Chrysler Admits Warranty Work
Was Wrongfully Denied

What a pleasant surprise.  As I was promised by Chrysler, a refund check for the full amount I was made to pay to have an exhaust manifold leak repaired back in March was in fact issued and I received it in the mail yesterday.

For those of you who haven’t been following my ordeal, this repair was something that should have been covered under warranty but was wrongfully denied due to a restriction that I currently have on my Jeep’s VIN.   Apparently, a negative customer evaluation I made against Tuttle Click Jeep in Irvine, CA, last year resulted in them getting “dinked” (from what I have been told, a form of punishment resulting in financial loss) by Chrysler.   And, being that Chrysler has a policy of NOT keeping customer evaluations confidential but rather, purposefully shares them with dealerships along with specific customer details, Tuttle Click Jeep was alerted to who gave them this review and they in turn issued the restriction as a way to retaliate against me.

Unfortunately, once your vehicle has been flagged with a restriction, your warranty is effectively voided.  Chrysler will try to tell you otherwise and suggest that all it does is require a dealership to closely inspect and make a review of all the aftermarket modifications made to your vehicle prior to performing any warranty work but, the reality is, this is not true at all.  In the eyes of a dealership, all they will see is that your vehicle no longer has a warranty – PERIOD.  At least, this what I was told and what happened to me and the ONLY way I was able to get Chrysler to review my case was to be diligent and make phone call after phone call after phone call and it was only until the last call I made that I was finally told that I needed to send a written letter to their headquarters in Michagan.  In the end, this is the only thing that worked and ultimately resulted in an apology and a refund check.

That’s right, contrary to what some of you may think, it was the letter I sent to Chrysler that made all the difference and NOT the phone calls, this website or anything that I may have written on it.  In fact, I hadn’t written a thing about my Jeep’s VIN being restricted until several days after I was informed I would be getting a refund check.  And, the only reason why I finally decided to write about my experiences is because I felt an obligation to inform as many people as I could of what can happen to them if they made the mistake of submitting a negative customer evaluation to Chrysler regarding their dealership.  Again, these evaluations are NOT confidential, they are purposefully shared with your dealership and they can and WILL be used against you. As I’ve said many times before, when in doubt, you’re better off just keeping your mouth shut.  Is this fair?  Not in the least and I can’t tell you how troubled I am knowing that the company responsible for making the vehicles I love so dearly and the brand I am so passionate about would have policies in place that can hurt their loyal customers in this way.

As of now, I have nothing I need to have fixed and being that I have been refunded in full for the work I was wrongly made to pay, I’m not even out a dime.  However, I still have a restriction on my Jeep that was clearly given out of spite, has no merit for it’s existence and so long as it remains, I will continue to do what I can to have it removed.

9 Comments

  1. Wish you best Eddie. Don’t give up and continue to keep all of us on JK-Forum and Project-JK informed as you always do.

    Thumbs up !

  2. You know, I live over in RSM and I bought my Jeep from Tuttle Click in Irvine. I have visited their service dept. many times, and have never received anything than the worst automobile service ever, They are cheats, liars, and money hungry. I can guaran-damn-tee you that I’m not buying another product from those a–holes.

  3. Well this is a step in the right direction! Hopefully you will get your ‘restriction’ removed. So does this mean that having an after marketed Jeep you will now receive warranty service? Provided that they inspect and make their review?

    Thanks

    Max

  4. So I was in my local Jeep dealership picking up some parts for my TJ and couldn’t resist visiting the showroom. There, on display, was a brand-new JK with Jeep installed Skyjacker lift and some obnoxious rims and oversized rubbers. I am curious about what would happen with waranty work on this vehicle?!

  5. Funny you mention the Skyjacker Lift. I just purchased a 2010 JK 4 door and the parts manager ASKED me if I was interested in putting a lift on it. My reply, “Wouldn’t that void my warranty”. He said, “not if we put it on”. They quoted me price on a Rough Country Lift Kit and said they would honor my warranty as long as I bring it back to them.

  6. WOW… I am going through the same thing. I purchased a 2010 Rubicon with a 2.5 Rubicon express lift on it. I took it into Faricy Boys today it had a torn driveshaft boot. I was told that by the service rep that they will not cover under warranty … because the jeep has a lift on it. I am so lost for words..

  7. Had a simular issue with a restriction put on my truck. Still fighting it. My email to the dodge dealership.

    I’d like to give you a little history on me so you know where I’m coming from. I have owned 5 new Dodges over the last 20 years, a Caravan, a Stratus, a Compass and two Dakota’s; 4 from one dealer that has since closed its doors ( Burlington Dodge). I had a 99 Dodge Dakota for 11 years,

    I now own a 2011 dodge Dakota So Dec 22nd on the way to work my truck started to make what sounded to me like a drum brake rubbing. I looked at it and ruled out the brake issue and was thinking more a drivetrain issue.
    I called the closest Dodge dealer as I was out in the Andover area. Bill Deluca dodge was the closest and also closest to my house.
    I told him where I thought it was coming from and told him I had the 5 year 100,000 warranty on the drive train. Steve, the first service manager I spoke with told me no problem can you have it towed here and we will take care of you.
    I had the truck towed and received a call the next day from Kevin, the other service manager, who was very rude and said “ya it’s the transfer case�. I said ok well that’s under warranty go ahead and fix it. He replied “No it’s going to be around $2,600.00�. I said WHAT? He said “yep warranty is no good, you have a plow on it�. He and I got into a debate about the plow voiding the warranty. I said “it can’t be I asked this question when I bought this truck�. He did not care and was a total jerk.

    I told him don’t do anything I need to get more info. I called the Dodge 800 number and asked them if I could put a plow on the 2011 Dakota 4×4 (I did not get into specifics, I just asked a generic question). They said no it would void the warranty. I asked them why, what is the issue as I have one on my 99 Dakota. They said it has to do with the Airbag sensors. So I said “then it has nothing to do with drivetrain?â€? They said “no but it still voids the warranty. At this point there was no restrictions on my truck.

    I called Portsmouth Dodge Tuesday morning Dec 23rd. I tell them what has happened at Bill Deluca Dodge and what I have found out from the Dodge hotline. They ask me if I can get the truck to them so they can take care of it. I said I don’t want to drive it and cause more damage so I will have to have it towed from Haverhill MA to Portsmouth NH. I had it sent down there and got a call from Tom the next day saying he does not think it’s the transfer case but something wrong in the transmission. He also said that someone put a restriction on my truck voiding the warranty so he can’t fix the issue without having the restriction removed.

    I have owned this truck for two years and last year was the first year plowing my personal driveway, but let’s put the plow aside for a minute. I have never had any transmission or drive train issues on any of my vehicles and can’t see how plowing my personal driveway for one season could cause this kind of issue.

    Now i have my issues with Portsmouth dodge and there sales people for lying to me about the plow to sell me a truck. I will be dealing with them with the BBB and Attorney General and Dodge Motor corp who i have already have two complaints on file.

    The issue i have with your dealership is Steve K and Kevin. First Kevin He has no customer skills and is very rude on the phone. He answers the phone and just says hello or ya? No name no nothing.. You ask his name and he gets a attitude. He was very rude and the first thing out of his mouth when i called back with my direction and I quote “I HOPE they are not going to try and fix this under the warranty are they?â€?
    Why would this be the first thing this guy would ask me?

    I said i don’t have a clue what Portsmouth dodge is going to do.

    Now as for Steve K if i even knew he worked there i would not have even had my vehicle sent there. He is my brother in Laws Brother and there has been a family issue going back over 15 years now. I was told by Portsmouth dodge and the dodge company someone at Bill Deluca does not like me. You have to go out of your way to put a restriction on a vehicle and it usually happens when a invoice for work has been created. It’s not a click of a button. They have to go out of their way to do it. They did not do any work on my truck they said to me it’s the transfer case well it was the transmition. Steve K brought his personal family issues to this dealership and went way out of his way to stick it to me. He and i have already got into a crap match on a phone call there. Well i will be picketing this dealership and if i can stop 1 ,2 or 3 sales that’s what 20,000 to 30,000 a vehicle x 3 = 90,000 all for sticking to me for 4,000. I will then have made my
    point. Steve K and Keven should both be fired for being unprofessional , un ethical and bringing personal issues to your dealership. To boot they miss diagnose what was wrong with my truck,

    I expect a response as they did nothing illegal or against and rules and I would have to agree with you.

    But they were unprofessional , un ethical and bringing personal issues to this dealership. That is the part I have issue with.

    That and I now have a truck with 0 warrenty on it. Why because of deceaving unprofessional, unethical car dealerships. Dodge has lost a very loyal customer.

    Who in there right mind buys a $25,000.00+ Truck then voids the warrenty?

  8. Would you please post/email me the letter you sent to Chrysler? I am in the process of writing one and I would like to have a template of an effective letter to them.

    @Bob Shea, was your letter effective at solving the problem?

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