Warranty Denied Due to Modifications

[RoamingGladiator]

My personal opinion is if you modify a part of your vehicle, understand that it will likely be difficult to get any warranty done for that part of the vehicle. I've completely replaced my suspension and steering, upgraded to 37s. I fully expect if theres any issues with my axles they will void it, which is fine, pay to play.

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[Hootbro]

I disagree.

I am OK with that.

AEV's business model is to supply a complete system that works within warranty parameters and meets the needs of the vast swath of enthusiasts who want a turn-key warrantied package that they can take to a single dealership for service rather than a laundry list of parts that may or may not work well together from varying aftermarket suppliers who may or may not be in business if a part fails and someone dies because of it.

I think that falls in line with what I said about "turn key"

 

[Jrgunn5150]

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act protects you, the consumer, from nonsense like this. If the dealer won't honor the factory warranty they have to prove that the failure was due to the aftermarket part.

Going a bit off topic here in my reply...

All the forum Magnuson-Moss talk sounds good on a screen, in reality, it's extremely rarely successfully invoked, or invoked at all.

Most are resolved one way or another far outside of a courtroom anyway.

No one is getting a lawyer to try to enforce Magnusson-Moss on a 300.00 bumpstop, or jumping through the hoops with the CPB or any other legal stuff, people have jobs, lives, can't dedicate 18 months and thousands of dollars and vacation days to pursuing a denied claim, or in the case, a simple refusal of work.

All sounds good on the forum, easy to say, in reality people might try a couple other dealers, maybe call Jeep cares, maybe make a social media post in hopes of some grace from Jeep, and in the end, they'll just cope.

My deleted Ecodiesel Ram was a fine example of that, HPFP recall, not a single dealer in the state of Michigan would touch it. Walk right out with a mirror on a stick, look underneath, and go sorry, we're not doing it.

Every forum and Facebook group in the world insisting they had to, didn't change the fact that they wouldn't, out in the real world.

Nor did I hire a legal team and take it to the Supreme Court for my 9 year old, 445,000 mile truck. I simply replaced the HPFP myself, submitted a claim for reimbursement, and moved on. And no one from the peanut gallery rabidly insisting the dealers HAD TO helped me, physically or financially, oddly, they were nowhere around at all.

 

[Stan H]

For the record, but don’t think it matters much, this was a 2” AEV spacer lift, installed by a shop, after the Jeep was purchased new.

2” spacer, 2” bump stop extension, 2” shock extension. It all works around the jounce.

Again, not disagreeing with the decision to deny the claim. Was just looking for feedback on if it’s worth it to bring it to another dealer. That along with some of the other feedback I’ve received means I’m going to give it a shot and report back here.

If it was me I would go with upgraded jounce and not even fool with those factory ones as your lifted there and more than likely need more help anyway. Why go back with an inferior product

 

[WILDHOBO]

I disagree.

AEV's business model is to supply a complete system that works within warranty parameters and meets the needs of the vast swath of enthusiasts who want a turn-key warrantied package that they can take to a single dealership for service rather than a laundry list of parts that may or may not work well together from varying aftermarket suppliers who may or may not be in business if a part fails and someone dies because of it.

While the hodgepodge approach works well for the "enthusiast who can piece together better for less" that percentile of owners accounts for almost a rounding error when compared to the number of vehicles produced and those vehicles that were modified beyond lightbars and wheels.

We might be able to assemble a great package - and some of use can install these parts - but the average consumer who may not even hit a fire road during their ownership tenure are the target market for companies like AEV.

I hear you, but short of their wheels, I don’t think much of their stuff is even that good. It’s expensive and mediocre.

 

[Pots&Pans]

Going a bit off topic here in my reply...

All the forum Magnuson-Moss talk sounds good on a screen, in reality, it's extremely rarely successfully invoked, or invoked at all.

Most are resolved one way or another far outside of a courtroom anyway.

No one is getting a lawyer to try to enforce Magnusson-Moss on a 300.00 bumpstop, or jumping through the hoops with the CPB or any other legal stuff, people have jobs, lives, can't dedicate 18 months and thousands of dollars and vacation days to pursuing a denied claim, or in the case, a simple refusal of work.

All sounds good on the forum, easy to say, in reality people might try a couple other dealers, maybe call Jeep cares, maybe make a social media post in hopes of some grace from Jeep, and in the end, they'll just cope.

My deleted Ecodiesel Ram was a fine example of that, HPFP recall, not a single dealer in the state of Michigan would touch it. Walk right out with a mirror on a stick, look underneath, and go sorry, we're not doing it.

Every forum and Facebook group in the world insisting they had to, didn't change the fact that they wouldn't, out in the real world.

Nor did I hire a legal team and take it to the Supreme Court for my 9 year old, 445,000 mile truck. I simply replaced the HPFP myself, submitted a claim for reimbursement, and moved on. And no one from the peanut gallery rabidly insisting the dealers HAD TO helped me, physically or financially, oddly, they were nowhere around at all.

THIS.

Exactly as you said. Zero chance of raising a legal case here. Also very unlikely I’ll go any further than I already have. If I get denied again, no biggie. It’s modified and understand the decision.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

AEV is pretentious, over priced hype for people who believe that price is the single deciding factor in quality, experience, or usability.

Allows the guy who maybe parks up on a sandy berm at the country club to tell all his Grenadier friends about how he spent 5k for a bumper, because that's really what he wants to do, brag about how much he spent... Yep, it was a lot, but gotta pay to play, knowhatimsayin yuk yuk yuk

 

[WILDHOBO]

AEV is pretentious, over priced hype for people who believe that price is the single deciding factor in quality, experience, or usability.

