VOIDED Factory Warranty after taking it through mud

[mstrav73]

Oh, so I guess the giant mud puddle was in the middle of the road on the way to work and he didn’t intentionally go out of his way to drive through large mud puddles. Ignorance isn’t a defense. You should educate yourself on the fact that mud can and will destroy your vehicle BEFORE taking it out back and beating the brakes off it in a mud pit. It’s really not an apples to oranges comparison. He partook in an activity that had a high chance of damaging his vehicle. Just as if I was to swing an axe at my door. Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD. To expect the dealer to cover your poor choice and misuse of your vehicle under warranty is unreasonable.

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!!!

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[WhatExit?]

Rule #1: NEVER post stupid acts on the internet.

Fixed it for ya

 

[Chilli]

Intersting points & arguments from both views.

After four jeeps I will say that this Gladiator appears to be the most delicate of what we have owned.

Our 1982, J20 has been across the Rio Grande many times w/o any issue.
Our 1995 YJ has equalled if not passed the J20's splash through.
Some of these crossings have been muddy. Some have been carried sideways by the current but still managed to climb out onto the other bank.

Point here is that seeing the OP's little video of his playing in that pathetic little dirty water puddle & then it resulting in all this warranty drama, suggest FCA should consider not deploying this video as evidence of abuse.

Many of you have made some fine points.

I am not in either camp of the on going debate.

However all this energy could be focused in a better direction. . . . .the OP is not a bad guy.
He has learned an important lesson here & I hope he will repair his equipment & get out on the trails.

Now, you good folks have a great season w/ your families

 

[Jeeperjamie]

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!!!

Please op sue them so you can lose and waste money. You totally have missed on this one. Caking mud inside of a alternator, not water, is not going to be covered by warranty. If you make stupid decisions and it cost you your warranty that's on you. The same thing happened to people who used the Superchips and bricked their Jeep's. They fixed the bricked jeep under warranty, flagged them and nothing else was covered, that's how it works. If you don't know that maybe read up on warranties and how they work. They don't void part of it, they void the entire thing. That's the main reason why a lot of us wait until it's out of warranty to really beat it up, or we take caution and use good judgement when we do take ours off road. A a warranty is a privilege to have not a pass to go do dumb crap and then think you should just get it covered under warranty.

I did use a Superchips flashpaqs on my old JKU and I always reset it back to factory when having something looked at on it while it was under warranty. I also knew that if they found out I had it with a tuneninstalled that it would void my warranty. Same as I knew that if I put 40's on it and my transmission went out that I may or may not get it covered under warranty. Know of more than one person that has happened to as well. It's just common sense

 

[jenkij]

In the manual under driving through water it does say: Driving through water may cause damage that may not be covered by the new vehicle warranty. It also says the key to crossing is low and slow in first gear or drive with the TC in 4L with a constant speed of 3-5mph. Since it died in the process, they can look at how fast you were going, what gear it was in, where the TC was, where the gas pedal was, etc…. And with the connect services that come with the new truck, that information is likely logged outside of the vehicle as well (vehicle health report). I think it’s a stretch the way they market it that can lead you to believe that some types of extreme driving is covered by warranty, but actually it’s really not. When it comes down to it, the warranty is for defects in material and workmanship, not against damage. It is insured against damage though, maybe your insurance will total it, or fight the manufacturer for you.

 

[mstrav73]

But his rig is bone stock and he drove it through a mud puddle!!!

He didn’t slam an axe through his door (insurance issue)

he didnt put 35” tires on it and have a ball joint fail as a res

didn’t us a tazer or chip and fry the transmission as a result of extra power/ harder shifting

It’s just like the gladiator on their commercials having fun doing what Jeep’s are for, off roading

how can you test if a part will fail if you don’t use it? Don’t dare use the lockers then as that’s not allowed until warranty is up, totally ridiculous mentality

why buy a new Jeep and not “use” it until warranty is up? Then why even buy new or under any kind of warranty. Heck let’s do away with warranty and not hold any brand accountable for their designs. Warranty is part of what we pay for when we buy new, if they don’t want to cover bone stock rigs, then we should get a credit for not providing us our due coverage. If they void your warranty in 5 days and never cover a claim (especially something not associated in any way) then that’s def a lawsuit and money owed back to the buyer as a result of this reduced value of his vehicle and will get all associated damages as a result.

Again, this is a brand new stock Jeep the failed driving through mud puddles in the first week of its life, it’s a defective design and all our rigs need splash guards from factory or we could have same issue and be left stranded, even in a rain storm this could easily happen and penetrate the alternator causing a short.

 

[CMac]

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.

Ah...machinations of the free market at work. Make enough noise about a shitty OR unsupported product, OR both...whether it’s toilet paper, computer hardware, processed cheese product or a $60,000-go-anywhere truck, aka JEEP....and eventually the people with enough money to buy these goods will explore other options.

The power of the pocketbook can be just as brutal to manufacturers as a bunch of lawyers...however, it may take longer for the loss of market share to be realized.

I hope Jeep is listening here. I am a Jeep guy and have been for 40 years...I wanna see Jeep win.

 

[CMac]

Am I the only one not missing the point here? I don’t think the OP has any issue with the repairs needed from going through the mud not being covered, it was that MONTHS later when he went in for other issues he found his entire warranty was essentially canceled. Most of the comments in this thread are basically saying he got what was coming to him. Ya’ll crazy.

