back to my normal guys, prestige in LV, NV.
they once again take my chapman coupon. everyone's happy.
$24.
2013-11-20
2013-09-19
109,125 when the going gets weird, the weird are no longer professional
sahara are a brand new dealership. so new, in fact, that they do not yet have signs identifying their business, nor built-in swagger from their employees who look down on potential customers. i've taken the continual car here because my normal place can't take my vehicle for a fortnight and i'm hoping to have it back faster than that ... but, in this case, if wishes were horses, then beggars would be figuring out some other way to get to CA ...
this is complicated. complicated enough that it's set me back eight months to do the update (and pre-date it), but the dance-able part goes something like this ...
i take the cruiser in.
i tell them that i've got an error code that has appeared and disappeared. i also say, "and there's a ticking i've been hearing the last few weeks," which is true. but, amazingly, not only am i able to get the noise to reproduce itself in the drive (it's pretty subtle ... sounds kind of like a quiet wind-up watch), but i also get the service tech (ST) to hear it.
great.
the ST is just barely at the third grade level of written literacy (he spells work, "worck" and mark, "marck"), but god bless his spirit and soul his heart's in the rite plaice (sic) and he takes down everything in detail.
two days pass. i need to get my posterior to CA, but when the shop calls, the car's not going to be ready.
"um, okay. can you just hold it for two weeks, then, until i get back?"
"yes."
okay, good. not the answer i want, but my car's just as fine -if not "finer"- in their lot.
get back from CA without an update from the shop, so i call.
"oh, yes. we've been trying to get hold of you ... [ed: that would be a lie] your camshaft position sensor is failing..."
aside from the lie (DID I MENTION THAT YET?), that would make sense. it would explain the mild misfiring i've been experiencing, and the error code. "...i'm sorry to tell you it's not covered by your lifetime service contract."
"uh, yes it is..." this is just a simple case of being new and not understanding the concept of 'if it's mechanical, it's covered.' it's become very clear to me over time that nearly no one has these service contracts, so i'm not surprised. being a brand new dealership doesn't help. "we won't go into that now, i'll call chrysler and they'll put the hurt on you [ed: in fact i called chrysler immediately after this phone call and they did put the hurt on 'em.] ... but i can tell from your pause there's something else."
and, in fact, there is more.
"... but when we fixed that, we brought the car out on the drive and it was still ticking..." (at least they both checked it and told me.) and i'll just let the write up carry it from here, because it all feels so much more, um, "official" (caps are theirs on the shop receipt).
USING STEPHASCOPE, FOUND NOISE TO BE COMING FROM TURBO ASSEMBLY. REMOVED INDUCTION TUBE AND INSPECTED TURBO. NO CRACKS OR OBSTRUCTION SEEN IN HOUSING OR ON IMPELLER. SEAMS TO BE BEARING NOISE HEARD FROM OTHER SIDE OF TURBO ASSEMBLY. REMOVED TURBO.MINIFOLD ASSEMBLY, FOUND CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD TO CYLINDER HEAD BOLT, EXTRACTED BORKEN BOLT IN HEAD, REPLACED TURB- & MANIFOLD ASSEMBLY. REASSEMBLED ENGINE.
(sic)
now, in the event you're not fluent in the subtleties of reading bastardized shop-speak, what they did was replace my fricken turbo-charger.
but guess what ... no. no. it's much better than that.
after another two weeks, the ticking is still there. so they, get this, completely replace my transmission.
all told, they have my car for six weeks.
horror of horrors? well, not exactly...
because i now have:
but this means i have to do some adjustments to this blog, because i haven't had powertrain warranty work done before and this actually is a separate break-out item.
$150 in SCR
$6000 in lifetime power train warranty return
this is complicated. complicated enough that it's set me back eight months to do the update (and pre-date it), but the dance-able part goes something like this ...
i take the cruiser in.
i tell them that i've got an error code that has appeared and disappeared. i also say, "and there's a ticking i've been hearing the last few weeks," which is true. but, amazingly, not only am i able to get the noise to reproduce itself in the drive (it's pretty subtle ... sounds kind of like a quiet wind-up watch), but i also get the service tech (ST) to hear it.
great.
the ST is just barely at the third grade level of written literacy (he spells work, "worck" and mark, "marck"), but god bless his spirit and soul his heart's in the rite plaice (sic) and he takes down everything in detail.
two days pass. i need to get my posterior to CA, but when the shop calls, the car's not going to be ready.
"um, okay. can you just hold it for two weeks, then, until i get back?"
"yes."
okay, good. not the answer i want, but my car's just as fine -if not "finer"- in their lot.
get back from CA without an update from the shop, so i call.
"oh, yes. we've been trying to get hold of you ... [ed: that would be a lie] your camshaft position sensor is failing..."
aside from the lie (DID I MENTION THAT YET?), that would make sense. it would explain the mild misfiring i've been experiencing, and the error code. "...i'm sorry to tell you it's not covered by your lifetime service contract."
