Jeep Service, Sept 2020

August

Back at the beginning of August as my "oil life" counter was dwindling towards 0%, I went on the NW Jeep website to schedule an appointment. The first available slot was one month later, Sept 7th.

The oil life ran to 0% around Aug 31st and I was reminded every time I started the car with a message on the dash.

At my Feb 2020 appointment, NWCDJR was supposed to rotate my tires as they do with other oil+filter changes. I didn't notice until months later that note "could not perform tire rotation, wheel lock not located". The service person that checked me out never mentioned it. The previous oil+filter change was at a Valvoline stay-in-your-car oil change place (the old Oil Can Henry's in the Rose Quarter). The tires were not rotated then either.

September

On Sept 4th, I knew I had the appointment but popped down to Goodyear Tires in Lake Oswego where I've been several times before. I wanted their opinion if I'd worn too much tread to do the 5-tire rotation. The service manager Jahari went to take a look and determined they could.

I wasn't there for "free stuff" and agreed to get the oil changed as well with "free tire rotation". They've taken care of me in the past with a couple sets of tires. 

Labor Day

It wasn't until a few days before the day that I realized the appointment was a Labor Day. I arrived at the dealer at 7:30am to find the gate to the service center was closed. The sales office was closed but figured they wouldn't be open at that hour.

I was immediately annoyed that there scheduling system allowed me to schedule an appointment a month in advance that fell on holiday. I'm pretty sure you can't select a Sunday. Somebody dropped the ball. To add injury to insult, I'd received at least a couple email reminders and two text messages. I'm surprised that no one on the service staff thought to check for Monday appointments and maybe call those customers to reschedule. Nope. I left both a voicemail and written comment on the website.

Note: As of 9/15, I still haven't heard from NW Jeep.

The next day I called Everett Street Autoworks. I remember the place from when I used to wait for the #4 bus across the street. I checked out the website and Google reviews. Pretty high marks but you wonder about the negative reviews.

It seems as if someone reached out to each negative reviewer in an attempt to remedy the poor service/experience.

Service History

Over the next week I found all but one NWCDJR receipt as well as all other stuff like Lift Kit from Automotive Outfitters, the Gorilla Glass windshield and window tinting.

It was great exercise to really know what's going on with my Jeep, especially since it just paid it off in July. It's mine and no longer under warranty.

I even prepared a ballpark "guesstimate" for the 40K service + maintenance "catch up". 

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I couldn't sleep very well on Monday night. I kept reviewing my notes and how I was going to present my information to the mechanic. I set my alarm for 7am.

Day of Service Appointment: Tuesday, Sept 15

 

I woke and put on my "gear" for venturing out in the dense Portland smoke. I considered rescheduling the appointment because I didn't want to leave my house but figured I'd could minimize my exposure. I made my way down to the shop. I was crazy to see the smoking haze on the Willamette as I drove over the Broadway Bridge.

I pulled into the shop and a guy greeted me to check in the vehicle. I grabbed by things (service history, notepad, my Viso, and jacket) and went into the office. The service person started to confirm my vehicle details and why I was there. I felt a little rushed but presented my documents. I made sure to mention the oil+filter and air filters had been changed recently as well as the tire rotation. It wasn't quite the intimate chat with the mechanic that had been rehearsing. He said they'd contact me by noon after the inspection.

I called a Lyft and came home.

When I got home I decided to send a followup email and attach the actually service history and restate the major points.

At 11:15am, I got a call from the shop with the "punch list".

Rear diff, brake fluid, transfer case fluid all need replacing. The way the person reviewed the work assured me they were following my "checklist" but no unnecessary maintenance.

The rear diff job is $159.00, the brake fluid flush is $159.00 and the transfer case fluid change is $139.00. These are at the top of the range for these services according to my brief internet research.

• A rear diff job should be $80 to $150 for parts & labor. The actual Mopar fluid (80w-90) should be about $45 and labor about $60. So, ESAW is charging $54 more.
• A brake fluid job should be $73 to $104 for parts & labor. The actual Mopar fluid (DOT3) should be about $12 and labor about $90. So ESAW is charging $57 more.
• A transfer case fluid job should be $75 to $160 for parts & labor. The actual Mopar fluid (ATF4) should be about $30 and labor about $50. So ESAW is charging $59 more.

The bill should be around $457 which is lower than the budget I'd set for this visit.

I should be able to pick the Jeep up after 4pm. Woot!