Looking at late model 300 with V6 motor, 2017 or '18. Any particular downers mechanically?
Chrys 300 V6 Pro & Con
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Nope, good cars. Friends of ours got rid of their 2014 for a Kia Sorrento (kids), it had the V8 though...
The 3.6L V6 PentaStar is a great engine and super durable now that the bugs have been worked out in it since its inception in 2011.
Change the transmission fluid despite them telling you it's lifetime which is complete nonsense and even the manufacturer of the transmission tells you otherwise.
The 3.6L V6 PentaStar is a great engine and super durable now that the bugs have been worked out in it since its inception in 2011.
Change the transmission fluid despite them telling you it's lifetime which is complete nonsense and even the manufacturer of the transmission tells you otherwise.
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OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted by StevieC
Nope, good cars. Friends of ours got rid of their 2014 for a Kia Sorrento (kids), it had the V8 though...
The 3.6L V6 PentaStar is a great engine and super durable now that the bugs have been worked out in it since its inception in 2011.
Change the transmission fluid despite them telling you it's lifetime which is complete nonsense and even the manufacturer of the transmission tells you otherwise.
Yeah, the 8HP is a wonderful transmission, but you are correct, ZF states the fluid should be changed at 100K or 8 years at the latest.
Nope, good cars. Friends of ours got rid of their 2014 for a Kia Sorrento (kids), it had the V8 though...
The 3.6L V6 PentaStar is a great engine and super durable now that the bugs have been worked out in it since its inception in 2011.
Change the transmission fluid despite them telling you it's lifetime which is complete nonsense and even the manufacturer of the transmission tells you otherwise.
Yeah, the 8HP is a wonderful transmission, but you are correct, ZF states the fluid should be changed at 100K or 8 years at the latest.
I absolutely love mine. Mines a 2016, so no ESS or CarPlay/android auto. Gets good fuel mileage, the seats are super comfortable, the v6 on mine makes 300hp and will get you into trouble pretty quickly if you let it lol.
If you get snow, make sure you have good tires. Mine is RWD. I have Ironman Hercules aka generic Cooper's and they're awful in the snow. Blizzaks will turn it into a tank, my buddy has them on his older 300 and nothing stops him, I can't even get up my driveway.
RWD models will have 20" wheels, AWD got 19's. AWD models also sit noticeably higher than RWD ones.
If you get snow, make sure you have good tires. Mine is RWD. I have Ironman Hercules aka generic Cooper's and they're awful in the snow. Blizzaks will turn it into a tank, my buddy has them on his older 300 and nothing stops him, I can't even get up my driveway.
RWD models will have 20" wheels, AWD got 19's. AWD models also sit noticeably higher than RWD ones.
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I have an '18 300 Touring with 3.6. Great car. It replaced a 16 Charger, same car but the 18 is more refined. I have 190k miles experience with the 3.6 with the Charger and a 13 Durango with no problems. I get 25 mpg in everyday driving and 32 on the highway. The 8 speed is much better than the 5 sp in the Charger, it's always in the right gear. Agree that the tranny should be serviced. I have researched it and it is a project. I don't believe in using the OLM for oil changes. I do synthetic changes every 5k. I was a service rep for an auto manufacturer and saw my share of engine problems caused by lack of maintenance. Remember the wise words of the Fram Man on TV. You can pay me now or pay me later. Oil is cheap.
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by StevieC
Nope, good cars. Friends of ours got rid of their 2014 for a Kia Sorrento (kids), it had the V8 though...
The 3.6L V6 PentaStar is a great engine and super durable now that the bugs have been worked out in it since its inception in 2011.
Change the transmission fluid despite them telling you it's lifetime which is complete nonsense and even the manufacturer of the transmission tells you otherwise.
Yeah, the 8HP is a wonderful transmission, but you are correct, ZF states the fluid should be changed at 100K or 8 years at the latest.
Yes it is... I had the pleasure to experience it.
Originally Posted by Skippy722
I absolutely love mine. Mines a 2016, so no ESS or CarPlay/android auto. Gets good fuel mileage, the seats are super comfortable, the v6 on mine makes 300hp and will get you into trouble pretty quickly if you let it lol.
If you get snow, make sure you have good tires. Mine is RWD. I have Ironman Hercules aka generic Cooper's and they're awful in the snow. Blizzaks will turn it into a tank, my buddy has them on his older 300 and nothing stops him, I can't even get up my driveway.
RWD models will have 20" wheels, AWD got 19's. AWD models also sit noticeably higher than RWD ones.
Yeah it has the upgraded PentaStar with higher lift and modified compression ratio. It really makes the PentaStar super responsive and powerful.
It's used in the Grand Cherokee in this setup as well. Both come with the 8 hole fuel injectors over the standard 4 type used in the non-upgraded version like my Caravan.
They did it right!
Originally Posted by StevieC
Nope, good cars. Friends of ours got rid of their 2014 for a Kia Sorrento (kids), it had the V8 though...
The 3.6L V6 PentaStar is a great engine and super durable now that the bugs have been worked out in it since its inception in 2011.
Change the transmission fluid despite them telling you it's lifetime which is complete nonsense and even the manufacturer of the transmission tells you otherwise.