I would be very interested to know at what point and what criteria determined the entire vehicle warranty should be voided because this guy splashed through some puddles. I bought this truck and the Rubicon model specially because I have every intention of using it for it’s off road capabilities. Do I expect that if I bend or break something while off-roading that it will be covered? No. But would I expect to be able to bring in my truck for other warranty issues and have them covered? Yes.

Yes, all this, exactly...there needs to be a disclaimer at the very beginning of this thread...Mr. Fahrenheit’s post here would cover it perfectly.

The issue is NOT the no-warranty-fix on the alternator...it‘s the voided warranty on the entire truck. Then, adding insult to injury, the bull$hit triangle between the two involved dealers and FCA.

 

[Riccochet]

Driving through mud slowly to get through it is one thing. Plowing in to it at speed thereby forcing mud in to places that were not designed to handle mud is another.

You think they're stupid at dealers? That they haven't seen their share of vehicle abuse by Wrangler owners? Bringing in a vehicle where the entire engine bay is covered in mud is abuse. There's no way to warranty pretty much anything in the drivetrain or electrical system from that point forward. I suppose they could have only voided the drivetrain and electrical system warranties. Just so you can go get your broken glove box door replaced.

 

[mstrav73]

Yes, all this, exactly...there needs to be a disclaimer at the very beginning of this thread...Mr. Fahrenheit’s post here would cover it perfectly.

The issue is NOT the no-warranty-fix on the alternator...it‘s the voided warranty on the entire truck. Then, adding insult to injury, the bull$hit triangle between the two involved dealers and FCA.

exactly, they could pull this crap on a transmission failure while towing in a wind storm. A power window motor that failed due to window tint. Engine failure due to rear cargo rack. Where does it end? This could set precedence and any of us could go through similar and be out of pocket huge bucks.

This guy bought a new Jeep with a full warranty from factory and our purchase price includes this coverage, to void the entire vehicle is a loss in value to the vehicle owner of this vehicle and they owe him the damages or credit as a result of this. Jeep needs to step in and make this guy whole again.

We also need to be aware of these shady dealers pulling this crap because they didn't get to repair it so they got jealous and put this in his vin file for others to see. Whose to say they even diagnosed it correctly and that Jeep should have reviewed this failure to make sure the rest of us aren't left with potential defective design issues as a result of this happening.

File Law suit, BBB complaint, internet shaming of the dealer, written letter sent certified to service mngr and dealership operations / business mngr. I would also require a written reply / print out as to why its voided so I can take it to my lawyer as this just lowered the vehicle value.

 

[mstrav73]

Driving through mud slowly to get through it is one thing. Plowing in to it at speed thereby forcing mud in to places that were not designed to handle mud is another.

You think they're stupid at dealers? That they haven't seen their share of vehicle abuse by Wrangler owners? Bringing in a vehicle where the entire engine bay is covered in mud is abuse. There's no way to warranty pretty much anything in the drivetrain or electrical system from that point forward. I suppose they could have only voided the drivetrain and electrical system warranties. Just so you can go get your broken glove box door replaced.

So our axles are junk driving through a mud puddle? Drivers door hinge? tailgate strap? drivers seatbelt latch? Shift handle? rear cab gasket? stearing gear box? Folding rear seat cushion? C'mon, they cant do this.

Think about what they are doing, you cant void a warranty on entire vehicle even if they deny coverage for one item, they just cant and we as consumers cant let them.

 

[Mac]

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!!!

Just curious, have you looked where the alternator is located in the Gladiator? The alternator couldn't be in a more protected location, it is mounted at the highest point possible on the front center of the engine. If the alternator is getting messed up there is a lot of other stuff below it that are as well.

Instead of spending money to sue put that money towards an aftermarket warranty.

 

[kevman65]

Fixed it for ya

Yeah, but if you abide by my #1 then you don't have to worry about your #1

 

[kevman65]

You guys are funny.

You think your interpretation of FCA's warranty is what will stand up in court.

Trust me, they have more suits that write the warranty up than you could ever figure on.

You have your opinion and that's great. But your opinion on this case will lose in a Court of Law.

Not the first time something like this has happened, won't be the last.

The really bad thing for the OP, his JT is now flagged on CarFax and whatever other systems out there that report this stuff.
He will never be able to trade it and may have a hard time selling. It is tainted goods and the computers know about it.

 

[Riccochet]

So our axles are junk driving through a mud puddle? Drivers door hinge? tailgate strap? drivers seatbelt latch? Shift handle? rear cab gasket? stearing gear box? Folding rear seat cushion? C'mon, they cant do this.

Think about what they are doing, you cant void a warranty on entire vehicle even if they deny coverage for one item, they just cant and we as consumers cant let them.

They're doing what any manufacturer would do with any vehicle that was purposefully abused. They can no longer guarantee pretty much anything mechanical on that vehicle for the purposes of warranty. When multiple systems are compromised the entire vehicle is deemed unwarrantable.

You gotta pay if you want to play has been a Jeep mantra for as long as I've owned Wranglers. And that's 30 years. Lines need to be drawn. Mud has been and always will be a no-no when it comes to warranty. That shit can get in to everything and cause problems. I learned my lesson years ago when soupy mud got in the fuse box and shorted everything out.

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