[Anchorman]

As my alternative vehicle for the last two years (winter use and other), I have a 2004 PT Cruiser with a 5-speed manual tranny. On the dashboard is a little panel with power window controls in a 2x2 matrix - the top two are for the front windows, the bottom two are for the rear windows. In the first couple of years of production, each of the four buttons was lit - from the inside of the button. When the PT was so much more successful than expected, the pencil-pushers got involved - either to reduce losses on the much higher volume, or increase profits - whatever. One thing they did was to eliminate the lights on the two buttons for the rear windows - which I'm sure saved a great deal of money.

The light on the driver's window control on my car recently stopped working. I stopped at my local Chrysler dealer yesterday to see what's involved in getting this fixed. Not surprisingly, the assembly is a non-maintenance item - it is replaced as an entire assembly at a cost of $125 for the part. And...the bonus is that the new part has NONE of the buttons lit. Further cost-saving done in later model years. So, if I purchase the new replacement switch, I effectively go from one light out to both lights out. What a deal!

At this time, I have a $9.90 bid in on eBay for an older model switch set - with at least two, possibly four, lights.

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[ds968]

I hear you ! This is so annoying ( happens even with much more expensive cars ) but I think mfgs, dealers, know they can pretty much get away with anything of this sort, as there is little or nothing any of us can do.. I think they rely on the consumers reacting to these matters with a " it is what it is " view and they'll continue to find ways to save costs at our expense. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif[/img]

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[DaveN]

Next thing you are going to complain about is that your washer, dryer and freezer didn't last 35 years light they used to [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

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[Anchorman]

C'mon...are you telling me that I have to throw away my 40-yr.-old appliances?

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[ds968]

Yeah, if they're Maytag ( Amana, etc.. ) they'll probably start a fire - see recall headlineds today - so maybe cars don't have a monopoly in the crappy quality domain [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]

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[968Oz]

"know they can pretty much get away with anything of this sort, as there is little or nothing any of us can do.."

Well you could choose not buy a Chrysler next time. This sort of behaviour does not encourage loyalty, which has been a particular problem for US car companies of late.

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