I told you so!

[Higher_Ground]

I wish a loaner vehicle was more universal. Granted I haven't had any work done on my gladiator, but I suspect there's zero chance my local dealers would give me one even if I "demanded" it. From reading the steering TSB thread, it seems that customer service is all over the place.

OTOH, the couple times I've been in for an oil change there have been at least a dozen people waiting on service so you may have to be literally first in line to get one.

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[SwampNut]

I simply don't need one so I haven't asked for one. My SA did ask once, but he knows I don't need one so it's never come up again. He just said at the time that they were low on vehicles because of the cooties. I'm pretty sure the WAVE program includes it. I *know* for sure that the MOPAR extended service does, but I think it might not be first-day. Not sure on that point. Sometimes coverage is only for service that takes more than one day.

 

[Mojave Gladiator]

OMG, those frames. They did at least make good on fixing them, but no loaners. A friend of mine got one. We live in AZ. Let that sink in. The humidity is 6% right now, and a frame rusted out!

My friends who bought Toyotas are paying $2k-3k for extended service (unsure the exact miles for each). I paid $1320 to extend to 8 year/80k. Yes, with a loaner.

Yes, those frames were terrible… I remember looking for the identification stickers on the units that received new frames when I was looking in the used market years back!

 

[DobaMark]

one popped up saying “Steering Wheel Not Straight”. Who thinks these things up?

The "steering wheel not straight" message is from the stop/start system. The auto stop/start is disabled if the wheels are turned. It is unrelated to your transmission problem.

 

[JeepCares]

@JeepCares get this guy a loaner

I must confess that I wasn’t being nagged by my wife, I agreed with her. We own a cabin 250 miles away in the hill country and getting stranded on a back road there is a very big deal. There I was on a deserted gravel road, you could lay down and take a nap and never get run over. I had parked by the side of the road and suddenly everything was flashing strange fault messages and when I took my foot off the brake the engine quit. In drive, reverse, neutral, park, the engine quit if I wasn’t holding the brake down. All the letters were flashing. Fooled around with things for quite awhile and thought of calling a tow truck, if I could find one and he could find me. The nearest dealer was 60 miles away. I had 2 muddy smelly hunting dogs in the back set who were getting hot and thirsty. So if I got a tow truck would he let me and the muddy dogs ride in his cab to the dealer? Would the dealer let me and 2 smelly dogs wait in the waiting room? Sounded Nightmarish to me.
Then I discovered I could clear some of the faults like this, and some of you may really need this someday so remember- left foot hard on the brake, start engine in any gear, put it in drive or reverse, keep left foot on brake and rev engine to about 4000 several times, then as the rpm drop past 2500 take foot off brake and go. If drive has stopped flashing engine may keep running and you will go. Faults will have cleared except for park. Truck will run until you put it in park and then you’re back to square one. Don’t ask me how I finally figured this out but it allowed me to get to the hardware store and buy a 10mm wrench. When I finally understood there are 2 batteries I disconnected both ground wires and that helped for awhile, until I had to shut it off in a rest area to take a leak. But I still had the 10mm wrench. They should make these standard equipment on these trucks.

Thanks for tagging us here, am1978.

We would be happy to dig into your concerns further, Elapid. If you'd like to discuss, please send our team a private message.

Kate
Jeep Cares

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

Being Old School, and my being based on moral values and a God - First baseline. Never to judge without seeking God's direction.
I'll reply as follows:

The OP's tagline was "I told you so!'. In a broad picture, it was not about his Jeep. It was about his wife. That's commendable.

Anyway...

That being said, if I may; Consider this.
I will listen and consult with my wife on significant financial matters. Then we make a decision based on all information combined.

To post, a post... Saying "I told you so!", In reference to your wife. Means basically that she is affecting the show. That's good, or not.

I thought the replies relating to your manhood comical. Maybe somewhat truthful. But maybe, just maybe, you need to see if your wife will actually respect you more if you man up.

Now, if you, (no offense intended), are a financial fool. And your wife is a financial genius. Consider her as exactly that. And go forward accordingly to her wishes.

On a technical level. Mopar's Pentastar 3.6 engine and the 8 speed transmission have proven to be exceptional.

