My story starts in February of 2013 when I bought myself a new work truck, a 2012 Dodge Ram with a diesel engine. My job takes me from coast to coast and across the border into the US as well, so I wanted a truck that was going to be dependable. I always have all work and oil changes done at a dealer, so I can make sure that the warranty is maintained.
I had been having issues with the truck for a couple of months, but every time I went into a dealer, they said that there was an issue somewhere, but just keep driving it, it's not that bad. On a recent trip I had to take, I lost the heat in my truck, so I headed to a dealer to have it looked at and find out why. At the dealer they checked the water pump, and changed the thermostat. After getting back on the road, I still had no heat
I went to another dealer and they ran more tests. They told me that the anti-freeze was backing up into the reservoir and not staying in the radiator. Because I was half way across the country and heading home, they told me to wait and take it to my local dealer when I got home because it would fall under the warranty. So the whole way home I had to keep stopping and putting antifreeze back into the radiator and I still had no heat so it was a very cold drive home. When I got home, I headed to my local dealer and told them what had happened and they took the truck into the shop. They looked it over and discovered that it had a blown head gasket, but then told me that it wasn't covered under the warranty because I was over my mileage.
After contacting the dealer that told me to take it to my local dealer and getting that straightened out, the dealer sent me to an engine shop that deals with their warranty work to get it fixed. After all this I think my truck is going to get fixed, so imagine my surprise when I get a phone call from the engine shop telling me that they can't do the work under the warranty because they said the truck had been modified. They asked me if I had a chip installed in it. I told them that in March or April of 2013, a dealer had installed the chip that would improve the fuel mileage and help with emissions because it's too cold for the one that came in the truck. I asked, at the time, if this chip would affect the the warranty because I hadn't had the truck for that long, and the dealer told me no it wouldn't because it had to be installed. So I took them at their word, and the chip was installed. Now here I am, 2 years later and I find out that the dealer had voided my warranty by "modifying" my truck.
I feel like I have been given the run around by Dodge. Most dealers do not have on site techs to work on diesel vehicles, and when you bring up the warranty, they can't get rid of you fast enough. After this experience I feel like Dodge looks for loopholes in their warranty work so they don't have to do it whether it's by making you go over the mileage when your getting close to the limit, or by doing things that are considered a modification and voided it all together.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My story starts in February of 2013 when I bought myself a new work truck, a 2012 Dodge Ram with a diesel engine. My job takes me from coast to coast and across the border into the US as well, so I wanted a truck that was going to be dependable. I always have all work and oil changes done at a dealer, so I can make sure that the warranty is maintained.
I had been having issues with the truck for a couple of months, but every time I went into a dealer, they said that there was an issue somewhere, but just keep driving it, it's not that bad. On a recent trip I had to take, I lost the heat in my truck, so I headed to a dealer to have it looked at and find out why. At the dealer they checked the water pump, and changed the thermostat. After getting back on the road, I still had no heat
I went to another dealer and they ran more tests. They told me that the anti-freeze was backing up into the reservoir and not staying in the radiator. Because I was half way across the country and heading home, they told me to wait and take it to my local dealer when I got home because it would fall under the warranty. So the whole way home I had to keep stopping and putting antifreeze back into the radiator and I still had no heat so it was a very cold drive home. When I got home, I headed to my local dealer and told them what had happened and they took the truck into the shop. They looked it over and discovered that it had a blown head gasket, but then told me that it wasn't covered under the warranty because I was over my mileage.
After contacting the dealer that told me to take it to my local dealer and getting that straightened out, the dealer sent me to an engine shop that deals with their warranty work to get it fixed. After all this I think my truck is going to get fixed, so imagine my surprise when I get a phone call from the engine shop telling me that they can't do the work under the warranty because they said the truck had been modified. They asked me if I had a chip installed in it. I told them that in March or April of 2013, a dealer had installed the chip that would improve the fuel mileage and help with emissions because it's too cold for the one that came in the truck. I asked, at the time, if this chip would affect the the warranty because I hadn't had the truck for that long, and the dealer told me no it wouldn't because it had to be installed. So I took them at their word, and the chip was installed. Now here I am, 2 years later and I find out that the dealer had voided my warranty by "modifying" my truck.
I feel like I have been given the run around by Dodge. Most dealers do not have on site techs to work on diesel vehicles, and when you bring up the warranty, they can't get rid of you fast enough. After this experience I feel like Dodge looks for loopholes in their warranty work so they don't have to do it whether it's by making you go over the mileage when your getting close to the limit, or by doing things that are considered a modification and voided it all together.
- Gin R., Fredericton, NB, canada