Ok, so last Wednesday on my way home for the CVS, my Magnum RT kicks into "limp-home" mode. Luckily, I was only about 2 miles from my house, but it took for freakin ever going 22 mph.

I had the car towed to my Dodge dealer, where they diagnosed it with a bad "speed sensor." I asked them when I could expect to have the vehicle back, and they said it would take a few days since the part is currently BEING MANUFACTURED. . .since the transmission is "so new."

I expressed my doubts about this being a quick process, but they put me in a 1500 and told me to just wait patiently. Fine.

I have to tell you, it sounds just a little fishy. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know of it?

 

Parts for the BRAND NEW NAG1 are difficult to obtain. They require calling in for authoriztion as the transmission parts are on restriction as are all new platform parts. It's OK, be patient.

 

Thanks Denny,
How worried should I be about the fact that this part has gone already (8700 miles)? Is it a sign that I might be having bigger problems, or is it just one of those things?

Sorry if that sounds stupid, but I am. . .well. . .stupid. . .

 

Well, to answer my own question, here's the story:

A week after towing the car in, the dealer calls me to tell me that the repairs are done.

1. I get there to pick up the car and they try to charge me for the cost of the "loaner." I refuse to pay and they drop the issue, but kind of grudgingly with a sort of "OK. . . this time" attitude.

2. I get in my car and dive off the lot, and at 42 mph the transmission hangs up again. I drive back to the dealer at 22 mph and convince a service rep to have a ride with me, and he agrees that, in fact, the problem is not fixed. "But," he says, "We drove it twice and it was OK."

Now they tell me that there must be some more sensors that have gone bad, and that this time it might be a super long wait because the parts are backordered. They also tell me that this is all sort of out their hands because the part is a Mercedes part, and they don't have any control over the situation.

This is starting to smell bad to me. . .

PS, I don't much like the Jeep Liberty they put me in as a loaner

PPS, if anyone has and wisdom on dealer policies w/ regard to loaners, I'd love to know where they get off trying to charge me for a rental vehicle while a car with 8700 miles is out of commission in such a major way.

 

ALL 300 customers get free loaners for the first 3/36 regardless of what the car is in for. That is a DCX policy that EVERY dealer must comply with.

On the transmission.....I might suggest finding a dealer that knows what he is doing. As an example, myself and my partner are the only two trained transmission techs at our dealership...we both quit today. If the dealer you are at is short on trans techs maybe they are blowing you off trying to find a replacement tech to fix it. The dealer my buddy is going to has been without a tranny tech for a month, service manager says he has cars stacked up along the back fence waiting for a tech to fix them.

 

I am afraid you're right about this. My service department really seems to have some problems.

In order to get them to believe I needed oil changes done w/ 5W20, I had to show the service department documentation on the internet myself.

The problem is this. . .I'm no mechanic, and aside from the fact that these guys can't seem to fix my transmission, I'm not sure I'll do a great job identifying whether I've found a good service department or not.

I've heard that service departments will sometimes . . .um. . .lie to their customers. . .

Can you imagine this conversation

Me: Are you sure you guys have someone who's qualified to work on this transmission.

Them: Oh yeah. We've got it handled.

Me: Um, OK. . .

You know what's pissing me off MOST about this whole thing. . .it's the fact that my Rice Burning friends have given me no end of crap about moving to an American car, no matter how easily it smokes them. . . They've all gone on about what kind of headaches and heartaches I've gotten myself into by buying a Chrysler, and everyday they see me show up at work in this fscking Jeep, the jokes gets funnier and funnier to them. . .

 

BTW, if anyone has documentation of the DCX policy on loaners for warranty customers that Denny just cited, I'd love to have it so I don't have to battle with these jokers any more.

 

Diet Vanilla Mack,
Don't tell me...

Turn on Car...
Put in Drive...
Go down the street and the Transmission Stays in whatever Gear it's in when you let off the gas...
Stays in that Gear until restart and the Auto Stick doesn't work...

Are these your symtoms?

If so, the (3) week wait for the Sensor won't fix it... Ha, ha...

Been there, done that...
Took them (3) repairs to find the problem...

On the Loaner, you have to have the Extended Warranty for the Dealer to pay $39.00 per day for a Rental Vehicle. Of coarse, every dealership is different, and that's what sets them apart...

I had very good luck with the Service on my Magnum, fixed it fine and it runs bitchen... Even though they had it for about 35 - 40 days...

 

Hey Jimmy the F,

That's the problem, precise. . .

So what is it if it's not the speed sensor?. . .since I have to do all of their research for them anyway, I'd like to tell them what to look for.

OH, and I DO have the extended warranty. . .they're saying that it doesn't cover things beyond 5 days.

 

Diet Vanilla Mack,
The Dealer is full of 'warm soft brown human waste' to tell you that you can't have the Loaner for more than 5 days. Tell those 'Location where the brown stuff comes from' that if the Loaner is only good for 5 days, so is your allocated repair time. [:@] Denny was right, it will take a long time to diagnose and repair... For some reason, they are not efficeint enough to go pull a part from the Factory Assembly Line and fix your car... I know, it's political 'male cow soft brown waste'... Or (3) to (4) weeks lead time, whichever one you prefer...

How long has your car been in the shop?

It is a 'Non-Drivable' Repair that is needed, right? In other words, the Dealer won't let you drive it home and guarantee it will perform safely...

What is your states Lemon Law?

Want to go through the Hassle of getting a new car?

It sucked... My wife was driving mine when it broke. She thought she busted it... [&:]