Tom Matson Dodge Inc

Ms*** has a Dodge Durango that per the customer was taken to a different shop for repair recently. Subsequent to that repair, the vehicle broke down while driving due to damage caused by fire. Not knowing what specific repair was performed at the other shop, it is unknown
whether the fire was related or unrelated to that repair. She initially had the vehicle towed to her house. She then had her Dodge Durango with 116,miles towed to our dealership on June 15, 2015. Upon initial inspection of the vehicle, our technician unfortunately did not see any evidence of fire and also said that the vehicle appeared to be missing oxygen sensors. We did not state that the serpentine belt was missing, but rather indicated to the customer that the belt was in need of replacement. The customer and her insurance company, ***, were given the results of our inspection. *** came to the dealership to inspect the vehicle and verified the existence of burnt wiring in the engine area and gave approval for us to replace the wiring loom. The wiring loom was no longer available through Chrysler due to the age of the vehicle. We then had to source the part through a “vintage” vendor. After the order was placed for the part, it took almost two weeks to receive. At that time, it was discovered that a second part for the wiring loom was needed. This second part was received on July 30, 2015. Upon receipt of the second part, the vehicle was brought into the shop and the repair completed on July 31, 2015. The majority of the time that has elapsed causing the delay in repair includes 1) waiting for the insurance company to inspect the vehicle, 2) waiting for the insurance company to authorize the replacement of the wiring loom and 3) sourcing and acquiring the wiring loom and related parts from the alternative parts source. As much as we would like to be, we are not a parts manufacturer and can only make the repair with the parts in hand. Upon completion of the wiring loom repair, *** stopped any further authorizations for any additional repairs to the customer’s vehicle. As to the missing oxygen sensors, they were found during the installation of the wiring loom to have been disconnected and tucked away in the engine compartment (possibly by the other shop?). The technician reinstalled the sensors at no charge to the customer. With these repairs complete, the vehicle still runs poorly and needs further diagnosis. With the poorly running vehicle, the vehicle might have to be towed. The customer was notified of all of this on July 31, and declined any further diagnosis. Today, August 13, 2015, *** from *** Insurance has authorized the dealership to further diagnose whether the poor running condition of the vehicle is related to the fire. Once diagnosed, we are more than happy to either repair at the direction of the customer’s insurance company or provide a quote to the customer for the cost of this repair.Unrelated to any of the above, there is an outstanding recall on the airbag for the customer’s vehicle and we are waiting for parts availability to make the repairWe regret any inconvenience experienced by this customer either through time delay or lack of communication with her as to the status of her vehicle and look forward to returning the vehicle to her

Thank you for providing us the opportunity to provide further clarification. The wire modified by the customer or the customer’s agent is indeed the power wire for the transmission control module. To say that this wire is not the raceway for the requisite power for the TCM is simply not factual. Further, a second reading of our last submission to the Revdex.com did not say anything about “the wire in question draws power”. It is the modified use of a circuit not intended for anything else but power to the TCM that caused the problems to the vehicle. The preferable, but more labor intensive and more costly alternative to effect the modification would have been to bring power to the subwoofers directly from the battery to avoid any issues with the vehicle. This was not done and the damage to the various modules occurred as a result

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: My statements are factual concerning not having work done on my vehicle by a previous auto shopThe vehicle was not even inside the auto shop, but instead sitting outside in the parking lotIt has been a back and forth with this dealership since the beginning with them denying that a fire had even taken placeI refuse to pick up a vehicle that has had thousands of dollars poured into it but still does not runIf you lied you lied, it's not name calling at all.Sincerely,*** ***

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:The wire in question draws no power, the argument is invalid.Sincerely,[redacted]

November 4, 2015
RE: Ms. [redacted] Revdex.com Complaint#[redacted]
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a supplemental response to the second complaint received by your office from Ms. [redacted].
As an update to our initial response provided to your office back on August 13, 2015, we have no plans to reciprocate with any name calling, but will repeat that this customer did state to our Service Manager that the vehicle had been looked at by another shop prior to bringing the vehicle to our dealership. Thus, her statement to the contrary is just not factual. With that said, it does not take away from the fact that there was a fire and that repairs to her vehicle were necessary.
Vehicle loaners and rentals are a finite resource for any dealership and it is a business decision on how to ration these out. Vehicle loaners and rentals are designed to be short term in nature and we unfortunately do not have the resources to loan and/or rent these out for multiple months at a time.
Our response to her first Revdex.com complaint clearly explains the time challenges experienced by us in our attempts to repair this vehicle. Since then, another reason for further delay was added in that the customer for a period of time was under some sort of protective order and unable to be contacted. In good faith, we have been trying different approaches to the repair of this vehicle above and beyond what her insurance company has authorized at our expense without success.
In conclusion, the repairs necessary to take care of the damage directly caused by the vehicle fire have been performed. However, the vehicle does still not run properly and it is our opinion that any further diagnostic and resultant repairs are unrelated to the vehicle fire and require further efforts at the customer’s expense. We were in contact with the customer on October 27, 2015 to advise her of this and she has declined any further diagnosis. On October 28, 2015 we were in contact with [redacted] at [redacted] and he has confirmed that they are not authorizing any further diagnostic or work on the vehicle. There is concern that any remaining issues that are behind the poor running condition were in existence prior to the vehicle fire. As a result, without any additional authorization from her or her insurance company, her vehicle is ready to be towed from our shop. As of November 4, her vehicle has still not been picked up.
We regret the inconvenience experienced by this customer.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:I did not and still do not, understand how this aftermarket wiring caused damage to so many parts that it was not connected to. The wire was connected to the pcm according to Tom matson, yet no damage to the pcm or aftermarket equipment was present.Sincerely,[redacted]

