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Fit and finish on wagoneers

35K views 248 replies 62 participants last post by  OfficialMopar 
Here we go again. Let's see if the crack management team will fix this. The GW is not a vehicle you want misaligned parts on. There shouldn't be on any vehicle for that matter. Doesn't anybody look at these before being pushed out the door?

In addition to the “crack management team” - do any of the assembly workers have any concern for the poor work and the product going out the door?
 
That’s funny. I work in an automotive assembly plant and if you think that’s what the line stop is for you’re kidding yourself. Best chance the vehicle gets is an extra bit of time in weld alignment otherwise it’s “ship it”.

Wasn’t trying to be funny - dead serious. Workers that are aware that they are building a defective product should report the problem to their supervisor and/or quality control employees.
 
Right. And that's why you never blame the guy on the line.

Even if the guy on the line is the one at fault, there are supposed to be systems to catch and fix that, including, I might add, firing the guy who's screwing up. Any supervisor or manager who can't do that is the one at fault, because that's their job. I'm not saying incompetent bums are blameless, but I am saying most of the guys on the line will do what the managers tell them to do - both in words and in actions. If the manager says "we care about quality" and you stop the line because you're hanging doors incorrectly because the machinery is off or you just don't have enough time, and the manager starts cussin’ you out, well, the manager's actions say "I don't give a crap about quality, just keep the line moving." That's the norm.

There's a reason why the same people - the same union people - made up GM's worst factory and one of Toyota's best.

I always had a feeling that you were pro-union and anti-management.
 
Only those who have no reason rely on labels.

I'm in the trade - I'm an organizational psychologist. You may recall this guy named “Deming” who expounded all this back in the 1940s. You can't observe organizations for any length of time and NOT come to these conclusions. I've seen the same people go into different companies and act totally differently in each one, depending on the local culture. Not to mention NUMMI when they switched from GM management to Toyota leadership.

I haven't been in a union since I stopped selling shoes.

I agree with you about a company or organization’s culture. I do feel strongly that the culture starts at the top (no matter how big or small an organization), and its leader(s) set the tone for the organization.

While in college (quite some time ago......), I recall taking required courses involving psychology and abnormal psychology. I fondly remember the abnormal psychology professor, and enjoyed that course immensely.

I have felt for some time that many unionized workforce’s in the USA develop an “us against them” mentality, which is fostered by their leadership. Quality and professional work ends up taking a backseat to the “us” mentality.
 
Sounds like you never worked in a plant and had to assemble parts not to print.

I have never worked in any type of assembly plant (auto or otherwise)

I still believe auto workers that are aware of parts that are out-of-spec or poorly made, which makes proper assemble not feasible, should notify their supervisor or quality control employee (whether management or not). Unionized auto workers have union representatives that they can notify of poor quality issues - unless they don’t care about their work and quality of the finished product.
 
Vehicle should have not passed quality control IMHO. Question: since a VIN gets assigned to an order before the vehicle is build (as far as I know) how much "paperwork" is it for a manufacturer to put a vehicle like this aside and start over?


I’ve often wondered if a manufacturer receives a string of warranty repairs for assembly defects on new vehicles, does the manufacturer determine when and where the problem occurred (due to VIN), and try to determine if it was human or machine error? Perhaps trace the issue back to a specific employee?

If the repairs are needed due to human error at the assembly point, is anything done to re train or discipline the worker (if the work was consistently sloppy and not up to standards)?

If the repairs are needed as a result of machine error, is anything done to fix the machinery that caused the defects.

Perhaps member that work in an vehicle assembly plant can chime-in on this issue?
 
so wagoneer client services reached out to me preemptively on the windshield distortion issue and I now have a case number to work through them and the dealer, a positive sign but we’ll see if it amounts to anything. Dropped the GW off for service at the dealer to address the quality issues and the recall this morning, hopefully they will make everything right.

update

Ok, for what itsworth my dealership/Jeep are making everything right. They noticed my windshield issue was found on every other one they had on their lot and are buying replacements for all of them. They have a new steering wheel on order which they are forking over $1400 for according to them. The dash/pillar gap was due to a rushed Kahu/lojack install and they got everything fitted back properly. Also scheduling an upholstery fix for the tear in the back of the passenger seat. Radio static fix should hopefully be coming in an OTA update via Uconnect next week, and they are also addressing the trim misalignment on the roof. The parts/service manager walked through the vehicle with me and vowed they will do everything to make this vehicle right, and left me with a very good impression. Hope everyone else's issues get addressed with the same attention.


A safety recall so soon? What is the reason for the recall?
 
While helping a family member drop off a vehicle for service at our local CDJR dealership yesterday, I saw a new Jeep Grand Wagoneer Series 1 4x4 in front (MSRP: $91,xxx USD).

The right rear tail lamp assembly and trim was misaligned. Although there was cold and rainy weather recently, no condensation in the rear lamps.
 

Attachments

Maybe these look worse in person, or maybe my eyesight is getting worse…but these pics don’t seem to me to be that noticeable?


The picture I posted (post #198) was taken at night from an angle, so the flash did not “white out” the photo.

As I walked toward the vehicle from the rear (the parking lot had overhead lighting), the misalignment was quickly noticeable - and I remembered this post. That is why I took the picture and posted it.
 

It seems as though many manufacturers rush their new vehicles to market with numerous software defects - and eventually issue numerous TSB’s and safety recalls to deal with them.

The customers become the vehicle beta testers, and after reporting problems to their dealers - eventually a repair is designed (often numerous repairs).

Thanks for the heads-up.
 
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