How did you make out on Friday?

 

I pointed out a couple other issues. They had to order parts and should be in Monday.

 

Follow up...The senior service adviser tried to tell me three times that I'm not using the truck properly and the reason the auto stop/start wasn't working was because it was shut off. I finally told him that according to the owners manual the auto stop/start is supposed to default to the on condition. If it is not in that condition then the truck is messing up. He hung his head and said he would have his technician check it out and the PCM probably needed to be reprogrammed. After a day the technician figured out that the battery was bad and not holding a charge, kind of like the wife and I suspected. He checked the alternator and it was charging well. The battery was replaced and all of the issues were fixed. When we were picking up the truck the senior guy was there and sheepishly stated the battery was bad and was replaced, kind of like we asked about when we picked up the truck.

In the end all is well, the warranty was honored, and the truck is working like it is supposed to. The sales person won't receive any repeat business from me and the senior service adviser lost all credibility.

 

Glad it has a happy ending. Enjoy your ride!

 

I guess I spoke too soon. I was driving home from work Friday and I noticed the auto stop/start wasn't working. I figured it was a bit cold out and the engine hadn't warmed up enough so I switched the screen to figure out why it wasn't working. Much to my surprise the dreaded "Vehicle charging" error returned like a bad pizza. Being the optimist I hoped it was because the weather was a bit cold out causing the battery to take longer to charge than normal. I drove it home, approximately 5 miles (20-25 minutes) with no change in status. This morning I get up and drive about 15-20 miles on the back roads lasting 30-45 minutes figuring it might need a longer charge cycle to start working again. No dice. Off to the dealership Tuesday, gotta work all day tomorrow. It's not just the issue that the auto stop/start isn't working, that is merely a symptom of a bigger issue with the electrical system.

I can't think of anything else electrical that would go bad from sitting there, other than the battery. I guess we'll find out what is going on soon, or not and I'll get a another truck.

 

Man this truck has gremlins. I think I'll name it Christine. I took my wife to the mall last night and it worked perfectly. There's no sense in taking it to the dealership, since it's working properly. If it is a charging issue, it is concerning that it took so long to charge the battery, but I see no need in having someone look at it if the symptoms aren't present. I think it might be one of those issues that only comes to the surface, because the truck has to work perfectly at all times and when it doesn't it is obvious. Electronic things don't work perfectly all of the time.

 

Wow frustrating to say the least, especially when you know the problem but cant replicate it on a consistent basis to have the dealer fix it. I had an issue with my old truck and could never get the dealer to replicate it. I gotta say, you have a better attitude than I would about the situation.

 

I had a 2007 dodge 2500 where the ac would intermindently go out while driving. Restarting the truck would be the only way to get it to turn back on.

Long story short, at like 35,9xx miles it did it and I took a sweaty drive to the dealership and left it running to show them and they had to fix it.


Anyway, looks like that truck might be a lemon you got if they can't fix it this time.

 

I would put a charger on the battery overnight to make sure it is fully charged. They don't normally come fully charged, and it's a good way to top it off and make sure it is fully charged. Then, go from there and see how she works.

Good luck!

 

It's just a truck. There are a lot of things in this world to get upset about. A truck is not one of them. This one is scheduled to be replaced when the new Rangers come out. The only reason I traded my old one in was to have a bit more trade in value when I obtained the truck I really need/want and to get a 4x4. I don't need this truck and its capabilities right now, but I won't buy a GM product and don't like the Dodge or Japanese trucks.

It can be frustrating when things don't work like they are supposed to, but this might just be one of those things where the electronics weren't quite working correctly causing an issue. How many times do you have to restart your computer because something isn't working properly. The restart typically corrects the problem. The more they try to squeeze improved numbers out of an item the better it has to work. Any minor glitch can result in it not working properly. When they had lower performance expectation from the cars, if things didn't quite work perfectly every time nobody noticed. Professionals get excited of .01 seconds of improvement, amateurs get excited over 1 second of improvement. Every time, I've driven it since it started working it has worked correctly, so I'm not that concerned about it right now. The one time it might not have been charging correctly resulting in the longer than normal recharge period on subsequent drives. Heck, I don't know. I do know I like the truck and I'm not going to let a couple minor glitches when I first take ownership of it to ruin my day. It had been sitting on the lot for 8 months.