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Looking for Advice on a Warranty Issue with My Dodge Ram Promaster Transmission

724 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  CFH Plumbing  
#1 ·
I’m hoping someone here can offer guidance or share their experience. In 2020, I bought a 2019 Dodge Ram Promaster from out of state. It's currently parked and hasn't been used since early December.

A few months ago, I took it to a local dealer in Bayside, NY for a recall service. Fast forward a few weeks, and the van stopped shifting into reverse. When I called the Bayside dealer, they told me they no longer service vans unless I bought the vehicle from them. They suggested I take it back to the dealership where I purchased it—which is extremely impractical.

I then contacted another dealer, Major in Queens. They confirmed the transmission is gone and that the issue is covered under warranty. However, they also told me they can’t get the necessary transmission, so they advised me not to bring the van in.

This van is my work vehicle, and being without it is costing me money every day. An independent mechanic said they can get the transmission and repair it, but it’ll cost me roughly $5,000 out of pocket, which feels unfair since it’s supposed to be a warranty-covered repair.

I’m stuck and unsure of what to do. Has anyone dealt with something similar? Is there a way to get the warranty honored or escalate this issue? I just want my van repaired and back on the road. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately, a lack of factory transmissions for these vans is a common problem. Some people have been waiting for months and more! My suggestion would be contact as many local dealerships as possible (Via email preferably so there is a written record). If you are still unable to find anyone to service it in a reasonable time frame contact Stellantis and use those dealership refusals and claims of lack of parts as leverage to try and get them to reimburse you for cost of having the transmission rebuilt elsewhere. Obviously depends on your business activities, but generally the downtime is going to quickly cost you more than having it taken care of out of pocket and fighting for it later.
 
#4 ·
Procedures relating to warranties and sales incentives
Vehicle & Traffic (VAT)


1. Every franchisor shall properly fulfill any warranty agreement and/or franchisor’s service contract and shall compensate each of its franchised motor vehicle dealers for warranty parts and labor in amounts which reflect reasonable compensation for such work. All warranty claims and/or claims under a franchisor’s service contract made by franchised motor vehicle dealers shall be paid within thirty days following their approval. For parts reimbursement, other than components, systems, fixtures, appliances, furnishings, accessories and features of a house coach that are designed, used and maintained primarily for nonvehicular residential purposes, and for labor reimbursement, reasonable compensation shall not be less than the price and rate charged by the franchised motor vehicle dealer for like services to non-warranty and/or non-service contract customers. For purposes of this section, the price and rate charged by the franchised motor vehicle dealer for parts may be established by submitting to the franchisor one hundred sequential non-warranty customer-paid service repair orders or the number of sequential non-warranty customer-paid service repair orders written within a ninety-day period, whichever is less, covering repairs made no more than one hundred eighty days before the submission, and declaring the price and rate, including average markup for the franchised motor vehicle dealer as its reimbursement rate. The reimbursement rate so declared shall go into effect thirty days following the declaration and shall be presumed to be reasonable, however, a franchisor may rebut such presumption by showing that such rate so established is unreasonable in light of the practices of all other franchised motor vehicle dealers in the vicinity offering the same line-make. The franchised motor vehicle dealer shall not request a change in the reimbursement rate more often than once in each calendar year. In establishing the labor reimbursement rate, the franchisor shall not require a franchised motor vehicle dealer to establish said rate by a methodology, or by requiring information, that is unduly burdensome or time-consuming to provide, including, but not limited to, a transaction by transaction calculation. For the purposes of this section, the following parts or types of repairs shall be excluded from the parts and/or labor calculations and the franchisor’s reimbursement requirements under this section: (a) parts sold at wholesale; (b) tires; (c) routine maintenance not covered under any retail customer warranty such as fluids, filters and belts not provided in the course of repairs; (d) vehicle reconditioning; and (e) batteries replaced as part of a routine maintenance operation. If the franchisor rejects the declaration or attempts to rebut the declaration because of an error in the dealer’s submission, the franchisor shall identify with specificity the reason for rejection and identify the error or errors within the submission. In the event the franchisor rejects or rebuts the dealer’s initial declaration, the dealer shall have the opportunity, within sixty days to resubmit the full and corrected declaration addressing the alleged error or errors identified by the franchisor. The franchisor shall respond within sixty days. The one hundred eighty-day requirement for the repair orders shall be stayed from the date of initial submission. In any action or proceeding held pursuant to this subdivision, the franchisor shall have the burden of proving that the rate declared by the dealer was unreasonable as described in this subdivision and that the proposed adjustment of the average percentage markup or rejection of the submission is reasonable pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision.