Full Size Jeep Network

Gotta rant a bit about an ongoing experience I'm having with a local Jeep dealer. Hoping for any insight you guys can shed. Sorry for the long post.

I've got a 2012 JK with the infamous failing driver side cylinder head. I've owned the jeep for about 3 or 4 years and it's always had a knock, always had BAD spark knock and occasionally throws misfire codes on that bank.

Within the past few months it's started going thru coolant at the rate of about a gallon per month and burns 1/2 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. There's also an ongoing "burning vacuum cleaner/rubber band smell" while going uphill. There are only 88,ooo miles on this engine. You put your ear on the shifter(manual trans) and you can hear a rhythmical knocking.

I call to make the appointment and whoever answers the phone tells me "Yup, DS cylinder head is bad. Big recall. We see these all the time, bring it in." The fellow informed me that I'd be getting a loaner vehicle free of charge.

I get to the dealer and drop the Jeep off only to find out they have no info on why I'm even there. Proceed to tell the service writer what's going on and he starts flying off the handle "That's not a recall, that's an extended warranty! Don't know who you spoke with but it wasn't us."

I go to get set up with the loaner car only to find out its a rental thru Enterprise...fine whatever. Later in the day the dealer calls back "Nothing wrong with your Jeep, BTW you're responsible for the full cost of the rental for the entire period we reserved it for." WTF!? I asked multiple times if it was free and was told it was no matter what. I retold the tech the issues the Jeep is having and he was no aware of any of the issues I'm having.

The next day I drove back to the dealer (45 miles) because they will not answer the phone, not a single person in the entire dealership! I'm told that they can't replicate the issues and I have to deal with Chrysler-Fiat customer care. Customer care was NOT helpful to say the least but they did get a case started. While setting up the case they tell me "Any Chrysler product after 2010 can be expected to burn a full quart of oil every 750 miles" and if I didn't hear back from the dealer to show up in person the next day.

The next day comes and I show up only to find they never heard from customer care, supposedly. I go over the service manager's head straight to the GM and am told that they will cover the cost of the rental and will provide several more hours of diagnostic time free of charge. Expect a call in 2 days.

2 days later nothing, no call and no results. Dealer will not answer the phone so I show up in person again and am told they've been busy, sorry, we will help in 3 days. In the meantime I get a call from Chrysler saying they can't even reach the dealership and tell me I need to go again in person to warn them Chrysler is sending somebody down from Michigan.

So I head back to the dealer and attempt to find out what's going on, the service manager is rude and literally hides in another area then pretends I don't exist. Then he tells me they have no answer for me and he didn't know who I was or what I was even there for.

I then find the GM and give him the warning from Chrysler. Later that afternoon I get a call from the dealer only to have them hang up on me and surprise, no answer when I call back! I get a call from Enterprise saying they haven't been paid yet, the rental was only for three days(even though the dealer has extended it) and I need to pay up. By this point the dealer is closed for the weekend and I can't even show up in person.

I head over this morning only to find the Jeep in the exact same place it's been for the last 2 weeks, no new mileage on the odometer and BOTH front windows rolled down and standing water in the floorboards because it's been raining so hard. To top it off the trans was left in neutral without the brake on.

I'm going back on Monday to demand my Jeep back. This is beyond BS!

What would you guys do?

Document everything and go over another dealership. Contact customer care and dictate your intentions, dissatisfaction, and that legal action may be pursued if the new dealership doesn't provide acceptable service.

DO NOT MENTION LEGAL ACTION. They will direct you to their law office and stop dealing with you directly in any way shape or form. Once you say it, they hold you to it and the only winners will be the lawyers.

Continue taking to "Jeep Cares" and have them find you a different dealership to fix the original problem as well as the damage some by the first dealership. You can file a complaint with the consumer protection bureau (state and federal), and if all else fails, hire a lawyer to minimize you're losses.

