Stock Driveshaft Failure

[KurtP]

He said Rubicon take off wheels, tires and shocks. Nothing about lift except 1.5” leveling in front

Then i misread and pretty much nothing i said applies. I thought it was the rubicon suspension take off plus the puck to level it. Its ridiculous either way, of course, given that its all factory.

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[red/green hawk]

Im familiar with what it says, but

Im familiar with what it says, but also with how it works.

What the law says and how it ends up working arent the same. If the law actually worked the way it is written, the dealer would have to say “yes” to every warranty claim; and have to follow the arbitration or court process to say “no”. Yet dealer’s deny claims like this all the time, and force the consumer to spend their time and their dime to reverse the decision via an arbitration process or court action.


For folks talking about driveshaft angles: remember what you “know” doesnt matter....you have to prove it. Theyre claiming the lift caused the driveshaft to fail. Proving that the driveshaft angle is correct is a key component of refuting that.


I dont think the OP’s issue will come to any of this. I think talking some sense into people at the dealer, working with FCA, and working with JeepCares will sort this all out. Im only saying if for some reason it looks like it isnt, or is getting dicey, you need to capture on record what your driveshaft angle is.

Dealer tried telling me on a new vehicle with less than 2k miles that the reason the tranny went south was because of the oversized tires I put on. The law does not state that the dealer's claims were my burden to prove. I proved to the dealer my tranny made noise when shifting between 4th and 5th gear. That's where the consumer's responsibility ends. They tried telling me all this technical garbage why their claim was true and I said, "okay, get the service manager, dealer manager, and owner in here and prove it." They ordered a new tranny that afternoon.

I called their bluff and they knew it. I'm not saying the law says the dealer has to honor every claim. I'm saying if they say no, they have to give you a documented reason why they say no.

They have to be able to prove that one modified suspension causes drive shaft problems in 1 vehicle out of a gazillion modified Jeeps. They can't prove that because it isn't true.

I agree this issue shouldn't go to court. The OP should take it up the chain of command. I just think it's laughable dealers still try this on brand new Jeeps that are the most modified vehicles ever.

 

[Renegade]

OP- Have you spoken with the service manager yet, or just your advisor? Is there another local dealer you could take it to for a second opinion? Where’s is the “damage” on the driveshaft? I can’t see anything obvious in the pictures. How many miles are on your Jeep?

 

[KurtP]

Dealer tried telling me on a new vehicle with less than 2k miles that the reason the tranny went south was because of the oversized tires I put on. The law does not state that the dealer's claims were my burden to prove. I proved to the dealer my tranny made noise when shifting between 4th and 5th gear. That's where the consumer's responsibility ends. They tried telling me all this technical garbage why their claim was true and I said, "okay, get the service manager, dealer manager, and owner in here and prove it." They ordered a new tranny that afternoon.

I called their bluff and they knew it. I'm not saying the law says the dealer has to honor every claim. I'm saying if they say no, they have to give you a documented reason why they say no.

They have to be able to prove that one modified suspension causes drive shaft problems in 1 vehicle out of a gazillion modified Jeeps. They can't prove that because it isn't true.

I agree this issue shouldn't go to court. The OP should take it up the chain of command. I just think it's laughable dealers still try this on brand new Jeeps that are the most modified vehicles ever.

I dont think a customer saying “prove it” carries much weight at a dealer. They deal with internet lawyers all the time, and people talking about how theyll get their imaginary lawyer to sue them etc. it isnt new to them and they arent intimidated by it.

If it worked in your case great, thats what is important

 

[red/green hawk]

I dont think a customer saying “prove it” carries much weight at a dealer. They deal with internet lawyers all the time, and people talking about how theyll get their imaginary lawyer to sue them etc. it isnt new to them and they arent intimidated by it.

If it worked in your case great, thats what is important

I think saying prove it to a service advisor who more times than naught is on the same level as the parts store guy who thinks he's a mechanic will elevate the claim to someone who actually knows the law and what they can and can't get away with.

 

[RobertRinAustin]

There's some basic misunderstanding going on in this thread. The dealer doesn't provide the warranty and frankly isn't the arbitrator of what is or isn't a valid warranty claim. The warranty is provided by Jeep. If the dealer says it's not a warranty claim, what they're really saying is we won't do the work without approval from Jeep that we will be reimbursed. It also means typically they haven't seen Jeep approve these types of claims.

As mentioned previously, escalate at the dealership, but also contact Jeep.

 

[JeepCares]

I purchased an Overland Gladiator in June 2020. Only modifications on it are Rubicon take-off wheels and shocks, and a 1.5 inch spacer leveling kit in the front. I have done some light off-roading maybe 5 times since I purchased the vehicle. It is always low speed on dirt roads, nothing too extreme.

I recently started noticing the car would vibrate at certain speeds 20-25 mph. Similar sensation to driving on a rumble strip. Initially I thought i had a wheel balancing issue, but earlier this week, I was driving on the highway at 60 mph and the vehicle started vibrating and rattling noticeably louder than any of the times before. After this point, the noise was consistent and seemed to be getting worse. I managed to hobble to the dealership.

After a few days, the service department contacted me saying that my driveshaft was damaged and needed to be replaced. They are saying that they cannot cover it under warranty because the modifications may have caused the issue, citing that the new angle put may have put stress on the driveshaft.

I saw there is a recall on the gladiator driveshafts units that were assembled without grease. I did a VIN lookup and my vehicle is not listed under this recall.

I attached some photos of the damage. Is the service dept. blowing smoke, or is this damage probably my fault?

We're very sorry to hear of these concerns you're experiencing! Our team would be happy to discuss further with you, although we cannot guarantee any certain outcome here. Just send us a PM to get started.

Kate
Jeep Cares

 

[mike921921]

Here's the thing, warranty work is a revenue stream for the dealer, so the main motivation for 'denying' a claim is when they strongly believe FCA won't reimburse them. Keep working on FCA.

 

[Rollcast]

If a front spacer lift changed anything at all, wouldn't it decrease the rear driveline angle, which would actually be advantageous?

 

[Summitsearcher]

I had my IROR 2” spacer lift installed at the dealer and there was no mention of driveline angle or warranty issues. They even check the torque periodically to make sure all is good.

 

[surfingwhy]

Sorry to leave everyone hanging. Been a busy week. I returned to the dealership on Monday to try to plead my case but was told the service manager who ultimately made the decision was off-site. I left my contact information and am waiting for him to reach out to me.

In the meantime, I have reached out to JeepCares account on this forum to open a case. I will let you all know how this all plays out. Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[Mac]

That sucks, thanks for posting the info.

 

[21_GLADIATOR]

What was the result of this issue?

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