New JL Steering Issue TSB 08-074-20 (for "Improved Steering Feel")

[mwilk012]

The repair is at the dealerships discretion, however, it is guaranteed to be accepted by corporate as a warranty repair. The TSB itself says “..is not an authorization for repair.” This gives them just enough of an excuse to not do the work.

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[JeepJohn]

How so?

Look at the last line. They are to perform the repair procedure if the customer describes either steering wander or that the vehicle pulls to the right or the left. Period. There is no need for them to test it and as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t even let them. Just show them the TSB and that line. There’s no need for them to complicate the process further.

 

[Saejin]

Missed that, but my experience has been it’s dealer dependent and there have been many posts here showing that same experience.

I actually think dealers hate doing TSBs because the repair procedure and time are dictated by corporate, so they’ll only get a fixed amount of money and I’m not even sure they make any profit from TSB repairs. So to them it’s wasting their time when they could be making money off of other repairs they’ve recommended to customers which may not always be needed or could be done somewhere else cheaper.

 

[mwilk012]

Look at the last line. They are to perform the repair procedure if the customer describes either steering wander or that the vehicle pulls to the right or the left. Period. There is no need for them to test it and as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t even let them. Just show them the TSB and that line. There’s no need for them to complicate the process further.

Read the opening statement.

 

[mwilk012]

Missed that, but my experience has been it’s dealer dependent and there have been many posts here showing that same experience.

I actually think dealers hate doing TSBs because the repair procedure and time are dictated by corporate, so they’ll only get a fixed amount of money and I’m not even sure they make any profit from TSB repairs. So to them it’s wasting their time when they could be making money off of other repairs they’ve recommended to customers which may not always be needed or could be done somewhere else cheaper.

All R&R procedures have time dictated by corporate. The labor guides are pretty stingy and underpay for most work on FCA vehicles.

 

[JeepJohn]

Look at the last line. They are to perform the repair procedure if the customer describes either steering wander or that the vehicle pulls to the right or the left. Period. There is no need for them to test it and as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t even let them. Just show them the TSB and that line. There’s no need for them to complicate the process further.

Missed that, but my experience has been it’s dealer dependent and there have been many posts here showing that same experience.

I actually think dealers hate doing TSBs because the repair procedure and time are dictated by corporate, so they’ll only get a fixed amount of money and I’m not even sure they make any profit from TSB repairs. So to them it’s wasting their time when they could be making money off of other repairs they’ve recommended to customers which may not always be needed or could be done somewhere else cheaper.

What your explaining is what is being allowed by people putting up with the BS. Don’t enable the dealers to do this. Show them the TSB.. Then if they fail to complete the repair, report them to FCA and/or JeepCares and go to another dealer and have them do it. It’s only as much in their control as WE let it be. I tactfully advised my dealer of the TSB by phone. They ordered the part for me and when I went to have the repair done we had a tactful discussion on how it would be completed while I referred to a print out of the TSB... No test drive was done until after the install of the new steering box and there was no bull shit.

 

[JeepJohn]

Read the opening statement.

Again, if they don’t want to complete a simple TSB, report them to JeepCares, and have another dealer complete the repair. No “test drive” is needed in this case.

 

[hoag4147]

If anyone is in the Greater NYC/LI area, go to Bayside Jeep Dodge Chrysler on Northern Blvd.

They ordered my box 9/3/2020 so the next one can be ordered 9/17 ..

Lifted?

 

[Saejin]

JeepJohn,

I get it and glad you were able to get your dealer to order the parts ahead of time, do the repair, and then verify.

But I’ve seen and read how things can go sideways with dealers all the time. When the JL first came out there were owners who posted many times trying to get there steering fixed. Even when software TSB came out some dealers wouldn’t even do that procedure without confirming the problem via a test drive. Owners got Jeep Cares involved and some were successful in getting dealers to do the work. Some weren’t and moved.

I recall one owner being flagged in the system as they were going to multiple dealers trying to get someone to do the repair.

In the end the dealer is independently owned and does not report to Jeep. It’s up to them to do the repair on TSBs. I believe the TSB just allows them get reimbursed for the work. The way I understand it all warranty repairs and TSB repairs have to be authorized by Jeep so the dealer gets paid.

