stillsmokin

I'm a former GM master technician and was a service advisor for Ford motor corporation. If that ain't big enough diesel for you I also worked for a class 1 railroad as a locomotive diesel mechanic. Mark called me and asked about what I knew about recalls, which I know plenty....

A recall such as this one sounds like a MANDATORY safety recall, as in threat of loss of life. The only reason manufacturers do this sort of thing is because the value they assessed for calculated risk for a given vehicle was excessive in a certain area. Laymans terms lots of dead/injured people on vehicle X with option Y having the same problem. Manufacturers can't stop executing the recall, period. All vehicles that fall under the recall must be accounted for as completed or destroyed. Dealers are bottom feeders, they will survive by whatever means they can, and they will smile at you while they stab you in the heart. Dealers are just $100,000 franchises for the most part, otherwise the dodge dealer isn't dodge corporation... they're a representative of dodge. The manufacturer allows so much warranty expense per month to the dealer, they want sales of this amount for parts, service, and new vehicle sales. Remember these people are paid on commission and they want you to buy a new truck not to fix your old one for free. Don't ever do what they say, if you have a vehicle with an open recall you are in the right to have it repaired.

In my time as a tech, I am not aware of any circumstance where I could deny a mandatory recall, as long as the vehicle was there, and I did the work. It isn't a warranty claim, you don't have to be the original owner, I don't even think a salvage title matters. It is the component itself that is bad and if it is on said vehicle indicated in a recall it has to be replaced. Even if the vehicle is covered in rotting vomit. The goal of the recall is to eliminate the dangerous components on said vehicles and to improve customer satisfaction / public image by doing the right thing. Dead bodies are bad for sales.

I also am confident that if you messed with a pump it don't matter either, sure it would void the warranty, but a recall is different, that pump is not supposed to be on your truck anymore, PERIOD.

If I had a first gen that fell under this recall, here's what I'd do.

Politely tell the dealer's Service Manager or if need be move up to the General Manager about the problem you are having with the service department resolving your recall. A customer service compliant to the manufacturer affects their CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index score). A negative gets attention and corporate often calls the dealer and tells them to resolve the dispute. If that fails contact the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and file a report against them, they won't like you but, hey dog eat dog right!

The BBB for your area can help get you in touch with people that the dealer doesn't want a visit from, the district service manager, or (my favorite) the regional service manager. Make sure you have documented proof of the recall and of being refused at the dealer, names and dates of who you dealt with, and be specific. When Corporate managers show up on a plane unannounced at a dealership its not going to be a good day. People tend to end up unemployed or problems are fixed quickly. If that isn't working I'd file a compliant with the NHTSB (National Highway Transportation Safety Bureau) or turn to the local investigative TV reporter for a help putting press-ure on your local clown dealership.

I loved working on cars, trucks, and locomotives for manufacturers. I quit my job at GM in 1999 over things like this, I could not sleep at night thinking of the things they asked me to do. I grew up knowing the difference between right and wrong and gave up my career as I wanted no part in putting those who I was supposed to help in harms way. Its time we asked more of business' here in the United States and hold them to this moral requirement.

Remember the best way to cause damage is to create friction, so throw some sand in it and don't give up.

stillsmokin

Sorry about the double post guys tried to fix it. What I speak of applies to the US not sure about Canada and thier legal system.

BC847

Got it for ya.

jakofalltrades

Hi guys I'm new to the forum. I just recently purchased a 91.5 w250 a few months ago. Not but two weeks of owning the truck I was leaving the local convenience store and I tapped the pedal to acelerate and my truck took off like a bat out of hell spewing black smoke and kicked the rear end out. Its got a good setup running 30lbs. boost. And with my awesome luck the local pd happened to be sitting there. I threw the truck in neutral and stomped the pedal a few times and it idled down. Let's just say the red and blues were on my tail. I told him what happened and needless to say he didn't believe me one bit. He wrote me a citation for Operation without reasonable control because he had nothing on me, I wasn't in excess of speed, all legal. So now I have an ongoing court case about all this. As I researched I found the #605 recall and called my local dealer and before I wasted my time I verified all the numbers and if there was an infinity symbol on my pump. Well to my surprise everything was correct and it had never been replaced and now it is leaking like a sob and it won't shutoff with key. I made an appointment with my local dealer and they took it in no questions asked. Said yeah will look into it, it has an open issue with recall. Well a few weeks go by and I haven't heard anything. So I call up there and they said they are having a hard time verifying the numbers ( I used my camera on my phone to take several pictures to verify I.D. badge it's all legit) and continued to tell me that the replacement pump is no longer in production. So I ask well can't you guys upgrade my truck to the next gen twelve valve p pump? And to my suprise the service manager already investigated that and told me they would replace the pump, injection lines, gears, chain, new timing case and cover, and injectors but corporate only sets aside x amount of dollars per shop for recalls and he told me all those parts and labor would be around 10,000 dollars. So he said it's now in there hands and there pushing towards wanting to buy back my truck and crush it! I'm waiting on a price but in all reality I just want it fixed. It's a one owner with only 130,000 and purrs like a brand new truck. And I know it will treat me better than a new one and I love the mileage. So I guess I'm asking aren't they obligated to fix the truck and replace faulty parts no matter the circumstances or issues. It can be upgraded with available parts they just don't want to shell out the bucks. I think there casting a line to see if they can get out on the cheap. What do you guys think any advice?

Lary Ellis (Top)

You can search Google, all kinds of VE Pumps for sale out there...the Dealer is just trying to jerk your chain.

Angry Johnny

That is a load of BS. There is a dollar amount that Chrysler will pay for a claim but no set amount for shops. If Mopar doesn't sell the part anymore then they need to obtain an aftermarket part. But because the payment system won't recognize the part numbers they will have to get an authorization from the DSM (district service manager) and possibly mail the claim in for payment. All this means is that the dealership is going to have to wait for their money instead of being paid on their next statement.

I'm thinking that if waiting 4 to 6 weeks for $1000 is going to break them then they are in pretty bad shape.

As to the original OP, if your truck had already had a campaign claim processed then it won't show up as having an open campaign. Which may be why your truck doesn't come up in the recall lists. Safety recalls are forever, they never expire. Customer satisfaction recalls (or campaigns as the factories like to call them) can and do expire but they are not safety related.

gyman98

I ended up just fixing the pump myself, everyone I called, emailed etc said no. Was easier in the end for me to just fix it lol