Got the bad news today

[ecidiego]

Okay, I was not going to mention this, but I took the truck in for a 40000-mile service back in late October. In the service was a radiator flush and coolant change. It took them half a day, and I got the truck back. I drove the truck home and parked it in the garage. As I stepped out of the truck, I smelled coolant. I halfway thought that they may have spilled some and was about to walk into the house. I decided to open the hood and have a look. The first thing I looked at was the coolant reservoir. It was full to the point it was overflowing.

I called the dealer to complain that I thought the tech had overfilled it and left it that way. The first thing out of the service adviser's mouth was "there must be something wrong with the truck". I thought to myself, that's BS. I told the SA that I had removed some coolant, so it was no longer overfilled. He wanted me to bring it in to look at it. I took it in a few days later, and he apologized for "the inconvenience". He said it should not be a problem, but the truck would smell like coolant for a few days.

I have not put more than 400 miles on the truck since then. The coolant smell did go away, and I have not thought about it since. I do not think they documented the coolant overfill.

To answer the question, yes, I did check the coolant, and it was slightly low before I took the truck to the dealer a few days ago. There was no ticking, knocking, or anything else before I started it that morning, and it ran rough.

Also, when I opened the hood to look to see if the coolant was low, there was a bolt that was stuck in between the wiring and the fender on drivers side. I looked around and found the bolt was missing from the windshield washer fluid reservoir to hold it to the fender. That bolt also holds the PCM that is attached to the reservoir. I put the bolt back in. My feeling is that when they did the service, the tech removed it for some reason and forgot to put it back. So the PCM was bouncing around. Could that be part of the problem? IDK.

Until that service, I thought this dealer was good. Now I'm not so sure. But now they have my truck!

I hate dealerships so much. No excuse for this shit with the rates they charge. Don't charge $200/hr for $35/hr work.

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[Dilly’S Willy]

As an ASE master technician (that left the industry due to flat-rate cuts, no parts available, etc.), there's a couple easy steps you can do that won't void your Mopar warranty, and will lead you to the real cause. This should all be done the same by the dealer, they just want you to be scared it might not be covered so you'll wait until warranty runs out and either pay full cost or trade on a new vehicle. That, or they're just lazy and don't want to do warranty work (because flat-rate on engine R&R don't pay shit anymore).

But first, things we need to know:
1a) What specific code were pulled, both PENDING and ACTIVE codes.
2a) Has it even ran out of coolant while driving, or low enough the sensor in the radiator wouldn't be able to read?
3a) How much oil is on the dipstick during all this, did it go down or get changed when you did the service?
4a) How often are you checking fluids?
5a) Is the coolant reservoir bubbling when the engine is up to full temp (198+)?
6a) What ALL was done when you had the coolant service done?
7a) Are they willing to honor their work and verify by fixing the issues you brought up to them?

Provide those answers and we can help more.

Things YOU can check that won't void warranty (if done correctly):
1b) Get a coolant test kit, they check for exhaust gases, available at HF/AZ/AA/NAPA/etc.
2b) Bore scope, check for cylinder/piston/ring wear. (Will need to pull spark plugs).
3b) Leakdown test (if bad gaskets or block/head, coolant will bubble). Last resort.

Those are the steps I would take if I were in your shoes. But ultimately, the dealer screwed up, and is trying to get out of it by playing dumb. Call the service manager, discuss the original visit, the results from it, then the current issues and how the service department is handling it now. Politely remind them they didn't complete the work correctly or professionally (coolant level, missing bolts, things not connected before returning to customer), and request a loaner until they correct their actions under warranty, with all work properly documented WITH PICUTRES, and a full breakdown of all work done before and after, WITH IN PERSON DEMONSTRATION.

^ If a dealership won't/can't do all that, contact Jeep corporate with everything going on. TBH just do it before you go back in. Corporate will follow up and ensure the dealer is doing things legally. And if you get any pushback, contact your local Attorney General, and update the service manager that if they don't correct their mistakes, you will be filing a complaint with the AG and leave an HONEST GOOGLE REVIEW with names and dates.


Hope all this helps, Happy Holidays from Team Blunderbuss!

 

[brsnow2585]

IF it's covered by the extended warranty? What explanation could they give that it wouldn't be covered?

They can manufacturer all kinds of excuses to get out of warranty work. Driving too fast, too slow, unapproved blinker fluid....

 

[smlobx]

Glad you are under warranty, OP! For anyone needing a new engine and you are out of warranty....I'd check with AEV for used engines. They have LOTS of low mileage, even brand new engines and I'm sure they sell them. I don't know how many Hemi swaps they do these days, but I'm sure they have plenty PUG Pentastars laying around. I suspect they still do some Gladiator Hemi swaps and maybe some for Wranglers for people who don't want the 392 drive train and it's transfer case issues.

Also, I'd bet other Hemi conversion outfits have a bunch of them laying around, too. Probably some even with less than a few hundred miles on them.

I think you’re referring to AMW not AEV…

https://amw4x4.com/

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

They can manufacturer all kinds of excuses to get out of warranty work. Driving too fast, too slow, unapproved blinker fluid....

