FCA just cancelled my warranty because of "aftermarket stuff"

[Lapis]

What I’m saying is many people do. Should fca just allow this?

When people change what was designed engineered and tested and then still ask for it for a warranty, that’s wrong. IMO.

No if a company like mopar advertises something and it does not work as advertised, that’s wrong.

I would say that at least a part of the problem here, is that Mopar/FCA sells 4.88 gears, lift kits, equipment to put 37" tires on your jeep. But as soon as people start putting on these mods. FCA refuses to honor the warranty because "The jeep wasn't designed for that". That IMO is wrong.

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[Geronimo]

What I’m saying is many people do. Should fca just allow this?

When people change what was designed engineered and tested and then still ask for it for a warranty, that’s wrong. IMO.

No if a company like mopar advertises something and it does not work as advertised, that’s wrong.

The honest approach would be to tell the customer up front that modifications and upgrades even if they purchase MOPAR aftermarket products may effect their warranty.

If it were not for forums, jeep clubs and so on, first time owners would have no idea that by installing aftermarket products on a vehicle theoretically designed to be taken off road would void warranty.

One of FCAs favorite sales pitches for a Rubicon is that they take a bone stock Rubicon and run the trail by the same name. If you actually do that I wonder what they will say when you take it in for the repairs you will require..

Jeeps are all we drive, I'm not in anyway downing the product. Just the illusion created when trying to sell you lift kits and extended high dollar warranties.

 

[Hootbro]

I would say that at least a part of the problem here, is that Mopar/FCA sells 4.88 gears, lift kits, equipment to put 37" tires on your jeep. But as soon as people start putting on these mods. FCA refuses to honor the warranty because "The jeep wasn't designed for that". That IMO is wrong.

I am pretty sure case law has been settled in the past that FCA or any other manufacturer offering after the sale accessory and/or performance parts is not obligated to honor the base vehicle warranty for offering such parts. With few exceptions and usually if the MOPAR part was installed prior to vehicle delivery would the base vehicle warranty stay intact.

MOPAR marketed and sold plenty of performance parts since the 1960's for hot rodding one's vehicle and only carried the separate warranty for the bought performance part and nothing else.

FCA (Chrysler), GM and Ford recognized they were leaving money on the table by not offering performance parts and accessories. Just it has never implied using those parts after the fact would keep a base vehicle warranty intact.

 

[aldo98229]

Anyone else surprised this thread is still going

Nope. There is a LOT of discontent out there with the treatment we receive from FCA and its dealers.

 

[TimmH]

If 37's void a warranty, then why does Mopar (FCA) sell a kit to carry 37's?

https://www.mopar.com/content/dam/mopar/pdf/performance-catalogs/jeepperformancepartscatalog.pdf

From the Catalog:

Right from the end of the catalog

The Mopar Basic Limited Warranty covers the cost of towing a vehicle to the nearest authorized FCA US LLC dealership if the failure of a covered part causes the vehicle to be inoperative. If a Mopar part or a Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar part is installed in an FCA US LLC vehicle by an authorized FCA US LLC dealer, and if, while that part is still under warranty, it causes other parts to be damaged or to fail, those other parts will be repaired or replaced under warranty, regardless of whether the other parts were covered by an FCA US LLC warranty at the time of failure. These warranties are the only express warranties made by FCA US LLC for Mopar Parts and Accessories and Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar parts. Except where prohibited by law, this warranty is the sole and exclusive remedy. No person, including a dealer or employee of FCA US LLC or its affiliated corporations, has the authority to vary or change these warranties.

 

[aldo98229]

The honest approach would be to tell the customer up front that modifications and upgrades even if they purchase MOPAR aftermarket products may effect their warranty.

If it were not for forums, jeep clubs and so on, first time owners would have no idea that by installing aftermarket products on a vehicle theoretically designed to be taken off road would void warranty.

One of FCAs favorite sales pitches for a Rubicon is that they take a bone stock Rubicon and run the trail by the same name. If you actually do that I wonder what they will say when you take it in for the repairs you will require..

Jeeps are all we drive, I'm not in anyway downing the product. Just the illusion created when trying to sell you lift kits and extended high dollar warranties.

Over the past 10 years, FCA’s marketing, whether through vehicle concepts, press events, auto shows or advertising, has grown increasingly outlandish in its claims of what a Jeep can do and look like. At the same time the company and its dealers have increasingly been clamping down on what constitutes a “legitimate” warranty claim.

The end result is that Jeep’s “brand promise” and the actual ownership experience have grown widely apart. Many people go spend $50,000 on a Wrangler dreaming of 3” lifts, 37” tires and steel bumpers. And they are genuinely surprised by the push back back they get from FCA and their dealer the moment something on the Jeep, whether related or unrelated, stops working.

I LOVE Jeeps. But I already got burned with my local dealer. So the only thing I can do is temper my expectations, enjoy my Jeep without too many modifications, and warn those new to Jeep of the potential warranty risks involved in modifying their Wrangler.

 

[aldo98229]

BTW, in Australia FCA started airing a mea culpa ad campaign admitting to poor quality and customer treatment, and promising to do better.

https://premium.goauto.com.au/jeep-starts-mea-culpa-tv-campaign/

We will see; the proof is in the pudding.

I don’t see FCA over here admitting to anything any time soon.

 

[Wranglernator]

I would like to clarify my position on this, as the OP I feel most of the comments aimed towards me and relating to my specific issue are just plain incorrect.

