Tomorrow will be three weeks that my truck has been at the dealership. They called me last night to tell me, the new PCM they ordered for my truck is on an over 800 piece back-order!!! The service guy went on to admit there is something seriously wrong with the PCM's to have created this back-order and he has no idea when the part will be available. He went on to say, he's not authorized to provide with a loaner car, that I should call Dodge's 1-800 service number for support. I've been on the phone all morning with them, getting no where. They say, because I have 38k miles on my one year old truck, I'm no longer covered by the bumper-to-bumper warranty. I pointed out, I still have 7/70 powertrain warranty and until they fix my truck I have fawking forty-one thousand dollar G-**** boat anchor.

They said they would call me back.......

 

Welcome to DTR

With 38K miles on a one year old truck obviously you use it, and you can't use it when it's in the shop. The truck was desinged to be driven not parked. It is NOT your problem they have a parts backorder, it is their problem. One other aspect to the lemon law is if they can't fix it within a specified time frame it's a lemon. I believe it's 30 days.

Time to get a lemon law attorney, get your money back for this truck (plus attorney fees) and make them sell you a new one at their cost. Trust me, until you get an attorney you will have NO clout with DC. Until you show them you are serious, informed, and you "Just ain't gonna take it anymore.", they will dismiss you and your requests as a uninformed consumer who will take what they give you. Consumer laws say differnent.

Time to get an attorney.

 

Time for a CATcher ECM

 

2005, totally different animal.


phox

 

I had the same prob but my dealer couldn't come to the conclusion that it was the ecm. They kept saying it was a wiring harness. I was lucky enough to trade it in at another dealership and bought a leftover for good money. I hope things work out for you. Oh yeah I bought the extended warranty since nothing is ever under factory warranty. I thought the ecm would be covered under engine warranty. Isn't bolted to the engine. Let us know how you make out.

 

I am thinking you meant ECM and not PCM , these are very reliable and cant understand why there would be a back order , and it is part of the engine 7 year 70000 mile warranty. nothing sounds kosher about that deal.

 

Update:

I'm still arguing w/ the dealer and Dodge customer service. Getting farther with the dealer, customer service keeps promising to call me back but never does. It's a pain when you call them because of all the hoops you have to jump thru before you get to a human being. I even tried to avoid this by getting the extentsion of the person I last talked to, but he said they're not allowed to give them out.

I thought it was the ECM also, but the dealer swears it's called the PCM. The dealer still swears it's waaaaay back-ordered. Customer service says they can't find where it's been ordered, won't comment on back-order and in general being fairly vague......

I would rather have my truck back, but I think the dealer is going to put me in a rental today after work. Thanks for the help and will update later.....

 

If your truck still runs I would go get it from them. Have it sit in your drive way is better then theirs.
Then I would have another shop diagnose the problem. Perferably a Cummins shop.
Then if it is the ECM/PCM I would have the dealership pull a ECM/PCM from a new truck and put it on yours. Then when they receive the new one they can install it on the other truck. That way you get on your way. Ask them to perform a Rob if the part is on back order. All they have to do is Call their tech line to have it authorized.

 

A truck with probs is better at home?? Is this like a hospice thing or something? Keep it comfortable until it is completely dead?

Another shop to diag an 05, preferably a Cummins shop.....I think JohnCA58 can touch on this. That ECM is a DODGE ECM....not a Cummins ECM.

....Pull an ecm from another vehicle..... Not anymore, especially if you have SKIM security. Swap ECMs on those and you'll open a can of worms that you wouldn't soon forget.


For EVER there really hasnt' been an ECM prob. I did however run into one in the last couple months (05 six speed). Voltage for the front three injectors kept dropping off intermittantly. Did a few things to pinpoint and finally found that the ECM driver was faulty. This truck would go up to 3500 miles with no sign of prob, but then drop three cylinders. Oh what fun..... Luckily the customer had some technical back ground and was full aware of the many possibilities that were at hand. It's been three months and he called my from Wyo and said so far so good. It was at another dealer that the prob was discovered. I provided a detailed file of what I had changed/tried with the truck. The tech was at his wits end and pretty much told the guy he had no idea of what was causing the issue when he hit the ECM. The truck died and wouldn't restart. Lots easier to fix broke than fix intermittant!!

....

 

I can sypathize with ya man. Did you try going to the owner of the dealership? I'm assuming you allready did. Sometimes going to the top helps, especially when it's clear to them that you have waited way too long. There is a Dodge website that you can go to also.
GOOD LUCK.

 

Another Update:

I've spoken to Dodge Customer Service four times now. Each phone call was over thirty minutes, lots of apologies, lots of hold time and each call ending with, "we're going to look into this further and call you back" (which they never did). The final call was on Friday evening when they told me, sorry rental/loaner car request has been denied, go talk to your dealer. They would not let me talk to a supervisor or whoever had denied my claim. All in all, a very un-customer friendly service.

After dealing with customer service, I called the dealer. They said they have no idea when the PCM will be in, but that I could come by and pick up a rental car. It appears customer service denied the rental, but the dealer gave it to me anyway. So until my truck is fixed, I'll be cruising back and forth to work in a rental four door Neon!

 

Log into www.Dodge.com and follow the prompts for a complaint. Enter your VIN and then provide them with a complete and factual account of each and every issue and delay. Include the dates and details of all the related problem, the contacts you have had, and what you expect in return. Phone calls are easy for the call center toads to slough off, but when Dodge gets the issue in writing they really spend some time addressing the details because they know the next step will be correspondence to senior management.

Keep in mind they are human, just pushed by a short term corporate profit motive.

 

Educate yourself on our states Lemon Law. Call your states bar association and find an attorney who specializes in your states Lemon Law, warranty, consumer defects. As you stated why put up with parts delays after you forked over $40+? The attorney is paid for by DCX once you prevail in a settlement (have the attorney mail you a letter explaining how they get paid). It is the only way to communicate (litigation) when the companies do not appreciate your business. I have used the lemon law in Michigan twice with success. Let it sit at the Dealer, have DCX buy it back and move on, life too short to get worked up over a truck. My 2c.
http://www.oag.state.md.us/consumer/lemon.htm

 

Haven't mentioned it on here, but have been looking into the Lemon Law deal. I'm not quite ready for that option yet, but trust me, I've saved a few lawyers info for that purpose.

I've kept a log of phone calls and will most certainly send a nasty, but well supported letter to Dodge.com.

Update: Dealer just called, parts came in, they're working on it and if all goes well, expect to have done tomorrow. However they did say, now they're not replacing the PCM, but are replacing the Injection Pump??

 

HERE IN NY, OVER 36K, THE TRUCK IS CONSIDERED USED, AND THERE IS NO LEMON-LAW. MOST STAES ARE SIMILAR. BEFORE YOU CALL A WITCH HUNT, TRY SOME SUGARS, BEFORE BITTERS. YOUL GET FARTHER....FASTER