biohazard Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 We bought a 2013 dodge journey RT earlier this spring and never had time to install the hitch and wiring harness until now. With the LED lighting there is a special port just for the 4 pin wire harness. Everything is hooked up fine but I have no power to them when plugged into a trailer. Brought the car to the dealership as I have seen that others on here have had to FLASH their cars computers to activate and provide power to the trailer wires, which the tech at the dealership says is correct. He also says that some need it and some don't and will work right away. The part that I am p*ssed off about is they want to charge me 140.00 to activate it !!!!!!!!!! SHOULDNT IT COME PRE INSTALLED WITH ALL SOFTWARE AS THE TECH EVEN SAID THAT NOT ALL NEED THE FLASH UPDATE. Why am I paying for this PREP PACKAGE and still having to fork out money to make it work ??!!?? as you can tell im pretty mad right now, and have left a message with the guy I bought the car as he was gone for the day but come on. IS this something I should be paying for or not ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 Wow, what a ripoff! That's almost as much as you paid for the tow package. That doesn't make sense, I'd try another dealer if they don't cover it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 You dont have to pay if you got the tow prep kit from the factory I did not pay and I needed a reflash The mechanic found some "star case" or something that made me exempt from paying as its a mistake from the factory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biohazard Posted August 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 I have called customer care for Chrysler Canada and they have started a case and are going to get back to me about the issue. They did want to know what dealership I went to and what exactly was said so I will be interested to see what they say and yes I will post it here when I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 This sounds a lot like my "former" dealer. I bought six vehicles and my son bought one there, but I stopped going when they kept trying to sell me service I didn't need or want. They got greedy when the dealership changed hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman425 Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 There should be no charge to you by your selling dealer to enable the trailer wiring -regardless of whether or not you purchased the hitch and wiring with the car or bought it from them afterward. All current Journeys require Trailer Tow Group Sales Code AHC to be added to the Dealer Installed Options list, and then the technician must perform a Vehicle Reconfiguration (or Restoration, as it is also called) so that the vehicle recognizes the new sales code. Once the car sees the new sales code, the power to the wiring will be enabled. I found this confusing as well. I ordered my Journey from the factory with the Trailer Tow Prep Group. I assumed that all we had to do at my dealership was connect the supplied harness to the one that was installed in the car from the factory and it would work. After all, the factory built it with the wiring in place, right? And I paid for the prep group, correct? Doesn't work quite that way, it turns out. When the hitch is installed and the wiring connected, the technician must then add Sales Code AHC to the Options list, then restore the vehicle. A restoration is similar in principle to restarting your home PC after Windows installs updates. The updates are downloaded and installed on your computer, and then you get the message that the computer must be restarted in order for the updates to take effect. Same idea here. No, I do not understand why it has to be done that way if the factory puts the equipment on in the first place. Makes no sense to me. Same thing in the US for daytime running lamps. The option is there to enable them and disable them in the Settings menu on the 8.4 radio, but they don't work unless you add the sales code "LMK" to the options list and restore the vehicle. Go figure. Anyway, you paid for an option that you cannot use until the job is completed, and that can only be done by the dealer. NO EXTRA CHARGE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Official Dodge Support DodgeCACares Posted August 20, 2013 Official Dodge Support Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 I have called customer care for Chrysler Canada and they have started a case and are going to get back to me about the issue. They did want to know what dealership I went to and what exactly was said so I will be interested to see what they say and yes I will post it here when I know biohazard, I'm sorry to hear the wiring harness is giving you a hard time. You did the right thing by contacting Customer Care. Have you been in contact with your Case Manager recently? If so please share the results of the review. I'd gladly see what I could do to help with the review if you send me a private message with your VIN or CAIR#. