Tempe Chrysler Jeep Dodge - Service Center

Tempe Chrysler Jeep Dodge responded

Thank you for being a loyal customer to us! We greatly appreciate you choosing Tempe Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. David and Gary truly want the best for all their customers and we're thrilled to know you noticed that. If we can help you with anything else please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to seeing you again! Remember to like us on Facebook and Twitter for our exclusive monthly offers. Regards, Mike Breyfogle - General Manager mikeb@tempedodge.com

Tempe Chrysler Jeep Dodge responded

Jack, We greatly appreciate your feedback! We are honored that we were the dealership that took care of you and had the parts you were looking for. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Don't forget to like us on Facebook and Twitter to see our specials. Regards, Mike Breyfogle - General Manager mikeb@tempedodge.com

Tempe Chrysler Jeep Dodge responded

Thank you very much for this kind review. Friendliness and honesty are two very important values to David and the whole team here at Tempe Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. We know he will appreciate your feedback. We look forward to seeing you when you're ready for your next vehicle! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see our exclusive monthly specials. Regards, Mike Breyfogle - General Manager mikeb@tempedodge.com

Tempe Chrysler Jeep Dodge responded

As the Service Manager at Tempe Dodge Chrysler Jeep it is my responsibility to make sure that we take great care of our customers and also follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for warranty repairs. This includes making sure that the customer has in fact performed all the required maintenance on their vehicle to maintain the factory warranty coverage in effect. For instance, if the manufacturer requires an oil and filter change every 6,000 miles and if a customer never changed the engine oil even once in 30,000 miles, the factory engine warranty will be voided due to “lack of maintenance.” This is very similar to the situation here. This vehicle did come in a few times after it was sold for issues with the turbo system. Chrysler, in conjunction with Cummins Diesel, decided that the drilling of the turbo was the approved method to repair the problem. As the owner states, this was done in November, 2008, at 19,000 miles. We actually had ordered the part for this repair at 15,000 miles. The Maintenance Schedule in the Owner’s Manual requires that the fuel filter be replaced every 15,000 miles. Since their truck had 19,000 miles, we informed the customer that a fuel filter replacement was recommended. They declined our recommendation and the manufacturer’s requirement to replace the fuel filter at that time. This information is clearly listed on the repair order. The next time we saw the vehicle was in April, 2010, at 36,000 miles. At that time the customer’s invoice was noted with the following: “No maintenance history—original fuel filter. Customer was advised that they should have a lube, oil and filter replacement performed and that they should replace the fuel filter as well. The customer declined all scheduled maintenance including replacement of the fuel filter. Customer was advised of problems that may arise from dirt in fuel system and still declined replacing the filter at this time.” Again, although we informed the customer that their vehicle should have had the fuel filter replaced twice by 36,000 miles and we informed them of the consequences, they again declined to have the maintenance services performed. This is the root cause of the problem. If maintenances had been performed per factory recommendations, the customer would not, in any way, be responsible for these repairs. Chrysler’s stance at this point is that the failure MAY BE due to lack of maintenance, which MAY have been disproven if the customer had authorized the needed inspections. Tempe DCJR have done everything we could to help the customer. The turbo was even soaked overnight in an attempt to free up the slider ring. This ring almost always will only jam if the injectors are not firing properly, something that is usually caused by dirt in the fuel system. Now, we could have told the customer that he needed a turbo for $2,000. After the customer authorized the repair and we replaced the turbo we could have called back and told him there was still an injector problem and that we needed to send them out for inspection. That would have been another $600. After he authorized that, we could have called back and told him that some injectors failed. If those injectors had failed for an issue NOT involving dirt in the system, Chrysler would have picked up the ENTIRE tab. If, however, an injector was plugged with dirt we would have attempted to clean it. If it couldn’t be cleaned we’d have told the customer that he needed to replace anywhere from 1 to 6 injectors at a price of $1,500 each. After that we would have still had to perform a regen. The DPF was 80 to 90% plugged. If that couldn’t be done and the DPF (something like a catalytic converter) had to be replaced, that would have been another $2500. Instead we chose to give the customer a worst-case scenario so he could make a rational, informed decision. If I were a customer I would want to know in advance just how bad something could be, not being put in a position where you say “well, I spent this, therefore I HAVE to spend that”. I’m sorry for the length of this response, but I feel I could not explain the situation in less words—I actually could have gone into a lot more detail! I hope this clarifies some of the issues the writer brought up. Dodge and Cummins have a fantastic “Manufacture Warranty” which is not a “guarantee of service” The consumer has a responsibility to perform maintenance as recommended to validate this manufacture warranty. Tempe DCjR has always gone the extra mile in support our customers service needs within the limitations of the stated warranties. The new low emission 6.7L Cummins diesel engine is a terrific engine and when maintained properly, will give customers many miles of excellent service. We regret that we cannot perform the repairs under the factory warranty due to the fact that the customer did not maintain their vehicle according to the terms of the factory warranty. This is unfortunate but entirely out of our control.