Before I get all bent out of shape and be wrong about it.

My wife has Chrysler's MAX care on her Jeep. Alternator went out February of 2020 and the Alternator stopped charging last weekend. Solid 12 V running or not. Dropped to 10.6v when cranking.

Sent it to the dealer and they confirmed what I knew that the alternator was bad and it was still under warranty since it was less than two years old it should be free replacement.

How does the dealer/mechanic make money in that situation?

I ask because I am suspicious about some stuff going on about this repair.

Jeep (Chrysler) pays the dealer to replace it.

If they are fixing the problem what's the issue?

It's just odd.

Before I took it in, I tested the battery, Autozone tested the battery. We both agreed it was good. Yesterday the dealer tells me the alternator is bad but I should replace the battery because it is heavily discharged. Not that it was bad, it was discharged. LOL I passed on the $350 battery replacement. I was told it should be done today.

I call today and the car isn't ready because they are replacing the PCM and the Alternator. We are now waiting on the PCM.

It just struck me odd to swap the PCM without removing and testing the alternator first. Kinda like they were padding the repairs because they were not getting paid enough by Chrysler. I don't care but I may be on the hook for the $100 deductible for the PCM.

I didn't want to throw stones until I knew what was up.

I am still not convinced that it needs a PCM or that they are padding the bill.

Car ran fine just no alternator output. I know the PCM is the voltage regulator on some cars but they should at least pull and test the alternator.

Sounds like the lady is singing.

AKA - Miss Diagnosis

Sounds like padding to me, and if you really want to wrap your head up, think of the planned obsolescence being engineered into the new electric cars. Simple electric motors - they gotta be scrambling. I assume Mercedes, VW and BMW already have it figured out - we shall see

Does the PCM have anything to do with regulating voltage? Maybe the two are related somehow?

I don't know how the whole warranty service thing works but you'd think if a dealer tries to milk the warranty end enough like that it would raise some red flags higher up or when they send the PCM back and it doesn't test bad they'd be asking the dealer what made them think the repair was necessery.

I don't think dealerships can go too nuts on warranty reimbursement, like they could decades ago.
They have warranty clerks (Service Dept employee) who review everything to see if it'll get reimbursed.
Then the Factory Rep looks through them.
Last Dodge dealership I worked at rarely had a claim denied, but they may not have been as aggressive as some places are.
There was also a "goodwill" allowance for some scenarios.

No mention of what year Jeep but most likely the PCM controls alternator output. I'll guess they stabbed an alternator at it only to discover the PCM has the issue. Dealer may eat the alt. and send the PCM back to Chrysler for warranty claim. If they send back a functioning part, the manufacture will charge back the dealer....not good. While the $100 for a PCM may suck....you sure don't want to pay full price for a PCM, install and programming. $$$$$$$

I don't understand the why you would be charged $100 for a warranty repair . It must be a domestic dealer thing I still don't get why modern domestic cars still use an outside device to regulate voltage . If the writer goes out on a limb and "pads" the RO it's his butt or the tech's butt on the line to get the claim kicked.

Gus

You really over think things don't you. Do you think everyone has some ulterior motive? There is no way for the dealer to test the alternator off the vehicle. PCMs are covered 8/80. Parts replaced under warranty are subject to be returned to the manufacturers warranty center where they are evaluated. If it isn't defective the repair is charged back to the dealer. Just let them fix your car. You are worrying about things and making up scenarios when you don't even know how the process works. Oh and batteries go bad when they are discharged. If your Jeep has an AGM battery (at $350 I would assume it is) it may not recover and could cause another charging issue. So you and Autozone both agreed the battery is good? What exactly are your and Autozones credentials for making that determination? You guys got a $4,000.00 battery tester like the dealership does?

The brief time I worked in a dealership, one of the first jokes I learned was that the phrase in the FSM, "replace with known good unit", was to be used as an absolute last resort with anything electrical. Parts, Sales, and Service were all run as separate profit centers. If you checked anything electrical out of parts for troubleshooting and it didn't solve the problem, you could not return it to parts, service was stuck with it. All that policy did was extend troubleshooting on vehicles OR when the problem was found and it wasn't due to the part used for testing, the ticket had the new component on it and the customer was charged for it.

Its a second comeback for a reoccurring problem.

Way back when I worked at a dealership, a 2nd comeback was an entirely different approach then a first time problem was. Back then Chrysler would replace nearly everything involved with a reoccurring problem. In this case, the pmc, the alt and the battery. A 3rd comeback for a reoccurring problem could trigger the Lemon Law buy back, and they sure didn't want that. Your decision not to replace the battery probably lets them off the hook for a future 3rd reoccurring problem because you wouldn't let them remove all the possibilities. Even if you replace the battery in a week, if the alt fails again, they can say the defective battery you refused to replace took out the alt & the pmc.

I worked in the dealer when Chrysler had the infamous head gasket issue. We had a tech in the shop that could beat the warrenty flat rate by 1/2 the time, but he also had a 50% reoccurring problem. The 2nd round, Chrysler would pay for the head gasket, milling the head, a thermostat & gasket, labor at the shops regular rate (not warrenty rate) and everything else involved with r& r a head. Even though I was slower then the warranty labor rate, I got stuck doing all the guy's returns because I never had a return. The SM's thought on the subject was when the other guy did the head gaskets and it didn't leak, he made money, and the dealership made money. If it came back, Chrysler would pay the higher shop rate and pay to have it done "right", then I would make money, and the dealership made money. Still sucked that I had to fix his crappy short cuts.

I purchased a lifetime extended warranty when we got the car, new 2014 model, that covers lots of stuff but with a $100 deductible. The alternator was replaced in February last year for the $100 deductible and since it is less than 2 years it should be replaced for free.

So that part of this story is totally normal.

I know the PCM operates as the voltage regulator but Swapping a PCM for an alternator problem without checking the alternator first is what I would expect from Scotty Kilmer. LOL

Seeing some of the responses like yours helps me to feel less like the guy is padding the bill.

This dealer is bad about trying to up sell every repair but the repairs are done right which is why I didn't jump up and accuse them right off the bat.

I am less skeptical knowing that it makes sense that the don't want a 3rd return, they will get paid for it and Chrysler has checks and balances.

Thank you and the others who offered rational opinions.

Because Stealerships only get to charge the Mothership $70 an hour for warranty. They absolutely hate that when their shop rate is $170 an hour.

So, they charge you the $100 deductible, get $70 from the Manufacture to swap an alternator and they get their full $170 gravy charge.

Don't think ANY dealership is doing things honestly. They didn't get 12 foot windows, marble floors and buy up every dealership around them because they are straight shooters.

You have every right to think something shady is going on when you have to keep pulling out your wallet for "warranty".

Day-ummm Gri💤 .... ur awful skeptical 2day ..

Extended warranties typically have a deductible unless you pay extra for one with a $0 deductible. He isn't talking about a new car basic warranty, it is a Chrysler extended warranty. Our warranty labor rate was $118/hr, customer rate was $125/hr. Not a huge difference. Warranty rates were based off an average of the customer rates. Typically maintenance operations are performed at a lower rate then general repairs. Those charges are averaged and that gets you your warranty rate.

Nope. We've never had a to pay anything for warranty repair. Unless it was a 3rd party extended warranty.