I have a warranty issue that recently came up with my soft top. As it turns out, one of the tension straps broke, and I would like it fixed, as this is clearly due to a manufacturer's defect. Problem is, I have the Jeep lifted with 35's, so I am reluctant to bring it to the dealership where I purchased it and was thinking about bringing it to another local dealership. A few q's:

1. Will other dealerships help me, given that I did not purchase the Jeep from them?

2. Is there any way that they (the dealerships) collaborate to "red flag" my Jeep for its mods in some central database or something. Reason being, if there was/is a significant warranty issue in the future, I was just going to put the OEM wheels/tires back.

any ideas out there?

Thanks!

 

You won't have any problems. Your mods are totally unrealted to the problem.

 

any dealership "should" honor warranty work.

your soft top is unrelated to your suspension so it shouldnt have an effect on them doing the top, If the dealership is mod friendly you should have no problems whatsoever, but to answer your question about can they "Red Flag" your Jeep? There have been cases where a warranty was voided in it's entirety due to vehicle modifications. So to be blunt, you bet your ass they can if they so chose.

Case in point: ATTENTION - Chrysler WILL VOID Your Warranty if You Lift Your Jeep

 

Yes, I have seen that thread about voiding warranties. I guess my concern is not that they will deny this particular issue (soft top tension strap), but that they will deny any subsequent claim for warranty work if they see the Jeep lifted with 35's. My question is if they can red flag it for all local dealers to see, if that makes sense.

Thanks again.

 

as I said before, and that thread i referenced clearly states, YES they can red flag your Jeep and ALL dealers will see it. The flag is assigned to the VIN of your Jeep, no matter where it goes in the warranty system, as soon as they enter the VIN they will see it.

I hope that makes it clearer.


I think it sucks how they pick and chose what to cover and what not to cover, and being able to deny one part of the warranty because you changed some arbitrary unrelated part is bullshit. Yes yes, i know there are laws blah blah blah. but they dont work, and fighting it unless it is a HUGE dollar amount isnt always possible for most people, so they get away with it a LOT.

 

If Jeep operates anything like the VW dealership I used to work at, then Yes, they can flag your VIN to void your warranty. Service writers are supposed to run your full VIN through their database to see if there are any issues, such as the vehicle being totaled, having a salvage title, or having any open recalls... Hope this helps...

 

Yup...I guess that about sums it up. Looks like I'll have to deal with the broken tension strap and try to figure out how to replace it myself. Any ideas?!?!?

 

Did the strap break in half or just pop off the rivets? If it just popped off, drill out the old rivets, and replace them with new ones. You can either rivet washers to help hold the strap on, or I used the metal strapping that's commonly used to hold a water heater to some kind of support... I'm not sure what that's called, but it's about an inch wide, with holes running the length of the strap... it's made of metal that is sorta flexible. I bought it in a 10' roll. I only used about 6"

I can take a picture of the stuff when I get home, if you'd like. Or I can send you some of it, just send you some...

 

Why don't you put on stock wheels /tires and get the strap fixed? You can get them cheap on Criagslist.

 

I always called it plumber's tape.