OT-Dealers

[user 64117]

OT-took my wifes 00 Dodge Grand Caravan in cuz the damn door locks and lights were going crazy when she went down the rode. Interior lights would flicker and door locks would jump up and down at will. So....it has 60k miles on it....not bad for a minivan.



I get a call this morning...for what they "found to be wrong" with the van, they wanted $1200. When i asked what was the issue, she told me...the door actuators were faulty(all 4), the steering pump was rotting out and will fail soon, the belt tensioner froze...and the belt will soon snap, and finally the throttle body was filthy and need to be serviced. Her response was so...do i have the signoff to perform the work. I told her "no". She gave me a sigh.



I explained that i only want what the van was brought in for to be fix...($225). I got an attitude...like my van will suddenly fall apart when i put it in drive an barely manage to get out of the dealer driveway.



I have a local mechanic that treats me fair and always tells me to drop it off to him after the dealer has given me their speech, so that he can evaluate the work really needed. he has done this twice and saved us hundreds. Why do woman always insist on going back to the dealer to get hosed.



sorry but just venting....been without my ST (in shop for body repair) for a month now and going crazy reading everyones posts on mods. :wacko:

 

[Keith Lewis]

sounds like the keyless entry was going wacko, not the door actuators......

 

[Tony Tassillo]

my dad had the same issue in his 02 dodge ram with 250,000 on it..... turned out to be the databus controller in the vehicle which ended up costing in the ballpark of $700 and all work was done by the dealer. everything is fine. his horn was honking and lights flashing like he had factory keyless but he didnt. manual door locks manual windows but the dash had all the familiar symptoms.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Had the same thing happen on my wife's old 94 Caravan. It was like driving a disco mobile. It's the door pin actuators. Just replace them yourself. It's probably the one on the driver's side.

 

[kil roy]

sounds like the local repair shops here in my area.



they told my wife/fiance at that time that she needed a head gasket

and all she was in for was a tune up.

typical 4 cyl ford escort problem from the 80s with weeping head gasket,

ford dealer mechanic was a friend of ours and he said just keep the oil clean

and you will never have a problem.

changed oil every 2500 and put another 60k on that car until it was traded in

it was trouble free.

 

[user 64117]

210 bucks later...they replaced the door ajar sensors and diagnotics. but now one door doesnt lock when you lock the doors nor does it unlock when you unlock the doors. And to think i was going to bring my ST to this place for maintenance.



I bought an extended warranty through this dealer for my ST but they are not a Ford dealer. they are a Dodge/chevy/Chrysler dealer. I should have thought better about it when i bought it. I didnt realize i could by an extended from another company. Go figure just my luck.