Dealership refuses to repair vehicle -- aftermarket lights connected to auxiliary switch

[guarnibl]

If the OP messed something up, it could cause the issue described. But it probably didn’t — I had the same issue as OP at like one year of ownership. It took THREE dealerships to finally fix it under warranty even though I had NO aftermarket accessories. It was a shit battery. But since no “light” on the dash, no replacement. The only reason it got fixed was because it would no longer start on the damn service drive.

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[Beebe Senior]

Don't know but Chevy Dealer did the same thing to my daughter today. They required an agreement of $125 diagnostic fee to see if the issue she was having was a warrantied issue or not. If it was, they would not charge the $125, if it wasn't, they would apply the $125 toward the repair. Turned out it was a warrantied issue but seems to be a quite standard practice when there is a question as to if it is warrantied or not.

 

[Goin2drt]

Don't know but Chevy Dealer did the same thing to my daughter today. They required an agreement of $125 diagnostic fee to see if the issue she was having was a warrantied issue or not. If it was, they would not charge the $125, if it wasn't, they would apply the $125 toward the repair. Turned out it was a warrantied issue but seems to be a quite standard practice when there is a question as to if it is warrantied or not.

So I assume this “$125” fee is just that a fee. i Assume the $125 is an hourly rate for one hour. How does the fee stay the same for all diagnostics, can’t take the same time to diagnose everything. Some take more and some take less.

So why charge the fee seems to be really bad business practice and just pisses off customers and puts a bad taste in their mouth. Truly if the car is within warranty wouldn’t it be better to not charge. I mean really how many times does a car under warranty actually come in and then actually the repair not get covered because something the owner did. I bet not much and that is the only situation that this covers. All the other folks that pay the fee probably get it refunded HOWEVER you will never get their business again Because it is just sour taste you leave. Don’t charge the fee and for those one off very small examples it isn’t covered then make it up on the back end.

Just another stupid practice that dealers do and they wonder why no one wants to take their vehicle to a dealer after warranty for service. It’s a business. Grow the business rather than driving people away.

 

[_olllllllo_]

The method probably provides greater chance that if there is an issue that isn't covered under warranty that the individual will complete the repair with the dealer instead of going somewhere else. A big way the service department makes money is based on the time estimates the manufacturer sets for each repair. I knew a mechanic who got paid for 2 hours work to do a brake job and did them in 30 minutes. I would have to think carefully about leaving to have another shop do the work if I had given the dealership $125.

 

[GetOverIt]

I have a 2020 JLU Rubicon 3.6 auto, that I purchased on July 18, 2020 new and I am the original owner. It now has 6,589 miles. The build date is 06/20.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to my garage and tried to start the Jeep, and nothing. I thought I had left the key fob in the house, but no it was present, then I thought that I wasn't pushing the brake or something else; but no. Then I noticed that nothing was illuminated on the dash. Then I thought maybe I had left the lights on, but no, the light switch was on auto. Perplexed, I simply left in the wifes Jeep. When I got home a few hours later, my Jeep started, but I got the dreaded, "Auxiliary Switches not available, battery charging" warning on my center instrument panel. After a few minutes, the aux switches became available and all SEEMED ok. The Jeep started right up, but the warning reappeared. It then appeared every time I started the Jeep. I knew I needed an oil change soon, so today I took the Jeep into Hill Kelly Dodge Jeep in Pensacola, Florida. When I arrived I also told them about the warning.

About an hour later, someone whose name I will not yet disclose, said that they had changed the oil in my Jeep and ask if I had anything connected to the auxiliary switches. I said yes, there is a positive wire connected to aux switch 1 under the hood and it is also grounded under the hood. That switch controls LED rock lights underneath the Jeep.

His reply, 'There's your problem. You have connected an aftermarket product to the aux switches and possibly caused damage to the switches. I am not going to do any diagnostics of your problem until you pay a $125.00 diagnostic fee. Then if it is a warranty item, you will get your money back."

I said, " You do understand that the aux switches are an OEM option that was installed by Jeep during production and they were designed so AUXILIARY items such as lights could be connected to them. The owners manual shows you how to make the connections. You can even adjust the switches so anything connected to the switches can be operated with the ignition off."

I went on to say, "The warning on the dash is a safety so if a person leave the aux switch on, the electrical system will shut the switches off until the battery reaches a sufficient charge. That way, you will still be able to start the vehicle. This is a known problem with the ESS."

I then got in the vehicle and showed him that the warning appears every time you start the Jeep and then goes away after about 15 seconds. When you turn the Jeep off, the switches are not available. You can then immediately restart the Jeep, and the warning reappears only to go away again after 15 seconds. If the battery was holding a charge, then the switches would be availabe.

