A Challenger SRT tale I heard

[Ghoste]

I am not in any way vouching for the accuracy of this tale, I'm only retelling it here because I thought it was funny.
An acquaintance of mine has a buddy (whom I've also met a number of times) that works for a firm doing pr work for Dodge.  Anyway a short time ago, my buddy was invited by his buddy to go with him while he too a Challenger SRT for a short cruise to familiarise himself with the car.  They had the car on I-75 and one thing led to another and they were soon touring along at a rather high rate of speed.
They brought the car back to Dodge and the Chrysler corporate guy responsable for the car began asking him questions about his thoughts on the car and what they did with it.  He asked if they had opened it up at all and the answer was a sheepish, "a little bit".  The Chysler guy pressed them for a little more clarity on how much a "little bit" was but they claimed they didn't really pay any attention to the speedo because they wanted to make sure they were focused on traffic and not abusing the car in any way.  The Chrysler guy responded, "well let's find out" and he proceeded to plug the car into the computer.  He turned to the two young pups and asked "does 142 sound about right?".
These things are going to be a whooooooooole lotta fun!

[440charger68]

hahaha, that would be fun.

[LeeBoy]

Just imagine what they'll do after some tweeking. I know the 5.7 in my 05 Ram took well to a cold air box, a cat back system and a reprogramming from a Superchips Flashpaq Tuner. 

[C_stripes]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

[chargerrt]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Kind of dumb considering the Chrysler Corp. has a lifetime warrenty on their powertrains now.  I'd be in ass kicking mode if they tried to void my warrenty because I redlined my engine three times 

[C_stripes]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Kind of dumb considering the Chrysler Corp. has a lifetime warrenty on their powertrains now.  I'd be in ass kicking mode if they tried to void my warrenty because I redlined my engine three times 

Thats exactly why they are doing it.  There is NO such thing as a lifetime warranty.  They will find a way out of it.  Dealers always do.   I can't wait to get my other job and get away from the dealer.

[BigBlackDodge]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Kind of dumb considering the Chrysler Corp. has a lifetime warrenty on their powertrains now.  I'd be in ass kicking mode if they tried to void my warrenty because I redlined my engine three times 

I've been hearing a dodge dealers radio ad for weeks now and at the end of the add it's says that the Challenger is excluded from the lifetime warranty....... Not sure if it's just the srt's or what. Any news on this?


BBD

[oldcarnut]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Don't forget about insurance co's and traffic accident investigators doing the same thing. 

[Ghoste]

The technology to place certain limitations in any modern vehicle has already been here for a little bit now.  Tracking that info whether by the mfg for warranty voidance or insurance investigators for risk assessment or the police for placing fines or even shutting the car down isn't widespread yet but wait for it.

[Kevin68N71]

Yes, this is a topic that is downright scary.

Right now, there are electronics on board cars that when airbags are deployed, it can tell you the speed the car was going for the last few seconds as well as whether brakes were applied.  This of course, is sold to us as a measure to protect people from "fraud".

I call it shades of 1984.  I mean, after all, if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about, right comrade?

I don't appreciate manufacturers building things into cars that I don't know about so that insurance companies may use against me at their will.

Some measures spoken about are allowing law enforcement the technology to "kill" car engines at will.  This is supposedly to "protect" us citizens from fleeing traffic violators.  Doesn't matter if you are rushing your kid to the hospital and someone thinks you are going too fast.

The mind reels at how this could be exploited.  Since many new cars are connected for nav systems, how about an interlink that as soon as you go over, say, 80 miles an hour your information is beamed to law enforcement and/or insurance companies?  How about criminals hacking into the system and using it to follow you in your valuable car, and turning off your car and carjacking you?

At about the time some dealer tells me my car is out of warranty due to "speeding", is about the time I locate the computer and fry it with 220 volts, and then advise the dealer to repair the failed computer under warranty.

Or get it illegally reset and bring it back to the dealer demanding a retest.  See how easy it is to turn nice people into criminals?   

[NMike]

the small print for the lifetime warranty says no SRT's and the Viper too.  most likely the PCM had data logging for the preproduction model. alot easier to find what went wrong when you record it all. any real world feedback is bettert than in the lab.

