Again, now the third serpentine belt in eleven months. Firestone tells me that this will fix the problem. Stupidly I beleive it and so do they. No fault to them. I ask however about any recalls, thinking that this is more than just bum luck-- no mention of anything although, as I have mentioned before, there has been an updated kit available since 2005. Stay tuned for more- we are still only at 2006. There are at least 4 more times I go through this between 2006 and Feb 2011. Keeping in mind, the Serpentine belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles, not every 16,000 miles! By the way, I have called Dodge this last time and they said TOO BAD!! It wasn't under warranty by this time. BUT IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED !!

I found out that putting on another new serpentine belt (which I did do) was only a temporary fix. A new mechanic at Whittnell Dodge in Salem Oregon (where my car's tensioner was replaced in 2009- 4 years after the updated pulley kit had been released for this model of minivan) said that I needed to get the updated pulley kit and that the fix on this was only temporary. From my experience that means that it could last a few weeks to a few months. He suggested that I call Dodge and explain all of the times that I have had this in to be repaired and well before 100,000 miles, that they would most likely do something right by me. Especially since a redesign update to FIX this problem had been available since 2005. The kit and labor is $400.00. He even wrote on the repair, "needs pulley update kit- belt moves to the side of power steering pump when started- Temporary fix right now"

So I call Dodge, the lady is very nice and leads me to believe it will all be taken care of. She even asks me if I would like to be reimbursed for all of the money I have put out doing the same fix over and over again. "No, I say, I just want to have the problem corrected for good" She assures me that Dodge takes care of their customers! And I fell for the whole speil. So much so, that instead of having my mechanic do the whole repair right that day, I said just go ahead and put another belt on for now and when they authorize monday, I will bring it back for the other work and Dodge will take care of it. How stupid am I?? A guy named Leo(LD357) calls me on Monday and tells me because the car is 9 years old we are not giving any reimbursement whatsoever. I explain to him that I have been going through this for the last 5 of those years on the average of twice a year with the exception of the last time as it lasted an actual 30,000 miles!! I told him that I have all of the mechanic records etc. DID NOT CARE.

He gave me the customer service number 1-800-723-8422, my case number 22431080, and told me have a nice day.

I am horrified and will never recommend nor buy another Dodge/ Chrysler product again. When I asked him why they made an update like this if there were no problems, he said-- no really-- we come up with new design features all of the time-- like it was the choice of leather or cloth interiors NOT a necessary feature that would keep the engine running if I were driving down a deserted highway late at night with my two small children.

I just wish I knew of a way to really get this story out to the public. It's absolutely a shame-- especially when foreign car companies are building and standing behind cars for 10 years 100,000 miles. SAD....