Help! Brakes failed on 2 day old 09 certified/Pre-Owned JKU. Legal Issues!?
07-20-2011, 05:41 AM
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Help! Brakes failed on 2 day old 09 certified/Pre-Owned JKU. Legal Issues!?
Long story short, 3 days ago I traded in my 07 Wrangler 2dr X for an 09 Sahara Unlimited 4dr with 28,6xx Miles on it and picked it up 2 days ago, Monday afternoon. The Sahara was Certified/Pre-Owned, so I expected little to no defects with the truck.
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, driving towards my friends house with with another buddy riding with me. Put the windows down, heard a slight grinding sound, like the pads were slightly rubbing the discs while driving. Did not think of it at all as any problem?... 5 minutes go by, and we're at a red light. Light turns green and I accelerate. I go NOWHERE. The truck is at an absolute stand still, and I'm wondering WTH can this be, a large pothole I'm stuck in or something? I proceed to put the truck into neutral (Truck is auto, btw) then put it back into drive and wait a second until I give it gas again. This time, the truck jerks as if I just got rear ended by a small car going very slow and next thing I know, I'm rolling on the road with my brakes NOT WORKING. The pedal went all the way back, and it BARELY stopped the jeep. I pull into a parking lot directly to my left and park the truck, get out and realize the lower right passenger side tire is going flat as well. What could this be? I look under the truck and the calipers/pads are IN THE WHEEL WELL wedged somehow in between the shocks and wheel well I believe.
From there, got the jeep towed to the service/parts location. Waiting for a phone call this morning. Question is though, can I turn this into a legal thing? I mean, this truck wasn't even in my possession for more than 35 hours when this happend and I thought it was Certified/Pre-Owned, meaning 125 pt. check and inspection!?!?!? I was on the highway 10 minutes before this happend, and my brakes could have failed and tire could have gone flat there. It was not a pleasent experience.
Thoughts?
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, driving towards my friends house with with another buddy riding with me. Put the windows down, heard a slight grinding sound, like the pads were slightly rubbing the discs while driving. Did not think of it at all as any problem?... 5 minutes go by, and we're at a red light. Light turns green and I accelerate. I go NOWHERE. The truck is at an absolute stand still, and I'm wondering WTH can this be, a large pothole I'm stuck in or something? I proceed to put the truck into neutral (Truck is auto, btw) then put it back into drive and wait a second until I give it gas again. This time, the truck jerks as if I just got rear ended by a small car going very slow and next thing I know, I'm rolling on the road with my brakes NOT WORKING. The pedal went all the way back, and it BARELY stopped the jeep. I pull into a parking lot directly to my left and park the truck, get out and realize the lower right passenger side tire is going flat as well. What could this be? I look under the truck and the calipers/pads are IN THE WHEEL WELL wedged somehow in between the shocks and wheel well I believe.
From there, got the jeep towed to the service/parts location. Waiting for a phone call this morning. Question is though, can I turn this into a legal thing? I mean, this truck wasn't even in my possession for more than 35 hours when this happend and I thought it was Certified/Pre-Owned, meaning 125 pt. check and inspection!?!?!? I was on the highway 10 minutes before this happend, and my brakes could have failed and tire could have gone flat there. It was not a pleasent experience.
Thoughts?
07-20-2011, 05:48 AM
#2
JK Junkie
No one was injured right? Just a little bit of inconvenience. The dealer that sold you the "certified" Jeep should make good on the repair / towing / etc.
I have always found that if you keep your cool and act professional things will go much smoother and sometimes they are willing to go above and beyond to make it right.
If they don't make this right then yeah I would seek legal advice.
Just my .02
I have always found that if you keep your cool and act professional things will go much smoother and sometimes they are willing to go above and beyond to make it right.
If they don't make this right then yeah I would seek legal advice.
Just my .02
Last edited by OH9JK; 07-20-2011 at 05:51 AM.
07-20-2011, 05:51 AM
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No one injured, thank God. When this happend I rolled into a parking lot beating the oncoming traffic on the other side of our green light. The towing was covered by AAA so I'm not too concerned with that, like you said though- I know they should definitely make good on the repair.
07-20-2011, 05:56 AM
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I would push a mopar gift card for the hassles 
They hand them out like its nothing when it comes to customer satisfaction. Talk to sales manager not some sales person
They hand them out like its nothing when it comes to customer satisfaction. Talk to sales manager not some sales person
07-20-2011, 05:59 AM
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No one was injured right? Just a little bit of inconvenience. The dealer that sold you the "certified" Jeep should make good on the repair / towing / etc.
I have always found that if you keep your cool and act professional things will go much smoother and sometimes they are willing to go above and beyond to make it right.
If they don't make this right then yeah I would seek legal advice.
Just my .02
I have always found that if you keep your cool and act professional things will go much smoother and sometimes they are willing to go above and beyond to make it right.
If they don't make this right then yeah I would seek legal advice.
Just my .02
It would make me wary to have a problem like that, especially that soon after buying it. Someone probably did some shabby work on the brakes with caused a string of problems with the esp, flattened the tire, etc. Fixable? yes, but I'd try to get something out of them for the inconvienence factor at least.
07-20-2011, 12:33 PM
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I must say that the absolute LAST thing you should be thinking about is "legal issues."
Anything, repeat ANYTHING mechanical can have problems. I would guess that your dealer will make good on this repair, and possibly some sort of accommodation for your problem/inconvenience.
Nobody was hurt. Why would you be thinking of "legal issues" right away?
If, on the other hand, the dealer does not fix the problem to your satisfaction (very unlikely), then the very last option would be "legal issues."
Mistakes happen. Problems happen. Things happen. Any reputable dealer will be honest and upfront about fixing a warranty problem.
"Legal issues" are the last resort.
Mabar
Anything, repeat ANYTHING mechanical can have problems. I would guess that your dealer will make good on this repair, and possibly some sort of accommodation for your problem/inconvenience.
Nobody was hurt. Why would you be thinking of "legal issues" right away?
If, on the other hand, the dealer does not fix the problem to your satisfaction (very unlikely), then the very last option would be "legal issues."
Mistakes happen. Problems happen. Things happen. Any reputable dealer will be honest and upfront about fixing a warranty problem.
"Legal issues" are the last resort.
Mabar
07-20-2011, 04:04 PM
#7
No one was hurt. That's the important thing.
Now, for my side of the story. I'm a mechanic. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I work on heavy construction equipment. No matter how careful you inspect something, YOU CAN'T SEE THROUGH METAL !
Stuff breaks, we can't see into the future. All we can do is deal with what we can see and test.
Or, it could be sloppy work by one of their mechanics. We'll never know.
The dealer should take care of it. I'd make sure I had new brakes all around.
Enjoy your jeep.
Now, for my side of the story. I'm a mechanic. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I work on heavy construction equipment. No matter how careful you inspect something, YOU CAN'T SEE THROUGH METAL !
Stuff breaks, we can't see into the future. All we can do is deal with what we can see and test.
Or, it could be sloppy work by one of their mechanics. We'll never know.
The dealer should take care of it. I'd make sure I had new brakes all around.
Enjoy your jeep.
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07-20-2011, 05:39 PM
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The caliper came off and got wedged in the shocks?? This is probably why the tire went flat too. Obviously they didn't bolt it back on properly or tight enough. They owe you BIG TIME for nearly killing somebody... then they owe you some more. That's just fundamental service... ALWAYS make sure you have the customers' stuff bolted down good before you give the vehicle back.