Another 3.6 Blown Head Gasket

[tk1700]

BLUF: 2019 JLUS Altitude, 3.6, auto, no mods, 52,225 miles (13 days after 5yr power train warranty expiration). Head gasket blown without any warnings, coolant got into cylinder 6 and cylinder is scored. After 5 weeks at dealership extended warranty authorized engine replacement with MOPAR reman engine, my deductible is $100. Engine is available and it should be complete next week.



Long version: It’s wifes Jeep, has a very easy life! I checked it over since she was going on an out of town trip. Everything was fine, all fluids were at correct levels and no indication of oil/coolant mixing. 2-3 days later she’s on the interstate at 70 mph and it started to miss with a CEL and ESS light. Fortunately she was in town and was able to get off the interstate and into a parking lot in less than a mile. When I got there it was missing and sputtering but produced power. There wasn’t any smoke out the exhaust. We traded Jeeps and she took my Rubicon on her trip. I drove hers home. I knew I had been on borrowed time with the factory battery so my first thought was replace the battery. I couldn’t think of why a failing battery would make it miss but that’s what my brain locked on with it being 5 yrs old and the ESS light. Well, a new battery didn’t fix it. My code reader wouldn’t work so I bought another and had P0306, cyl 6 misfire. Ahh, no problem I thought, it’s a plug, coil, or injector. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary so rather than throwing parts at it, off to the dealership the next day. Since I didn’t suspect an internal failure I didn’t check oil or coolant.



Over the next 5 weeks at dealer-Told me they needed to do a leak down test and disassembly to find the problem, had to authorize about $900 for the work, but it would fall under the warranty if the repair was covered by the warranty. They asked me for oil change records and receipts for the warranty company. The extended warranty states that oil change records and receipts are required for any claim. I change oil every 5k miles and had everything except 3 filter receipts. They said the head was cracked and coolant had got into the cylinder and it was scored. An inspector from the warranty company, looked at it and wanted the head pulled. Apparently they had only removed the intake. After the head was removed the inspector looked at it again. The dealership told me that I had to wait for the inspectors report to learn what the failure was. Today I scheduled a meeting with the service manager and when I showed up the advisor said it was all approved for a MOPAR reman engine with a 2yr/24k mile warranty. The engine is scheduled to arrive around the 20th and 2 days to install. This time they said it was a head gasket failure.



I’m happy with the outcome, it was just a long process to get here. One of the items I was going to discuss with the service manager was a goodwill factory warranty repair since it was only 13 days past the 5 year warranty. At this point it’s worth paying the $100 deductible to avoid dealing with Jeep on a goodwill repair.

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[alphawolff]

Very, very common for the upgraded 3.6L. We're seeing 2-3 a week at my shop, mainly in grand cherokees. They usually blow between 50k-75k if they're going to blow. In nearly all cases we're getting them good willed if they're outside of warranty so long as it isn't too far out time wise. I believe we've also started leaning into just doing engines instead of the head under warranty, because you replace one side and the other side blows 5-10k later and it's a headache.


This is also why aftermarket warranty companies are horrendous. We know without a shadow of a doubt what the issue is, yet they want meaningless tear down in hopes you decline the tear down.

 

[tk1700]

Very, very common for the upgraded 3.6L. We're seeing 2-3 a week at my shop, mainly in grand cherokees. They usually blow between 50k-75k if they're going to blow. In nearly all cases we're getting them good willed if they're outside of warranty so long as it isn't too far out time wise.

2-3 weeks is good! My brother in law is service manager of a CDJR in a small town and he said they're running 8 weeks, mainly because an inspector has to travel to get to them. I didn't know that the warranty companies had inspectors. I figured they trusted the dealership.

 

[alphawolff]

2-3 weeks is good! My brother in law is service manager of a CDJR in a small town and he said they're running 8 weeks, mainly because an inspector has to travel to get to them. I didn't know that the warranty companies had inspectors. I figured they trusted the dealership.

I mean we're seeing 2-3 cars with blown head gaskets a week! They're failing left and right.

A lot of aftermarket warranty companies are looking for any excuse to get out of their contract. In the future definitely just get the OEM mopar maxcare warranty, as us at the dealer treat it as the factory warranty. No inspector required in 99.99% of scenarios.

 

[Old Dogger]

Very sad... IMO..everybody that has a new Wrangler, should have the MOPAR extended warranty insurance policy.

 

[AlgUSF]

Very sad... IMO..everybody that has a new Wrangler, should have the MOPAR extended warranty insurance policy.

But then all extended warranties are actuarially sound with a significant profit margin. It depends on your risk tolerance but at the end of the day the warranty company makes money.

