Take it to another dealer, and if they can't fix it, try another. There are
a lot of inconpetent dealers out there.
Mark Kuzia
flyboy01@mediaone.net
http://people.mw.mediaone.net/flyboy01/home.html
1995 Dakota 13.79 @ 102.45 mph
360ci, 5-spd, 4.11 LS, Cowl-induction
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Levy" <andylevy@bigfoot.com>
To: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
Cc: <jlevy2@nycap.rr.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 8:26 PM
Subject: DML: Yikes! I've been flashed! (long)
> I got flashed today against my will, and sadly, it wasn't a woman doing
> the flashing.
>
> I took my truck into the dealer this morning for the rear brake line
> recall. I asked them to *look into* (those were my words exactly) my
> pinging problem ('99 318, y'all know the drill with those). Then to
> start my day off a little rosier, they made me wait AN HOUR for their
> shuttle service to take me to work. I was leaving the truck there all
> day because I thought it would be more convenient (drop-off at 7:45, be
> at work by 8:15, then they pick me up in the evening). Had I known I'd
> be waiting an hour for the shuttle, I would have made a mid-day
> appointment and skipped out of work for an hour. But I did get to crawl
> around a 2001 QC for a while during my wait.
>
> Well, they did more than look into the pinging. Looks like they put
> about 15-20 miles on the truck (understandable, they had to drive it to
> check for ping under accleration & climbing) They checked the intake
> manifold leak; no leak there (there goes my excuse to get the MPI).
> Then they decided to flash the PCM. They did not ask me about doing it
> first; they only "advise" and ask if it's a non-warranty item. Since
> I'm under warranty, and it's blessed by the lords of DC, they just went
> right ahead and flashed the PCM.
>
> Even worse, when I asked what the flash did, my "service manager" (guy
> who takes care of your paperwork, calls when the work is done, etc.)
> said "I don't know, I'm not a technician, I don't know what goes on in
> that thing, they just plug it in and it's flashed." The attitude he
> gave me and tone of voice were not pleasant (I kept myself on an even
> keel). Obviously, this conversation was going nowhere. I stated
> multiple times that I was rather upset that I was not ASKED before they
> did this. I was under the assumption that the PCM flash was the
> "last-ditch" attempt when all else failed. Had they consulted me, I
> would have delayed the flash until after trying the 180 t-stat.
>
> Then they brought the truck around & the driver walked away. I popped
> the hood, and found that they hadn't tried the spark plug wire reroute
> TSB. At this point, it wasn't worth trying to argue with them, so I
> just drove off (will try the reroute myself). At the light, the truck
> seemed to idle a LOT quieter. So I was optimistic. Then I got on the
> highway and, seeing it was clear, punched the throttle and held till my
> exit. Got to about 75, and the whole time, what do I hear?
> PingpingpingpingpingPINGPING!
>
> Is there any chance that the flash I got *isn't* the 4-degree timing
> retard one? Performance and mileage differences have yet to be seen,
> obviously. Is there any way to "un-flash" these things? IOW, if the
> dealer has an original program from an identical truck, can they restore
> it? At best, they took the ping down from about a 7 to a 4 (out of 10
> on the loud scale)
>
> --
> -andy
>
> http://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/ --- andylevy@bigfoot.com
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> "We like AMD. The enemy of our enemy is our friend."
> --- Jonathan Schwartz Sun senior vice president
> -------------------------------------------------------------
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