VOIDED Factory Warranty after taking it through mud

[riverdigger]

If warranty won’t pick up the tab for repairs how about the comprehensive coverage on your insurance policy

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[MrFahrenheit]

If warranty won’t pick up the tab for repairs how about the comprehensive coverage on your insurance policy

Many standard insurance policies will only cover activities that take place on defined roads. This could be an unmaintained state forest road or the street you live on. But activities outside of those areas, such as an off road park may not be covered. Some policies may have some coverage for that or others may have additional coverage you can add for those things.

Whether or not it actually is covered is probably the discretion of your agent.

 

[mike921921]

Could have been worse I guess.....

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Could have been worse I guess.....

That's gonna take more than one pass through the car wash, I'd bet.
That's the sort of mud where you lift your foot to take a step and your boot stays in the muck.

 

[red/green hawk]

Mud in the alternator does NOT justify voiding the remainder of entire factory warranty.

Further, what's aggravating is the run around the OP is dealing with between FCA and the two dealers....some one of those three is responsible for this warranty voiding....that party should step up and own it.

This 100% true. I would be okay paying for a new alternator, but what in the hell does that have to do with the rear end locking up? The dealership has the burden of proof here. The OP DOES NOT have to prove that the warranty needs to be upheld.

That said, I went mudding in about a foot of mud and had absolutely zero mud on my alternator. OP had to have been swimming in it to clog up the alternator to the point where it took a crap. Well done.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Looks like the video was the beginning of the runs when you compare the tow truck. Just because it *can* go through 30" of water, doesn't mean you can take it at 20mph....

 

[Silvertruck]

I hate to say this but get the jeep repaired by the lowest cost provider and trade it soon for a vehicle with the best combo of resale and rebate you can find. Its clear the jeep has problems and the longer you keep it the more it will cost you. All this stuff about suing FCA is a fantasy and will cost you thousands more than my advice for no better outcome. I dont know but wouldnt be surprised if warranty issues were forced into arbitration anyway.

now that you’ve documented the abuse on a forum, its even more likely that trading is the only viable way out. Its kinda like blowing the motor at a drag strip. I am rooting for you as a fellow jeeper but its a hard climb out.

 

[Renegade]

I hate to say this but get the jeep repaired by the lowest cost provider and trade it soon for a vehicle with the best combo of resale and rebate you can find. Its clear the jeep has problems and the longer you keep it the more it will cost you. All this stuff about suing FCA is a fantasy and will cost you thousands more than my advice for no better outcome. I dont know but wouldnt be surprised if warranty issues were forced into arbitration anyway.

now that you’ve documented the abuse on a forum, its even more likely that trading is the only viable way out. Its kinda like blowing the motor at a drag strip. I am rooting for you as a fellow jeeper but its a hard climb out.

Yeah, pass your problems off to some unsuspecting future Jeeper...

 

[Gladiatrix]

This all reinforces my hatred of mud...I'll stick with rocks and sand

yes I 100% learned my lesson...I will never go through mud again. Trust.

 

[Silvertruck]

Yeah, pass your problems off to some unsuspecting future Jeeper...

In this case, absolutely its a way out. Carfax is likely going to catch the warranty work anyway, and fixing first is good faith. Free market wins every time there isnt a free ride here he will take a bath

 

[Ashr]

7/24/2020 - Purchased 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon with upgraded Mud Tires I didn't even want.

7/26 - Hit the trail. Plowed it through the mud a bunch of times. It was covered in mud for sure and killed the alternator. Had it towed to the closest Jeep dealership. Russell Westbrook of Van Nuys.

@7/28 - Dealership told me that it was going to cost (starting at) $3K to fix my truck. Nothing was going to be covered under warranty. They wanted to start at replacing the alternator, radiator and both batteries. I wasn’t happy with this so I called the dealership I bought it from and they told me to have it towed to them.

7/30 - had it towed to the dealership I bought it from. They replaced the alternator and I was only charged a small deductible and told me that everything was all good with my warranty still.

8/6 - Picked my truck up from the dealership

10/31 - I notice my rear center brake light is out

11/5 - I notice that the Auto Stop/Start isn’t working which means that there is a battery issue

11/7 - my rear axles appear to be engaging in 2H while driving on the freeway at 70MPH. Once I slow down I realize that they are in fact locking up. I can’t unlock them if I try. I ended up fishtailing on two separate occasions while getting onto the freeway on dry California pavement.

