Damage from lift install: dealer suggested repair v. shop suggested repair

My buddy is a dealer tech, and he mentioned this a few weeks back- his dealership would not fix wire, customer faced with huge bill and furious.

I'm curious how this plays out: will insurance cover proper repairs and go after shop? The other thing insurance will do, is more investigating, figuring out what is actually needed,,,, IF the dealer did try to bake some more work in (doubtful in this case, they already know the insurance adjuster is coming).

OP, sorry to hear this, it is a big problem without an easy fix. When I was young, I was screwed over by an engine shop that couldn't/wouldn't help solve the problem. It was hard lesson.

 

Devil's advocate. What is the risk of trusting someone to completely pull all the wiring out and hope that all connectors are properly installed vs repairing a wire that you can see. I get that the dealer thinks they are taking the high road, but ripping out an entire wiring harness and reinstalling while the motor is still in the truck is no easy or straightforward process. Seems to me that there is a greater chance of human error with a complete rip and replace than a repair.

 

I've worked as a 12v electronics installer in various capacities, and one thing that was consistent is every shop I worked for would not touch airbag wires, it was grilled into us to never touch airbag wires, and if any were ever damaged it was always a full harness replacement.

Could you just repair the wire and it work fine? Probably.

Would I accept responsibility for a fatality or grave bodily injury due to an airbag not deploying properly from being repaired rather than replaced? HELL no.

If the shop that installed the lift severed that harness, they need to replace the entire harness or pay for someone else to do it. This is why businesses carry insurance too. They know they fucked up and the cost is high and so they're trying to save their own ass. It sucks, but if it was their mistake I think it's theirs to own and accept financial responsibility for.

 

It's kinda like, if the shop backed your truck into a wall and crunched the bedside and offered to spray paint it rather than send it to a body shop for proper repair. I would not accept that and maybe even be consulting a lawyer at this point if the installation shop insists they will not replace the harness.

Lastly OP, you're correct that dealers always look to charge the maximum amount for the work but in some cases it's warranted, like for an airbag sensor that your life may depend on.

It's a shitty situation all the way around, and it is just a mistake. Mistakes happen.

I worked for some real dirt bags installing auto electronics but none of them would have tried to skate by with a wire repair over a harness replacement in a situation like this. For this one, they'd be getting out their check book.

 

I can flatout guarantee that the soldered connection will not fail, you all are reading too much into this. Disconnect the negative on Battery and go for it. Hell, I have done soldering repairs to motherboards that were dead, a very meticulous proceedure, still running today 10 years down the road. Soldering two wires and properly insulating them is EZ by comparison. If you have an idle $10,000 hanging out, then go the replacement...