I wouldn’t say owners are enabling these dealers, it’s just the dealer stonewalling them and then they have to escalate. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Then it either goes to lawyers for a buyback depending on the issue or to owner trades in the Jeep for a different vehicle. I’ve seen 2018 owners trade up for a 2019/2020 just because of issues that can’t be or won’t be fixed.

 

[Dkretden]

......In the end the dealer is independently owned and does not report to Jeep. ......

while it is true that dealerships are independently owned, it is NOT true that they “don’t report” to Jeep. There are contractual standards required to maintain a dealership for FCA or other brands. That’s why things like Customer “surveys“ are soooo harped on by many dealerships.

the real issue here is that FCA doesn’t seem to care about slapping dealer hands, breaking wrists, or cutting off legs of dealers who do not provide a quality Customer experience. FCA just doesn’t care. They don’t care that dealer service managers “have never heard of” a TSB that is 6 weeks old. FCA doesn’t care that dealers add 6 quarts and not 5. FCA just doesn’t care. Until they do, many Jeep dealers will continue to provide shoddy customer experiences more akin to a yugo than a $50k luxury vehicle. And that is ultimately going to bite FCA in the butt.

 

[Warz2k4]

Lifted?

No mods.

 

[DHW]

while it is true that dealerships are independently owned, it is NOT true that they “don’t report” to Jeep. There are contractual standards required to maintain a dealership for FCA or other brands. That’s why things like Customer “surveys“ are soooo harped on by many dealerships.

the real issue here is that FCA doesn’t seem to care about slapping dealer hands, breaking wrists, or cutting off legs of dealers who do not provide a quality Customer experience. FCA just doesn’t care. They don’t care that dealer service managers “have never heard of” a TSB that is 6 weeks old. FCA doesn’t care that dealers add 6 quarts and not 5. FCA just doesn’t care. Until they do, many Jeep dealers will continue to provide shoddy customer experiences more akin to a yugo than a $50k luxury vehicle. And that is ultimately going to bite FCA in the butt.

I know everyone has different experiences, but I come from a Ford family and I’m now on my second FCA vehicle. The service departments of those brands couldn’t be more different. I never had any major issue with Ford. My last Ford was a 1st gen Raptor and the dealership service dept had a Raptor specialist that knew absolutely everything about those trucks.

Then there’s FCA. I’ve never had less confidence in a service department. Just everything is bad. I had an appointment to simply drop off the Jeep and pick up the loaner for this TSB. Everything had already been taken down earlier, just dropping it off. That took just over an hour. The whole reason I have this Jeep is because the dealership destroyed my Charger SRT, which was a 3 month debacle over a minor transmission issue. It had 18,000 miles and they had to do a dealer buyback. During that escapade, the service manager literally told me there was only one mechanic back there who knew what he was doing, so we always had to wait on days that guy worked to get work done on the car.

And it’s a different set of employees everytime I take a vehicle in. That service manager I discussed earlier quit two days after telling me that. My service technician also quit that same day. I’ve never seen anything like it.

 

[DanW]

I know everyone has different experiences, but I come from a Ford family and I’m now on my second FCA vehicle. The service departments of those brands couldn’t be more different. I never had any major issue with Ford. My last Ford was a 1st gen Raptor and the dealership service dept had a Raptor specialist that knew absolutely everything about those trucks.

Then there’s FCA. I’ve never had less confidence in a service department. Just everything is bad. I had an appointment to simply drop off the Jeep and pick up the loaner for this TSB. Everything had already been taken down earlier, just dropping it off. That took just over an hour. The whole reason I have this Jeep is because the dealership destroyed my Charger SRT, which was a 3 month debacle over a minor transmission issue. It had 18,000 miles and they had to do a dealer buyback. During that escapade, the service manager literally told me there was only one mechanic back there who knew what he was doing, so we always had to wait on days that guy worked to get work done on the car.

