[Quiet Lunatic]

Well I have had my SXT for 2 weeks and I have had several issues with it. First the rear panel was scratch when we purchased it and told thm it needed to be replaced. The salesman said he would take care of it. Well they called me to come pick up the license plates and I asked the maintenance department if the panel was in and they had not even ordered it. The second issue was when my 11 year old opended the rear door the molding peeled off as it hit the front door while opening. I called the dealer and they ordered a new piece of trim. The third was a lot of wind noise and a whistle. We have had high winds here in TN when the cold front came through. When I took it in for the trim work and teh panel replacement I took the maintenance manager for a ride and he said that it was turbulance. I said it was unacceptable. It seems that the air is coming right through the wind shield. I told him my 99 Hyundai does not have this much wind noise. Oh and they ordered the wrong panel.
Well on the way home we noticed that around 40mph the thing started chugging like it was in too high of a gear and was not downshifting. Then we went over a set of RR tracks and there was a large clatter from the front right side of the car. Almost like a shock or strutt not being tight.
I will be taking it back to the dealer again next week for teh panel and will try and resolve the other issues.
Has anyone else had any of these issues? What are the fixes?

 

[StreetDancer]

Derick.....

These don't sound like the typical Nitro problems to me. Are there Lemon Laws in your state? This nitro sounds seriously messed up.

I live in windy country and don't have wind noise.

I've taken a lot of the trim panels of for my own wiring job and haven't had any problems with peeling or what not - they seem pretty solid to me.

I have had a wheel bearing problem (getting that fixed today) at 7k but chalking that up to a fluke.

Not sure about the transmisson problem but that doesn't sound like the typical transmission "learning curve."

I'd say your nitro problems are NOT typical and indicitive of future problems to come. See about getting a refund.

 

[THE BOMB]

problems

The trim piece (on my driver's door) is loose. Dealer ordered replacement 3 weeks ago. Once in, they'll send it with my Nitro to the body shop for color matching.
Is it possible that the wind noise is actually under your hood? There's a TSB regarding wind noise and the throttle body...

 

[dk1677]

No wind noise

None on mine, no other problems either. Hope that they take care of you

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Thanks, I will check out the TSB as I was also searching and found that others have the bucking issue and some say there is a flash that has helped and others say they have had their torque converter replaced.

 

[Oldguy]

TSB for roof rack

I suspect that wind noise might be a loose roof rack rail. There is a Technical Service Bulletin for that too.
J

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

I drove my Nitro pulling my boat over 200 miles last weekend and no wind noise. I am not sure what happened but the wind noise has been eliminated along with the whistle. I took it in today for the trasmission shutter and to have the rear panel replaced as they said it came in. They called about 4:30 and said the shutter was fixed but the panel that came in had a tab broken off from it. I drove it home an still had the shutter and it is still shifting really hard into 2nd. I will be changing oil this week end and will see if I can find where the cluking noise is coming from (metal on metal). I think this thing has been at the dealer more than it has been in my garage..

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Went back to the Dodge dealer today said my panel was in again. I told them about the transmission issue and a clunk that happens when you go over consecutive bumps. They called me back and said that the panel was broken. I said no that must be the old work order from the week before and she said no this was the panel they tried to put in today. I went there and talked with the service manager and said look this is the third time to replace this panel. Take one out of one on the lot and order the replacement for it. He said he could not do that. I said 3x we have been here to have this panel replaced and 3x you called me in to have it replaced with out even looking at the panel to make sure it was the right one or not damaged. I then talked to the General Manager who blaimed the issues on the supplier of the panel. I said it is your fault for scheduling me in and not even bothering to look to see if the part will fit or is not damaged. Anyway they said there was nothing wrong with the transmission and the studdering is normal operation for a Nitro and they never even looked for the clunking noise. The general manager filled out tank with gas for our troubles. I wonder if I can get the lemon law for 3x not being able to fix a plastic panel!!!

 

[KenCary]

Well I have had my SXT for 2 weeks and I have had several issues with it. First the rear panel was scratch when we purchased it and told thm it needed to be replaced. The salesman said he would take care of it. Well they called me to come pick up the license plates and I asked the maintenance department if the panel was in and they had not even ordered it. The second issue was when my 11 year old opended the rear door the molding peeled off as it hit the front door while opening. I called the dealer and they ordered a new piece of trim. The third was a lot of wind noise and a whistle. We have had high winds here in TN when the cold front came through. When I took it in for the trim work and teh panel replacement I took the maintenance manager for a ride and he said that it was turbulance. I said it was unacceptable. It seems that the air is coming right through the wind shield. I told him my 99 Hyundai does not have this much wind noise. Oh and they ordered the wrong panel.
Well on the way home we noticed that around 40mph the thing started chugging like it was in too high of a gear and was not downshifting. Then we went over a set of RR tracks and there was a large clatter from the front right side of the car. Almost like a shock or strutt not being tight.
I will be taking it back to the dealer again next week for teh panel and will try and resolve the other issues.
Has anyone else had any of these issues? What are the fixes?

Regarding the whistle, There is a TSB out there about the throttle body leaking slightly and causing a whistle. The fix is to supply a THIN layer of RTV to the TB and re-assemble.

If this happens again, tell the dealer about the TSB

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Since the whisle is gone I wonder if they have not done this already because the whistle stopped as soon as we went out for a test drive with then and has not been back since.

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Well I took our new Nitro to a different dealership (Gosset Chysler Jeep) to have them check out the transmission. After dropping it off we were waiting in the waiting area and I decided to get a bag of chips and I ran into a neighbor of ours that works at this dealership. After talking with him he said that he and another guy do 95% of the transmission repairs. He pulled my work order and checked out our vehicle. Guess what there are certain models within certain time frames with certain transmissions that the TSB covers and ours fell into that category and it states to replace the Torque Converter because of disc warpage. We are now having our Torque converter replaced. I am not sure why Wolfchase Chysler Jeep would not fix this issue. As always stated its who you know. Our neighbor told us that he has done a couple of these and that he has not recieved 100% satisfaction with this fix. He said that Dodge knows of this issue and is working on a better fix. He believes it is all programming related. We will see what happens and will keep you posted.

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Well we put on 3000 miles since the torque converter was replaced and it is worse than before. We also picked up at rattle in the passenger side door. My wife made an appointment to take it back in tomorrow to have them perform the recall for the engine stalling which consists of reprogramming the TIPM. They are also to try and find the rattle and see if they can do something about the transmission. This is our 4rth go around with the tranny. Will keep you all posted..

 

[als2052]

I had the following problems:
1. Chipped paint on fenders - fixed after 2nd trip
2. Warped front pillar plastic molding - fixed after third trip
3. loose fender panels with rattle - fixed after third trip
4. Air bag cover blemishes - fixed after third trip
5. Roof rack loose - fixed on second trip but still loose
6. Tranny shudder - on third trip tranny flashed but problem still exists
7. Windshield air noise - on third trip could not detect
8. turn signal malfunction - on third trip could not detect
9. Fluids never topped off - done after 3rd trip
10. Car never detailed upon delivery - on third trip dealer detailed poorly
11. Scheduled to go in this Thurs for stalling recall - cross my fingers

And they wonder why they are loosing money...