Please reference the attached.Thanks,Corey
 
RE: [redacted], Case ID #: [redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted] had his 2015 Chrysler 300 (Vin#[redacted]) with 4,500 miles towed into our dealership on July 9, 2015. The customer stated his concern that the vehicle would not start and...

that multiple error lights illuminating in the dash area were present. When the vehicle detects electronic faults that could result in a catastrophic failure, it will not allow the engine to start. Given the current model year of the vehicle combined with the low mileage it was presumed by the dealership that the repair would be covered under factory warranty. Accordingly, the customer was given a complimentary rental to allow us to proceed to diagnose the vehicle failure. Our scan tool indicated that the Body Control Module (BCM) was not responding. The next step was to perform a capacitor reset of the system (i.e., a hard reset of the battery). After the capacitor reset, the vehicle was able to start. Many voltage codes were present as a result and it was confirmed that the BCM was not communicating with other modules such as the Transmission Control Module (TCM) and the Power Control Module (PCM). It is important to note that all computer modules in a vehicle are networked and that it is a process of elimination to narrow down the cause for any communication problems that are present. Per diagnostic procedures, the TCM and transmission valve body (i.e., designed as one part) was replaced in an attempt to fix the communication error with the TCM. After replacing the TCM/transmission valve body, the TCM was still showing intermittent power. With issues still present, the next step was to replace the
Antilock Brake Module (ABS). With issues still remaining and after extensive testing and very late in the repair process, it was determined that the BCM was shorted internally due to the alteration/modification of the power wiring installed at the factory due to the installation of aftermarket subwoofers. To find the wiring for the aftermarket subwoofers and where it was drawing power, we had to remove some carpeting and the aftermarket subwoofers. After tracing the suspect wiring, either the customer or the customer's agent tapped into this wiring on the power side of the TCM and as a result, the aftermarket subwoofers drew too many amps causing the BCM to fail and to have intermittent power when grounded necessitating replacement. The blue wire that was installed to power the aftermarket subwoofers was added to an unprotected circuit. In an unprotected circuit, there are no fuses or circuit breakers to protect the system in case of excessive draw. The picture below clearly shows the modified condition of the factory-installed pink and white wire. Some of the insulation from this wire was removed and the non-factory blue aftermarket subwoofer power wire wrapped around the now exposed portion of the modified factory pink/white wire. It should be noted that no type of insulation (e.g., wire nut, electrical tape, etc.) was used to protect the modified wiring allowing the circuit to be shorted as it either worked itself loose or touched other bare metal some 83 days after the installation of the aftermarket subwoofers (i.e., per the customer's complaint, the subwoofers were installed on March 18 and the car failed on July 9). Once the non-factory wiring was removed and the original wiring repaired to factory specifications, the vehicle no longer exhibited any drivability problems. The aftermarket subwoofers were left unpowered. In conclusion, the modification of the wiring to allow for the operation of the aftermarket subwoofers caused all of the drivability problems and communication problems with the vehicle. Repairs that are normally covered under warranty will end up being the responsibility of the customer when it is determined that outside installation of aftermarket equipment directly interferes with the vehicle and its operation. More specifically, the DVD provided to the customer at the time of delivery describes the potential impact of making modifications to the vehicle as follows: Page 12 3. What's Not Covered 3.1 Modifications Not Covered A. ...But your warranties don't cover any part that was not on your vehicle when it left the manufacturing plant.. .Nor do they cover the costs of any repairs or adjustments that might be caused or needed because of the installation or use of non-Chrysler parts, components, equipment, materials, or additives. Mr. [redacted] understood and agreed to pay for the intensive diagnostics and necessary repairs to his vehicle. Mr. [redacted] understood that his "non-factory" components and their installation were the fault of the vehicle's breakdown and resultant tow into our shop. As a courtesy to the customer, the dealership did not charge for the rental cars he had while his vehicle was being diagnosed and repaired, but rather absorbed these costs internally. When speaking to Chrysler Customer Care directly, they informed Mr. [redacted] that Chrysler was not responsible for the repairs to the vehicle due to the aftermarket installation being the cause of the failure to the vehicle. Chrysler also verbally informed our dealership of their decision and of their conversation with the customer. As a franchised new motor vehicle dealer, we sell and service Chrysler vehicles. Had we known up front that the cause of the vehicle malfunctions were due to the installation of aftermarket subwoofers, the customer, as required by law, would have certainly been given a proper cost estimate to repair the vehicle by us. We did not know about the modification to the vehicle being the cause of the malfunctions until the last day prior to completion of the repair, at which time the repair was rapidly completed. We regret any inconvenience experienced by this customer. Please contact me at [redacted] should you require additional information. Sincerely Yours,
 
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