[jrcase]

I took possession of my new 2005 300C on April, 27, 2004. If you are not aware, the 2005 300C is a brand new design. That should have been my first red flag. You might say the 300C is Chrysler's "Flag Ship" car. The "C" version means it has the HEMI. I resisted my initial fears and said "What the heck"..... with the way Chrysler is touting this, it has to have been well tested and thought through. I was so naive......

Upon possession, I immediately noticed a pull to the right on the steering. I knew there was a pending TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) on this and thought it was a simple and minor fix. That is where my saga begins.

On May 31, 2004, I took the car in to have the front end aligned to see if they could fix this pull without the kit. David (the Service Director) said it might be better to just wait on the kit and just do it all at once. Good advise, I agreed with him. SO I drove it home to sit in my garage. I did NOT want to drive the car unless I had to until this problem was taken care of. The TSB kit was on backorder.... That should have been my second red flag.

THE KIT ARRIVED!! June 8, 2004 was the date. They kept it all day and called me to come pick it up. YES! I took it down the road and.......not fixed. I turned around and let David have it back. Hopefully, it just needed some more adjusting.

June 9, 2004 was another day the kept it all day. David (bless his heart) was really trying to get this car fixed. They tried to adjust it more. No dice. It was still pulling to the right. He said he was at a loss at this point and didn't know what to do next. He had two different technicians spend all day on it but was unable to get it right. He had another idea, however. He wanted to take it to an independent service center just to make sure their alignment machine was not out of spec. That was going to happen the next day so I let them keep the car yet again.

David called me the next day. I answered the phone with "I have my fingers crossed" his reply was....."uncross them, it didn't work". OK, so they couldn't fix it.

At this point we started talking about a buyback from Chrysler. I told him I would be OK with that or a different 300C (optioned like mine and the same color) that did not have this problem. Agreed. He would get the ball rolling in that direction.

After two days (keep in mind they still have the car) I called back to check the status of my situation. My answer was that the regional rep. was notified and would be at the dealership in "the next day or two". He had to be the one to make a decision. I got a call back later that day and David informed me that the RM (Regional Manager) wanted them to take the car to another dealership to see if they could fix it. WOW! After two mechanics from the original dealership could not fix it and then an independent service center could not fix it, what could another dealership do? Oh well, I agreed that it was part of the process even if I did not agree that it was reasonable.

So, they took the car to another dealership in town on June 14, 2004. I waited for the call.... Finally at the end of the day, David called me and said the car was back. The other dealership stated they "thought" it was OK but wanted me to drive it. I asked David if he drove it yet (he knows the problem and what needs to be fixed) and he said no but would drive it the next day to make SURE it was fixed before I came to get it.

On June 15, 2004 he called me back and said it was still pulling to the right. OK. Enough is enough. I want a resolution to this ongoing nightmare. David agreed and said that I would have a definitive answer no later than The 17th or 18th of June from his DM. OK, I thought, at least this is all over and resolution is at hand.....NOT!

I got a call this morning (June 18th) from the DM. He informed me that he wanted YET ANOTHER mechanic to look at it. Get this..... the mechanic is not local. He will not be able to be here until June 24, 2004.

After all the above people at all the above locations and after all the time they have fooled around with the car, how can this new mechanic fix the car? Is the Chrysler dealership's mechanics not up to par on their training? Is this new mechanic more knowledgeable than the other mechanics?

I will post this on all the 300C boards, so maybe I can get some resolution as I am aware Chrysler monitors this and other 300C boards. The squeaky wheel gets the grease :wink:

 

[kampsvilleboy]

I wonder if this "new mechanic" might not be from Chrysler engineering?? Sounds to me like many of the early buyers out there are being used as "beta testers."

I hope you get a resolution to this problem, whether that means fix or buy-back. My heart goes out to you, I know this type of thing can be so frustrating. Keep us posted on what happens.

 

[Z2SO4]

Be sure to notify Chrysler customer service about your situation.

 

[redwinger]

The tech they are bringing in is a factory tech.

 

[Chrome]

ESP Malfunction?

