Armando G

I will say, Auto Zone has two different brand batteries and I believe one is much better than the other. But yes, it is sometimes a crap shoot. As a matter of fact, I have no clue what's currently in my DJ...I do know I have had no issues in the 3.5 years I've owned it. I'm assuming it's still the original battery. Maybe I'll take a peek tomorrow when I clean her up.

They said it worked out to be around $7k-$8k, but that was because of the extra labor spent diagnosing the transmission itself. They had to take it apart and submit pictures to FCA in order to get the warranty approved. The initial submission they sent stated it needed a tranny replacement, but FCA requested the further diagnosis... hence additional hours. If FCA had just approved their initial diagnosis, it could of been completed in basically a week. By the way, I just looked under the hood and car out of curiosity, and sure enough there's a new, clean transmission sitting under that engine.

Well, 23 days after I dropped the DJ off, I finally got it back. My DJ had "total" transmission failure and was originally scheduled to get the tranny rebuilt. Luckily, after they recalculated the labor cost of doing that, they decided to just give me a new transmission (that also cut two days from the total repair time). They also replaced the transmission cooling pump to make sure all of the related components were good. Felt great on the drive home and felt great being in my car after dealing with two rentals during the repair. The process was frustrating, but after it was all said and done they took care of it all under warranty. Here's hoping for no more issues going forward Also, just want to give a shout out to Putnam Chrysler/ Dodge in Burlingame, CA for taking care of me.

I beg to differ, but a lot of it has to do with driving styles... or sitting in car styles. I've never bought Walmart's battery, but since the wifey works part time at an auto shop, I get a lot of stuff at cost, hence buying the more costly Interstate. I do know I will never buy an Auto Zone battery. Buddy of mine had a terrible time with it.

Huge difference when you get into an old car as opposed to these new cars. Smell brings back memories.

Nice to hear everything worked out. Where do you find this code you speak of?

Welcome, and ask away. Good job getting your hands dirty

Bet is, you'll make it. Curious if this is a pleasure trip and what your timeline is? I personally rent a car on these long trips. For the sake of not putting all those miles on my car, and not having to worry about break downs, it's worth the money. I've broken down in my own car on a long trip - cost an arm and a leg. And I've broken down in a rental - just a phone call and I had a tow and replacement car. In any case, good luck on your trip... consider reversing your sleep hours. You drive while she sleeps

It would of been nice to know what David b ended up doing, but whatever. Did you ever try to put in into neutral to start it? Can you even get it to ACC position?

Great job and thanks for the included details. They look sharp.

I believe I have already sent a PM to @DodgeCares on November 2nd and received absolutely no response. Not sure how to actually read the messages. It's been a terrible experience with the dealer and here online.

Side note...I posted an issue with my transmission over 3 weeks ago and DodgeCares never jumped in. Guess they don't care about my issue

Best battery I've had in any of my cars was Interstate. Not cheap, but never had an issue. Have no idea what is currently in my DJ... haven't had any issues in the 3 years I've owned it, and since it's still at the dealership (3 weeks) I can't check.

Did you replace your pads? A humming usually comes from a little lip on the edge of your rotor (if not new or resurfaced). New pads are slightly bigger than the old ones and the lip rubs the edge of the pad creating a humming noise. If not, your piston may be sticking creating that humming noise on takeoff. First issue, new springs, resurface, or new rotor. Second issue, fully clean all of your brake parts and check if the pistons are all releasing. Other than that, we would need more info on what your brake issues have been in the past.

I'd be off to the dealership regardless... you said it's less than a year old. Make them figure it out.

I believe if it wasn't reset you would be starting at the "Change Oil" notice all along. I just know a lot of time is spent selling these systems for each specific car, so I think they are somewhat trustworthy.

I have to agree with @djk unfortunately. Have you tried using your old headphones with your new iPhone? You can't!!! We just paid $150 for some earpods for my kid to use on his iPhone... didn't have to, but our old headphones didn't work right. Blame Apple for your issues

Have you plugged a tester in to check if any codes pop up? Just like @2late4u stated, it could be many things, but continuing to drive is probably not the best idea. If you don't have a tester, plenty of places that will run a reader for free.

I think the gas thing is a long shot but who knows. Why not take it in for a full diagnosis? If you start spending time and money on guesses, it might be worth just trying to get to the bottom of it at the dealer, or other trusted mechanic. My DJ is currently at the dealership (2 weeks now) for a transmission job under warranty, but I've learned that trying to guess what's wrong is not always the best way to go. Unless of course someone can say exactly what the problem is... which I don't think anyone can.

Awww, they're buddies again But on the serious side, I completely understand your frustration. I had a lifetime warranty on my old Mercury Cougar and 15 years after I bought it i had a similar issue, and they fixed it with no argument. I felt odd making the call about the warranty and got prepared for an argument, but they honored it with no questions asked. On a side note, I've noticed the Dodge Cares folks chiming in on some issues, but totally ignore others. Wondering how they pick and choose? I posted my tranny issue a few days ago, and nothing. Anyway, keep pushing for them to honor what they sold you... and you paid for. Good luck.

More out of curiosity, why did you change out a 2 year old battery? Was something giving you problems before changing it?

Yeah, been bumming rides left and right and the key words are "sounds like". No one will give me a definite answer. Just keep telling myself... everything will work out.

You might want to get a hold of the guy who did this job in the posting below (Jeffender). It seems like he pulled it out successfully.