Easy stuff first: A routine oil change which cost us $32.92.
Even after a thorough washing, the front windows, when used, would let out a squeal that is only rivaled by fingernails scraping across a chalkboard -- or Avril Lavigne -- on the shrill-o-meter. Buerge cleaned and lubricated the tracks and we were good to go.
The next item was a brake moan/screech/judder that would occur every time the vehicle was slowed in reverse. I laughed when I saw the dealer’s comments in this column as I picked up the vehicle, “Brakes operating as designed, no problem found.” Then I stopped laughing, grabbed the keys, and brought my service advisor, Jeremy, along for a quick demo of the problem. The Jeep dutifully sang for him every single time.
Jeremy conjectured that we should “heat the brakes up” to reduce the noise. A useful suggestion for the times we have hours to drive before we need the reverse gear. Or the times we’re armed with a heat-gun in the supermarket parking lot. His second next suggestion was a brake-disc resurfacing for $129. The vehicle has 12,313 miles. It shouldn’t need a brake resurfacing, and if it did, it should be under warranty. It wasn’t.
Last on the list was the TSB to reflash/reprogram the sluggish and sometimes stumbling CVT. (18-031-07 for those of you keeping track.) The engine stumble is mercifully gone, but the Compass is still very, very slow.
Total Cost: $32.92.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 12,313 miles.
stovt001 says:
04:24 PM, 11/ 5/07
Well, except for that brake thing, it seems like a good service visit. But that brake thing is just inexcusable. Not good.
SubyTrojan says:
04:27 PM, 11/ 5/07
It's time to make a shameless plug.
http://www.edmunds.com/dealerships/index.html
At that page, you can help us help you, the consumer, by rating your sales and/or service experiences at your local automobile dealerships.
The More You Know...
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
neely2005 says:
04:41 PM, 11/ 5/07
Wow you got the CVT Flash done, so soon?
:-P
daytona_500 says:
04:49 PM, 11/ 5/07
Sounds like a really pathetic vehicle and dealership. That brake whatever should be covered under warranty and the fact that isnt really tells me to stay away from this car.
One more thing - who in their right mind puts the blinker switch in front of the shifter? For some reason Japanese cars always have them in easy to reach places, and the domestic cars put them on the steering column or elsewhere.
gmusic7 says:
05:10 PM, 11/ 5/07
I'm surprised these brake noises still exist in Chrysler/Jeep vehicles today. My parents 1997 Dodge Caravan had the same brake noises at around the same mileage. The solution was to go with aftermarket pads and rotors. I agree with Daytona 500: "pathetic vehicle and dealership." Unfortunately, there are more than one of those pathetic dealerships. Two are here in the SF Bay Area.
langlebl says:
05:14 PM, 11/ 5/07
That brake issue and his response are absolutely unacceptable! Just out of curiousity, did you wait at the dealer or leave the Jeep there? Either way, how long was your wait?
desmolicious says:
06:14 PM, 11/ 5/07
Buerge Jeep is a truly horrible dealership. I posted my experiences on http://www.edmunds.com/dealerships/index.html .
Unbelievable, instead of trying to fix the brakes under warranty they want to upsell you some junk...
True story, when the Chrysler Crossfire SRT convertible first came out, they had a yellow one on the lot with a $20,000 markup! 9 months later it was still there, this time marked $5000 under sticker...
boxermike says:
06:36 PM, 11/ 5/07
Langlbel: We dropped the vehicle off the night before the service and it was ready after-noon the next day. The timing was spot-on. The rest, not so much.
-mike
stovt001 says:
04:49 AM, 11/ 6/07
Desmo, a Scion dealership had a tC they gave a two-tone paint job, supercharger, TVs and DVD players in the back, new sound system, new upholstery, new shifter, new wheels and tires, lowering kit, and various other small modifications. The drove it around for a year or so to all the Scion events, then tried to sell it for something like $40K. Now I know they put a lot of money in it, but Scion's target market doesn't exactly have nearly forty grand to drop on a USED tC. It was still sitting there, months later, somewhat reduced but still obscenely expensive.
chuckg says:
05:58 AM, 11/ 6/07
Mike- Have you ever bedded-in brakes? Maybe you'd want to try it on this vehicle. That could have been what the service guy was talking about when he mentioned to heat the brakes up. Take a look:
http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm
SubyTrojan says:
10:22 AM, 11/ 6/07
I sold and shipped some parts to Dave Zeckhausen when I used to work at a BMW dealership. :o) He's a good guy!