lytefall

What is the purpose of the silver metal shields around the spare tire? I always assumed it was a heat shield. Had my DJ in to replace a sensor in the gas tank and when I got it back the right side shield was just hanging down. Took it back in to have it put back on properly and they just removed it completely and said it isn't necessary and that I was missing the left one anyway (which I don't ever remember seeing one on the left). Thoughts? Opinions? I would assume if they were completely unnecessary Dodge wouldn't waste the time/money installing them in the first place?

Not sure on that. I gave them the TSB and they went by it. I will look on the invoice when I get home. Asst service manager tried to tell me the grinding was a "normal" noise. Not sure how normal it can be when it just started and the cars 3yrs old. Spoke with the actual manager and they are replacing the water pump now for the grinding noise. Sounds more like power steering pump so we'll see.

Happy to say the harmonic squealing noise is gone after replacing the idler pulley, however the grinding sound when the starter first turns over remains. Lasts 5-10 seconds. Supposedly it was all part of the same fix.....apparently not. Hopefully it doesn't take another 2 years to get to the bottom of that too.

It is insanely loud. 2 friends with DJs and they both have the squeal. Theirs go away in 10-15 seconds and are not near the high pitch and volume as mine. Mine lasts 30-45 seconds if it's --20 or colder which it's been most mornings lately. I have had it at 2 different dealers and both say they have heard many making this sound but mine is far and away the worst they have seen.

Awesome! Looks like this was issued just after the last time I was in. Thanks

Not sure about where you live, but here we tend to try and be good neighbours. I wouldn't be impressed if I was getting woken up early every morning either. I may be sick of it but I can still understand it. The answer to this problem is Dodge figuring their issue out, not me telling my neighbour to go renovate his house. I can hear it in my basement on the other side of the house from the driveway. It isn't exactly quiet and definitely isn't a problem with house insulation or poor windows.

Anyone make any headway on this issue. Sorry for digging up an old thread but I quite frankly am getting really sick of my neighbours reminding me constantly that my car wakes him up every morning. "Dodge doesn't know how to fix it" is starting to become a statement I am tired of repeating. It's been over a year and my dealership is still saying Chrysler doesn't have an answer. I am starting to think they aren't looking very hard.

So it ended up having nothing to do with the screws (they were short in response to the above question...just long enough to hold into the panel) Ended up being the wiring harness that runs into the lift gate (inside the corrugated rubber tubing that runs in the top left when your looking at the liftgate with it up). Dealer mocked something up inside there and I am waiting on a part for a permanent fix. Whatever they did worked because everything's back to normal now. Very strange how it was all interconnected with the reverse gear (I am assuming it had some connection to the reverse lights). I will get more details when the part comes in.

Yes I was just wanting to check behind there and make sure I didn't nick a wire and cause a problem when I installed the fire extinguisher bracket. I will see what dealer says then take it from there. I didn't realize the panel removal was going to be so involved. If it's the TIPM the nicked wire theory is going to be a wild goose chase so I will hold off and see.

Thanks for the info. I was just wanting a look behind to see if I accidentally nicked a wire when I installed a fire extinguisher bracket due to some electrical quirks that have popped up since. Not sure I want to pull the seats out etc just for curiosities sake. It's going into the dealer shortly so I will wait and see what they find first. If I decide to tackle it I will definitely document it and post it here.

Thanks. I already removed the screws thinking maybe it was shorting across them but it didn't change the behaviour. I will try disconnecting the -ve and see what happens. I did come across another thread on here with similar behaviour on a DJ and also another forum on a Chrysler T&C.

Not sure where to post this but since it's attached to a window I chose this one. I will try to keep it brief but it's such an odd situation it may take a bit to explain. Last week I noticed that my wiper would occasionally stop while driving. After that when I turned the switch to off it would stop wherever it was instead of returning to the "home" position. Since then it's behaviour grown stranger. I will summarize where we are at now: Wiper runs constantly (with switch in off position) if vehicle is in reverse. If you shift to N, D etc the wiper stops wherever it is in its cycle Turning the switch to on also stops the wiper wherever it is in its cycle If you unlock car with the fob or via the key free door handle touch, the wiper motor hums and the wiper "hops" up a 1/4" at a time but does not move smoothly on its own (during this time you can freely move it through it's cycle with light pressure, but the tail lights dim while doing so) I am at a loss. The only changes that I made to the vehicle recently was to install a small fire extinguisher about a month ago on the third row armrest just behind the cup holder. i couldnt figure out how to remove the panel but could flex the plastic down freely and didn't think any wires ran that close to the surface. Does the wiper motor wire run throught here? I know it enters the rear door at the top left? Any ideas? I have an appt with the dealer in a few days but thought I would put it out to the forum to see what you guys think.

