Can someone explain Dodge Service Dept's to me...

I took my car in for 3 issues...

1) P0404 code (EGR Valve stuck) on the odometer when I turn the key
on-off-on-off-on, except when I took it into the dealer to have them check
it out, they wouldn't even look at the EGR Valve because the code was no
longer in the computer. I told them I saw the code on the odometer display
using this method AND by using a scan tool from AutoZone. They told me the
AutoZone tool is worthless, just so they can charge $70.00 to connect
theirs, but it showed the exact same code as the ignition method.

2) My car has been hesitating, lurching, bucking, whatever you want to call
it, while maintaining a constant speed. They said they sprayed water on the
plug wires and they are arcing to ground. Need to replace the wires AND the
plugs they said! I Just had the plugs and wires changed 6 weeks ago! Top of
the line stuff too. But instead of saying to replace the wires only, they
said the plugs too! Why? My regular mechanic said they are full of BS.

3) My car clunks when I shift into a gear, and when I take off - my regular
mechanic says Torque Converter and it's killing the CV Joints. I told them
this, they said they could not duplicate the issue so they did nothing! I
picked my car up from the dealer and when i put it in gear and took off -
SAME CLUNKING sounds! What the heck? They wouldn't even check the Torque
Convert and CV joints out - most likely because there was no computer code
for them.

Why are dealer service dept's like this? Why don't they fix your car when
you take it to them? I'm so sick of dealers. I have an extended warranty and
my guess is that they want out of it as cheaply as they can, wait till the
warranty is over, then fix the car for 2-3x what a regular mechanic will
charge you. I'm sick of it - can someone explain to me why this is?

Ticked off bad,

-TRogers

 

And if they would have replaced the EGR valve and if it didnt fix it you
would be right back at the dealer complaining because your car wasnt fixed.
You DONT replace a part just because there is a code!!!!

Why the hell dont you take it back to the place that put the plugs and wires
on it!!! if you spray water and see them arcing there is a
problem!!!!!!!!!!!! Your regular mechanic needs to be replaced!!!!

SO WHY DIDNT YOUR MECHANIC FIX THE PROBLEM??? Damn stop Crying!!!!

I can explain it to you and i have never told anyone this but your an
Idiot!!! you post a question here, or should I say you cry on here , dont
give a year make or model and expect to get answers. get a life or buy a
Ford!!

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Technican. at the dealer!!!

 

that post of glenn's seems to contain the same attitude she recieved at the
dealer she went to.
wonder why that is?
the main reason you got that kind of treatment from the dealers is everyone
employed there is on a comminison payplan except the owner and the office girls
so they only care about relieving you of your money and if you get the car fixed
you are doing good
in my shop we do not call our customers idiots
no wonder why we are 4 days behind and the local dealer sends the techs home at
12 from no work in the shop

 

I didn't ask them to replace it! All I asked them to do was to physically
check the EGR
Valve to make sure it was working ok. That's it - period. They did not,
because there
was no code at the time.

This problem did NOT exist when the plugs and wires were changed out. The
car IS going back to them tomorrow, but the EGR problem came up BEFORE the
plugs and wires were changed. AND the regular mechanic used the OEM parts at
a lower price than what a dealer would charge for them.

Because I have an extended warranty - Chrysler Added Care Plus - that will
cover
this crap. Why pay much more than you have to? I have a $100.00 deductible,
that
is a heck of a lot better than $750.00 or so to tear apart the transmission.

I have a right to voice my opinion in a public forum such as this. You have
a problem
with my rant because you are a dealer tech, but it's not directed at you, so
take it
easy!

So I'm an "idiot" because a Dodge dealer service dept did not do their job
right and
I chose to rant about it on a public forum? I didn't name names either.
If it makes you feel better to resort to name calling, feel free - I have
broad shoulders.
Whatever floats your boat.

Look, I did NOT post my year/make/model because I DON'T want someone on here
to tell me what is/might be wrong. I just want to know why you take a car
to a dealer, tell them specifically what the problem(s) are, just ask them
to check
it out and PHYSICALLY see if the EGR is ok, PHYSICALLY see that the Torque
Converter is ok,
PHYSICALLY see that the CV joints are ok. But it seems like, if there is no
computer code,
there's no problem.