I drove an hour to get to the dealership, so there was plenty of time to charge the batteries.


His response, " I understand. But you have installed aftermarket equipment that wasn't approved by Jeep or installed by this dealership. I'm not telling you that I will not repair your vehicle, I am telling you that you will be responsible for the diagnostic fee before I can determine what is wrong with the vehicle and then if it is determined that you caused the damage, you wil be responsible for the repair."

I said, "No. Bring me my vehicle."

He said, "OK, but you are the one, who is saying to not repair the vehicle."

I got the service write up or whatever it is called and left.

Here is what it says:
"Customer states message on dash board states battery temporarily unavailable for charging, check and advise (battery concern). Asked customer to approve diagnostic fee of $125.00since add on equipment has been installed. Customer declined. Did not evaluate issue."

Jeep cares?

I had a similar problem with a 2018 JL Rubicon at 38,000 miles. (out of warranty). Battery dead for no apparent reason. One switch used for dash cam that shuts off when ignition is off. Dealer could not find problem and did not know how to correct the warning indication. They replaced the battery at a cost of $436.00. The warning continued for a few days after the battery replacement and then just self-corrected. No more problem with it so far. The Jeep has 47,000 miles on it now.

 

[JeepNut80]

I'm in NJ and had a good experience with a warranty repair on the leather tearing on my back seat when it was lowered down. I called Jeep Cares and they setup an appointment with a local dealer (I live in NJ and purchased my JLUR in Maryland) who took care of it. It took a couple of months for the part to come in but everything was handled with no hassle and my vehicle had about 5k miles at the time and was 10 months old (no mods though at that point).

 

[EVMIII]

I found when I started Jeep shopping that all Jeep dealers are not created equal. There are 6 Jeep dealers within 100 miles. Four of the six didn’t have any Rubicon’s and weren’t expecting one any time soon. One of the dealers had one Rubicon in stock (and had been in stock a while) and I clearly knew more about their Jeep than they did. The last had five Rubicon’s in stock and a thoroughly knowledgeable salesman. Upon further research, they sell more Rubicon’s than any other dealership in the State. When I went back a couple weeks later (paperwork) they had sold 4 Rubicon’s since I bought mine and had three more in stock. I talked to the service manager before my purchase and he was very open about modifications vs warranty. 37’s don’t cause electrical problems, maybe a broken axle or busted gear. A new front bumper w/winch and aux lights don’t cause a steering problem, but a lift kit might. They service more Rubicon’s and expect owners to modify. All that said, the point is pick a knowledgeable dealership and understand mods/effects. OP dealership sounds like a local dealership that I will not do business with, recommend you find another service location. Good luck,

 

[gbassett65]

I have a 2020 JLU Rubicon 3.6 auto, that I purchased on July 18, 2020 new and I am the original owner. It now has 6,589 miles. The build date is 06/20.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to my garage and tried to start the Jeep, and nothing. I thought I had left the key fob in the house, but no it was present, then I thought that I wasn't pushing the brake or something else; but no. Then I noticed that nothing was illuminated on the dash. Then I thought maybe I had left the lights on, but no, the light switch was on auto. Perplexed, I simply left in the wifes Jeep. When I got home a few hours later, my Jeep started, but I got the dreaded, "Auxiliary Switches not available, battery charging" warning on my center instrument panel. After a few minutes, the aux switches became available and all SEEMED ok. The Jeep started right up, but the warning reappeared. It then appeared every time I started the Jeep. I knew I needed an oil change soon, so today I took the Jeep into Hill Kelly Dodge Jeep in Pensacola, Florida. When I arrived I also told them about the warning.

About an hour later, someone whose name I will not yet disclose, said that they had changed the oil in my Jeep and ask if I had anything connected to the auxiliary switches. I said yes, there is a positive wire connected to aux switch 1 under the hood and it is also grounded under the hood. That switch controls LED rock lights underneath the Jeep.

His reply, 'There's your problem. You have connected an aftermarket product to the aux switches and possibly caused damage to the switches. I am not going to do any diagnostics of your problem until you pay a $125.00 diagnostic fee. Then if it is a warranty item, you will get your money back."

I said, " You do understand that the aux switches are an OEM option that was installed by Jeep during production and they were designed so AUXILIARY items such as lights could be connected to them. The owners manual shows you how to make the connections. You can even adjust the switches so anything connected to the switches can be operated with the ignition off."

I went on to say, "The warning on the dash is a safety so if a person leave the aux switch on, the electrical system will shut the switches off until the battery reaches a sufficient charge. That way, you will still be able to start the vehicle. This is a known problem with the ESS."