Yeah, the 8HP is a wonderful transmission, but you are correct, ZF states the fluid should be changed at 100K or 8 years at the latest.
Yes it is... I had the pleasure to experience it.
Originally Posted by Skippy722
I absolutely love mine. Mines a 2016, so no ESS or CarPlay/android auto. Gets good fuel mileage, the seats are super comfortable, the v6 on mine makes 300hp and will get you into trouble pretty quickly if you let it lol.
If you get snow, make sure you have good tires. Mine is RWD. I have Ironman Hercules aka generic Cooper's and they're awful in the snow. Blizzaks will turn it into a tank, my buddy has them on his older 300 and nothing stops him, I can't even get up my driveway.
RWD models will have 20" wheels, AWD got 19's. AWD models also sit noticeably higher than RWD ones.
Yeah it has the upgraded PentaStar with higher lift and modified compression ratio. It really makes the PentaStar super responsive and powerful.
It's used in the Grand Cherokee in this setup as well. Both come with the 8 hole fuel injectors over the standard 4 type used in the non-upgraded version like my Caravan.
They did it right!
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I rent the 300's all the time. Almost always with the V6. It's a favorite of mine. Very, very comfortable, quiet, composed. The V8 version is, as far as I am concerned, a perfect all around car that does everything right, without any drama. The V6 gets better MPG, drives extremely well and is almost as good. The lack of low end umph is about the only real V6 issue. It's got plenty of HP up in the RPM range, with about a mid 6 second 0-60 and 15 second 1/4 mile. I typically see about 27 MPG in mixed driving.
I mentioned the seats, but they fit me well and are about as perfect a place to sit as I've found. The rest of the interior is good, but not quite up to the standards of similarly expensive cars. Some hard plastics and so on. The slightly dated interior does not bother me one bit. I simply love driving them.
I mentioned the seats, but they fit me well and are about as perfect a place to sit as I've found. The rest of the interior is good, but not quite up to the standards of similarly expensive cars. Some hard plastics and so on. The slightly dated interior does not bother me one bit. I simply love driving them.
Wouldn't touch a Chrysler with a 10 foot pole. They've gotten better but so has everyone else. The 300 rates towards the bottom of reliability for all makes of full sized sedans.
Thanks a lot folks. Just what I wanted to know. If it ever stops raining here in NC, am going to look at them.
Originally Posted by Dave9
Wouldn't touch a Chrysler with a 10 foot pole. They've gotten better but so has everyone else. The 300 rates towards the bottom of reliability for all makes of full sized sedans.
Meanwhile, I know people with over 200,000 miles on their 300's doing nothing but basic maintenance. Like any other car make, if you take care of it, they'll take care if you.
Wouldn't touch a Chrysler with a 10 foot pole. They've gotten better but so has everyone else. The 300 rates towards the bottom of reliability for all makes of full sized sedans.
Meanwhile, I know people with over 200,000 miles on their 300's doing nothing but basic maintenance. Like any other car make, if you take care of it, they'll take care if you.
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Originally Posted by Dave9
Wouldn't touch a Chrysler with a 10 foot pole. They've gotten better but so has everyone else. The 300 rates towards the bottom of reliability for all makes of full sized sedans.
Meanwhile, I know people with over 200,000 miles on their 300's doing nothing but basic maintenance. Like any other car make, if you take care of it, they'll take care if you.
I currently own two Chrysler products, I would buy another w/o any hesitation.
Originally Posted by Dave9
Wouldn't touch a Chrysler with a 10 foot pole. They've gotten better but so has everyone else. The 300 rates towards the bottom of reliability for all makes of full sized sedans.
Meanwhile, I know people with over 200,000 miles on their 300's doing nothing but basic maintenance. Like any other car make, if you take care of it, they'll take care if you.
I currently own two Chrysler products, I would buy another w/o any hesitation.
Originally Posted by demarpaint
I currently own two Chrysler products, I would buy another w/o any hesitation.
I may have a problem with Mopars that started with a Grand Caravan lol...
My parents own the following:
2004 Grand Caravan 3.3L - 190,000 miles
2007 Dodge Caliber 2.0L - 160,000 miles
2013 Chrysler 200 3.6L - 40,000 miles
My brother:
2015 Dodge Dart 2.4L - 55,000 miles when traded in
2018 Charger R/T Daytona 5.7L - 2,000 miles
Me:
2011 Durango 5.7L - 105,000 when traded in
2012 Caliber 2.0L - 96,000
2016 300 3.6L - 53,000
2018 Grand Caravan 3.6L - 42,000
Out of all these, only my Durango gave me issues. I chalk it up to first model year, I beat the (sorry for the language) absolute [censored] out of it, and was built on a Monday. It was beat hard, put away wet, absolutely no sympathy shown towards it, not surprised that it broke.
They're not crazy high mileage for the most part, though the van and Caliber are getting up there. But until this year, none ever needed something major. The 2004 still has its factory fuel pump! None ever got anything outside normal maintenance (tune up, oil changes).
I currently own two Chrysler products, I would buy another w/o any hesitation.
