Yes, I'm Still Alive... and Fighting!

Wednesday, January 5, 2005
It's been several weeks since I've written an update. I spent a lot of time with my family over the Christmas holidays. I've also been really busy wrapping up a couple of other projects. (I do have a real job.)

Good News! The 2005 Lemon-Aid car guides are out in stores. This site is listed in the 2005 Lemon-Aid New Cars and Minivans book. Many thanks to Phil Edmonston for making this happen. If you are looking to purchase a new or used vehicle, his Lemon-Aid series of books are great. You can also visit his web site for additional information.

We're still suffering with the ongoing issues in our van. The front defrost taking 20-30 minutes to defrost the window is a real pain - especially in the really cold weather that we've been having. The interior light in our van still goes on randomly. At least 3 or 4 times over the past 3 weeks I've gone out to start the van (to let it run for 30 minutes to defrost the front window) and the rear, left interior light has been on.

The noise from the left sliding door is really getting annoying. There is definitely something not sealed properly. Wind and ground noise is so loud. I cannot believe that MacIVER and Chevalier claim they don't hear anything wrong.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
I AM ABSOLUTELY IRATE!!!! I have been able to get my hands on several Daimler Chrysler service bulletins. In reading through these service bulletins, I have come across 4 that seem to deal with exact issues that I experienced. Why did MacIVER Dodge not recognize these problems as they occured and resolve them instead of continuing to pretend that they didn't exist. I have provided links to the 4 bulletins below along with a brief description of how they relate to my van.

• Body - Sliding Door/Liftgate Erratic Operation - 23-041-02 09/16/2002 - Was MacIVER Dodge even aware of this bulletin? This describes exactly some of the problems we were having with our power liftgate.
• Body - Water Leaks/Crack in Upper Body Seam Sealer - 23-001-03 01/17/2003 - Hmmm... Water leaks. I'm pretty sure we had this problem. But, MacIVER never once did any work on our vehicle to fix water leaks (until 6 months passed and we had a major leak).
• Body - Liftgate/Sliding Door Won't Power Open - 23-004-03 01/31/2003 - Again, we had several issues with our power liftgate and sliding doors, but no work was ever done to rectify the situation (until we threatened to put up this web site).
• Suspension - Front Suspension Muffled Rattling Noise - 02-004-03 10/03/2003 - We lived with this exact problem for over 6 months. Our mechanic said it was the sway bars (just as the bulletin says), but MacIVER Dodge told us there was nothing wrong and that the noise is normal.

Monday, January 17, 2005
We've been keeping our van serviced exactly as prescribed in the owner's manual. We want to make sure that we don't miss an oil change or Daimler Chrysler might try to blame some of the ongoing problems on us. We're right near 48,000km now and our mechanic noticed that the owner's manual does not mention ANYWHERE when the transmission fluid should be flushed. I'm so glad that I have a great mechanic. I called a Daimler Chrysler dealership and inquired about this. Apparently it is supposed to be changed at 48,000km and the service manager was surprised that this was not listed in the owner's manual.

Well... I have a pretty good guess as to why a transmission fluid flush is not listed in the Caravan's owner's manual. As I've come to realize, Caravans are known for transmission problems. If Daimler Chrysler doesn't list when to do the service, most people won't realize to do it. Then, when the customer experiences transmission problems, it can be blamed on improper servicing and the customer will be asked to pay for the repairs. Most customers won't stand up and argue, so Daimler Chrysler wins and doesn't have to address their ongoing transmission problems. Based on what I now know about how Daimler Chrysler operates, this makes perfect sense to me!

Monday, January 24, 2005
I had a scheduled appointment at Sorenson Page Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep in Richmond Hill to have my transmission fluid flushed. I was actually quite impressed by their service. Very friendly, and fast! They even noticed that something was wrong with my left tie rod and they replaced it (under warranty). A good experience all around. Too bad I'm still stuck with my defective van...

Maybe I shouldn't be too surprised by my top notch service experience though. I'm sure that when any dealership enters my VIN into their computer, they find out all about my ongoing saga. They probably don't want to be involved and just want to get me out of their dealership as fast as possible without causing a problem.

Wednesday, February 9, 2005
We've had over 800,000 visitors to this web site. Amazing! No official comment from Daimler Chrysler though. However, I have had a lot of e-mails from people inside the company claiming that my site is causing quite a stir.

The problems with our van continue. Some of them are REALLY starting to get annoying. We've had a new problem yesterday where the van jerks right when it seems to be switching between gears. We're going to have our mechanic check it out first before taking it to a Daimler Chrysler dealership. My guess is that it's the transmission. Isn't that exciting!?!?!?

The Canadian International Autoshow is in Toronto starting on February 18. I can't wait! What a great opportunity to talk to consumers and make them aware of DoNotBuyDodge.ca. Watch for more news on how I plan to do this...

Index

Previous  |  Next