[Kevin68N71]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Kind of dumb considering the Chrysler Corp. has a lifetime warrenty on their powertrains now.  I'd be in ass kicking mode if they tried to void my warrenty because I redlined my engine three times 

Thats exactly why they are doing it.  There is NO such thing as a lifetime warranty.  They will find a way out of it.  Dealers always do.   I can't wait to get my other job and get away from the dealer.

And there are two sides to this.  Just like in computer service, a dealer gets BS dollars from the manufacturer for warranty service.  So they don't want to do it, they want their service department making money.  And customers get irritated, it's a terrible situation.

I used to run "break fix" computer service for a major company, the whole Southern California region.  And just like cars, it was a nightmare.  People didn't  buy computers from us, but they would bring in their thrashed, cr@ppy laptops with broken screens, damaged cases, broken keys, etc,  and demand we fix it--of course, in front of all our maintenance contract clients.  They would b!tch if we had to order a part.  They wouldn't take it to where they bought it...a notorious shop up the street that advised all their clients that WE were the authorized warranty provider!  Then, if we told them that physical damage was not covered by warranty, they would scream that it just "happened", call HP or Compaq or IBM and guess what, those companies would make us fix it.  Sure, they would provide the part, and $60.  On a laptop, it might be hours to fix, and you get no additional money if the customer brings it back again because of a dot on the screen or something.  Then, if you didn't watch closely, the manufacturer would charge you the next month for the bad part when they received it, stating it is out of warranty, and conveniently forgetting about the arrangement.  Now, think about tracking those situations dozens of times a month over hundreds of repairs.

I have a friend who works at a dealership and tells me there are a lot of similarities. I am not defending dealerships, but warranty work in any business typically sucks bad.  My only good experience with dealers is my wife's BMW dealer, although man do they gouge for brakes!!!

[ronv]

Oh yes the bad DEALER. Here is what I have seen.
1) After being told only to run low sulfur fuel in his new 6.7l Ram 2500 Quad Cab. A heavy equipment mechanic runs fuel from the equipment he works on. The filters, injectors, fuel pump and even the turbo all take a sh*t.  He then lies about doing it(he too tried to be in kick as mode). Sorry dude that is not warranty. That is stupidity.
2) A guy gets this truck stuck to the axles at the beach. Burns up this transmission, has the truck towed in and denies being on the beach as we are sweeping up sand from under his truck. Thats not warranty.
3) How about the guy I see racing at the drags in his new Accord V6. I race to in my '70 Charger. We wants his clutch covered under warranty.
4) Or the street racer who goes form 5th to 2nd gear and tears up his car. Warranty?

I can go on and on but it doesent matter. Its always going to be the DEALERS fault.

[2Gunz]

Its really just a vicious cycle.

Parts are expensive because warranty BS is expensive.

My drivers mirror was $380 a believe.  WHAT?  for a mirror?

You better believe Im going to piss and moan about it and try my hardest to get it covered.

If it was $90 I would whatever it and pay the money.


If everybody had a huge reality check we would be alot better off.

[hemihead]

Oh yes the bad DEALER. Here is what I have seen.
1) After being told only to run low sulfur fuel in his new 6.7l Ram 2500 Quad Cab. A heavy equipment mechanic runs fuel from the equipment he works on. The filters, injectors, fuel pump and even the turbo all take a sh*t.  He then lies about doing it(he too tried to be in kick as mode). Sorry dude that is not warranty. That is stupidity.
2) A guy gets this truck stuck to the axles at the beach. Burns up this transmission, has the truck towed in and denies being on the beach as we are sweeping up sand from under his truck. Thats not warranty.
3) How about the guy I see racing at the drags in his new Accord V6. I race to in my '70 Charger. We wants his clutch covered under warranty.
4) Or the street racer who goes form 5th to 2nd gear and tears up his car. Warranty?

I can go on and on but it doesent matter. Its always going to be the DEALERS fault.

I agree with you here . How many people are going to buy the new Challenger , trash it doing something entirely moronic ( or just because they think they can drive ) , take it back to the dealer and demand it be fixed for free ?

