Hood Decal Damage.... Warranty Claim Denied

[TXTONKA]

Hey has anyone had any issues with the hood decal coming off? On my 17 PW I have a couple spots that the decal has just come off. The truck is still covered on the 3 yr / 36K warranty. The dealer originally said it was covered then a month later I am now being told it's not covered.

 

[gofishn]

decal.
anything and everything can mess itup. paint or tape, does notmatter.

 

[Hawkman]

Did they explain why it is not covered under the 36/36 bumper to bumper? I had the “b” pillar tape replaced on my truck twice under warranty. Paint and emblem defect should be covered under the bumper to bumper IMHO.

 

[TXTONKA]

The Dealer said Mopar is claiming the decals are installed by a third-party and not covered. So they sent me told me to call Customer Care. Mopar Customer Care said who ever is approving the claim is blaming the damage on me and to go Dealer shopping to try to find one that will approve the repair.

 

[lowufo]

Go to another dealer if you have that option

 

[Hawkman]

^^^what they said^^^

 

[TXTONKA]

Yea I figured that’s my next step.

 

[Timster]

When I was shopping for my Power Wagon I liked the look without all the badging stickers but it was an extra charge to NOT have it. Now they are telling you it is done by a third party. Sounds to me like it's just more ****** customer care.

 

[crash68]

The Dealer said Mopar is claiming the decals are installed by a third-party and not covered. So they sent me told me to call Customer Care. Mopar Customer Care said who ever is approving the claim is blaming the damage on me and to go Dealer shopping to try to find one that will approve the repair.

Those decals are put on by the Mopar custom shop and according to this article the are covered by the factory warranty. After all the Mopar custom shops are owned and operated by FCA
https://blog.fcanorthamerica.com/2019/06/05/make-it-yours-via-the-mopar-custom-shop/
The Mopar custom shop that does the 1500s in on the North end of the SHAP complex (Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, home of the Gen5 1500).

 

[Kent Paul]

Hey has anyone had any issues with the hood decal coming off? On my 17 PW I have a couple spots that the decal has just come off. The truck is still covered on the 3 yr / 36K warranty. The dealer originally said it was covered then a month later I am now being told it's not covered.

One of the leading causes of vinyl graphic/decal failure is winter weather. Not because it is cold and snowing outside, but because of what comes with it being cold and snowy.

In the winter, there are winter pollutants than can build up over the surface that can cause potential deterioration. In addition to that, there is also the salt and other chemicals placed on the roads that will build up on and deteriorate the decals (especially flat surfaces such as the hood), and even do a number on your paint and undercarriage. It is recommended to wash your vehicle one every 2 weeks or so to prevent this type of damage in these conditions.

Regardless, the warranty work may be done by your local dealer, but it is ultimately not paid out by them. So either they are lazy and just wanted to find a way to deny it, or they have a very legitimate and proven reason to deny it; which they would then be responsible for explaining such reason to you and in detail with the evidence to support their reasoning.

To even state the above information regarding degradation of vinyl in such circumstances is not reason enough. That is called speculation. And it is not your position to prove that anything they mention couldn't have caused the failure or damage, instead, it is their position to not only state what did cause the failure or damage, but then to back this up with hard evidence to prove what they claim.

Write a bad google/yelp/facebook review on the dealer. Add your story and inform that you will be submitting a report to the BBB and filing a claim with the FTC. Call the dealer and speak to the supervisor.

Do this, and they will not care so much to disregard a simple $200 - $300 decal replacement (your cost....their cost would be less); which wouldn't really even affect their bottom line as it would be Mopar Warranty.

However, even if that dealer refuses to do anything. Go to the next dealer, explain the situation and the actions you have and are taking. And they won't give you the same problems.

But don't take any reviews down unless that dealer absolutely makes it right. And if/when they do, then you can "update" the review to still show how it started but to include how it ended and the results of it.

 

[62Blazer]

The Dealer said Mopar is claiming the decals are installed by a third-party and not covered. So they sent me told me to call Customer Care. Mopar Customer Care said who ever is approving the claim is blaming the damage on me and to go Dealer shopping to try to find one that will approve the repair.

That's not true at all. There is either a miscommunication or misunderstanding between the dealership and Mopar. The decals are part of a factory option package. It's not like it is some special dealer installed or other non-factory accessory. You get a Power Wagon from the factory and it comes with the decals unless you order it from the factory without them (I've never seen a new Power Wagon sitting on a lot without the decals).

 

[TXTONKA]

After pushing back at the dealer. It sounds like the warranty service writer just didn’t want to repair it. The service manage is now going to coordinate getting the decal replaced.

Once I have a actual appointment I feel better about the prospects of the repair.

 

[Dgriffi2]

Any pics? Just curious, don’t worry about it if it’s a hassle.

