Mopar Dealer Service Department - Am I Correct To Be Pissed Off???

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ocdart

Inland Mopars Car Club
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Please bear with me for a long post with all the details.
This is about my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab:
If I don't have the AC running I usually drive around town with both drivers-side windows open for ventilation without too much wind circulation inside the cab.
Six days ago I was getting on the freeway so turned on the AC and hit the window controls to raise both windows. The front door window raises normally but the rear window only comes up about 20% and then I hear something snap and the window stops coming up. When I stop, I found I could manually pull the window up without any problem but gravity pulled it right back down. I could still hear the electric motor run if I clicked the window control button.
Not having any experience with electric window repair I decided to take my truck into the factory dealership close to my work.
I made an appointment online for early the next morning, took my truck in and dropped it off. The Service Advisor tells me they'll check it out and call me. They also tell me the "check it out" cost will be $185 but that will go toward the repair if I decide to go forward.
Mid-afternoon I get a call from the Service Advisor telling me, "...the cable that lifts the window snapped and we have to replace the complete assembly" and he quotes me over $900 for the repair. Oh yeah, and they don't have the parts, thought they could get them from another local dealership, sent their driver out, but the other dealerships computer records were incorrect and they didn't have them, also checked out aftermarket parts online without success so ordered the parts and they'll be in in 2-3 days.
So I wait four days without any communication from the dealer. I call about mid-morning but could only leave a voicemail message for the Service Advisor asking for a callback and an update on the repair parts. I waited a couple of hours without any reply.
I've been driving around now for five days with an open rear window and having to put a trash bag over the door whenever I park to plug to big open window hole from the weather.
Not wanting to go through the weekend like this I called around and found a local auto glass repair that quoted me $250 to come out to me and do the repair at my work. I told them what the dealership diagnosed but they're certain they can do the repair.
They come out and take close to two hours working in the parking lot but complete the repair.
Turns out the issue was caused by a "plastic cable guide block" that had worn and let the cable jump out of the track. The technician told me it's a very common problem on almost all brands of vehicles. He carries a bunch of the repair parts on his service truck.
So, am I correct in feeling like the dealership never even pulled the interior door panel to check out the actual repair entailed and just quoted me a huge price for parts and service that were not actually needed? I feel like I was about to get f**ked without even a movie or dinner first.
What say you FABO?
And who do I complain to?
 
You could try dodge, fiat, what ever they are now. I doubt anyone at the speakership will give a crap. My experience has been if it is not an under warranty issue they simply don't care.
 
Did you pay the dealer $185 to check it out?
 
There are many horror stories about Dodge dealers.
I ran my 01 3500 out of fuel, didn't know the fuel sender went bad.
Took it to the dealer and they wanted 5K to replace the injector pump.
Took it to a respected mechanic and 2 hours later he primed it and it was running.
 
No. When I went in to pick up my truck I asked what I owed pending receipt of the repair parts and the Service Advisor waved me off.

Then I don't think you really have room to *****. Most times a ***** is involved, you're out something. you didn't get charged. Still sounds kinda shady nonetheless.
 
Anytime i have had anything to do with those cable type regulators,patching them always results in a comeback. The aftermarket ones seem to work just fine.
Im suprised dealer charges 185 to check it out,most regulators take about 1 hour to replace. But they apply it to the repair.
Dealer shop rates now are insane,and they add 15% to 20% surcharges on top of their hourly. Oe parts have always been outrageous.
 
There are 3 local-ish dealers to me. I have gotten absolutely terrible service from two. Good luck with anything you get from calling the customer care line at Fiat/Chrysler. They have no clue what dealers are doing, nor do they seem to care. Left hand doesn't not talk to the right. I've been extremely unimpressed.

Glad you got it taken care of at a reasonable price.
 
They did not bother to look at it.
I took my wife's Jeep in for oil change and tire rotation.
They said it also needed a cabin air filter and an engine air filter, and extra $100, I said no way.
On the way home stopped at a local auto parts store, picked up both filters $35 and put them in my self.
The cabin air filter was nasty, the engine filter was still clean.
There in no way the tech checked the engine filter because its a sob to get out, and the dust was not even disturbed on the filter housing.
The service manager can only go off the word of the tech, who most of the time is on flat rate, so the tech not doing their job, actually is making money.

