2008 Dodge Avenger

I WAS GETTING READY FOR WORK, HAD TO BE THERE BY 7AM. MY FIANCE' HAD ALREADY LEFT FOR WORK. I WENT TO START MY CAR AND IT WOULDN'T COME OUT OF PARK. TRIED OVER AND OVER TO GET IT OUT OF PARK. AS A RESULT OF THIS HAPPENING I WAS LATE FOR WORK AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO BE LATE FOR WORK. WE ARE DOCKED POINTS WHEN WE ARE LATE OR MISS WORK AND I AM NEVER LATE AND NEVER MISS WORK. YOU CAN BE TERMINATED WITH JUST 4 POINTS. I DID RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET ABOUT MY CAR, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH IT AND FOUND OUT ALOT MORE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM AS I HAVE. THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED ANYWHERE. LUCKILY IT HAPPENED IN MY DRIVEWAY BUT I HAVE A SMALL CHILD THAT I'M OUT WITH ALOT BY MYSELF. I FEEL IT IS A SAFETY CONCERN BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. IT'S A PLASTIC PIECE THAT BREAKS OFF AND CAUSES THE SPRING THAT'S ATTACHED TO IT TO LET THE CAR OUT OF PARK FLY OFF AND THEN YOU ARE JUST STUCK. THERE IS NO WAY TO OVER RIDE IT UNLESS YOU TAKE THE ENTIRE CONSOLE OUT AND MANUALLY PULL THE PINK LEVER BACK. I'M NOT A HELPLESS FEMALE BUT I CAN'T TAKE A COMPLETE CONSOLE OUT BY MYSELF. SO THEREFORE I FEEL THAT PUTS MYSELF AND MY DAUGHTER IN A BAD SITUATION IF WE ARE OUT BY OURSELVES AND THIS HAPPENS. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WOULD COST AROUND $300.00 PLUS TAX TO FIX THE PROBLEM. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ARE JUST REPLACING IT WITH THE SAME PLASTIC MOLDINGS THAT WILL BREAK AGAIN AT SOME POINT AND TIME. I FEEL VERY UNSAFE WITH THIS CAR THE WAY IT IS. RIGHT NOW I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY 300.00 FOR SOMETHING THAT I MIGHT HAVE TO REPLACE AGAIN IN A DAY ANOTHER WEEK OR WHO KNOWS WHEN. I HAVE NOT HAD IT REPAIRED AT THE MOMENT..I'M DRIVING WITH MY CONSOLE COMPLETELY OFF AND MANUALLY PULLING UP ON THE PINK LATCH AND PUTTING IT IN GEAR. I THINK IT'S REALLY SAD THAT THE COMPANY CAN'T STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND LET THE CONSUMER KNOW THAT THEY ARE IMPORTANT AND WILL FIX THE PROBLEM THE RIGHT WAY. *TR

MY CAR WAS ACTING FINE YESTERDAY AND THEN TODAY WHEN I WENT TO LEAVE FOR WORK IT WOULD NOT COME OUT OF PARK. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPEN SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR TWO YEARS AGO. BUT I TRIED EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT WORK AND THE CAR STILL WOULDN'T COME OUT OF PARK. MY SISTER'S BOYFRIEND TOOK THE CONSOLE APART AND REMOVED THE AREA COVERING THE GEAR AND THERE WAS THIS PINK BUTTON THAT WOULD ALLOW THE GEAR TO MOVE. THE WHOLE SHIFT ASSEMBLY WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED BUT THE PROBLEM CAN HAPPEN AT ANY GIVEN TIME WITHOUT WARNING. NO INDICATOR LIGHT OR ANYTHING TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE PART IS BROKEN. THE CAR JUST WON'T MOVE!! *TR

