Service History

After the tire debacle, I had a few good months, but then it was downhill after that.

June 16, 2003
The air conditioner, which is critical in south Florida in June, started making some funky noises. Took it in to the dealer - there was foam in the blower. They (the service writer - Harry) told me it's part of the packing they do for shipping the car. They must have missed a piece when they put the car out for sale. Oops.

No date, but sometime during the fall of 2003...
"Check engine light" came on and I drove directly to the dealer. They told me it was because I let the gas tank drop to below quarter of a tank. Huh? Since when is that a problem? They also told me that I didn't tighten the gas cap enough - to make sure I tightened the gas cap so it clicked at least three times. No paperwork involved...

Dec. 5, 2003
The car started pulling to the right, enough that I noticed it.

Oh, the car was pulling because the tires had the wrong air pressure in them. That would be the air pressure that was set by the Chrysler service department.

December 31, 2003
I always dreamed of spending New Year's Eve at the car dealer. NOT! But the "check engine light" came on again. Went to visit the dealer and was happy to find my old service writer from Dodge had moved in - Patty Lee, a female service writer who didn't automatically assume anyone with boobs didn't have a brain. She was always a pleasure to deal with at Dodge, and I was delighted to see her again. Who knew she was going to become my new best friend...

The technician's story: "engine light w drb system had dtcp0440 condition is intermitten. erase dtc and road test vehicle ok at this time"
Whatever that means. I did understand the "OK at this time" though; or so I thought. Apparently "this time" means at this very moment and not five minutes from now or tomorrow or any other time soon...

This time the car had 3/4 of a tank so it couldn't be the lack of gas). But I was told the gas cap wasn't tightened enough - it had to click at least five times...

I checked the lovely lighted mirror on the way home. I absolutely did not have "idiot" stamped on my forehead...

February 10, 2004
It's a new year and I didn't have to visit the dealer for over a month. They must have missed me...

Walked out the door to go to work and the car wouldn't start. Checked to see if I left the lights on but nope, wait a minute - the keyless ignition worked. The lights came on when I opened the door. This was strange. Not only wouldn't the car start, it wouldn't even turn over. All I got was a click when I turned the key in the ignition.

Called my own road service - after the tire debacle I was pretty sure nothing less than a nuclear attack on my car would let the Chrysler road service kick in. A van showed up to jump my car. It would start when hooked up to the jumper cables, but when the cables came off, the car died. They pulled out a battery tester and said the battery was fine, it must be something in the electrical system. They sent a tow truck out. A guy shows up with a woman in the cab with him. It's now right before lunch. He towed the car into the dealer - luckily, I didn't want to go with him because there wouldn't have been any room for me...

This gets really fun. The dealer is about 9 miles from my house. I got a ride into work and by early afternoon I called to see if they looked at my car. Not only hadn't they looked at my car, they said it was never delivered. I called the road service company who called the tow driver. He said he delivered it around 1 pm (it took him 2 hours to go 9 miles!) and left the keys at the service desk. I called back the dealer and they denied receiving the car. They asked who he left the keys with. Called back the road service company who conference-called the tow driver with me. I asked him who he gave the keys to and he said, with considerable attitude, that he was not required to get a name and he hung up.

Conference- called the dealer. Got hold of Patty Lee, service writer extraordinaire. Half an hour later she called back. She literally had to walk the entire lot before she finally the found the car where the tow guy dumped it, with the keys on the seat.

Now it really gets interesting. The mechanic says he tested the battery and it wouldn't hold a charge so they replaced the battery. Yet when the road service company tested the battery a few hours earlier they said it was fine. And since when is a battery covered under warranty on a car with over 11,000 miles on it? I found that odd but the car was running so home I went.

Til the next time...