I have had my Nitro since 11/25/06. I noticed around 200 miles (purchased with 100 miles on it) that it seemed to not engage quite right going up slight inclines. Then I began to notice that it did it on a straight away too, between 35-45 mph (400 miles), it would hesitate/buck while maintaining a steady speed. Called and made an appointment with my "wonderful" dealership. They preformed the update TSB 18-037-06 in Dec 2006. This just made the problem worse because it now did the hesitation/bucking at all speeds.

I called again and was told after waiting 4 days for STAR to get back to the dealership that I need to continue to drive it until it had 1200 miles. It was at 1100 the day they told me this. So Christmas goes by and I call the day after, still doing it. They ordered a torque converter which was installed Jan 19th. It basically behaved for another 400 miles and it started all over again.

I call again in Feb and have to wait 2 days for STAR to get back to them. I am now told that I have to bring it in and drive it with a tech to make sure I am keeping steady pressure on the gas pedal. I guess they assumed that it must be me not the vehicle. So I play by their rules, (PA lemon law requires 3 visits for the same issue) and take it in. The tech drove and recreated the problem and would call STAR the next morning. In the meantime my tech admitted that the 3.7 liter is not the correct engine for the Nitro, it has to work harder because it is bigger than the Liberty. And he also said he thought they didn't know what to do with my vehicle because STAR was stating it isn't a national problem. Based on this forum, I’d have to say they were lying.

After a day of diagnostic tests, I am given the solution of "THIS IS NORMAL TO THIS VEHICLE". So I am pursuing the Lemon Law statutes of my state.

DaimlerChryler’s customer service is Horrible, between waiting 10 minutes to speak to a person who only can tell you that they have noted it and it will be passed along. I haven’t heard from them on my 2nd or 3rd complaints so far. I also have the misfortune to have an even worse dealership when it comes to customer service, let alone satisfaction.

If anyone does get a solution, please post it. It might just help!!