2007 DODGE RAM 1500 4.7 OWNERS MANUAL ERROR....

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Hank69

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ATTENTION ALL 2007 DODGE RAM 1500 OWNERS WITH THE 4.7 L V-8 ENGINE….
The following information was just received, today, 7-27-07 from a Ms. Maggie Gentry, an Executive at DaimlerChrysler Corporation. “The information in your owner’s manual about what oil weight to use has been transposed. The proper oil weight to use is SAE 5W-30, not 20 but 30.” This is an EXACT QUOTE taken from my phone messaging system and I have recorded this message to a .wav file on my computer. When I called and asked about DC providing an extended warranty to cover any possible engine damage, due to THEIR error in providing this bad info in my owner’s manual, she said she could not offer ANY compensation. I, myself, can only take my recording, which by the way, is LEGAL to use in any court, (Messages left on answering systems cannot be considered private and the recording can be used in court), and try to be awarded a “fair settlement” by being provided at least an extended warranty. There MAY not be any problems with running the 5w-20 from the 1500 to about the 3200 miles I have driven, but with the fact that the proper oil weight was not correctly specified and ultimately used, there MAY well be future problems with my engine. JUST REMEMBER-DC WOULD DROP ANY WARRANTY CLAIM IN A F------- INSTANT IF YOU DID NOT FOLLOW THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS… I am awaiting a meeting with the regional rep to discuss this issue. I will keep you’all posted. P.S. Just because My oil filler cap states “5w-20” does not mean that is correct…. P.P.S. If you may have any questions about my conversation with Ms. Gentry, you should call her DIRECT and get it “straight from the horse’s mouth”. (248-944-7084). I am sure she would LOVE to hear from you……… “There is strength in numbers”….
 
Ms. (Mr.) Shannow ?? Evidently you are not familiar with this "old time saying" in relation to hearing the facts, straight from the source.... Ms. Gentry is certainly NOT a horse and NO implications were meant as such....
 
Hank, was just pulling your leg.
grin.gif
 
This simply drives home what I have been saying for years. Everyone thinks that their is some crack engineers working on churning out mundane owners manuals. Now Daimler and BMW have huge office building full of engineers doing this stuff but in the USA it is just the oposite. You are lucky to get 2-3 engineers proof read the material and that is about it. Then you have a bunch of temp.'s makeing $6-$9 dollars an hour in a basement cutting and pasting information from past owners manuals into new manuals electronicly. Then the manaul is put in pdf. formatt and sent upstairs to be proofed. Sometimes a paper copy is printed so mistakes can be easily marked. It is then sent back down to be corrected and sent out for printing. I actualy worked with two technical writer that did that for GM for about 6 years and they told us all about it. Most people that are not in the auto industry really do not have a clue how many mistakes and cover ups their are. Heck in one years time their are 50,000 mistakes that need to be correctedin GM parts catalog Proquest formaly called Bell and Howe. Those errors in the parts catalog system stem from mistakes in GM internal part's database. The only people that are allowed to make the corrections and updates to this system are their own engineers and their staff. Everything has to be signed off on so that should tell you something right their. The people that catch these mistakes and recommed what correction needs to be done are not engineers and canmerly do the research and then have to forward to the origanal release engineer.

I could tell you guys horro stories about massive mistakes dureing assembly to the tune of 10's of thousands of vechiles that were just quitly hushed up. I no of massive know problems that were allowed to continue on for years inspite of the problem and solution being known.The auto industry as a whole is not a very honest or forthcomeing industry unless they get caught.
 
Going to do just that. Contacted Polaris Oil Testing Lab and as a new customer, they are sending an oil analysis kit-should be here within the next week. As of this morning, I changed to Mobil 1 5W-30 and caught the just drained oil into a NEW oil catch pan to prevent any cross contamination from previous oil changes. While it was still hot(warm) and after a few "swishes", put at least a pint into a glass jar with plastic lid to keep for the testing sample. I'll be sure to "shake 'er up good" befor pouring into their sample container. I will follow up on the results when received...
 
While it is shameful that Chrysler didn't proofread their manual adequately, I see no cause for concern in this particular situation. I'd be willing to use 5W-20 in vehicles specifying 5W-30, and 5W-30 in vehicles specifying 5W-20. The difference is negligible, IMHO.

I'll keep an eye out for your results!
smile.gif
 
“The difference may be negligible”, but, the following statements are DC’s way out of honoring an engine warranty claim…. You can bet your a$$ they would look for ANY reason to not cover a claim….

