OMG Chrysler please tell me what you were thinking

[jar1292]

I need to rant. So I went to check my transmission fluid today because its shifting late into the acceleration. first off you would check the tranny fluid of course. it dark i have a few beers in me and i twist the cap... shit the cap falls into the engine compartment. I think maybe the neighbors heard me swear. whoops, wait it fell? shouldn't there be a dip stick? one would naturally think so. i thought oh crap the dip stick fell this ain't good but it is my own fault i could have been more gentle with it. crap now what so I grab a flash light. HMMM cap says for dealer use only! what the hell. I pulled the hemi cover off to see if i actually pulled the dip stick. as it was in the location as any other dip stick... nope the only one. i grab the manual and looking up tranny fluid, I read that the tranny duz not need regular maintenance and thus the dip stick has been omited from the car that i need to take it to a dealership for a reading...... (sorry to the mods for whats about to come)    FUCK  . Now the old lady next door really knew i was out side. Chrysler when did you actually dream of this?.... sorry if i offended any one. this may have been the most stupidest thing on this car.... before this i always thought it was the automatic head light washer fluid. this takes the cake!!! this is so stupid.... any of your responses come back as to say that hypothetically they crunched numbers and realized that by omitting the stick the will save 28.888 cents on every car i will will scream. whats next? with the omitting of valve stems we can charge 13.99 to check tire pressure at a registered Chrysler dealership?


                                         RANT OVER

[bull]

I'm a little confused. You screwed something up while working in the dark without a flashlight after having a few beers and it's Chrysler's fault?

[bajaherbie]

have another beer.

[Kern Dog]

I'm having a hard time understanding this.

[67440chrg]

So do they want you to take it to a dealer and let them drop a dipstick in it? Then they can charge you to do something you should be able to do on your own. Next they wont put a hood latch on it so you cant do anything at all.

[jar1292]

No bull and thanks for chiming in. at first i though that i broke off the dip stick that measures your tranny fluid. bad on my part. but after reading the manual Chrysler decided beond commen sense to not install a dip stick for the average do it your self man/woman (Mrs. Skip). I dint wanna forget you!...To self check your tranny fluid! That i will need to schedule an appointment with a local dealer to do it for me... and it wasnt dark i had the flood lights on! As i dont get home before dark. and didnt wanna drive it to my shop. Yes I had a few more beers after the fact that i now need to take time off of work to get the car looked at before anything major happens... as i cant do any preventative maintenance my self.

[A383Wing]

yea...it's pretty normal now for no trans fluid services on newer cars & trucks....Ford does not even have a dipstick tube in some of their SUV's....you gotta pull the drain plug on the bottom of the pan and fill it with special tool from underneath.....

Some transmissions are "filled for life" meaning there is absolutely no way to put fluid in....if fluid leaks out, you gotta replace the trans

[jar1292]

67440chrg, Yes I guess that is what they want. charge you to drop a 10 cent flat rod through the filler tube and tell you that it is low, and then insist that you pay the dealer 12 bucks a quart minimum cost plus laber to bring it to level. Or worse they have to put it on ther diagnostic computer to tell you that... Cha-ching for them, 60 or 80 bucks for the computer hook up plus oil plus laber hell your looking at a 150 doller bill just to say that your tranny oil was low. and of course you cant go to auto zone to buy the fluid and add it your self, as the fact is that you need the computer to tell you when it is toped off... i do beleave they have the consumer by the balls on this one

[jar1292]

wow 383 i honestly had no idea that is a shitty deal for the regular moon light mechanic... the really thought about that one. but i have a hard time believing the special tool to check the oil level. Are you thinking strait. i know i still have those beers in me and ready to start on another. but commen sense says if you pull the drain plug to check your oil.... crap no sense in checking it cuz it just ran down my arm! or are you stating that in order for you to just change your oil in some fords you must go through the drain plug and pressurize the oil into the pan to fill it to capacity?

[RallyeMike]

yea...it's pretty normal now for no trans fluid services on newer cars & trucks....Ford does not even have a dipstick tube in some of their SUV's....you gotta pull the drain plug on the bottom of the pan and fill it with special tool from underneath.....

Some transmissions are "filled for life" meaning there is absolutely no way to put fluid in....if fluid leaks out, you gotta replace the trans

I had no idea. That's completely ridiculous.

[A383Wing]

yes..you have to push the fluid in through the drain plug..it's a special plug that has a tube on the end...you fill it until it runs out...and you must do this while on a lift with engine running.

some GM cars are about the same...there is a place to fill them from up top..but to check the level of fluid, car must be warmed up, then shut off, and on the side of the trans axle, there is a 1/8" pipe plug next to the right hand axle, you must unscrew it and see if fluid runs out...if not, then you gotta fill it and check it all over again

I work on these pieces of crap for a living...it ain't getting easier

some cars have to have a scanner to check & fill

Some have a dipstick only 5" long in the side of trans right next to cat converter...

