Warning! Install mud flaps before you go anywhere

[PJ]

Within the first 500 miles of my 04 CTD, my wheel wells and lower sides have countless paint chips due to the poor design of the truck. The rear is the worst. When I mentioned this to the dealer, the reply was gee, thats too bad. Chrysler will not pay for rock chips. Hmmmm, when they only put a single coat of paint on the truck, its only a matter of time before the paint chips. I wonder what it would look like if I actually took this off road and really got it dirty? Yes folks, it is the all so famous LITHIA DODGE! Im calling Chrysler in the morning. Its no wonder that all the trucks now on their lot have big a$$ mud flaps with the words Lithia on them are on EVERY TRUCK! That tells me that Im not the only one that has lost the wimppy mexican paint job that D/C put on this over priced truck. I must say, if you walk across the street and look at the line of Duramax trucks, they all are completely painted, even inside the door jambs and under the hood. I know that the Cummins is a great motor but its a shame we couldnt get it in a FORD OR CHEVY! They have a great body and finish. That is something that Dodge still hasnt got right since my first Cummins back in 1990. Shame on me for not insisting that the paint be perfect before I wrote the check!

 

[pphillip]

wait to you get that chevy and your passenger feet frezze off due to the gaping hole on the right front fender fire wall. My cuz got a chevy duramax been to shop 8 times for all kinds of repairs . His 02 got 34000 My 03 dodge pulled way more weight than his 02 since new

 

[PJ]

The only pull my 98' had was in the front end when you applied the brakes. You never knew which way the truck was going. You just knew that there had betten not be anyone next to you as you were going to change lanes! i think that got fixed when they finally went to 4 wheel disc brakes

 

[Punkineater]

I like Ford and Chevy, but rocks will chip any paint. Here's a newsflash... ... ... rocks are harder than paint. Are you honestly telling me that you are going to bash the entire truck simply over some rock chips in the paint? Recenter yourself boy!

 

[PJ]

This damage was done in the first 500 miles on city streets! I have never owned a new truck that looks as bad as this in the first 500 miles! Yes, Im bashing the truck! The paint is a JOKE! The design was flawed and Chrysler should have provided mud flaps.

 

[Andy Morrison]

Get over it.





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[coobie]

MUD FLAPS

I had mud flaps & wheel liners put on mine. Saves allot of grief. The paint job is excellent on my truck.

 

[curatchko]

Mud flaps won't fix it... .



You need to put running boards on it... I did this also within the first 100 miles, and still had a few chips...



No question DUMB DESIGN!!!!!



Another dumb design is the entire front door interface to the windshield that loves to grab air and make noise...



But what do I know I'm just an automotive designer.



Chris

 

[XcumminsX]

Why are some people bashing this guys for saying his paint sucks... Get a life. .



Here is what i did when i first got my truck and noticed it scratched easy and had some paint chips... Apply massive amount of wax with cloat coat strengthener, I used glass wax (it has a old red corvette in front) help out ALOT. Truck hasnt had anymore scratches or chips since them. CAUTION : DO NOT GET WAX ON THE BLACK DOOR HANDLES... I STILL CANT GET IT OFF... .



Nick

 

[MO'Donnell]

Originally posted by XcumminsX

Why are some people bashing this guys for saying his paint sucks... Get a life. .



CAUTION : DO NOT GET WAX ON THE BLACK DOOR HANDLES... I STILL CANT GET IT OFF... .



Nick

Maybe getting a little too carried away over the paint - ALL of the new vehicle paint jobs are crap thanks to the enviro regs. GM & Ford are no better. The enviro-safe materials are way too soft & prone to chipping - that's why new vehicles are shipped with the white film on them.



Trick for was on the handles - use a little bit of Bleach-white or Purple Power on a soft bristle tooth brush. Does a nice job of getting the white off of the handles * other black trim, but it will also strip the wax off the paint if you're not careful.

 

[XcumminsX]

Thank you for the solution to my handle problem. Why should we all compensate that we have a bunch of freaks that care about he pollution a little too much. . It really is bull****. . My solution to it was the wax with clear coat strengthener... hope it works. .



Nick

 

[curatchko]

Well yeah they are freaks you're right, but we unfortunately do need those freaks.



We need freaks on both sides of the issues so there is a balance created...



Without freaks 'for' the environment, you would have freaks against the environment like we had early on in the 1900's dumping EVERYTHING into our water, in the ground, polluting the air... . this stuff was real. Things are much cleaner now thanks to these freaks... .



Sorry for the rant, and I ain't no enviro-nut... but again we do need a balance.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

rock chips

I had the same problem with my 2001. 5. Major rock chips aft of the wheels where small stones had taken their toll. I took it to the dealer and they gave me a small paint touch-up bottle with internal brush. That was fine by me since the factory paint is better than having them repaint it (might not match color or consistency). I immediately installed the small rubberized splash guards and the rock chip problem hasn't gotten any worse. Still have to get down there and finish dabbing paint on thousands of tiny chips! At least they didn't go to the metal.

As for the rest of the truck, such as the hood and fenders where bugs accumulate, my 1994 Chevy pickup had a lot worse paintjob.

After 30K miles it was all chipped from small debris, bugs, etc. My Ram only has a couple of chips that were from larger rocks kicked up by vehicles on the highway in front of me during the commute to and from work (I guess). 52,000 miles and that's it. I don't have a bug/rock guard on the truck either. My windshield has taken 4 hits though. Large rocks ricocheting off and leaving nickel to quarter size hits in the glass, and a couple are cracking and spreading. Now that is another issue that ought to be brought up in another thread. . the windshields suck! My 94 Chevy took a few hits and never cracked or spread. Only small marks on the glass at the most where the big ones hit. They definitely changed something in the manufacturing process with windshields.

Get the small rubberized mud flaps, the ones that are molded to fit the Rams and have the Dodge Ram symbol on them. Easy to install and it will pretty much stop the chipping problem. I was upset just as you are at the time.

The best wax I have ever used is Liquid Glass. Easy on and easy to get off. It's the kind mentioned in an earlier post here, has a 60's red Corvette on the label.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Genos

Here are some nice molded rubberized guards for the 3rd gen on the Geno's site.



This is what I'd be putting on before it even leaves the lot!

 

[NSperduto]

How should they have designed it ?



Nick

Originally posted by curatchko





No question DUMB DESIGN!!!!!





Chris

 

[NSperduto]

Take some spray nine on a toothbrush and that should take the wax of the black handles. It worked on my Dakota, I haven't waxed the new one yet.

Nick

Originally posted by XcumminsX

CAUTION : DO NOT GET WAX ON THE BLACK DOOR HANDLES... I STILL CANT GET IT OFF... .



Nick

 

[Jengle]

I don't know about new trucks, but my last Nissan came with flaps on it. Never had a paint problem. As to my new 04 Ram, had great paint to start with, no flaps and this thing throws rocks like a gang of little kids. I put some of the cheapest flaps I could get at the local parts store, while waiting on my NW Customs to come in. Since the cheap flaps, no more dings. Now I just need to get the good ones mounted. I would put flaps on the list as the first option to get, before anything else.

 

[XcumminsX]

thanks i will try that.



Nick

 

[wlowe]

It is true that the paint on these trucks is brittle and chips easily. The curved rocker panels don't help either. When I first bought my truck I installed running boards and mud flaps, eliminated 99 percent of the chips. Touch-up paint got the rest. Still looks like new.

 

[RankRam]

I have over 14k on my 03 and I have zero chips, take a look at my Readers Rig Gallery to see how I did it.