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Rant (feel free to ignore)

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DtcU0001 , scanner and ecm not communicating?

When you insert the key fob in the socket

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So I am confused... The OP had a failure of his u-joint on a truck covered under warranty. The dealer is communicating with FCA about the issue. FCA wants to investigate the damage, rather than simply accept or deny warranty coverage. The OP does NOT want FCA to inspect his truck. The dealer and/or FCA authorized a rental vehicle while his truck is in the shop, so that he isn't burdened beyond reason.

I'm not sure where the outrage should be... OP was driving rough and his truck became damaged. FCA wants to make sure the repair was a result of a defective part, rather than as a result of the OP's negligence. Am I missing something?
 
1st, he didn’t refuse inspection. They’re inspecting it now. He wanted his truck fixed for a planned trip. 2nd, how do you know he was “ driving rough” ? Because he was using 4wd in snow?
 
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I'd have to side with the OP from the available info as well. I've used 4low dozens of times in a field hauling loaded gravity wagons - based on what I've read in no way should there have been a failure based solely on his actions.
 
I apologize in advance if this post seems excessively long...

I was frustrated, but not angry when the driveshaft broke. I became angry when FCA (through the dealership) told me that if I wanted FCA to cover the costs of the repairs, FCA will impound my vehicle at the dealership. No one is permitted to work on the vehicle (meaning the additional services I was paying the dealership to perform can't be executed). The vehicle will be impounded for an unknown period of time-3 to 10 days, excluding weekends, before an inspector is made available. The time to generate a report, provide authorization to repair, nor are the actual repairs themselves included in that 3-10 days. Meaning there is high likelihood that the repairs will not be completed by the point at which I want too leave for my holiday. If I choose to remove the vehicle from the dealership and complete the repairs myself, FCA will void the remaining warranty on the truck. That last statement was inaccurate, but I was unaware of the inaccuracy until yesterday. Yesterday was the first day someone from FCA reached out to me.
Phone calls during the course of this to FCA generated nothing but dead ends and frustration. I'm not asking them to replace an engine, transmission or repaint my truck. I'm asking them fix a damaged component and to repair a minor cosmetic blemish caused directly by that damaged part. All on a truck that isn't even 2 years old, has been dealer maintained and has low miles. The costs that would be borne by FCA to complete the repairs would be minor, the drive shaft is $590, I'm guessing the bumper is ~$750 and about 4 hours to install them both, and those are my (consumer)costs. More capital (direct and in customer service)is being spent to administer the process than the actual process itself.

As for the road and if I was 'playing rough ' the road is windy, but used by 10 wheelers and short wheelbase logging rigs throughout the warmer months. About a month ago a 2WD Dodge 5500 wrecker with a roll back was up there to recover a hunter whose rig had gone off the side. My 3500 is smaller, lighter and easier to maneuver than any of those vehicles. The snow was not very deep; I showed the service manager the same image I posted here and his response was simply 'Oh'
 
I’m certain your joint was no good. I’m certain that FCA warranty procedures are ridiculous. I had an experience with them in 2015 myself, and that includes the dealer- they are the surface of the corporation.
I hope you get resolution. And soon!
 
Well, the user who said I would be lucky if I got even a minor concession was correct. FCA inspected the truck ahead of schedule (yay?) And they came back unwilling to cover the repairs in their entirety. I am supposed to be receiving a letter regarding the bumper and a file with the data that was extracted from the data recorder. If I can strip personally identifiable information from the file I will share it here if anyone is interested in the type of data collected. I am honestly disappointed. Disappointed in both the product and company. The dealership still has a chance and seems to be working hard, so that is reassuring. In the decades I have been driving these trucks this is the only second occasion were one has broken down and left me stranded. I would not be surprised if I was disappointed again with this current iteration.
 
I wasn't there when it happened so don't take this wrong, but I fail to see the relationship between the u-joint failure and the bumper damage? What did I miss?
 
Not even the driveshaft will be covered?
I was a little skeptical that they would cover the bumper but am somewhat baffled why the driveshaft wouldn't be.
 
