Avoid 1st Year Problems

[Chally]

Even if I was to buy a SRT with 6.1 I wasn't going for the 1st year... I had bit of problems with 1st year production cars...

[shodanusmc]

Brakes, 1-2 shift, Coolant gunt, o ring leaks, alignment, no spare, paint, plastic, gas mileage, My-gig, Kicker?, wind noise, ggt, ....Hopefully these problems will not crop up...but there are always going to be problems, hopefully minor, and that great Dodge Customer Service and dealer service dept will be there to make things right.

I will say, nothing to ruin your day when you check your coolant and you discover it has turned into a pile of silty sand, and the dealer is clueless on what to do about it. Finally got the word to flush, flush, flush and refill, additive and a new resevoir...only to have it come back and wondering that it is doing to all the nice little internals.

If you really want your factory Dodge paint job to stand out, take it to a terrific detail guy or BS and have them Color Sand it....

[15challenger]

If everything is under warranty than why does it matter how many problems it has?

[shodanusmc]

Being under warranty is one thing, dealing with the issues is another. Not sure about you, but my time is important to me. You may want to negotiate a extended warranty down to around $1200 bucks so when the car is in, you will get a loaner...IMHO Dodge dealers seem to have a knack for making the problem worse, and causing another problem down the road. Now I hope I am not being too hard or hurting anyone's feelings.

Happy Fathers Day

[bugzsrt]

All of the issues mentioned are SRT issues, not Challenger issues. This isnt the first year for SRT's and all those issues have been fixed. I would worry about the CAR, not the SRT drivetrain.

[racyroy1]

Originally Posted by bugzsrt

All of the issues mentioned are SRT issues, not Challenger issues. This isnt the first year for SRT's and all those issues have been fixed. I would worry about the CAR, not the SRT drivetrain.

thank you bugz, I was gonna comment that this drive train has been proven in the charger,,IE the drive train is a charger, the engine bay is a charger and the interior is a charger, the bugs if any should be minimal. This by most standards is a " proven system"

[Str8Srt8]

Originally Posted by Cuda340

I have been noticing problems that 1st year owners have had with their SRT Chargers- namely leaking transmissions (O-ring adapters) and 1-2 shift lags.
Both of these problems are fixed under the warranty, but it makes you think about waiting for the 2009 Challenger model (less problems and, hopefully, cheaper price).

Regarding the shifting problem, here is what the service bulletin says:

Flash: SRT8 - Delayed Or Rough 1-2 shift at Wide Open Throttle After Kickdown

Overview: This bulletin involves selectively erasing and reprogramming the Transmission Control Module (TCM) with new software.

Models: ALL 2005-2006 SRT8 models of the 300C, Charger, Magnum and Grand Cherokee (North America and International Markets).

Symptom/Condition: The customer may experience a delayed 1-2 shift at wide open throttle after a kickdown. This is often referred to as a harsh or jerky shift which is the result of the engine reaching the maximum engine speed fuel cut off prior to the transmission shifting.

Do get this TSB done if you can. It gave my Jeep a couple hundred more in redline zone thus slightly faster times. I know there's a lot of writeup on this TSB over at Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Forum.

My first year bugs included the transmission oil o-ring replacement, passenger window playing upsies/downsies (over sensitive module), brembo pad replacements due to squeeling brakes (it's worse now and they say it's normal), passenger air bag shuts off 10 minutes from boot up if nothing in the seat.