And it’s a different set of employees everytime I take a vehicle in. That service manager I discussed earlier quit two days after telling me that. My service technician also quit that same day. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Depends on where you go. Our Ford dealership has tried three times to fix a faulty sliding door sensor on our van. They keep replacing the same parts. Still not fixed. They can't seem to figure it out, even though the Transit has been in production for six years now. My Jeep dealer's service department is batting a thousand when it comes to my Jeeps over the last 13 years.

On top of all that, the two dealers are next door to each other. The Ford dealership won't even give me a ride home when I need service. The Jeep dealer grabs a Gladiator Mojave with 15 miles on it off the new lot, throws me the keys, and says, "Have fun with it this weekend!"

Dealers are independent, and both Ford and FCA hate that, you can bet. The quality variance from one to another is one of the big reasons.

 

[DHW]

Depends on where you go. Our Ford dealership has tried three times to fix a faulty sliding door sensor on our van. They keep replacing the same parts. Still not fixed. They can't seem to figure it out, even though the Transit has been in production for six years now. My Jeep dealer's service department is batting a thousand when it comes to my Jeeps over the last 13 years.

On top of all that, the two dealers are next door to each other. The Ford dealership won't even give me a ride home when I need service. The Jeep dealer grabs a Gladiator Mojave with 15 miles on it off the new lot, throws me the keys, and says, "Have fun with it this weekend!"

Dealers are independent, and both Ford and FCA hate that, you can bet. The quality variance from one to another is one of the big reasons.

Yea like I said, everyone has different experiences. I used to look forward to taking my truck in and talking to the Raptor guy. I absolutely dread taking the Jeep in for service.

 

[JeepJohn]

JeepJohn,

I get it and glad you were able to get your dealer to order the parts ahead of time, do the repair, and then verify.

But I’ve seen and read how things can go sideways with dealers all the time. When the JL first came out there were owners who posted many times trying to get there steering fixed. Even when software TSB came out some dealers wouldn’t even do that procedure without confirming the problem via a test drive. Owners got Jeep Cares involved and some were successful in getting dealers to do the work. Some weren’t and moved.

I recall one owner being flagged in the system as they were going to multiple dealers trying to get someone to do the repair.

In the end the dealer is independently owned and does not report to Jeep. It’s up to them to do the repair on TSBs. I believe the TSB just allows them get reimbursed for the work. The way I understand it all warranty repairs and TSB repairs have to be authorized by Jeep so the dealer gets paid.

I wouldn’t say owners are enabling these dealers, it’s just the dealer stonewalling them and then they have to escalate. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Then it either goes to lawyers for a buyback depending on the issue or to owner trades in the Jeep for a different vehicle. I’ve seen 2018 owners trade up for a 2019/2020 just because of issues that can’t be or won’t be fixed.

JeepJohn,

I get it and glad you were able to get your dealer to order the parts ahead of time, do the repair, and then verify.

But I’ve seen and read how things can go sideways with dealers all the time. When the JL first came out there were owners who posted many times trying to get there steering fixed. Even when software TSB came out some dealers wouldn’t even do that procedure without confirming the problem via a test drive. Owners got Jeep Cares involved and some were successful in getting dealers to do the work. Some weren’t and moved.

I recall one owner being flagged in the system as they were going to multiple dealers trying to get someone to do the repair.

In the end the dealer is independently owned and does not report to Jeep. It’s up to them to do the repair on TSBs. I believe the TSB just allows them get reimbursed for the work. The way I understand it all warranty repairs and TSB repairs have to be authorized by Jeep so the dealer gets paid.

I wouldn’t say owners are enabling these dealers, it’s just the dealer stonewalling them and then they have to escalate. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Then it either goes to lawyers for a buyback depending on the issue or to owner trades in the Jeep for a different vehicle. I’ve seen 2018 owners trade up for a 2019/2020 just because of issues that can’t be or won’t be fixed.

Saejin,

It’s about accountability. If you’re not going to even try to hold them accountable, then you’re not just screwing yourself.. You’re also screwing the next guy. I understand everything you’re saying, but it’s not okay to be a push over when it comes to dealing with dealers. .. . But that’s just one guy’s opinion.. One guy who made it clear there would be no BS.. One guy who had the job done without any BS.

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