A good friend of mine, worked for chrysler in the late 80's as a mechanic, when chrysler was having all the head issues on the 2.2 engines, he found a way to beat the labor rate, by not removing the head all the way off the car, he just lifted it enough to slide the old gasket out, and a new gasket in.
He also said only about 1 in 10 came back with a cracked head, but he saved a 1/2 day in labor by not removing the head.
He was on flat rate, so that was a 1/2 days wages in his pocket.
 
This is what I would have done...
I copied and pasted from your first post the year make and model along with window regulator and it popped up the $99 part and the YouTube video to show how to do it... I've done this on a friend's mom's four-door Jaguar and it took a 10 mm wrench a Phillips screwdriver and I think that was about it...
Here's my screenshot...
Screenshot_20210731-194417.png
 
It's not just Stealerships, it's all service companies.

Yesterday I had an HVAC guy (small, local company) do a service on my home A/C. Hadn't done anything but change the filter since we bought the house 4 years ago.

He shows me a photo of where he reached his phone in the filter slot and took a Pic of a lot of dirt on the evap coil. So I say, go ahead and clean it. Oh, it would cost just as much to clean it as replacement cause we have to unsolder and disconnect wiring as well as remove ducts. So I sent him on his way.

Today I spent an hour and a half to thoroughly clean the coil. Yes, it was a pain in the azz but I did it. But, no need to unsolder or disconnect wiring. I did have to remove a large return duct to get access.. And...I have no idea how we had any cool air it was THAT damn dirty!!

EVERYONE is out to steal our hard earned money. :mad:
 
Please bear with me for a long post with all the details.
This is about my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab:
If I don't have the AC running I usually drive around town with both drivers-side windows open for ventilation without too much wind circulation inside the cab.
Six days ago I was getting on the freeway so turned on the AC and hit the window controls to raise both windows. The front door window raises normally but the rear window only comes up about 20% and then I hear something snap and the window stops coming up. When I stop, I found I could manually pull the window up without any problem but gravity pulled it right back down. I could still hear the electric motor run if I clicked the window control button.
Not having any experience with electric window repair I decided to take my truck into the factory dealership close to my work.
I made an appointment online for early the next morning, took my truck in and dropped it off. The Service Advisor tells me they'll check it out and call me. They also tell me the "check it out" cost will be $185 but that will go toward the repair if I decide to go forward.
Mid-afternoon I get a call from the Service Advisor telling me, "...the cable that lifts the window snapped and we have to replace the complete assembly" and he quotes me over $900 for the repair. Oh yeah, and they don't have the parts, thought they could get them from another local dealership, sent their driver out, but the other dealerships computer records were incorrect and they didn't have them, also checked out aftermarket parts online without success so ordered the parts and they'll be in in 2-3 days.
So I wait four days without any communication from the dealer. I call about mid-morning but could only leave a voicemail message for the Service Advisor asking for a callback and an update on the repair parts. I waited a couple of hours without any reply.
I've been driving around now for five days with an open rear window and having to put a trash bag over the door whenever I park to plug to big open window hole from the weather.
Not wanting to go through the weekend like this I called around and found a local auto glass repair that quoted me $250 to come out to me and do the repair at my work. I told them what the dealership diagnosed but they're certain they can do the repair.
They come out and take close to two hours working in the parking lot but complete the repair.
Turns out the issue was caused by a "plastic cable guide block" that had worn and let the cable jump out of the track. The technician told me it's a very common problem on almost all brands of vehicles. He carries a bunch of the repair parts on his service truck.
So, am I correct in feeling like the dealership never even pulled the interior door panel to check out the actual repair entailed and just quoted me a huge price for parts and service that were not actually needed? I feel like I was about to get f**ked without even a movie or dinner first.
What say you FABO?
And who do I complain to?
I worked at a Dodge dealer for a few years after I got out of the Army.
I mostly worked in the parts dept, but I wrote service as well.
The part not being at the other dealer was a pretty common thing. Especially if they were going off of the locator info alone.
It used to be that the techs and service writers couldn't access that. They decided that the parts dept was lying to them, so they were granted access to the locator.
So instead of calling and verifying that another has that part and it isn't ordered for someone else, they just send a runner after it bypassing the parts room.
As for the the part, yeah a Mopar window regulator is two things.
1. a common failure part and,
2. expensive.
Mopar does not service any component parts for a window regulator.
Dealer agreements prevent the service dept from calling a sublet glass service out to repair these. Can't hang aftermarket parts either. This done due to warranty issues.
Should the service dept called you back? Hell yeah they should have. That was the #1 reason the owner of the dealer I worked at refused to have voice mail on the phone system. He was right when he said it would give certain employees something to hide behind.
It's one thing to be busy and be able to answer the phones, it was another to just ignore customers. If you called our place and couldn't get an answer, it always rang back to the girls in the office and they would take a message. Trust me, they would rat anyone who didn't take their calls out.
Did the dealer not pull the molding back? Probably not, but you weren't charged for it, so what's the problem? You don't have to look at a wiper pivot on an A body to know the bushing broke, these techs have seen the problem enough to know the regulators go bad. The problem is almost always the cable jumps off it's guide because the plastic guide cracked and broke.
Where you getting fucked?
I doubt it, the regulator comes as an assembly with a motor. It's about $150 labor is probably 4 or 5 hours flat rate.
The dealer correctly diagnosed the issue, this was confirmed by your glass man. Your glass man was probably able to repair the regulator while it was still on the door. Something the dealership can't do.
I don't know what the dealers flat rate is, but the dealer near me is at $250 a flat rate hour. If the dealer you were at was going to charge $185 for check out, I'd say their flat rate is $185 an hour.
You may not like it, but that's just how it is.
You can complain all you want, but it isn't going to change a thing.
Dealers are bound to agreements, all of which were changed to benefit Chrysler in 2009.
So in the end, what is your complaint? That you weren't charged an hour check out time? That a component part isn't available cheaper? That the dealer wasn't willing to violate their dealer agreement?
The only ***** you have is that the service advisor didn't return your call and that is unprofessional.
Don't worry, the parts dept will call you asking when your want to get the regulator installed. When that happens, ask to speak with the parts manager. Let him know what happened. I guarantee he'll raise hell with the service mgr when they have to eat a part or pay a restock fee.
 
