Great truck, lousy service department

schrederman · 10-23-2014, 05:31 PM

I have had my Ram 2500 since July. I am really liking the truck. When I got it, the steering wheel was off to the left about 15 degrees, and it pulled slightly to the left. Within about a week, a problem developed with the ignition key... just that I could not extract the door key from it. I took it to them and left it over night. I got it back with the steering problems not fixed, but I did get a new key.

I needed it so it took me about a week to get it back to them. In the mean time I filled out the on-line survey and was not complimentary... When I pulled back in to give them another shot at it, they seemed to know me by name. Again I left it over night. I picked it up the next day, and the assistant manager wanted to take a ride with me. I could tell immediately they had aligned the front end and centered the wheel. The assistant manager said the tech had said he did nothing to it. After considering letting her out along the side of the road, I asked her what motive I could possibly have for inconveniencing myself by bringing it back, and what motive someone else might have for saying he did nothing to it... She got quiet...

A month later I got an indication that the tire pressure sensor in the left rear wasn't working. I took it in. They had to break the tire down and install a new one. I got it back with a huge screw through the tread... in the tire they had broken down. They told me the indicator would go out in a mile or so. When it didn't I checked it and forum it had 47 psi instead of the recommended 80. Well, $18- to have the tire fixed, and a call to the service manager, with all his sniveling apologies... but... really???

Now, before some Chebby or Blue Oval lover starts chanting their brand loyalty mantras, these are minor problems, and at a good dealership, would have been handled promptly, and without further hassle. My last Blue Oval had a tranny problem they never could find... or fix. Unfortunately the story isn't over... read on...

We went camping this past weekend. We were 5 hours from home when I noticed the steering was a bit funky. The next morning, the steering wheel was about 70 degrees out of whack to the left. From the steering box arm, there is a large rod going to the spindle on the right side. It has a turnbuckle in the middle for centering the steering wheel. There are 2 large jam nuts, one for each side, to lock it down. My son and I looked at this and the jam nuts had backed off about 3/4" each direction. We were within 3 threads of loosing the steering altogether... and probably our lives. I would normally post an

here but this is no laughing matter.

The moral of this story is don't buy a Chrysler product in Weatherford, Texas. I intend to contact Chrysler Corporation about this. I still really love the truck, which, by the way, averaged 14.1 mpg pulling this trip. This dealer's service department, however, needs an overhaul.

Charles Firth · 10-23-2014, 06:18 PM

WOW, what an adventure, kinda takes the fun out of treating yourself to a new ride. Change dealers ,hopefully things will get better. You would think as much as these trucks cost, you would get better service. Just ain't like it used to be.

Chuck "still in Va "

Paul GA · 10-23-2014, 06:30 PM

After dealing with Athens Dodge and Chrysler for five months (six month old Ram) needed tranny replacement, don't expect anything but coverup from Chrysler, and any promises from them, they will deny them later.

rockfordroo · 10-23-2014, 07:13 PM

Don't really want to bash Chrysler, but: I bought my first Chrysler (Grand Caravan) in 1987. Chrysler has always had some great designs; they've been willing to take some chances, some good (Caravan/Town&Country, Intrepid/Concorde/Vision), some bad (Crossfire?). The problem is that somewhere between the design and execution, something gets screwed up with the quality. My 1st 2 Caravans needed new tranny's at 30K. Water pumps at 40K. My '95 Vision's suspension was crap. Shocks, tie rod ends, brakes, etc. It was costing me $2000/yr for the last 5 yrs I owned it. Left front suspension totally COLLAPSED on a turn at 156K in 2004. That did it; called the junk yard and told them to pick it up, I'd bring in the title. Haven't felt the urge to own another one since. Chrysler doesn't seem to have resolved their quality issues. Knowing Fiat's past history (Fix It Again, Tony), I'm doubtful of their recent claims of great quality.

mcnabbwr · 10-23-2014, 07:29 PM

It's a shame that a dealer of any product whether its a vehicle or washing machine can make such an impact with poor service. It's typically not the manufacturers rather than bad representation by a dealer. I have purchased many vehicles, some great experiences others not so good. It all comes down to customer service.

GOTTOYS · 10-23-2014, 07:36 PM

I like the simplicity of my Cummins engine. The whole truck was great for the first 75,000 or so miles. Now it's back to the same old Chrysler...Tailpipe rotted off at muffler, waited forever to get the tie rod and ends replaced under a recall..both front axle u-joints went bad, oil leaks from engine, power steering hoses, transmission and rear axle pinion seal, wind noises, rattles. A good engine too bad it comes in a Chrysler wrapper...I'm talking about a 2010 here with the newest body style, not some obsolete old rust bucket..

schrederman · 10-23-2014, 10:04 PM

My son works for PST Racing at Cresson, TX, and they buy several hundred thousand worth of Viper parts from another dealership every year... wish I'd bought the truck there... He called them today and I'll take it there next Monday. It's a larger dealer, and having a contact there will hopefully help. He said they would actually replace the link under warranty for me... and check the alignment again, even though it doesn't need it. It's a shame that people's lives can be damaged by total negligence, or, dare I say it... Possibly vengeance...? I think the worst part of it all is that I knew the dealer's father back in the '70s when he owned a large Chevy dealership in Ft. Worth.

Again, I don't think I have any real quality issues with the truck... just the service department at this dealership. And, yes, it's kind of taken the shine off my new toy puller...

schrederman · 11-03-2014, 04:57 PM

I went to a different dealership this morning, and got there with 5 ahead of me. Service writer said 3 hour wait... I was gone in an hour and a half... and I know the turnbuckle was torqued properly. The guy that did the work also corrected 2 issues on minor recall list without being asked. He came out and talked to me about it. What a difference...So... maybe the shine's not all gone after all...

**Iwritecode** · 11-04-2014, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul GA

After dealing with Athens Dodge and Chrysler for five months (six month old Ram) needed tranny replacement, don't expect anything but coverup from Chrysler, and any promises from them, they will deny them later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

My 1st 2 Caravans needed new tranny's at 30K.

I have a long list of friends and family that have had tranny problems with Chrysler products. I’ve always stayed away from them for that reason.

ColoradoRick · 11-04-2014, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schrederman

I went to a different dealership this morning, and got there with 5 ahead of me. Service writer said 3 hour wait... I was gone in an hour and a half... and I know the turnbuckle was torqued properly. The guy that did the work also corrected 2 issues on minor recall list without being asked. He came out and talked to me about it. What a difference...So... maybe the shine's not all gone after all...

Great news! Make sure you spread a lot of KUDOS for the new dealership wherever you can (social media, etc.)

schrederman · 11-24-2014, 05:59 PM

Well... I hate to say it but... my steering link came loose Friday... yet again. I didn't use the truck Saturday but got out under it Sunday and straightened the steering wheel again. I didn't have the wrenches required to torque it properly, however, I did tighten it with a large crescent wrench and an 18" pipe wrench. With the crescent trapped on the turnbuckle where it could not turn, I used all I could put on the pipe wrench to tighten both jam nuts... 10 minutes work. If it comes loose, I'm going to demand the link to be replaced. If not... well... I did in 10 minutes what 2 dealers in 3 visits couldn't. My kudos for the second dealer came a bit too quickly...

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