Any help would be appreciated. I have a 2008 Chrysler Aspen and it has been the worst vehicle i have ever purchased. I have had so many issues with it. Last night i got home an i got another issue as this time the Rear Hatch Will Not Open. I tried the inside button, i tried the button on the key and i tried manually opening and not luck. it makes the sound and try opening but it never does. Has anyone experience this issue?

 

Have you tried reading the owner's manual, I think this something about having to reset the rear door to get it to work again

 

just had a problem with my 2008 door would only work with the remote,but would not open manually.dealer installed new latch about a i hr. job,works fine now .mine is still under warrinty so it was no problem for me, sorry you have problems with your aspen, this has been one of the best vehicles i have owned.

 

I took my 2008 Aspen into the dealer to fix my stuck hatch as well. Wouldn't open, just beeped when tried to open it manually, via remote or inside the cabin. When trying to use the manual interior release, and that didn't work, they pushed on the outside of the hatch and made a "palm" sized dent on the outside where the latch mechanism is. The dent outlines the motor of the hatch, and has creases in the form of a square. They are sending my car out to a body shop, where they said a "light" use of Bondo may be used where the creases are. I don't want Bondo on my practically new car! They caused the dent, I want a new hatch if that's the case! Can I demand that they replace it in lieu of just a quick fix and paint job that probably won't match?

 

Not happy with my purchase either...had to replace the transmission at 54k miles and it cost me $3,797.50...among all kinds of other problems...now the back hatch will not open and Chrysler dealer wants almost $500 to fix it. When does the bleeding end? I only have 60k miles on it.

 

FWEST, I assume you aren't the original owner of the vehicle, correct? Otherwise this would have been covered under the lifetime powertrain warranty. Regardless, I assume you had a dealership do this and not a private shop, because $3,800 for a rebuilt transmission is about $1,000 too much in a Hemi.

Did you have them tell you what codes were thrown, etc. before approving the new transmission? What were your symptoms? There are tons of 2nd gen Durango owners having trouble with the 4wd (4lo) going haywire, and the fix for that is a new transfer case motor (TCM) for $250-300 installed . See pages and pages of discussion on that here -- http://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-...o-problem.html

Other transmission problems are pretty unusual, but not unheard of, on this truck.

The rear liftgate latch is PN 4589580AA, and can be found for around $215 with Google. It's not a tough repair -- remove an interior trim panel and a lock rod, and unscrew it. I certainly wouldn't pay the dealer 3 hours of labor for what amounts to an hour of work at most. You really need to find an independent mechanic you trust, because the dealer is charging premium prices (to put it gently).

I know you're having some bad luck with your Aspen, but these really are great vehicles. I've had very few problems with mine in 5 years and 77,000 miles of ownership.

 

15951a...no, not original owner...purchased dealer demo. No excuse for a trans to go out in the middle of the road when I have two small children in car at 54k miles. Trading in this weekend...never stepping another foot in a Chrysler dealership again. Unfortunate...trying to support US auto dealers.

 

FWEST, could you tell us what actually happened to the transmission (what broke?) for the benefit of us planning to keep our vehicles? Did it go into 4lo and slam into low gear, or ? Inquiring minds what to know.

I also own an Aspen, and I'd like more info if you're willing to share. If you could post what they wrote on your repair work order, that would be even more helpful, especially if there are part numbers listed.

By the way, Chrysler is owned by Fiat. It's a world market these days.

 

I had an issue where each time I tried to open the liftgate it had two fast beeps but would not open. This means that something is obstructing the latch and will not let it release. To manually release the liftgate, pop out the plastic kit under the back window (there are two metal tabs holding it on, they will pop right back in) which will allow you to see inside the back of the liftgate. On the left side, above the lock, there is a black square unit that has a metal rod traveling down to the lock. Take a screwdriver and push down on the black box which forces the latch to unlock. It automatically opened once I did that. I just saved $500 as the Chrysler technician said there was NO manual unlock method. YAY!

 

Thanks for the info, that was very helpful.