I have driven Chrysler vehicles exclusively almost my entire life. Over the years, I've owned Dodges, Jeeps, Plymouths, Chryslers, and even an Eagle. Currently, my primary vehicle is a 2002 5.9L Dodge Durango. It has 59,000 miles on the odometer.
A few weeks ago, it started running rough and the check engine light came on. Upon diagnosis, the problem was revealed to be that small pieces of the camshaft were actually breaking off, which had burned the valves. A major repair job was required, involving replacement of the camshaft and a complete valve job. The total bill came to about $2200.
The owner of the repair shop, who is very trustworthy and has been used by my family for years, spent 20+ years as a GM factory service rep. He advised that this sort of problem was virtually unheard of on a late model vehicle with this low amount of miles, and that even though it was a little bit out of warranty, I should seek redress with Chrysler because it was so obviously a manufacturer defect. He gave me the old camshaft and told me to take it to the Dodge dealer and show it to them; He stated that any competent mechanic could see instantly that it was an "extremely defective" part. He also said that in his years at GM, if a customer had brought in such a case, they would have opened an investigation and offered partial or even full compensation for the repair job.
A visit to the local Dodge dealership proved otherwise. The service rep had no itnerest in looking at the camshaft, and more or less accused me of having caused the problem by not ever changing the oil (in fact, I change it with Mobil1 every 3000 miles, since I had planned on keeping this vehicle forever.) He tossed me a card with Chrysler's 1-800 number on it, and told me it was their problem.
Not to be dissuaded, I called the number he provided. After much time on hold and being transferred around, I was summarily told that the vehicle was out of warranty and therefore any defect was my problem, tough luck. The Chrysler rep also made some not-so-subtle hints that I probably hadn't maintained the vehicle properly and/or was in cahoots with the mechanic trying to pull a con job. They had no more interest in looking at the camshaft than the dealer did.
It is appalling to me that a late model vehicle would have its engine fall apart at 59k miles and the manufacturer would take zero responsibility. After decades of buying, owning, and driving Chryslers, and after years of fighting the tide of my friends switching to foreign cars by telling them how great an experience I've always had, I am now swearing off Chryslers forever. (I haven't decided if I'm switching away from American cars altogether, or if maybe I'll give GM or Ford a try.) The new Challenger I had my eye on to buy in the next year or two is no longer under consideration. My money will go to companies that manufacture cars that function properly and that take responsibility for their products. From now on, when people mention they're considering the purchase of a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep, I'll be sure to do my damndest to talk them out of it.
I haven't entirely given up the hope of getting some kind of reimbursement from Chrysler. I intend to write my state attorney general and pursue this under lemon laws, and I suppose I'll send all the photos and receipts to Chrysler via certified mail, with a nice explanatory letter, and we'll see if they do anything. But I doubt it.
If anyone has any other suggestions on how to seek redress on this, I'd appreciate it.