Bryan

[Darkman]

My GM wagon is the same

[rt green]

i run into this alot. people want their transmission flushed and sometimes theres no way to do it. plus some take the manufactures 'special fluid' and nothing else. you have to order it from the dealer and sometimes its 9 or ten bucks a quart.

[tan top]

have another beer.

   modern cars & stuff   , can   make you feel like that when you try to do something simple 

[Stretch]

Yep! Most new car trannys are checked with a scanner!

[GPULLER]

Some of the Jeeps are like that too.  You can get the "service tool" from Chrysler for checking the trans fluid.  You guessed it...all they send you is the dipstick.

[lisiecki1]

My wifes 96 malibu was the same way.

One of the reasons she's driving an 89 Supra now.  Atleast I can work on it.

Another in a growing list of reasons I don't want a new car.  My '92 F150 does just fine, and it's paid for.

[SRT-440]

Jokes aside..I do believe it's a matter of time before they fix it to where u can't open the hood or do anything to the cars without going to the dealer.

[resq302]

My wifes 05 Explorer Limited is that way. There is a torx plug inside the 7/8" drain plug which has a flute on it.  You have to pump the fluid up into the pan and when it stops draining back out, it is at the top of the flute which is considered full.  Now should you develop a leak or a drip here or there, there is no way to service this on the side of the road or at least top off the trans till you can get to a place to fix it.

As for the plastic plug, I know exactly what you are talking about.  My friend had her caravan have the trans start making a grinding noise and the dealership tried rebuilding it once and did not fix it.  She then ended up having to get a new tranny and the nimrods at the dealership not only cut the wires for her remote start, alarm, trans shifter cable, but forgot to put this plug back in so all kids of dirt and crap now got into the fresh,new trans.  Coincidentally, the trans shifter cable crapped out on her when she was driving and it was in park (or so the gear shifter was inside the car, and the guage was reading R)  Needless to say, the car would not start and she was stranded on the side of a major roadway with 3 young kids in the car.  After calling road side assistance, they towed her to the closest dealership (Boonton, NJ) even though the work on the car had been done by her at the Warwick, NY dealership.  The dealership ended up charging her $107 (deductible) for the part because it was not their fault.  She is now going back to the Warwick dealeship with the bill demanding to be reimbursed cause of their f up.

I agree that they are making it so you can not work on these cars unless you bring it to the dealer.  My 07 F150 has the 5.4l engine and in order to replace a cam phaser, you need a special plastic wedge shaped tool that holds the timing chain in place so it does not jump teeth.  Cost of the tool is over like $180 or so for a small plastic wedge with a threaded in rod!

[RallyeMike]

It's all basically engineered extortion.

Local dealer wants $700 for starter for our 09 Corolla. Just for the part. I'm going to the junk yard 

[Cooter]

You guys can thank your wonderful Diamler/Benz engineers for this omitting of the Trans dipstick as well as the Engine oil dipstick in Mercedes cars. (Yes, I had to buy a set of "Checker" Dipsticks off the "Strap-On" truck to even check Mercedes cars engine oil)...

Hadda lady come in the other day with a V6 Mercedes that was making a horrific noise. Come to find out, she was stopping at a local "Service Station" and told the "Attendant" that her "Oil Level" light had come on. Of course, the attendant realized no dip stick so he just dumped a QT in for good measure. Light out good right? Well, she did this over a three month period and with no way to check it, added 1 QT every other day for good measure.

Came in sounding like a thrashing machine. Blew up right in the lot. I drained no less than 4 gal of oil out of what was left of the engine. Yeah, German engineering....

[Ghoste]

Ve haff vayz of taking your money.

[XS29LA47V21]

Ve haff vayz of taking your money.

Shiza (spelling I am sure is wrong)

 

Don't feel bad we do it to ourselves too, why, do not know... oh yeah make a buck

[TK73]

Back around '96 i needed rotors for a '78 Suburban 1/2 ton.

Called dealer:  they wanted $300 EACH   

Went to NAPA: $35 each...

[Ponch ®]

On the other hand, modern cars are so sophisticated (for better or for worse) that certain things that you may otherwise think are "simple" - ie. checking your tranny fluid - actually require far more precision and special training in order for it to be done right . Maybe the car makers don't want some "I know how to do it, even while drunk on beer AND in the dark, damn it" backyard mechanic to mess with it, f--k it up, and then try to blame the car company when it blows up.

You wouldn't take your computer to a typewriter repairman. Just saying.