“The techs nowadays are such primadonnas.”
If you’ve wondered why the auto industry can’t find enough mechanics, a 19-second TikTok about a Chrysler Pacifica has the answer. And it has nothing to do with Gen Z not wanting to “work hard.”
The clip from automotive enthusiast Jamond Copeland (@jamondcopeland) shows the Pacifica with its hood up and all the doors open for deep work, as a Limp Bizkit soundtrack ratchets up the animosity felt by the overworked crew.
“1.6 [labor hours] to drop the headliner when the labor for actually dropping the headliner is more,” reads the caption on the video that’s been viewed more than 64,000 times.
The complaint targets Stellantis’ warranty labor-time allowances, which dictate how much a dealership technician gets paid for specific jobs. In this case, the claim is that Chrysler Pacifica headliner removal, an infamously labor-intensive procedure, inexplicably pays just 1.6 hours under warranty.
To understand why this short video sparked a multi-day dogpile, it helps to unpack that number. Automakers set labor-time allowances for all warranty repairs, and technicians who work under the widely used flat-rate pay system are only paid for the approved time, not the time the job actually takes. As automotive news media have reported, flat-rate disputes are among the major factors driving technicians out of dealership jobs nationwide.
Dropping the headliner in a Chrysler Pacifica, whether the gas or plug-in hybrid model, isn’t a quick task. The minivan’s sprawling roof structure houses wiring for side-curtain airbags, sliding-door harnesses, rear HVAC controls, overhead lighting, microphones, and, in hybrid models, additional routing for high-voltage safety modules. Removing it typically requires dismantling trim and pillar covers across three rows, removing grab handles, disconnecting multiple wiring harnesses, and delicately working around airbag components, an operation seasoned mechanics say pushes closer to four hours in real time.
So when Stellantis’ warranty schedule reportedly pays 1.6 hours for that job, mechanics see it as a simple equation: do the job for free, or eat the loss and move on.
The Pacifica video detonated a full-scale generational flame war. Techs with decades of experience chimed in to say younger mechanics are too quick to complain about warranty times.
“The techs nowadays are such primadonnas,” one self-described former Chrysler master tech wrote. He claimed he routinely beat warranty times by “mind[ing] my own business” and finding shortcuts others didn’t.
That drew immediate fire from younger and mid-career techs. A commenter added: “If the difference in pay is seven hours, I’m complaining.” Several suggested that the ex-master tech’s misspelling of “prima donna” indicates he isn’t the authority he claims.
The banter quickly devolved into what one user jokingly called “Thunderdome for mechanics,” complete with accusations of laziness, unsafe shortcuts, generational fragility, and “boomer vs. Gen Z” insults. It’s the sort of exchange that would read like parody if it weren’t happening every week on TikTok, Facebook Reels, and Reddit’s r/Justrolledintotheshop.
The heart of the argument goes far beyond a single headliner. Warranty labor times have long been a point of tension between automakers and their service departments. Warranty repairs frequently reimburse less time than identical customer-pay jobs, a discrepancy mechanics say forces them to rush complex work or accept unpaid hours. According to the TechForce Foundation, the US is already short tens of thousands of automotive and diesel technicians, and deteriorating working conditions, including warranty time disputes, are a driving factor.
The comments on Copeland’s video reflect the depth of the issue. One Stellantis tech reported being paid just 0.3 hours to diagnose a BCM door-lock problem that required removing multiple door panels. Others pointed to notoriously low times on HEMI manifold jobs, Honda V-6 piston-ring repairs, and Toyota warranty diagnostics. Even techs from independent shops, who aren’t bound by manufacturer warranty schedules, jumped in to say dealership flat-rate culture is “a scam” that drives workers away.
Manufacturers defend the systems as standardized and efficient. But dealership service advisors and techs, as reported in trade publications, have repeatedly said manufacturers underestimate the time required for modern vehicle repairs, especially as vehicles grow more complex.
That a Chrysler Pacifica became the lightning rod in this debate isn’t an accident. Stellantis’ minivan architecture is large, wiring-dense, and covered in overlapping safety systems. Recent recalls involving side-curtain airbags and sliding-door electrical failures have required techs to navigate the headliner area more than usual, sometimes multiple times per vehicle.
In other words, the Pacifica is exactly the type of vehicle where warranty labor times run headfirst into physical reality.
For consumers, the debate may seem academic. But for the people who repair cars for a living, the difference between 1.6 hours and 3.6 hours can be the difference between a career and burnout. The auto industry faces a looming technician shortage, with multiple studies warning that recruiting and retaining new techs will be one of the industry’s biggest challenges over the next decade.
That reality isn’t lost on the commenters. One independent shop owner chimed in to say he pays double for complex jobs “because it’s cheaper to keep techs than hire new ones.” Others said they left dealership work entirely over issues like this. For many mechanics, it’s yet another example of what happens when flat-rate labor times collide with real-world repairs.
Motor1 reached out to Stellantis via email and Copeland via direct message and comment on the post. We’ll be sure to update this if either responds.
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