How do you remove the side interior panels in the cargo area (eg the ones the speaker grills and third row cup holders are molded into)?

I didn't have an issue with the kumhos other than the premature wear. I found them great in wet, dry and snow (and I live in Canada so they got a workout in the winter). I guess I have just been lucky not to have an OEM tire that was this bad so far in my life. I was looking at the Goodyear assurance CS tripletred 235/55/19 as a replacement. They are a bit better rated as an AS tire in the snow than some of the other options. Anyone have any experience with these? http://m.tirerack.com/tires/TireDetailsServlet?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Assurance+CS+TripleTred+All-Season&partnum=355VR9ACSTTAS

Thanks for you input. While it may be true to blame the manufacturer and not the tire maker, not all OEM tires are soft. I have had nothing but brand new vehicles with OEM rubber for the last 11 years, and only demos before that for another 10yrs also with OEM rubber. These tires are the worst for wear rate I have ever seen. My wife's current vehicle (a Chrysler product) is at 62,000km with OEM tires and still good tread. While 30,000km may be a little far out to expect any courtesy from Chrysler my dealerships service manager wants me to bring them in to look at the chunking as he states its low Kms to see something like that without hitting something that would have been obvious. He also stated that they see nothing but problems with them. I find it kind if crazy that a company like Kumho would allow a product out the door made to "manufacturers specs" under the same name as a tire you can but retail. Seems like a horrible business practice in a sector that regularly trades on its reputation for quality.

Whats chryslers usual stance on dealing with issues with the factory tires? I have never had a tire wear so fast. With around 6 months of the year being cold here I have never got less than 45,000k out of a set of rubber. I just clicked over 30,000K and am almost down to the wear indicator. I also found 2 sections on my front driver side tire that are missing 1"x1" (example below) chunks of tread where it looks like the top 1/4" has just been peeled away (haven't struck anything on the roadway at all let alone something that could do that kind of damage) and I have been on all urban paved roads recently.

Mine did this once in normal springtime temps while I was driving to a vacation destination (of course it couldn't happen when I had a decent idea where I was going). Had to pull over and revert to good old paper maps. The entire map portion of the screen went blank except the arrow that indicated my vehicle. Happened just that once and it has never occurred again. This was almost a year ago.

That's correct. Cold start only. Lasts between 30sec on cool days to up to and over a minute on colder days. It's a STAR case that says the noise should typically last 5-30 seconds depending on the ambient temp. Dealer says engineering is working on a solution and that it should be resolved "soon" but my dealer told me engineering has been aware for a while now (they were told a year ago that a "no fix" order may be coming soon) and the STAR memo was just released this Feb....so "soon" is a relative term. It says its a FEAD tensioner or idler pulley bearing and they are investigating a root cause. The replacement of the PS pump resolved the issue for a short time. I can understand Chrysler not wanting to replace parts for a short term relief from the issue, but it's frustrating to have a vehicle emitting this sound especially when you wake your neighbours at 5am every day when you leave for work. Sorry doesn't seem like a good enough answer from me when I am disturbing someone else's quality of life. If I wanted a vehicle that frustrated me every time I started it I wouldn't have bought a new one. Lol. Thanks for your reply.

Funny....I have the same issue but only when it's hot out. A couple of times I have had to use the remote start because I couldn't depress the brake far enough to use the push button.

My left front end is making that same "whrrig grring" sound (I assume). They just replaced the axle shaft but it only lessened the issue...didn't fix it.

After having my PS pump replaced last year and the noise remaining I took my DJ in again this year when it got cold and started making the noise. Dealer wouldn't (couldn't) fix it because of a memo from Chrysler saying techs shouldn't attempt a repair because engineering was working on a solution. The dealer also told me mine is the worst they have heard and lasts longer than any others they have seen. Starting to get frustrated with my neighbours telling me how it wakes them up every morning when I leave for work!!

They replaced the whole radio and nothing was fixed. They had to order me a new hands free module. Put it in yesterday and everything is back to normal now. They also found some faulty wiring going into the module that they had to repair. I am now having intermittent moments where I get no sound from any source. If I switch sources or turn the car off and back on, the sound comes back. I hate electrical gremlins. Dealer said they have been seeing nothing but problems with the 8.4 radio lately.

Dealer reset it and upgraded software today but it changed nothing. They are ordering me a whole new unit.

Tried that today. A) I can't even start the pairing process because I am locked out of the settings on the uconnect (on the phone screen everything is grayed out and via the settings when i hit it the "phone/bluetooth" highlights but doesnt open the next screen) and B) my phone won't even discover the uconnect. I also tried my wife's iPhone and hers can't find it either. I also noticed today that the vehicles voice recognition isn't working either.

I should also add that it has worked fine for the last 14 months including this morning. Went to leave work at 7pm tonight and it won't go past this screen.