Just an idea, but I wonder if the well known pull-to-the-right TSB doesn't have them checking the wrong thing. Could one of the ESP sensors be malfunctioning causing the car to "think" it is going left of the driver's intended path? My understanding is that ESP would then drag the right rear tire a bit to force rightward momentum. I imagine that would hurt fuel economy too.

It may be worth an investigation if nothing else is helping.

 

[arnoldw]

ESP system

I was thinking the same thing. Faulty yaw sensor?

 

[SilverHemi]

Lots of possible causes

Not only could it be an electronic problem (ESP, etc), but it could be something as simple as a sticking RH brake caliper. It's mind boggling that this many mechanics can't fix a drifting front end. I'll bet sooner or later
the right guy will fix it.

 

[NeilR]

I have the ame problem. The TSB they showed me was a cradel adjustment. They did it and it was worse than before. What is the "buyback from Chrysler"?

 

[jrcase]

I have the ame problem. The TSB they showed me was a cradel adjustment. They did it and it was worse than before. What is the "buyback from Chrysler"?

There is not a "buyback" program, per se, but on certain situations they will buyback a car to keep good customer relations (that is my understanding). Although, Chrysler does not have the best track record on customer relations, I have been told. I would suggest you get the ball rolling as soon as possible and get ready for some resistance. Get anyone involved that you can from Chrysler. These forums are monitored by the management, I understand.

I do have the regional manager involved and will contact the corp. office on Monday. My local service director is great. He has really bent over backwards trying to get this thing fixed. I have had some verbal advise from my legal representation and will move forward in that direction if that is the last avenue. I would hate for it to go there, however. My fear is that this new technician that is due to come on Thursday will simply "blow it off" and say everything is fine when four other people say it does pull to the right. I have owned over 25 cars in my lifetime and have never had to go through a buyback nor have I ever had to fight an automobile company to have the right thing done. I started this ordeal with faith that whatever happened, I would be taken care of. Now I am not so sure. The RM seemed to try and downplay the problem with statements like: "It doesn't pull too bad" and "It is not a safety issue". Maybe not, but it does pull to the right and Chrysler is aware of the problem enough to issue a TSB. I will not accept a sub-par car that I paid good money for. My anger is growing because of the constant "fibs" I have been told. The "fibs" are not from my local dealership, but are from the higher up management. They keep pushing the "final" resolution dates back in an effort to try and wear me down (in my opinion). The RM did say that if I didn't want this to continue, I could come pick the car up. HAHA. Not going to happen. I will not be pushed aside. I will continue to be a thorn in Chryslers side until this is resolved.

Thanks for all the advise. Please keep it coming!

 

[RobertR]

This is really too bad, I wish you luck with your battle or WAR!

 

[FAME2002]

I too am having the exact same situation. I am actually getting ready to enact the Flroida lemon law on the car. It has as of yesterday been at the dealership for the same problem ( pull to the right) 3 times now, and still it pulls to the right horribly. Ill let everyone know what happens. Im sure there will be many hoops to jump through.

 

[atlbravesclub]

I looks like you have a good case for a lemon law return. Dont let them bully you into taking the car if it is not 100%. You might want to use a lawyer for the lemon law route if you decide to go that way. Be tough-they are trained to do what is best for the company- not for you. They can be snakes.

I think I will pass on the 300 this year. Maybe i will get one next year if the car is better built then. Looks like to many problems onthis model.

 

[jrcase]

Thanks for all the advise. I created a simple and quick website stating my frustrations and have emailed it to some of my contacts at Chrysler. Does anyone know of some email address of upper management within Chrysler that I can email it to? Here is the website: http://jrcase0.tripod.com/my2005chrysler300cnightmare/

 

[joey]

Try sending emails to anyone and everyone you can get an email address.
Here are some links that have email addresses, including investors relations.

I went through a similar thing with Earthlink DSL, where they had chronic service problems for almost a year in the San Francisco area. I, along with a bunch of other unhappy campers, were emailing every address we could find about once a week.
Eventually we started to get responses and personal phone calls and the problem was eventually fixed.

