Recall R03 New Ignition Switch & Key FOB's...

[Elmwoodie]

Got my recall notice weeks ago for my 2010 Journey (Safety Recall R03 replaces safety recall L25). Unfortunately never got around to booking an appointment for it.

Today my car wont start. The key that was working now says DAMAGED KEY and the other one hasn't worked in a long time (although it can remote start and unlock which the working one wont).

Called dealer here in Winnipeg Canada. They will get back to me when the parts arrive. They have no idea when parts will come.

I guess I will have to get it towed to the dealer and let it sit in their lot till they get the parts.

If only I had made the appointment for a new WIN module and new FOBs already. Oh well.

Just called another local dealer who shared a little more info. They are being allotted 5 sets of parts weekly for this recall. And all of this week's are allocated.

Shawn.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Elmwoodie

[W_A_Watson_II]

Just another update on this never ending topic. After I had my R03 recall performed, I tried to program and new spare key and to my amazement you are no longer able to perform this procedure yourself. I assume this has something to do with the new Win Module. I'm searching for the reason, but have not received any answers yet....I'll keep you posted.

Just had mine done, and gave them all three keys, but they failed to program our spare/emergency key, and I tried to do it per the manual, and it looks like they took that capability away from the vehicle owner, so I'm haveing to go back and get them to do it.

[brwengel]

Yeah it always surprised me that they let you program the key fob yourself. Why let the customer do it for free when you could charge them a bunch for simple programming....after all, where else can they go to get it done?

[W_A_Watson_II]

Went back to the dealer to get the 3rd key programmed, and apprently in addition to consumers not being able to program their own keys, the dealer could not program the key. Looks like the module either chnaged RFID specifications, or they found a way to not allow it to use non-OEM keys.

[bramfrank]

I understood that they were supposed to replace all your keys under the recall.

[brwengel]

Went back to the dealer to get the 3rd key programmed, and apprently in addition to consumers not being able to program their own keys, the dealer could not program the key. Looks like the module either chnaged RFID specifications, or they found a way to not allow it to use non-OEM keys.

Under the terms of the recall, Chrysler will replace all keys (OEM or Aftermarket) with a new Key Fob. I had my original two and one I bought on eBay and they gave me three new ones. I don't think they will be able to reprogram any of your original keys....and as I posted earlier, you cannot program you own Chrysler OEM keys anymore.

Hope this helps.

[Tadek Janczykowski]

Neither you nor Dodge can reprogram the key to the new key fob. It's just the way it's made.

[johnm]

Thought I'd share my experience with R03. My dealer only replaced 2 of my 4 functioning fobiks using the same argument : "we can't program them". Of course, it's a lie. The replacement fobiks are from a different company (Marquardt instead of Continental) and are NOT physically interchangeable. One of the fobiks they refused to replace came with the car. I put it in a new housing when the old one broke. After 15 minutes with the Svc Mgr, I realized I was wasting my time, so I went home and wrote to the customer hotline. No response. Just before Christmas I gave up and complained to Tim Kuniskis via e-mail. A month later someone called to respond. He hadn't taken the time to read my letter or understand that I was peeved that the dealer not only refused to replace functioning fobiks, but obviously lied about why he wouldn't replace them. H

[johnm]

(Continuing) He also obviously didn't care. All he kept repeating over and over again was: "We are only responsible for replacing the 2 fobiks that came with the car." He told me I could pay the dealer to reprogram them at my expense (again, the same lie). When I told him I knew they wouldn't even fit in the new dash module, he dropped back to repeating the same line about only replacing 2 fobiks. Once more a waste of time so I finally told him to put me down as a very dissatisfied customer and then hung up on him.

About a week or 2 later I get another call from Chrysler, asking me to rate the previous caller. They told me they were only asking about his performance, not my issue. (why am I not surprised?)

Needless to say he got low marks.

The only thing I can think of is that a lot of customers like me owned more than 2 fobs because so many of them failed (the dealer charged me $220 to replace the one that left me stranded when it failed) and they're trying to limit the cost of the recall. If they just told me that, I'd be unhappy but could at least understand. The lie about not being able to reprogram them just makes them look dishonest at a corporate level.

Bottom line: after almost 50 years of buying over a dozen mopars, I am done.

[jkeaton]

Thanks for joining our forum to share your experience. Hope you have better luck with whatever you buy next.

[brwengel]

Thought I'd share my experience with R03. My dealer only replaced 2 of my 4 functioning fobiks using the same argument : "we can't program them". Of course, it's a lie. The replacement fobiks are from a different company (Marquardt instead of Continental) and are NOT physically interchangeable. One of the fobiks they refused to replace came with the car. I put it in a new housing when the old one broke. After 15 minutes with the Svc Mgr, I realized I was wasting my time, so I went home and wrote to the customer hotline. No response. Just before Christmas I gave up and complained to Tim Kuniskis via e-mail. A month later someone called to respond. He hadn't taken the time to read my letter or understand that I was peeved that the dealer not only refused to replace functioning fobiks, but obviously lied about why he wouldn't replace them. H

So I'm just curious, do you not have a copy of your recall? While I don't have mine in front of me at the moment, I'm pretty sure that's where I saw the wording that stated they would replace all Fobiks, including any you may have purchased. I have my notice at home and I'll check this week-end...

[johnm]

Yes, of course I did. I showed it to the service manager. He still refused to replace the other 2 as I explained because "I can't program them. They must not be OEM." A lie.

When I got the call from Detroit, I even quoted the recall. Response: "We are only responsible for replacing the 2 fobs that came with the car."

What they promised is not what I got plus they both lied to me. That's why I'm angry.

[bfurth]

I had the R03 recall performed for my 2010 T&C. I had three functioning FOBIK transponder keys when I went in, one of them was purchased third party, but was still branded with the appropriate Chrysler logos and part numbers. When I picked the van back up, I was given 3 new FOBIK keys.

The recall does not say "we will only give you two keys." The exact language is:

NOTE: You will receive two new FOBIK's as part of this recall procedure. If you purchased additional FOBIK's in the past, they will also be replaced. Please bring in all FOBIK's to receive an equal number of replacement FOBIK's. FOBIK's that were replaced in the past due to damage will not be exchanged. Depending on FOBIK availability, you may have to return at a future date to receive any additional FOBIK's.

How this works in reality is that the dealership/FCA is responsible to provide you with new FOBIK's equal in number to the amount of currently functioning FOBIK's as you brought with you when you had the recall performed, with a minimum that they give you 2 when the repair is finished, regardless of how many you brought in with you.

If you had 4 FOBIK's and only brought them 1 or 2 at the time of the repair, they won't be able to confirm that the other keys ever worked, and thus are not responsible to provide replacements for them. The old keys absolutely will not work with the new WIN module, so they can't be confirmed to have ever worked, so you're SOL. Unless you can get a very generous agent at Dodge/Chrysler Cares.