[moparmark]

Oh yes the bad DEALER. Here is what I have seen.
1) After being told only to run low sulfur fuel in his new 6.7l Ram 2500 Quad Cab. A heavy equipment mechanic runs fuel from the equipment he works on. The filters, injectors, fuel pump and even the turbo all take a sh*t.  He then lies about doing it(he too tried to be in kick as mode). Sorry dude that is not warranty. That is stupidity.
2) A guy gets this truck stuck to the axles at the beach. Burns up this transmission, has the truck towed in and denies being on the beach as we are sweeping up sand from under his truck. Thats not warranty.
3) How about the guy I see racing at the drags in his new Accord V6. I race to in my '70 Charger. We wants his clutch covered under warranty.
4) Or the street racer who goes form 5th to 2nd gear and tears up his car. Warranty?

I can go on and on but it doesent matter. Its always going to be the DEALERS fault.

             Hey guys,

             I work in the service department for a Gm dealer up here in Edmonton,Alberta,Canada and I see a LOT of BS stuff that goes on with whiney customers coming in for crap that they have abused on their cars and then they are crying for warranty.
       Example: a customer had their Cadillac CTS towed in two days ago when the engine stalled and would not restart.We diagnosed it and turns out the engine seized.We took off the valve covers and cylinder heads and pulled the warranty records and the car did not have an oil change for 38 000 kms even though they are covered for free by Gm Canada.Customer admits that he didn;t take it in for service and now he is crying for warranty.BULLS*** !!!!  Going to slap a warranty denial on that car for sure.

           Anyway the Viper and Challenger warranty does not surprise me at all.Remember back in the day when you bought a Charger with the 426 HEMI the warranty was different as well.Just my two cents!!!!

                 Mark K.

[myk]

Some of those cars didn't come with a warranty at all...

[jwilk01]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Not a true story.  Sorry but I work for a Honda Dealership and when I saw this I asked the techs here and all of them said they have never heard of that and it doesn't even make since.

Later
Josh

[andy74]

a lot of time the customers ATTITUDE makes the differnce too when warranty is concerned-i will bend over backwards to help someone who is pleasant or at least polite,ill stay right by the book if someone is an asshole, the old treat others as you want to be treated, ive been a dealer for a long time,and i know its always my fault

[C_stripes]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Not a true story.  Sorry but I work for a Honda Dealership and when I saw this I asked the techs here and all of them said they have never heard of that and it doesn't even make since.

Later
Josh

Sorry,  But it is a true story!  I also work at a Honda dealer and have so for three years. We also deal in Toyota and Scion. I work in the shop so I see the cars often and hear about all the BS.  I am guessing your a sales man???   If needed.  I can produce proof of what I say about the SI's.

[daves68]

It gets worse. I work with a major outboard engine mfg and can tell you for absolute 4 sure that every move you make is recorded in the "black box". There are 3 levels- one the dealer can access and effect repairs, two the dealer can only read and three only the factory can access. It's un-eraseable and tracks every rpm from the day it was born. Redline it and they will skip out on any warranty work. Most cars on the road now have some sort of tracking device in them too. Trial lawyers love 'em. If I ever got ion an accident the first thing I wuold to is trash the damn thing. Leave no evidence.

[bordin34]

The place my family got our FourWinns 210 Horizon with a 5.0 from warned us to break it in exactly by the book because the manufacturer, volvo penta, can check to see if we did if we ever need warranty repairs. He said somebody "broke the engine in" by going past 6000rpm doing donuts in the water and having the prop come out then wanted warranty work. Our boat does a steady 54.5mph at 5500rpm.

[jwilk01]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Not a true story.  Sorry but I work for a Honda Dealership and when I saw this I asked the techs here and all of them said they have never heard of that and it doesn't even make since.

Later
Josh

Sorry,  But it is a true story!  I also work at a Honda dealer and have so for three years. We also deal in Toyota and Scion. I work in the shop so I see the cars often and hear about all the BS.  I am guessing your a sales man???   If needed.  I can produce proof of what I say about the SI's.

Yes please do.  I work in the Parts dept. and the techs I have talked to have worked for Honda for the past 20 years, I think they know what they are talking about.