 

[chrisbh17]

After pushing back at the dealer. It sounds like the warranty service writer just didn’t want to repair it. The service manage is now going to coordinate getting the decal replaced.

Once I have a actual appointment I feel better about the prospects of the repair.

Exactly where the system fails the customers. Problem is that no one (read: FCA) wants to do anything about it.

 

[Eddie S]

After pushing back at the dealer. It sounds like the warranty service writer just didn’t want to repair it. The service manage is now going to coordinate getting the decal replaced.

Once I have a actual appointment I feel better about the prospects of the repair.

You had to push back at the dealer for them to warranty a decal / sticker problem????
Because the warranty service writer did not want to repair it????
Man, **** that ****..... i would def be all up in that warranty dudes face...... he doesnt own Dodge..... You can bet your sweet ass if that ********* had a Power Wagon with the decal peeling it would get approved and fixed fast with no questions asked.... Friggin ASSHOLES!!!!

 

[62Blazer]

Sounds like an issue with the particular person at the dealership and not FCA as a company, though I can understand the frustration. I've had some pretty bad experiences with a dealership service department. Many years ago my wife and I both had Chevrolet vehicles and both had to go in for warranty work within a couple months of each other. After having each vehicle for a couple of days to complete the repairs we picked them up and neither made it out of the parking lot before they had an issue. On my wife's new car it had a brake shudder so they replaced the rear rotors. Before pulling out on the road the rear brake caliper fell off because they forgot to tighten the bolts. On my truck there was something wrong in which it thought one of the rear doors was coming open and would start dinging and turn the interior lights on while driving, and several times in the middle of the the night the factory alarm would go off. Again, picked it up after being "fixed" and the issue happeded before getting out of the parking lot. I always wrote down the odometer when dropping them off and neither had any miles on them, meaning they didn't test drive them. Found out the same tech worked on both vehicles........needless to say the service manager got a good thrashing. Wasn't worth the time to talk with the kid service writer and they had no clue about working on a car if you asked for anything other than an oil change.

 

[TXTONKA]

Yea, I think we all have had those experiences with the service Department. On my prior 2013 Ram the track bar bracket recall was not installed properly. When I found that the bracket mounting bolts and compression nuts started coming out, the service writer at local dealer in Wyoming refused to repair it since they did not do the original install. I had to call Mopar multiple times to finally get the dealer to repair the improperly performed recall.

The other thing I have noticed about most the service writers at the Dealerships; most of them know nothing about our trucks or automotive repairs. Many of these guys also get no training from the dealer to properly identify failures and necessary repairs. If the darn computer does not tell them what to do they are lost.

 

[chri5k]

Wonder if these dealers mechanics are on the team system. Back in the day I was a mechanic at a Ford dealer. Each mechanic was responsible for his own repair tickets. If there was a "come back" you got to fix it again on your own time. If it needed expendable parts you got to pay for those out of your pay as well. Needless to say most repairs were done right the first time. Having high come back rate got you a talking to by the service manager. Also, your colleagues would tease you mercilessly. Peer pressure is a great motivator. It also helped the tool man since people would buy tools to help them get the job done faster and make more money.

Some fancy pants college boys came in and told the owner how he could make more money with the mechanics on the the team system. The ticket is assigned to a team so there is no individual accountability for quality work. They hired a bunch of kids out of high school with a tackle box of tools to be on your team. All the flat rate hours for the team tickets were pooled and you got a percentage of those hours as your pay. If you didn't lend the high school kid your tools from your $10K tool box it would negatively impact the team hours and hence your pay. On top of less hours you got to pay for the tools the kid left under the customers hood. No indivual responsibiltiy for any repair so the quality of work went down, come backs went up and customers were pissed. The tool man also made less money since no one wanted to buy quality specialty tools. All the good mechanics left including myself. That experience is part of what drove me out of that business.

 

[crash68]

Some fancy pants college boys came in and told the owner how he could make more money with the mechanics on the the team system. The ticket is assigned to a team so there is no individual accountability for quality work.

What the owner didn't realize is they were losing repeat customers for buying cars, the two things that just about everyone blames when their vehicle is broke, first FCA then the dealership in general.

 

[TXTONKA]

It's sad how some of these dealers are managed.. My wife works in the business administration department at a local dealer. She mentioned yesterday that most of the service writers at her dealership just don't care to provide customer service. Managers do not correct the behavior, but the managers are not much better since they normally do not take or return customer calls.

There was a customer called the business department yesterday to complain. Apparently they purchased a new car that broke down almost immediately and when they call the service department the customer was told by the service writer a tech could look at sometime in April. Over a month away... So now they are without vehicle for a month until the dealer does something. To make it worse after multiple calls to the business department the Dealership General Manager refused to return the customer's call or address the concern. So now this customer that was in the process of buying another new vehicle for their daughter walked from the second deal. Maybe if they lose enough customers management will change.