Getting Screwd by the dealer..., and no KYB Either! Options

[Mike]

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been having some problems with my car lately and it is related to an electrical issue.  I will explain the problem as well as the background leading up to the unresolved issue with which I am seeking your help.

To begin with, I have done some work to the car myself just for the visual effect.  Here is a list of items that I have changed:

8/10/03:  I bought a Streetglow neon kit for the bottom of the car, and I used the cigarette lighter as my power source.  You can find this kit at www.streetglow.com.  I am not having any problems with my neon kit turning on or off.

8/27/03:  I exchanged the 6 bulbs that are behind the speedometer, tach, gas, and temp gauge to make them blue.  Everything was still working at that point.  These bulbs are type 194 and were replaced by the same type 194 found at www.autolumination.com/194_marker.html.  This is a common change many have accomplished with no problem according to the car club for the 2nd generation Stratus just like mine at www.2gstratus.org.  My car was still working properly.

9/06/03:  I exchanged the 17 bulbs on the “dummy lights” (seat belt, turn signal, door ajar, and many other lights above the speedometer in the dash) with no problem.  I found these bulbs at www.autolumination.com/194_marker.html, and they are type 74 bulbs that many people have changed as well.  At this point my car is still working great, and I have driven over 800 miles after doing this.

On my way to a dental appointment on 9/10/03, I noticed that my windows were very slow to go down.  While trying to get my windows to work properly, my radio just stopped while in the middle of a CD.  I didn’t know why all of this was going on, but just kept driving to my dental appointment.  The engine was operating fine, but when I arrived at the dentist’s office I turned off my lights, my radio then turned back on.  I played with my lights for a couple of minutes thinking it was just a short somewhere.  When I turned on my lights the stereo would shut off again.

An hour later when I left the dentist, the car started perfectly, everything worked fine, no problems.  After driving about 10 miles my radio stopped again.  At this point I was wondering if there was something under the hood that was melting or something that had become loose causing the problem. I turned the car off and looked under the hood, but found nothing that looked out of the ordinary.  I am not a professional mechanic therefore I couldn’t tell what the problem was.  I decided just to get back in my car and go to work, but now my car would not start.  The car was completely dead. 

I called Daimler Chrysler Corporation and they had a tow truck come out to jump my car so I could drive to Dave Croft Motors in Collinsville, IL (618-344-0202).  I drove the car there, and they said it would be a couple of hours.  They asked if I would be back to pick it up or if I was going to wait?  I told him that I would wait since I was about 40 miles from home, and had no one to pick me up.

I told Curt (Service Representative in the Service Department) and Rick (Technician) that the neon’s were the only additional electronic device I had put on the car.  I did not mention the dash lights, it never occurred to me this could be the issue. I assumed it was a bigger issue then changing the light bulbs in the dash to blue.  I asked for a rental car, and Curt told me that he could not provide one.  I would just have to wait due to them not being able to determine the problem.  I ended up having my friend come pick me up about two hours later when they still had no clue what the problem was on the car.  I went back on to the dealership on Wednesday. They then offered me a rental car so I would have a vehicle to drive to and from work.

Later I received a call from the service center and I mentioned that on 9/6 I had changed my dash lights to blue.  I didn’t think this could be a plausible cause for my problem.  The alternator would not charge the battery, they were stumped.  After they replaced the alternator and had the car for two more days they called me to say the car was fixed and they believed it was related to the blue light bulbs. They told me the computer tests the battery light on the dash.  If all is fine then the alternator charges the battery.  I went to school for an Electronic Engineer Technology degree. I cannot believe that a car would rely on testing the functionality of the battery light bulb.  The circuitry on the dash is for an output device only.  The functionality of the dash is only to inform you of what your car is doing (such as speed, gas, lights and doors).  If what they are telling me is correct, then a burnt out battery light in the dash would stop my car on the side of the road again.  It simply cannot be true that my car’s performance relies on the functionality of a light bulb.   