11/9 - dropped it off at my dealership and pick up a rental car

11/12 - They tell me that they need to replace the entire rear axle, both batteries and fix the short that is in the taillight but there is a restriction that was put on my factory warranty that says that no repairs can be made and the extended warranty that I had purchased also won’t cover it since they say that the factory warranty should be covering it.

11/13 -FCA tells me that there was a restriction put on my truck by a dealership (the first dealership that I took it to) I call the dealership and they assure me that they don’t have the power to do that.

11/14-12/1 - I am being bounced around from FCA to both of the dealerships that Ive been to to talked to General Managers of stores and on 12/1 FCA calls me and says that there is nothing that they can do about removing the restriction on the factory warranty because I "submerged" it in mud (it was less than a foot deep)

I have 4500 miles on it and the restriction on my warranty was placed on day 5 of ownership.

I think it’s time to get a lawyer. Any suggestions?

@Gladiatrix I was also bounced around from FCA to the dealership (AutoNation, North Richland Hills, Fort Worth, TX) for another issue which was a factory fault. I’m seriously concerned about the factory warranty on my 2020 Jeep Gladiator. I have 5000 miles on it and going to sell this car in January. I’m not going to keep this car. The dealership wanted to charge $2,000 to replace the faulty radiator support and approximately $400 for a faulty rivnut! @JeepCares or Premium membership or Wave Owner Benefits etc don’t help! I am very disappointed with Chrysler customer care team @Chrysler-Factory-Warranty @JeepCares

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If warranty won’t pick up the tab for repairs how about the comprehensive coverage on your insurance policy

Hmmm, only in some cases, and only if it's, well, here's an example:
I worked on a locked engine in a F150 several years ago. The boss towed the truck in. I checked it over, there was a hole in the oil pan. The owner said there was a big rock or chunk of concrete in the road and he hit it......... ok, that explains the hole. But not the seized engine.
I got it all fixed up, replacement oil pan, rebuilt the engine, etc.
The owner said he was going to submit the bill to the insurance company. We said fine, but we keep the truck until we are paid no matter WHO pays it. He wasn't happy but hey.
So his insurance company came through! Yes! They wrote him a check for a new oil pan.
They said the pan was covered, damage from stuff in the road - but the engine? that was on him as he was not smart enough to shut it down when the oil light came on.
He was PISSED - I so wanted to tell him he was totally STUPID for continuing to drive it assuming a destroyed engine would be covered. My boss DID tell him that it was his fault the engine was toast as he should have shut it down and called him to tow it. We'd have replaced the pan and his insurance would have covered towing and pan and oil and labor.

So - if you have a part in the damage or carnage, get out your checkbook.
If it's an accident, road debris, collision, whatever, fine, it's possibly, maybe even likely, covered. But not if you could have avoided the damage.

 

[Gulf_coasterHTX]

This can’t possibly be the first time something like this has happened, I guess finding a lawyer with experience would help you understand your chances, and I guess going up the dealer themselves rather than FCA might be an easier fight...?

I can understand the dealer charging for repairs but I don’t get how they can void the entire warranty altogether - once the mud has killed the alternator what more damage is it going to do to the new alternator? How is the mudding going to affect other unrelated systems? Seems like the dealer was just trigger happy

 

[Mikey_89]

Could have been worse I guess.....

Damn you Mike...beat me to it!!!!

 

[Terry]

You can take your gloves off all you want, unless you got a good case and close to a billion in the bank your going lose a fight with FCA or any car manufacturer that go up against. Even if the rear locker sensor didn't come from the mud, which it probably didn't, burying it in mud and then having issues just gives FCA more leverage to not cover it. That ad don't mean crap in court, they can have commercials with anything they want in them, doesn't mean you should run it through mud and then mess something up and then cry about why your warranty didn't cover it. I guess if I climb up a rock while off road and flip mine over I can say dang FCA needs to cover this because I saw one doing it in a commercial and it didn't flip over, doesn't work like that for rational folks.

That's NOT what I was saying, so no need to be a smart ass. The California Lemon Law (Civ. Code, § 1793.22) protects you when your vehicle is defective and cannot be repaired after a “reasonable” number of attempts. In such instances, the manufacturer must either replace or repurchase the vehicle—whichever you prefer. It would seem to any reasonable person (Juror's included) that any vehicle designed, manufactured, advertised, and sold to be driven under off road conditions would by design be able to operate under those conditions for a period exceeding 4,500 miles (as stated). It would seem to me that one of the many law firms in California who specifically handle vehicle defect claims would be ready and able to represent a plaintiff in such a manner.

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