Really have to pay attention to that blinker fluid. It’ll get ya every time.

 

[DanW]

I think you’re referring to AMW not AEV…

https://amw4x4.com/

No, I was referring to AEV....well, both, or anyone who does conversions. AEV used to do Hemi conversions in Wranglers, but I'm not sure if they still do. But at one point they had a warehouse full of low mileage to VERY low mileage Pentastars. I'm sure AMW does, too. There are probably others. But I'm sure some of these outfits would love to convert those engines to cash.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Mine had coolant smell in the exhaust too. Turned out it was the exhaust cooler was leaking. But I'm not sure that would cause a misfire

 

[RubiNewbCB]

Really have to pay attention to that blinker fluid. It’ll get ya every time.

Watch out for Amazon Chinese Muffler bearings, and synthetic phelopian tubes.

 

[WilldWilly]

So they want to charge you $3700 to tear it down to see if the problem is covered? What ever happened to ALL INTERNAL LUBRICATED PARTS? Seems like the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. The very fact that the engine has to be opedned up should dictate a failed COVERED part, and LABOR to fix it. Boy I am starting to really hate this engine. They should have stuffed it into the compass instead of a real vehicle. Jeep is like every other pile of crap manufacturer. Just junk. Built by a bunch of people who could care less about customer satisfaction. The engine is junk, and in need of repair, and Mopar says we will see if it is covered? If more people would just shove this garbage up peoples ass, the more people would start making a better product. I can't even say I am going back to anthing since all manufactures build cars to fail. I am getting a frigging horse. Horses never fail, and I do not have to connect my phone to a horse. Just garbage. Mankind is frigging doomed. Get off my lawn.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Watch out for Amazon Chinese Muffler bearings, and synthetic phelopian tubes.

I’m a sucker for those synthetic phelopian tubes……..

 

[WilldWilly]

What if it's not a head gasket? You don't know until tear-down. Been there.

Well I am sure it is not a Flux Capacitor, so the moment you pull a valve cover, you are now internal and lubricated. So, there should be no conversation about seeing if it is covered unless the warranties are just trash. Just more proof that the auto industry is crap. Crap engines, crap transmissions, crap electronics that are designed to start failing to get people to buy a new car, or spend thousands fixing what they got. Humanity sucks, so it is to be expected everything would follow. Customer service, warranties, vehicles, and flux capacitors are all made of shit. Get off my lawn.

 

[NC_Overland]

So they want to charge you $3700 to tear it down to see if the problem is covered? What ever happened to ALL INTERNAL LUBRICATED PARTS? Seems like the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. The very fact that the engine has to be opedned up should dictate a failed COVERED part, and LABOR to fix it. Boy I am starting to really hate this engine. They should have stuffed it into the compass instead of a real vehicle. Jeep is like every other pile of crap manufacturer. Just junk. Built by a bunch of people who could care less about customer satisfaction. The engine is junk, and in need of repair, and Mopar says we will see if it is covered? If more people would just shove this garbage up peoples ass, the more people would start making a better product. I can't even say I am going back to anthing since all manufactures build cars to fail. I am getting a frigging horse. Horses never fail, and I do not have to connect my phone to a horse. Just garbage. Mankind is frigging doomed. Get off my lawn.

It's not the engine. It’s the techs at dealerships not wanting to do warranty work because they don’t get paid the same hourly rate for warranty work. The system is broken has been for decades.

The engine definitely isn’t junk. There are tons of 2020 3.6l JTs and JLs with 100-200k miles on the engines with no work done and they’re fine.

 

[Hootbro]

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Likely lives alone, neighbors won't talk to him and believes the whole world is out to get him. I'd hate to constantly live with all of that stress. Must be exhausting.

 

[Jeepmonster]

My Gladiator is a 2020 Rubicon. Stock, no lift, stock tires. The only mod is a Genesis Offroad dual battery system.

A week ago I got in my truck and started the engine. It would idle very rough and then a check engine light. I took it right to the dealer. The 2 codes came back as a misfire in #6 cylinder and a misfire on all cylinders. The tech says he can smell coolant in the exhaust.

My truck has 40000 miles on it. I have the extended warranty. I am quoted $3700 for the teardown, and if the problem is covered under warranty, the teardown is covered.

All I can say is WTF? At 40000 miles, a head gasket goes bad?

Has anyone else had this problem?

Kent N6WT

I had a similar issue but at much lower mileage. I started seeing coolant consumption at about 12k miles. I did the oil test (showed coolant inn oil) and even took it in for the dealer to do a pressure test. They said everything checks out fine. I kept smelling coolant (sweet burned coffee scent) for about 12k miles. No codes and everything ran fine. At about 28k, I started getting misfire codes. Started with cylinder 3, then multiple. I took it to a different dealer since the original one was too booked up. Turned out the issue was head gasket- no surprise. I had extended warranty. I have the Mopar extended warranty as well. It covered the diagnostic fee, once they determined the repair (head gasket) was covered. It was actually still under the powertrain warranty, but the extended warranty paid for the rental car (Wrangler 4XE). Good luck.

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