Stealership problems...what next?

[LTD.330]

OMG, the Chrysler Customer non-Service Rep actually said you have to deal with the problem yourself? I'd call her back and ask for the contact information for her boss, and his superior. Hopefully, you are fully documenting every interaction.

From the description of your problems, if I were you, I would insist on new rims and new tires. A balanced wheel doesn't go out of balance in 100 miles without an underlying problem.

 

[Woody]

You purchased the truck from them, the answers/excuses/treatment of you the customer are BS, they could take care of this if they wanted to.

This reminds me of how I was treated after purchasing a brand new SR boat, it wasn't SR that was the problem, it was ignorance at the dealer level.

 

[MancaveII]

There is a 200 page thread on some Ram forums about this issue... I have a 2016 Ram 3500 SRW - nothing initially but at about 1k miles I started to get that vibration at 70ish MPH. Put new BFG TKO2s on with road force balancing...not really better. Added some weight to the bed, vibration gone. There are a ton of harmonics on trucks that can cause issues and finding the one for yours is a challenge. GoPro cams pointing at rear springs have yielded interesting discoveries. 77MPH is my sweet spot, or 70 and below (without bed weight). Air turbulence and road cupping as well.

 

[importmonkey]

There is a 200 page thread on some Ram forums about this issue... I have a 2016 Ram 3500 SRW - nothing initially but at about 1k miles I started to get that vibration at 70ish MPH. Put new BFG TKO2s on with road force balancing...not really better. Added some weight to the bed, vibration gone. There are a ton of harmonics on trucks that can cause issues and finding the one for yours is a challenge. GoPro cams pointing at rear springs have yielded interesting discoveries. 77MPH is my sweet spot, or 70 and below (without bed weight). Air turbulence and road cupping as well.

Nice. Would explain why I didn't notice it as much when I was towing the boat. I didn't know if it was the tongue weight or my "concentration" on towing.

Could you please send me the link to that thread?

 

[importmonkey]

Just a quick update. I called my case manager back at Chrysler. She still hasn't returned my calls. I think she's avoiding me.

I called Goodyear today. Crystal was awesome! She wasn't surprised I went through what I did with RAM/Chrysler. She opened a ticket for me. I'll be making an appointment with their shop early next week to have them look at the tires.

 

[dpmulvey]

You ought to send this thread to everyone from the dealer on up and get the stats as to how many members have read it.

 

[Woody]

You ought to send this thread to everyone from the dealer on up and get the stats as to how many members have read it.

1,898 views so far.

 

[importmonkey]

So, FINALLY someone helping me troubleshoot. Put it on the lift, and what did we see? It could be nothing, or it could be a missing weight on the drives haft. Curiously, there is a mark around the circumference of the shafts right at that round mark.

Taking it step by step. Swapping front to rear and see where problem goes.

For reference, here is a weight near the front of the shift. It has a very similar mark in the middle. Like it's plug welded to the shift.

 

[importmonkey]

One of the back wheels had close to 10oz of weight on it.

P.S. I really hope the pictures are making it into the thread.

 

[importmonkey]

So, "Just Tires" in Arlington is great!

The tech helping me investigate the issue has been with Goodyear for 36 years. He was able to feel the wobble around 20mph. We simply swapped front to back and drove it again. Sure enough, we were able to feel it in the steering wheel - before, it was smooth and absolutely no vibrations. May be on to something here. His reaction..."it's tires."

The owner/manager was very polite and accommodating. He suggested going to the A/Ts which are less aggressive. I'm not terribly keen on the idea, but I think in the long run it will be better. He had to order them, but they should be in tomorrow and we'll see once and for all if it is a tire issue. He said Goodyear wanted to only warranty two of them, but he talked them into giving me 4. The A/Ts are actually more expensive, too. I asked, "Just to clarify, this IS all under warranty, right?" He started to tell me that Goodyear only warranties the product, not labor. My blood pressure started climbing, but before I could utter a sound he said, "but I can see you've been through a lot. I'm going to take care of the labor for you." Holy crap! Is THIS what real customer service feels like? I'll be d@mned. HEY, KOONS! Take a look at this!

At any rate, driving back to the office I could still feel it in the seat of my pants. We'll see if 4 new, lesser aggressive tires makes the problem go away. If I feel it after tomorrows appointment, it's going back to Koons - followed by a news truck.

 

[bahamabreisus]

Good luck, seem to be closing in on a solution

 

[War Eagle]

A full page ad in the WSJ or USAToday will usually get their attention -

 

[importmonkey]

300 miles on the new tires. A noticeable improvement for sure. There's still a vibration between 60-75, but it's much less than before. I still think the driveshaft is out of balance. It makes sense to what I'm feeling now. There's not much mass to that, so it wouldn't be as noticeable.

Not terribly crazy about the new tires themselves. Kinda looks like the truck was nuetered. Guess I can't complain too much though.

 

[White90GT]

What I really want...and it ain't much - is to pull into the service bay, have a pit crew jack up my truck and swap (already mounted and balanced) wheels and tires...fill up my truck with gas...and I'm off. You know...with a sense of urgency. "Get me out in front of that pace car or the race is over for us!" [kudos who can name that quote, by the way] Done. See ya. I'm out of your hair. I'd even raise a fist of triumph to the tune of General Lee's Dixie Horn on the way out and say, "We made it. Good work. I owe ya one." [same movie, a few lines later]


Anyway...fingers crossed we get this figured out.

Without reading the rest of these posts... "Days Of Thunder" Tom Cruise says to his crew when all his forward gears are gone in Rowdy's car...

 

[Iprof]

Can't believe how bad this dealer treated you. I had a problem with my MKX the drivers door would unlock all by its self at any time. Called the dealer they said bring it in tomorrow. I show up the next day and they tell me they will need to get the parts in but they want to keep it so they are putting me in a rental. I said great a subcompact I bet, he said no sir a nice new Lincoln. They had it a week before they called and said everything is fixed and I can pick it up tomorrow. This same dealership gives free oil changes on every vehicle they sell. I pay $5.00 environmental charge that's it for an oil change and fluid top up.

Time for a new dealer my friend.

Ken

 

[SteveRuss]

There's a reason besides build quality that luxury brands cost more. My wife's brought her new C300 Mercedes to the dealership closest to our house and not even the one we leased from for a small issue. While she was there she happened to mention about warning lights appearing randomly on the dash. They would not let her take the car home and put her in loaner, another C300. They call the next day that it is a weird issue with the wiring harness in the steering column and will be a few weeks to get the part. Keep the loaner. After almost 3 weeks she gets her car back but notices how dirty the interior is. They tell her to bring it back for a full detailing and take any loaner car she wants for the day. Car comes back looking better than when she first got it. Two weeks later she gets a check in the mail refunding 1 month's lease payment. Now that's service. Kudos to Mercedes of Massapequa.

 

[Bob & Sue]

If it were me after all the frustration you've been through I would take your truck into a drive shaft shop to have them inspected & balanced. Yes that is a balancing weight on the shaft apparently they weren't balanced to specs or there wouldn't be a vibration.

Then I would go back to the dealer & contact your rep with the results & have them pay for it since they wouldn't resolve it or drop it off get a loaner & tell them you want the drive shafts inspected & balanced or you don't want it back till it's fixed.

Actually I'd see how much a drive shaft company wants for a new set of heavy duty drive shafts the stock shafts aren't that great of quality. That vibration would drive me crazy the more I drove it.

I've towed race cars 100,000's of miles we always had new shafts, bigger u-joints & yokes installed before even using the car hauler.