Lemon Law Arbitration vs. Litigation

[Punkindave]

Just on the outside looking in. I’ve read through these and some good debates in here.

So what say you @KnG818 or @Wabujitsu to @Punkindave who has had (2) JL Wranglers where (1) ‘wandered quite a bit’ and (1) tracks straight as an arrow (before and after mods)?

Curious.

When two virtually identical vehicles have completely different characteristics, which one is operating "as designed"? I'm certain if you went to a dealers lot and drove a number of them, you would find one that exhibited some of these behaviours. If it's "a Jeep thing" to have wildly different experiances within the same model of a $40k+ vehicle then I guess folks SHOULD buy a car.

It was a tough choice to go with another Jeep for the buyback rather than just "cash out", but 8mo later, 5 trips to the trails, 18k miles, some fun mods and tinkering and some great people met I'd say I made the right choice. I commute 120mi/day and love it (although better fuel mileage would be nice) My wife loved mine so much she bought her own..

My second Rubicon was perfect right off the showroom floor. I also noticed that the wheel returned to center after a turn properly (which the first one required input)

The Mopar lift i installed did not negativity impact the steering but greatly improved ther ride quality, the larger tires also improved ride quality but changed handling a bit.

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[Wabujitsu]

Just on the outside looking in. I’ve read through these and some good debates in here.

So what say you @KnG818 or @Wabujitsu to @Punkindave who has had (2) JL Wranglers where (1) ‘wandered quite a bit’ and (1) tracks straight as an arrow (before and after mods)?

Curious.

I replaced the stock tires with 33” Toyos. That is how I fixed my PERCEIVED tracking issues.

 

[HDinkH]

OP here.

I have had an attorney since the 3rd time the vehicle went into the dealership. I have 6 repair orders and 34 total days out of service. To make things worse, the dealership actually damaged the front busing linkage on the steering arm in the process of one of the repairs and had to replace that at their cost.

You would think after 6 work orders and 34 days out of service that FCA would have offered a buyback. But, they go so hard back and forth of, “driving as designed” and throwing parts at the car to try to “resolve” the issue. I waited about 8 weeks or so for FCA to get back to my attorney about the buyback which they are refusing to do. They offered a cash settlement, but it’s not enough to recover my losses.

The attorney advised me to go to the new car sales as if I was going to trade in the vehicle. They offered $30,000 for trade and my payoff is $37,500 (I have only had it since 5/22/2018). It’s also not enough to cover the cost of the after market “fixes.” And I am NOT taking a loss on their mistakes.

The attorney works on a contingency basis. Therefore, I haven’t paid anything so far.

In my state (Maryland) the arbitrator is not able to award attorney fees. The attorney wouldn’t be assisting me with the arbitration because there would be no way for them to get paid. Which I completely understand and don’t expect anyone to work for free because I certainly don’t. After dealing with all of this since mid June, I don’t think I could mentally handle the additional stresses of going through arbitration on my own. And in the end to just have them refuse a buyback and still have to wait for a trial date.

So, we are officially heading to trial at this point and I have a feeling that these next few months are going to be a nightmare.

George, I'm just getting started with the Lemon Law process . Would you mind sending me Jeep's address so I can send the initial letter to them? (I live in Maryland also)

 

[Rdmitch]

Have an attorney do it. Check with local lemon law attorneys and see if your state has a statute requiring FCA to pay the legal fees.

 

[melman8r]

I have a 2020 JLR on order, I have test driven 3 2019 JLRs in trying to decide if I wanted auto or manual transmission. I like the auto better, but on my 3rd and final test drive, unlike the first two, I couldn't keep that Rubicon on the road. It squirreled all over the place, I don't buy it's a "Jeep thing", that's total BS, my first two test drives had zero issues. Is it poor design, inferior parts supply or just plain old quality control issues, who knows? It is baffling to me that FCA cannot fix this issue once and for all. I hope to heck my 2020 doesn't turn out of the factory as a "wanderer"...

 

[Rdmitch]

Just make sure when your new jeep arrives you take it on a long test drive before accepting it. once you sign the papers and own it the problem is yours. There is no fix.
If it wanders, wobbles or it loose....don’t accept it!

