Seats Under Warranty?

[Ed_R 1]

My driver's seat has starting squeaking, and the power runner has some broken teeth. The car has 26K miles on it. Think this repair would go under warranty?

[Hemi57 51]

I think bumper to bumper is 3/36 warranty. So, it should be covered.

[Ed_R 1]

I sure as hell hope so.

[Ed_R 1]

Guess I'll find out a week from today.

[SLOPAR 0]

My passenger seat warmer self combusted and almost burned my car to the ground. Took it inside dodge still smoldering and they said 1200 just to repair it. Had an inspector open a case and he denied it BC it was cammed.

[Hemi57 51]

^^^ I would have said, "Prove it or talk to my attorney"?

[WyGoSlw 2]

My passenger seat warmer self combusted and almost burned my car to the ground. Took it inside dodge still smoldering and they said 1200 just to repair it. Had an inspector open a case and he denied it BC it was cammed.

I hope you didn't pay for it..! Find another dealer, the dealer that denied the claim is an idiot.

The fact that it had a cam replaced in the engine had absolutely no bearing on a broken seat. If you fall within the warranty time/mileage period they have to repair it.

The agent of the manufacturer would have to prove that the failure of the parts are a direct result of the modification. In this case, the camshaft. If they can't (I don't see how they could in this case. You can be a retard and pretty much deduce that the cam didn't cause the seat to fail), they have a legal obligation to fix your car. Call an atty and make them pay.

Now, if you installed a SC and you twisted the axles off, well, you'd be buying new axles.

Or, if you monkeyed with the audio system and you fried the head unit, good luck on getting that covered.

[Ed_R 1]

I have a diablo tune and an aftermarket exhaust, basically. Was planning on loading the stock tune before I dropped the car off because I asked them to look at the tranny too. Only reason they might try to pull on me is it's 'normal wear and tear', but a seat shouldn't be squeaking after 25K miles.

[WyGoSlw 2]

^^^ That's actually a good idea to do if the only thing you've done is tune the car. Being the complaint is power train related it would make sense you load the factory tune in the ECU. They can actually tell if they really want to dig, that someone has flashed the ECU but it's unlikely they will for something small. Now, you drive in with a blown engine or a busted trans, my guess is they will dig into the ECU and try and find if that unit has been flashed. If they can establish that and also look into the obvious modification if any, you're looking at the dealer not wanting any part of the repair. You have to use common sense and ask yourself, if you built that car and warrantied it, how would you scrutinize your claims?

Normal wear and tear only applies to specific items when it comes to factory new car warranty. A few being brakes pads, clutch on a manual trans, tires and a few other items. Everything else is covered unless the driver has a direct influence on it's operation and is subject to abuse and or misuse. In your case Ed, if your complaint is that the trans is nibbling into a gear for example and they come back to you and tell you that the clutch is causing this issue. You're more than likely going to be buying a new clutch, even though you may still under factory warranty.

[Ed_R 1]

A5 tranny. It's a fluid/temp issue, from the sound of it. On cold mornings I hear it trying to draw fluid, it sounds like it's trying to suck thick cold trans fluid through a straw.

My worry with the seat is that they will try to tell me 'that's normal wear and tear on a seat, not covered'. Or 'you don't weigh 150 pounds, that's not covered'. They will try to weasel out of it, it's a $2200 or more fix.

[WyGoSlw 2]

Ed, Generally speaking the dealer will try and error on the side of not covering anything. This is because they have submit warranty claims monthly and any questionable claims are denied and then left to the dealer to appeal and try to get paid. It's not a fun process. I can't tell you how how much money a dealer looses on just claim denial alone. Of course they make up for it in other ways. Can't really tell you how though.

Anyway, I would reload the factory tune, take it in and demand they fix the seat if it's faulty for whatever reason. Remember that the warranty cover "all" items from defects or workmanship, period. They will try and worm their way out of it, but if you are persistent you may get your way. Especially if there's any gray area. Either tell them you want to meet with the local Dodge rep, or call Dodge yourself and schedule a meeting. The local Dodge reps have a pretty broad power of the pen.

Just remember that all the dealer is doing is protecting their ass, nothing more. If the dealer has any reservations at all that the claim will be denied by the manufacturer, they will tell you it's not covered. The only way to change that, is to get Dodge to authorize the warranty repair.

I remember working for Nissan years ago as an assistant Service Manager. A 300Z came in on the hook and after the initial inspection we had the tech remove the oil pan. The car had 30k miles and looked brand new as it was about a year old. I couldn't believe what I saw. The engine still had the original oil filter installed. The oil had never been changed and had turned to pudding. The engine had seized up for lack of lubrication. Guess what? Nissan covered the engine replacement as a gesture of good will! I was floored.. So really, it's just a matter of who's involved.

[Hemi57 51]

How do they make up the difference.... shifty service advisers.

