Warn can suck it!

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
Warn has been a supporter of ExPo for years, and as a long time member here, I hate bashing a company that has given to the community. That said, I had reason to call Warn Industries today for some very basic info. The “customer service” rep I spoke to was beyond unreasonable, and bordered on vindictive and downright rude.

I have recently acquired a 2005 Dodge Power Wagon, which comes from the factory with a M12000 winch. I called to ask which part number I needed for a solenoid kit. The CS rep talked down to me from the get go, reciting like a robot to ensure I have 12v power to the winch, and that all connections were clean, not corroded and tight. I get that there is a lot of callers that likely haven’t done this, and they waste a lot of time on those calls. That’s fine. The problem started when I assured him I had done all those things, and that the winch would function if I gently tapped the solenoids, and asked for the part numbers for the replacement parts.

At this point he said “we have an agreement with Ram that doesn’t allow us to give you that information”. I said “Well, Dodge doesn’t exist anymore, and Ram does not support parts for a 20 year old truck anymore. Could you then please tell me which solenoid kit I would need for a mid 2000s era M12000”. “Nope. You said Dodge, and we have an explicit agreement, and this call is being recorded blah, blah, blah”. So then I said “ok, thank you. I’ll call back another time and just ask for the M12000 part number”. Easy, right? Nope. The jerk then says “oh no you won’t. I’m flagging your number so any time you call in all the CS reps will know you have a Dodge and refuse to give you the numbers”. At this point, I asked him why he had to be such a Richard, and said I will be boycotting Warn and warning my people to buy ANY other brand, and hung up.

So there you have it. Warn will definitely NOT help you if they don’t have to. Absolutely the worst customer service ever. Screw those guys!
 
WOW, sorry to hear that. My D***e (I figured I better redacted that so I don't get put on a list) Power Wagon is a little newer (2016), but my controller is starting to act 'weird' (shutting off after a few minutes of use, I'm guessing heat related). I bought one of the 'new' solid state controllers as I have had great success when upgrading other Warn winches to those. I have not installed it yet but I'll grab the part number tomorrow and eye ball if it looks like an easy fit if it is not raining and let you know

I've never dealt with Warn directly. Parts are much cheaper from other 'authorized' suppliers and my local 4x4/tire shop is a dealer who can overhaul everything in house.

Here, I made you a sticker for your Power Wagon

NO-WARNs.jpg
 
Last edited:
There’s not a part number on the solenoid?
I figured it out after I pulled the winch out of the truck and ordered another brands crossed over part number. I wanted to have them on hand before I pulled the winch.

But that’s not the point. The point is that a supposedly great American company chose to say screw you to the point of being vindictive, rather than help out a customer.
 
WOW, sorry to hear that. My D***e (I figured I better redacted that so I don't get put on a list) Power Wagon is a little newer (2016), but my controller is starting to act 'weird' (shutting off after a few minutes of use, I'm guessing heat related). I bought one of the 'new' solid state controllers as I have had great success when upgrading other Warn winches to those. I have not installed it yet but I'll grab the part number tomorrow and eye ball if it looks like an easy fit if it is not raining and let you know

I've never dealt with Warn directly. Parts are much cheaper from other 'authorized' suppliers and my local 4x4/tire shop is a dealer who can overhaul everything in house.

Here, I made you a sticker for your Power Wagon

View attachment 902922
If you make stickers, whip me up a couple and I’ll pay you for them!
 
Warn has been a supporter of ExPo for years, and as a long time member here, I hate bashing a company that has given to the community. That said, I had reason to call Warn Industries today for some very basic info. The “customer service” rep I spoke to was beyond unreasonable, and bordered on vindictive and downright rude.

I have recently acquired a 2005 Dodge Power Wagon, which comes from the factory with a M12000 winch. I called to ask which part number I needed for a solenoid kit. The CS rep talked down to me from the get go, reciting like a robot to ensure I have 12v power to the winch, and that all connections were clean, not corroded and tight. I get that there is a lot of callers that likely haven’t done this, and they waste a lot of time on those calls. That’s fine. The problem started when I assured him I had done all those things, and that the winch would function if I gently tapped the solenoids, and asked for the part numbers for the replacement parts.

At this point he said “we have an agreement with Ram that doesn’t allow us to give you that information”. I said “Well, Dodge doesn’t exist anymore, and Ram does not support parts for a 20 year old truck anymore. Could you then please tell me which solenoid kit I would need for a mid 2000s era M12000”. “Nope. You said Dodge, and we have an explicit agreement, and this call is being recorded blah, blah, blah”. So then I said “ok, thank you. I’ll call back another time and just ask for the M12000 part number”. Easy, right? Nope. The jerk then says “oh no you won’t. I’m flagging your number so any time you call in all the CS reps will know you have a Dodge and refuse to give you the numbers”. At this point, I asked him why he had to be such a Richard, and said I will be boycotting Warn and warning my people to buy ANY other brand, and hung up.

