Long-term update: Our Chrysler 300 SRT gets minor service with expensive extras

1. In the middle of last summer, our evergreen 2015 Chrysler 300 SRT went to the dealer for minor service as well as its bi-annual warranty replacement for the carbon-fibre door trim.

The minor service at the Mopar dealership cost Dhs 600.

We alerted them yet again to the minor squeal heard when turning the steering wheel, which was previously fixed under warranty, but came back. This time it cost us Dhs 950 for a differential oil change as the warranty is up.

However, there is still a limited warranty on the carbon-fibre door trim that falls off twice a year, since it has now been flagged as a common issue on all SRT models that enjoy the summer sun in the Middle East. However, it involves making multiple trips to get the warranty work approved, again and again. But we eventually had new door trim again by the end of summer.

Don’t worry though, because the new door trim fell off again 2 months later already, and we will get them replaced at the time of the next service (which will surely require multiple trips again). At this point, we’re bored of taking photos of the issue, so here’s a photo from 2017.

And no, you can’t glue it back. The cheap carbon-fibre bends into that shape permanently, so the only thing to do is rip it off.

Other than the cheap cabin trim, the car is running great.

Original Mileage When Bought: 9,010 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 24,050 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 16.8 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 950
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 600

Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 9,929

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