I then got in the vehicle and showed him that the warning appears every time you start the Jeep and then goes away after about 15 seconds. When you turn the Jeep off, the switches are not available. You can then immediately restart the Jeep, and the warning reappears only to go away again after 15 seconds. If the battery was holding a charge, then the switches would be availabe.

I drove an hour to get to the dealership, so there was plenty of time to charge the batteries.


His response, " I understand. But you have installed aftermarket equipment that wasn't approved by Jeep or installed by this dealership. I'm not telling you that I will not repair your vehicle, I am telling you that you will be responsible for the diagnostic fee before I can determine what is wrong with the vehicle and then if it is determined that you caused the damage, you wil be responsible for the repair."

I said, "No. Bring me my vehicle."

He said, "OK, but you are the one, who is saying to not repair the vehicle."

I got the service write up or whatever it is called and left.

Here is what it says:
"Customer states message on dash board states battery temporarily unavailable for charging, check and advise (battery concern). Asked customer to approve diagnostic fee of $125.00since add on equipment has been installed. Customer declined. Did not evaluate issue."

Jeep cares?

Take a look at the below legislation. It sounds like this might apply to your situation. Unfortunately most dealerships are either ignorant to its existence or they hope the consumer is. I hope this helps.

 

[WhatExit?]

Those of you supporting dealerships charging a "diagnostic fee" are supporting the erosion of new vehicle warranties.

I suggest you get off the slippery slope and support holding the line with dealerships and manufacturers before you/we all slide to the bottom

 

[aeonixx1001]

That message usually comes up if your batteries are low. It sounds like one of the batteries may have died and the other charged it back up? And now your batteries are just continually not getting charged enough?

Dumb question, believe me I'm not trying to patronize: did you try unhooking your new add-on to see if the problem goes away?

I dont think It has a damn thing to do with the Aux switch, that is coincidental unless you have it going to ground and pulling your entire electrical system down and that doesn't seem to be the issue. My money is on the ESS battery or the main Battery being bad. Why didn't they test those while you were there? And it is a good idea to undue what you did before taking it back. If it keeps trying to charge the ESS it will not maintain your Main battery and it will eventually die (and it sounds like it is). Do you use ESS or have it disabled?

 

[ocrejects]

I have a 2020 JLU Rubicon 3.6 auto, that I purchased on July 18, 2020 new and I am the original owner. It now has 6,589 miles. The build date is 06/20.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to my garage and tried to start the Jeep, and nothing. I thought I had left the key fob in the house, but no it was present, then I thought that I wasn't pushing the brake or something else; but no. Then I noticed that nothing was illuminated on the dash. Then I thought maybe I had left the lights on, but no, the light switch was on auto. Perplexed, I simply left in the wifes Jeep. When I got home a few hours later, my Jeep started, but I got the dreaded, "Auxiliary Switches not available, battery charging" warning on my center instrument panel. After a few minutes, the aux switches became available and all SEEMED ok. The Jeep started right up, but the warning reappeared. It then appeared every time I started the Jeep. I knew I needed an oil change soon, so today I took the Jeep into Hill Kelly Dodge Jeep in Pensacola, Florida. When I arrived I also told them about the warning.

About an hour later, someone whose name I will not yet disclose, said that they had changed the oil in my Jeep and ask if I had anything connected to the auxiliary switches. I said yes, there is a positive wire connected to aux switch 1 under the hood and it is also grounded under the hood. That switch controls LED rock lights underneath the Jeep.

His reply, 'There's your problem. You have connected an aftermarket product to the aux switches and possibly caused damage to the switches. I am not going to do any diagnostics of your problem until you pay a $125.00 diagnostic fee. Then if it is a warranty item, you will get your money back."

I said, " You do understand that the aux switches are an OEM option that was installed by Jeep during production and they were designed so AUXILIARY items such as lights could be connected to them. The owners manual shows you how to make the connections. You can even adjust the switches so anything connected to the switches can be operated with the ignition off."

I went on to say, "The warning on the dash is a safety so if a person leave the aux switch on, the electrical system will shut the switches off until the battery reaches a sufficient charge. That way, you will still be able to start the vehicle. This is a known problem with the ESS."

I then got in the vehicle and showed him that the warning appears every time you start the Jeep and then goes away after about 15 seconds. When you turn the Jeep off, the switches are not available. You can then immediately restart the Jeep, and the warning reappears only to go away again after 15 seconds. If the battery was holding a charge, then the switches would be availabe.

I drove an hour to get to the dealership, so there was plenty of time to charge the batteries.