 

[muengineer]

My wife has weighed in already, “I told you so!” She seemed to like my new Gladiator 11 months ago when I bought it, she really enjoyed driving the back roads with me with the tops and doors off. She was even sympathetic at first when I called to tell her the gladiator was broken down and I wasn’t sure if I could get home. But after much trial and error I found that if I disconnected BOTH batteries I could clear enough faults to limp home. So it sat in our driveway for several days with batteries disconnected until the service dept could get it in. It wasn’t until I told her that service said it will take 3 weeks to get the valve body in that she started in with “I told you so!” She remembers the only other American vehicle I ever bought, 25 years ago when we were first married. After that experience I swore I’d never buy another American vehicle. But when I saw the Gladiator last year it reminded me of my grandfather’s Willys truck and we test drove the gladiator. Now my wife tells me that when and if they get it repaired I am to sell it immediately, take my losses and buy a Tacoma or something similar. The dealer won’t even give me a loaner so I’m going to be probably a month without my truck, which usually I drive every day. I even called my salesman from dealer thinking he might value customer satisfaction and repeat customers. I told him that there must be a part available somewhere, probably in Kokomo which is only 50 miles from here, even if it needs to come out of a new transmission. I said he could make calls, tell them - Hey! This is my customer! Jeep doesn’t treat customers this way! I want that valve body ASAP!
Sorry Charlie, not gonna happen. He was peeved because I woke him up in bed at 9:30 AM.

There are a couple of issues here but I will only pick out 4.

1) An, meaning one American car 25 years ago having a problem doesn't make EVERY American made car a piece of junk, that's irrational at best. Japanese cars have issues also. I've had several Toyotas and I wasn't impressed with their reliability, dealer service or build quality.

2) Your salesman can't do anything to get you a part for your Jeep, that is what a Service Manger is for. Asking your salesman for that isn't going to get you anywhere.

3) Kokomo builds CHEROKEES, they are FWD/AWD vehicles with 9 speed transaxles. Our JL/JT come from Toledo, they have 8 speed automatic transmissions. Completely different parts.

4) You have to live in Metro Detroit, have a family member who works for Stellantis and a purchase history with paperwork that when stacked is 6" thick for them to pull a production part from a vehicle waiting to be built to fix your car.

I've owned 14 FCA/Stellantis products in the last 9 years, and I've got production parts pulled for my vehicles, but I contacted a regional service manager with my sales manager and pulled strings with him and a family member to get a vehicle repaired. Outside of SE Michigan this is basically an impossibility.

On a side note, my spouse would never tell me anything about a vehicle. We pool our money for shared assets in a joint account and then maintain completely separate finances otherwise. We don't ask each other how the other spends money as long as neither is asking the other for cash or failing to meet their obligations to the shared assets, which are just a house and the bills.

Its a lot simpler to arrange your finances that way, there is less fighting, because there are 0 fights about money.

 

[jeepit]

 

[Elapid]

This post was not written to complain about my wife or to bash American made vehicles, it’s about whether or not I can trust my gladiator in the future when and if it gets fixed. I appreciate everyone’s comments and suggestions.
As far as to what anyone at the dealership can and cannot do, I’m reminded of a book I read some time ago, the biography of a country boy, Leon, from rural Maine who loved hunting and fishing. He had an idea for a new type of duck hunting boot and he borrowed $400 to finance construction of the boots and start-up of a store to sell them. Must have been good boots because they sold out quickly. Trouble was, of the boots failed but he gave every customer their money back. He was broke but earned money from odd jobs and started the boot project over. Eventually he got it right and sold boots, hats, hunting coats etc. all based on the idea that in order to succeed every customer must be satisfied. Last year the company that he founded in 1912 had over one and a half Billion dollars in sales. All based on selling good stuff and satisfied customers. I should know, the oldest and best clothes in my closet have his name on them, LL Bean.
I’m not saying that big car companies can make every customer happy, but it makes me think.

 

[Hootbro]

This post was not written to complain about my wife or to bash American made vehicles, it’s about whether or not I can trust my gladiator in the future when and if it gets fixed.................

Nobody likes to be "that guy" when a new vehicle takes a shit and repairs have to be done. Just your turn in the barrel, mine could be tomorrow.

