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Beware the dealerships!!

NAT-CP

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Good Morning,
I have owned my 18 Jeep Unlimited Sport S 2.0 Turbo and have recorded 105k miles on it. I have driven it in every clime and place. I needed my Jeep to reliable, so I prefer to use the Jeep dealerships. I also had an extended warranty on the Jeep as well.

The good:
It has preformed admirably. I have had 0 reliability issues in 5 years that are due to failure on the jeep. MPG average around 20 MPG. The highest I ever got it was 24 mpg, the worst was 16 when I drove the sea cow in head wind for 1000 miles straight. As long as you maintain your jeep, it will do anything and everything you need.

The horrible no good dealerships:
I am trading my Jeep in today because of the damage/ridiculousness/incompetence of dealerships. I need my jeep to run as I my work requires reliable attendance. It started about a year ago. I took my Jeep into the Century Jeep in Mt Airy MD for an oil change. Everything seemed good until I got home. The jeep was leaking oil. I checked the oil level immediately to see that it was overfilled by about a quart.
Took it in and they diagnosed the leak to the water/oil separator. It needed to be replaced and it took 2 weeks to get the part. The repair was done and they broke a sensor during the job. It was epoxied together and I was told that I can drive it. I was told to bring it back if the engine light come on. I told them that is was not acceptable and order the part they broke (which to their credit they did). Got the Jeep on the street and hit the gas, It sounded like a wind storm entered my cabin. Turned around and took it back immediately. The tech and service manager said that they don't have much experience with the 2.0 turbo engine and thought it was related to the sensor they broke.
Just to be clear they just admitted that they have never done any of the work they just completed. I was the first ever 2.0 they worked on. I was super PO'd. They could have started the conversation with that, and I would have found somebody else to do the work. They told me I had to wait up to 2 months to get this replacement part. (It took almost 3 months for the replacement part to come in. The epoxy did hold.) Meanwhile my jeep is basically a 4 cylinder without the turbo. It didn't sit right with me and I had no other options so I limped my jeep home. After troubleshooting for about 30 minutes. I found that it had nothing to do with the sensor. They had failed to connect the air intake from the turbo when they put my engine back! It was a pin to get behind the engine to reconnect and secure everything but I did. The Jeep was running like a champ again. I informed the service manager what happened and he said " Ohh.. uhhh, sorry about that." and just changed the subject.
This is when I decided this dealership was no longer an option for service or sales again. So I went to a second jeep dealership (Westminster MD) for 100k maintenance. Coolant, transfer case, oil, etc. About 1200 dollars worth of work. I told them why I chose their dealership (due to negligence of the 1st dealer). They completed the work and I took it home. Naturally, I was a bit suspicious of the work one and wanted to check the fluid levels and low and behold the coolant reservoir is low, almost empty. I had to take it back a second time to be topped off! Not even a week later my coolant tank explodes while on a busy highway during rush hour. There was coolant everywhere and the engine block was cooking it off. luckily I was able to get it home with no damage, the levels were just good enough to maintain normal operating conditions. Had to take it in again, and now the dealer wants $600 to replace a part that they directly touched during conducting service.

Every time I took my Jeep in, some how the service center has broke everything they touched. they tried to charge me in full every time I made them fix their mistakes. They have single handedly caused me to doubt the reliability of y vehicle. I would gladly drive this vehicle till the wheels fall off, but I fear the dealerships are loosening the lug nuts every time they touch it.

This is just my experience. Sorry the post was so long, but be careful out there!
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Xorak

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While I agree with you that dealerships are mostly incompetent, they didn't break your coolant reservoir simply by putting coolant in it.

Jeeps are not reliable vehicles and never have been. If you want reliable, buy a Camry.
 

Byrds8

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Seems to be the running theme everywhere these days. It is pathetically sad when you cannot take a vehicle in and it come out like you gave it to them (just with the service needed done correctly). The lack of caring and pride in work is just gone these days. Instead of rewarding good work and behavior, the bad and lazy are rewarded. This same type crap is why I will not even take mine in for warranty repair unless its going to cost a lot for me to do myself.
 

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@NAT-CP
Who serviced your Jeep between 2018 and that point in 2022 when you took it to Century Jeep? Just wondering how you were able to accumulate 105K trouble-free miles, or whatever the odometer reading was when the Mt. Airy and Westminster dealers dropped the ball.
 

Ten North Prez

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This is precisely why the dealership will never see my Jeep for things like Fluid changes, brake jobs, etc. Not even if they are offering to do it free of charge.

If I can do it myself, there is no way I will give the dealership the opportunity to break, damage, scratch, or otherwise mess up my ride to save 15 minutes. AND, perhaps be turned over to a tech that knows less about the vehicle than I do.

I understand that some guys/gals don't have the tools or space to be able to do this but, if you do and you are allowing the dealership to do this work, you are rolling the dice in my opinion.
 

