Repairs Are Complete. Oh Wait... No They're Not!

Wednesday, September 8, 2004
The repairs are finally complete. Our van is ready for pickup. We are excited! We haven't driven our van since May 12 - that's almost four whole months! We arrived and MacIVER Dodge and they opened up the vehicle for us to inspect. Things looked pretty good. Everything was clean. The horrendous smell was gone. They did go a little overboard with the Armor All on the dash and leather trim though. We were told that it's been checked over top to bottom, that it's been out for four separate test drives, and that everything is in perfect condition. Great!

We need to move our child seats and some other personal belongings from our car into the van. My wife starts the van and drives it over to park it beside our car. In that short drive (about 20-30 metres), the engine belt starts squeaking. And, when she goes to stop, the brakes are EXTREMELY soft. We rush inside to the service department and demand to speak to someone. Nick (a service advisor, I think) comes out to talk to us. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's something small. I'll have a mechanic come out to look at it". We had to wait for about ten minutes but finally a mechanic did come out. He popped the hood, and within ten seconds of looking, he said "it's all rusted out - probably from sitting for so long". That mechanic got the dirtiest look from Nick that I have ever seen. I guess he's not supposed to tell the truth. We also noticed that there was a large crack in our front bumper. This was not there when we dropped the vehicle off in May. Anyways our van went back in for repairs and we drove off in our loaner vehicle.

How does this happen? How could they have taken our van for four test drives and checked it over from top to bottom, and not have found these problems? Impossible!

Thursday, September 9, 2004
I spoke with Frank (General Manager) by phone to discuss the current issues. He apologized and assured me that they would be taken care of. I questioned him about the crack in the front bumper. "I will replace it Brad, don't worry. They wanted to repair it and I told them just to replace it. I want to get these problems resolved as much as you do."

Friday, September 10, 2004
We were called and told that our vehicle is now ready for pickup. They have replaced the engine belt and the alternator. They have replaced the front bumper. They claim to have also looked at the brakes and... no fault found. They want us to drive it for a couple of days and see if we still believe that they are soft. (Note: We had our brakes completely re-done in April 2004 - less than a month before the van started sitting on the lot at MacIVER Dodge, so if the brakes are soft, it's not from wear - it's from sitting and rusting for 4 months.)

My wife arrives at MacIVER Dodge to pick up our van. Upon driving away, she realized that she forgot the work report inside the service department. She parked the vehicle so that she could run inside. She attempted to apply the parking brake, but it would not move. She pushed harder - it was seized. Of course! She ran into the service department, quite irate, and demanded that Nick come out to take a look. Nick tried to push the parking brake, but it wouldn't budge. He gave it a good, hard shove and it finally moved. "I don't see the problem" was his remark.

Sunday, September 12, 2004
We drove our van for the weekend and the brakes are definitely VERY soft. The engine is also idling very rough. We have an appointment scheduled with our mechanic first thing tomorrow morning. We'll see what he says. He's going to put it up on the hoist and check everything out.

Monday, September 13, 2004
Our mechanic put our vehicle up on the hoist and spent an hour going through everything. He found numerous problems. The brakes were completely rusted from sitting for so long. The parking brake that was seized (until Nick gave it that big shove) was no longer seized - but it was twisted and stretched. Our mechanic fixed this for us. Our mechanic also found the engine to be idling extremely rough and recommended a cleaning and tune-up. In fact, it turns out that MacIVER Dodge didn't even perform an oil change. Our mechanic could not believe it!

We also discovered that the front bumper had not been replaced, but that it had been patched with a compound known as "bondo". Surprise! MacIVER Dodge had lied to us about replacing our front bumper. Now I'm not promoting lying, but if you're going to patch the bumper and pretend that you replaced it, don't you think you would patch the inside as well? They knew that our mechanic was going to be checking all the work that they've done. Just plain stupidity!!! We also found some other miscellaneous problems - a plastic piece falling off the side of the dash and some rubber around the moonroof not installed properly.

So we drove back to MacIVER with our mechanic's notes in hand. We approached Frank and demanded that these items be repaired. I think he's just tired of fighting with us now. He agreed and arranged for another loaner vehicle.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Our vehicle has come back from service again. We were told that the entire braking system has been replaced. The fuel injectors had been cleaned and the oil was changed. The bumper was left as is, and we are still arguing about getting it replaced. This is a leased vehicle and we did not cause the crack in the bumper. I just know that when I return this vehicle in two and a half years, MacIVER Dodge will send me a bill for $600 for a crack in the bumper.

Friday, October 8, 2004
Since our vehicle has been returned to us, we are still having a number of ongoing problems. The engine is running extremely rough on idle. Not just a little rough - but quite loud and noisy. There is a really loud wind noise through the left sliding door. And, we are still arguing about replacing the bumper.

Thursday, October 14, 2004
Our van was taken back in for service to make proper repairs to the bumper. We agreed that MacIVER would patch the inside of the bumper and that Frank would write us a letter to state that the crack was not caused by us and should any costs be incurred at lease end due to the crack, MacIVER Dodge will pay.

They also took another look at our complaint re: the engine running extremely rough. No fault found. In fact, the service deparment sent us a friendly note saying "This vehicle is equipped with a sensor that indicates when the engine misfires or is running out of spec". Maybe they should check the sensor then!!!!!!!!!

Monday, October 18, 2004
Our son had a really bad asthma attack last night and we had to take him in to Emergency. On the way home, I noticed that our right fog light was not working. At first, I automatically assumed that MacIVER Dodge screwed something up when they fixed our bumper. But, then I calmed down and reminded myself that lights do burn out. Maybe that's the case and I just need to replace the bulb.

However, this morning, as I walked outside to drive my boys to school, I noticed a wire dangling from the bumper of our van (see photo below). This would probably explain why the right foglight is not working. No wonder I always jump to conclusions and assume that MacIVER Dodge is at fault. They are! Over and over and over and over again, the repair work that they perform is never completed properly! I just don't get it! How does this possibly happen? At this point in time, we are the most upset customers they have ever had - and we're not going away until our problems are solved. Wouldn't it make sense to spend an extra five minutes and make sure the repairs are done right before you return the vehicle to us?

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