Service Department - Warranty Work Problems

[TonyCA]

I am absolutely loving my truck, but I cannot stand the service departments I've dealt with for warranty work. I'm wondering if this is a common occurrence for everyone or if I'm just lucky enough to live in an area with bad dealerships (Nashville/Murfreesboro, TN).

To give you a sense of the service I'm getting:
I have two issues I want addressed: 1) is an intermittent Charging System warning I keep receiving via email. I wanted them to run a scan to see if any codes were thrown. 2) I had a seat belt tensioner replaced under warranty and it is still basically unusable. I asked them to see if they can adjust it or order a replacement.

First dealer (where I bought my truck) scheduled me for 2 weeks out for a Friday 10am drop off. I brought my truck in and they had told me over the phone it would only take a couple hours to diagnose, but now they're saying I need to leave it until Monday before that can *maybe* take a look at it. I asked if I could bring it back Monday AM and was told that I would lose my place in line and that would push it out even further. I told them I'd go elsewhere.

I called another local dealer, they had availability and when they found out it was for warranty work they said it would be at least 8 weeks before they could schedule me.

I called a third local dealer, they scheduled me for 2 weeks out and said they would need to keep the truck for 3 to 4 weeks to diagnose it before they could tell me the results of the diagnostics.

Also, if anyone has specific recommendations for a service department near me, I would love to hear it.

 

[Loudram]

Sadly, your experience is far too common. I've only dealt with the dealership a handful of times and they were little recall issues with my last truck so I've been fortunate in that regards.

 

[asgadf/lkjnadsfg]

This is a post COVID problem. Go do a search for this type of thing on the forum, adjusting your search date to pre-December 2019. You're not going to find many posts where people say dealers won't take their trucks, or demand they be left for weeks.

The powers-that-be shut down the economy, scared people into leaving the workforce, and incentivized many more to stay home. There are roughly 2 million people missing from the workforce, and you are feeling that at the dealer as well as everywhere else like the grocery store, restaurants, etc.

I called one local dealer recently and they said to leave my truck with them for three weeks. They also said their "electronics guy" only comes in once a month. I laughed and hung up.

The second dealer I called was normal, said to drop it off and they could get to it in a day.

This is the new American economy.

 

[Cbty2050]

is an intermittent Charging System warning I keep receiving via email. I wanted them to run a scan to see if any codes were thrown

Attached copy of STAR case for concern.

Yes some dealer are awful. I have a friend in the Knoxville area and is a great tech at a Ram dealer(I know doesn't help). He says all the dealers around him are awful, zero customer service skills.

 

[jl13]

Its has been a 50/50 split for me going back to 2012
The best for anything, including warranty work is the one closest to my work.
The one closest to my home i will only do oil changes if i need to do it over the weekend, because if its warranty work they seem to not have an open spot anytime soon or they play the i don't think its cover game.
The second closest to my home i won't even go for a simple oil change.
Another great one is more than an hour away, i stop going there once i started going to the one closest to work
So 2 good ones
2 bad ones.
Good luck on your search for good service dept

 

[SD Rebel]

My selling dealership didn't want to do an oil change because they were too busy and would only do it if my maintenance computer said so. I just get this feeling that they can't be bothered and if they are, it won't be all that great.

I been getting emails to complete my floor mat recall, called 3 different dealer service departments to arrange it, and not one bothered to ever call me back.

I've said this many times on many threads, but Stellantis dealerships are simply swamped for work and it hurts their customer service and even the ability to get simply things done. As much as I love my RAM, this constant unease about the service my truck will get will weigh on my future purchases. I've just never experienced this before, where I don't really trust my dealer to work on my truck.

There is a new RAM dealership opening down the street, I'll give them a try and see if they change my mind.

 

[scottmoyer]

I have heard the same story myself regarding the "place in line". My rear window had a small leak and I asked my local dealer about having it looked at. They said their leak guy comes in on Wednesdays and that I would need to leave the truck. I asked if I could just drop it off on Wednesday and I was told that the guy might not be able to get to mine if it's not already on the property before he gets there.

Needless to say, I used the permatex caulk fix and solved it for myself.

 

[TonyCA]

As much as I love my RAM, this constant unease about the service my truck will get will weigh on my future purchases.

I think this is the part that shocks me the most. One of the dealerships is "Wagoneer certified" and another one is remodeling in order to be. They think having a nicer waiting room is going to attract customers while providing the worst service I've ever seen.

Unless something drastic happens, I'll never buy another Stellantis vehicle regardless of how good it is.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[OCD Solutions]

Which is worse, a dealer that won't book you for weeks or one that will but yet has no trained personel on site capable of doing the work?

A well trained Mopar mechanic is worth their weight in gold but they are few and far between.Thankfully I have a riding buddy that is Mopar certified.

 

[397STROKER]

I don't go to the dealer unless it is something major and is under warranty or a recall. I think most play the game for warranty work. I had Chevy Monte Carlo some years ago and took it to the dealer as it was under warranty and they did the old we did this and it is fixed, but it wasn't fixed. In the end I had to do my own research and find the TSB to fix it and inform them of it. It took 3 trips before it go fixed. I am lucky as I know a lot about cars and can work on my own. Dealerships are usually a crap shoot.

 

[Jako]

I don't go to the dealer unless it is something major and is under warranty or a recall. I think most play the game for warranty work. I had Chevy Monte Carlo some years ago and took it to the dealer as it was under warranty and they did the old we did this and it is fixed, but it wasn't fixed. In the end I had to do my own research and find the TSB to fix it and inform them of it. It took 3 trips before it go fixed. I am lucky as I know a lot about cars and can work on my own. Dealerships are usually a crap shoot.

Makes me laugh and have flashbacks.
Luckily we have access to the TSBs. My dealership did the exact same thing with my Ram for the ANC (2 trips) and tail gate cable. ANC fixed, tail gate cable still has slack no major change.

Part of an old email sent on my service appointment:
To Summarize:
1. ANC TSB 08-056-19
2. Flash: Parktronic System (PTS) Module Updates TSB 08-047-19
3. Tailgate cable TSB 23-032-19

 

[Fatherof3]

I’ve had great experiences with both the Ram dealers near me .
In 2009 we bought a new Grand Caravan and 1 1/2 years later the drivers side rear brake calliper seized . We took it into the dealer to get it looked at on a Friday afternoon , they kept it over the weekend and contacted Chrysler Canada on the Monday then called me to say that they were covering it under warranty because the brakes should never have done that after 1 1/2 years and only 16k .

 

[jl13]

Which is worse, a dealer that won't book you for weeks or one that will but yet has no trained personel on site capable of doing the work?

A well trained Mopar mechanic is worth their weight in gold but they are few and far between.Thankfully I have a riding buddy that is Mopar certified.

good points and true to what is happening out there and not just with mopar/ram