I need to rant on dealer service techs

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dpinvidic

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Sorry, but I need to blow off some steam. In general, I hate taking a car to the dealer because the techs are usually in a hurry to get stuff out.

Today I had to take my 2014 RAM (1,700miles) into the dealer for a intermittent "Battery Low" message when the air suspension runs.
I was confident there was nothing wrong with the battery, but was hoping they could see something with their scan tool.

The system worked fine at the dealer. So the tech simply cleans the battery terminals. These things DID NOT NEED CLEANING. When I took delivery of the new truck I had prayed them with corrosion protectant. They were perfect.

Anyway, when I look under the hood tonight, the tech had lost the rubber cap that goes over the positive terminal. This cap helps to prevent accidental shorts. I just don't get it.

I bet there are enough "left off parts" at the dealers to build a complete vehicle.

We also have a Lexus. They have a replaceable oil filter element which goes inside of a screw-on shell. The engineers did a great thing where they provided a cap at the bottom that you can unscrew and drain out the oil before you remove the filter. Really keeps the mess down. On the only two different times that the dealer changed the oil, they took a short cut, and put the wrench on the cap to tighten the whole filter assembly. So when I try to unscrew the plug when I change the oil, the whole darn filter comes lose because they tightened the drain cap way too tight.

AND THAT is why I hate dealer service shops......:favorites68:

Anybody got similar stories???

Thanks for letting me rant.

Dan
 

Rockgt302

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I had bought a 2013 SHO, 712 miles engine blew. 1 month to repair. Next the torque converter went a day after getting it back, down a week. I get it back and a week later it's creaking and making some weird other noise. I bring it in and they blame my aftermarket springs. Not the springs. I give a bad survey and they want to look at it again. Bring it back and they again blame the springs and want to replace the strut mount, but void the warranty on my suspension. Bring it to a different dealer, they re torque the whole front sub frame, wasn't installed properly when the engine was changed. Creak gone, old dealer says sorry and offers a free oil change. Still making weird noise, filed for lemon law after it's been down for a total of 51 days. They look at it again and verify the weird noise but can't figure it out. So we hit them with days down, fail to repair and 4+ attempts to correct. Ford makes final attempt, took 31 days. Issues, missing turbo heat shields, transfer case needed to be rebuilt do improper torque down and misaligned, 4 bolts missing from bell housing, ac lines ran incorrectly, tranny cooling lines frayed due to not being bolted down, motor mount installed upside down, 18 other bolts missing.
Talk about extra parts left over. Needless to say ford repurchased the car after that.
 
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dpinvidic

dpinvidic

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Wow...now I don't feel so bad.

Did you buy another ford? I think most of the cars are built well, it is when the dealer gets their hands on them. Parts scattered all over the work area, etc....

Dan
 

CAP LOCK KID

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I had bought a 2013 SHO, 712 miles engine blew. 1 month to repair. Next the torque converter went a day after getting it back, down a week. I get it back and a week later it's creaking and making some weird other noise. I bring it in and they blame my aftermarket springs. Not the springs. I give a bad survey and they want to look at it again. Bring it back and they again blame the springs and want to replace the strut mount, but void the warranty on my suspension. Bring it to a different dealer, they re torque the whole front sub frame, wasn't installed properly when the engine was changed. Creak gone, old dealer says sorry and offers a free oil change. Still making weird noise, filed for lemon law after it's been down for a total of 51 days. They look at it again and verify the weird noise but can't figure it out. So we hit them with days down, fail to repair and 4+ attempts to correct. Ford makes final attempt, took 31 days. Issues, missing turbo heat shields, transfer case needed to be rebuilt do improper torque down and misaligned, 4 bolts missing from bell housing, ac lines ran incorrectly, tranny cooling lines frayed due to not being bolted down, motor mount installed upside down, 18 other bolts missing.
Talk about extra parts left over. Needless to say ford repurchased the car after that.