"uh, yes it is..." this is just a simple case of being new and not understanding the concept of 'if it's mechanical, it's covered.' it's become very clear to me over time that nearly no one has these service contracts, so i'm not surprised. being a brand new dealership doesn't help. "we won't go into that now, i'll call chrysler and they'll put the hurt on you [ed: in fact i called chrysler immediately after this phone call and they did put the hurt on 'em.] ... but i can tell from your pause there's something else."
and, in fact, there is more.
"... but when we fixed that, we brought the car out on the drive and it was still ticking..." (at least they both checked it and told me.) and i'll just let the write up carry it from here, because it all feels so much more, um, "official" (caps are theirs on the shop receipt).
USING STEPHASCOPE, FOUND NOISE TO BE COMING FROM TURBO ASSEMBLY. REMOVED INDUCTION TUBE AND INSPECTED TURBO. NO CRACKS OR OBSTRUCTION SEEN IN HOUSING OR ON IMPELLER. SEAMS TO BE BEARING NOISE HEARD FROM OTHER SIDE OF TURBO ASSEMBLY. REMOVED TURBO.MINIFOLD ASSEMBLY, FOUND CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD TO CYLINDER HEAD BOLT, EXTRACTED BORKEN BOLT IN HEAD, REPLACED TURB- & MANIFOLD ASSEMBLY. REASSEMBLED ENGINE.
(sic)
now, in the event you're not fluent in the subtleties of reading bastardized shop-speak, what they did was replace my fricken turbo-charger.
but guess what ... no. no. it's much better than that.
after another two weeks, the ticking is still there. so they, get this, completely replace my transmission.
all told, they have my car for six weeks.
horror of horrors? well, not exactly...
because i now have:
- a new cam position sensor
- a new turbo charger
- a new transmission
- two new engine mounts
but this means i have to do some adjustments to this blog, because i haven't had powertrain warranty work done before and this actually is a separate break-out item.
$150 in SCR
$6000 in lifetime power train warranty return
2013-08-07
well hell in a handbasket
today i was driving my car and the light from a couple of days ago came back on. it was still before the close of business, so i called the new chrysler dealer in the neighborhood and set up an appointment for tomorrow morning to look at it ...
and then wouldn't you know that the light then went back off this evening ...
hopefully the black box stores error codes and they'll know what happened. i don't need my vehicle to act flaky as i drive it a thousand miles in the next fortnight.
goddammit.
and then wouldn't you know that the light then went back off this evening ...
hopefully the black box stores error codes and they'll know what happened. i don't need my vehicle to act flaky as i drive it a thousand miles in the next fortnight.
goddammit.
2013-08-05
108,975 light's on
it's been awhile since the engine light last came on, but it did this evening as the engine started missing.
i suspect the culprit is stabil. i added some to the tank because i thought i was going to be parking my car for an extended trip this summer ... but the trip got canceled and instead of being parked for three months, the continual car was left to sit about four weeks.
the tank was about half full so i added some techron, filled the tank the rest of the way, and drove an exit on the freeway ...
voila, the light went off.
i need it to stay that way ... i've got a big drive coming up next week.
i suspect the culprit is stabil. i added some to the tank because i thought i was going to be parking my car for an extended trip this summer ... but the trip got canceled and instead of being parked for three months, the continual car was left to sit about four weeks.
the tank was about half full so i added some techron, filled the tank the rest of the way, and drove an exit on the freeway ...
voila, the light went off.
i need it to stay that way ... i've got a big drive coming up next week.
2013-07-31
2013-06-27
something's missing, but you don't know what it is...
...do you, mr. jones?
checked my oil tonight (as I do at every fill up) and noticed that the cowling here is missing...so it was either broken or removed and not replaced at my oil change a few days ago.
it's hard to reach prestige people by phone, so I'll have to drive it in.
2013-06-24
107,986 mile service
oil change with a coupon off the chrysler web site (oddly, the prestige coupon didn't show a price, but the chapman one did, so i just used that).
the inspection that came back shows my tires at 3/32nds or less ... but that's clearly not right ... i'm not down to the warning bars on any tire yet.
the "engine air filter and cabin air filters" show up as "may require attention soon" which is almost certainly true due to the dirt roads, dust and forest fire soot that's been in the air lately.
love the after hours service ability.
$24. ($10 saved with coupon.)
the inspection that came back shows my tires at 3/32nds or less ... but that's clearly not right ... i'm not down to the warning bars on any tire yet.
the "engine air filter and cabin air filters" show up as "may require attention soon" which is almost certainly true due to the dirt roads, dust and forest fire soot that's been in the air lately.
love the after hours service ability.
$24. ($10 saved with coupon.)
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