I HAVE A 2008 DODGE AVENGER AND WAS NOT ABLE TO SHIFT THE CAR OUT OF PARK. USING A GOOD DEAL OF FORCE I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK. WHILE DOING THIS I HEARD A PIECE OF PLASTIC BREAK OFF. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND 33 OTHER 2008 DODGE AVENGER OWNERS REPORTED A SIMILAR PROBLEM. I CALLED A LOCAL DEALERSHIPS SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE WAS WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. HE STATED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE SHIFT LOCK MECHANISM AND THAT THE REPAIR WOULD RUN APPROXIMATELY $300. WITH SO MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE SAME PROBLEM, WHICH CAN RESULT IN THE CAR NOT BEING ABLE TO BE DRIVEN, I FEEL THAT AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT IS WARRANTED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 DODGE AVENGER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE COULD NOT SHIFT THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE PARK POSITION. AFTER RESEARCHING THE INTERNET, HE DETERMINED HOW TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE OUT OF PARK BY DEPRESSING AN UNKNOWN SAFETY BUTTON ON THE GEAR SHIFTER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE FAILURE RECURRED EACH INSTANCE THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATED AND THE SAFETY BUTTON WOULD HAVE TO BE UTILIZED FOR THE SHIFTER TO MOVE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 40,000. UPDATED 10/27/10. *LJ

I HAVE A 2008 DODGE AVENGER AND THE VEHICLE WILL NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR FROM PARK. THERE ARE NO WARNING INDICATORS ON THE DASH INDICATING A PROBLEM AND IT WAS OPERATING FINE WHEN I DROVE IT TO WORK. IT WILL SHIFT INTO REVERSE IF FORCED BUT WILL NOT GO INTO NEUTRAL AT ALL. THIS IS APPARENTLY A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM ACCORDING TO THE WEBSITE AUTOBEEF. *TR

I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WHERE MY CAR IS STUCK IN PARK. I FOUND THIS SITE AFTER RESEARCHING THE ISSUE WHICH APPEARS TO BE QUITE COMMON. I WILL HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS A MECHANIC LOOK AT IT TO SEE IF WE CAN FIX THIS. HOWEVER, I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS DEFECT COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE. SEEMS THAT IT COULD BE QUITE POSSIBLE THAT IF IT COULD BE STUCK IN PARK, IT COULD ALSO GET STUCK IN DRIVE OR REVERSE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE AND MAKE DODGE DO A RECALL. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 DODGE AVENGER THAT I WAS UNABLE TO USE AS OF TODAY. I GOT READY TO LEAVE MY HOUSE AND MY CAR WOULD NOT GO OUT OF PARK TO REVERSE. I STARTED TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY. I WENT TO GOOGLE AND FOUND NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. AND WHAT'S WORSE, IS THAT DODGE DOESN'T SEE IT AS A PROBLEM AND HAS NOT PLACED A RECALL OUT FOR IT. IT NEEDS TO BE DONE. ITS A SAFETY THING. MY WARRANTY ON MY CAR IS UP. I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT ITS STILL GOING TO COST ME $200 AT LEAST TO FIX IT AND I DO NOT HAVE THAT. I HAVE 2 KIDS, ONE WHO IS A DIABETIC, AND I AM A STAY AT HOME MOM. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR DODGE TO GET WITH IT AND TAKE CARE OF THIS AND MAKE SURE A RECALL IS SENT OUT ON THIS?? TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM. *TR

I HAVE BEEN VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH MY 2008 AVENGER.. SEEMS LIKE I'VE EXPERIENCED ONE PROBLEM AFTER THE OTHER.. THE FIRST WAS THE TPMS, WHICH A RECALL WAS MADE AND THAT WAS FIXED. 2ND I HAD TO REPLACE THE WHOLE GEAR SHIFT BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T COME OUT OF PARK... I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY ADVISED ME THAT THEY SAW A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE ON THOSE PARTS AND ALOT OF THE AVENGERS WERE EXPERIENCING THE SAME THING. 3RD, NOW THE BEARINGS INSIDE THE ALTERNATOR HAVE BROKE.. AND I HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE ALTERNATOR ITSELF. WE AGAIN CALLED THE DODGE HOUSE AND THEY ALSO EXPLAINED HOW MANY REQUEST THEY ARE GETTING REF THIS PART AND HAVING TO KEEP THEM IN STOCK CONTINUOUSLY. EVERYONE I KNOW THAT HAS AN AVENGER HAVE ALL EXPERIENCED ALL OF THESE SAME PROBLEMS.. AND MY QUESTION IS AT WHAT POINT DOES DODGE START ISSUING A RECALL?? IF DODGE CAN CALL THE DEALERSHIPS AND GET A TALLY ON ALL AMOUNT OF REPLACEMENT PARTS THEY WOULD BE SURPRISED AND REALIZE THAT A RECALL DOES NEED TO BE IN EFFECT. *TR