Allows the guy who maybe parks up on a sandy berm at the country club to tell all his Grenadier friends about how he spent 5k for a bumper, because that's really what he wants to do, brag about how much he spent... Yep, it was a lot, but gotta pay to play, knowhatimsayin yuk yuk yuk

Finally. Thank you. I’ll never buy a single part from them.

 

[Pots&Pans]

Hey now!

AEV is pretentious, over priced hype for people who believe that price is the single deciding factor in quality, experience, or usability.

Allows the guy who maybe parks up on a sandy berm at the country club to tell all his Grenadier friends about how he spent 5k for a bumper, because that's really what he wants to do, brag about how much he spent... Yep, it was a lot, but gotta pay to play, knowhatimsayin yuk yuk yuk

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Up to 15 now I see -

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act protects you, the consumer, from nonsense like this. If the dealer won't honor the factory warranty they have to prove that the failure was due to the aftermarket part.

Also, aftermarket parts manufacturers and installers have a "shadow warrranty" that covers their parts and install, and, theoretically, any damage done that was caused by the failure of their parts or the incompetence of their installers.

that act gets tossed around as if it's cut and dried and is always going to favor the consumer, yadda yadda yadda.
It's for replacement parts.
once you modify outside of normal engineering or operating parameters, you can't just lean back on that "act" and assume.
Yes, there's a certain burden of proof, but it's more for "I used a Walmart oil filter that meets or exceeds specs" or "I used Valvoline hypoid lube in my differentials instead of MOPAR fluid" - as long as it meets specs or does the same job in the same way, you are fine.
But start tossing in parts to take it outside of the normal parameters, you can get into trouble.
Yes, MOPAR sells 2" lifts for Jeeps - and as long as you keep it in alignment specs, and all other angles are good to go, you can use any lift that does the same thing without worry. But take it higher, or deviate from their specs for clearances and alignment - they can charge you a diagnostic fee and repair costs if they find your stuff took it out of specs and caused damage.
We can't see the exact parts here - but as long as that lift meets all of the proper criteria, bum stop spacing/clearances, it's kept out of spring binding, there's no excessive hitting on the stops, caster is in specs, then you are fine.
But that act gets tossed around as if saying "You can do whatever and they can't deny coverage" isn't quite right, either.
The truth is in the middle - you are fine IF your parts have not taken it beyond what Jeep does with their own parts. Put in a 3" lift and cause u-joint issues or vibrations or wandering - it's on you, not Jeep. You are operating outside of normal design parameters.

That act also protects the manufacturer if you read the fine print. Prevents idiots from doing stupid things and blaming the wrong person.
It was originally intended to allow people to use memory upgrades, processor upgrades, 3rd party video cards and so on in computers, and grew out from there.

In this case, I think the original points are being lost in all of the "but...but....but that warranty act!!!" bits.
It APPEARS that - The original dealer saw a spacer lift, and just didn't want to get involved.
It may very simply be a matter of another dealer. There is only one way to find out and 100 posts on the topic won't change that fact - he needs to try another dealer, maybe 2. THEN go from there.
Otherwise, it's a lot of assuming, cart before the horse, and tossing about an act that may not play into this at all.

As long as the sum of the parts keep that thing inside of the normal operating parameters and specs - it's fine.
If only PARTS of a lift were used, or, if certain parts were ordered and installed but recommendations for other parts were ignored - it's not so fine.
But it sounds like this was a complete lift, all parts were used in the right place in the right way - it's a shy dealer.

 

[TheSolarWizard]

Not according to the law, the dealer/manufacturer has the burden of proof that the modification caused the problem.

are you suggesting taking them to court to plead your case over $450 worth of parts?

 

[TheSolarWizard]

that's exactly why another major suspension company has been approved for both dealer installation and 100% warranty approval through Jeep, after a year of dynamic handling and durability testing. Jeep is ready to level up with stuff that actually works well. I'm not gonna say who it is but if I know about this well in advance of the official announcement some of y'all can surely figure it out

I disagree.

AEV's business model is to supply a complete system that works within warranty parameters and meets the needs of the vast swath of enthusiasts who want a turn-key warrantied package that they can take to a single dealership for service rather than a laundry list of parts that may or may not work well together from varying aftermarket suppliers who may or may not be in business if a part fails and someone dies because of it.

While the hodgepodge approach works well for the "enthusiast who can piece together better for less" that percentile of owners accounts for almost a rounding error when compared to the number of vehicles produced and those vehicles that were modified beyond lightbars and wheels.

We might be able to assemble a great package - and some of use can install these parts - but the average consumer who may not even hit a fire road during their ownership tenure are the target market for companies like AEV.

 

[Sweetums]

are you suggesting taking them to court to plead your case over $450 worth of parts?

Did you read my previous post? Not every legal dispute needs court, a complaint to the appropriate state agency is enough to make a dealer do what they know they are supposed to do 90% of the time. The hassle of having an oversight body crawling up your backside over $450 is way more than just doing the right thing and getting the customer out the door.

 

[Zachanadandy]

If it was me I would go with upgraded jounce and not even fool with those factory ones as your lifted there and more than likely need more help anyway. Why go back with an inferior product

The aftermarket ones are made to work with a stock jounce tube that you then cut down. Looking at the mojave and it's bolt on setup i think the hole might be too big for mounting the aftermarket style without some fabrication and/or welding. I'm also not sure the aftermarket fox bump stops are any stronger than the factory mojave ones. For those reasons I'd likely either find some mojave take offs or have the stock ones rebuilt.

 

[Ordnanceman20]

Bite the bullet and upgrade....easy choice

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