Should i be concerned about my '13

[V10 Snake]

Have I been one of the lucky '13 owners or is the engine issue inevitable and hasn't happened yet. I have 5,000 miles on the car and it has run flawless since I drove it home. Every so often in 2ng gear at low rpm's and mph's I will floor it and there is a slight backfire/hesitation like a misfire, otherwise the car has been great. Does anybody have the build dates or VIN range that these engine replacements cover??

[Coder]

I have a 13' GTS with low miles as well, less than you thus far as I have only owned it for a month of driving before I parked it for winter.

I'm curious about this as well.

[ViperSmith]

If it was 2018 and the powertrain warranty was about to expire, I'd worry.

Other than that, drive it like you stole it.

[Strykerviper2014]

Got 11500 km which is 7200 miles on my 2014, 2 oil changes, no issues, I think it's like any vehicle, there will always be lemons

[Madmav]

My 15 does the same thing, not sure if it's normal or not

[KB Viper]

you'll know when a rod bearing less go, it went on my prior 14 at 4500 miles. i'm in another 14 with 14,700 miles and zero issues and drive the piss out of mine

[dethred]

At what RPM does the "misfire" happen? Unless it's knocking, don't worry.

[Vprbite]

I Think the engine issue is far from inevitable. Think of how many are doing just fine. If I owned a 13, I would probably get the extended warranty. But I would do that on any viper. But I don't think you need to count minutes till something grenades. Many more have been fine than have had issues.

[SilveRT8]

9500 miles on my 13 GTS, no issues so far.
Car is now parked for winter.

[swexlin]

I have the same concerns. But, anything can happen at any time in life. I try not to worry. But I think many of us 13 owners have these concerns.

[7TH_SIGN]

I had concern when I first found out about the issue and reading the threads about it made me even more paranoid to drive it. Now I don't care. If it does fail I will fight for them to buy it back. Until then, I am going to enjoy the car without worries. The Viper is a strange car unlike any I've owned. It needs to be driven. I appreciate the car more and more after every drive.

[genVer]

14k on my '13 with no issues. Love this thing!

[mikesax]

21,000 on my 13-traded
15,000 on my 14
6,000 on my 15
So far not ONE issue other than a loose hose and a couple faulty sensors-ROCK SOLID in every way!!
Oil changes at 500 and every 3000 after that-simple rules to follow!!

[Nine Ball]

You should only be concerned if you don't have a warranty, and can't afford to buy a new engine. If neither apply, go out and DRIVE it hard.

Flooring it at low rpm though? What is the point of that? Try downshifting first

[LmeaViper]

This reminds me of all the chatter about the engine in my old 04 Cobra. People would fuss up and down about vin numbers / build dated etc etc. Every car Mfgr have engine failures.
Rather than all the speculation, let's see some numbers to back up all the fuss:

# of 13's built...varies depending on where you look, but several sources say 925+
# of engine failures... who can access this information?
% of failures due to a known / proven manufacturing issue?

[LmeaViper]

This reminds me of all the chatter about the engine in my old 04 Cobra. People would fuss up and down about vin numbers / build dated etc etc. Every car Mfgr have engine failures.
Rather than all the speculation, let's see some numbers to back up all the fuss:

# of 13's built...varies depending on where you look, but several sources say 925+
# of engine failures... who can access this information?
% of failures due to a known / proven manufacturing issue?

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On second thought...since I have a 13 Canadian Viper...I don't have to ever be concerned about an engine failure because I do not know of any other Cdn 13's that have had an engine failure.

[Dan Cragin]

I think the problem was isolated and not a pattern failure. We have one 2013 model with 8k TRACK miles, leak down and bearing inspection just performed, perfect. Uses only 1 quart of oil every 1000 track miles, better than most track cars.

[Strykerviper2014]

I think the problem was isolated and not a pattern failure. We have one 2013 model with 8k TRACK miles, leak down and bearing inspection just performed, perfect. Uses only 1 quart of oil every 1000 track miles, better than most track cars.

I never had my first oil change till 4500 km (2700 miles) didn't have to add oil, zero issues

[lochnessmonster]

If it was 2018 and the powertrain warranty was about to expire, I'd worry.

Other than that, drive it like you stole it.

Exactly ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What's to worry about? My '13 has run flawlessly since I bought it in May, and I put 5000 miles on it over the summer. Go on any of the car forums: Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. etc...... Sports cars have problems. Period. Should you worry about it? No. Accept it as coming with the territory. At least we have a warranty for a few more years. My feeling is, if it hasn't happened between now and then, it's not gonna happen. Drive the car "spirited" and often.

[Viper Girl]

If you're worried about your engine... you can always have your oil analyzed... I think that is less than $30 to do...

[Policy Limits]

6,900 miles on my 13. Engine runs great. I did proper break in and change oil every 6 months. I don't abuse it but I tracked it once at Thompson Speedway. Pretty sure most of the catastrophic failures occurred by 5k ish. Power train warranty comes standard at 5 years. Hypothetically, how much is a replacement engine installed outside of warranty? 30k?

[darbgnik]

Seems to me, out of warranty, if you lost an engine due to a spun bearing or something else less catastrophic than a rod through the block, a rebuild by a reputable shop would be significantly cheaper than a replacement engine, if costs were a concern, no?

[lochnessmonster]

We were thinking the same thing at the same time^^^^^^^^^ Yep, in the worse case scenario, where the engine is out of warranty, and you have a catastrophic failure, the engine can be rebuilt. And who knows, judging by how great Chrysler has been with respect to addressing the failures under warranty, they might even help out a bit with the rebuild. It never hurts to appeal to their customer service department. I would be surprised if rebuilding a Viper engine would cost more than $15,000-$20,000???? Perhaps one of our vendors can chime in on what they feel would be a reasonable estimate. Having a realistic figure might ease some people's minds in terms of knowing what they are up against if the worst does occur.

For me personally, I don't worry about stuff like that. I change the oil regularly with the recommended brand and weight, I let the car warm up to at least 50C before I drive it, I don't head for the redline until it is fully up to the normal operating temp (about 86C), I don't bounce it off the rev limiter, but I do drive it in a spirited manner, I'll be lucky to ever get it on a track (hopefully), and I use premium fuel. I treat my Viper with respect, and I hope that it provides me with many years of trouble free driving. That's about all you can do.

[LmeaViper]

Exactly ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What's to worry about? My '13 has run flawlessly since I bought it in May, and I put 5000 miles on it over the summer. Go on any of the car forums: Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. etc...... Sports cars have problems. Period. Should you worry about it? No. Accept it as coming with the territory. At least we have a warranty for a few more years. My feeling is, if it hasn't happened between now and then, it's not gonna happen. Drive the car "spirited" and often.

That is so true...I have a good friend who loves Porsche's and he said he would never buy one because they have some known engine issue (something about the oil, can't remember). Seems to me he said only one model year never had that issue. I found it a bit of an unusual comment as I suspect that the issue is likely overblown. I had some of the same thoughts, specifically what % of cars have legitimate engine failures not attributed to some owner / user issue.

[V10 Snake]

Believe me guys I drive the car as much as my free time lets me. In fact, thanks to the unseasonably warm weather in the northeast this winter I have been driving the car every weekend. I will also have it out today and tomorrow. If I don't upgrade to a 2016 I will certainly get the extended warrantee.

And to answer Nine Ball's question, my statement was a little misleading so let me clarify....sometimes driving along in 2nd gear @35-40mph if I give the car a little punch I feel the misfire/kick (whatever you want to call it) so its not necessarily LOW RPM's