:jawdrop: Not much to say after that one..... i'm glad i can talk with my service advisers and am generally happy with the service i get.
 

smiley

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I have been to three different dealers spanning about 300 miles and about 4.5 hours from first one the to last one and all of them left me feeling less than confident. I really really hate the blame game and when they play it I seriously will not return. Dealers love to blame aftermarket parts. Funny thing is many of the aftermarket are the same as OEM but instead of saying their name it will say vendor code. Well I guess that was what caused the completely unrelated issue why did I not think of that. Dealers are a shame.


$miley
 
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dpinvidic

dpinvidic

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:jawdrop: Not much to say after that one..... i'm glad i can talk with my service advisers and am generally happy with the service i get.

I should make a separate thread about "Service Advisors". They are just the middle man, similar to the car sales man. Salesman has to get the sales manager to make the final decision on price. The Service advisor just writes down what you say, looks up any recalls on the computer, and tries to sell you an oil change. I am sure a good mechanic would probably have a couple more questions to help narrow down certain symptoms, so it is really nice to be able to talk to the guy who does the work (and leaves off the parts:baby:.

Dan
 

Rockgt302

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No I did not buy another ford, I bought my Ram. At first I was going to take a replacement SHO or an Explorer sport. Ford started playing to many games with me during the time I asked for another vehicle and refusal to repurchase. My attorney then filed for arbitration and then Ford tried to convince the arbitration board not to take the case as I wasn't entitled to the lemon law be caused they reimbursed me my first months payment due to the engine failure. Well they lost. So I said F. U Ck Ford at that point and didn't take another one.
I like ford cars, I do like the ram better then the F150. The SHO was an unbelievable car, I just got the one with the bad engine, the new engine was fine, took a tune well(glad I didn't the first one yet, they would of probably blamed that for the failure). The explorer spot is awesome, tune and CAI that SUV is in the high 12s.
Will see what's new in 3 years when my lease is up, I'll either buy out the ram and get a toy or who knows.
 

The Crow 1994

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I know with Chevy, if you hammer them on their dealership service department review, that tends to open up their eyes a little more. I had an issue with my wife's 2010 Equinox (Navigation kept placing our vehicle in Washington, DC), so I took it to the dealer where we bought it. There was a bulletin out for this fix already, so it should have been a simple flash of the computer. Well, the technician never fully completed all the steps of the flash, so the issue arouse again the very next day. I gave them low scores on their review, which prompted the service manage to call me the very next day begging and pleading with me to come back in so they could make it right. When I showed up for my appointment, I was treated like a king. I wasn't very happy that I had to take my wife's vehicle back into the dealership to get it "fixed" again, but at least I know the surveys that are sent out via email have some merit in getting things done.
 

Sybil

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The only time I go to the dealer is for a warranty issue or a part(mud flaps) otherwise, no way!
 

SJC

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Wow. Sounds like all you guys are perfect.
 

loveracing1988

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And somehow what you said is useful??? Not everyone has a crappy service department around them.

From what I have found almost all service departments are crappy. The reason I left ford for ram was the fact that no one would fix my car. Everytime I would bring my car to the dealer they could never find a problem. Now the nearest dealer to us that we go to fixes everything or at least tries.
 

CKH

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I've only had issues with one dealership, a Suzuki dealership that We have to take my wife's 2006 Grand Vitara to. I know, I know, It's a fine automobile, too good to sell in America anymore!

Every time we have to take her car there, it is a freaking nightmare. One example is the blend door actuator failed. While replacing it, the tech noticed the rod that attaches to the door was bent so he bent it back straight and didn't say anything to us about it. Of course, it breaks 2 days later and we take it back. They wanted to charge $85 for an hour labor to replace the $4 part. I had to go round and round with the service manager, I told him that was half ass work when the tech bent it and it should have been done right the first time. He said the tech was trying to save us some money. I said, well now you want to charge me a ****load of money for a 10 minute job on a 4 dollar part. Ended up getting the part and having it installed for free in the end.

Took the same car in for a recall on a belt tensioner. I go to change the oil a few days later and when I opened the hood, the old tensioner was sitting there near the hood latch. Glad it didn't fall into the engine bay and cause havoc as my wife was driving.

Unfortunately, because of the way techs get paid, there will always be someone cutting corners to save time and move on to the next job. Not all techs are bad, I know some really good ones.
 

