Dodge service

[ramair1]

I am getting so annoyed with Dodge service that it is ruining the ownership of the car.
I brought my 05 magnum r/t to get a list of things repaired:
1. pulls to the right
2/ A/C cutout
3. Carpet tear on pass. side by scoff plate.
4. wheel balance rotation - i had a slight vibration at 60-70 mph
5. 12k service since i am at 11,400 miles anyway.
6. sun roof rattles severly

I dropped car off on Thursday at 7:00 am as scheduled.

The service writer calls and states "might not get it all done today" may need a loaner.
I say Ok give me a call at end of day let me know where you are at.
No call, so I call i find out that he left for the day and is on vacation tomorrow and they can not tell me anything abouit my car since all the tech's leave at 3:30 pm.

I show up at 8:30 am on Friday to get a loaner and an update. - My car was NOT TOUCHED yet.
ok so **** happens and I say I need it end of day today, if possible

- They order parts - glass and track for sun roof - to be finished on another visit.
- They order rivet for carpet fix as per tsb
- The screw with the alignment all afternoon and state they can't get it right yet and will need it longer. They say DC keeps changing the specs on them and they have to adjust the craddle etc., each adjustment then go for test ride. He almost starts to tell me the Magnum is a good car, but.... then stops himself.
- My A/C is fixed
- My oil is changed, but sheet does not specify what oil was put in. I ask the other guy behind counter about the oil code on receipt and he says it is a generic code. So he asks someone and they say 5w-30. So i go through the roof and then the service manager says no they put in 5w-20. I have no way to know whats in there. I will do myself next time. Tomorrow.

The kicker is they balanced my wheels alright, but they placed weights on the outside edge of my polished aluminum rims! WTF. They will be replacing my wheels if there are scratches below the weights. Anyone else have the weights on the outside?? I expected they would use stick on type weights, sigh...

This is a 5 star dealership too, lol. Elmhurst Dodge.

This type of experience will weigh heavily on deciding to keep this car. I was skeptical of Dodge service and quality, and it appears for good reason.

[jeepgrady]

My "C" has all weights on the outside from the factory. What's the big deal?

[redinorange]

My "C" has all weights on the outside from the factory. What's the big deal?

It's just not cool man, it's just not cool...

[monkey]

My magnum came with the weights on the outside of the rim...that is how DC does them. I believe the techs have rules they need to follow for balancing, and that is one of them so Ive heard. They wont put the weights on the inside because that is not the proper way to balance a tire. I didn't bother asking a tech to move mine to the inside because I knew what their answer would be. Luckily the rest of my family all work in shops with a "Static balance" button on their tire balancers and they arent afraid to push it for me! the scratches from the weights are not noticeable now....but I know where they were

[Rev.Hammer]

To quote Ramair:
"polished aluminum rims!"

I would have to say that he has a point. The steel cleats that hold the weights in place eventually chew through the clear coat and over several rebalances will severely mar the appearance of the rim. Also, if he has AFTERMARKET polished rims, he should be in a righteous dudgeon as well!

[cadzilla74]

RAMAIR1 sorry to hear your dealer is such a cluster"F". These forums are so great for getting the lowdown on things before we head to the dealer for stuff ( not to mention the fun socializing that goes on around here). Every time I go into my dealer they recognize me and ask "what are they talking about on that damn computer of your's now? ...lol
All service departments are not as screwed up maybe you can find another dealership that will work with you. Cruised by my dealer today to get an update on the rear window regulator that is back-ordered. Mentioned to the service guy I knew about the intermittent A/C TSB but I had not had any problems. Then I told him we were gonna take a relatively long road trip into the hill country of South TX in 2 weeks and I'd rather not find out I DO have the problem somewhere out in the boonies. He said, no problem, we'll flash it with everything we've got when we do the window and he added it into the work order on their computer while I was standing there. Not only that, 2 weeks ago I had my first oil change done there and I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, he looked it up and they had put 10w-30 in instead of 5w-20 by mistake (there was no way to tell from the receipt I got just like yours, it just said 7 qts of oil and a friggin' part number for it). But my mileage cratered right away and I figured MDS wasn't kicking in. They put my car staright into the bay, drained it and put the right oil in and I was gone in 15 minutes, no charge.

[ramair1]

Went downtown Chicago last night and noticed while on the highway my car now vibrates at 65-75 mph. If you let go of the steering wheel the wheel will oscillate from side to side. It is worse than it was when I brought it in for the balance and alignment.

Anyone else have this problem or or is your Magnum smooth as glass over 65 mph? Needless to say I will not live with it this way.

As far as the weights go -- The weights remove the finish from the wheels, which expose them to the elements. In Chicago the elements are not kind. The wheels will corrode. It will start with white pitting then progress. Why could they not use stick on weights?

[67alecto]

It's your dealer - find a new one...now.

[Rockadile]

Mine came with the weights on the outside as well. I am going to be taking it for tire rotation and I figured I'd get the shop to rebalance and weight the wheels from behind.

Is there any drawback to this? I am just curious why it is not done this way from the factory.