Dealer Warranty Repair Issue

[cuzican]

So one of my Jeeps has been at the dealership for three months for warranty repair.

The repairs are now supposed to be  complete, however, the dealer decided power steering hoses needed to be replaced. They asked me if they could proceed to which I replied "NO". Have this in writing (emails) over several months.

Now I learn the dealership disposed of the hoses when they removed them several months ago and would like to sell me new ones. Up until a week ago the service adviser was telling me they didn't want to reinstall them as they leaked - never told me they disposed of them until I visited the shop and asked to see them. I have refused to buy and continue to ask for my old ones back or for them to effect a repair. I don't believe there was even a reason to remove the hoses to complete the warranty repairs.

I have several spare sets from other jeeps, however, I am not interested in bringing slightly different ones in for them to tell me they don't work and by the way we spent an hour trying to make them fit at $$$.

Dealership can't test drive the warranty repairs without the hoses installed and the service manager suggested if I took the Jeep without them test driving that he would void the warranty on the recent warranty repairs - this is not an option as the warranty work included replacement of significant items.

I thought vehicle repair shops were required to return old parts to the vehicle owner as proof they were replaced. I usually do my own wrenching so I have very little experience with others repairing my junk.

So anyone ever have anything like this happen previously and how did you successfully resolve it short of paying for the dealer to install new parts.

[Black Betty]

My guess would be they buggered them up when they removed them.

I brought my dodge neon to the dealership under warrenty when it sprung an oil leak.  They replaced the head gasket and a few weeks later it started to misfire.  My good buddy (licensed gm mech) took a look and found the intake manifold gasket had not been installed properly, causing a small piece of it to break off and trap itself in the exhaust valve.  This burnt a hole through the valve which caused my misfire.

I got almost every last penny back from the dealer, even though they fought me.

So the short longs is, you did not give them permission to remove and throw out your hoses.  If you curse and complain enough they will give in.

Or just go put the new hoses on in the parking lot and then tell them it's fixed.

[cLAY]

They are not required to give oldparts back unless you specifically ask for them upfront.

A newish vehicle shouldn't need new ps hoses. Are they hoses covered under warrenty?

[dunl]

Just keep asking for someone higher up the chain to talk to, outside of the dealership.  Be polite and courteous, as I know you would be, and you should be able to find someone willing to go to bat for you, especially if you have proof.

[BrokenAxle]

Clay is right about old parts especially on warranty repairs.  Having said that, If the hoses were not part of the repairs that it was dropped off for and/or there was no reason to remove the hoses, then they should not have been removed and definitely not thrown out before any consent was given.  If they are saying that the hoses are to be replaced at your expense, why are they not trying to charge you for their removal too?

[vantagetes]

They have to have your consent to do any work, including removing the hoses. As you specifically did not they shouldn't of touched them let alone threw away the evidence. Sounds pretty fishy to me. Between parts going up by 300% and repeated coverups and bad service I have no faith in Dodge these days.

[hps4evr]

I have no faith in Dodge these days.

thanks for painting all chrysler dealers with the same brush. i will admit some dealer service departments are less honest then others. but i know some do their best to help their customers.

if i read correctly, i didnt see what warranty repair was needed. if, say, the power steering gear box needed replacing then the hoses needed to be disconnected. possibly they were damaged when removed. in which case the dealer should have told you and replaced them for free. crap happens, we are human. what i dont get is why they asked about the hoses after the original inspection. they should have told you up front about the warranty repair and the power steering hoses. and if they needed to replace the hoses to perform the warranty repair properly they should have warned you first. not to mention the jobs would overlap and the labor charged to you should have been lowered.  and if you refused the hoses the n i can understand their point, but i dont think they told you about the hoses first. thus, my guess is either poor inspection, poor warranty repair which resulted in damaged hoses or there is more to this story. i will add that most current chrysler products do have problems with leaking power steering and transmission cooler hoses.
anyways, pm me if you have any questions. i work in a chrysler service department. i know the "ins" and "oust" of warranty and regular repairs pretty good.
hope it gets sorted

[cuzican]

Thanks for all the advice. I drove past the dealership today and the jeep was not on the lot where it was parked a few days ago. Not sure if its in the shop or...

Guess I'll find out more on Tuesday.

[vantagetes]

thanks for painting all chrysler dealers with the same brush. i will admit some dealer service departments are less honest then others. but i know some do their best to help their customers.

Well there's always exceptions to the rules however the few I and my business partner have dealt with have not been those ones. Send Rubicon in for alignment, came back with a broken VSS sensor which they are saying had nothing to do with them. Send 2500 in for a warranty ujoint on rear driveshaft that was squealing like a stuck pig (non serviceable ujoint), came back with a shiny new FRONT drive shaft and the same squeak. Mind you in this case as it was warranty it was free, but I had to get a loaner truck for a second day while I took to back so they could replace the rear one as I had requested in the first place. They finally did and guess what, no squeak! Sent the TJ in for axle bearings, they lasted a month. Took it back a second time under warranty, third time, fourth time. Took it apart and guess what? They were being pressed in crooked. Dealer wanted to replace axle at his cost 

A call to corporate had them fix everything on their time, plus a refund for first repair, plus a very red faced service manager ask him never to come back (not that anyone would after all of that).

hps4evr is right however, it IS unfair to say they are all like that. Maybe we just suck at picking dealerships and have only been to the few bad ones.

