Warranty Denied Due to Modifications

[ShadowsPapa]

One then has to sue on their dime in a federal civil court to enforce the Magnuson Moss Warrant Act. They play a who has more money game.

And as my son pointed out when studying such things, this sort of thing, warranties, rebates and so on, companies have long studied this and know that only about 20% follow through with things.
He said one reason companies can offer such huge rebates on things where you need to save a receipt, fill out a form and so on is that less than 1/4 of people actually do.
That follows through to this, as well - do you have the TIME and money and other resources, or do you have a full-time job, family, and other things to tend to? What's more important to you?
They know few will play the game.
(he took some business courses, then his wife got a degree in business management and things like this came up in the classes)

You should have seen the 7th floor of the Principal Financial Group headquarters building - mostly attorneys, and the furniture in each office was probably more expensive than all of the assets some members here have.

One of the local offroad shops wrote an article about this very thing lately. Lays out some key points, including the fact that the burden of proof is on the dealership to prove your aftermarket parts caused the failure.

It is.
But in this original case - is it a shy dealership just pushing away more complex business and all that it involves?
There are some shops - and I've talked to them here - who will either give an outrageous estimate on things, or come up with some other trick, to get people to go elsewhere because they don't want to mess with such things.
The dealer can be caught in the middle and it costs them time and time is money.

I deliberately price my work so high that I don't have to deal with crap - and get only customers who don't send me junk to work on, and who really only want the best, and will never complain about prices.
You want a $50 starter? fine, go to autozone if you think $175 for one that will outlast your car, you put on one one time and is 100% correct for that vehicle is too much to pay. I don't need that customer.
Some shops will do that to keep things simple. It's like some body shops these days won't do anything other than insurance work. A collision shop here asks you right up front - who is paying?

MAYBE the OP ran into a shop that just doesn't want the headache of the back and forth between pissed owner and Jeep who makes their own demands.

(I'm one of the 20% - I will fight them on principal)

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[Zachanadandy]

Yes that all true. But I did state if all other parts have not been changed. Meaning especially the bump stops, that would especially interfere with the specific valving within Mojave shocks. The biggest issue will be with the driveshaft angles in the new range of travel, plus brake lines might be too short. The straight axles in the Gladiator and Wrangler make this easier without interfering with outer prop shafts like in independent suspension, that are shorter with more critical angle wear.

The OP stated they run the AEV kit, even if you did the bare minimum Google search you'd know that the kit did in fact address all of your potential excuses for the dealer including the rear carrier bearing spacer to address the driveshaft angle. Nothing is needed up front until your front shocks exceed 28". Even with the 2" shock extensions the shocks aren't near long enough to allow enough droop to damage the front driveshaft or the brake lines. That kit didn't contribute to the front bumps stops leaking period.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

2" lift won't see any issues with lines or shafts.

The fact was in context of what I posted, about independent suspension, that the Wrangler and Gladiator doesn’t have to deal with.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The fact was in context of what I posted, about independent suspension, that the Wrangler and Gladiator doesn’t have to deal with.

Yes.

A 2" lift on my car would cause no end of troubles - axles operating waaay out of range (and they are CV axles), brake lines, and you'd be taking the control arms so far out of normal operating range you'd never get camber or caster even close to correct.

Ford has taken care of some of those issues with the Bronco - some really creative engineering and "fixes" for taking the control arm swings way out of normal parameters.

Brake lines are easy to deal with, but the geometry of the front suspension of IFS - that takes some real doing.
With SLA front suspension, you swing the upper arm down xx" and it moves INWARD a lot farther than the lower arm moved down the same amount in an arc. You have some serious camber issues.
To keep things in specs, AMC had to move the lower control arm down quite a bit using a different front cross member, very different shaped lower control arm (and boxed it in) and a taller knuckle to keep the upper arm out level at curb height.
Ford has been even more creative with the Bronco.

Takes very little to bump a Jeep JL or JT up a couple of inches - takes some serious effort on anything with IFS.
And that's why some people actually swap out the IFS and put Jeep axles under the front of certain cars I deal with.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

Yes.

A 2" lift on my car would cause no end of troubles - axles operating waaay out of range (and they are CV axles), brake lines, and you'd be taking the control arms so far out of normal operating range you'd never get camber or caster even close to correct.

Ford has taken care of some of those issues with the Bronco - some really creative engineering and "fixes" for taking the control arm swings way out of normal parameters.

