Hi,
Just joined. Need you all's help.
Last week I purchased a used Chrysler Town and County from a dealer.
Touring edition, 16k mileage.
Check engine light came on and took it to a dealership in Houston yesterday.
I am not an expert on vehicle maintenance but I believe these are what the service adviser at dealership told me. ( It is kind of greek to me. )
-Valves are not working properly.
-Cylinder pressure should be 110K psi but it is 95K psi.
-Somebody tried to fix it without taking it to dealership even though it is under warranty.
-So far I owe him $104, but he needs run more diagnostic tests that will cost me $254.
-These are just for the diagnostics, repair will be extra.
I told him yesterday when I dropped off the car not to do anything unless it was covered under warranty. I am disputing $104 charge and planning on taking the vehicle to another dealership.
By the way, minivan runs good. Wife and kids love it.
What do you all make of all of these.
You all's advise greatly appreciated.
Have a blessed day.

 

Tried to fix what????
Honestly, I would have sent you back out the way you came in......
It has to be checked first, before determining the problem, correct?? And if it is not under warranty, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for the initial diagnosis. Someone spent time looking at your car, they deserve to be paid for their time. If it IS a warantable issue, Chrysler will pay the diagnosis time as part of their re-imbursement to the dealership.

If it is NOT a warrantable issue, Chrysler does not re-imburse ANYTHING to the dealership, and The Diagnosis Fee becomes Your responsibility. If You wanted NOTHING DONE that is not covered by warranty, Then At that moment, your visit is finished. There is nothing They can do for you, Unless you are willing to assume the initial diagnostic costs in the event that your issue is Not Warrantable.

 

You may want to cool down a bit and hear me out.

If a service rep tells you everything is under warranty and calls you next day to tell you that you owe him $104 for the diagnosis, how would you feel? He could have called me before the diagnosis and let me know that there was going to be a charge. And I wonder how much diagnosing fee without owner's approval is OK with you? $100, $200 or $500 maybe $1,000???
I am not asking for fee stuff here but I was just shocked that the dealer did perform diagnostics without approval.
By the way, this isn't the first time I dealt with warranty issues but the other dealerships did inform me if there is a charge.
Thanks for your response though, I do agree with you that everybody needs to make money including dealers and mechanics.

It has to be checked first, before determining the problem, correct?? And if it is not under warranty, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for the initial diagnosis. Someone spent time looking at your car, they deserve to be paid for their time. If it IS a warantable issue, Chrysler will pay the diagnosis time as part of their re-imbursement to the dealership.

If it is NOT a warrantable issue, Chrysler does not re-imburse ANYTHING to the dealership, and The Diagnosis Fee becomes Your responsibility. If You wanted NOTHING DONE that is not covered by warranty, Then At that moment, your visit is finished. There is nothing They can do for you, Unless you are willing to assume the initial diagnostic costs in the event that your issue is Not Warrantable.[/quote]

 

If that came off as harsh, it wasnt meant to.....

If its covered under your warranty, the diag fee is waived, and "Chrysler " Picks up the tab....

I had the impression that warranty was denied, because you had repairs done outside, that were improper, or faulty. If this is indeed the case, Then the time spent diagnosing your vehicle (Which technically starts as soon as the repair order is dispatched to a Technician) Becomes Your responsibility.
A Starting labor of 1 hour is considered standard practice.

The bottom line here is this....Whether its you, or Chrysler, or even an aftermarket warranty company.....Someone has to pay for the time spent with your vehicle.

I'm going to state an example....

Some of the T+C / Caravan models like yours come with Power "STOW N GO" seats.
The customer brings the car in, and says her power stow seats dont work. After doing the troubleshooting tests, I find a bubble gum wrapper stuck in the release latch in the seat leg...... This is NOT a factory defect that caused the inoperative seats, So it WILL NOT be a covered repair........The customer will be responsible for the removal and replacement of the latch, Plus the cost of the latch itself, should I not be able to free it up, and bring it back to properly functioning condition.

She denies the repair, because, Much like yourself, she was not prepared to pay for it, and was under the assumption that it would be covered.

Who pays for the time I spent running the troubleshooting tests????

Now I will give you Your due...That SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXPLAINED TO YOU WHEN YOU SIGNED THE CAR IN......

 

I bought the minivan last week and paid premium price since it had only 16k miles on it. First Check Engine light came on a couple days ago, took it in, service rep claimed somebody already worked on the vehicle that voided the warranty. The code was P0304 Misfire in cylinder 4.
On top of that, tonight tranmission was stuck in first gear for an hour. It happened on the way to the Chuck e Cheese, after we left the restaurant it was all normal again. Tomorrow taking it to another Chrysler dealership.
It is so frustrating. My wife loves the stow and go feature, she doesn't want another van but Chrysler / Dodge.
I may have to keep it for a while until I have money to get it fixed. Do you have any idea how long I can drive a vehicle with a misfiring cylinder?

 

Where did you buy it??? and why didnt you take it straight back to the place of purchase?

If these alleged repairs were done BEFORE you owned it, Thats on the selling dealer....
And you will have more avenues of recourse with them.

Since it is documented, The inevitable Catalyst failure from a misfiring cylinder will void the emissions warranty as well......

You have only had it a week.....I would Seriously consider "KICKING IT BACK " to the selling dealer. At very least, The selling dealer is responsible for the recent diag fees and any necessary repairs.

It really sounds to me like the guy who sold you this "LUMP" is the bad guy.,

 

I bought it "as is" in houston at a mom and pop dealership. Still talking to the dealer who sold me the van though but they did not give me any warranty. So catalyst failure is inevitable if I keep driving like this?

 

If a "mom & pop" used car dealer has ANYTHING of a 2010 model year with 16K, that throws up red flags all over the place for me. You just don't see that. Used car lots buy VERY cheap to make money. Quality 2010s are not in their normal budget I can assure you. I'm thinking wrecked and rebuilt or flood damage possibly. Maybe even engine or parts from another vehicle. The dealer saw SOMETHING that peaked their suspicion. Find out exactly what that was and why they think what they think, then we can help you more. Then again they may be totally full of $hit..haha. We'll see...

If a dealer (anywhere) did any previous repairs under waranty, it will show up in the repair history on the Dealerconnect inquiry. If there is nothing there, but there is real evidence that something has been replaced or removed/installed.....then something stinky is going on here.......lol

Yes Cat failure, even a burned valve or detonation damage depending on the type of misfire. Not to mention blowby gases from a rich cylinder can pollute your oil

 

I have the Carfax report. It is clean. I have dealt with the dealer who sold me the minivan, did not have any problems.
After I picked up the vehicle from first Chrysler Dealership, transmission got stuck in first gear. Took it to another dealership yesterday. They said transmission needed computer upgrade and fixed. Now they are working on the misfiring in cylinder #4.
They said everything is under warranty and I am not going to pay anything out of my pocket.
I will keep you all posted.

 

Good that you're covered. I work on rebuilt wrecks and flood cars all the time that have a clean Carfax. If the incident wasn't reported, there's no record. Never depend on that thing. Get an inspection before you buy ALWAYS.