Had my transmission filter and fluid changed today along with an oil change but never did my rearend fluid change like I wanted to because they wanted too much ($140!!!). It was $129 and change for the tranny and $33 and change for the oil change with an added $16 for fluid disposal that they failed to mention when I asked but I'm okay with that...it was $179 total (2 hr job). They let me personally check my old tranny filters and fluid and everything was good and like last time, so was the service. I talked with a tranny/rearend tech for quite a while, mostly about the new 2012 trannys but also about recalls and the forum. Same as the service adviser the last time, he hasn"t seen any tie rod or pinion nut problems or any other recall problems and this was coming from a tech, not the service adviser...and he did seem honest. But...there was a guy there who had to pay $16,000 plus for somehow running gas instead of deisel in his tank. $1,400 each injector and $4,000 plus for a converter and he was not happy, lol!!! And there was another guy there with an 09 HD deisel but old bodystyle with 28k miles (I have 28k also) who had to have a new turbo put on and was complaining about having to pay for the labor ($1,800 I think) even though he had a bumper to bumper warranty. The dealership told him that someone put the wrong filter on and caused it. But originally they said it was covered so he was arguing the whole time I was there. He used every word in the book and everyone there was watching and glued to the scene, lol! He had demanded his old filter to bring it to where he had it changed. That took them a couple of hrs to come up with and it made him even more furious, lol! Coincidently, I saw the same thing the last time I was there only it was a whole new engine swap for $21,000 because of the wrong filter...yikes! Oh...and btw, I was told by a very reliable source there that they pay 1,000 over dealer cost when they purchase a new car, and that some do get demos to drive at no cost.

 

A Dodge tech friend of mine told me that they have all been told to check for "dusting" when they are working on a Cummins' diesel. If they find it they will most likely deny your warranty claim--depending on your air induction system.
Jay

 

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is dusting?

 

Its what happens when you stick some POS filter on the engine (read this most CAI's) They find dust inside all the intake tubes since the filter isn't doing its job.

 

And that's what he said they told him but he was still mad because they originally said the warranty covered it and didn't tell him about the change until after they repaired it. I guess it's in the hands of the filter company now. But he's lucky that it didn't ruin his motor like the first one I saw....what is a pos?

 

I would be a little leery of the new trans when it comes for a year or two. My Dad bought a 08 Grand Caravan. It has the new for 08 6-speed auto (compared to my 07 4-speed auto) with the same 3.8L as mine. It was rebuilt @ 12K because it chirped when shifting into 3rd and 6th. Shifted fine, but noisy. A month ago @ 18K it jerked and carried on and the CEL came on. Dealer reset the light before I could check the code. A week later it did it again. They got it back a week later with rebuild #2. I haven't seen the itemized ticket yet to see what they replaced.
Our 545RFE's might be power hogs, but have come to be pretty reliable. I wouldn't be so fast to jump on a first year anything anymore.

As for the turbo guy, those things do not like dirt in the air or starving for oil from a poor flowing filter. I can understand him being mad though, if they told him it was covered, then trying to make him pay after the work was done. He should have been notified as soon as they figured out it was not covered.
This is yet another reason that I have my dealer do my fluid changes since I have a lifetime powertrain warranty and want no excuses if something goes wrong.

 

Enjoyed the recap 1954Radio, seems like you had an eventful day.. I agree with lxman1 though, i would be angry if they tried to charge me afterwards too. The thing is, and this has happened to me, i did not sign or agree to pay for any work done on the vehicle. So.... i will not be paying. The dealership will huff and puff but thats what happens when you perform work without the owners consent

 

POS = Piece of **** (K&N, etc in terms of actual filtering)

 

I would gladly take my chances with the new 66RFE, it's capable of handling 650 ft lbs of torque and set up much better than the 545 or new 65RFE. The spread between second 1.67 and third 1.50 is too close together and the rest are too far apart on the 65RFE/545RFE so comparing the two is a no brainer. As it is now, the 545RFE's strongest power band is in third gear at 1.00 where as the 66RFE's power band will be in the 4'th gear at 1.00. In other words, one to one ratio is where your engine powerband pulls the strongest. You wanna be going through the traps in the quarter at 1.00 to one in 4'th or better yet, in 5'th as in the TCI six speed. But not just racing, but for acceleration period. The 66RFE gears are 3.23, 1.84, 1.41, 1.00, .82, and .63. As you can see, it has a much better spread for acceleration which also equates to better gas milage not to mention the 650 ft lbs of torque capability. It's a no brainer, 666RFE hands down is better, like the 545RFE, it's already been proven to be a durable transmission.

 

I would have been mad too, but it was fun to watch. There is someone on here that just recently had his tranny fluid changed only to find out when it was finished, they flushed it without his permission. And then they claimed that they did it because they felt it needed it. I think he paid it though, I don't remember. But I remembered enough about it to tell them today "NOT" to flush mine and to just change the fluid and filters (there are two). It only has a little over 28k miles on it so it didn't need a flush. As it is, they failed to tell me about the $8 for the tranny and $8 for the oil disposal that was added to his invoice, lol!! I laughed, I almost told them, what disposal...the idiot dropped the whole pan on the ground and it went everywhere. He was a young kid and he was nervous because I was standing there watching him...my bad, lol!