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Visiting our current favorite mechanic. He likes to chit chat a bit when you drop off a car. I mentioned how busy he is his entire lot was full of cars waiting for service. He said it is mostly late model Chrysler (mostly RAM trucks) 2015 or newer. once they run past their warranty period they seem to have a slew of majorly expensive repairs. He specifically mentioned heater controls, valve train (in the smaller V8 - not the 5.7), and valve cover leaks caused by warped valve covers. That was not an exclusive list, just what I remember of the things he mentioned. He is not prone to fan boy dramatization, in fact he loved my RAM so much when I got it he went out an bought one. And he is an equal opportunity denigrator. He said to stay well away from Ford Ecoboost engines as well. Too many customers came in with more broken Chrysler so I did not get a chance to ask what he thinks are currently the better options, but I know he likes the Ford 5.4 and the GM 3.8.
Are RAM and other Chrysler owners seeing an unusual number of expensive repairs in 2015 and newer vehicles after the warranty expires? This question is really focused on people who actually own one, rather than on people who want to repeat urban legends they have heard for years. I have an 09 RAM and while it has normal Dodge disease (tons of small things break a lot) I have not had any really major issues. (Although the $400 tune up was a shock).
I thought they had that licked after the 2009 buyout, but maybe not.
Oh he also told us the Ford Focus ST is a complete disaster. "Very possibly the worst car I have ever seen, or the best for me, but the worst for owners."
Last edited by Coldjensens; 03-08-2018 at 12:56 PM..
Chrysler has been junk for decades. It's a shame because before being known for junk, they were known for exceptional engineering.
I guess they now have a market in people who want as much car as possible for as little money as possible and are happy with that - otherwise, there is no reason they couldn't improve the products.
Oh he also told us the Ford Focus ST is a complete disaster. "Very possibly the worst car I have ever seen, or the best for me, but the worst for owners."
Considering the huge following that car has (and the Fiesta ST sibling) and all the praise it gets from owners on "real" automotive forums, I'd say he's full of it.
Maybe the way you posted it but yer mechanic ain't none too sharp. The last 4.7 Ram was in 2013 and considering that's 5 years ago and his comments about not liking the new Rams small V8 just doesn't make much sense. His liking the Ford 5.4 is also nutz. That's probably the absolute worst engine to sit in any brand of truck. It NEVER put out the horsepower it was rated for. I've never seen a stock 5.4 ever put out more than 260HP which is almost the same as the 4.6 2V I had in a 2004 F150. It's no wonder that the old 2004 could pretty much stay with a 5.4 and now the current truck with the 3.7 V6 will flat run away from one and do it on half the gas. The 5.4 was known for bad cam phasers, failed oil pumps, and 3 piece spark plugs that broke off in the heads. Sometimes a spark plug change could cost as much as $3000.00 as the cab has to come off of the truck to remove the heads to get the plugs out. But he likes it. The new 3.5 EcoBoost has been a slick introduction engine. So far, no issues and the issues of the old 3.5 EB are gone. The new one carries 2 injectors per cylinder and I highly doubt he's even seen one since they all are still under warranty. Even the Ford dealers aren't seeing many. His comments on the Focus ST are nutz as well. The standard Focus, yes, the transmission can be a headache but the ST is another animal. The 2.0 EB engine is near bulletproof and has a proven reliability record. The ST is THE car in Europe to try and catch. Does this guy know which end of a car the radiator cap is on?
I’d say he’s full of it. Chrysler offers a lifetime warranty as an option. Some dealers tack it on for free. By his rationale, that would be a bad business move by FCA.
The Chrysler name needs to go away. They only make what, 2 cars? under their brand name now.
I don't think Chrysler even makes a small car anymore, spinning off all their various models into their own brand was incredibly stupid, and killing off their halo car is never a good sign. Successful car companies don't do that. They come up with a replacement, a redesign.
Considering the huge following that car has (and the Fiesta ST sibling) and all the praise it gets from owners on "real" automotive forums, I'd say he's full of it.
Do a bit of research before making such a claim. The reports are the ame all over the place. ST is a great car to drive. The problem is owning it. Consumer Reports (for what they are worth) rated it as a great car to drive, but not recommended due to worse than average reliability. Turbos, clutch and transmission problems, intake piping breaking free. Our Mechanic mentioned repeated STs with transmission failure and I asked whether he meant Automatic transmissions, and he said no manual transmissions are failing on them at relatively low miles. I did not ask him how many.
And for me, I would trust this guys knowledge above some poster here, sorry. He has proven himself again and again. He is a remarkable mechanic and his diagnostics are almost always instant and spot on. Not sure he really enjoys working on cars, but he sure knows them inside out. Name a car, and he will tell you its most common problems, engine options, transmission options, what part of the transmissions typically fail. . . .