His response, " I understand. But you have installed aftermarket equipment that wasn't approved by Jeep or installed by this dealership. I'm not telling you that I will not repair your vehicle, I am telling you that you will be responsible for the diagnostic fee before I can determine what is wrong with the vehicle and then if it is determined that you caused the damage, you wil be responsible for the repair."

I said, "No. Bring me my vehicle."

He said, "OK, but you are the one, who is saying to not repair the vehicle."

I got the service write up or whatever it is called and left.

Here is what it says:
"Customer states message on dash board states battery temporarily unavailable for charging, check and advise (battery concern). Asked customer to approve diagnostic fee of $125.00since add on equipment has been installed. Customer declined. Did not evaluate issue."

Jeep cares?

Hi, here’s what you tell and give them. You can google the whole document.

 

[ALRUI]

Don't know but Chevy Dealer did the same thing to my daughter today. They required an agreement of $125 diagnostic fee to see if the issue she was having was a warrantied issue or not. If it was, they would not charge the $125, if it wasn't, they would apply the $125 toward the repair. Turned out it was a warrantied issue but seems to be a quite standard practice when there is a question as to if it is warrantied or not.

Sadly it sounds standard, my stepfather had issues recently with his Jeep Cherokee and the keyless start. He suspected the battery as the Jeep was going on 3 years old and he brought it to the local dealer which required $100 to diagnose. He told me he passed on that and so I had him come by and I did a load test, the battery was bad so I got him a new one and replaced it and it's been fine since. I think it's bad policy to charge up front personlly & we never did at the various shops I worked at in my youth but things change.

 

[RubiJR]

If I received the less than intelligent responses the OP did I would have turned around without paying as well. Pretty basic stuff anyone can look up. That hour trip is rough so hopefully there is another dealership not too much further away. Not sure why the diagnostic fee on a new vehicle under warranty. The threat of a fee sure but how much more money is made from good customer service and online reviews.
The new car dealerships near me in SoCal Inland Empire make way more money from the Manufacturer so they are usually going the other way trying to make the Manufacturer pay more for every little piece. If I received a less than intelligent answer from the dealer or they refused to make me feel like my opinion was valuable I go to Jeep Cares, FCA corporate, my warranty company which is also my Insurance and hopefully I get someone that wants to help me out. Then the reviews and at worst I pay a shop I trust and review the Corporation. Lemon laws and the rest usually help out in some way.

 

[Sta Nisia]

Take a look at the below legislation. It sounds like this might apply to your situation. Unfortunately most dealerships are either ignorant to its existence or they hope the consumer is. I hope this helps.

The dealer is doing nothing and is not proposing anything in violation of M-M. What did the dealer do that was outside of M-M? This is not really a Magnusen-Moss issue since the dealer is not saying they won't repair steering system because you altered electrics. They are saying if electric problem derives from your addition of a circuit/component, then you are liable, which is the stone cold truth under M-M

Dealer seems to be giving what is now standard language that if issue is caused by owner installed equipment the owner will be responsible for the diagnostic fee.
As far as the fee is concerned, that is is actually a low fee for an electric/electronic diagnostic. On our Toyota the forums show $150 to $175 possible charge for a hook up ot obd. They have some pretty comprehensive and expensive subscription based obd kit.

The dealer is seeing aftermarket equipment and notifying OP that they may be liable for a diagnostic fee. There is a lot of good kit and a lot of garbage kit out there on aftermarket, and a lot of well installed and not well installed. With more and more monitoring of system by current vehicles, and more and more faults possible, it is pretty standard to be notified in the way the dealer notified the OP.

By the way, the title of this thread is wrong. Dealer does not seem to be refusing to repair, but rather notifying you of a liability for fee that is standard notification.

The warranty is from FCA, not the dealer. FCA probably won't pay the dealer a thing in case of aftermarket parts causing a problem.

Dealers pull a lot of crap, but in this case, you are looking at exactly what a Toyota Honda, Subaru, Ford, GM, VW, Mazda owner under warranty would be looking agt. They issue this language and 90% of the time do not end up charging it if under warranty. In fact if you out of warranty, come in for diagnosis, you will get this charge, but if you repeair it there, it will be discounted of total repair price.

 

[RubiJR]

Let's pose a question Jeep Cares may be able to help us with. If you have the manufacturer install AUX switches are you allowed to hook anything up to them? Or if you use them does that subject you to an up front fee to test them?

I get it that if I break something I am on the hook in the end, however, I thought I was still innocent until proven guilty. If the dealership has a problem getting money from the manufacturer that really isn't my problem.

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