And that's MY problem. I asked them to PHYSICALLY check it out, you know,
get their hands dirty,
but they refused because there is no computer code.

Stop taking offense because you work for a dealer. This is NOT aimed at
Glenn Beasley, but
the dealer service centers that I have been to (2 of them). They charge WAY
too much for labor,
over-price all their parts, and then don't troubleshoot all the issues fully
or correctly.

If I did my job this way, I would not have a job.

 

You have to connect a scan tool to properly test the EGR and or check
monitors. More then likely you didnt want to pay the diagnostic test to have
tis done or they would have done it

Top of the line wires? did it just go from top of the line to now MOPAR
wires?. If the top of the line wires fouled a plug the technician would have
wanted to cover his ass and replace the fouled plug as well because you
would have been complaining that the misfire was still there

If you used OEM parts that were 6 weeks old they would have been covered
under the warranty and the dealer would have replaced them for free. if the
wires were arcing they were cheap parts

Chrysler added care plus does NOT cover EGR valves!!!

I have no problem of your rant, im voicing my opinion just as you are and im
not in any way offended by what you say. You are taking you car and having
someone else check it out and crying Warranty. then when you take it to the
dealer you dont want to pay to have it checked out because some "Philthy"
said it was bad
As I stated, your plan does not cover EGR Valves. is this EGR valve causing
your other problems that set the code???

No your an idiot because you think a technician is going to look at your car
and fix it based on what another "Philthy" said was wrong with it.
Apparently the shop that put the plugs and wires on it 6 weeks ago
misdiagnoised your problem, put cheap parts on your car and now they cant
fix it so they tell you it is warranty!!

O yea, Now that makes alot of sense!!
You tell them what is wrong with the vehicle or just ask them to check and
dont want to pay the diagnostic charge

Over priced all parts?? What the ones that dont cause arcing when water is
sprayed on them?

 

She is a he. Are you drinking on the job again Philthy? Tom is a guy!!

The independent shop replaced the plugs and wires and then cry Warranty
because they couldnt fix it, thus blowing it off to the dealer as one of
your tactics.

No in your shop you sell parts and dont put them on so you can sell them on
the internet as you have been doing in the past. Probably the reason why the
dealer fired you in the first place. Busted?

Yea because you cant fix the vehicles correctly and everything backs up!!

 

That's a good question. I'll just add, though, that while your thinking on
1 and 2 are pretty good, your ideas about 3 are insane. This is where a car
is just magic. If you don't know how anything works, then anything is
possible. When somebody says the torque converter is wearing out the CV
joints, they're just crazy. Maybe you didn't do a good job of relating what
he really said, but I can tell that the reason they didn't fix #3 is they're
not insane.

 

It's none of my business, but I think he meant something else. Ignorance
doesn't mix with criticism. If you don't know how your car works, you're
not really in a position to criticize somebody else who actually can fix it.
This deliberate car ignorance is a widespread problem, certainly, and it's
resulted in a lot of people being exploited by mechanics, but it's also
resulted in a lot of mechanics being defamed by people who were completely
incompetent to form an opinion.

You have every right to express an opinion, but you don't have any skill to
base one on. See the distinction?

 

I don't know about the problems you are having with the dealer service
department, but the classic symptom of CV joint failure is clicking when
you accelerate around a corner. Your problem sounds like a broken motor
mount. Did anybody mention that possibility? It's really easy to check
for this.

 

No your an idiot because you think a technician is going to look at your

There was NO problem when I replaced the plugs and wires, it was just a
regular maintenance.
You ought to know that plugs and wires are NOT covered under ANY warranty,
so how can
you say "...put cheap parts on your car and now they cant fix it so they
tell you it is warranty!!"

 

No one told me about a motor mount. It's very possible the mech that told me
about Torque Converter is wrong.
It's like going to doctors, you can get a different diagnosis each time, for
the same problem. Or else you get a "I don't know"

-Tom

 

I sure wish that were true. When I dropped off my Caravan for my
intermittent dying/jerking problem I told them, "I know I have a bad
O2 sensor and I've had 2 mechanics tell me it isn't the source of my
problems. I don't want to replace it at this time."