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biohazard Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 (edited) Chrysler Canada has called me twice today saying that they have contacted the dealership and are awaiting a response. Also the mamager from the dealership called us asking what problems we had the other day so he could hear the information first hand, which we told him and who we talked to. Still am waiting for a final response, which im sure will be a matter of making the appointment and having the work done free of charge . Sounds like the dealership just didn't know how to handle this type of problem and have never been told the right way. So far I am impressed with the quick response from both parties and will keep you updated as I know things. biohazard, I'm sorry to hear the wiring harness is giving you a hard time. You did the right thing by contacting Customer Care. Have you been in contact with your Case Manager recently? If so please share the results of the review. I'd gladly see what I could do to help with the review if you send me a private message with your VIN or CAIR#. thanx for the help, and I will send you a PM if the problem does not get resolved through the customer care help line just so I know what is a CAIR#, is it the case number ? Edited August 21, 2013 by biohazard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman425 Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 (edited) The Customer Assistance Center here in the US has become very responsive and proactive to customer concerns in the last few years, in my experience. Customer satisfaction is a top priority at Chrysler these days since that is really the only way to earn repeat business, not to mention the fact that we as consumers pay a lot of money for new cars, and they are expected to perform in a relatively problem-free manner. The dealers, like the cars themselves, are also expected to serve the customer well. Glad to see that the good folks at Chrysler Canada are right on top of things for you. That has become the new normal now and not the exception, I am happy to report. Edited August 21, 2013 by Journeyman425 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Official Dodge Support DodgeCACares Posted August 22, 2013 Official Dodge Support Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Chrysler Canada has called me twice today saying that they have contacted the dealership and are awaiting a response. Also the mamager from the dealership called us asking what problems we had the other day so he could hear the information first hand, which we told him and who we talked to. Still am waiting for a final response, which im sure will be a matter of making the appointment and having the work done free of charge . Sounds like the dealership just didn't know how to handle this type of problem and have never been told the right way. So far I am impressed with the quick response from both parties and will keep you updated as I know things. thanx for the help, and I will send you a PM if the problem does not get resolved through the customer care help line just so I know what is a CAIR#, is it the case number ? biohazard, Glad to be of assistance. Certainly do PM me if you need additional assistance with either your file or Case Manager. You are right, your CAIR# represents your file or case number in other words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biohazard Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 UPDATE : I haven't heard back from them in a few days so I called them this morning and they are still in talks with the dealership. Im assuming that they are trying to figure out why they would think of charging for something that should be pre installed but don't have a final verdict yet I am happy with the quick response from Chrysler Canada but I am without towing capability and has inconvienced me from actually towing and hope that some kind of compensation (free oil changes, ETC) should be warrented but just have to wait and see, still optimistic at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Why do they want to charge you?? Doesnt make sense that I didnt get charged but they are trying to stick it to you After my dealer Nia Chrysler found the Star case it took him no time to get it up and running because at first they thought the harness was bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biohazard Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Why do they want to charge you?? Doesnt make sense that I didnt get charged but they are trying to stick it to you After my dealer Nia Chrysler found the Star case it took him no time to get it up and running because at first they thought the harness was bad its funny you say that they are trying to stick it to me as that's what my wife said. When we ordered it we had a price in mind and didn't want to go over it. We haggled back and forth and in the end we got it for the price we want but not before them saying that they are losing money on the deal just to make up for it in customer satisfaction *cough* BS *cough*. IF they lost money on car deals then they wouldn't be in business right ? lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleCowboy Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 I have called customer care for Chrysler Canada and they have started a case and are going to get back to me about the issue. They did want to know what dealership I went to and what exactly was said so I will be interested to see what they say and yes I will post it here when I know Thanks for the info. I also got the tow package. I ve installed the wiring harness but the lights did not work. I thought I did something wrong. I will check with the local dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biohazard Posted December 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 UPDATE : after a lot of fussing and arguing with both the dealership and customer care I did get the tow package active for free. The biggest problem was the dealership wasn't understanding exactly what I needed done. Now everything works great so if anyone else is having trouble just KEEP CALLING customer care and your local dealership !!! GentleCowboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.