Recall for '03-'05 Heavy Duty Trucks
As the owner of a 2004 Ram 3500, I received a "recall notice" recently from Daimler Chrysler. This safety recall is for an "out-Of-Park" alarm system. I am usually very good about following such notices and like a good customer, I called a local dealer to schedule an appointment to get this taken care of.
Luckily, I talked to the service person about what exactly this entailed. Most of us hate the beeping we hear when a seat belt isn't fastened. It seems that this "alarm" brings a new dimension to idiot beeping - as this would blink the lights and toot the horn. AND, once modified, the alarm cannot be disconnected.
I decided to ignore this recall and elected not to get the modification installed. I figure that if I'm dumb enough to leave the truck in gear and exit the cab, I'll get what stupid deserves. I don't need the horn blasting to remind me of how dumb I might be.
Comments:
Bob said...
I’ll tell.. Took 04 2500 in to be serviced and they put the recall in. You are correct about recall being stupid. They just told me it was a safety recall, so I had them put it in. I also told them I had never had trouble with leaving truck in park.
Now I do. They adjust the transmission levers and add a horn honk in besides. When I jump out of the truck, while hitting the emergency brake and putting it into park at the same time, the horn honks.
I go to work at about 4AM. Neighbors don’t appreciate it when I forget something and “run back in to get it.”
Show up at work and have to open gate. Same thing. Horn honks.
Come home about 9. Night worker neighbor… Horn honks.
Good thing I’m not a theif. everytime I get out of my truck the horn honks.
Never had trouble with getting out of a vehicle before, now trouble is just beginning. Neighbors and people around work look at me with murder in their eyes.
The horn honks when I’m not even rushing. I get a lot of distainfull stares from people at truck stops.
If your truck is ok and you’ve never had a problem with getting your truck into park, Tell them that the modification isn’t necessary.
Dec 24, 11:44 AM
Gary said...
Does ANYBODY have any ideas on reversing or bypassing the most annoying idea that somebody at Dodge has had?
Dec 20, 5:44 AM
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3 comments:
I talked to the investigator that did the original investigation for NHTSA on this recall. They were not happy with the choice of "remedy", but they didn't have any real control of it without going to lengthy litigation. He did say that if they get enough complaints they can force Chrysler to re-examine the issue and possibly correct the ridiculous recall. If you got the recall and don't like it, file a complaint with NHTSA.
I am part of an equipment management team for a construction company that has over 16 million in fleet value, some of which are Dodge trucks. We recieve on average 20-30 calls per day on breakdown issues, so we don't need any extraneous calls on issues such as a horn sounding due to a "safety recall". I personally own an '04 Dodge 2500 that the previous owner had the recall done to, and it truly is an annoyance. I have never left a vehicle in gear upon exiting. Dodge needs to fix this annoyance before we buy any more Dodge Trucks.
It may be an annoyance for you but here is likely what can happen without the retrofit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/nyregion/23crash.html
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