An addendum to the Dodge Owners manual problem. Just read the following warranty coverage description from the Dodge Warranty book.
MAINTENANCE COSTS NOT COVERED – “Your warranties don’t cover the costs of repairing damage caused by poor or improper maintenance. Nor do they cover damage caused by the use of contaminated fuels, or by the use of fuels, OILS, lubricants, cleaners or fluids other than those RECOMMENDED in your Owners Manual”. SO, what has happened here is that by my following my owner’s manual THEY have caused me to use an incorrect oil weight specified by Dodge and any future engine problems are my problem. Even though there is NOW no apparent engine damage, Dodge has, by their own above “disclaimer”, INVALIDATED MY WARRANTY for me…. THANKS “RICHARDHEADS”…. You’all may think that I may be getting a bit carried away, but, from the above quotes DIRECTLY from the Dodge Warranty, I now have no warranty coverage for ANY future engine problems. The FACTS are clear and I DO anticipate taking legal action against Dodge, to be awarded a VALID warranty extension as the current 3/36 is now nothing as they have stated above….
 
Yes, sketchy dealers will always try to give you warranty hassles. The top of the transmission housing cracked on my buddies '03 Ram 2500 Cummins 5-speed and the first dealer he went to blamed him for the problem, saying he must have hit a rock. No external damage was visible, and it would be impossible to hit a rock with the top of your transmission anyway. They denied him coverage. I'm sure he could have found a dealer that would have covered it or even gone directly through Chrysler if necessary, but he's an oilfield contractor making ridiculous money and needs his truck to work so he just traded it in on a Duramax. I can guarantee he'd now have to get screwed by GM, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, and maybe even Honda before he'd go back to another Dodge. So I can certainly understand your concern about potential future hassles. But you have two things going for you:

1) Your first change was made before it was necessary. You could just pretend it never happened and show the receipt for the 5W-30 change you did at 3200 miles; your first "official" change.

2) It clearly says in your manual to use 5W-20. I do think Chrysler, and any reasonable dealership, would accept responsibility for that if you continued to use 5W-20 and did have a (certainly unrelated) engine problem. My other buddy with a Cummins has had warranty work performed a few times, at a couple of different dealerships in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and he's never been asked for any receipts or anything even though he does all his maintenance himself. This includes a couple of new injectors and a full tranny replacement.

I could be too trusting on point #2 but, regardless, I don't think you, personally, have any cause for concern. Don't worry, be happy!
smile.gif
 
I wouldn't be surprised if Chrysler calls all new vehicle owners under the new "Lifetime DriveLine Warranty" and tells them to trash the 5w20 requirement and used an "SM" rated 5w30.
 
Hank, on another subject, how did your crusade against Mobil 1 and their non-lubed oil filter gasket go? Did you ever get the goodies they were going to send?

You're like the next Ralph Nader or David Horowitz (of Fight Back fame).
 
At this writing, the Champion Labs Exec replied with an acknowledgement that there was a "manufacturing issue" and to show his appreciation in my letting him know of this problem, sent a few filters. It was NOT for any "Goodies" as you mentioned, but, I recieved a greater satisfaction in reporting a potential problem and being "part of the solution", effectively being of some help to everyone to may use the Mobil 1 oil filter.... (Yes, I should have been working for the Ralph Nader camp as I do have a problem accepting anything of sub-standard quality, in all consumer areas)....
 
P.S. Today, after about 50 miles on Mobil 1 5W-30, I did notice that the slight tappet noise that was evident by my 1600 or so miles driven with the Castrol 5W-20 oil has subsided to an almost non-dectectible level. Am I correct in thinking that it took some miles driven to "re-pump" the hydraulic lifters with this proper weight oil, thereby eliminating my tappet noise???? Does driving with this slight tappet noise for some 1600 miles,(1621 to 3243) have a lasting effect that would affect my engine "longevity"? Replies will be most welcome....
Thanks,
Hank
 
Corrected entry... Brain gas...

CASTROL GTX 5W20 OIL ANALYSIS RESULTS: 1621 MILES DRIVEN, 1600 TO 3200 MILES.
Fe - 7.0 Cr - 1.0 Mo - 66.0 Al - 0.0 Cu - 6.0
Pb - 0.0 Sn - 0.0 Ni - 0.0 V - 0.0 Si - 4.0
Na - 176.0 B - 20.0 Mg - 6.0 Ca - 1406 Ba - 1.0
P - 588.0 Zn - 628.0

Any thoughts from "oil experts" will be most welcome concerning the above numbers with using the 5W20 weight instead of the CORRECT weight of 5W30... Thanks. Hank
 
Considering that your engine is still breaking in, I don't see anything in those numbers to be alarmed about.

It's also important to remember that many conventional 5W-30 oils shear down to 20-weight oils in less than 3000 miles anyway.
 
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