rr126792 Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 I am a happy 2013 Journey RT AWD owner for two years. I had always thought the driving and handling was different, but i assumed it was the AWD. I have only had the car serviced at the dealership with routine oil changes and tire rotations. In July, I was told by the service advisor that I have two bent wheels. I was wondering how i bent my wheel until he told me that the word "BENT" was written on both the wheels. Please see photos. This is not someone's finger writing on dirt. It's some kind of marker that wrote this. My theories so far: Did someone at Chrysler assembly notice this and write it on the wheels intending to swap them out? -OR- did it happen at the wheel supplier and they never intended for them to be shipped out? -OR- did someone at the dealership swap them to my vehicle as a shortcut to deliver a vehicle? - or, or, or? I get conspiratorial, not because of the bent rims (yes they actually are out of round), but because someone took the time to write it on them. I have asked the dealership and Chrysler Customer Care to investigate, but they simply tell me that it could not have happened during the Chrysler supply chain. Anyone seen this before? dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty256 Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 That's kind of strange. Are you sure it's not the service advisor or his mechanics that wrote that on the wheel..... Or in a past wheel rotation or tire change ... I would go back to the last person to service the wheels or tires jkeaton, dhh3, dj cowboy and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 I would tend to agree with Dusty256. Did you bring it in because you had a specific complaint about way it handled? How many miles do you have on the odometer? If that had been written at assembly someone should have noticed it before this, unless the rims were very dirty. jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 That's kind of strange. Are you sure it's not the service advisor or his mechanics that wrote that on the wheel..... Or in a past wheel rotation or tire change ... I would go back to the last person to service the wheels or tires This. Who serviced the vehicle before? Take it back. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 It could have happened at the factory, and they were never intended to be used. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Did you ever have the tires changed or just have the wheels balanced? Perhaps the tech wrote it and did not tell you? Did you buy the vehicle new? Was it perhaps a demonstrator? Did you complain about the problem when you first got the vehicle? dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B4ZINGA Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 It looks like these were written on quite a while ago. I haven't seen assembly line operators write on parts, they usually enter notes on a piece of paper or plastic wrap stuck to the vehicle. Suppliers will write DEFECT, D, S, SCRAP or some indication that part is no good directly on the part so it does not get shipped, but their operators sometimes let things slip. I would think it would get caught at the assembly plant. The plant for the headliner program I'm on isn't shy about telling us when a defective part hits their floor and the assembled vehicle has to go in to the repair station. If it did somehow make it through inspection like that, I'd be surprised that no techs in two years have discovered it until now. But, it's not relevant now. The wheels need to be replaced. Hopefully your warranty is still good, since you can't prove it was delivered like that. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Is it possible someone swapped them out recently? I can't believe this was still on the rim after all this time through tire rotations, brake service etc. and just got noticed. One rim maybe, but both put on together as a set? Why now? dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B4ZINGA Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I don't know how the roads are in St. Louis, but I'd be willing to be the two wheels in question got out of round during normal driving and a recent rotation/re-balancing revealed the issue when they couldn't be balanced, so a tech wrote BENT on the wheels and the service adviser either wasn't informed, or neglected to mention it. dhh3 and rolly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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