No brand is immune to this, just some are better than others but the gap between most is pretty narrow compared to lets say 20+ years ago.

While the warm fuzzy of a new vehicle purchase is tarnished when such things happen, rolling the dice and going to another brand just puts you back in the risk pool of probabilities of it maybe happening again. Never mind the cost of bailing to do so.

There is no magic fairy to unwind the clock here on what is happened. I would suggest just giving any repair made a chance and try to enjoy your Gladiator going forward. The world is full of happy 2nd vehicle owners glad you took the depreciation hit for them.

 

[SwampNut]

I've never seen an LL Bean product that I know of.

Sears also had a full satisfaction guarantee, how's that company doing?

 

[Sazabi19]

This post was not written to complain about my wife or to bash American made vehicles, it’s about whether or not I can trust my gladiator in the future when and if it gets fixed. I appreciate everyone’s comments and suggestions.
As far as to what anyone at the dealership can and cannot do, I’m reminded of a book I read some time ago, the biography of a country boy, Leon, from rural Maine who loved hunting and fishing. He had an idea for a new type of duck hunting boot and he borrowed $400 to finance construction of the boots and start-up of a store to sell them. Must have been good boots because they sold out quickly. Trouble was, of the boots failed but he gave every customer their money back. He was broke but earned money from odd jobs and started the boot project over. Eventually he got it right and sold boots, hats, hunting coats etc. all based on the idea that in order to succeed every customer must be satisfied. Last year the company that he founded in 1912 had over one and a half Billion dollars in sales. All based on selling good stuff and satisfied customers. I should know, the oldest and best clothes in my closet have his name on them, LL Bean.
I’m not saying that big car companies can make every customer happy, but it makes me think.

Lol as someone who isn't fashion conscious or pays attention to brands too much, I thought LL Bean was a female clothing store lol. Couldn't tell you a single 1 of their products or point 1 out in a lineup if the tag is hidden. Glad you like them though. I just get whatever is comfortable.

 

[SwampNut]

I googled it. I had no idea they weren't just some trendy women's store.

L.L.Bean
L.L.Bean is an American, privately held retail company founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company is headquartered where it was founded, in Freeport, Maine. It specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment.Wikipedia
Type:Privately held company
Industry:Retail
Founded:1912

 

[cuellar13]

There are a couple of issues here but I will only pick out 4.

1) An, meaning one American car 25 years ago having a problem doesn't make EVERY American made car a piece of junk, that's irrational at best. Japanese cars have issues also. I've had several Toyotas and I wasn't impressed with their reliability, dealer service or build quality.

2) Your salesman can't do anything to get you a part for your Jeep, that is what a Service Manger is for. Asking your salesman for that isn't going to get you anywhere.

3) Kokomo builds CHEROKEES, they are FWD/AWD vehicles with 9 speed transaxles. Our JL/JT come from Toledo, they have 8 speed automatic transmissions. Completely different parts.

4) You have to live in Metro Detroit, have a family member who works for Stellantis and a purchase history with paperwork that when stacked is 6" thick for them to pull a production part from a vehicle waiting to be built to fix your car.

I've owned 14 FCA/Stellantis products in the last 9 years, and I've got production parts pulled for my vehicles, but I contacted a regional service manager with my sales manager and pulled strings with him and a family member to get a vehicle repaired. Outside of SE Michigan this is basically an impossibility.

On a side note, my spouse would never tell me anything about a vehicle. We pool our money for shared assets in a joint account and then maintain completely separate finances otherwise. We don't ask each other how the other spends money as long as neither is asking the other for cash or failing to meet their obligations to the shared assets, which are just a house and the bills.

Its a lot simpler to arrange your finances that way, there is less fighting, because there are 0 fights about money.

I second the recommendation on spouse/finances. My wife and I do the same thing, and money only comes up during big "joint' purchases that are usually related to the house. It's awesome.

 

[Elapid]

Sears also had a full satisfaction guarantee, how's that company doing?

Yes, a very good example, they may have had a satisfaction guarantee but anyone going into one of their stores over the last 30 years, knows they treated their customers like shit. Bankrupt and gone, none too soon. There is a big difference between a guarantee and a company philosophy from the founder on down.

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