I recently took my RT in for its 3k mile service and had the dealer (Performance Dodge in Glendale, AZ) take a look at a few things. First, the oil change was free, which was a nice surprise! Second, they buffed out what appeared to be a spot from a bird dropping that I couldn't get out. Again, free. I also had them look at the following things:
1) On the upper passenger side of the windshield in the black area, there's a 3"x5" discoloration that looks like water got in between the layers of glass. It's very odd--something neither I nor the service writer had seen before. New glass is being ordered and installed by an outside vendor. I guess dealerships (at least this one) don't deal with glass themselves.
2) At the back of the sunroof, there's a flimsy piece of weatherstripping that looks double-sided taped on. It was 1/4 falling off on the passenger side and starting to come off on the driver side. They ordered a replacement strip.
3) Just in front of the hatch opening on the headliner is a platic panel. That's dipping down a bit on my car, so they're going to replace it as well. I don't know if that has anything to do with the 115 degree days we had, but the dealer was very courteous in ordering new a new one.
All in all, a very painless trip to the dealer. I give them two thumbs up for good service, and I'm not disappointed at all in the car, since I'd expect a few small flaws the first year of the car's release.

 

Good to hear you had a good experiance with your local service dept....
I really wish I could say the same for the service department of
Surroz Motors in Visalia, CA, where I purchased my RT.

When I purchased my RT, it had a dent near the right rear corner
of the sunroof....it was a real pain to get the dealership to get it
fixed. Then, when I go to pick the car up, I walked out to the lot
with my salesperson, he started to point out a flaw with the repair
job, but he was stopped in his tracks by an elbow in the ribs
from the service writer.

When I get home....after the 2 1/2 hour one way trip to get the
Magnum, I notice a paint run on the roof line, where the dealership's
paint shop had repainted the roof, above the windshield.
When I contacted the dealership about the problem....their attitude
was...."oh well"....I even enclosed a letter with my satisfaction
survey to DC....so far, no reply from DC....nor do I expect one.
I sent a letter to the Mr Surroz himself.....no reply.
I am curious how this dealership has a five star rating from DC.

I am sincerely happy to hear that there are some good dealerships
out there, that do care about the consumer.

 

Sounds like you have a great dealer, be sure and write them a nice letter, saying you enjoyed the great service.

HemiMag, sounds like you have a so-so dealer, too bad.

Not sure if my dealer is good or not, have ahd no problems or reason to take car in for service. First oil change is coming up, not sure if I will go to dealer.

Bob

 

Thanks Bob....Although I would rate Surroz Motors well below so-so,
I appreciate your words. I have already had contact with another
dealer's service dept. I encountered the issue with the A/C cutting
out for no reason....I drove to Haddad Dodge in Bakersfield, CA.....
(the A/C was working again when I got there, of course), however,
I told the service writer what happened, he went in the shop and
borrowed the "computer" and plugged it in to my RT. He went
through all the codes....although an error came up for the sound
system, nothing came up for the A/C.

I know not all dealerships are lacking when it comes to customer
satisfaction, but a "Five Star" dealership.....???

Thanks for putting up with my rant...

Rex

 

Could be a lot worse, it could be like the 1989 Olds 88 that I once owned.

Car ran great at first, then in the second year it developed an engine shake at certain speeds - but not all the time. So to my friendly Olds dealer I go, to have it checked out.

They drove the car, had no problems, I explained it didn't always do it. During the following months, they replaced the computer twice, reprogrammed the computer numerous times, replaced the ignition module 3 times, checked the wheels for balance, checked the tires, etc. And still the problem would arise at certain times.

At speeds between 70-75, the engine would SHAKE, I mean shake so bad you could hardly hold onto the sterring wheel. Go a little faster or slow down a bit, and the shaking stopped. Then it started to shake bad at an idle, again - not all the time. I finally let the service department have my car for 2 weekends, and the manager would drive my car.
NO PROBLEMS!

Finally the service department told me, sorry, we can't find any problems - car was mine to drive and live with. I said oh yeah? I contacted the Olds Headquarters in Michigan and told them of my problem and my dealer.

A few days later, I get a call from my dealer, would I please bring my car back in?

Turns out my Olds and a lot of others, had problems with the fuel injectors.
The tested out "lazy" on the test machine, meaning sometimes they sprayed the correct amount of fuel and sometimes they didn't.

4 out of the 6 fuel injectors tested bad, causing my engine to shake badly.

Imagine your engine trying to run on 2 cylinders at highway speeds.

Car ran fine after the new injectors.

All of my troubles with the car was over a 6 month period, it took that long to fix the problem.

So hang in there,
Bob

 

I just took my RT to the dealer last week for the first oil change, the Boston Acoustics balance problem, and a reall bad rattle in the left rear speaker with any bass.
They changed the oil, found out 2 days later they put in 10W30 oil! There is a bright yellow filler cap that clearly states: 5W20, as does the owners manual. i returned to the dealer for another oil change! The reciept also said 10W30. They could not work on the BA balance problem, as they do not have the software. They ordered a new speaker for the ratlle, probably just something loose!
My RT had a small scratch on the rear bumper on delivery, they fixed it alright, now it is a big, ugly swab of matching touch up paint, worse than the scratch!! I'll leave the dealers name out of it while I give them a chance to try and get it together.
MAGNUM8R

 

I really hope your dealer does get it together.....

 

Thanks,
I called the Service Director yesterday. Nice title, but this guy is absolutley useless![>:] I explained that the 5.7 Hemi was designed with tolerances that require 5W20 oil. He just shined me on, saying "oh, 10W30 is OK too" BS!!! Why is there a bright yellow cap that states 5w20 and also pasted all over the owners manual?? I explained the other issues, they all sound unimportant to him.
I probably need to contact DC and also find a dealer that knows something about the RT. All this guy can say is leave it with us for day and we will see what we can do. NOT!!! I really don't want these idiots even near my RT again!!!
Later,
MAGNUM8R

 

In all fairness, 10W30 is probably alright. The pushrod motor really isn't built to super-tight tolerances. (I'm positive it's tighter than DC engines five years ago, though.) Most auto manufacturers use thinner oil these days to promote faster engine warm-up. This in turn lowers the emissions at a faster rate. Of course, faster warmup usually is the result of greater friction. Is there a correllation to the thinner specified oil? Quite possibly.
My '01 Explorer calls for 5W30, but the '02+ Explorers with the same engine call for 5W20. I've always used 5W30 with no problems.

 

Yes it is. Super tight in fact. Typical tolerances are within single digit microns.

Although I have trouble to a certain degree believing it myself the service manual states that 5-W-20 oil (or other 20 weight max oil like 0-W-20) is vital in order for proper operation of the Multiple Displacement System. The MDS switches oil pressure on and off to eight valve lifters at precisely the right time to collapse them and trap an exhaust charge in four of the cylinders when switching to 4 cylinder mode. The transition from 4 cyl mode to 8 cyl mode is 40 milliseconds.
Again this is accomplished with oil pressure and solenoid valves. Becuase the oil becomes a hydraulic fluid in this operation it is vital that it maintain a certain viscosity at operating temperature. I'm sure that a high quality synthetic 5-W-30 would also work but why take chances?

Henry

excerpt from service manual:
The recommended engine oil viscosity for vehicles equipped with the 5.7L engine is SAE 5W-20. Vehicles with 5.7L engines equipped with Multiple Displacement System (MDS) must use SAE 5W-20 oil. Failure to do so may result in improper operation of the Multiple
Displacement System (MDS).