On the hook

[senior racer]

Finally headed out for a long drive and ended up stranded with 265 miles on the car. Just decided to quit running while sitting at a stop light. Currently at Brookdale Dodge. Anyone with a recommendation as to what dealer to trust to work on this? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.5122

[ACRucrazy]

Wish I had a suggestion for you! Where did you buy it?
Nice to see a local with a V!

[ViperGTS]

OOF.


































Out of fuel?

[senior racer]

Not a fuel issue. Check engine light came on with service electronic throttle control message. I guess I will be the test subject for the quality of Brookdale Dodges service department. I will be the first to praise them if this is handled well but will not be tolerant of poor service. In the last twenty years two different manufacturers have bought back vehicles from me that were not acceptable. Inferior product or service is not acceptable. I'll let you know.

[ViperGTS]

good luck!

[sparkrn]

Finally headed out for a long drive and ended up stranded with 265 miles on the car. Just decided to quit running while sitting at a stop light. Currently at Brookdale Dodge. Anyone with a recommendation as to what dealer to trust to work on this? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.5122
I'd call John Gastman down in Roanoke Illinois and get it to his guy Dave. Your not gonna find a more experienced viper tech. He is a sponsor on the site.

[slysnake]

I'd call John Gastman down in Roanoke IllinoisYep, that's just south of Chicago a little.

[Mbccenter]

If it was not under warranty I could tell you.

[senior racer]

Thats helpfull, how about some info,its worth at least a beer or two to me.

[senior racer]

Brookdale Dodge doesn't have a Viper tech. The car is now at Fury Motors in St. Paul. At this point the car has been transported almost as much as I have driven it.

[SNKEBIT]

Sorry to hear. If you have any other non warranty issues, give me a call.

[mjorgensen]

ECS will work closely with the dealer (all GenV repairs have to be cleared first through them) and have you fixed up in no time, if you would like to call me we can discuss some possible answers if I can get any additional information.

[senior racer]

The verdict is in. #5 cylinder-broken valve spring-bent pushrod(possible valve contact with piston-not verified). According to the dealer this is not the first instance of this failure. SRT is sending a replacement long block rather than repairing the existing engine. I'm OK with that but would have preferred a complete replacement engine(intake to pan) just to eliminate about 20 more variables(swapping parts etc). Better yet how about just giving me another car:-) to cover for the aggravation and the jeers of my Corvette owning friends(I got rid of a Z06 because of the potential valvetrain problems and look what happens). Oh well,I could have bigger problems. I did tell the SRT tech that I would bonus him a days pay in cash if he delivers a completed job with no comebacks. Waiting to see what happens.

[swexlin]

This is the first I've heard of this on this or the other site. Please keep us posted.

[Mbccenter]

When you get it done bring that thing to some MN events

[senior racer]

It has now been 12 days since my car was delivered to a dealer. It has been 7 days since the second dealer made the prognosis. There is no sign of any replacement engine. Nobody seems to know what is going on and NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE. My patience is coming to an end.There will be no further automotive purchases from this company ever again(and I average one vehicle purchase a year and have for 30 years). The hounds will be unleashed on Monday(would do it today but the assh***s in Hawaii). FUCK CHRYSLER

[ACRucrazy]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[senior racer]

Your helpfull assistance has been greatly appreciated.

[ACRucrazy]

Sounds to me like you don't need it. You already made up your mind. I mean Fuck Chrysler right?

[senior racer]

A little defensive aren't you. I never attacked you or other owners. I have a Gen4 parked in my garage also,and I love it. It replaced a Gen2.that I put in the wall at turn 5 at Road Atlanta. But I will not put up with poor customer service or poor communication when a customer has a serious issue. Either in business or out,a company needs to step up to the plate and solve the problem,I am not seeing that at this time. (I don't think that you would like working for me very much)

[ACRucrazy]

Not defensive in the least. If you buy another Chrysler or not doesn't affect me. I hope Fury can take care of your car. I mean it's been a whole 7 days. What ever are you going to do?

