BUYER BEWARE: FCA Will Lie To Win

[Shaved Ice]

Buyer Beware: As some of you know, I am in third party arbitration for a safety related problem with my Jeep: The power steering arbitrary goes out. I have owned it since late August and it has been in the shop more nights than at my house. After the last repair, I reached an agreement with FCA that reset the clock. The issue happened again, so I filed for third party arbitration with a board date of March 19.

Chrysler’s response says that my Jeep has only been in the shop since March 3 and basically I should sit tight and wait. In reality, my Jeep has been in the shop since February 7 (over 30 days) with no repair in sight. I have been going back and forth on whether or not to give FCA another chance since I have purchased 11 new Chrysler vehicles in my life. This flat out lie cinched it. I am done. Any company that will lie to put profit over safety will not get any more of my money. Buyer Beware

Sponsored

 

[UKCATS]

 

[Jeepo]

I feel for you, sir. I went the easy way out my Rubicon. When people ask me where my Jeep is, I tell them all the problems that I had. I bought the Jeep thinking it will be okay, since my Ram Truck is good. I learned that it is a different story. It is just so ironic that some owners have problems and some don't. The dealers are not any different than Jeep. They will deny and tell you it's a Jeep thing......

 

[jayvis]

Unfortunately, for a lot of first time Wrangler owners and FCA, it definitely IS a Jeep thing. Many first time owners aren't used to how this vehicle normally operates, handles, makes noises. They're either surprised, disappointed, or both.

 

[binfordtools]

Chrysler’s response says that my Jeep has only been in the shop since March 3 and basically I should sit tight and wait. In reality, my Jeep has been in the shop since February 7 (over 30 days) with no repair in sight.

Is it possible that the dealer and FCA had some miscommunication on the start date of your issue?

Not trying to make light of your situation - I'm sure it's very frustrating. But being a 25 year veteran of the automotive industry here in the Metro-Detroit area, and having spent most of that time in Quality related roles where we deal with quality and safety issues, I'm confident in saying that most OEM's do not want bad publicity over a safety issue. There have been some exceptions of course that try and brush things under the rug, but in general with today's tractability and lawsuits, OEM's want to make these sort of problems disappear as quietly as possible. So I don't know that they are intentionally trying to piss you off, I'm guessing there is just so much red-tape to sift through that something got lost in translation.

You said that you have had 11 Chrysler (FCA) vehicles over the years. I assume that after 11, you have been satisfied with the products so maybe this was the one rare exception for you. I hope that eventually you get some resolution to this and not judge all of FCA on this one incident. But I do understand the frustration.

And, I'll say this - no OEM is without their issues. I've worked in Warranty for years and literally dealt with every single manufacture of vehicles out there. They all are great, and they all suck at the same time. You can say that you will never buy and FCA product again, go and buy a Yoda or some other vehicle, and eventually that too will have some random issue. Mass produced + lowest bidding suppliers = potential problems!

 

[BillG]

Not really understanding how you don’t have documentation that the Jeep was in their custody for almost a month...

 

[hotttdogggg]

Unfortunately, for a lot of first time Wrangler owners and FCA, it definitely IS a Jeep thing. Many first time owners aren't used to how this vehicle normally operates, handles, makes noises. They're either surprised, disappointed, or both.

Safety issues and defects arent normal. THAT should NEVER be a Jeep thing.

 

[sirryan]

Mine sat at a dealers lot for 3 months awaiting parts. No big. FCA took care of me and my situation. I asked for a little help here, little help there and I got it. I was just happy to get her back.

 

[Rudolph Hart]

Safety issues and defects arent normal. THAT should NEVER be a Jeep thing.

As a newish member I don’t know the answer to this...has there actually been any damage/injury caused by the various reported steering issues?

 

[jayvis]

Safety issues and defects arent normal. THAT should NEVER be a Jeep thing.

