Dealer will not honor warranty wants to change my transmission without submitting for warranty

[J_0ne]

So, I had an issue with my 2020 Gladiator not even. 19,000 miles were the transmission locked down at a stop light no abnormal sounds, it just would not go into gear. Took it to the dealership and they want to change the transmission and told me that if they submit it to warranty it will iust void my whole powertrain because of the lift (Clayton 3.5) and tires (KM3 37). I reply back to the service advisor that this is a truck that has a payload of 4,000 lbs but the warranty is voided id it tryes to turn 400 lbs worth of tires? The advisor had no answer for that so he said the lift changes the shaft pinion angles and that can affect the transmission.

I personally don’t think isa seized transmission to start with otherwise it would have given me a warning of some sort, rough ride, noise or drag. All I got was a flashing D, N, R light and a message telling me to put the truck in gear. By theit did go into gear at home and drove forward but once I cycled it to P again it started to do the same thing it also gave me a message to service the emergency parking break.

what are your thoughts?

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[22EcoDs]

Pinion angle has no effect on the transmission, as they come out the transfer case. Different story if it was 2wd and even that's a stretch. Contact jeepwaves, push back on dealer and hope they don't black mark your warranty.

 

[DesertRated]

To be fair, 400lbs of unsprung weight is not the same as 400lbs payload. I understand your frustration, but when you start modifying a vehicle you give the manufacture a reason to void warranty claims.

 

[AKDrifter]

So, I had an issue with my 2020 Gladiator not even. 19,000 miles were the transmission locked down at a stop light no abnormal sounds, it just would not go into gear. Took it to the dealership and they want to change the transmission and told me that if they submit it to warranty it will iust void my whole powertrain because of the lift (Clayton 3.5) and tires (KM3 37). I reply back to the service advisor that this is a truck that has a payload of 4,000 lbs but the warranty is voided id it tryes to turn 400 lbs worth of tires? The advisor had no answer for that so he said the lift changes the shaft pinion angles and that can affect the transmission.

I personally don’t think isa seized transmission to start with otherwise it would have given me a warning of some sort, rough ride, noise or drag. All I got was a flashing D, N, R light and a message telling me to put the truck in gear. By theit did go into gear at home and drove forward but once I cycled it to P again it started to do the same thing it also gave me a message to service the emergency parking break.

what are your thoughts?

The JT when optioned right has a maximum payload of 1700lbs. Always know your specs before giving bad info to someone who knows what the payload is and has the power to void your warranty. That statement could be used against you by Jeep if they start implying that you abused the vehicle thinking it could do the work of a 1 ton SRW truck. The tires/lift thing is really dependent on what their techs are telling them I'd guess or a void all warranty for lift/tire policy. I don't know how effective people have been at fighting the dealers on their assessments. At this point the 850RE can be gotten pretty inexpensively. I would rather buy a transmission and install it myself before voiding the entire warranty over $1500. But before I did that I'd pick the Jeep up and try any other dealer I could find for a second opinion. It's a shitty spot to be in for sure.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I reply back to the service advisor that this is a truck that has a payload of 4,000

No, it doesn't. Payload is likely less than 1,600 pounds if it's something like max tow if you've added any weight to the truck.
Others have even less payload.
Maybe you mean towing??

Did you weigh your tires? Tire weight and size also stress braking. Since these downshift to aid braking, it is definitely more stress. Void the warranty - it should not, but you've gone way outside of normal and have lowered your payload and towing ability with that big lift and those huge tires.
Don't believe it - go ask the pros out there that do truck mods for a living. One has a great YT video about how a lift like that and those tires will cut your numbers.

With 37" tires, what GEARS did you change to? You did regear, didn't you?

 

[Jteakus]

Try a reputable transmission shop. Chances are it is something small that can be fixed. Not every transmission problem requires a complete rebuild or replacement to be cured.

 

[JRobes]

If you were using 35s and a lift similar in height to the Mopar lift I think they'd have a hard time arguing it since those are both available from MOPAR, but since you are a bit past both of those it's going to come down to what the dealership's service advisor and techs say as far as whether or not your mods caused your trans issues. I'd maybe ask them why they think your mods caused it, and if they give a logical answer you'd likely be on the hook to fight it with an attorney (probably not worth it), or find another dealership that may have a different opinion and fix it under warranty.

Unfortunately this is one of those horror stories people like to say "that never actually happens" but does happen time to time. Hope things work out in your favor, but I personally wouldn't keep my hopes up for a warranty-covered replacement.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Try a reputable transmission shop. Chances are it is something small that can be fixed. Not every transmission problem requires a complete rebuild or replacement to be cured.

The shop - meaning the dealer shop - can actually check pressures for each shift, including the time to build pressure and more. You don't just say "you need a new transmission" without that type of testing.
So to that, yes, they should hook up electrically first and diagnose - including the TCM, shifter and more. Even the CANbus communications like what I had can cause the thing to act like it's in park and tell you to shift here then there before it will move again. Mine wouldn't move in a parking lot one time, acted really crazy. CANbus errors, improper message received from TCM or some similar message when I dug into it. Their work on fixing the other CANbus related errors fixed every issue.

