handymantim

This is a rant and a whine, please bear with me.....

Let me preface this whole story with the fact that I've never liked dealers. I took my truck to the dealer to get its first oil change and have to share with the forum the poor service that I recieved:

1. I bought the truck in Lewisville TX. They offered the first oil change for free so I went for it.

2. The service manager did the writeup and got the process started. I have to say again, MANAGER. The only thing I wanted in addition to an oil change was power steering fluid added because it was at the "ADD" mark.

3. The truck had 5800 miles on it when I took it in and the first thing out of his mouth was, "you should have brought this in at 3700 miles. These trucks need their oil changed every 3700 miles for sched. B" I told him I forgot to bring my maintenance record but I kinda remember the first oil change at 3750 was for California trucks. He said "no". Since I didn't have proof in front of me I shrugged it off.

4. While the truck was in for service, I asked the manager to get some rocker panel body plugs and put them in. He said he didn't know anything about this problem and sent me to the parts guy. The parts guy told me he couldn't help and sent me back to the service manager but if I wanted to buy them for $2+ each I could. The manager tried to send me to the salesman who sold me the truck and after giving him an earful about shirking his responsibility he said he'd talk to his boss. After about 15 minutes he came back and said, "I called Dodge and they said they stopped shipping trucks in early 2003 with the plugs but we're going to order the plugs and send them to your house. Again, the plugs don't belong on your truck and Dodge stopped shipping trucks in early 2003 with the plugs." Right!

5. After the truck came back from getting serviced, I checked the power steering fluid level and it hadn't changed so I drove the truck into the bay. After several minutes the manager came out and said, "Is there a problem or are you just checking things?". I said the power steering fluid level was still low and proceeded to show him. He mumbled, "it's supposed to be running and hot when you check it." I told him there are two lines for hot and cold but obliged him and started the engine but it didn't affect the level. He said, "the power steering fluid level isn't checked at Quick Lubes because it doesn't have a yellow cap." I thought to myself, 'what does that matter? I'm not at a Quick Lube and it's low and I asked you to fill it!' He then asked if I wanted it filled and I said yes.

6. The reminder sticker in the window suggested the next oil change in another 5000 miles.

7. After getting home and checking the owner's manual and the maintenance record I found that the service manager was way off base on several things. The 3750 oil change is for California trucks. Sched B non-CA trucks should have their oil changed every 7500 miles. There is a WARNING in the owner's manual to check the power steering fluid with the engine off to avoid injury.

8. After reading this great forum I learned that the body plugs belong on the truck.

I learned one very valuable lesson and hope you did also:
DON'T TAKE YOUR BABY TO THE dealer FOR SERVICE!!!!!!


POST has been edited by administrator to remove dealer names. Please refrain from using dealer names or the post will be moved.

handymantim

I'm not sure why those asterisks came up. They replace the word "*******" which shows up in other places in the post. What's so bad about "*******?"

handymantim

OK, that's "dealer" with an "st" at the beginning.

doomgaze

Actually, my dealer told me the same thing about oil changes when I bought the truck.

He told me that I have to bring my truck in (or do it myself) every 3750 miles or risk having my warranty voided.

I also just checked my service booklet that came with the truck... it didn't say anything about California trucks for the Service B Schedule. In fact, it said that most trucks fall into this category.

Mine is a 2005, so it may be different... but I don't know why it would be.

However, the window sticker saying 5000 is kind of weird...

Dieseldude4x4

That word was banned by the site owner a while back and your post has been edited to remove the dealer name also. Please do not mention dealer names in the posts. I know it is very frustrating and I could tell you tales also but mentioning names makes the site owner liable for legal action which we do not need.

Thanks

RATTLINRAM

CLICK HERE for a site that has an online survey where you can comment on a dealership's service, whether it be good or bad. This will also help out other folks in the future.

handymantim

I can understand about not getting this forum in trouble....sorry about that.

Doomgaze, open your maintenace manual to the Sched B 3750 page and read the fine print at the bottom, if there is any in the 2005 manual. My fine print in the 2004 maintenance manual clearly states for California models only. Same for the remainder of the "odd" 3750 intervals....California only.

Dieseldude4x4

Thanks for understanding. Anybody can vent but we have to stay clean of names. Trust me, I know all about what you are talking about.

Enjoy.

PourinDiesel

Dealers are good for about 1 thing (sometimes).
Thats: having a place to buy the truck at.

doomgaze

Looked through my service book again and I still didn't see any mention of California only for Schedule B. Must be something they changed in 05.

handymantim

Thanks for checking your maintenance log again.

That's interesting about the California / non-Cali oil change interval. Makes me wonder if the intent is to lower emissions. I wonder if they didn't have the new maintenance manuals printed or wanted to deplete existing stock when the big emission change happened in 2004.5 with the "600" motor? Undoubtedly they are the same basic engine so I don't know what else it would be.

NJMurvin

Yeah. I thought all the 600s were on the same oil change schedule. After all, the only difference is the sticker on the valve cover.

doomgaze

You probably hit the nail on the head there, Tim. I wouldn't be surprised if thats all it is - that they wanted to use up the older books before rolling out the new ones.

Hounddog

Do what I've done in the past.Print these threads and mail one to D.C.one to the dealer owner and one to the service manager you deldt with.

TRAVIST

The differnece between schedule A and B is this. At least for the 2004 and up. Schedule B is for vehicles that fall into any of the following criteria. Are being driven on frequent short trips where the engine is not at full operating temp,(defined as 190 degrees). Extensive engine idling at ambient temps less than 32 degrees. Driving in dusty conditions. Frequent trailer towing. Off-raod or desert operation. Extensive operation at high engine speeds and loads. This is directly out of the owners manual for 2004 and 2005. Schedule A would be everything else. Most vehicles will fall into the schedule B. Hope this clears some of this up for everyone.