Brake lines are easy to deal with, but the geometry of the front suspension of IFS - that takes some real doing.
With SLA front suspension, you swing the upper arm down xx" and it moves INWARD a lot farther than the lower arm moved down the same amount in an arc. You have some serious camber issues.
To keep things in specs, AMC had to move the lower control arm down quite a bit using a different front cross member, very different shaped lower control arm (and boxed it in) and a taller knuckle to keep the upper arm out level at curb height.
Ford has been even more creative with the Bronco.

Takes very little to bump a Jeep JL or JT up a couple of inches - takes some serious effort on anything with IFS.
And that's why some people actually swap out the IFS and put Jeep axles under the front of certain cars I deal with.

Yea my last two trucks were Colorado 2016 Ext Cab 4x4 Z71 V6, then 2019 Colorado Crew Cab 4x4 V6. In both I compromised at a 2” leveling system from Bilstein, using 5100 struts/shocks, that were designed 2” longer overall, but same compressed length. That really tightened up both ends while making them more comfortable and resistant to bottoming out. All for under $800 installed.

 

[Craig Ruskaup]

Hi All,

2021 Mojave owner here with a Mopar Maximum Care extended warranty. I was recently denied on a warranty claim on the hydraulic front jounce’s (read as bump stops) that the Mojave’s have. Both driver and passenger sides are leaking heavily at this point.

My Mojave has an AEV 2” spacer lift and was denied due to “modifications”. While I understand that the suspension is modified, the kit is designed to work around the factory shocks, springs, and bump stops without any interference. The kit does a good job of this. Also will note that I’ve had warranty work done previously with the same modifications installed, however, the repair was based around an axle failure.

What I’d like to know is if there is any sense in trying my luck at a different dealer for the same repair. I assume they will go through the same process of submitting to Stellantis for warranty coverage, but would like to understand if anyone has had luck switching dealers and getting approved on the second try.

if dealer submitt

 

[CJRAY]

Hi All,

2021 Mojave owner here with a Mopar Maximum Care extended warranty. I was recently denied on a warranty claim on the hydraulic front jounce’s (read as bump stops) that the Mojave’s have. Both driver and passenger sides are leaking heavily at this point.

My Mojave has an AEV 2” spacer lift and was denied due to “modifications”. While I understand that the suspension is modified, the kit is designed to work around the factory shocks, springs, and bump stops without any interference. The kit does a good job of this. Also will note that I’ve had warranty work done previously with the same modifications installed, however, the repair was based around an axle failure.

What I’d like to know is if there is any sense in trying my luck at a different dealer for the same repair. I assume they will go through the same process of submitting to Stellantis for warranty coverage, but would like to understand if anyone has had luck switching dealers and getting approved on the second try.

I believe that the Mopar Extended is actually handled 3rd party, so it may do no good to try another dealer, however, when I had my oil cooler and transmission pan gasket replaced, they asked the advisor if it had a lift, and I told him it had a 3". He said the warranty guy said "oh, that's not a big deal. I can't believe he was honest. If you hod of told me no, I would've had to have pictures." They covered it without issue.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I believe that the Mopar Extended is actually handled 3rd party, so it may do no good to try another dealer,

We pretty much suspect it was the dealer taking a glance, and saying no thanks - not any contact with warranty administrator.
Some just take one look and decide they just don't want to mess with modded vehicles. Others don't care - especially if they are getting paid.

This isn't so much a "who administers the warranty" as "this dealer just won't mess with mods".

There is also nothing but a bit of time to lose in trying another dealer who doesn't care about mods.

Unless the dealer actually bothered to do more than just look and say no, it's in the dealer, and another try at another dealer is worth it.

There was no indication that a dealer actually bothered to call the warranty administrator or go any farther than looking and saying no thanks.

 

[georamorim]

Hi All,

2021 Mojave owner here with a Mopar Maximum Care extended warranty. I was recently denied on a warranty claim on the hydraulic front jounce’s (read as bump stops) that the Mojave’s have. Both driver and passenger sides are leaking heavily at this point.

My Mojave has an AEV 2” spacer lift and was denied due to “modifications”. While I understand that the suspension is modified, the kit is designed to work around the factory shocks, springs, and bump stops without any interference. The kit does a good job of this. Also will note that I’ve had warranty work done previously with the same modifications installed, however, the repair was based around an axle failure.

What I’d like to know is if there is any sense in trying my luck at a different dealer for the same repair. I assume they will go through the same process of submitting to Stellantis for warranty coverage, but would like to understand if anyone has had luck switching dealers and getting approved on the second try.

Always try a different dealer. I had the rusty hinges issue. One dealer said nothing can be done under warranty, another welcomed me with open arms and repaired even more than I was expecting.

 

[Pots&Pans]

Closing this one out - the second dealer I went to replaced the jounces under warranty. Took forever to get the parts in and schedule a loaner, but it’s done!

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