VOIDED Factory Warranty after taking it through mud

[WK2JT]

The advice you received was solid. You most likely would have lost. Unless those new wheels and tires were the exact weight as OEM then the manufacturer would have a case that the vehicle was altered from manufacturer spec. However unlikely that your mod caused the issue, in the legal sense the manufacturer was covered from liability.

Anything aftermarket is a huge grey area when it comes to factory warranty coverage. Unless those mods are installed by a dealer and specifically designed for and approved by the manufacturer. Like a Mopar lift.

Oh man, my transfer case is going to be screwed then... I’m sure my 37’s are a little outside the OEM spec just a tad.

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[PyrPatriot]

Not to mention Jeep has a water fording depth rating of over 30".

At 5mph, not splashing through water. That causes water to go in unpredictable places with incalculable pressures (actually you CAN for each instance, but not as a general guarantee). And that looks like what happened here: hit the puddle too hard and water/mud got places it shouldnt have. Engines have been hydrolocked this way, water splashes on top of the engine, or it gets forced into the air intake.

Slow is smooth and smooth is safe

 

[Tonyzak36]

you are totally wrong, and you don’t understand the difference. Your axe analogy is ridiculous to compare to off roading in a stock off road vehicle. Last I checked the dealers don’t cover anything, the manufacturer does, the dealer gets paid for repairs. I am a manufacturers rep for multiple brands over the last 25 years.

please don’t confuse insurance (your axe analogy) and warranty repair of a stock 4x4 off road vehicle driving in the mud and shorting out the alternator due to bad placement in an off-road vehicle that could easily get soaked in a simple rain storm. Again, this is absolutely a warranty / defective issue. I guess we should only drive our Jeep’s when it’s sunny, on asphalt and when the temps are between 60-80 degrees otherwise anything that breaks won’t be covered.

So if his rear windows leaking this is now void? His wandering steering gear box is now not covered? The broken glove box latch is void etc..... totally overboard reaction by this dealer

OP, please sue them!!!

I am actually quite correct. If he chooses to sue. He will get tossed out of the courtroom faster than he was able to walk in. If any of those problems you mentioned above were directly linked to misuse. Then yes, the warranty would be voided and those items would not be covered. What planet do you live on? He took his truck out back, played in the mud, and an alternator caked in mud led directly to electrical issues. It’s cut and dry. Misuse is not covered by warranty. A warranty is not a catch all for stupidity. Just as my axe analogy. You’d be paying your deductible to get that axe hole in the door fixed. It would be your fault.

 

[PyrPatriot]

and an alternator caked in mud led directly to electrical issues.

Where did a post say/show the alternator was caked in mud?

 

[PyrPatriot]

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

You wouldn't happen to have pictures of under the hood would you? I took some of mine after mine got covered in mud more than yours did, almost no mud got on top of the engine area. It hit the hood and front of the radiator/grill, but was washed off within half an hour. I didn't hit a mud puddle like yours seemed to. Video shows the Jeep already muddy, any video of when it was clean or after that?

 

[obrianmcc]

2. I can’t understand why you’d take a new truck out and run thru the first sewer hole you could find( to each his own blah blah) even through “the commercials say I can” . I used to watch idiots in trucks driving thru the ocean too (“because I saw it on TV”).

.... yep. If it can splash over the hood it will splash under the hood.

 

[Riccochet]

.... yep. If it can splash over the hood it will splash under the hood.

The other thing they look for that's a tell tale sign it's been in soupy mud is hoses. Hot hoses expand. When those hoses get covered in mud that mud then gets trapped in the rubber when the hoses cool. Pretty much impossible to clean them. Radiator hoses are usually the snitch.

 

[Vestigo]

Not to mention Jeep has a water fording depth rating of over 30".

That is stock? Without a lift?

 

[Hootbro]

That is stock? Without a lift?

Yes

 

[PyrPatriot]

That is stock? Without a lift?

At 5mph

 

[93civej1]

so where and how is your truck now?

 

[CMac]

Well....FCA's s#it sandwich, with extra sauce, is hitting the fast lane. You guys know more delectable morsels like this are coming...stand by.

My opinion? Jeep/FCA shoulda made nice and fixed the friggin' thing from the get-go...now there's the real PR disaster.

Anyway....skip to the comments section for the real entertainment.

https://carbuzz.com/news/jeep-gladiator-driver-voids-warranty-for-driving-in-the-mud

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Make it look like new.

The golden rule of warranty repair!
I once fully detailed my water-logged, mud-covered Land Rover because of a blown-out CV joint doing donuts. “I only drive it to the grocery store on Sundays, no idea how that happened!”

 

[Wizzard005]

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. They didn't see the need to replace the radiator of the batteries.

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?

posting those picture is like kicking the bees nest , take those down and sue them. We did and a
We are happy with the outcome

 

[PyrPatriot]

posting those picture is like kicking the bees nest , take those down and sue them. We did and a
We are happy with the outcome

Those pictures have been re-quoted, shared, and published on articles/blogs. They're on FB, everywhere that mentioned this article. Removing them may be irrelevant because Jeep can probably get them during discovery, along with all the other pictures taken and not posted. Plus JeepCares may have already saved them, been reached out to and follows this thread, etc. For what it's worth, not saying taking the photos down is a bad or good idea

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