Dodge Automotive Repair Manuals - Automotive Repair Manuals

Interesting Facts About Dodge You Probably Don’t Know – Common Problems – and PDF Manuals for Download…

Today Dodge is known for making muscle cars but that is not how they started. In 1902 they started their own machining factory and started out by making 1000 engines and transmissions for Oldsmobile.

This soon grew and the plant soon had 30% of the total car-building share in the US. However, Henry Ford had gone bankrupt twice and could not get any financiers.

He approached the Dodge brothers who agreed to go into partnership on the basis that they get 10% stake in Ford’s new company.

They made Ford cars for a period of 10 years and redesigned the whole car but in 1913 they announced that they would stop making Ford cars.

In 1914 the first Dodge cars were manufactured and with extra features such as electric starters but at a much higher cost than the Model T Ford.

The Dodge brothers passed away and left the company to their wives who wisely appointed one of the founding members to carry on with the managing of the Dodge company.

It was at this time that Frederick J Heynes set up a joint venture with the Graham Brothers to develop the Dodge car chassis into trucks.

Dodge continued to improve their cars and maintained the 2nd place in 1921 even though car sales dropped during that year.

By now the Dodge brand had spread globally and they were growing their presence in Canada. The first plant opened in 1924 in Walkersville, Ontario.

It was only the next year that the wives decided to sell the company which at the time was purchased for $146 million and the largest transaction in history at that time.

Even with all the success that Dodge had enjoyed up to this point Mr Heynes was replaced with E.J Wilmer.

At this time the production rate of Dodge cars was 200K per day and the 1 millionth Dodge was produced.

By 1930 both the Dodge Brothers engines were phased out and replaced with a 190 cubic inch Chrysler 6 engine which had 120 ft-lb of torque.

The engines were developed using both Dodge engineered designs as well as Chrysler.

Chrysler absorbed the Dodge Brothers Corporation in 1935 and since Dodge Brothers Corporation no longer existed it simply became the Dodge Division of Chrysler.

The design change for Dodge to muscle cars came about much later than that when Chrysler and Daimler merged.

This is when it was decided to withdraw the Dodge sister brand Plymouth and that Dodge will become the low priced as well as the performance division of Daimler Chrysler.

The company continued to grow and in its 101st year of operation came the Dodge Challenger which has a 707 horsepower engine.

At the moment Dodge boasts numerous supercharged cars such as the Dodge Charger SRT which has a 485 horsepower engine which produces 475 ft-lb of torque. Dodge also has a great range of vans such as the Grand Caravan SE.

Common Problems Dodge Cars Experience

There are some common problems that are associated with the Dodge models and like all makes of cars, some problems are more frequent than others.

They could only be minor problems but listed below are some of the problems that have been experienced by Dodge owners.

Some of the problems are specific to certain models and the later models might not have the same problems because they have been addressed by the manufacturer.

By listing some of the most common problems it could help you from getting stranded on a long journey.

If you are aware that there is a weak point one can do the necessary checks and hopefully prevent an uncomfortable situation.

These problems could be prevented with a repair manual as soon as the symptoms are experienced.

It has been reported on numerous occasions that Dodge Avenger owners have faced problems with the automatic transmission. The problem is that the vehicle will be moving and performing well but once the gear lever is placed in park it will not go back into gear.
Most of the vehicles that are manufactured by Chrysler such as Dodge are fitted with a Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) and models from 2007 – 2014 have experienced problems with these modules.
Basically, this is the electronic command centre for the vehicle and controls most of the essential functions of the Dodge cars. Once the TIPM starts to fail these are some of the malfunctions that a person can expect:
- The air bags won’t deploy in an accident
- The starter will not stop cranking once the engine starts consequently damaging the starter motor
- The Horn will go off randomly
- The power windows will not open or open without activation from the control button
- The fuel pump will continue even if the engine has been switched off.
Oil sludge is not only a common problem to Dodge cars but generally cars manufactured in the US. However, it is a problem with Dodge 2,7L engine and creates engine chain problems or even engine failure.
With the earlier models of Dodge SUV’s the brakes that were fitted were inadequate. The models of Dodge Journey between 2009 – 2010 experienced excessive brake wear due to them being too thin. Some of the problems were extremely bad with brakes having to be replaced before the car had reached 20 000 kilometres.

Conclusion

The latest Dodge models have had improvements made to all the complaints that they have received over the years.

In general, most of the complaints are electrical, oil leaks, sludge and transmission problems.

The number of complaints is relatively small compared to the amount of vehicles that are being used.

If there are any abnormalities to do with the performance of the vehicle it would be best to take it to the nearest dealer to attend to the problem especially if it is under warranty.

Having a repair manual will certainly assist in solving the problem but more importantly, could help prevent the problem from happening.

Purpose of this is to catalog and include one of most comprehensive, useful and accessible “automotive repair PDF manual” database on the web for all Dodge models.

It’s your go-to source for learning all about Dodge – when you can’t find it elsewhere.

To get started, select the intended car model below…