It is going to be difficult to get any extensive rating of our fine automobiles because they are so limilted in number. Many like myself do not use them as a daily driver either. How about everyone chiming in with how many miles and rating the Crossfire from 1 - 10 for reliabilty and what areras, if any have been a problem. If anyone out there could program an answer sheet for engine cooling tires interior etc. like Consumer Reports, it might give everyone a guide for areas to watch out for including overall reliability. There should probably be something seperate for Coupe, Roadster and SRT-6. ANY PROGRAMERS OUT THERE?

 

Just as quick note. The latest consumer reports magazine recommends crossfires year 04 and 05 as good used cars to purchase.

 

Actually, I am a daily driver since I bought is last Nov and have put on about 8k. I can't think of any other car I've owned that I feel has as good of quality.

Love it except when the snow and ice are present.

 

DO NOT go by what consumer reports or Car & Driver say about Chrysler vehicles! These 2 publications are very biased against american manufacturers and do not give an accurate rating of vehicles! The crossfire should have above average reliability.

 

I know I have had zero problems with mine.

 

I don't know about C&D, but Consumer Reports is all about facts. It's a great resource.

 

ummmmm.....FYI, it does! Consumer Reports rates all general aspects of the 2004 as "better" or "best" and their overall rating for 2004 models is "better".

The 2005 also rated "better" or "best" accross the board except for minor engine issues which rated average. Yet in spite of that one area, the overall rating for 2005 is "best".

A little deeper digging shows issues with things like power equipment, headlights, ride, comfort, noise, ease of access, cargo area, and the climate system (which I've never heard of anyone having troubles with). They don't give specifics on why these areas have lower scores, but I understand that this car is a small car with inherent "problems" that you don't have in your larger cars, SUV's, and the like. It's a tad cramped, a little noisy, and the trunk is limited. I think we all knew that going in.

(Note: CR uses a 5 part scale from better to worse. I close to use the word "best" for their top rating and "average" for their middle rating.)

 

I have 28K on my 2004 Coupe, 10K of which I put on her. I have had zero problems and rate my car a 10. Still in love with it.

 

I'm also not sure how they break the data down. If they use a percentage the rating can be skewed for a limited production vehicle. If you have 800 problems out of a production run of 80,000 it would be a higher percentage than 800 problems out of a run of 180,000 units.

 

I have an online subscription to Consumer Reports and they rate the Crossfire much better than average on reliability. So you have a problem now. They agree with you. Do they still have an inacurate system for rating vehicles? Are we only to believe them when they agree with us?

I put quite a bit of credibility in their ratings.

 

Guys Consumer reports is very biased toward american manufacturers, and especially Chrysler! I just read a review where they compared the Dodge nitro (a truck) to the honda crv (a crossover) and the Toyota rav4 (a crossover) They stated the Dodge is a gas guzzler, and people should stay away from it, and instead purchase the other 2. I have no problem with them saying the Nitro is a gas guzzler, but its a truck!! they're comparing a Dodge Truck to 2 smaller crossovers!! When I commented on the blog and blasted them for not comparing the Dodge Journey (a cross over) to the other two, they said we didn't test 1 of those!!! This is bull! You don;t compare a truck to a crossover, its like comparing a hummer to a civic! Besides the Dodge Journey has BEST in CLASS fuel mileage rating. So it would have been better then the rav 4 and CRV. Consumer reports is full of CRAP. Car & Driver is also full of it!

 

Also they don't actually test all the products, they outsource testing....We all remember the consumer reports baby car seat scandal!!! I need not say anymore!

 

Your right in your observation that the Nitro does not belong in the comparison. I think that the Journey might not have been available for testing at that point. Any of these type of publications are valuable in the sense that you can look at all of the hard specs such as weight, wheelbase, headroom etc. all of the objective features.

We still need to use our common sense to weed out what they don't say and make our best educated choice. Sometimes it's as hard as separating fly **** from pepper.

 

I have to agree.

 

I've had good luck with Consumer Reports.
They recommended my Accord, old Prelude, 4Runner, John Deere, Honda mower, and Crossfire.
There are two things that CR and I don't see eye to eye on:
Weber Grills
Dyson Vacuum Cleaners
For me those are the best. I've had fantastic luck with them and will probably never switch.

 

I have to agree. I am a proud 30 year owner of Webers, and have never been sterred wrong on vehicle purchases. (2005 Crossfire Roadster among others). HOWEVER, I have had horrible quality problems with Kenmore Elite Appliances (2003) which they seem to love, but not own.

 

Sorry either you should compare alike products, or you don't make a comparison at all. At least you wait until you have enough choices for an acccurate comparison! Why even mention the Nitro with the other two??? Just to make the Dodge look bad! They won't even compare the new Journey because its better than the other 2 in every way! Consumer reports is absolutely ridiculous! I don't trust anything they say! Car & Driver is as bad as consumer reports!

 

I have to agree with antonio311. After many years of observation, it appears to me that those publications are indeed negatively biased towards american made products. As far as C&D is concerned, I haven't really read it in a while, But in general their whole issue usually goes like this; The new Porche now has tiptronic radio *****! We'll test it and every other color Porche ever made!

 

I agree that you have to compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. I read a comparison of pickup trucks that didn't include the new Toyota Tundra because it just came out. I would certainly want to check out the Toyota first before buying anything.

I bought a 2008 Outlook even though the Acura MDX came out as a better vehicle because the Outlook had more room in it and was quite a bit less expensive. The part that I like about any of the publications is that at least the articles give you a starting point from which you can make a choice. They also may include a make and model you hadn't even considered.

Some years ago Consumers Reports were really brutal on their ratings of most domestic cars and rightfully so. Most were inferior to the imports. I think we can thank them for keeping the pressure on to improve quality to where the domestic cars have for the most part closed the quality gap.

 

Just for the sake of argument, let's say Chrysler was still building the SRT6 exactly the way it was built in 05.
What would you think if CR did a comparison test beween the new Challenger, the Mustang, the new Camaro, and the new SRT6?
In their findings, they said the SRT6 performed the best, but the suspension was way too stiff, (but it did handle the best though). In conclusion the Crossfire should have had a back seat?