Dealer Parts Availability

[mrnj]

All - I've got a 2004. 5 2500, 4wd, 6-speed, 57k miles.



In mid-January, I took the truck to the dealer, brakes didn't feel right, had a hard time stopping.



Turns out that the power brake booster and ABS controller were bad. Both are supposed to be covered under the extended warranty.



Here it is, six weeks later and I'm still waiting for the ABS controller. The dealer basically threw his hands up and said that he has had the parts on order at the highest priority and suggested I call Dodge customer service myself.



I did call and was told that the ABS controller isn't available until the end of March. It's unacceptable to wait about 2 months for a part.



This is really the first time that I've had to wait a long time for a part, and, I'm a little concerned about having jump through these hoops for the next part I may need.



Just curious - has anyone else run into long wait times for parts? Other than calling customer service complain, is there anything else we can do?



Thanks,

Mark

 

[opjohnny]

I think it is because of the trouble they were in. I was waiting on a lower control arm and had to go the used route.

 

[rscurtis]

How would the truck perform with the new booster and the original ABS controller? What is allegedly wrong with the controller?

 

[mwilson]

A lot of vendors that supply production and aftermarket parts to the OEM's are simply going out of business.



That means that the OEM has to find a new vendor, negotiate a contract with them, send them blueprints, specs, etc. . Then the new vendor has to ramp up to build the product and start to fill orders. If the part is still being used in production as well as aftermarket then the assembly line has priority to a point. On the aftermarket side there are so many back orders that the OEM has to fill critical and unit down orders first. That can consume the first and sometimes second shipment of that particular part. It can be months before any actually make it to the dealers for on-hand stock to go on the shelf.



Another cause that I only found about last year after being in this business for a long time is the following***

A lot of sub-Assembly's (for example Tilt Steering Columns) are assembled at the truck plants. Even though they have TRW part numbers the actual assembling is done at the plants so if they are having rolling 3 week shut-downs then they are only assembling components for production and aftermarket 1 week out of 3. That can cause a 4-6 week delay if they don't get to the parts or assembly that you waiting for the week that they working. Then you automatically get kicked back another 3 weeks.



It happens to me several times a month. Daimler and Thermo King are out of common stuff more and more and the lead times can be 60+ days at least.



For the time being if you think you are going to need parts, call first. Don't assume anything. I think this will continue for the next year at least... ... . :{

 

[VicR]

My local parts guy told me that the vendor's are holding Chrysler hostage because of the major screwing they got during the bankruptsy and its not that the parts are unavailable, its that they have gone up 1000% in price. The way I understand it, manufacturers have to by federal law have parts available for 10 years after the build date, and the vendors know for a lot of these parts they are the only game in town, so they are making up for all of the money they lost during the 'bailout' now. Not sure if its true in every case, but it sounds logical.

 

[Grizzly]

This doesn't sound good for Chrysler. Hope it gets fixed soon.