Here's an idea, drive the Gen IV and take a deep breath.

[XSnake]

You weren't expecting a new engine delivered and installed in 7 days were you? I understand that SOMEONE should be communicating with you and there's no excuses for that. But, you have to have realistic expectations when it comes down to the actual job timeline. It could be worse, your car could be at RSI....

[senior racer]

I do have reasonable expectations. I know I can ship an order from my Saginaw location within 24 hours and have it in Mn in 2 days,3days if I pull from Plano Tx or Reno Nv. And I can tell you where it is at any time. Any one of the office staff can tell you the same thing. The fact that Chrysler can not tell me the status of an engine assembly order or even if it has been ordered bothers me, and it should bother them too. There are many other places to purchase a high end car that know how to interact with the customer and go out of the way to make sure that the customer is kept in the loop,Chrysler would do well to remember that.

[mjorgensen]

I do have reasonable expectations. I know I can ship an order from my Saginaw location within 24 hours and have it in Mn in 2 days,3days if I pull from Plano Tx or Reno Nv. And I can tell you where it is at any time. Any one of the office staff can tell you the same thing. The fact that Chrysler can not tell me the status of an engine assembly order or even if it has been ordered bothers me, and it should bother them too. There are many other places to purchase a high end car that know how to interact with the customer and go out of the way to make sure that the customer is kept in the loop,Chrysler would do well to remember that.

Please give me a call on my cell and I will try and assist you if possible, I'm not sure if you know what I can tell you already or if I can even help at all, but I will certainly TRY and do what I can to help calm the situation for you.

[C.J]

Senior Racer -- sorry to hear about the engine problem. First I've heard about a piston/valve impact problem. Who did you buy your Gen V from?

[City]

You're issue may be more with the dealer(s) than Chrysler. Let's see if Mark can help. Otherwise, others may be able to help get better info. But likely not with the kind of attitude you're displaying here. Np doubt this all sucks for you, but you'd do better if you'd calm down and see if members can assist.

[mjorgensen]

Facts about this issue,

Dealer ordered the engine on May 28th and received it on June 2nd. They are installing it today from what I'm told. I think that is extremely fast service!

SRT has seen a few of these valve spring failures (generally ending in complete engine replacement). Although unfortunate, SRT has no control over this because the springs are all supplied by an outside contractor. The problem stems from an undetectable (from the surface) flaw (inclusion) within the metal itself. This inclusion will generally show up in the early life of the engine and should not be an issue if your car has already got some miles on it without a problem. The "batch" of springs are believed to be small so very few cars will be affected.

If the OP would like to talk directly with "the man" I can arrange that for him if he does contact me.

Thank you,

[City]

Nice job Mark!

Lousy local dealer communication. Woodhouse communicates just fine. :dude3:

[bluesrt]

its not srt or dodge or the dealer- its the clown working for the dealer that's the poor communicater that is lazy and does not care, in this day and age you have to find the right rock n roller....

[AZTVR]

its not srt or dodge or the dealer- its the clown working for the dealer that's the poor communicater that is lazy and does not care, in this day and age you have to find the right rock n roller....

I agree with the quoted statement. There is a lot of human variable. Unless you deal with a dealer that has experience with high end cars whether they be Viper or others, you are more likely to interact with less skilled folks and more spotty customer service. That definitely is the issue that many potential new Viper buyers are wrestling with. This situation is a great example of how being a member of a national club can assist in the after purchase difficulties that may arise. THIS, along with local club events, is what should be the main selling point of membership. (Not badges, magazines, etc.)

[mjorgensen]

Should be all handled now and I hope that we have saved a valued Mopar enthusiast! :dude3:

[swexlin]

Should be all handled now and I hope that we have saved a valued Mopar enthusiast! :dude3:

Well done!

