Maxcare warranty and dealer....problems

[miketx]

Those coils definately look untouched, aside fron the bolts they would show evidence of being handled. I don't see it.

Also, the drain plug on the transmission pan hasn't been touched either, IMO. It only has to be slightly cracked open to drain the fluid, and you should see evidence of that. Along with excess fluid being wiped off. I see nothing that makes me think it has been done.

BTW, what did they charge you for the fluid exchange, and how much fluid did they claim to use? Pan and filter should have been done also.

Fluid exchange was $236. With $90.96 being labor, $145.45 being fluid. Exact line item says "JB503 Transmission Fluid Exchange Clean and Protect Service SYN 12qt". I know 12qt of Mopar fluid is way more than $145, but not sure what to say about that. Here is a pic of the fill port also...doesn't look like it was opened (at least to my eyes). At this point I'm not sure how to bring this up to the service manager, other than to tell him I suspect the work was not done and that he needs to take a look at it. They may deny or just say the tech cleaned it real well, but I see no evidence of that. If they argue, I'm tempted to just get my suspension sensor/error finished, cut my losses and walk away. The agreed plan with the service manager was for me to bring it back Tuesday, but I think I'll bring it by tomorrow and have the discussion with him.

 

[Marmay]

Fluid exchange was $236. With $90.96 being labor, $145.45 being fluid. Exact line item says "JB503 Transmission Fluid Exchange Clean and Protect Service SYN 12qt". I know 12qt of Mopar fluid is way more than $145, but not sure what to say about that.View attachment 501050 Here is a pic of the fill port also...doesn't look like it was opened (at least to my eyes). At this point I'm not sure how to bring this up to the service manager, other than to tell him I suspect the work was not done and that he needs to take a look at it. They may deny or just say the tech cleaned it real well, but I see no evidence of that. If they argue, I'm tempted to just get my suspension sensor/error finished, cut my losses and walk away. The agreed plan with the service manager was for me to bring it back Tuesday, but I think I'll bring it by tomorrow and have the discussion with him.

This looks untouchable

 

[EdGs]

Fluid exchange was $236. With $90.96 being labor, $145.45 being fluid. Exact line item says "JB503 Transmission Fluid Exchange Clean and Protect Service SYN 12qt". I know 12qt of Mopar fluid is way more than $145, but not sure what to say about that.View attachment 501050 Here is a pic of the fill port also...doesn't look like it was opened (at least to my eyes). At this point I'm not sure how to bring this up to the service manager, other than to tell him I suspect the work was not done and that he needs to take a look at it. They may deny or just say the tech cleaned it real well, but I see no evidence of that. If they argue, I'm tempted to just get my suspension sensor/error finished, cut my losses and walk away. The agreed plan with the service manager was for me to bring it back Tuesday, but I think I'll bring it by tomorrow and have the discussion with him.

I was quoted $29/qt. for mopar fluid by my local dealer, and that was in Dec. of 2020. I got fluid from RockAuto for $21/qt.

With replacing the pan/filter, I only used about 5-1/2 qts. of the mopar fluid. So their quote was a really good price for fluid. Even labor was reasonable. had they actually even done the work.

However, your transmission has not been touched. I would even be more scared to have them work on it now.

 

[Dean2]

That is a REALLY clear picture, I double expanded it and the resolution is still very good. Take a close look at the sides of the Allen wrench hole, no way has that fill pug been out of that transmission. You can't put an Allan wrench in there and not disturb the dirt. Also, look at the dust ring around the plug, totally undisturbed. Also, the coils clearly have not been touched.

If the Service Manager does not agree with you he is bald face lying and it is time to get the Dealership Principal involved becasue he has crooks working for him.

 

[EdGs]

That is a REALLY clear picture, I double expanded it and the resolution is still very good. Take a close look at the sides of the Allen wrench hole, no way has that fill pug been out of that transmission. You can't put an Allan wrench in there and not disturb the dirt. Also, look at the dust ring around the plug, totally undisturbed. Also, the coils clearly have not been touched.

If the Service Manager does not agree with you he is bald face lying and it is time to get the Dealership Principal involved becasue he has crooks working for him.

You might want to even forget the SM. and go right to the GM of the dealership. (seconding what @Dean2 said)

I think they need to be cutting you a check to repay you for work that was not done.

I would not want them near my truck again. Easier said than done, though. Not sure if there are other options in your area.

