Wow, today was an eye opener. I've certainly picked up on an anti-dealership tone in many threads on this forum, but even still I wasn't prepared for this. My TPMS light is on and I brought it to a 5-Star dealership for repair - presumably either there's a damaged sensor, or the monitoring xem is damaged (not reading from the sensors), or the xem needs re-setting. Not a real large universe of things that could be wrong. After about 90 minutes taking readings and driving it around, I was given a rental car and told we just need more time, the Crossfire is so unique and we just don't have much experience with these things (not sure if "these things" meant Crossfires or TPSM or both). Did they just say that?, I thought. Not exactly confidence inspiring. By the time I'd left they'd highlighted their inexperience 3 to 4 times. It's not the "more time" I mind (at all), it's the professed inexperience with one of their own vehicles. I don't like to name names (dealer) on here.

Questions --

What does a 5-star dealership mean (other than that one of their mechanics went to Xfi school)? - now that I've been to two and beenunderwhelmed by both, I wonder if that designation can be purchased out of a gumball machine.

Isn't it an age-old axiom about car dealerships (regardless of brand) - they overcharge but they're supposed to be supremely expert on the nuances of the cars they sell? -- better expertise, specialized equipment, uniquely trained mechanics, etc. What gives?

What exactly does Chrysler's "Crossfire school" for select mechanics entail? I'm beginning to think it's Crossfire identification (THIS is a Crossfire, THIS is a PT Cruiser, THIS is a Jeep, etc.) Even if you go to a dealer with one of these "Crossfire mechanics" you'd still think you'd brought them a UFO to hear them gripe.

Is it in the realm of the possible or allowable that they'll just call me and say sorry, we tried, we can't fix it?

 

crossfireGal just because the dealership has a Crossfire certified mechanic doesn't necessarily mean that is who will be working on your car. This little fact I discovered first hand first by speaking to the gentlemen that was trying install my replacement weather stripping first on the wrong door and ended up damaging my driver side door pull. Then the manager of dealership confirmed that any of their mechanics may end up working on my car. When you encounter problems like this with your dealership it's time to contact the regional manager lodge your complaint, not that it will do any good but it does feel satisfying, and request recommendation to another dealership. My new dealer end up replacing all the weather stripping and repairing the damage the other dealerships mechanic inflicted, plus they also took care of a couple of recalls that needed done.

 

I think it may make sense to ask for the trained technician when making your appointment. This way they will schedule you based on his/her availability, and not just assign a warm body to work on your car.

 

You can request it but there is no guarantee that is who will be working on your car. The Service Manager told me that it was their prerogative to decide who works on what problems. They were not going to tie up their senior, aka highly trained, people to work on what they classified as general maintenance such as replacing weather stripping, adjusting windows, or changing oil. Even the manager of the dealership agreed with the Service Manager after one of their flunky's put in the wrong oil even after I had gotten quote when I scheduled the service. The odds of getting a Crossfire trained mechanic is going to even get slimmer since some of the original ones have changed garages. The best you can do is keep searching until you find a good service department, there are good one out there.

 

Not trying to sound like a broken record but...
Most dealers techs work flat rate, that means the faster they work the better for them...
Not always a good thing.
Most dealers have 10% of techs that are good and 90% are young just out of tech school or just not good at what they do.
Sorry but too many times this is true...

 

Oh yeah... we've all got our stories about indept dealers and mechanics, don't we? After I dealt with an inept dealer for over 4 months that could not locate my problem (after putting Chrysler on final notice), they finally admitted they had no one truly qualified to work on my car, even though they had a certified tech. Gggrrr...

So I was by DC told to take it to another dealer in my area and amazingly, they fixed it in three days!!!

After going through all of that pain, I found out that most Crossfire owners in my area use this dealer (Dayton Andrews) because not only do they have two techs that know our cars, they also own Crossfires!

So its a crapshoot... you get told they are trained & certified (blah, blah, blah) but at the same time, are not truly trained to work on our cars!

My advice? Find another dealer in your area and drop these guys and fast!