Later that morning I get a call from the dealer:

Dodge: "You've got a bad O2 sensor and a 'fuel efficiency flow'
problem with your fuel filter. Should we go ahead and make the
repairs?"

Me: "Go ahead with the fuel filter replacement, but hold off on the O2
sensor."

Dodge: "We've got a fault code on the O2 sensor, we have to repair it
before we can proceed."

Me: "Will it stop my problem with my car stalling and jerking."

Dodge: "It should, besides we can't continue to diagnose it until we
fix this problem."

Me: "I've already had two other mechanics look at the vehicle and
they've told me they don't know what is happening but they're certain
it's not the O2 sensor. One even had the car die on him with his scan
tool hooked up. He recommended I bring it to the dealer. Now you tell
me it is the O2 sensor. Are you certain this will fix it?"

Dodge: "We're 100% sure it will fix it."

Of course it didn't fix the problem. I'm still disputing the
charges...

 

Hi
I would like to help. What years is the Caravan,engine size and
mileage. On several occasions I see tech's change 02 sensors because
of a bad reading, for example 02 stuck High or Low along with out
range adaptive memory readings.Some techs are to quick to change a
part because they have the fault code for a certain sensor but often
don't take that extra step and check everything.It is possible that
fuel pump is playing games. A simple roadtest with a fuel pressure
guage connected to the vehicle could save you time and money. A pump
thats not working properly can make your 02 sensor seem faulty.(Due to
the lack of or to much 02 detected in the exhaust)

Claude

 

And that will probably happen if the dealer replaced the EGR valve on the
OP vehcile because the owner said it was the EGR due to another technician
saying that. If the valeve was bad why didnt the independent shop replace
it??? they didnt know and blew it off to the dealer

Glenn

 

exactly my point!! Just because a fault code was generated for a
particular
part DOE NOT mean that part is bad

Glenn

 

It's a '97 with a 3.8 liter and 64,000 miles. The first guy I took it
to did hook up a fuel pressure gauge and said I had proper pressure.
He's the one that had the car die while hooked up to his scan tool and
one of the guys that said the O2 sensor wasn't causing my problem.
That's another reason why I'm so ticked off at the dealer--they
replaced the fuel filter and the O2 sensor, over $400 in charges and
it didn't fix my problem.

 

Was the fuel pressure guage hooked up to the vehicle when it stalled?
If it was and the pressure was around 48 P.S.I +/- 5
P.S.I when it stalled then the pump is good. Below that change it.
With your scan tool can you read crank/cam signal?
If yes then try driving the vehicle around the block till its stalls
and check to see if you lose one or the other signal reference.Does
the check engine light come every so often and this is the code they
keep getting? (02 sensor)

Claude

 

glenn
first a egr valve is part of the emissions is it not??lets define this= exhaust
gas recirc.? i was always was told by dc and my old service manager it was and
a covered component under d.c warranty. a 5 gas analyzer might show you the ways
of your errors under the correct conditioons
a smart tech can test a egr system with a volt meter and a vac pump and engine
vacuum using a leftover vac. port if you don't have a pump
i remember you quoting a while back a failing egr valve will not cause a
stalling and a scan tool really is not needed.ecept for pulling codes and
verifing repairs
second. plugs and wires put on a vehicle may or may not help a misfire code
that could be warranty issue but a warped valve , failed injector,leaking
intake ect.ect. and the misfire turns on a lite because it may result in
converter damage resulting in, if in the time frame and mileage a warranty
claim
most good shops tell the customers this and (the bad shops don't last long
these days) THE CUSTOMER PAID OVER 20K for a new vehicle and deserves good
treatment something they do not get from you!!!
again dick head i have never been fired from a job in my lifetime and just so
you know as well as working at a shop full time i also sub contract my abilities
to 2 other shops in the area in which i live whom came to me
people bring their new cars to us to work while still under warranty
and i'm quoting 2 customers here from the last month both chrysler products
we can not get our vehicle fixed at the dealer so we come here and pay for it
and them send them the bill
i also got this week a extra 60 dollars in tips from my customers because i
take good care of them! can you as say that most likely not! you are to busy
telling people how great of a tech you are
glenn become the solution and not the problem, and work smarter not harder and
you just might break 30 hours a week