 

[indept]

If you do let them actually do the work I would insist on watching them

 

[turkeybird56]

Doesn't look touched to me...

Ditto !!!!! No way coil packs not have a print on them, or did they wipe them clean and reapply the dust? Hmmmm...

 

[indept]

If you do go back and talk with the service manager, BEFORE you question if they did anything ask him if the filter was replaced. If he says no just a flush ask where they hook the machine up to flush, if he says the pan then bring out the pictures.
Also take pictures of the hydraulic lines at the trans & the trans cooler connections to see if they connected there. Even if they did do it that way they should still have Che ked the level at the fill plug, not just pump in what they took out.

 

[turkeybird56]

Hi all....update on the situation (and it gets more interesting). So, the tech got silenced and the service manager apologized. The service manager is an ok guy. They backed off all the services.....although I did go ahead and tell them it was ok to service the transmission (I was going to do it, but I hate that messy job. Done many on prior vehicles). Plus, they cut me a good deal on it.

One of my rear air suspension sensors is still acting up, and the service manager said he ordered a second sensor (first replacement didn't work), so I have to bring it back this coming Tuesday. I had to pick up it last night so I could haul my wife's farmers market gear this morning.

Here's the interesting part. The service manager told me the tech screwed up and went ahead and changed my sparkplugs (I didn't authorize it)....so the dealership is going to eat that one. Cool, I'm ok with that! However......I took some time this morning and looked the truck over head to toe, and it doesn't look like the coils have been touched. They are coated with a layer of dust/dirt, and there are zero fingerprints/etc on the coils or connectors...or bolts. Take a look at the pic and tell me what you think. All the coils look the same as the two in my pic. I've done tons of plugs/coils, and I always leave finger marks, etc.

Also, I checked the transmission. The pan is totally clean, with the normal layer of dust/dirt on it, but so is the plug. Zero fluid residue anywhere, including the plug. The service didn't involve a new pan (it was too cheap for that), so it's just a fluid swap. But unless the tech did it from a special drain/fill port I don't see, or used the cooling lines going to the radiator, I don't think that job got done either. Also see the pics.

The tech also obviously checked my rear diff fluid...the plug had been removed and the diff has gear oil on it. I keep it squeaky clean so I can see leaks when I take long trips, etc. But if the bozo had looked at the gear oil itself, he would have realized it's damn clean and stopped giving me crap about not changing it.

I plan to have a nice discussion with the service manager on Tuesday, and I'm going to request a different tech also. I will use a different dealer next time I need warranty work, that's pretty obvious..

Mike

View attachment 500990View attachment 500991View attachment 500992

I hate to state the obvious, but sounds like somebody trying to sell you some swamp land in Louisiana, just wat my BS alarm said. But I could be wrong, may be some miracle type of mechanical work being done there. All IMHO only...

ADDED: If I am reading your comment, you said 12 quarts of Tranny fluid? Just where did they put the over 3 quarts of extra tranny fluid? In the radiator? Hmmmm, Just another thing to check about, IMHO... Boy OP, your WTF list getting a lil long. Sure hope U have another Dealer in the Vicinity you can go to to keep from getting all this fun and no joy, just saying.

 

[turkeybird56]

If you do go back and talk with the service manager, BEFORE you question if they did anything ask him if the filter was replaced. If he says no just a flush ask where they hook the machine up to flush, if he says the pan then bring out the pictures.
Also take pictures of the hydraulic lines at the trans & the trans cooler connections to see if they connected there. Even if they did do it that way they should still have Che ked the level at the fill plug, not just pump in what they took out.

Immaculate conception (mechanical) work being done, in my very lowly humble opinion. Kinda like going to a used car lot, run, not walk away as soon as U can, just again IMHO...

 

[EdGs]

ADDED: If I am reading your comment, you said 12 quarts of Tranny fluid? Just where did they put the over 3 quarts of extra tranny fluid? In the radiator? Hmmmm, Just another thing to check about, IMHO... Boy OP, your WTF list getting a lil long. Sure hope U have another Dealer in the Vicinity you can go to to keep from getting all this fun and no joy, just saying.

Oh ****, I totally missed that.

When I got the quote for the fluid, the dealer told me that the capacity was 8.7 qts, I believe.