 

[tk1700]

I mean we're seeing 2-3 cars with blown head gaskets a week! They're failing left and right.

A lot of aftermarket warranty companies are looking for any excuse to get out of their contract. In the future definitely just get the OEM mopar maxcare warranty, as us at the dealer treat it as the factory warranty. No inspector required in 99.99% of scenarios.

Yea, so lesson learned on the Maxcare! Why do dealers sell aftermarket warranties? I get that they make money on them, but don't they make money on Maxcare too? I paid $1500 for the aftermarket so the dealer can't make that much. I come out a winner though saving a $10k bill.

 

[alphawolff]

Yea, so lesson learned on the Maxcare! Why do dealers sell aftermarket warranties? I get that they make money on them, but don't they make money on Maxcare too? I paid $1500 for the aftermarket so the dealer can't make that much. I come out a winner though saving a $10k bill.

I really, really don't know. Maxcare has an INSANE range between dealer cost and MSRP that it's incredibly easy to make a profit selling it. A few dealers sell it here on the forum but only a couple hundred above cost. There's even three tiers of maxcare if cost is really a concern.

I suspect dealers get an additional kickback for selling a certain amount of those aftermarket warranties which is why they do it. Personally if I ran a dealership we'd only sell OEM everything, including warranties. Mopar has maxcare, tire road hazard, paint protection, interior protection, and even cosmetic wheel protection. No reason to go aftermarket.

I cannot stress enough how easy maxcare is. It's treated like the bumper-to-bumper warranty. On claims over $1000 we have to send an email for approval, but they're always approved in nearly all cases. The only sad part is we're paid normal warranty time for the repairs, but at least there's no negotiating or selling anything, just fix the car and ship it.

 

[REGGAVEGGA]

Have you seen JK S with this issue too. My cousin has a 2016 with a blown head gasket about 77,000 miles.

 

[Old Dogger]

But then all extended warranties are actuarially sound with a significant profit margin. It depends on your risk tolerance but at the end of the day the warranty company makes money.

Most of the time yes, but the lifetime policy that Mopar offered to the JK’s, was discontinued. Because they lost a lot of money on it.

 

[alphawolff]

Have you seen JK S with this issue too. My cousin has a 2016 with a blown head gasket about 77,000 miles.

No, this issue only applies to the upgraded pentastar. The JK has the old 3.6L, which did have head issues in the first model year or so. A blown head gasket on one of those is just bad luck(or was overheated). They did get an extended warranty on the cylinder heads. Your cousin should check with a dealer to see if the head is covered. I believe it was extended to 8 years unlimited miles, but I'm not sure.

 

[REGGAVEGGA]

Ok. He actually got it from his brother in law. I guess you would say willed. BNL died of cancer..

 

[mwilk012]

Have you seen JK S with this issue too. My cousin has a 2016 with a blown head gasket about 77,000 miles.

overheated, without a doubt.

Very, very common for the upgraded 3.6L. We're seeing 2-3 a week at my shop, mainly in grand cherokees. They usually blow between 50k-75k if they're going to blow. In nearly all cases we're getting them good willed if they're outside of warranty so long as it isn't too far out time wise. I believe we've also started leaning into just doing engines instead of the head under warranty, because you replace one side and the other side blows 5-10k later and it's a headache.


This is also why aftermarket warranty companies are horrendous. We know without a shadow of a doubt what the issue is, yet they want meaningless tear down in hopes you decline the tear down.

But why? Head bolts torqued improperly at factory? MLS gaskets don't just "blow" for no reason. Something is wrong with these engines, and they don't seem to be looking into it.

 

[alphawolff]

overheated, without a doubt.




But why? Head bolts torqued improperly at factory? MLS gaskets don't just "blow" for no reason. Something is wrong with these engines, and they don't seem to be looking into it.

I'm going with improper torque myself. Those that do fail consistently fail between 50-75k. Like, 90% of our blown head gaskets fall into this mile range.

If it was a defective design then they'd ALL fail. They don't and when they do it's at roughly the same point. That indicates a build quality issue. The only thing I can think of that's a plausible variable is improper torque.

 

[mwilk012]

I'm going with improper torque myself. Those that do fail consistently fail between 50-75k. Like, 90% of our blown head gaskets fall into this mile range.

If it was a defective design then they'd ALL fail. They don't and when they do it's at roughly the same point. That indicates a build quality issue. The only thing I can think of that's a plausible variable is improper torque.

I have personally seen ONE with loose head bolts. And I mean LOOSE. <10 ftlb. Working on all makes and models, we don't see enough numbers on one specific engine to get a sample size that matters. Every other blown head gasket I've seen on these has been concurrent with a split radiator seam.

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