4th time in 6 months..

"cbell04" (cbell04) 02/13/2017 at 07:53 • Filed to: Promaster

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The Fiat Chrysler Turdmaster is dead again. Time to spend another week or 2 in a rental.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 07:56

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The USPS in my area bought a whole bunch of these. I wonder what their fleet experience will be...

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 07:59

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pip bip - choose Corrour > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:02

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time for another van i believe

cbell04 > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 02/13/2017 at 08:04

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Got one lined up already.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:05

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Good job. Keep it. Send back the PoorMaster to the rental company.

Cé hé sin > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:15

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What’s that weird looking truck hauling it?

cbell04 > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 02/13/2017 at 08:15

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It’s a company van we turn them in at 130 k miles but I can’t seem to get this one up there.. spent a month in rentals and that stops the miles from racking up. shouldn’t be much longer now but my replacement is a 2500 chevy. Will be nice to get back to the basics.

cbell04 > Cé hé sin 02/13/2017 at 08:20

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It’s an International. Here’s it’s consumer based product. Everything else they make is commercial.

cbell04 > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 02/13/2017 at 08:22

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The guy towing it specifically mentioned fedex ups. Said he’s picking these things up constantly.

cbell04 > pip bip - choose Corrour 02/13/2017 at 08:23

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Company vehicle so I am just along for the ride.

Stapleface > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:25

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Chevy still makes the Express? I thought they finally killed it last year? I must be mistaken.

cbell04 > Stapleface 02/13/2017 at 08:29

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The 1500 is gone it’s now the chevy city (shity) express aka the nissan nv200 rebadged. but the 2500 is literally untouched since 2005 or something

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Stapleface 02/13/2017 at 08:36

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1/2-tons are gone. The rest of the line stays.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:41

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Huh, weird....a few contractor / plumbing guys around here who have ProMasters and swear by them.....they’ve not had one issue with theirs so far?

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:53

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2002 on the outside. Mechanically it’s had changes in the engine and transmission department, and there have been slight changes in the interior—instrumentation and stereo mainly.

If it ain’t broke...

cbell04 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 02/13/2017 at 08:56

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Id like to say I have a lemon but our company owns tons of them and very few have been reliable. That said it is great to drive/ work out of when it works properly.

cbell04 > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 02/13/2017 at 08:58

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Last full size I had before the pro was a e150 and it worked great. I will miss some of the promaster functionality but reliability has been soooo poor. 

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 08:59

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I see those wandering around as well... It might be the shock of seeing them in USPS livery that attracts my attention more than their mere existence (although they are pretty rare here for some reason (with the exception of FedEx, UPS, and the very occasional contractor) - most vans this size are Fords and Nissans here as far as I’ve seen, while GM and Ford seem to have the largest share of bigger vans).

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 09:01

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What have the issues been with it? Major parts failures? Electrical?

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 02/13/2017 at 09:07

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The Ford E series has been largely unchanged since around 1987. Soon you’ll be able to exchange large parts between a brand new van and one with antique plates.

cbell04 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 02/13/2017 at 09:22

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This is just off the top of my head but trust there is more I’m forgetting. 3rd set of cv shafts, full front end rebuild new steering rack and shocks and that happened at like 80k miles. Shocks no big deal but the whole steering rack on a car that’s never even hit a curb?? Radiator fan assembly and shroud (it has the electrical components built into it) Rear door latches, Rear electrical harness (like as in the whole rear of the vehicle) to stop it from telling me my doors where open while bumping down the road (and it still occasionally happens). tail light assemblies kept blowing bulbs like a bulb every couple weeks. both headlights same reason a bulb every couple weeks. Water leaking in from roof top running lights. Water pump seized 3 weeks ago and now a big fat questions mark just died rolling down the road. Also things they have not been able to fix; the fact that if I put my hazards on and lock the door the alarm goes off instantly, and when i start the van it shuts itself off instantly several times a day sometimes it take 4 or 5 starts to keep it going.

carcrasher88 > Cé hé sin 02/13/2017 at 09:55

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International DuraStar. One of my favorite trucks on the market, actually. Replaced the iconic S-Series back in ‘03, has had various updates over the last decade and a half or so, though no real cosmetic changes other than badging.