 

[turkeybird56]

Yup, think European said 8.8 litres

 

[miketx]

I hate to state the obvious, but sounds like somebody trying to sell you some swamp land in Louisiana, just wat my BS alarm said. But I could be wrong, may be some miracle type of mechanical work being done there. All IMHO only...

ADDED: If I am reading your comment, you said 12 quarts of Tranny fluid? Just where did they put the over 3 quarts of extra tranny fluid? In the radiator? Hmmmm, Just another thing to check about, IMHO... Boy OP, your WTF list getting a lil long. Sure hope U have another Dealer in the Vicinity you can go to to keep from getting all this fun and no joy, just saying.

Since it's a fluid "exchange", I suspect they run more fluid than needed through the system. I used to own a FJ Cruiser that I did this type of procedure.....but I could easily disconnect the trans cooler lines from the radiator, put one in a empty tub, and the other in a gallon jug of trans fluid.....turn the engine on and run it until the jug is empty, put new jug on, repeat until fluid flows "clean". It was a little wasteful, but worked excellent.

However, I fail to see how that could be done on the Ram unless you warmed up the trans until the internal thermostat opened, and I haven't noticed an easy trans line to disconnect. My FJ lines to the radiator were rubber....easy to take off/on. Sure, if you adapters you could have the drain port open, and a machine pumping fluid into the fill port. But I'd still be able to tell they had been opened, which they have not.

And yeah, miracle type work being done here. I'm going back to the dealer this afternoon, and still trying to figure out how I'm going to present this dilemma to the service manager. The coils/plugs is easy.....I didn't pay for the work since it was supposedly a screwup that they changed them, so I'll just point out they didn't get done. But I suspect they'll argue with me on the transmission.

Both scenarios do bring up troubling problems. What if I was a normal consumer? I'd just go on my way thinking I had another 100k miles with new plugs, and assuming my transmission had been serviced also. That's just asking for future trouble.

Edit: oh wait.....I forgot to tell you guys/gals something else: when I picked up the truck Friday afternoon, a "helper" drove it to the front service garage. I was standing there with the service manager when he hopped out, and said " the front seat isn't bolted down". Sure enough, all 4 bolts were laying in the back floor. Apparently the suspension computer is under the driver seat. Lol...wow. The service manager got his tools and bolted it down while I watched.

 

[turkeybird56]

Since it's a fluid "exchange", I suspect they run more fluid than needed through the system. I used to own a FJ Cruiser that I did this type of procedure.....but I could easily disconnect the trans cooler lines from the radiator, put one in a empty tub, and the other in a gallon jug of trans fluid.....turn the engine on and run it until the jug is empty, put new jug on, repeat until fluid flows "clean". It was a little wasteful, but worked excellent.

However, I fail to see how that could be done on the Ram unless you warmed up the trans until the internal thermostat opened, and I haven't noticed an easy trans line to disconnect. My FJ lines to the radiator were rubber....easy to take off/on. Sure, if you adapters you could have the drain port open, and a machine pumping fluid into the fill port. But I'd still be able to tell they had been opened, which they have not.

And yeah, miracle type work being done here. I'm going back to the dealer this afternoon, and still trying to figure out how I'm going to present this dilemma to the service manager. The coils/plugs is easy.....I didn't pay for the work since it was supposedly a screwup that they changed them, so I'll just point out they didn't get done. But I suspect they'll argue with me on the transmission.

Both scenarios do bring up troubling problems. What if I was a normal consumer? I'd just go on my way thinking I had another 100k miles with new plugs, and assuming my transmission had been serviced also. That's just asking for future trouble.

BOY OP, as soon as I could I would run/accelerate to 100 mph in any cardinal direction away from that dealer, just saying, IMHO.....

 

[turkeybird56]

Since it's a fluid "exchange", I suspect they run more fluid than needed through the system. I used to own a FJ Cruiser that I did this type of procedure.....but I could easily disconnect the trans cooler lines from the radiator, put one in a empty tub, and the other in a gallon jug of trans fluid.....turn the engine on and run it until the jug is empty, put new jug on, repeat until fluid flows "clean". It was a little wasteful, but worked excellent.

However, I fail to see how that could be done on the Ram unless you warmed up the trans until the internal thermostat opened, and I haven't noticed an easy trans line to disconnect. My FJ lines to the radiator were rubber....easy to take off/on. Sure, if you adapters you could have the drain port open, and a machine pumping fluid into the fill port. But I'd still be able to tell they had been opened, which they have not.

