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Modified warranty problems?

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Old Dec 2, 2018 | 09:28 AM
  #1  
wayland1985's Avatar
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From: Boston, MA
Default Modified warranty problems?

Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve been back here!

The new Gladiator has my attention though: my current truck will be close to trade-in time when the gladiator comes out.

I’m curious though: in the years since I’ve had a JK, has Jeep changed anything in regards to how they warranty modified vehicles? Mopar has really added to their inventory of “aftermarket” parts: so I’m curious if they give you any grief with third party accessories now?
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Old Dec 3, 2018 | 07:02 AM
  #2  
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It is really dependent on the Dealership you use. In our area, we have a dealer that doesn't mind, and will warranty and service Jeeps with Coilover Conversions, while another local dealer doesn't service jeeps with ANY modification. I recommend looking at reviews of your local dealerships, or local Jeep Club pages to get the best recommendations. You may have to drive a little bit out of your way to talk to the right dealership, but it will save you a lot of hassle in the future.
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Old Dec 3, 2018 | 11:16 AM
  #3  
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There are laws in place for warranty as it relates to aftermarket accessories, no policy to change. Factory warranty must be honored "unless" an aftermarket accessory can be determined to be the cause of the failure.

In regards to Mopar accessories and the quantity, that has no impact to other aftermarket accessories that you may choose to put on your Jeep. The thing about Mopar accessories are that FCA has been able to test these parts on the vehicle and will therefore warranty the accessories and the existing factory parts. There's actually 2 separate warranties that get applied with a Mopar accessory. There's your factory warranty and then there's an additional Mopar accessory warranty. The Mopar accessory warranty, will cover the actual accessory part AND any damage to the factory parts which have been determined to cause damage to the factory parts. That is what is different between a Mopar accessory warranty and any other aftermarket accessory warranty. There is not an aftermarket accessory which will provide warranty damage coverage to the factory parts in addition to the actual accessory part. Aftermarket accessory parts in most cases will cover the actual accessory part.

There is also no such thing as a "mod friendly" dealership. There are just dealerships willing to take more risks than others. What happens in the warranty process is that you are obviously attempting to get a factory part repaired/replaced under the factory warranty. Your warranty is with corporate FCA, and not the dealership. The dealership acts as a broker and will file a warranty claim on your behalf, they will order the replacement parts and perform the warranty service repair. It is then up to the dealership to provide FCA corporate, further details of the failure problem and seek reimbursement for the cost of the part and the repair work from FCA corporate. If a part has very few warranty claims, then FCA corporate will ask the dealership for further investigation details so they can better understand the reasons for the failure. If the dealership isn't able to provide adequate information to prove an aftermarket accessory was not the cause of the failure to the factory part, then that dealership risks not getting reimbursed for the warranty part cost or the repair work. Some dealerships just don't want to be bothered with that risk, and others will manage it in the name of customer service but make no mistake, if further investigations are conducted and it is determined that an aftermarket installed part was the cause of failure and the cost of the replacement parts and repair work was expensive.....these so called "mod friendly" dealerships will turn on you in a heartbeat once they learn those costs will be coming out of their pocket. The warranty claims which aren't high costs to repair/replace, they're willing to take the risk that it won't get questioned further when they seek reimbursement. The so called "Non mod friendly" dealerships are the ones who have been burned by this in the past and are just making sure their azz is covered. None of them are going to beat you up over a $20-$100 warranty repair/replacement if you have mods. All of them will be cautious when you try to make a warranty claim for an engine and trans replacement.

Here is the actual additional Mopar Accessory "Warranty" you get when installing a Mopar accessory part.
https://www.mopar.com/content/dam/mo..._statement.pdf

Really, the problem isn't with the factory warranty or the dealerships. The problem is with the aftermarket parts in that they don't provide a warranty which covers damage to the factory parts.

Last edited by Rednroll; Dec 3, 2018 at 11:21 AM.
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