have driven the F and GX trucks and think they're OK. I aacould own one and be happy with it but the Ram 3500 Laramie is gorgeous and the mighty cummins in a Yugo would make it worth owning. I should add IMHO.

 

[Giachino]

My 05 has a sticker by the radiator that says "Lube Front Drive Shaft at every oil change"... . could this be related?? Maybe that's the fix for 05?

 

[kblranch]

Do the 2005 front drive shafts have zerk fittings or do you have to disassemble all the ujoints?

 

[Giachino]

Don't know?? Can I look at it and tell the difference? If so, give me a description and I'll check it out tommorrow... .

 

[DPKetchum]

Do ANY of the shafts have zerks?

 

[WStoops]

Well, here is the latest. DC has responded to the Dept of Consumer Protection with respect to my lemon law hearing. They answered the question about what they proposed doing, [I]Replacement of the vehicle, Refund of purchase price, with or without a mileage payment, or nothing[/I],they answered "Nothing" They state that DC is working on a fix for the problem. These people have some nerve. I had a defective washing machine last year which was manufactured by a major manufacturer. They tried to fix it twice to no avail. Then they replaced it and the replacement was also defective and they refunded my purchase price. Never asked them to do it, the dealer made the argument on my behalf. No lawyer, no lemon law, just a simple refund and an apology. DC expects us to accept this. I don't think so. They know about the problem, they take our money then they stonewall. They su_k.

Hopefully, the state will make them live up to their responsibilities.