"WHILE I waited at a service station for my car to be tuned, a woman drove up in a clunker that rattled, wheezed and coughed to a stop in a cloud of smoke. She rolled down her window and asked the attendant if she could wait while it was being fixed. "Sure," replied the attendant. "It'll take awhile, but get your things. You can sleep over there under the oil racks." --- Anon
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Sometimes a person's best friend is his automobile dealership's repair crew. These specially trained service technicians can make or break a customer's overall satisfaction with the vehicle they have purchased. They are at times a company's first line of defence in ensuring customer product satisfaction.
Highly calibrated diagnostic equipment can be used to zero in on a technical problem that is currently plaguing a car owner. Other times something as simple as inside product information can give this same harried owner a plan of attack when dealing with auto issues.
My neighbor Vic is a retiree and purchased a Chrysler Sebring a few years ago. This car has been the apple of his eye and for the past number of years he has serviced the car religiously according to the owner's manual. It is a line of mid size car that was sold by Chrysler from 1995 to 2010. It offers stylish good looks and is not a gas guzzler.
Recently, Vic's overall satisfaction with his car has been seriously tested. A cold snap in the weather has sent temperatures plummeting well below the freezing mark. This frigid change has caused his car to emit a snap-crackle-pop sound whenever he starts the engine The vehicle starts alright and there is no outpouring of dark smoke. Just the irritating sound.
He consulted his dealership mechanic about the problem and discovered that many Chrysler and Jeep products are experiencing this same noisy situation whenever the temperatures plunge beneath a certain level. Apparently the power steering fluid begins to congeal like jello due to the cold.
Vic told me a number of the mechanics had considered recommending that customers experiencing this problem use General Motors power steering fluid as a replacement for their own. However they were not sure as to what the consequences might be on the overall performance of the vehicles. The fluid might damage the gaskets and other internal working parts used in the Chrysler-Jeep products.
The weather has changed for the better and the temperatures have become a bit more moderate. Vic is now able to start his vehicle's engine without the accompanying noise. He doesn't mind the fact that he has to scrape ice off the windshield or brush away the snow. Its the unexpected winter complications that throw a monkey wrench into his daily routines that bother him.
