Anyone have some experience and advice on getting the dealer to find a warranty problem? Vacuum leaks out of the power brake booster on my 06 after only 45 min. of being parked. Dealer says that 2 full pumps or 20 minutes holding vacuum is the minimum so my leak out in 45 minutes is 'with in specs'. Of course I said whose specs and I want that in writing. This is a safety issue that I am not going to let them off the hook like I did with the clunk in my driveshaft/line.

 

Definitely make them put it in writing. Ask to talk to the supervisor and explain the safety issue to him and say you're not leaving until it's fixed or you have, signed and in writing, that it is 'within spec'

I also don't know what the problem was with your driveline clunk, but what kind of warranty do you have? As far as I understand, powertrain is the minimum meaning it's included in everything else as well.

 

Let me be sure I understand this problem correctly. You lose vacuum at the brake power booster 45 minutes after you turn the truck off? So how long do you think you need vacuum to this once the truck engine is turned off? My self I think the dealer maybe correct. My understand of things is that once your pickup truck is turned off and put in park (if you have an auto trans) and you shut off the engine, the park gear in the trans and not your breaks hold the truck in place to keep it from moving. Of course if you have a manual trans then whatever gear you have it in when you park, is the gear that will hold the truck in place and keep it from moving. Now if your worried that the trans will not hold the truck in place all vehicles do come equipped with an emergency break that you should use to help hold it in place every time you park.

 

Details: It is a V6 with 6 speed manual, 2006 with only 3000 easy miles on it in the 9 months I have owned it. Can't start it while being held by park or in gear, of course. And, I have a 2003 V6 5 speed to compare with side-by-side.
Had 06 on a hill with park-brake on; wife gets in, had foot resting on brake-ready, then popped park-brake, then turned key to start. SCREAMED as when she pushed brake it was hard as rock (while engine was turning) and nailed curb just as engine fired and replaced vacuum--a second or two late to save the alignment. Temp fix: keep park-brake on until engine fired. Problem: vacuum leak that needs to be found and fixed....common sense.

The '03 holds vacuum indefinately; I have let it sit up to 1 month and it still holds vacuum. Vacuum systems are closed systems with a one-way valve inside the booster, I believe. So if it slowly leaks out, well, then there is a leak. Vacuum leaks only get worse, not better. And, they start to affect other operations of the truck like idle quality, heat/ac vent function and gas mileage. On an old car like my 72 Cutlass if it leaks out in a month, I am not too worried. A brand new truck that leaks out in ONLY 45 minutes (BTW, it was slowly getting worse) pretty obviously has a LEAK somewhere that will not fix itself, and will get worse. The only time I would expect to hear flack from the dealer is if Dodge won't pay for it as it is still bearly in spec which is not the case here; This dealer won't even troubleshoot it to find the leak.

 

Found this on pg 5-74 of the '06 service Manual. Hope it helps with the dealer. Had a within spec issue with the dealer myself over door gaps. Just love it when you can use their own pub against them!

ACCUMULATOR LEAKDOWN

1. Start the engine, apply the brakes and turn the steering wheel from lock to lock. This will ensure the accumulator

is charged. Turn off the engine and let the vehicle sit for one hour. After one hour there should be at least two

power assisted brake application with the engine off. If the system does not retain a charge the booster must be

replaced.

2. With the engine off depress the brake pedal several times to discharge the accumulator. Grasp the accumulator

and see if it wobbles or turns. If it does the accumulator has lost a gas charge and the booster must be replaced.

 

gunner8255,

From what you found it is out of speck and he needs to show the SM that he was wrong and get it fixed ASAP.

pizza442,

I bet your wife has learneda valuable lesson and now leaves the emergency brake on when its parked on a hill until the engine is started so that she won't have a repeat of the same problem. I have seen and heard of this happen many times when a car and or truck has been parked for a while on a hill and the emergency brake gets released before the engine has been started when equipped with a manual trans.

 

The service information posted previously is for a hydraulic booster that runs off the p/s pump, thats why it is saying to turn the steering wheel from lock to lock. A vacuum booster does't have a accumulator. Hydraulic boosters are usually used on deisel trucks, because they have no vacuum.The factory service information for a vacuum boostersays to connect a vacuum guage, start the vehicle and allow to idle one minute. After turning engine off, if vacuum drops more than one inch HG (33 millibars) within 15 seconds thebooster diaphragm or check valve is faulty. If the dealer has performed this test and has record of the proceedure, any liability issues will be daimlerchrysler's problem, not the dealer. If you want to speak or meet a factory rep, the dealershould have a 1-800 number they can give you.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

Tenntech: You mention one inch HG drop withing 15 seconds. How many millibars or inches HG would be the max vacuum retained in the system? This way I could figure the rate which I am losing vacuum during the 45 minutes as compared to the rate of one inch per 15 seconds.
It is sounding like I might have to live with the leak until it gets to the point which they can say 'its losing vacuum fast enough that we'll find what's leak'n'.