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rcadden

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I've always seen Dealership "Service Centers" as basically equivalent to Best Buy's "Geek Squad" - a bunch of minimum-wagers with minimal training who are basically there to take money from old people and others who are scared of technology.

Could be wrong - they may pay really well, or have top-notch training. Doesn't matter - that's my perception, based on my past experiences. I view a dealership as a last-resort.
 

Ten North Prez

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I've always seen Dealership "Service Centers" as basically equivalent to Best Buy's "Geek Squad" - a bunch of minimum-wagers with minimal training who are basically there to take money from old people and others who are scared of technology.

Could be wrong - they may pay really well, or have top-notch training. Doesn't matter - that's my perception, based on my past experiences. I view a dealership as a last-resort.
I think there are some excellent mechanics out there, even in dealerships, but the odds of that guy working on your vehicle, especially for routine maintenance, are extremely low.

According the Bureau of Labor statistics nearly 60% of mechanics in the US are in their current job less than two years. You aren't getting RainMan Ray. You're getting Kevin. Who started last week and dreams of the day he can tell the dealership to stick it because his Youtube channel is taking off.
 

The Last Cowboy

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Don’t buy an extended warranty that makes you a slave to dealer service. I didn’t even use any of the Jeep Wave “free” oil changes on my Wrangler or my wife’s Wagoneer.

I change oil quicker than the drive it takes to get to the dealer. I will use an independent service shop if anything needs repair that isn’t covered by a warranty. I fix little stuff like rattles and batteries myself.

Once the warranty expires, the only reason I will go to a dealer is to buy another one, but only if mine gets wrecked or stolen. I’m not the type to trade for the latest and greatest.
 

imperial4ever

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While I agree with you that dealerships are mostly incompetent, they didn't break your coolant reservoir simply by putting coolant in it.

Jeeps are not reliable vehicles and never have been. If you want reliable, buy a Camry.
My 97 TJ was pretty reliable. I believe @ 88K the trans took a dump and the radiator was rotted out but that is about it. Cannot recall any outstanding issues that shied me away from the brand.
 

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aldo98229

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I am so sorry to hear, OP. Unfortunately, that is the law of the land these days. Especially when it comes to CDJR dealers.

I don't even go to my local Jeep dealer, Rairdon of Bellingham, only 1.5 miles from my house, any more. They are not only incompetent, but insolent as well. The stuff that comes out of their mouths would make your jaw drop.

I found another dealer, KarMart CDJR, 30 miles south of here, that is much better. It has its own level of incompetence: they replaced, under warranty, the water pump on my 2018 Fiat 124 Spider with only 4,000 miles at the time. The pump exploded 100 miles later when I was at 5,000 ft in elevation. Fortunately, I was able to coast back down to civilization without damaging anything; they sent a tow truck to my house to pick up the car. They had seated the pump improperly. At least they apologized for it.

I cut them some slack because they had never seen a vehicle like it before; they are a lot more familiar with my Jeep. They did the steering box TSB on my JL after Rairdon refused...because THEY (Rairdon) had installed a Mopar lift...and the vehicle had been modified... 😫

KarMart is not perfect but they are decent and I can have a mutually respectful conversation with them. That is a lot more I am able to do with Rairdon.

I take it one day at time. If I didn't love my Wrangler so much I would be driving a vehicle from another automaker by now.

Good luck.
 

Traveller128

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I think there are some excellent mechanics out there, even in dealerships, but the odds of that guy working on your vehicle, especially for routine maintenance, are extremely low.

According the Bureau of Labor statistics nearly 60% of mechanics in the US are in their current job less than two years. You aren't getting RainMan Ray. You're getting Kevin. Who started last week and dreams of the day he can tell the dealership to stick it because his Youtube channel is taking off.
60% under 2 years? I'm in the business and I had no idea.

Although, just at our shop, we have a number of techs under 2 years, but they're all supervised by much more senior techs.
 

Traveller128

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I cut them some slack because they had never seen a vehicle like it before; they are a lot more familiar with my Jeep. They did the steering box TSB on my JL after Rairdon refused...because THEY (Rairdon) had installed a Mopar lift...and the vehicle had been modified... 😫

KarMart is not perfect but they are decent and I can have a mutually respectful conversation with them. That is a lot more I am able to do with Rairdon.

Good luck.
We see vehicles we haven't worked on before every time they change a model here, and that's every year. I just changed a water pump on a new car that no one has even been trained on (little freeze plug in the pump started weeping, factory defect). This is on our "new" motor that is a complete revision of an older motor. The pump is in a completely different place, belt driven in an odd spot with a stretch belt, the access is poor, the things that need to be moved are completely different, and the cooling system has completely changed. That means I simply looked at the system, read the repair instructions, and then devised a little better approach because the repair instructions failed to mention a couple things.

That's what techs do on a daily basis, no one has worked on everything out there, it's always a little bit new even if you're working on a single product line. We've had more change in the last few years than we did the previous 10-15.