 

As was stated, we all have our stories of service. Personally, the reason I bought my crossfire from my dealer was not price, but it is in town, they were and still are a 5 star dealer, I met with and talked to the "officially trained mechanic", and was given a quick tour of the new equipment they had to buy in order to service my car. I figured that I had covered at least several if not most bases. Well... My first oil change was 3.5 quarts low, (I discovered and filled it with my own oil and the dealer did not even offer to replace it) the trained mech is now at another dealer and I was told that the viper or prowler mech was good enough to work on crossfires. I had to replace a rear brake light and of course they had none and had to be ordered. Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad and would buy this car again but am really disappointed with the appearance of service from a "5 star" establishment.

 

I wonder, if we draft a letter to DC from the forum (not individually) with the history of all you have to share, would they address this with their dealerships?

 

I don't feel that a dealership labeled as a 5 star one means anything. Not all dealerships are created equal, some care more than others and some are more skilled than others, etc. I go to a Dodge dealership and they treat me just fine, they know what I like and don't like, plain and simple.

 

be happy, a service writer told you the truth ... most would have made up a story that just sounds great to give you the run around ... it is rare to get a honest answer from a dealer now a days but thankfully not impossible ...

 

I think the "Five Star" has a lot more to do with the number of cars sold than it has to do with service. As with a lot of things now days you need a grain of salt to go with your 5 stars. LOL.

 

Where is the cabin filter located, and how do i access it.

 

~ it is located on the passenger side, under the dash.


^ (bens pic above) ^

once you remove the cover/panel under the glove box & passenger foot well area...
this is what you see:

(you need to slide back each clip (off white color) to remove filter cover... then pull filter out... (it stands up on end)).

pic of cover removed:
cover.jpg

pics of filter at 25k (new - old): revised m/b part number:
filter.jpg

 

Andrew, what would this forum do without you?

 

~ always wanting to help...

 

My question is how in the heck does an internal air filter question fit into the topic? Guess I missed something there. Andrew, thanks for being on top of us.

 

~ no clue...

 

I'm now told it's a bad sensor & it won't be in until Friday. That's not a huge inconvenience b/c they gave me a rental car at their expense, but I do wonder why they didn't have even one sensor in stock. I know they don't take up that much room. I was told they don't keep them in stock because they're such an expensive part. I know they're about $100 but there are many more expensive parts than that. Are the sensors a perishable item that they can't be stocked? Also, living in a major metropolitan area I would think one could be gotten more quickly than 4 days. As long as come the end of the week the thing actually works/is fixed, I'll be happy enough. I suspect that when whoever couldn't diagnose the problem on Monday they had the Xfi mechanic look at it today and that's how they ID'ed the problem. I'm thinking of calling and requesting that the Xfi mechanic do the sensor installation, since a number of ya'll have said that wouldn't necessarily happen otherwise.

 

Better now. They redeemed themselves. I got the call that the car was ready today (the lady who I talked to when my service adviser had left for the day was incorrect about the timeline/taking til Friday). The TPSM light is off. (I will let 8 lbs of air out of the respective tire tomorrow and then put it back in to make sure the light goes on and off). I have to say that what others have said about the Xfi vs. general mechanics at the 5*s is true. On day 1, they couldn't diagnose the problem. On day 2, the Xfi mechanic ID'ed the problem, which tells me he wasn't involved on day 1. I asked that it be the Xfi mechanic to install the replacement sensor and they said it was going to be him anyway. And voila, it was done. So I guess the moral is book the appointment on a day you're certain the Xfi mechanic will be there. So this dealer is still on the list all things considered.

 

After reading several stories about Chrylser dealerships on this forum I am starting to wonder, did we inherit a "red headed step child" by purchasing this car. Don't get me wrong, I love my car. I hope to have for years to come but it seems that we are caught between to name plates here. Let's face it, the car is a Mercedes. We bring it to Chrysler dealers and they are like "Ummm" when they open the hood. I'm sure if were to bring to the Benz dealer they would open the hood and work their way around it with a blind fold on. The problem with that is it's under a Chrysler warranty so they won't flip the bill if we do.

Just my 2 cents.