Well i hate to say bad things about the car i just purchased, but gee whiz... I've only had it a month, bought it used, and in 1,000 miles the engine started ticking from the upper side around the valve cover area. I am a mechanic by trade, and refuse to let other people work on my car, but in this case i bowed to the wife and took it to chrysler for warrantee consideration. After the first visit and 2 weeks wasted, it still ticked... was quite dirty, and had a nice big scratch on the right front fender. Reluctantly i took it back and they worked it some more... changing various parts and still not fixing the problem. It was quite loud too, and could be heard any time the engine was running...

Now its been over 4 weeks, and they are just now ordering an engine for it. What kind of quality control will i get at a dealership when parts are removed and installed hastily by some jack leg mech (compared to a very **** german). How many scratches will it have now...? will it actually run and drive as before...? how much longer will this take? I am very frustrated to say the least... This is one of the most expensive cars I've ever purchased, and certainly about all i can afford... I expected better or more from the "establishment" sorry to dump on everyone...

 

Sorry to see that you are having problems, but sometimes when you buy a used "Sports Car" you do not know if the previous owner beat the hell out of it. How many miles was on it when you bought it?
I think it is good they are replacing the engine, are they a 5 star dealer?

 

This sux to hear and I guess everyone has a bad engine from time to time. I beat the hell out of my car over the weekend in Tenn./N.C. and put 1,849 miles on the car, 1,200 of them were freeway miles and the rest were "spirited" driving. I look at it like this, the engine is Mercedes and should be able to take a beating!

 

Well there are several points to note in my opinion. The engine did run very well in the very short period of time i had it... It only had 6,000 miles on it when i got it. I did push it hard in the 1,500 miles i had it, but nothing i thought would require engine replacement. The engine replacement is out of dealer and "star" procedure. They just could not go any further than a rocker arm in an attempt to fix. That's crap... parts were not available in a timely fashion... it took over 10 days to get one rocker arm. Lord knows how long it will take to get a whole engine. Decisions could not be made by the mech but only by detroit and they drug their feet for days and days in each situation. And i still am driving my bicycle to work each day... Needless to say this has not been a very favorable dealer/manufacturer experience.

 

I have the same engine tick problem. I bought my car off of the showroom floor and it only had 137 miles on it. I don't beat my car but it started ticking at 1,500 miles. I took it into the dealer and they said the problem couldn’t be reproduced. I got my car back with a flat tire and a huge scratch on the fender too. They ended up plugging my tire but they wouldn't take responsibility for the scratch. So obviously I decided to change dealers. I recently took my car in for the haze on my headlights and an oil change. I got the car back and it still had the haze. Then while I was cleaning my car (it was the same day I got it back from the dealer) I noticed I had a door ding and two dents by the hatch. I called the dealer last night and they told me to bring it in so they can look at it. I am sure they will deny responsibility as well. So my question is why have a warranty when the Chrysler mechanics make your car worse then when it came in to them. I am so frustrated. I wish people cared about cars the way I car about mine. I know where every little scratch or blemish is on my car, so don't deny that you put a dent in it. Take responsibility for your actions and fix the problem!

 

The headlight haze, in most cases, can be taken care of with the 3M Plastic Cleaner, had the same thing on mine and the stuff works. As for the engine problem, scratches etc, that stinks. Fortunately I know the service manager where I bought my Xfire, he's a customer of mine. I'll make sure we walk around the car before they work on it, if they work on it. Perhaps that's a way to make them aware that the car didn't come in with any scratches.
Hope things work out for you.
Pat

 

I checked out the topic on the 3M plastic cleaner. I actually bought some yesterday. I just figured I would have them fix the TSB since they already had my car for the oil change.

 

I had a ticking from under my hood. I thought it was a lifter or rocker as well as I too am a mech. Turns out there is some sort of purge that sits on the drivers side fender that had a defective part. It didn't make the noise all the time so the mechanic could say that they couldn't duplicate/reproduce the problem They changed it and no more noise. Simple things are often overlooked.

 

There is an easy solution that takes only a minute... whenever you take your car in for service or repair at any shop, have them do a quick walk around it with you. Point out any ding, scratch or other damage and have them note it on the work order. Insist on a copy of it before leaving the car in their care. It won't prevent all damage but it will let them know you are serious about the vehicle and you will have something to back up your claim if they do damage it. Likewise, check your car before accepting it back from them. Once you drive off and find damage later, you're SOL.

 

As for the dealership, I know firsthand about that too. Mine, the same place I used to work told me to take it to another dealership that could work on it and had technicians that were qualified to go into the transmission... Go figure.

 

Had the ticking problem. When you would accelerate the ticking would tick faster with the speed of the car denoting that it was something internal in the engine.

I would be told the same that they couldn't duplicate the problem. Until I got fed up and got the service manager in the car and took the car and let it sit at idle inside an enclosed section with high walls that made the sound so clear that the service manager said "wow we've had this car come in for this problem 5 times and i had never heard this noise" and he attempted to replace the lifters and rocker arms 3 times then the 4th time they replaced the entire head of the engine and it still ticked. At that point, i lemoned the car and got a replacement.

And yes by the way they horribly scratched my right front fender's top section while working on the engine. It seems one of the mechanics had a belt with a big metal buckle that kept scraping on the fender as he leaned on the fender to fix the engine and on a black car it looked horrible. For the money people pay for this car they should at least wash the damn thing when they give it back to you from service like Mercedes does. They would always give me back the car full of grease finger prints on the hood and full of dust and dirt.

 

I've had only oil changes and the radio changed in 29k miles, no real service problems. Since my car is only hand washed, one time I forgot to tell the service girl not to wash and they did! Crap I had them drying it for an extra 30 minutes to get all the water off wheels and every orifice! As for the belt buckle guy they shouldn't allow that with any mechanic!!! I'd make them repaint it!!! Or buy it!

 

Why don't you like your car cleaned? Just curious...

 

I don't like to have my car hosed or sprayed with high pressure. I clean it by hand never using a hose on it!!!
And I also like to see if these guys mess up my car because it's never DIRTY! They shouldn't make a mess, so they shouldn't need to wash it off! My car has never been driven in a rain or washed off with a hose more than 3-4 times in 2 years!

 

Here's DCXFIRE on the job!

 

Dan, So how do you clean your car when its covered with loose grit/dirt etc? Detail spray? Seeing your car at a construction site must get it dirty often...

PS: I've decided to make my Xfire a fair weather car...it sits in my garage waiting for the sun to come out...

Sorry for the OT...

 

Use a California Duster to get the heavy dust off and then finish off with detail spray. 20 - 30 minutes max, including wiping off the wheels and dressing the tires.

 

Unfortunately, our XFs are sold under the Chrysler badge, so we get Chrysler techs working on our German cars.
My 2004 XF went in for the TSB to replace the 1st gear syncro. When I got the car back, 2nd gear had a knocking noise. 7 days ago, I dropped it off at the dealer. I should have it back tomorrow or Tuesday, with a new transmission.
Although it sux having my car down for that long, I really have to give props to the dealership where I take my car for service. They have always been helpful, and go the extra mile to resolve any issues that have taken place with my car.

 

10 days later and they report that the engine they ordered had no crankshaft in it... Damn this is frustrating... 60 days and counting. I hate Chrysler...

 

How the heck did they put a motor together without a crank? It goes in first! It may be time to start making demands and play hardball!
Good luck, hope it works out for you, the crossfire is an awesome car but I am sure this experience is leaving a bad taste...