and this is why i have a garage full of tools :rolleyes: almost everyone has had this crap. 10 years ago when i bought the 87' ranger for my daughter to use for school, the cruse control keypad on the steering wheel was shot. i didn't want to screw with it and took it to the dealer. no problem there, but the serv rep tells me the tech said the front brakes are 80% gone and i should do them soon. i tell him i had just replaced the rotors and pads 12 hours earlier and maybe he should talk to his guy about it. he just shrugged his shoulders...:realcrazy:
 
[QUOTE="sireland67, post: 1973551750, member: 17241"... by not removing the head all the way off the car, he just lifted it enough to slide the old gasket out, and a new gasket in.
...[/QUOTE]
Ha that's how I did the 3.x transverse V6 in the FWD New Yorker we had ! If the heads were warped, the car was gonna get **** canned anyway per my Dad.
Our 2012 Grand caravan is on its almost 3rd regulator, both sides and now the passenger side AGAIN but this time it was just the broken plastic rail piece. the cable popped out but seemed to have popped back in as I didnt see any issue when I pulled the thing out. I can R&R those in about 30 minutes now. and they are only $45 on Amazon. every time I do one I break 2-3 of those pop rivets that hold the door panel on. Vatozone doesnt stock the right ones, the Chrysler ones are not correct and the Jeep ones are to skinny.
 
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[QUOTE="sireland67, post: 1973551750, member: 17241"... by not removing the head all the way off the car, he just lifted it enough to slide the old gasket out, and a new gasket in.
...
Ha that's how I did the 3.x transverse V6 in the FWD New Yorker we had ! If the heads were warped, the car was gonna get **** canned anyway per my Dad.[/QUOTE]
Those 3.0 sideways v-6's were a sob to work on, I was given one one time, nice car, but had a little noise in the bottom end.
Put a set of bearings in the bottom end, while still in the car, fun times.
Also put a water pump in one in my girlfriends car, total pain.
 
^^ that car was a rocket ship and the seats were like leather pillows. For a 3.0, that car rocked, and I remember that water pump too, with that pipe that went down the cam valley? Had the lamest fake wire rims on it, the hub stuck out about 4 inches and they were noisy. WTF?
 