I wasn't there when it happened so don't take this wrong, but I fail to see the relationship between the u-joint failure and the bumper damage? What did I miss?
The truck slid into and became wedged on a rock that was on the side of the road.
 
Sucks but you have an answer and can head out on your trip and enjoy, stuff breaks fix it and move on and have fun.

Did they say the recorder triggered some sort of "out of warranty" flag? And that was part of their decision?

Wonder what the recorder actual records?

And is that in the warranty book as far as guidelines of what is and is not "in warranty" when it comes to recorded events?

I will have to pull my warranty on my '18 2500 gasser, and take a look, and see if anything is in there about this.

I have general tracking OBD2 cell service GPS in all my vehicles 14 total, its the same service Progressive Snap Shot is based on, it can not be used for any offical purpose, the service does own all the data and the sort, it records hard brakes, fast accellatration, top speed, maintenance, codes, diagonistic issues, so I'm all in on data recorders good or bad. The T&C of that service are pretty clearly written how its a complete invasion of privacy and if you dont like it dont buy it.

Same as I would expect from the FCA data recorder should be spelled out clearly in the warranty, not saying its not, just first time I hear it used possibly in a warranty case.

20181212_221749.jpg
 
Sucks but you have an answer and can head out on your trip and enjoy, stuff breaks fix it and move on and have fun.

Did they say the recorder triggered some sort of "out of warranty" flag? And that was part of their decision?

Wonder what the recorder actual records?

And is that in the warranty book as far as guidelines of what is and is not "in warranty" when it comes to recorded events?

I will have to pull my warranty on my '18 2500 gasser, and take a look, and see if anything is in there about this.

I have general tracking OBD2 cell service GPS in all my vehicles 14 total, its the same service Progressive Snap Shot is based on, it can not be used for any offical purpose, the service does own all the data and the sort, it records hard brakes, fast accellatration, top speed, maintenance, codes, diagonistic issues, so I'm all in on data recorders good or bad. The T&C of that service are pretty clearly written how its a complete invasion of privacy and if you dont like it dont buy it.

Same as I would expect from the FCA data recorder should be spelled out clearly in the warranty, not saying its not, just first time I hear it used possibly in a warranty case.

View attachment 110065

I completely agree with your initial statement. That's why I'm just dropping it. The value of my time off vastly outweighs the value of the money spent to fix it. And like I mentioned in another post I have the opportunity upgrade the rear bumper.....

I spoke to someone at the company that did the inspection (a subsidiary of Bosch) and asked him what kind of data they collect, what triggers the collection and how do they protect that data. This was his respons: the EDR begins collecting data when there is a sudden change in acceleration, the airbags are deployed, or when the brakes are fully applied. He said there were a few other triggers but he didn't recall them. The data recorder collects steering wheel position, engine RPM, vehicle speed (as a function of the speedometer this should be apparent later), number of occupants, vehicle load (I'm unsure of how they determine that), and a few other data points. I think he said it only collects information on 19 points. I'm assuming external data such as temperature and humidity are part of those 19 points. He explicitly stated it does not collect GPS or location data. The recorder keeps the data until it is overwritten by another event that would trigger it. I'm not sure how much information the trucks ECU keeps (this is separate from the EDR). If I can strip personally identifiable information from the data I'll happily share it.
 
So they pulled the "Black Box" data from the ORC. I used to get a few calls a year to pull EDR data from accidents. I always told the requester to be sure their story was accurate, because the data does not lie. I have covered a couple of instances at May Madness that the engineers shared with us during training in Detroit. It would appear from their denial that the data did not line up with the story. I'm just making an assumption, but I think I'm probably pretty close.
As I said, as soon as you said accident you set it up for more than a warranty repair. Had you not have mentioned the bumper you would be driving along with a new shaft courtesy of Ram. I know this does not help you in this situation, but sometimes the information shared here can save others some pain that you experienced.
The warranty covers collateral damage to other parts on the vehicle directly damaged by the covered component, but not accident damage even if you felt it was caused by the covered part. Perhaps not the best example as the Cummins water pump does not drive the fan, but on a vehicle that does, if the water pump bearing fails under the powertrain warranty and goes through the radiator, both parts are covered as the covered part damaged the non covered part.
 
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