[C.J]

Seems like very fast service from Dodge. That would still be disappointing to have happen in a new car, but would be more disappointing if the manufacturer simply said "the dealer can rebuild this engine for you...no problem!".

Does Arrow rebuild these engines that Dodge gets back or do they get torn down/analyzed then scrapped?

[senior racer]

Time to close out this chapter. The car has been back in my possesion for about two weeks. Weather and work have kept me from driving it to much but I have now put about 300 miles on it. Everything is good to go. The SRT tech(Kerry) at Fury did what appears to be an excellent job (Grade:A). I would recommend him. The dealership seemed to have a hard time communicating what was going on and misinformation(real or imagined) seemed to be the norm(Grade:C). The real ROCKSTARS of this whole thing are (not in any order) Nick at Viper Customer Service,who called not only when he said he would but anytime he had new information. Mark at Woodhouse who not only stepped up to help when it was not his problem but was very supportive and knowledgeable and is a super asset for anyone(I don't think any other dealer will get my future business). And finally Dick Winkles from SRT who took the time to talk to me and tell me what was really going to happen from SRT's end. All of these guys get an A+. If anyone thinks that I over reacted,I was calm when it happened,after I was told that the first dealer could not do the repair,and when I delivered the car to Fury. I reacted strongly to a situation that developed when I started to get different stories from different sources. If you don't know what is happening don't try to pretend that you do(I will not tolerate BS). And when you say that you will call DO IT. I beat my sales force over the head with the fact that communication is the single biggest failure of most business today and that if I hear from a customer that they have not heard from us you better have died and we just have not heard about it yet. Thank you and goodnight.

[FLATOUT]

Glad to see everyone step up and get this fixed. If you don't mind me asking what year is your car and any idea of the build month and date? Just want to check it against my TA to see if mine was build close to your car.

[Troublemaker]

So the Chief Powertrain Engineer spoke to you directly, you can say whatever you want, but you will not find that anywhere else. And a dealer that had absolutely nothing to gain went to bat for you. This car rules.

[BAD BOYZZ GARAGE]

Glad to hear went in the right direction.. Enjoy your beast!!

[mjorgensen]

Glad I could help, you are a true gentleman to work with.



Time to close out this chapter. The car has been back in my possesion for about two weeks. Weather and work have kept me from driving it to much but I have now put about 300 miles on it. Everything is good to go. The SRT tech(Kerry) at Fury did what appears to be an excellent job (Grade:A). I would recommend him. The dealership seemed to have a hard time communicating what was going on and misinformation(real or imagined) seemed to be the norm(Grade:C). The real ROCKSTARS of this whole thing are (not in any order) Nick at Viper Customer Service,who called not only when he said he would but anytime he had new information. Mark at Woodhouse who not only stepped up to help when it was not his problem but was very supportive and knowledgeable and is a super asset for anyone(I don't think any other dealer will get my future business). And finally Dick Winkles from SRT who took the time to talk to me and tell me what was really going to happen from SRT's end. All of these guys get an A+. If anyone thinks that I over reacted,I was calm when it happened,after I was told that the first dealer could not do the repair,and when I delivered the car to Fury. I reacted strongly to a situation that developed when I started to get different stories from different sources. If you don't know what is happening don't try to pretend that you do(I will not tolerate BS). And when you say that you will call DO IT. I beat my sales force over the head with the fact that communication is the single biggest failure of most business today and that if I hear from a customer that they have not heard from us you better have died and we just have not heard about it yet. Thank you and goodnight.

[Back In Black]

Bring it out to MN C&C this Saturday!

http://www.mncandc.com/

[Phun70]

I can say from personal experience that Dick Winkles is an awesome guy!! and has more degrees than a red hot thermometer. Wood house is awesome too!!! Glad you got it worked out!!!

- - - Updated - - -

See the thread on the get together in Des Moines and bring that monster out here in October for the redline event.