 

[crashclay]

Just make sure when your new jeep arrives you take it on a long test drive before accepting it. once you sign the papers and own it the problem is yours. There is no fix.
If it wanders, wobbles or it loose....don’t accept it!

This should be the rule for every vehicle you buy. Take it on a 20-30 minute test drive and simulate all driving conditions...especially at highway speeds.

Jeeps aren’t the only vehicles that have vibration issues and wandering reported at high speeds. GM trucks are notorious for them and their forums are littered with complaints like this one.

When i bought my JLUR I made sure to get it up to 80+ mph and drive it over all types of roads to see if there were any issues.

 

[Rdmitch]

I wish I would have known that when I got mine. But like so many others the test drive was a short 10-15 minute ride on city streets. Being so involved in checking out features, throttle, radio and talking to the ride along saleslady I neglected to pay attention to important things like steering.
Like so many others I joined this forum after owning the jeep so I was unaware of the inherent problems many owners had. Only wish the dealer would have said something like,”pay attention to the way it handles since jeeps are not like conventional cars, make sure it’s to your liking”. They should insist on freeway drive as part of the test drive. That would have clued me in to more aware of the drivability. A proper jeep might feel like others I have driven before, the one I got definitely would have been a no-go based on it’s handling. I take the blame for not making that long test drive including freeway. Does not relieve them of making it right.

 

[Punkindave]

It's not a problem though....its a steering characteristic. A "Jeep thing" if I may.

There is no "problem".

The stabilizer recall was to calm the masses, but the characteristic is still there(as well as helps a little if you experience exaggerated shimmy).

Throw on a high quality adjustable steering stabilizer and thank me later(I recommend Fox ATS)

True only if you assume that every vehicle is built the same..
I can tell you this is NOT the case. My 2018 wandered like crazy and I accepted it as an uncomfortable "quirk" that it drove like a 1960s Econoline van with a bad steering box. I was dreading long road trips because the constant correction was tiring.

That one was bought back for electrical issues and the replacement 2019 was PERFECT!! My Wife loved mine so much that she bought a 2020 that also handles properly.

 

[Rdmitch]

True only if you assume that every vehicle is built the same..
I can tell you this is NOT the case. My 2018 wandered like crazy and I accepted it as an uncomfortable "quirk" that it drove like a 1960s Econoline van with a bad steering box. I was dreading long road trips because the constant correction was tiring.

That one was bought back for electrical issues and the replacement 2019 was PERFECT!! My Wife loved mine so much that she bought a 2020 that also handles properly.

Glad it finally was resolved. No matter what many of us say and explain there will be posters here that will insist it’s imaginary and nothing wrong. Just have to ignore their ignorance since they are not driving the questionable jeep. For us with “issues” keep fighting the battle.

 

[glang1992]

Well after waiting for 7 weeks for taking the next steps to litigation, the attorney (in so many words) said it’s not worth their time to pursue further. 7 weeks for that... so after 6 months of dealing with this process start to finish, I had 2 options. Pursue arbitration myself with no lawyer or take the $5,000 offer, keep the vehicle, and go away. Now I move on, lose my ass on trade in, and get into something I actually will drive.

 

[GreyFox]

 

[viper88]

In the Jeep owners manual is the procedure for handling a complaint all the way through arbitration. Jeep pays for the arbitration. It is binding to them but not to the owner. The owner has the right to reject the findings and pursue litigation.

I believe it's regulated differently for each state.

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

With arbitration, Jeep pays the cost. It is binding to them but not to you. Before I'd go to litigation I'd arbitrate since you always can litigate. This way they "show their hand" and you know what they will throw at you. In my Arbitration last week, I had very detailed records and a written description of the issue and what I did. They (Jeep) had a person that seemed unprepared to be specific and asked a bunch of stupid generic questions about how I used my Jeep or modified it. My case was heard on Thursday and I had a written answer on Monday. It probably didn't take him very long to make a decision.

BTW, I won. They will be buying my jeep back.

This was my experience as well. I had a binder of organized documentation with notes of each interaction, emails, and voice mail transcripts. The Jeep rep asked similar questions. I had an in-person hearing and took the arbitrator for a test drive, which really helped my case.

I also won and hope to get my replacement Jeep this week. It’s been a *long* process

 

[Indio]

Is this mainly an issue for some 2018/19 owners? Or are some 2020 model owners still encountering steering issues?

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