VOIDED Factory Warranty after taking it through mud

[ShadowsPapa]

When I worked at motorcycle dealerships, the absolute worst type of work was on the ATVs. Trash the vehicle on Saturday, leave it on the trailer until Tuesday(shops here are closed on Monday) and expect every thing to be fixed in less than an hour, under warranty while waiting in the lobby munching free donuts and drinking coffee. Not all will be in this scenario. Some of the enlightened ones will park the the mud puppy and wait until Spring or hunting season and expect or demand warranty coverage. Most of the personal watercraft owners are worse, attitude wise both on the water and in the shop. Sorry to hear of your troubles but was any of the damage caused by defects in materials and workmanship? Also check the owner's manual starting on page 366.

366? Trailer towing......

379 for mine............

Jeep recommends 3-5 mph for water.
If you think about it, what's mud but dirt and water, so driving over 5 mph through the sort of mud that splashes onto the roof and runs down the windows like dirty rain it asking for trouble when they specify 3-5 mph.
The sort of mud in the pics is what I consider dirty water. It's not big chunks of wet dirt, it's water with dirt in it.

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[Moe_Fugga]

I don’t know much about powertrain and mechanic shit, but that looks like a whole hell of a lot of mud that could cause issues.

From past experience with vehicle issues and shitty mechanics (had a transmission destroyed by a mechanic’s lack of filling transmission fluid to the proper amount) I can tell you that if you can prove the mud did not cause the issues that FCA is claiming then you need to get a lawyer and fight this. First step is having a reputable third party mechanic inspect the vehicle and give a professional opinion that mud did or did not cause the issues in question. Next step is to get a lawyer and fight.

Again, to an untrained eye that looks like a shit ton of mud that could cause a shit ton of problems. I know that I wouldn’t have done it. Good luck OP!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I don’t know much about powertrain and mechanic shit, but that looks like a whole hell of a lot of mud that could cause issues.

From past experience with vehicle issues and shitty mechanics (had a transmission destroyed by a mechanic’s lack of filling transmission fluid to the proper amount) I can tell you that if you can prove the mud did not cause the issues that FCA is claiming then you need to get a lawyer and fight this. First step is having a reputable third party mechanic inspect the vehicle and give a professional opinion that mud did or did not cause the issues in question. Next step is to get a lawyer and fight.

Again, to an untrained eye that looks like a shit ton of mud that could cause a shit ton of problems. I know that I wouldn’t have done it. Good luck OP!

The sort the OP went through should also be treated as going through water. MUD is thrown up by the wheels, water splashes, like the video.
That's splashing exactly like water. 3-5 mph is what the book says, they also warn of the potential for damage. (as per snip from manual)

That's WATER and IMO a tiny bit more than 3 mph, it's hitting a pool of water pretty hard.
I'd also just suggest that from the looks of the truck before it enters that water - it perhaps wasn't the first time through?

You can call it what you want, and there's mud all around that puddle, but the picture shows driving through WATER, splashing water up over the roof several feet into the air - water that's loaded with sand, silt and grit.

 

[Solidaxle]

This is a very common problem in the Challenger forums . People abuse them race them add nitrous completely void the warranty. Then they trade in. New buyer takes it in for service they say your warranty is void he says I just bought this FCA looks at the paperwork you’re right. They fix the problems scrub the history brand new car with a warranty. No problem. Happens all the time. This is only a problem because it’s your jeep your problem once you trade the jeep and it becomes their jeep no more problem. Magically FCA gets billed for the repair and everybody’s happy.
Note : This is only Works 100% of the time if you purchase the used vehicle from FCA. If they don’t get their cut no clean history.

 

[Kevin_D]

...and expect every thing to be fixed in less than an hour, under warranty while waiting in the lobby munching free donuts and drinking coffee.

Wait...
You've a powersports dealer that serves free doughnuts & coffee?
Where?
I may have to move!

Kevin

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Wait...
You've a powersports dealer that serves free doughnuts & coffee?
Where?
I may have to move!

Kevin

Dewey Dodge/RAM/Jeep had donuts and cookies and free coffee in the waiting area all the time until COVID. Now it's just free coffee (and they have a sign apologizing for the inconvenience, like lack of cookies and donuts is somehow an inconvenience? No, the free treats are an inconvenience as then I must eat them and then I get home to find I need to extend my belt out a notch)

 

[Kilroy1941]

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?

Get a lawyer, it's a jeep and you can't even drive through mud without it breaking?, that's crazy they need to stand behind their product. I'm in a less sever but similar boat with FCA just saying they won't do anything. Seems a common theme with anything FCA these days sadly.

 

[Solidaxle]

Yea, call some lawyers. They will never take this pro bono. You’ll spend a lot of $. FCA won’t lose a nickel only the customer will lose. aggravation and time. Don’t believe me call 10 lawyers see what happens. Anonymous people, Armchair lawyers sitting at home on the Internet will do you no good in the real world.

 

[mike921921]

Yea, call some lawyers. They will never take this pro bono. You’ll spend a lot of $. FCA won’t lose a nickel only the customer will lose. aggravation and time. Don’t believe me call 10 lawyers see what happens. Anonymous people, Armchair lawyers sitting at home on the Internet will do you no good in the real world.

Agree, unless the OP can find a few thousand other owners in exactly the same situation willing to participate in a class action suit, then best to chalk this one up to experience (you know experience - what you do get when you don't get what you wanted) - litigation will cost several times more than eating the cost of repairs and moving on.

 

[DocMike]

Oh....you are TROLLING all right.

Uh, so you are suggesting that my mounting a trolling motor on the tailgate is a futile effort?

 

[kevman65]

If you do get a lawyer and go to court or arbitration, be prepared to have your video and pictures and whatever they find in this and any other thread you've created online about this, used against you.

 

[Chilli]

Perhaps your case will go before a Judge who is a closet Jeeper......

 

[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?

sucks they did this to you, we sued jeep... now we have no warranty, but we got paid out, i would go after them...

 

[Renegade]

The sort the OP went through should also be treated as going through water. MUD is thrown up by the wheels, water splashes, like the video.
That's splashing exactly like water. 3-5 mph is what the book says, they also warn of the potential for damage. (as per snip from manual)

That's WATER and IMO a tiny bit more than 3 mph, it's hitting a pool of water pretty hard.
I'd also just suggest that from the looks of the truck before it enters that water - it perhaps wasn't the first time through?

You can call it what you want, and there's mud all around that puddle, but the picture shows driving through WATER, splashing water up over the roof several feet into the air - water that's loaded with sand, silt and grit.

You highlighted the wrong sentence...

 

[Riccochet]

I find it kind of funny all the people that think it's ok to abuse your vehicle and expect someone else to be responsible for the damage you caused.

Do you take a hammer to your tile and expect the tile guy to come back and replace it for free? Maybe I should expect Triton to replace my hull after I launched it off a wake and came down sideways cracking the hull. Or the time I bounced the front end of my JKR off a rock which shocked the differential basically grenading it. Damn you FCA for not fixing my fuck ups for free!

Pathetic.

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