grokshot
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I ordered a new 2021 JLU Rubicon fully built on 1/27. After delays and regressions in the process it arrived on 3/14, no big deal here, I have heard horror stories about the wait so this wasn’t that bad. They installed the Mopar lift kit I ordered with it and I picked it up on 3/19. That was the last time I was able to enjoy my new vehicle.
Within days I noticed a hard pull to the left. I called the dealer and made an appointment. I dropped it off at 7:30am and at 3:00pm I got a call that it was ready. I asked what was wrong, they told me they aligned the vehicle. I drove it off the service lot and same issue. Called back they got me in a week later. During the wait for that visit I noticed my passenger rear was drooping about 2 inches. When I took it in for the pulling issue I told them to look at the rear. They told me the rear replacement lift shock was bad. Then they said the issue with the pulling was the steering stabilizer so they were going to order both.
In the meantime I noticed an issue with my driver door not closing. It will close 1 out of 5 times without shutting it hard. So I looked and a nice grooved scratch was inside the door at the bottom. Turns out there is a big weld at the bottom of the door that is causing the door not to close and scratching the inside of the vehicle. So when a couple weeks later the rear shock and stabilizer came in I took the vehicle up to the dealer and showed them the issue with the door as well. The service manager said she would look at it. They called me at the end of the day and said all was done. I asked if the pulling was fixed, they said yes. I asked if the door was fixed, they said yes. I asked if the shock was fixed, they said yes. I went to the dealer and looked at the door. Nope, not fixed. I asked the service manager what was done. She said she put some rubbing compound on it and adjusted it. I opened and closed the door right in front of her and it didn’t close at all. I could not believe that she tried to pass this off as fixed. Then I asked what my options were, she said to fix it we would have to sub it out to a body shop and have the weld ground down then the door and the unibody in this section would have to be repainted but I would have to break the manufacturing paint. She kept shaking her head. Giving me the feeling that I should just live with this giant scratch that would eventually expose the metal in the body and the weld. I live in the north and if I do that here comes rust. I told her I would think about it. I drove off the lot and within a few seconds I noticed that the steering wheel was off about 15 degrees to the right. I then took it to the same flat road and it pulled so hard to the left I would be in the ditch in less than 10 seconds if I didn’t yank back to the right. Of course I called and made another appointment.
Waiting for the next appointment I was driving one night and all of the sudden all lights on my dash came on. Service Electronic Stability Control, 4x4, etc. Then after about 20 minutes and two restarts the lights all went off. I called the next day and they said come in. They fixed the alignment on the steering wheel and said they aligned the tires again. They said the dash light issue was a rear wheel sensor and they would have to order it. Again, drove off the lot. The steering wheel was straight but the pulling was still there. That’s when I got a Jeep case manager on it. They worked on it with the dealer and told me they would look at something during the next appointment when they replaced the rear wheel speed sensor. I took it in, they replaced the sensor. I don’t know what they actually did for the pulling this time but needless to say it didn’t fix it.
The case manager ran it up the chain and got a Star case started. The FCA techs told the dealer to check the Thrust Angle. I thought cool, maybe now it would be fixed. So I took it in again… Keep in mind all these times I have bee dropping it off at 7:30am. Then they call me at 2:30 to let me know they are just taking it back. Right before they close they call me and tell me it is done. I went in and asked the service manager what was done. He said the tech told him the loosened the control arms and axle bolts, they shoved it as far as it would go the other way, and then tighten the bolts to factory specs. I drove off the lot and it was worse. If I take my hands off the wheel I am in a ditch in 5-6 seconds every time to the left. I took a video and sent it to the higher case manager. Which I should have mentioned I was doing for both case managers. I sent them videos of the issues I was having.
This brings us to today. Today I met the Area Manager at the dealer. He, the service manager, and I went for a ride. We found a very flat road and I showed them the problem, over and over again. He was quiet and I think a little scared when we kept almost going in the ditch. Her answer, “well you can’t take your hands off the wheel.” This made me so angry. Me having to hold it straight is the problem. As I said 5-6 seconds to being completely in the ditch is NOT OK.
We went back to the dealer and talked. Keep in mind this is a 2021. He suggests replacing the Steering Gearbox. Then the service manager told me that they were 5 weeks out with appointments. There is absolutely no urgency on this issue. So now after all this time off of work and time without my brand new vehicle. There is going to have to be another appointment to replace a part that even on the spot with all of us the Lead Technician said probably won’t fix the issue. Then we go back in and I remind him of the door issue. He looks at the weld and the scratches. We are not talking a little issue. The main scratch (there are a few now) is a couple inches and as I said grooved. His initial response was to leave it. I showed him several times that the door did not close unless slammed. I explained about how it is digging into the paint and the metal will eventually be exposed. He finally agreed living in the same area that it would be affected by the salt in the winter. So now he suggests we take care of the steering gearbox and then visit the paint issue later. He then had enough nerve to ask me if I was happy. I said, No, Not At All but this is the plan.
So the twist to this entire story is that the same night I bought mine, my son bought the same exact same vehicle. Just a different color. This was an awesome Father Son experience. We both saved for our dream vehicles and it finally happened. His however, is perfect. No regression issues, No problems. He got his weeks earlier than I got mine. No steering issues at all.
Is this how FCA/Stellantis treats customers? Is this the experience they want people to have. I sure hope not. I would not wish this upon anyone. So now that it has been two months. My new vehicle is an unsafe chore to drive and all the fun has been stolen. I am not saying all experiences buying a Jeep Wrangler would be bad but mine was. It was like two different experiences with me and my son.