I may have a problem with Mopars that started with a Grand Caravan lol...
My parents own the following:
2004 Grand Caravan 3.3L - 190,000 miles
2007 Dodge Caliber 2.0L - 160,000 miles
2013 Chrysler 200 3.6L - 40,000 miles
My brother:
2015 Dodge Dart 2.4L - 55,000 miles when traded in
2018 Charger R/T Daytona 5.7L - 2,000 miles
Me:
2011 Durango 5.7L - 105,000 when traded in
2012 Caliber 2.0L - 96,000
2016 300 3.6L - 53,000
2018 Grand Caravan 3.6L - 42,000
Out of all these, only my Durango gave me issues. I chalk it up to first model year, I beat the (sorry for the language) absolute [censored] out of it, and was built on a Monday. It was beat hard, put away wet, absolutely no sympathy shown towards it, not surprised that it broke.
They're not crazy high mileage for the most part, though the van and Caliber are getting up there. But until this year, none ever needed something major. The 2004 still has its factory fuel pump! None ever got anything outside normal maintenance (tune up, oil changes).
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted by road_rascal
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
3.6?
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
3.6?
Originally Posted by road_rascal
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
No question it's a heavy car for the V6. That's why I mentioned the lack of low end grunt. The engine makes it's HP up in the RPM range. It is NOT a Nissan Maxima, with it's very lively V6.
As for the 8 speed automatic, they seem to shift normally and are far better than the previous 5 speeds units.
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
No question it's a heavy car for the V6. That's why I mentioned the lack of low end grunt. The engine makes it's HP up in the RPM range. It is NOT a Nissan Maxima, with it's very lively V6.
As for the 8 speed automatic, they seem to shift normally and are far better than the previous 5 speeds units.
Originally Posted by Cujet
Originally Posted by road_rascal
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
No question it's a heavy car for the V6. That's why I mentioned the lack of low end grunt. The engine makes it's HP up in the RPM range. It is NOT a Nissan Maxima, with it's very lively V6.
As for the 8 speed automatic, they seem to shift normally and are far better than the previous 5 speeds units.
The steering is weird if set to comfort, almost 0 effort at all required.
I will say if it's just in drive, it wants to get through the gears as quickly as possible and it's reluctant to downshift again. Mine is turning less than 1250rpm at 55mph. Great for economy, not so great for passing. Throwing it in sport mode actually livens it up A TON. And I mean a ton! It's a totally different car.
The Pentastar is making 90%+ of peak torque starting at around 1800rpm. Under that it's kinda meh, and in regular drive that's where it spends most of its life.
Originally Posted by road_rascal
I rented one last year (car had less than 8k on it) and I didn't like it. The transmission shifted really weird and something was off about the steering- it really wandered around on the highway. Even though it had the 3.5 I wasn't impressed with the power.
No question it's a heavy car for the V6. That's why I mentioned the lack of low end grunt. The engine makes it's HP up in the RPM range. It is NOT a Nissan Maxima, with it's very lively V6.
As for the 8 speed automatic, they seem to shift normally and are far better than the previous 5 speeds units.
The steering is weird if set to comfort, almost 0 effort at all required.
I will say if it's just in drive, it wants to get through the gears as quickly as possible and it's reluctant to downshift again. Mine is turning less than 1250rpm at 55mph. Great for economy, not so great for passing. Throwing it in sport mode actually livens it up A TON. And I mean a ton! It's a totally different car.
The Pentastar is making 90%+ of peak torque starting at around 1800rpm. Under that it's kinda meh, and in regular drive that's where it spends most of its life.
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My Caravan with the 283hp version of the Pentastar not the upgraded one is heavier than the 300 and it gets up and goes just fine. I put my pedal to the floor and it's gone.
I've had three Jeeps and my sons had a Concorde and a Sebring as college cars. While none of them were 90's era Corollas in the reliability department, they were certainly not the demons Chryslers are often made out to be. An additional bonus was the value factor when purchased used (not talking Jeeps anymore) which allowed my sons to get into a newer/nicer car than they could have with some other makes, significant since they had little to spend. They drove both for many years and both were kept longer than originally planned when they were purchased.
On ours anyway, they started to exhibit electrical gremlins and quirks when they got over 10 years of age with around 150k. Annoying but they kept right on going.
On ours anyway, they started to exhibit electrical gremlins and quirks when they got over 10 years of age with around 150k. Annoying but they kept right on going.
Patman
Staff member
On a recent trip to Florida, Hertz upgraded me from a compact car to a 2019 300S AWD and I really liked it. Very comfortable car and the 8 speed automatic was very smooth and helped the car get very good gas mileage for such a heavy car. I'd never buy one new though, up here it would be over $50,000 if I optioned it out my way, and in 2 years time that same car will sell for $15,000 to $20,000 less. I really like Chrysler products but historically speaking they drop in value extremely fast. So if you buy them new you need to keep them forever to get your money's worth. My first wife's son found this out the hard way when he bought a fully loaded brand new Dodge Dart turbo a few years ago and after just 2-3 years he sold it for much less than he owed on the loan, it just depreciated far too fast on him. (and for other reasons he just couldn't afford to keep it)
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