The big question, is whether or not you have a competent tech that's PAYING ATTENTION. I can fix anything, I just won't be as fast at it the first time. I certainly won't misassemble something, I'm being extra careful the first time to make sure it's all back in and operating properly.

But, that seems to be an issue the last few years with other shops. I've had to pick up the pieces after other shops in the area have had something towed over here for us to correct their mistakes. Worse the last couple years than is typical.

Also, older techs are timing out for retirement, or they're going to work for smaller shops. Some of them, myself included, look at teaching jobs. We lost a senior tech here three years ago to a high school auto program, and if Covid hadn't happened I probably would have been teaching for the local college starting in fall 2020. Their auto program just about stopped, and they still aren't back up to speed. Their director has changed, and their program is getting back up to speed, so I might still do that.
 

IanNubbit

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Good Morning,
I have owned my 18 Jeep Unlimited Sport S 2.0 Turbo and have recorded 105k miles on it. I have driven it in every clime and place. I needed my Jeep to reliable, so I prefer to use the Jeep dealerships. I also had an extended warranty on the Jeep as well.

The good:
It has preformed admirably. I have had 0 reliability issues in 5 years that are due to failure on the jeep. MPG average around 20 MPG. The highest I ever got it was 24 mpg, the worst was 16 when I drove the sea cow in head wind for 1000 miles straight. As long as you maintain your jeep, it will do anything and everything you need.

The horrible no good dealerships:
I am trading my Jeep in today because of the damage/ridiculousness/incompetence of dealerships. I need my jeep to run as I my work requires reliable attendance. It started about a year ago. I took my Jeep into the Century Jeep in Mt Airy MD for an oil change. Everything seemed good until I got home. The jeep was leaking oil. I checked the oil level immediately to see that it was overfilled by about a quart.
Took it in and they diagnosed the leak to the water/oil separator. It needed to be replaced and it took 2 weeks to get the part. The repair was done and they broke a sensor during the job. It was epoxied together and I was told that I can drive it. I was told to bring it back if the engine light come on. I told them that is was not acceptable and order the part they broke (which to their credit they did). Got the Jeep on the street and hit the gas, It sounded like a wind storm entered my cabin. Turned around and took it back immediately. The tech and service manager said that they don't have much experience with the 2.0 turbo engine and thought it was related to the sensor they broke.
Just to be clear they just admitted that they have never done any of the work they just completed. I was the first ever 2.0 they worked on. I was super PO'd. They could have started the conversation with that, and I would have found somebody else to do the work. They told me I had to wait up to 2 months to get this replacement part. (It took almost 3 months for the replacement part to come in. The epoxy did hold.) Meanwhile my jeep is basically a 4 cylinder without the turbo. It didn't sit right with me and I had no other options so I limped my jeep home. After troubleshooting for about 30 minutes. I found that it had nothing to do with the sensor. They had failed to connect the air intake from the turbo when they put my engine back! It was a pin to get behind the engine to reconnect and secure everything but I did. The Jeep was running like a champ again. I informed the service manager what happened and he said " Ohh.. uhhh, sorry about that." and just changed the subject.
This is when I decided this dealership was no longer an option for service or sales again. So I went to a second jeep dealership (Westminster MD) for 100k maintenance. Coolant, transfer case, oil, etc. About 1200 dollars worth of work. I told them why I chose their dealership (due to negligence of the 1st dealer). They completed the work and I took it home. Naturally, I was a bit suspicious of the work one and wanted to check the fluid levels and low and behold the coolant reservoir is low, almost empty. I had to take it back a second time to be topped off! Not even a week later my coolant tank explodes while on a busy highway during rush hour. There was coolant everywhere and the engine block was cooking it off. luckily I was able to get it home with no damage, the levels were just good enough to maintain normal operating conditions. Had to take it in again, and now the dealer wants $600 to replace a part that they directly touched during conducting service.

Every time I took my Jeep in, some how the service center has broke everything they touched. they tried to charge me in full every time I made them fix their mistakes. They have single handedly caused me to doubt the reliability of y vehicle. I would gladly drive this vehicle till the wheels fall off, but I fear the dealerships are loosening the lug nuts every time they touch it.

This is just my experience. Sorry the post was so long, but be careful out there!
Straight from the source here, yeah, Dealerships suck. Near impossible to find a combination of good, owner, tech(s), and manager. I have basically stopped recommending Jeeps to friends for the time being. In my experience, a large number of issues after any repairs are done, are indeed directly related to service incompetence. Best I can say for everyone is learn how to work on your vehicle, when it does have to go to the dealer, photo everything before, with time stamps, and after its done, due a heavy inspection of everything, even what they weren't supposed to touch. Accept nothing less than a perfect repair, and don't even leave the dealership to check it out. Heck bring a torque wrench and check the lug nuts before you leave. Good dealers minimize errors, the best ones make everything right after something does inevitably not go perfect.
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