So there you have it. Warn will definitely NOT help you if they don’t have to. Absolutely the worst customer service ever. Screw those guys!
Your issue is pretty common (I had a 2012 Power Wagon). The forum is a little quieter these days, but there might be somebody that can help: https://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/
 
To be fair Dodge/Ram likely has lots more lawyers than Warn. They may have them over a barrel. I can understand the rep getting annoyed when OP persisted after being told why they couldn't help him. Fortunately there are other sources for parts.
 
These days, it seems like a lot of customer service (companies) think they deserve to be in business and I appreciate knowing those that still deserve our business and those who don't. For instance (as a fly angler) I have had a lot of luck with Orvis. Simms, not so much. Also, as I've posted before, I had a similar experinece with suspensionlifts.com as you did with Warn. They sold me shocks that weren't for my truck and then didn't want to support them when they failed. It took literally 50+ emails to finally get them to understand. They wanted videos, pictures, etc. and then refused the claim.
 
sounds like smittybilt customer service.I'll never in my life buy anything from smittybilt ever again.worst customer service I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
 
Warn has been a supporter of ExPo for years, and as a long time member here, I hate bashing a company that has given to the community. That said, I had reason to call Warn Industries today for some very basic info. The “customer service” rep I spoke to was beyond unreasonable, and bordered on vindictive and downright rude.

I have recently acquired a 2005 Dodge Power Wagon, which comes from the factory with a M12000 winch. I called to ask which part number I needed for a solenoid kit. The CS rep talked down to me from the get go, reciting like a robot to ensure I have 12v power to the winch, and that all connections were clean, not corroded and tight. I get that there is a lot of callers that likely haven’t done this, and they waste a lot of time on those calls. That’s fine. The problem started when I assured him I had done all those things, and that the winch would function if I gently tapped the solenoids, and asked for the part numbers for the replacement parts.

At this point he said “we have an agreement with Ram that doesn’t allow us to give you that information”. I said “Well, Dodge doesn’t exist anymore, and Ram does not support parts for a 20 year old truck anymore. Could you then please tell me which solenoid kit I would need for a mid 2000s era M12000”. “Nope. You said Dodge, and we have an explicit agreement, and this call is being recorded blah, blah, blah”. So then I said “ok, thank you. I’ll call back another time and just ask for the M12000 part number”. Easy, right? Nope. The jerk then says “oh no you won’t. I’m flagging your number so any time you call in all the CS reps will know you have a Dodge and refuse to give you the numbers”. At this point, I asked him why he had to be such a Richard, and said I will be boycotting Warn and warning my people to buy ANY other brand, and hung up.

So there you have it. Warn will definitely NOT help you if they don’t have to. Absolutely the worst customer service ever. Screw those guys!

FWIW your local Ram dealer may very well still be able to get parts for something like that if you haven't tried. The truck may be 20 years old but something like that wouldn't have to updated often. If it is NLA they may very well throw the part number at ya.

I'd be tempted to try Warn again and if they bring it up say no, this winch is actually for my car trailer or something else... just to see how they would respond.
 
To be fair Dodge/Ram likely has lots more lawyers than Warn. They may have them over a barrel. I can understand the rep getting annoyed when OP persisted after being told why they couldn't help him. Fortunately there are other sources for parts.
I was polite, (until I terminated the call) and CS reps are (should be) trained to be polite. There was no cause for him to get annoyed, let alone vindictive.
 
I was polite, (until I terminated the call) and CS reps are (should be) trained to be polite. There was no cause for him to get annoyed, let alone vindictive.

All the little behind the scenes stuff is weird.

Like when I worked at a Chrysler dealer I could get parts of a Fiat the same as anything Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram. Even some Mercedes (mainly Sprinter) stuff too.

Then when I went to heavy truck some Freightliner stuff came in Mopar boxes (Freightliner is owned by Mercedes who used to own CDJR) But Mopar and Mercedes haven't been under the same roof for awhile so that always seemed weird...

But if you call a John Deere ag location asking about parts for a backhoe (construction) or vice versa, you might as well try ordering said part at McDonald's.

0*H0CcQGRcfPfLRvq2
 
All the little behind the scenes stuff is weird.

Like when I worked at a Chrysler dealer I could get parts of a Fiat the same as anything Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram. Even some Mercedes (mainly Sprinter) stuff too.

Then when I went to heavy truck some Freightliner stuff came in Mopar boxes (Freightliner is owned by Mercedes who used to own CDJR) But Mopar and Mercedes haven't been under the same roof for awhile so that always seemed weird...

But if you call a John Deere ag location asking about parts for a backhoe (construction) or vice versa, you might as well try ordering said part at McDonald's.
I was a parts guy in the ski industry for a while, and dealt with Kässborher, Dopplemayer, Bombardier, YAN and a bunch of other German and French language suppliers. Start with a whack of weird components common, yet totally different and then add in language and time barriers. Made for some “fun” days…
 

Forum statistics

Threads
190,789
Messages
2,931,691
Members
234,541
Latest member
jasper.mullins
Top