@JeepCares Your Thoughts?
Within days I noticed a hard pull to the left. I called the dealer and made an appointment. I dropped it off at 7:30am and at 3:00pm I got a call that it was ready. I asked what was wrong, they told me they aligned the vehicle. I drove it off the service lot and same issue. Called back they got me in a week later. During the wait for that visit I noticed my passenger rear was drooping about 2 inches. When I took it in for the pulling issue I told them to look at the rear. They told me the rear replacement lift shock was bad. Then they said the issue with the pulling was the steering stabilizer so they were going to order both.
In the meantime I noticed an issue with my driver door not closing. It will close 1 out of 5 times without shutting it hard. So I looked and a nice grooved scratch was inside the door at the bottom. Turns out there is a big weld at the bottom of the door that is causing the door not to close and scratching the inside of the vehicle. So when a couple weeks later the rear shock and stabilizer came in I took the vehicle up to the dealer and showed them the issue with the door as well. The service manager said she would look at it. They called me at the end of the day and said all was done. I asked if the pulling was fixed, they said yes. I asked if the door was fixed, they said yes. I asked if the shock was fixed, they said yes. I went to the dealer and looked at the door. Nope, not fixed. I asked the service manager what was done. She said she put some rubbing compound on it and adjusted it. I opened and closed the door right in front of her and it didn’t close at all. I could not believe that she tried to pass this off as fixed. Then I asked what my options were, she said to fix it we would have to sub it out to a body shop and have the weld ground down then the door and the unibody in this section would have to be repainted but I would have to break the manufacturing paint. She kept shaking her head. Giving me the feeling that I should just live with this giant scratch that would eventually expose the metal in the body and the weld. I live in the north and if I do that here comes rust. I told her I would think about it. I drove off the lot and within a few seconds I noticed that the steering wheel was off about 15 degrees to the right. I then took it to the same flat road and it pulled so hard to the left I would be in the ditch in less than 10 seconds if I didn’t yank back to the right. Of course I called and made another appointment.
Waiting for the next appointment I was driving one night and all of the sudden all lights on my dash came on. Service Electronic Stability Control, 4x4, etc. Then after about 20 minutes and two restarts the lights all went off. I called the next day and they said come in. They fixed the alignment on the steering wheel and said they aligned the tires again. They said the dash light issue was a rear wheel sensor and they would have to order it. Again, drove off the lot. The steering wheel was straight but the pulling was still there. That’s when I got a Jeep case manager on it. They worked on it with the dealer and told me they would look at something during the next appointment when they replaced the rear wheel speed sensor. I took it in, they replaced the sensor. I don’t know what they actually did for the pulling this time but needless to say it didn’t fix it.
The case manager ran it up the chain and got a Star case started. The FCA techs told the dealer to check the Thrust Angle. I thought cool, maybe now it would be fixed. So I took it in again… Keep in mind all these times I have bee dropping it off at 7:30am. Then they call me at 2:30 to let me know they are just taking it back. Right before they close they call me and tell me it is done. I went in and asked the service manager what was done. He said the tech told him the loosened the control arms and axle bolts, they shoved it as far as it would go the other way, and then tighten the bolts to factory specs. I drove off the lot and it was worse. If I take my hands off the wheel I am in a ditch in 5-6 seconds every time to the left. I took a video and sent it to the higher case manager. Which I should have mentioned I was doing for both case managers. I sent them videos of the issues I was having.
This brings us to today. Today I met the Area Manager at the dealer. He, the service manager, and I went for a ride. We found a very flat road and I showed them the problem, over and over again. He was quiet and I think a little scared when we kept almost going in the ditch. Her answer, “well you can’t take your hands off the wheel.” This made me so angry. Me having to hold it straight is the problem. As I said 5-6 seconds to being completely in the ditch is NOT OK.
We went back to the dealer and talked. Keep in mind this is a 2021. He suggests replacing the Steering Gearbox. Then the service manager told me that they were 5 weeks out with appointments. There is absolutely no urgency on this issue. So now after all this time off of work and time without my brand new vehicle. There is going to have to be another appointment to replace a part that even on the spot with all of us the Lead Technician said probably won’t fix the issue. Then we go back in and I remind him of the door issue. He looks at the weld and the scratches. We are not talking a little issue. The main scratch (there are a few now) is a couple inches and as I said grooved. His initial response was to leave it. I showed him several times that the door did not close unless slammed. I explained about how it is digging into the paint and the metal will eventually be exposed. He finally agreed living in the same area that it would be affected by the salt in the winter. So now he suggests we take care of the steering gearbox and then visit the paint issue later. He then had enough nerve to ask me if I was happy. I said, No, Not At All but this is the plan.
So the twist to this entire story is that the same night I bought mine, my son bought the same exact same vehicle. Just a different color. This was an awesome Father Son experience. We both saved for our dream vehicles and it finally happened. His however, is perfect. No regression issues, No problems. He got his weeks earlier than I got mine. No steering issues at all.
Is this how FCA/Stellantis treats customers? Is this the experience they want people to have. I sure hope not. I would not wish this upon anyone. So now that it has been two months. My new vehicle is an unsafe chore to drive and all the fun has been stolen. I am not saying all experiences buying a Jeep Wrangler would be bad but mine was. It was like two different experiences with me and my son.
@JeepCares Your Thoughts?
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