Maybe the way you posted it but yer mechanic ain't none too sharp. The last 4.7 Ram was in 2013 and considering that's 5 years ago and his comments about not liking the new Rams small V8 just doesn't make much sense. His liking the Ford 5.4 is also nutz. That's probably the absolute worst engine to sit in any brand of truck. It NEVER put out the horsepower it was rated for. I've never seen a stock 5.4 ever put out more than 260HP which is almost the same as the 4.6 2V I had in a 2004 F150. It's no wonder that the old 2004 could pretty much stay with a 5.4 and now the current truck with the 3.7 V6 will flat run away from one and do it on half the gas. The 5.4 was known for bad cam phasers, failed oil pumps, and 3 piece spark plugs that broke off in the heads. Sometimes a spark plug change could cost as much as $3000.00 as the cab has to come off of the truck to remove the heads to get the plugs out. But he likes it. The new 3.5 EcoBoost has been a slick introduction engine. So far, no issues and the issues of the old 3.5 EB are gone. The new one carries 2 injectors per cylinder and I highly doubt he's even seen one since they all are still under warranty. Even the Ford dealers aren't seeing many. His comments on the Focus ST are nutz as well. The standard Focus, yes, the transmission can be a headache but the ST is another animal. The 2.0 EB engine is near bulletproof and has a proven reliability record. The ST is THE car in Europe to try and catch. Does this guy know which end of a car the radiator cap is on?
My previously owned Ford Lightning had the 5.4 and put out way more hp than that, stock!
Maybe the way you posted it but yer mechanic ain't none too sharp. The last 4.7 Ram was in 2013 and considering that's 5 years ago and his comments about not liking the new Rams small V8 just doesn't make much sense. His liking the Ford 5.4 is also nutz. That's probably the absolute worst engine to sit in any brand of truck. It NEVER put out the horsepower it was rated for. I've never seen a stock 5.4 ever put out more than 260HP which is almost the same as the 4.6 2V I had in a 2004 F150. It's no wonder that the old 2004 could pretty much stay with a 5.4 and now the current truck with the 3.7 V6 will flat run away from one and do it on half the gas. The 5.4 was known for bad cam phasers, failed oil pumps, and 3 piece spark plugs that broke off in the heads. Sometimes a spark plug change could cost as much as $3000.00 as the cab has to come off of the truck to remove the heads to get the plugs out. But he likes it. The new 3.5 EcoBoost has been a slick introduction engine. So far, no issues and the issues of the old 3.5 EB are gone. The new one carries 2 injectors per cylinder and I highly doubt he's even seen one since they all are still under warranty. Even the Ford dealers aren't seeing many. His comments on the Focus ST are nutz as well. The standard Focus, yes, the transmission can be a headache but the ST is another animal. The 2.0 EB engine is near bulletproof and has a proven reliability record. The ST is THE car in Europe to try and catch. Does this guy know which end of a car the radiator cap is on?
More a reading problem go back and read it again and see if you get a better understanding. Look at punctuation. That little dot at the end of a group of words has some meaning.
There are millions of 5.4 engines out there and they are long lasting good workhorse engines. Of course they do not have the power and efficiency of modern engines, but they do fine. I have had two of them. Never had any problems changing plugs, you do need a special tool for at least one of them. You also have to be careful because you can strip out the head if you over-tighten them. The biggest problem i had with either are the stupid coil packs (I still have a few spares in my garage). One truck the oil pump did go out at 180,000 + miles, but that truck was seriously abused (it belonged to a small asphalt contractor before i bought it from them and I bought it for next to nothing with a plant to work it to death while restoring our house and developing our property). Agin if you do a bit of research (which just did in less than ten minutes), you will find it is generally regarded as an excellent engine. While not as fun to drive as my RAM "HEMI", I never had not enough horsepower to do anything I wanted or needed to do with a truck (except cream mustangs which is fun now, but not really what you get a pick up truck for).
Did you look at the reports on the ST? (that is a rhetorical question, obviously not).
I can absolutely guarantee you this guy knows more about cars than you will ever know. He repaired between three and a dozen cars today, how many did you do?
He has been a mechanic for 37 years, so multiply that number by 8,140 (assuming 220 work days a year which may be a bit low). So figure a lower end daily number (5), he has repaired 40,700 cars. Have you even seen 40,000 cars?
Oh BTW one of the cars he may have repaired today is a Focus ST with a transmission failure. It was sitting in his lot when I dropped off our car, so if he got to it, it was likely today.
More a reading problem go back and read it again and see if you get a better understanding. Look at punctuation. That little dot at the end of a group of words has some meaning.
There are millions of 5.4 engines out there and they are long lasting good workhorse engines. Of course they do not have the power and efficiency of modern engines, but they do fine. I have had two of them. Never had any problems changing plugs, you do need a special tool for at least one of them. You also have to be careful because you can strip out the head if you over-tighten them. The biggest problem i had with either are the stupid coil packs (I still have a few spares in my garage). One truck the oil pump did go out at 180,000 + miles, but that truck was seriously abused (it belonged to a small asphalt contractor before i bought it from them and I bought it for next to nothing with a plant to work it to death while restoring our house and developing our property). Agin if you do a bit of research (which just did in less than ten minutes), you will find it is generally regarded as an excellent engine. While not as fun to drive as my RAM "HEMI", I never had not enough horsepower to do anything I wanted or needed to do with a truck (except cream mustangs which is fun now, but not really what you get a pick up truck for).
Did you look at the reports on the ST? (that is a rhetorical question, obviously not).
I can absolutely guarantee you this guy knows more about cars than you will ever know. He repaired between three and a dozen cars today, how many did you do?
He has been a mechanic for 37 years, so multiply that number by 8,140 (assuming 220 work days a year which may be a bit low). So figure a lower end daily number (5), he has repaired 40,700 cars. Have you even seen 40,000 cars?
Oh BTW one of the cars he may have repaired today is a Focus ST with a transmission failure. It was sitting in his lot when I dropped off our car, so if he got to it, it was likely today.
So why were you asking anyone else?
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