And yeah, miracle type work being done here. I'm going back to the dealer this afternoon, and still trying to figure out how I'm going to present this dilemma to the service manager. The coils/plugs is easy.....I didn't pay for the work since it was supposedly a screwup that they changed them, so I'll just point out they didn't get done. But I suspect they'll argue with me on the transmission.

Both scenarios do bring up troubling problems. What if I was a normal consumer? I'd just go on my way thinking I had another 100k miles with new plugs, and assuming my transmission had been serviced also. That's just asking for future trouble.

U know it was not done, they just feeding U a line of inedible food stuffs (sic). But finding a way to tell/show/present and not lose ones mind by JUST calling them out, well BOIRD has noisy tailfeathers, I was neva known to keep my mouth shut, but then that is me, I do not have your patience.

 

[miketx]

Oh yeah, I intend to run, but they still have to finish my air suspension warranty work.....a new sensor arrives today. This is the only reason I'm keeping my patience.

And yeah, I know I was BS'd on Friday, but I suspect the service manager did not know.....he just took the tech's word that the plugs/trans was done. It is on the work order.

I plan to give the SM a call first to talk to him, forward him my photos, and tell him I'll drop by later.

Edit: just got off the phone with the service manager. Told him the scenario. First thing he said was "ah crap, so the tech lied to me". He told me to text the photos to our service text discussion, and his email...and he'd go talk to his boss and show him also. So we possibly have some progress. We'll see when I drop by this afternoon to leave the truck.

 

[Dbrewton]

Do everybody a favor and let us know what dealership this is. I imagine a lot of people have been ripped off already.

 

[EdGs]

Oh yeah, I intend to run, but they still have to finish my air suspension warranty work.....a new sensor arrives today. This is the only reason I'm keeping my patience.

And yeah, I know I was BS'd on Friday, but I suspect the service manager did not know.....he just took the tech's word that the plugs/trans was done. It is on the work order.

I plan to give the SM a call first to talk to him, forward him my photos, and tell him I'll drop by later.

Edit: just got off the phone with the service manager. Told him the scenario. First thing he said was "ah crap, so the tech lied to me". He told me to text the photos to our service text discussion, and his email...and he'd go talk to his boss and show him also. So we possibly have some progress. We'll see when I drop by this afternoon to leave the truck.

I would love to be a fly on the wall for the meeting. Your pics say it all, your truck has not been touched in any way, shape, or form. They have no way to defend it either.

I honestly believe they owe you your money back, and quite frankly, the maintenance done (in reality) free of charge. That is, IF you feel comfortable to have them touch it now.

It aint going to be a pretty sight in the meeting between service dept and GM, IMO. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the tech who lied still has any ass or his job after this.

Wishing you the best outcome.

 

[indept]

I would still make the case that even though they supposedly did the plugs & didn't charge you, they did claim it was done which it sure looks like another lie based on your pics.

 

[Wildbiker48]

Has anyone has problems with the dealer service and Maxcare lifetime warranty?

I brought my '16 Rebel, with 83k miles on it, in for the air suspension service message. After doing the dealer did their multi-point inspection, they are saying I need to get a whole extra list of services done or the Maxcare inspection will void my warranty. They claim my brake fluid is dirty (it's not), my transmission needs service (it doesn't), I need a "tune up", and that my 4x4 needs to be serviced, plus 4-5 other services.

I am a very good mechanic and take pride in my vehicle care, which includes ALL required services. I serviced the 4x4 system myself at 53k miles, but the service tech is arguing that no fluid is staining the plugs, and that the plugs show no evidence they have ever been touched......plus he says my transfer case plug welds haven't been cracked (what?...I took those plugs out myself). I'm totally baffled......I did the service myself, and have the fluid receipts.

I also record all my maintenance on mopar.com in My Garage......but they say the dealer and Maxcare only look at Carfax reports. What?!?

I feel like I am being blackmailed. The dealer said they will report all their findings to Maxcare.....and that Maxcare has been voiding customer warranties right and left this year. Huh?

So disappointed in Ram/FCA right now. I only bought this warranty to cover big items, like the air suspension. Everything else I do myself.

Sounds like you’re dealing with an unscrupulous service manager. His team is being asked to push and intimidate customers into service they done need. I’m guessing each service team member has a service revenue quota to fill.