All the 300c quality and quirky problems I am reading on this and other forums is making wonder if I should forfeit my $500 deposit (off MSRP) and wait until if/when the bugs are worked out, and the dealers are willing to negotiate a lower price. I got a few months to decide, since it looks like I won't be getting my car until August/September.

https://register.daimlerchrysler.co...70d6f1&ID=dec12833ac867a085982b2832170d6f1#as

http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dcco...3-1-0-0-0-0-0-249-10736-0-0-0-0-0-0-0,00.html

http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dcco...79-1-0-0-0-0-0-36-10736-0-0-0-0-0-0-0,00.html

Investor Relations
[email protected]

http://www.chrysler.com/webselfserv...lOffer&country=us&emailUrl=goToEmailForm('R')

 

[ChuckG]

JR- Some on this board have suggested that it may not be an alignment problem at all. It could possibly be an ESP problem, or a sensor of some sort, etc. If this were the case, then there probably is an error code in the computer.

Has anyone bothered to check for error codes?

 

[jrcase]

JR- Some on this board have suggested that it may not be an alignment problem at all. It could possibly be an ESP problem, or a sensor of some sort, etc. If this were the case, then there probably is an error code in the computer.

Has anyone bothered to check for error codes?

I really don't know if they checked computer error codes or not. I doubt that is the problem, however, because when they did the TSB fix, it did improve it some (but not all). The core problem is that there is not enough adjustment available (or so the mechanics say).

 

[Chrome]

I really don't know if they checked computer error codes or not. I doubt that is the problem, however, because when they did the TSB fix, it did improve it some (but not all). The core problem is that there is not enough adjustment available (or so the mechanics say).

The adjustments they made could still be countering a different cause of the pull. A different cause could still exist that is now partially masked. I would remain open to the possibility of other causes: tires, brakes, sensors, etc.

 

[ChuckG]

Chrome is right on this.

You've eliminated the alignment problem JR, it's now time to eliminate other possible causes. The place to start is checking your car's computer for error codes. Bad senors set codes most of the time.

If everything is clean in there, move on to other things like brakes, tires, etc. For example, a bad tire could definitely cause your problem....I've had this happen to me.

There is a fix.....just keep eliminating potential problems and you'll arrive at it.

 

[steves300c]

Jeeez JR, I am so sorry to hear about the problem you have been having with your C. I do hope they either get it figured out either by fixing the problem once and for all, or do buy it back. I'd say if you got one that was built later(.ie after May) you might be fine, but this is something that can weigh heavily on someone's mind and make them never buy a manufacturer's product again. My wife's 04 Olds that we bought in Nov had a pull to the right, and low and behold, at 8,500 miles the right brake pad was worn down to the metal. It was sticking. I think it is still sticking as it makes a groan type of noise when backing up to the right, but it only has about 11,000 miles on it now. Probably will need another pad in the next few thousand miles. I think they just replaced the pads and never corrected the problem that was causing it to stick in the first place. I sort of wish we never sold the Ford to get it(even though that had a lot of problems too).
I hope your situation gets worked out for the best for you. You know, that C6 is a mighty fine looking beast.

 

[chainsaw]

thanks

i have a 2000 300m. i enjoyed the car at first but the annoying little problems that built up over time (e.g. all 4 wheels constantly loose air, power door lock actuators that only last 60kmi, door trim that only lasts 2 years, etc, etc, etc) have caused me to really dislike the vehicle and chryslers in general.

BUT, then the 300c comes out and i am blown away. i love the styling, love the interior, LOVE the engine. i test ride one and decide that even though i hate my 300m, i need a 300c.

NOW, thanks to those 300c owners on this board who have taken the time to let others know the problems you're having, i can say that i do not care what the car has for an engine or how unique the styling is, etc, etc. as i read these accounts, i know that they are sincere and i can picture the a-hole dealer telling me the same crap he told me when my 'm' started having all these issues 'no, we've never heard of that problem before (when i know that my friend with the same car had reported the same problem days before)'. NOPE, thanks to this board I WILL NOT BE BUYING A 300 C NOW. thank you for setting me straight guys. btw, jr, i will be emailing a link to your website to everyone i emailed pics of the 300c to saying how 'cool' the car was!