Needmoargarage > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 09:58

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EcoBoost Transit Van...

Just sayin’ :)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 10:07

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Wow....very weird. I mean, the FIAT Ducato on which the ProMaster is based is very highly regarded in Europe AFAIK. I know they made changes for bringing it to the US and it’s built here (Mexico), so no idea how much that plays into it...I imagine Euro quality control is more strict...

Probenja > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 10:11

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Well it is a van developed both by Fiat and Peugeot/Citroen so I wouldn’t expect them to be totally reliable with heavy usage.

Cé hé sin > carcrasher88 02/13/2017 at 10:17

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Oh, thanks. I recall seeing International tractors in the past (they’re now owned by Fiat) but I don’t think they’re as international in the truck market as their name suggests!

fhrblig > Stapleface 02/13/2017 at 10:21

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Thank God they haven’t killed the 2500. When those go, I fear that GM is going to rebadge the shitty Nissan NVs. And then I’ll have nowhere to turn.

fhrblig > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 10:24

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I’m hearing the new big Transits aren’t much better. One of our other cities had to put a new gearbox in one after 100k and they are all having driveshaft problems.

fhrblig > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 02/13/2017 at 10:29

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E-series vans are gone. They still make the chassis cab versions for box trucks, but now it’s the Transit. And I’m not liking what I’m hearing about them. Good thing the big Nissans suck too. Sigh.

Your boy, BJR > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 02/13/2017 at 10:31

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Or Europe has lower standards of reliability (which seems to be the case)

cbell04 > Probenja 02/13/2017 at 10:41

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And for the american market it gets a dodge engine and manufactured in mexico. I’m guessing all are playing contributing factor in my reliability.

cbell04 > carcrasher88 02/13/2017 at 10:49

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This guys had 650k miles on it. He said bought it new in 05. You could tell he loved it. It was clean as hell inside. I couldn’t believe how well he’d cared for it given the demanding job.

carcrasher88 > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 10:59

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I believe it. That truck’s got a good reputation for reliability. The engine in that one, being a 4300, is the DT466. The engine design actually dates back to 1984, with many updates over the years.

One could say it’s a large truck equivalent of the old AMC 4.0 I6.

cbell04 > carcrasher88 02/13/2017 at 11:02

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Fun fact he said 55 gallon tanks gets him 325 miles range so just shy of 6mpg’s.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > cbell04 02/13/2017 at 11:40

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makes sense. Its pretty dang ugly

duurtlang > Probenja 02/13/2017 at 11:54

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Neither engine nor transmission comes from PSA. Besides, these vans (with French engine/transmission) are reliable in Europe. It’s the American version with the Dodge drivetrain that’s cause the problems.

duurtlang > Your boy, BJR 02/13/2017 at 11:59

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Based on, what? Why would Europeans, consumers and companies alike, not value reliability?

This van has a different drive train entirely. In Europe these tend to come with French (or fiat, but not American) diesels and manual transmissions. Other issues seem to be related to the north American market as well.

Chinny Raccoon > duurtlang 02/13/2017 at 13:31

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I’d say they are OK but their main selling point is cheapness. Relations of mine had a fleet of them. Various electrical gremlins, mostly with heaters/vents. Gearbox issues too though that might have been sorted out now. My work neighbours have one they bought new that’s had issues with suspension- you can hear it creaking along, and it seems to have issues starting sometimes. Only a couple of years old.

Not much a fan of driving them either, seats are uncomfortable, gear change stiff and the visibility to the sides is poor as there is a large plastic moulding around the window.

It’s been around for 10 years now, so is due for replacement. Not heard anything on that though.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > cbell04 02/14/2017 at 00:05

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