 

[chorky]

So, I had an issue with my 2020 Gladiator not even. 19,000 miles were the transmission locked down at a stop light no abnormal sounds, it just would not go into gear. Took it to the dealership and they want to change the transmission and told me that if they submit it to warranty it will iust void my whole powertrain because of the lift (Clayton 3.5) and tires (KM3 37). I reply back to the service advisor that this is a truck that has a payload of 4,000 lbs but the warranty is voided id it tryes to turn 400 lbs worth of tires? The advisor had no answer for that so he said the lift changes the shaft pinion angles and that can affect the transmission.

I personally don’t think isa seized transmission to start with otherwise it would have given me a warning of some sort, rough ride, noise or drag. All I got was a flashing D, N, R light and a message telling me to put the truck in gear. By theit did go into gear at home and drove forward but once I cycled it to P again it started to do the same thing it also gave me a message to service the emergency parking break.

what are your thoughts?

I think there was a miscommunication here. Payload is not what you can tow. The JT does not have a 4,000 pound payload. Towing capacity? Probably yes depending on configuration. But payload is no where near 4,000 pounds.

Ok since that is out of the way....filing a warranty claim will not (rather, should not, by law) void your entire powertrain warranty!! There is a law against that posted on this forum somewhere. If the dealer is claiming that then I would seek another dealer as they likely will try and find ways to void out any warranty work.

If you were using 35s and a lift similar in height to the Mopar lift I think they'd have a hard time arguing it since those are both available from MOPAR, but since you are a bit past both of those it's going to come down to what the dealership's service advisor and techs say as far as whether or not your mods caused your trans issues. I'd maybe ask them why they think your mods caused it, and if they give a logical answer you'd likely be on the hook to fight it with an attorney (probably not worth it), or find another dealership that may have a different opinion and fix it under warranty.

Unfortunately this is one of those horror stories people like to say "that never actually happens" but does happen time to time. Hope things work out in your favor, but I personally wouldn't keep my hopes up for a warranty-covered replacement.

Horror story for sure!!! And this is the exact reason I am still 95% going to go with the MOPAR lift, just to alleviate this possibility. What a shame that is....

 

[J_0ne]

The advisor is telling me it is a transmission because the fluid was “black” no mention of testing being done. To me that sounds like a guess more than a diagnostic also the fact he is saying that he would not recomend me to submit to warranty because the can write off my hole vehicle warranty that sounds a bit extreme. To me this sounds more like an electrical problem with the emergency parking break than
s shit transmission specially since I was getting an “Aux switches temporarily unavailable battery charging” message a for the last week or so.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ok since that is out of the way....filing a warranty claim will not (rather, should not, by law) void your entire powertrain warranty!! There is a law against that posted on this forum somewhere. If the dealer is claiming that then I would seek another dealer as they likely will try and find ways to void out any warranty work.

This is where one MUST try a different dealer. We've seen where one actually does flag a vehicle...... yeah, it's not right, but do you have the time and money and resources to fight it in congested courts?
If they could show a VALID reason the mods impacted the transmission - that's one thing. They have to show what and how. But for the rest of the warranty, no, legally they can't negate a manufacturer's warranty. But.......... it can be a fight.
So ideally, hit a different dealer.

 

[willhonkforparts]

Sounds like an electrical issue. Possibly a bad shifter or shift module on the transmission. The shifters in these things are finicky. If you try to shift from Park too quickly before or as you're applying the brake, it will often cause and error and the Trans won't shift out of park. The shifter and Trans are not mechanically linked anymore-it all electronics talking to each other.

Extreme drive shaft angle make cause bearings to wear or seals to leak more prematurely but certainly should render the Trans.ission by means.

I would ask them exactly what issue they've diagnosed and why the entire Trans "needs" to be swapped. Go from there.

 

[J_0ne]

By the way they are asking 10k to replace the transmission????

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The advisor is telling me it is a transmission because the fluid was “black” no mention of testing being done. To me that sounds like a guess more than a diagnostic also the fact he is saying that he would not recomend me to submit to warranty because the can write off my hole vehicle warranty that sounds a bit extreme. To me this sounds more like an electrical problem with the emergency parking break than
s shit transmission specially since I was getting an “Aux switches temporarily unavailable battery charging” message a for the last week or so.

He'd have to open up a line to know the fluid condition. Yes, possible, simply crack a line at the cooler or whatever and you can tell by look and SMELL.
I can look at ATF and smell it and tell you if it's toast or not. That's VERY possible.

 

[chorky]

This is where one MUST try a different dealer. We've seen where one actually does flag a vehicle...... yeah, it's not right, but do you have the time and money and resources to fight it in congested courts?
If they could show a VALID reason the mods impacted the transmission - that's one thing. They have to show what and how. But for the rest of the warranty, no, legally they can't negate a manufacturer's warranty. But.......... it can be a fight.
So ideally, hit a different dealer.

Yeah but that's not practical when the next closest dealer is hours and hours away for some of us (me). Not to mention what would have to be done in the future, due to lack of trust, just to get a simple oil change. I can't speak for anyone else but if something that crazy happened to me I would be finding a lawyer to sue for compensation of time lost at work in order to travel hours away for a 'reputable' dealer

By the way they are asking 10k to replace the transmission????

Not sure on that but your situation smells fishy. I would be trying to contact Jeep Cares here on this site.

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