On 9-12-03, Curt called to say my bill would be $688.00 plus my rental.  I told him upfront there is simply no way that this could be the result of a light bulb.  He insisted it was, and that it was and that my car was available.  I was incredulous, and informed him they must have found a loose wire or something else perhaps after they played with the light bulbs.  It seems to me that minimally I should have received a call when the repair cost approached anything near that amount.  He said he may be able to take the cost down to $400 or so but was unsure. I asked if this service could be claimed under warranty, to which he replied he would not lie for me, not unless I want to pay him his $65K a year salary – that was not the question I asked him.  I requested a Customer Service number, and he said that they would not help me at all.  He indicated they would just email him, and he would tell them the same thing. I really felt degraded, and insulted, and Curt was not professional nor was he sympathetic.

None of this sits well with me as I have worked in Customer Service for the last four years.  I decided to call 800-992-1997. The Customer Service Representative that answered the phone there helped me by calling the Service Manager (Tom P.), who lowered my total bill to $298.00.  I spoke with him for a couple of minutes, and he said that this was the best he could do, and that I should have the rental car back before the end of the day so I would not get charged for an additional day of rental. 

I paid the $298.00 to the dealership so the bill would not increase, and picked up my car.  At that time I noticed the dash was not put back correctly, and I had to take time in the parking lot to finish up the work I had just paid for.  Notice that the car is not even a year old, and I just paid for services done to my car for which I am not even close to being comfortable with the diagnosis!  I am quite upset about this as I feel the situation is not my fault.  When I got home that night, I made sure all the original bulbs were in the dash but noticed that now the battery light would not come on when the car is started as it should.  I exchanged the bulb about 5 or 6 times with others that were working but I had no luck. How do you explain the fact that my car is now working even if the bulb is not?  I had been specifically informed that the car tests this part of my dash and that source is what charges the battery. 

I am still disturbed that I just paid for my car to be fixed while it is under warranty, and there is clearly still something not right with it.  I drove the car all weekend waiting for Monday so I could call Curtis, and inform him that my dash was not working.  I called Curt on 9/15/03, and he told me that I could bring it in at 8am on 9/16/03.  I was thankful that he did not make me wait to bring my car in.  Tom P., the Service Manager, tested my battery and said that it was still getting a charge.  I asked him how that is possible if a dash light does not work when they had told me that my car’s computer checks this part of the car before it charges the battery.  He insisted in telling me that this was a new problem, and that he will not refund me the money that I just paid.  It seems they are now adding insult to injury to think I will not react to such a blatant miscommunication, perhaps even fabrication, perhaps even misrepresentation of what they diagnosed and charged me for initially.

Dave Croft Motors called me later in the afternoon to tell me it is my alternator that is not turning my Battery light on.  I asked to speak to Tom, but Curt came on the phone.  I asked again to speak to Tom, and Curt told me that he was not available.  I asked that Tom call me back, but Curt kept interrupting me saying he would help me.  Curt insisted that now the alternator is bad and that it needs to be replaced.  I told him that this one is not even a week old, but Curt insisted that this was the problem.  I then stated that it was not my bulb that was bad originally but rather a bad connection or a bad set of alternators.  He was very rude, and said that my bulb caused the first alternator not to charge, and now this alternator will not turn on the light in my dash. 

It seems apparent this situation is just not right, and I am writing this letter to see if this can be rectified.  I would like to get my money back.  All my car information is below.  I will be sending this letter to the BBB and Dave Croft Motors.

Michael C. Roth

[Evofreak7]

I have heard of similar problems with newer Mitsubishi Galants. People would disassemble there 3rd brake light when they installed a spoiler with a brake light already on it. Then a week later there brake lights would just burn out all together. This was due to the fact that the original 3rd brake light happened to be a resister for the rest of the lights. It wouldn't surprize me if the stratus model that was made along side with the Galant model had similer electrical defects. I don't know if this helps your problem but if you really want to find out whats going on you may want to go to the source. Call the Mitsubishi plant and tell them your problem and they may know just what your talking about and tell you what went wrong.