1. I added 35", then 37" tires and 4.88 gears to my Jeep, which I informed them about from the beginning. The gears were done by a Master Tech mechanic who has tons of experience with Jeeps.
2. I run a Tazer to correct for those mods. They were also made aware of this but only AFTER they suggested i get one to solve the issue i was having. Up until that they had no idea i had one previously installed.
3. It was throwing an output shaft speed sensor code and ABS speed signal codes that prevented the vehicle from engaging the FAD and going into 4WD.
4. My Jeep spent 19 days (3 visits) at the dealership and they never put a wrench on it. Not once.
5. The dealership could not replicate the problem. I told them numerous times they had to drive it for about 20 minutes. The mechanic said, "I don't get paid to drive jeeps". So my Jeep sat up there with no one working on my Jeep and with no one ever intending to work on my Jeep. I was lied to many times about what they were doing to fix the problem.
6. Three times i picked my Jeep up, drove it around until it threw a code and brought it back to them. When the Jeep was throwing codes they wouldn't look at it, even when i told them I was going to bring it in at a certain time and made an appointment.
7. I caught the mechanic in many lies, he told me he switched this and that, checked on this and that. Well, i got under my Jeep and made a video showing mud on the bolt heads and in the hex bolts proving he didn't remove the skid plates. And if you don't remove the MC skid plates you can't get to the transfer case...or the FAD...or the transmission. When i showed him the video he said, "Don't call me a fucking liar" and ran off.
8. His boss defended him (calling me a liar) until i showed her the video and eventually spoke with her boss. At that point they changed out the FAD. Jeep broke again on the way home.
9. Jeep cares got involved only after 19 days in the shop with no work done on it. But they never returned a call to me or answered an email. Every time i wanted to speak with them I had to hunt the Rep down. They talked a big game but never did one thing to get the dealership moving.
10. After i brought the jeep in again, broken on day 24 (I think) they looked at it for an hour then came back and said the warranty was void because of the tires and the 2" lift. They never mentioned this being an issue before this point. I asked them what was wrong with the Jeep that the warranty was voided and they said they didn't know and suggested I take it to a 4x4 specialty shop. So they voided the warranty without knowing what was broken.
11. I brought the Jeep to Toyota and they kept it for a day where they changed out the rear ABS sensors, the front were on backorder. It broke on the way home.
12. The next day, @DWheelerR reached out and suggested i disconnect both batteries and reprogram the Tazer immediately after. I had reprogrammed the Tazer many times before this but decided to try it.
13. Me, with my leg broken in three places, unmarried the Tazer again, disconnected both batteries and let the Jeep sit for an hour. I connected the batteries and reprogrammed the Tazer and the Jeep is absolutely 100% fixed.
14. Twenty-four total days at the dealership and all it took was a hard restart because the codes were faulty, not the actual Jeep. It was all electronics.
15. I could care less about the warranty, I just wanted my Jeep fixed. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with my Jeep, even though they spent almost 3 hours looking at it over a 24 day period, so they voided the warranty. It's that simple.
16. The mechanics don't get paid to diagnose problems, so they won't do it.
17. Exactly 1 second after the dealership gets paid for your jeep, they forget you exist.
18. Jeep Cares only exists for damage control.
19. Am I mad? No, not really. Jeep has always had poor customer service and I hated them before this fiasco.
20. And honestly, the codes were most likely caused due to the regear but Jeep doesn't know that because they're too lazy and incompetent to diagnose the issue. And for 2 faulty codes they voided my warranty. It's important to grasp that these codes were faulty.
20. What should you take way from this fiasco? Don't expect decent customer service. Don't buy an extended warranty. Dealership loyalty is a joke.

Curious if you have considered a small claims action? Up to $15K in Georgia.

 

[Stormin’ Moorman]

Curious if you have considered a small claims action? Up to $15K in Georgia.

At the end of the day, my factory warranty expired during this ordeal and I ended up fixing my jeep myself for free. So I'm not really out anything, and I don't plan on taking it back to any Jeep dealership for any reason. I'm just ready to be done with it.

 

[willcasp]

Two issues to add on:
1) FCA needs to hire competent and capable software developers. The design side of the electronics is a mess. As they include more electronics, this gets worse.
2) Mechanics have become parts swappers, and not diagnosticians. The art is gone. Software needs to be improved to better determine what part to swap out. See issue #1.

 

[Kizzo]

Two issues to add on:
1) FCA needs to hire competent and capable software developers. The design side of the electronics is a mess. As they include more electronics, this gets worse.
2) Mechanics have become parts swappers, and not diagnosticians. The art is gone. Software needs to be improved to better determine what part to swap out. See issue #1.

This is were it starts. The FCA software developers are just awful. As vehicles become even more software centric, the car manufacturers need to start investing and attracting much more capable software developers. If not, it will only get worse before it gets better.

 

[willcasp]

This is were it starts. The FCA software developers are just awful. As vehicles become even more software centric, the car manufacturers need to start investing and attracting much more capable software developers. If not, it will only get worse before it gets better.

This comes up whenever I talk to Jeep Cares... I get the "Well, you are in software development, you know how complicated these computers are".... what I WANT to say... "yep, I know exactly how complicated computers are, and they are not that complicated. They are only complicated when you don't know what you are doing..."

 

[aldo98229]

FCA is increasingly just a “general contractor.” Soon enough the software development will be farmed out to outside suppliers, just like everything else on a Jeep.

 

[willcasp]

FCA is increasingly just a “general contractor.” Soon enough the software development will be farmed out to outside suppliers, just like everything else on a Jeep.

That isn't necessarily an issue, so long as you manage your subs. We have seen a lot of evidence that FCA does not manage their subs well.

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