CAP LOCK KID

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I should make a separate thread about "Service Advisors". They are just the middle man, similar to the car sales man. Salesman has to get the sales manager to make the final decision on price. The Service advisor just writes down what you say, looks up any recalls on the computer, and tries to sell you an oil change. I am sure a good mechanic would probably have a couple more questions to help narrow down certain symptoms, so it is really nice to be able to talk to the guy who does the work (and leaves off the parts:baby:.

Dan

You are correct and i will add that in my case, i can usually talk with the tech that worked on my truck. At my last visit, he came out and spent 5 min explaining what he did and what could cause it and what to watch for.

Again, hit an miss at all service locations... there are good and bad ones at most locations.
 
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dpinvidic

dpinvidic

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From what I have found almost all service departments are crappy. The reason I left ford for ram was the fact that no one would fix my car. Everytime I would bring my car to the dealer they could never find a problem. Now the nearest dealer to us that we go to fixes everything or at least tries.

It all comes down to $$$. The more tickets that a tech can push though in a day, the happier his service manager is. Social media is a PLUS for the consumer because we can post the bad things that happen, but many car owners will never notice that the tech bent something to get it out of the way because it was faster than removing it.
I sort of feel sorry for the techs, they very seldom even get a Thank You from the customers because they never see them. All they get is their boss telling them they have to hurry so they can get the next car in.

Dan
 

mangus2k13ram

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We also have a Lexus. They have a replaceable oil filter element which goes inside of a screw-on shell. The engineers did a great thing where they provided a cap at the bottom that you can unscrew and drain out the oil before you remove the filter. Really keeps the mess down. On the only two different times that the dealer changed the oil, they took a short cut, and put the wrench on the cap to tighten the whole filter assembly. So when I try to unscrew the plug when I change the oil, the whole darn filter comes lose because they tightened the drain cap way too tight.

I work in a shop and I would have to say that it is not due to being over tight. Those cartridge filter caps are aluminum, seize up all the time. Some of them are plastic. I've never had an issue with the plastic ones. GM even has the same issue on the Opel designed 3.0l v6 in saturns and 3.6l v6 in the camaro and cts. What I think that happens is whoever does it, does not lube the gasket and threads. When I do cartridge filters I lube the hell out of it.
 

SJC

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If you don't have something useful to say, keep it to yourself. I guess you will just take it up the a$$ from the dealer and be thankful for it.


Every thread in this place is full of perfect people. I've never seen so many in one place.

Im a tech and service writer, not for a dealership but a large hometown automotive shop. We see approximately 30 or more cars a day. We are all human and mistakes and situations arise where problems don't get fixed. Remember you too are human. They aren't there to screw you and reputation is huge in this type of industry. The main problem you see with dealerships is the fact that they are owned by a corporation. They can't make some decisions without having to jump through A LOT of hoops. Fortunate for me I am
Able to make a decision without having to get an ok from someone else.

I find it hard to believe all the horror story's that seem to show up about what dealers tear up and the things people have to go through to get the problem fixed.

How's that for useful?
 

bartlett

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I like the guys like rock302.... ***** about a motor blowing up and how ford is to blame waaa waaa... then you read his other posts and he is bragging his 12second drag times how well they tune ect ect ... dealers should start reading more, then when these guys come in and whine about broken parts just point at the door !
 

Rockgt302

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I like the guys like rock302.... ***** about a motor blowing up and how ford is to blame waaa waaa... then you read his other posts and he is bragging his 12second drag times how well they tune ect ect ... dealers should start reading more, then when these guys come in and whine about broken parts just point at the door !

I guess your reading comprehension is a little off. My motor blew in the first few days of owning the vehicle, 700 miles, before a tune was even in. Who would tune a vehicle before it's broken in. All the issues with my car were 100% ford problem. First, they acknowledged a bad engine as their procedure for checking the issue with the #6 cylinder. All the issues I had after that were due to improper engine install and missing parts. If it was my fault, ford would not have repurchased the vehicle. If I was wrong I would of eaten it.
So as you said the dealers should read more, so should you a$$hole.
 
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