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Petition Fiat/Chrysler for obvious flaws not under recall

3K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Michael R. 
#1 ·
Even though our cars are only 2 years old (well a few were sold in 2012), there are some problems that keep showing up with regularity. I think The Company will not do anything about problems not currently under recall since STAR tells me that no problem is real, unless the dealer says so. We should list them and make them come up with preventive repairs for each and every one of their Darts.

DDCT TCM and hydraulic valve.
Manual slave cylinder
Clunking front strut mounts


Any more obvious PITA's could be added to this list and sent via Airmail.

Edit-I will add that I like(ed) my Dart and don't think it should be treated like this by corporate.
 
#5 · (Edited)
All of these problems are going to hurt our Dart's resale in the end, but could easily be fixed by a powerful and honorable man such as Sergio. Even putting a new regular automatic in every existing 1.4T auto won't cost him much, thanks to the DDCT's scrap aluminum value. Seems he already did this with every new Fiat 500...

http://www.fiatusa.com/model-compare/quick-chart/?modelYearCode=CUX201606&ax_src=drlp&ax_src_a_1=fiatusa&ax_src_a_2=current_offers&ax_src_a_3=fiat_500x&ax_src_a_4=2016&ax_src_a_5=compare&ax_src_a_6=1037056&ax_src_a_7=fiat%20500x&ax_src_a_8=43700006496418605&ax_src_a_9=paidsearch&ax_src_a_16=2&sid=1037056&channel=paidsearch&KWID=43700006496418605&KWNM=fiat%20500x&TR=2&BC=&hrf=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buyfiat.com
 
#6 ·
All of these problems are going to hurt our Dart's resale in the end, but could easily be fixed by a powerful and honorable man such as Sergio. Even putting a new regular automatic in every existing 1.4T auto won't cost him much, thanks to the DDCT's scrap aluminum value. Seems he already did this with every new Fiat 500...

FIAT 500X Models | Quick Comparison Chart
He's a successful automotive executive, so "honorable" is probably not a word I'd use to describe him. Anyway, they did mostly solve these problems. TCM issues, which were never all that common, were mostly found in the cars built in mid-2012, the manual slave cylinder is fixed with a revised part if and when it fails, and they have a new waterproof cap to protect the struts from water penetration now. They generally only do recalls to replace non-broken parts if it's an immediate safety issue, and even then, all they have to do is mitigate the safety issue, not fix the problem. An example! Some Ford Contours had a problem with the front springs failing catastrophically due to premature corrosion. This could send chunks of jagged steel into the tire, resulting in loss of control. The "fix"? Ford installed a metal shield that would protect the tire when the spring failed. My mother-in-law had to have this done to her 98 Mystique, despite the fact that the springs had already been replaced with aftermarket ones. The reason they were replaced was because one of them broke (into at least 3 pieces, since there was a section missing from the middle of the spring). Ford also routinely refused to cover the replacement cost of the springs that failed in this way out of warranty, and insisted on full retail price plus labor, which is why my MIL had aftermarket springs (they were probably better and cost 35% of what Ford wanted). There is apparently no value for auto makers to make customers happy after the fact, and I've read in the past that it is actually much cheaper to attract new customers than to try to retain unhappy customers.
 
#7 · (Edited)
@jsblanch: "There is apparently no value for auto makers to make customers happy after the fact, and I've read in the past that it is actually much cheaper to attract new customers than to try to retain unhappy customers."
Is it possible that with today's instant communication and web sites such as this, that auto companies will harm themselves with the attitude listed above? In the past, if I was unhappy with my '66 Charger, 'Bob' in California would more than likely never know. Now people's feelings about their cars and companies are shared instantly.

and jsblanch, how come you're not still asleep? Sunday morning, Father's Day.
 
#9 ·
I did sleep in! It wasn't still dark out when I woke up. Considering it's the summer solstice, and the earliest sunrise of the year, that gives you a pretty good idea of when I typically wake up. I just don't sleep a lot.

Anyway, there are going to be people complaining about every automaker on the Internet, so they pretty much cancel each other out. Even if they didn't, the reality is that the vast majority of people don't care about or relate to strangers' experiences. That's not to say that word of mouth doesn't work, but complaining about something on a public forum with people you don't really know on the Internet is unlikely to change anybody's opinion. People who already agree will continue to do so, and people who don't will continue to disagree.
 
#13 ·
Even though our cars are only 2 years old (well a few were sold in 2012), there are some problems that keep showing up with regularity...

Clunking front strut mounts


.
I thought that was a Chrysler trademark feature. They put that in just to let you know it's a Chrysler (every Chrysler car I have owned had strut bushings that clunked in the cold. It was annoying, but not a safety/repair thing).
 
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