jkeaton Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Our 09 with the 2.4 made it past 80,000 miles and I NEVER had a problem with that plastic cover coming off by itself. dhh3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 My solution for a bad 'engine BEAUTY cover' would be to lose the cover. And I did 50K on my '11 with the 2.4 without issue too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfurth Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 R32 parts are available at dealerships. Mine is scheduled for the repair on Saturday. dhh3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfurth Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 So, the "repair" that they do for this recall is to drive a bolt through the top of the engine cover on the passenger front corner. They could have at least used a black gasket instead of the orange piece they used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Probably brightly covered to serve as a very apparent visual cue that the recall has been performed AND to remind mechanics to remove the darned thing when they (or anyone else) may have to remove the cover . . . . . rolly and jkeaton 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I don't think it's visible when driving down the road. jkeaton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B4ZINGA Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 We're taking our 2.4L Blacktop in tonight. I called the dealer and asked what the repair is, and the service advisor checked and said they'll install insulation on the engine cover mounting system, I believe on the cover itself. This is the proper repair, not driving a bolt through the cover. Doing that is a very hack way of doing it. I'll reconfirm when we get to the dealer and check the cover when the repair is done. The engineer who thinks that's a good way of doing it needs to be reassigned and sent back to school. jkeaton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfurth Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 If you don't mind, post a photo of your engine cover post-recall repair. The recall claims installation of "an improved mounting system for the engine cover," which a threaded bolt is an improvement, functionally speaking. It says nothing about adding insulation to the engine cover. If this isn't what they were supposed to do, then I'm going to vocally express my opinion to the proper channels. I've made customer service people take personal days just because they knew I was coming back (to be fair, they had it coming). jkeaton and Lobitz68 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOURN3Y Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 I will confirm that they do drive a bolt into the engine cover into the the cover mounting bracket, on the passenger front side right along the crease of the cover. I mean I was mad when I first saw it, but in all regards it does not look so bad. The bolt they drive into cover is black with an orange rubber washer In between the bolt and cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Honestly; this recall was because the 'beauty cover' could come loose. they had to fasten it in place so it couldn't. How else did you think they were going to keep it in place? Glue? jkeaton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfurth Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Attach clamps on the sides in such a way as to preserve the original clean look of the "beauty cover"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) Using a clamp (and, technically a bolt and washer IS a clamp) implies a cost to design and manufacture some sort device that is quite likely not going to be as secure what they've come up with - they aren't in the business of making the engine compartment beautiful per-se. They wouldn't provide the cover in the first place if they could have gotten away with it - as mentioned earlier it is probably there more to dampen down the engine noise than for anything else.Automotive manufacturing is all about value engineering and they needed to solve a problem at the lowest possible cost - the entire kit probably costs about a buck and the installation probably takes about 10 minutes - it's sole purpose is to solve an identified problem in the cheapest manner possible and so long as there is no ugly modification to the external lines of the vehicle, had the thing involved making the cover bright pink it would not matter one whit to them.You can, of course simply not apply the recall to the vehicle - or you can always spray the bolt and the washer black or remove the bolt and it's associated washer after it has been applied if you don't like the look of it. And if the remaining empty hole bothers you, a plug can be applied to cover it.But it IS the engine compartment, and this isn't some exotic foreign sports car where every component, no matter where it is, is considered a work of art. Edited October 31, 2015 by bramfrank jkeaton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Well said sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B4ZINGA Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) I expected not to be LIED to, and I expected the mounting system to be improved with more robust insulation. A bolt driven through is a hack backyard mechanic way of doing it. Obviously, there was zero engineering involved in this "fix". This is a repair worthy of the "thereifixedit" caption, and one FCA should be ashamed of. The proper repair would have been to install new insulation, as the first service advisor I spoke to said would happen. You replace the defective part, not ram a bolt through it into the engine and call it a day. Instead of installing replacement insulation, they rammed the bolt through it into the engine, effectively lying to me point-blank. You're right, its a voluntary recall. Had the dealer not LIED, we would not have brought the vehicle in. Instead of repairing the vehicle, they've damaged it. I wonder how long before this shoddy repair further damages the mounting system by the bolt being removed and reinstalled repeatedly? It's designed to be simply removed and reinstalled for service... Well, now an extra step has been introduced that was never a part of the original design and won't be robust any longer after a few removals and reinstallations. A replacement cover and mounting system will be needed when that happens. Edited October 31, 2015 by B4ZINGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 I guess you need to take that up with your dealer. dhh3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) Your expectations clearly exceeded the reality of the recall. In fact there was no real issue to be resolved (had there been, this recall would have been mandated by the NHTSA), beyond the fact that one or more vehicles were let into the field, either by dealers or by (to use your term) 'backyard mechanics' who failed to properly install the cover - the problem was to ensure that as long as all the parts are in place the cover could not shift around the engine compartment - the bolt does resolve that as an issue - if you install the bolt, the cover can't come off the mounting pegs . . . . problem solved.It isn't a lie if they have no idea what they are talking about - there was never any mention of insulation in the recall notice. I have no idea where the service advisor ma have gotten that idea (unless he confused this recall with another). It was quite clear that the recall was only to correct a situation where the cover might become dislodged and come into contact with hot engine parts, melt, smoke and in extreme circumstances possibly even catch fire - insulation was not mentioned in the recall notice.As to what you term 'hack backyard mechanic' way of doing things? Clearly the proper clamp system built into the vehicle provided no visual cues that the cover was properly attached to the posts so something less elegant was required. Bolts have always been the preferred method of fastening things that must be temporarily removable. It will serve the purpose as long as those who work on the vehicle remember to install the bolt after they replace the cover.The company has achieved it's goal and while you can feel free to complain all you like, it isn't going to make any difference. Edited November 1, 2015 by bramfrank jkeaton and rolly 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 Oh my hell, its a freaking bolt on an engine cover!! I've never seen so much grief over such a negligible subject. jkeaton, dhh3 and rolly 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 I believe the thread is done. dhh3 and aukfan33 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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