Well I am paying for it now

[stevenP]

Since the HD trucks have rear only air suspension, maybe not? I know the truck has some menu options for the air suspension, like transport mode, tire change mode etc. Maybe the techs were supposed to put it in transport mode which is all the way deflated, for service and they didnt. And that's why the one bag got damaged? I will never really know for sure. The dealers service manager via his language, was verbally deflecting any responsibility of the issue arising after the trans replacement. According to other owners on here, this system on the HDs isnt prone to failure's as much as on the 1500s. Again my truck only has 13k miles on it.

 

[stevenP]

Well I cant believe it , but the many emails exchanged over the last two months..... with ram cares concerning my open case for the 8.5 weeks my truck was in the shop with warranty repairs. Looks like they are going to cut me a check for my down time. Checks in the mail, but it might be a positive for the ram cares team.

 

[jejb]

Was replacing that air bag the final fix for you?

 

[BossHogg]

Checks in the mail

Right up there in the top three of all-time lies. I do hope RAM is sincere, and you do get the funds promised. Let us know.

 

[stevenP]

Yes the one air bag on the passenger side was final the issue. I had told them the last three visits, that was the logical next step. But since their diagnostic tool said no...well there ya go. The service manager said that FCA, really doesnt have much out there on trouble shooting this system. They replaced everything else but the rear air bags, as of the fourth visit. Only the passenger side would sag, after a day or so every time. God, I am so glad this is over, what a giant hassle. Man the parts were stupid expensive too.

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

I felt the same as you the Bag was bad from hanging on the lift for that amount of time, congrats on getting a remedy.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Yes the one air bag on the passenger side was final the issue. I had told them the last three visits, that was the logical next step. But since their diagnostic tool said no...well there ya go. The service manager said that FCA, really doesnt have much out there on trouble shooting this system. They replaced everything else but the rear air bags, as of the fourth visit. Only the passenger side would sag, after a day or so every time. God, I am so glad this is over, what a giant hassle. Man the parts were stupid expensive too.

This is what I've railed against for decades: Conclusion Bias based upon preconceived and slanted training dogma. The modern, so-called "mechanics" are being mis-trained to read scanner data as "conclusive diagnostics". Nothing could be further from the truth in that replacing components based solely on scanner read outs cause needless expenses and long delays in proper repairs.

I've seen and witnessed cases where customers unwittingly trade or sell a perfectly good car because they've trusted the words of an under-trained or inexperienced technician. That's dangerous, IMHO.

As a professional technician, I owe to my customer accurate and efficient diags toward a fixed issue. Many's the time that the true solution is time consuming and obscure. I see frequent events of problems with cars either stump the experts or there are some who let false pride color their good judgement. Some get bullied by the "hurry up, one day service" lie that pervades our industry, thus spawning the falsehood of getting accurate and lasting repairs done in tight time constraints.
I tell my own customers that if they don't give me the necessary time to properly fix their cars in the first place, then do NOT expect me to spend rime for free a second time just so they can hurry up and go through life too fast now!

Customers do not realize how damned difficult a lot of these problems really are. "And the beat goes on"!

 

[stevenP]

Believe me I understand that the job of repairing these high tech vehicles isnt all that easy. I am a field service tech for very expensive medical equipment, so I get it. Whats different for me, by the time I get to the second service visit for the same problem. Its devcon 5, I replace everything in order to just get the problem fixed no matter the cost. But in this case they had replaced everything, except the bags towards the end. There was simply not anything left to replace, yet they really resisted replacing the bags? The other components replaced previously, which did not fix the issue were a lot more money than the bags. Did I mention they had my truck on site for 5 weeks in total for just this issue.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Believe me I understand that the job of repairing these high tech vehicles isnt all that easy. I am a field service tech for very expensive medical equipment, so I get it. Whats different for me, by the time I get to the second service visit for the same problem. Its devcon 5, I replace everything in order to just get the problem fixed no matter the cost. But in this case they had replaced everything, except the bags towards the end. There was simply not anything left to replace, yet they really resisted replacing the bags? The other components replaced previously, which did not fix the issue were a lot more money than the bags. Did I mention they had my truck on site for 5 weeks in total for just this issue.

Your relating of a "stealership" horror story is not new. The business model of a dealership is one of aggressive avarice, period.
Whatever the motivation that your dealer had for NOT replacing your bag, it, without ANY doubt, is one of ledger bottom line.
Sadly, our business model in this world has devolved into " Catch me if you can" and "One is evaluated by the month's bottom line".

On your subject, I have a Phillips Respironics that was a recall item due to the foam degrading and getting inhaled during sleep. I've since replaced it with a different brand unit, and stopped having respiratory issues. There is, and never was ANY excuse for this problem. And Phillips insults me with a 100 dollar repurchase offer for my old unit! Yup! Let's get rid of evidence! I kept mine.

Again, the mighty dollar rules and the fallout is a "potential" distant future quagmire.... so what if it negatively affects human life, eh?

I do not have ANY problem eventually getting to the root of these enigmatic car failures as far as the vehicles are concerned. The owners are the problem, likely unwittingly, because they typically are participating in "Hurry up!, I need to go and do YESTERDAY!" culture of our working world. Many go into mega-debt for a new car because they do not calculate the financial long game.

Ultimately, it took me downsizing to an artisanal business model instead of a production, cookie cutter grinder to be able to pursue my passion: Repairing those cars which have been to "X" shops and dealers, yet, after thousands of dollars, remain unrepaired. I'm semi-retired, and have the means and the patience to have fun tackling these types of challenges!

To quote my late mentor, the Rolls Royce Master, John Bamberg: Often the problems which are the most obscure or difficult to fix are "the 10 cent part and the thousand dollar headache"!

 

[stevenP]

I did receive a check from FCA for the down time we incurred thru the two separate failures. They figured the amount was based on two months of payments. As my truck was at the dealer for 8.5 weeks. Guess my case is closed now.