A good friend of mine, worked for chrysler in the late 80's as a mechanic, when chrysler was having all the head issues on the 2.2 engines, he found a way to beat the labor rate, by not removing the head all the way off the car, he just lifted it enough to slide the old gasket out, and a new gasket in.
He also said only about 1 in 10 came back with a cracked head, but he saved a 1/2 day in labor by not removing the head.
He was on flat rate, so that was a 1/2 days wages in his pocket.
We were doing this with 2.2l & 2.5's and again later on with the 2.0's in Neons.
The heads were never damaged, the gaskets were crap and we were getting paid 4hrs flat rate by Chrysler. I had techs that were turning 4 of these out a day and getting paid 16hrs flat rate in a 8 hr day.
It's not just Chrysler either. When I was at a Ford Dealer, they have a recall on the clutch of Fusions. It pays 12hrs per warranty time. We had a tech that could change 1 and half a day. So every 2 days he was knocking out 3 cars. 36hrs in 2 days, over 70 hours in a 40 hour week.
There's nothing wrong with that at all. Skill and experience accounts for something. There is no overtime in the flat rate world.
 
@gunbunny , he said the service department told him:

"...the cable that lifts the window snapped and we have to replace the complete assembly"

The cable didn't snap...and it's not an assembly. 2 flat out lies.
 
Glad I'm not in that business any more. Sounds like they were out to make a quick buck. Charging a diagnostic charge is one thing. They obviously didn't do it but didn't charge you for it either. It would be interesting to see if they would have done the clip repair but charged you for the complete module. This whole thing could have happened at the service desk and a tech never saw the truck.
 
@gunbunny , he said the service department told him:

"...the cable that lifts the window snapped and we have to replace the complete assembly"

The cable didn't snap...and it's not an assembly. 2 flat out lies.
Yes it is an assembly, mopar doesn't service it any other way. Jpar posted a picture of the damn thing, how is that not an assembly? And the cable snaps out of it's track.
I've seen it happen more times than I care to admit.
There was never a mention of the cable snapping in two. The guides literally snap in two pieces and the cable snaps out of its track. Usually they end up frayed so bad from tension, they aren't serviceable.
 
Sounds like the same thing I've had happen with my reclining sofa. It even happened to our 2 week old loveseat.

I thought he meant he was told the cable snapped in half.
 
I've done the window regulator a couple times on a Ford Expedition, not a terribly difficult task, I can do it in about 40 minutes, likely that there isn't a big difference between makes since they all seem to have adopted a similar system.

As for the dealership, I've heard a few horror stories about work not being done, but the owner being charged anyway. In one instance, while the car's owner went into the service department, her father tied a small string from the rear bumper to a nearby post. After a few hours, the owner got a phone call from the service advisor telling her that her car was ready to go, and the total for the service was a few hundred dollars. When her father dropped her off at the service department to pay the bill and get her keys back, he went to find the car in the lot. Wouldn't you know it, the car was parked in the same place my friend had left it in the morning. So her dad gets out of his car, walks around the back of her car, and the string is still attached.

Second incident involved my first wife's parents and the same dealership. My in laws had a Chevy C10 with a 4.3 V6 that was running rough and had become very hard on fuel, so they decided to take it in for a tune up. I offered to do it for them, but they preferred to take it to the dealer. They dropped it off, left it there for a day, paid around $250.00 when they picked it up the following day, and it still ran poorly and continued to suck fuel. I asked them if they would mind if I took a look at it, and they agreed. I popped the hood, and immediately saw that nothing had been touched as everything was still covered in a heavy layer of dust, (they lived on a farm). I asked to see the work order to see what they were charged for, it included plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, fuel filter, air filter, etc. All plugs and wires were still the originals, and the screws on the distributor cap were seized in the housing. After I replaced everything that the dealership was supposed to have done, the truck ran like new again, and the fuel economy nearly doubled. My in laws went back to the dealer who initially refused to refund their money until they showed them all of the old parts I had taken out and threatened to sue.
 
No. When I went in to pick up my truck I asked what I owed pending receipt of the repair parts and the Service Advisor waved me off.

I have a feeling they tried to make things right by not asking for any monies.... Your story is exactly why I have started working on my Outboard stuff. And I have no idea what I will do when the day comes that I am not able to work on my own vehicles.

The good news is the cost was less than you were expecting and it's fixed....

JW
 
Dealership tells customer to bend over.
Customer asks HOW FAR!
Dealership does not figure in inches or feet, just big big big dollars!\
Sad.
 
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