Pay no attention to me. Read this last night and I am still at:

fulsizjeep wrote:Pay no attention to me. Read this last night and I am still at:

That is exactly where I'm at right now

I don't know how you do it, but you seem to have the worst luck with vehicles and dealerships. I would suggest you go to a horse and buggy, but I am afraid of the report of it coming up lame and the cops shooting it, or the buggy loosing a wheel causing a multiple vehicle accident!

bigun wrote:I don't know how you do it, but you seem to have the worst luck with vehicles and dealerships. I would suggest you go to a horse and buggy, but I am afraid of the report of it coming up lame and the cops shooting it, or the buggy loosing a wheel causing a multiple vehicle accident!

HA! Since I got this Wrangler I figured for sure these crazy days were behind me. It's been nothing but reliable, aside from the above issues. Even with this drama it still beats owning that Duramax!

I guess it's time to LS swap all of my old stuff and drove it like I stole it.

Wow, I have never had an experience anything like this (thankfully), but that is just bad. Is there another dealership you can go to that isn't too far away?

I have seen dealers take a while to get to work, but leaving the windows down in the rain? Thats what would infuriate me.

I know a guy that had a '12, and his started to get the infamous knock sound. So he traded it in on an '18 JK, and because Wrangler resale values are so high, the cost different really wan't that much.

Next nearest dealers are about 100 miles away in various directions. I live in central Colorado.

So today no answer at the dealer and although I left messages with Chrysler and was promised an immediate call back nothing yet

Yeahbut. How many trips have you made to this guy who's only 45 miles away?

Though it seems some of those trips are in the rental.

Threads like this make one not want to buy a new Jeep. Maybe mention that to them in a roundabout way.

Grand_Wag_85 wrote:Next nearest dealers are about 100 miles away in various directions. I live in central Colorado.

So today no answer at the dealer and although I left messages with Chrysler and was promised an immediate call back nothing yet

Not sure if your interested but here's a thought.
Swing by Code 4x4 and ask them for an evaluation. Chris is a sharp guy. If you explain what's going on he will probably help somehow. Worse case you have confirmation there is an issue that the dealer should fix.

Very true. One round trip at 100 miles is better than multiple at 45.

That shop in Rifle might be worth a shot. I'm in Leadville and I don't get down that way often.

Got a call from Chrysler today, no word from the dealer but they have launched an internal investigation and had their Denver area red come out. Sounds like the dealer's excuse is that I spoke with a different dealer "who incorrectly said recall".

I'm going to pick up the Jeep tomorrow per Chrysler. They asked if I could grab it today but I'm working. Sounds like they have reached out to surrounding dealers who will assist but they haven't mentioned who yet.

Will see what happens...

At least you are getting someplace with corporate. One thing FCA has cracked down on is dealers that don't behave like they should. Our local dealer had their license ripped away from them because of the things they would do to customers.

Picked up the Wrangler today. Some very minor fireworks at the dealer and with the rental car but nothing major. Chrysler made sure I wasn't liable for anything. Sounds like a rep from Auburn Hills did in fact show up in person because of this, and the 6 other vehicles there they are dealing with thru customer service.

Inside of the Jeep is kind of nasty from being rained on and the buttons on the steering wheel now are not working. At least I've got it back!

Still going around in circles with Chrysler Customer Care. No hard concrete answers. I keep getting told a dealer will call me but that never happens.

Keep at it. I know a few people that have gone through this sort of thing with FCA, Ford, and GM. All of them had to fight, but in the end it all worked out.

Still going round and round with Chrysler customer service. They've instructed me to take it to a different dealership but every dealership I've reached out to is refusing to touch it because Chrysler customer service is involved. Now Chrysler wants me to take it back to the original dealership. Original dealership reached out to me VIA a voicemail to set up an appointment at the end of the month but whenever I try to call back there is no answer and voicemails are not returned.

Also after MULTIPLE assurances from Chrysler customer service, the dealership manager as well as Enterprise rent-a-car I got charged $700 for a rental car that I was promised I would not be liable for whatsoever.

Sound like it time to get the TV involved. Here in AZ our channel 3 has what they call "3 on your side"
and they like go after these type of people. And they stay after them until something is done.

We have a similar thing with a local news channel. They act as a sort of consumer protection thing.

This is one case for YouTube can really come in handy too, then you can just share it out everywhere. Bad press can kill a dealership, as it did with one we used to have local here (Turns out selling repainted taxis is frowned upon).

What does that tell you about the other dealers?