Later
Josh

[Chargerguy74]

You know why car company's are doing that?   So that they can void warranty's. The Civic SI's, They can only be redlined three times and then they set off a light that has to be reset at a dealer. The dealer then process's that and the warranty is void.    True story.

Not a true story.  Sorry but I work for a Honda Dealership and when I saw this I asked the techs here and all of them said they have never heard of that and it doesn't even make since.

Later
Josh

Sorry,  But it is a true story!  I also work at a Honda dealer and have so for three years. We also deal in Toyota and Scion. I work in the shop so I see the cars often and hear about all the BS.  I am guessing your a sales man???   If needed.  I can produce proof of what I say about the SI's.

Yes please do.  I work in the Parts dept. and the techs I have talked to have worked for Honda for the past 20 years, I think they know what they are talking about.

Later
Josh

[Kevin68N71]

I cannot find anything on the web about Honda warranties being suspended, over-revving, black boxes doing things like this in Hondas, SIs, Honda SIs or any other combination of searches.

Not saying there may be truth to it, but I cannot find one scrap of supporting data.  I did find alot of people questioning whether turbos, exhaust, intakes and other mods might affect their Honda warranty.

[C_stripes]

I will see if I can get the paper work tomorrow.  I know when the new design came out we were told to be carfull when we drove them due to the warranty things. The service manager we had at the time as well as the new car manager told us. I know it isn't on the older style but is on the new ones. They even had a paper sent out by someone from Honda.  I will do what i can to find a copy.  I know of one car that the dealer void a warranty on for racing and messing things up. I think they more void that one due to the fact he had less than 5k miles on it and blew the trans up. When they had it towed in, The front tires were all but bald.  Like I said, I will try to find that paper from Honda.  If I can't find it, and can't find any hard proof. I won't be afraid to admit I am wrong.  But I will say that I saw a paper from Honda talking about it and I was told by two main people at the dealer.   

Jeremy

[2Gunz]

I dont know if its true or not....

But considering the new cars keep track of, RPM,timing,Air,wheel speed, advance, injectors
and im sure the list goes on.

Since the data is already present, why wouldnt you take it half a step futher and record it?

And really it must. Ive heard of cars running badly if you disconnect the battery for a long
time.  That is untill it "learns" again and fixes itself.

And when the engine light goes on I would guess it doesnt go on at the first hint of trouble.

That information must be stored in some form.

And lets face it, if you have a trainload of data and a computer running it, you would
have to be stupid to not record it for later evaluation.

[Mike DC]

 
Just convince people that there's some tenuous scrap of a link to "safety" and they'll vote to put govt-monitored cameras in their own bedrooms. 

 

[mally69]

Ya know whats even more scarey, just think about what cars would be like if insurance company's didnt crack down on the muscle cars hp levels. If they didnt could you imagine the hp levels of todays cars. It would have been never ending since the 60's. 

[BigBlackDodge]

Ya know whats even more scarey, just think about what cars would be like if insurance company's didnt crack down on the muscle cars hp levels. If they didnt could you imagine the hp levels of todays cars. It would have been never ending since the 60's. 

Fuel prices would (and did) slow it down.



BBD

[Ghoste]

I'd argue that fuel prices, or more accurately the Arab oil embargo put the final nail in the coffin but the insurance companies had a huge role in putting it into the coffin in the first place.

[Charger_Fan]

This thread makes me wonder what sort of little goodies are in the "black box" on a certain '08 GT Mustang...

[Chatt69chgr]

I was under the impression that the hemi's had rev limiters in them.  This is to keep the engine from being overreved isn't it?  Of course, I am only talking about the stock computer/program and not one that has been "readjusted" with a aftermarket software download.  In these cases, it would seem that you couldn't achieve the redline of the engine assuming that the rev limiter is set below the redline rpm (rpm which exceeded would cause engine damage) and, therefore, jepordize your warranty.

With this said, I will admit that unscrupulous dealers will do things to get out of honoring the warranty (ask me how I know). 

[andy74]

the hemi wont let you run over redline with the stock programing,and also pulls power out between shifts to lessen warranty tranny claims,i dont know about hondas though-and again what does any of this have to do with a dealer?they dont program or build it,just sell and fix them damn!