Vote with your wallets then. Bitching about it on a forum will gain you nothing. It's out of our control.

 

[Shaved Ice]

Not really understanding how you don’t have documentation that the Jeep was in their custody for almost a month...

I have the Repair Order with the correct date. I submitted it along with another 20 pages of evidence. FCA’s one page response has the wrong date. As this is a “documents only hearing” I cannot be there to point out where FCA’s date is wrong. The deadline to submit new evidence or corrections passed before I ever saw FCA’s letter. This leaves it up to the competence of the three board members to see whose date is accurate.

 

[Shaved Ice]

Is it possible that the dealer and FCA had some miscommunication on the start date of your issue?

Not trying to make light of your situation - I'm sure it's very frustrating. But being a 25 year veteran of the automotive industry here in the Metro-Detroit area, and having spent most of that time in Quality related roles where we deal with quality and safety issues, I'm confident in saying that most OEM's do not want bad publicity over a safety issue. There have been some exceptions of course that try and brush things under the rug, but in general with today's tractability and lawsuits, OEM's want to make these sort of problems disappear as quietly as possible. So I don't know that they are intentionally trying to piss you off, I'm guessing there is just so much red-tape to sift through that something got lost in translation.

You said that you have had 11 Chrysler (FCA) vehicles over the years. I assume that after 11, you have been satisfied with the products so maybe this was the one rare exception for you. I hope that eventually you get some resolution to this and not judge all of FCA on this one incident. But I do understand the frustration.

And, I'll say this - no OEM is without their issues. I've worked in Warranty for years and literally dealt with every single manufacture of vehicles out there. They all are great, and they all suck at the same time. You can say that you will never buy and FCA product again, go and buy a Yoda or some other vehicle, and eventually that too will have some random issue. Mass produced + lowest bidding suppliers = potential problems!

I appreciate your in depth response. I have also purchased 12 new non-Chrysler vehicles in my life so I am pretty familiar with other brands. I just prefer the styling of FCA products. I know all brands have their issues and have dealt with FCA’s higher percentage of issues because of my affinity to the brand.

Prior to this hearing I dealt with an FCA rep who declined my buyback after NEVER answering or returning phone calls or emails. She only called/emailed when she had something to tell me. I was respectful each time, but she was incompetent/lazy to the point of asking me for the phone numbers to the dealerships my Jeep had been at.

The date being wrong could be a simple miscommunication but there is a lot of other details that had to be researched that are correct on the document. This was their official and only response to the hearing. The only incorrect data helps their case against me. I was on the fence about getting another FCA product. This miscommunication / lie cinched it for me. I am done with FCA. To those who own Jeeps. I wish you the best and hope you never have to deal with FCA corporate. They WILL put profit ahead of safety.

 

[COBill]

This sounds a lot like why I will never buy another GM vehicle.

I had a Chevy that had the same problem that the dealer worked on about six times over a year, never fixing it or even making it better, often worse.

I went through the procedure to raise the issue with GM, and they told me they were done trying to fix it.

I filed a case with BBB Auto Line and GM said they would do "whatever it takes" to fix it, but only if I dropped my BBB case.

I refused to do so and they decided not to work with me anymore and at the arbitration hearing claimed that my issue was due to "buyer's remorse." Buyer's remorse doesn't involve a 2" thick stack of dealer repair invoices.

The BBB gave GM one more chance to fix it since they claimed they could.… and GM failed.

They were forced to buy back my vehicle and I've avoided their products since, largely because of their overnight shift from "we can get this fixed" to "it's just buyer's remorse" when I would not drop my BBB case.

 

[Arterius2]

In reality, my Jeep has been in the shop since February 7 (over 30 days) with no repair in sight.

over 30 days? That's when you drop the lemon law card, they get their act together real fast...

 

[Shaved Ice]

FCA just called and offered to repurchase the Jeep. That is all I wanted at this point, all is well.

Sponsored