[hps4evr]

i will admit there are a few that dont play fair. but your experiences wouldnt fly in my shop. the techs we have would hang the person that pulled that sort of thing, nevermind management dealing with the person.
ive only worked in 1 chrysler dealer and i can only imagine what the others are like. we have the odd issue too but are up front and honest about how problems will be dealt with. your best bet is to get friendly with the service manager.
either way, good luck on your next visit.

[cuzican]

So today I got my TJ back. Dealer installed replacement power steering lines.

At time of pick up Service Manager indicated there were issues with the coil for number three cylinder and jeep missed occasionally while driving. Along with the power steering hoses they had also lost my spare clutch parts and my license plate.

Both these items were quite interesting as the SM indicated the clutch was toast and the vehicle had been towed in without a license plate and not operable due to failed transmission. I had driven the vehicle in and when they identified that the transmission was toast I asked them to provide an estimate to replace clutch while transmission was being replaced - I would take old parts for another jeep. I was further surprised when the SM started arguing with me that I was wrong and the jeep had been towed in.

Appears during the 3 months at the shop the brand new battery became toast - according to the technician batteries don't last if vehicles aren't driven daily and it is a known condition and that they calcify? or something like that. I expect they ran it flat during testing and then pushed it outside to let it freeze - guess I'll find out for sure when I bring it in for warranty replacement.

Jeep had to be jump started and immediately a tick was evident. Apparently this was the coil but now on number 6 and was related to a failed part due to age and weathering. The jeep was brought in due to an engine tick and there was nothing on the service report that indicated any tick related to ignition coil at time it was evaluated - I would have expected if an ignition coil was an issue at that point the dealer would have identified a need for me to replace before further diagnosis of the engine could be completed.

Apparently the coil and misfire is my issue as a replacement engine under warranty does not include ensuring it is tuned properly - according to SM components are just swapped and the engine is confirmed to run then it is turned back to the customer.

I was also advised that I had to pay extra to have a new clutch installed over having the old one reinstalled as the new one required additional effort to dial in - I believe this was identified to be in the order of 1.5 hours.

I asked about warranty and was advised that the new engine and transmission were indeed direct from Jeep however replacement engines and transmissions only receive a three month warranty - WOW.

So where am I now - a very dissatisfied receiver of a Jeep warranty repair.  I was advised by the SM that I should be very appreciative of what they did for me because they could have left me with a ruined engine. I have to evaluate my optionos (1) suck it up and complete repairs my self at my cost so I can drive jeep, (2) plaster big signs on my fleet of 9 vehicles and park them in front of dealer for a few weeks, (3) write Chrysler and express my dissatisfaction with dealer, (4) ....

However, I guess I should be happy they refused to upgrade the warranty replacement engine to a Mopar 4.7 stroker with me offering to pay the difference - would have sucked to be in the same spot and $6K poorer.

Is there more to the story - this vehicle was a leaseback from Chrysler sold to me by a Chrysler dealer with a complete perfect dealer inspection. Purchase was Fall 2010. I had some slight concerns regarding engine and tranny at time of purchase and confirmed with dealer that warranty would cover any issues. Mileage is 80,000 km and warranty ended in April.

Diagnosis tranny was toast and engine had a bent rod.

They also refused to check my diffs before the warranty was up and then indicated it would not have mattered if there was a warranty issue with diffs as they would not have replaced them under warranty - verbally indicated I was already having enough done. They then expressed displeasure that I decided not to have them service the diffs - go figure.

Anyway thanks for reading - my rant has helped to dissipate some of my anger. Guess I gotta be happy - I have my baby back.

[BlackYJ]

Wow that sucks 

[vantagetes]

Go with 3) it usually gets decent results. If that doesn't work go with option 4) and tell everyone possible to never deal with that dealership again.

[hps4evr]

go with 3. that is frickin' shitty man. if you dont want to tell us which dealer it is please PM me. id really like to know. none of what they told you makes sense. it sounds like a real crappy mechanic "worked" on your jeep and the service manager is covering up his/her mistakes. ugh. this is the sort of thing that gives every shop out there a bad name.
i dont blame you for losing complete confidance in your dealership. i hope you have another one in your area.

[cuzican]

Over the last few weeks I have been chugging along installing the Metalcloak fenders and other parts on the TJ.

Replaced the coil pack as suggested by service manager and mechanic. No change.

Took a stethoscope to the engine and compared to my 2005 TJ - side by side. Huge difference in noise from oil pump drive. Bought a new one and installed. Slightly better but TJ still ticking and stalling. Stethoscope proved oil pump drive to be quieter.

One thing stood out when I installed the oil pump drive - I had to set TDC for cyl 1 and when I pulled the plug it was old. Service manager had told me the engine came complete with plugs and they just transferred other things over. Maybe I misheard or he was mistaken. Anyhow I installed new plugs and voila tick and stalling gone.

So engine seems to be running better but appears I have a leak at rear main seal. Wanted to make sure so I cleaned it off and then ran it for another 10 minutes - drip formed again.

Also seems to be a dent in edge on bottom of oil filter that may be weeping slightly - likely accidentally bumped something while they were lowering the engine in.

I've been dragging my heels, but now it looks like it's got to go back to the dealer for the rear main seal - with less than 100km on new engine.