Justlooking

Please don't make this an import vs domestic. There is a reason imports don't make a heavy duty truck, they can't. That **** new Tundra is over $40,000 that I paid $10,000 less for my Dodge diesel equiped the same. By the way, my fiance has a 99 Ford F150 with 140,000 miles and the original brakes and clutch. A car or truck will last forever if taken care of regardless if its import or domestic.

GJTJ

Not trying to flame anyone but....
I'm not sure I understand the point of the original post. If your signature is accurate, how can Dodge be held responsible for the reliability of a truck modified beyond its normal design limits such as yours? Should Intel be held responsible if I overheat my processor by me over-clocking it ? (run w/ higher voltage, clock frequency for better perf.) Why worry about the ball joints if there hasn't been a failure up to this point?

I personally didn't buy my truck because it has a highly refined ride but rather for its towing ability mileage and styling - I know it's handling is sloppy because its a 7000lb beast with solid axles and 285 tires. If you think it's too sloppy, drive your Accord. If you dislike the truck so much - sell it!

There are a few things that everyone should know about Consumer Reports. Their reliability surveys fail in two major ways. First, their data sample is only based on their readers and disregards a majority of the driving public who don't send in their questionnaires. Second, people typically only fill out a survey if they are mad or have had a bad experience with a product - When I was a subscriber I didn't bother at all even though I had nothing bad to say.

Do yourself a favor and objectively read their [CR] write-ups; my opinion is that they are unfair to domestic makes and are biased towards anything made by Toyota or Honda. It's as if domestics are inferior until proven good by "their" reliability statistics and Honda's and Toyota's can do no wrong. If you disagree, then why are the reliability of new domestics always labeled as "too new to determine" where as totally new Toyota's and Honda's are labeled as "unknown but we think it will be good based on the previous model". Why don't Honda and Toyota have to prove themselves and the domestics do? The word prejudice comes to mind.... As an example, why didn't CR chastise the Ridgeline which has a towing capacity of 5000 lbs. for having a miniature spare - towing a 5000 lbs. trailer with a miniature spare would be a serious safety issue!! - shame on CR In the latest issue, CR slams the domestic HD Pickup's because of their harsh ride. That's like saying "...the Corvette was lacking in its ability to negotiate our off-road coarse..." ridiculous right? Why should a heavy duty pickup designed for hauling heavy loads be judged on its ability to pamper occupants with its luxurious ride quality. Also, the F-150's ride was termed as "lousy" while the Toyota's was referred to as simply "jittery". Can someone please explain the objective difference between the two terms to me ?

And finally, your personal experience is of value only to you. I can name several examples of premature failures in both Toyota and Honda cars of friends\relatives. Parent's Highlander required new steering shaft (yikes) @ 12k, coworker's Civic req'd new AC compressor @ 80K, coworker's parent's Acura req'd new engine around 30k, etc. Does this mean that all Hondas and Toyotas are bad? Of course not. (Wouldn't it be great if all these people submitted their repair bills to Consumer Reports? At a minimum, shouldn't they be refunded the cost of their subscription?) I've had very positive experiences with my Fords, VW's and Jeeps where if I had chosen what Consumer Reports would have me drive it would have most definitely been something else - I guess I lucked out on all 6 cars.

No one can deny that the domestics have made huge strides in their quality and that they still have room for improvement. On the other hand, Toyota and Honda have had some major issues in the last couple of years that deserve mention such as engine sludge and trans. failures. I'm not sure if you're complaining is going to help Dodge "straighten out". If Toyota decides to build a HD pickup, so be it; why would you threaten Dodge owners with something that doesn't even exist at this point?

Sorry for the long rant but I needed to vent.

John Halter

GJTJ , very nicely said , a rant worth reading .

SSweeney

Yea that it, blame it on the edge ez. The mildest upgrade known. Dodge loves you for making excuses. Again these trucks are twice the price of my accord and so they should make it to deal with what they label as "Heavy Duty". I love my Truck even though the lift pump has been replaced the IP is throwing a 0216 and the steering is getting sloppy at 83k, oh and the sweek under the dash board. Just the facts. I do love it when it works.

Country23047

Primarily just the A/C blend door.....best I can tell.

GJTJ

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. What company (that wants to remain profitable) would warranty or stand behind a product even though the consumer modified it or used it beyond its intended design limits. Please remember that Dodge and Cummins engineers did not qualify their product with an EDGE EZ installed. Now why should they guarantee that their product will work correctly and maintain the original reliability with a product from a third party? Not even mighty Honda and Toyota would warranty or stand behind the reliability of a car which is modified beyond their original design no matter how mild. No excuses are being made for for Dodge - this is plain common sense.

Comparing the cost of these trucks to an Accord just doesn't make sense. They have totally different purposes and performance ratings. (I'm guessing though that if you put your trucks springs and tires on your accord, it would start to squeak and rattle to.) The difference in cost has to do with the material content and the fact that diesel engines are more costly than gas engines.

J BODY

...and it's really obvious that the engine is WAAAAYYYY de-tuned to give the rest of the drivetrain a chance of survival. I'm always amazed at the amount of guys that will spend $400 on a tuner....but wonder why they have to pay XXXX when their trans takes a dump???

....and on an import note I bought alot of race parts with the money I made from Toyota V6 head gaskets. Unfortunately my line of work preys on mechanical failures and their ability to remove $$$ from your wallet.

SSweeney

Thanks for the input. I think I will just stick it out with my 02 for now. There does seem to be some improvement, but not enough for me at this time. I really do love my powerful cummins truck except a few major issues.

2500

sounds like you want a trouble free ride... nothing wrong with that.

find a low mileage 12v cummins, preferably a 97 which was last full year for 12valve models. 97's had all the bugs worked out for that series and had the least gremlins.

known issues for 98.5-2002 series with 24v are well established. 2003 and newer are suppose to be much better. still it's not unusual for folks to sell off their say, 2006 CTD and re-purchase a 12v again.

tenmile

This thread cracks me up.

I'm still laughing at the Honda comparison, I'm still reeling from the recent debacle that was the Honda Motor Corp's decision to put the worst tranny behind one of the greatest motors (3.2L), and have a 65% failure rate before 100k- stemming one of Honda's most expensive recalls/warranty extensions to date. There's something about the tranny dropping into 2nd gear, front tires locking up and throwing you into a 360 at 75mph that really opens your eyes to foreign 'quality'.

lamadera

SSweeney asked if the issues with ball joints, U-joints, lift pump and injectors have been fixed. Answer: hell no. Every other post is about those very issues so why defend Dodge? I know for sure my lift pump will fail way before 100K, so I'm going to have to upgrade. Likely U-joints and ball joints too. I'm worried about injectors which are big bucks. The truck should be trouble free until 100K, no excuses, and we all know they are not. I agree, if Toyota builds a 3/4 ton, I'll be very interested. My last Toyota truck was flawless.