Just had a buddy tell me about the SA trying to shaft him. Long story short... he got a quote for a factory brake controller install of $160. But, when he brought the truck in it jumped to $235. He made a phone call to another Dodge dealer within ear shot of all the SA's and customers. He also talked to the install tech, an ex-student of his, and that SA has a bad rep in the shop. Low and behold the SA said he made a mistake and charged for the Grand Cherokee instead the Ram truck. I have had this same SA and took him to task with his manager. Needless to say he no longer touches my car.

[Ed_R 1]

We'll see what happens. I may need to talk to the Dodge Rep. But I hope not.

[WyGoSlw 2]

How do they make up the difference.... shifty service advisers.

Just had a buddy tell me about the SA trying to shaft him. Long story short... he got a quote for a factory brake controller install of $160. But, when he brought the truck in it jumped to $235. He made a phone call to another Dodge dealer within ear shot of all the SA's and customers. He also talked to the install tech, an ex-student of his, and that SA has a bad rep in the shop. Low and behold the SA said he made a mistake and charged for the Grand Cherokee instead the Ram truck. I have had this same SA and took him to task with his manager. Needless to say he no longer touches my car.

Shifty Advisers and shifty Managers too. I worked for a Service Manager at a GM dealer long ago that restored a 1971 SS454 Chevelle on GM's warranty dime. Can't really say if the whole car was done that way, but I can tell you that most of it was. I'm not going to go into detail on how but I'm sure you can use your imagination. Remember that dealers have a lot of latitude, they use this to their advantage and submit fraudulent claims to offset the claims that get denied. This is why they're hard to deal with when dealing with gray area or high dollar claims. Think of it as dealing with the IRS, the more you deduct the more you start raising flags for audits.

Just to be fair to most of the Advisors and Managers out there, the overwhelming majority of them are honest hard working individuals. Having said that, they all have to be trusted with caution. What do I mean?

If you take your car in for warranty repair, take a picture of the odometer with the SA there as a witness. Even though now dealers usually walk around the car and mark down any dents and scratches, trust me you'll want to make sure you have a record of what's there and what's not.

I would also advise any of you that's reading this to do your homework on any dealer you're going to visit.

Get to know your Service Manager. If repairs are botched up for whatever reason, make sure he/she is involved so they're aware of what went wrong.

Find an Advisor that you get along with and trust. This is not easy to do. Service Advisors are hired as salespeople and they treat the customers as $$$$$. They also for the most part have a high turnover rate. They are usually also responsible for a team of technicians. If the Advisor is a good writer, he makes decent $$$ and so does his team.

Look, let me just close by saying that all dealers are not crooks, I've worked for some good ones and I've worked for some real bad ones. Even bad enough that a major California Ford dealer had their doors chained up by the BAR one morning. Take whatever steps you need to take to protect yourself. Do NOT trust any dealer, tech or Advisor that he/she has your best interest at heart. Always get a second opinion if you can and fight for you rights as a consumer. If you feel you've been wronged in some way, call the BAR/Consumer Affairs and launch a complaint, they are there for us the consumer.

[Ed_R 1]

I asked them to look at the driver's seat and the transmission. They told me they looked at both, and ordered some parts that were 'vendor sourced' and had no idea when they would be in, and that they had no idea if the 'Chrysler Guy' would even allow the work under warranty.

This took 9 hours. PLUS, they 'flashed a couple of updates' in the last few moments the car was there. They didn't tell me what they 'flashed' or what was updated software-wise but the rear-view camera no longer works. I had them bring the service manager to me and let him know that his shop broke my camera and that I didn't like it much, and he looked at the ticket and told me that nothing they did would even touch that so it's going to be fun.

Most likely they pulled something loose without even knowing it, but since they broke it they get to fix it even if it's aftermarket, according to me.

We shall see whether they allow the seat work under warranty. I'm not feeling too good about my relationship with this shop ( Huffines Dodge Plano TX ) right now to be honest.

So now I get to reload the custom tune for a couple weeks.

[RoostKing 24]

Updates?

[Ed_R 1]

Just got off the phone. All approved, but they are only replacing the seat adjuster and the lower seat cover. The adjuster is already here; the seat cover won't be in until MAY 9TH. I expect I'll be having them put the adjuster in tomorrow.

[WyGoSlw 2]

Good to hear..

[Ed_R 1]

Who knows if just replacing the seat cover and adjuster will fix the squeaks, though? It's a gamble. By the time the seat cover comes in the car will be out of warranty. Could be trouble.

[WyGoSlw 2]

As long as the problem was documented on a repair order while it was under the warranty period they should not hassle you.

[Ed_R 1]

Famous last words;) Car gets new adjuster today.

[Ed_R 1]

New adjuster is in. Squeak is heard far less in frequency but is stsill there. Seat cushion arrives in MAY. Wow.