myklt8

be sure and give your lawyer acess to the many, many posts on here about this issue, and I bet if you look on the other JK forum sites you will find many, many more.
you may also want your dealer to look at them, as well as the offroad basics part of the Jeep web site...they promote offroading. If they try to deny, this would be a nice basis for a false advertising suit as well

element981

Define "Trail Rated" I guess that means driving to the mall.

Duke

Why would you call a lawyer over something that only costs $30. You can change it yourself, so when you break on the trail you know how to fix it. I would assume the lawyer will cost you more money in the long run.

myklt8

It is not the price of the item, it is the fact that this is a bad design and possible a safety issue

wiredawg_mg

They can honestly look you in the eye and say that mud and some skid plate scratches can destroy a U-joint?

With that type of reasoning I guess it is our fault for the tops leaking because we allowed them to get wet. It would appear you need to find a more off-road friendly Jeep dealer.

adaycj

The inner and outer sections of the axle shaft are destroyed, as well as the joint. If you show me how to get one for $30 I'll take several right now. Parts and labor this type of job is in the hundreds of dollars. The socket and torque wrench do the job properly cost way more than $30, let alone the parts.

I hear ya that Chrysler (and Dana) need to step up to the plate on this one. Customers should not be in the position of having to beg, plead, and call layers to get this stuff done when it fails under warranty. Scratches and mud? Give me a break, that stuff can happen on a dirt road. I could understand if you rolled in on 37s with a Hemi or came in talking of slick rock.

Even worse is that this exact same problem exists for the Dana 30 and Dana 44 in the TJ and TJ/Rubicon models. Even worse than that? I've read this exact same scenario (declined warranty) on those models too.

If you search for "christy Steve sucks" on the Internet you can read about a guy that went to great lengths to get his axles warrantied. I made the words out of order and did not post a link, its not my story ....

rubiconjack

My fell apart slowly over a 2 hour drive. I had my 7 month old and 22 month old in the vehicle with me .. and my axle shaft had to be replaced. And still needs to be.

RokinRubi

The manager told me that they were documenting everytime I came in with a problem. He told me that they were taking pictures of the mud that they found throughout the car. I took it to them 4 times trying to get the noise coming from my brakes fixed. All four times they failed to do so. According to the law it is considered a lemon now. I ended up taking it to a brakes specialist who is my friend. He was the one who found out theaxle was bent. The manager told me that they were being nice to fix it. He also said that since there was mud underneath, scratches on the skidplates, and the winch had been used that the vehical had been used in quote "extreme offroading". This is where I flipped. He said that I was the only jeep who has had any problems with the axels or u joints. I told him he needed to do some research. What's funny is when they replaced they axel they gave me no shit at all. When I said I contacted my lawyer, I really talked to my dad who does this type of law.

I'm not saying that I'm going to take any legal action, but I know it's not right what they are doing, and they know it. I just want to know what I'm talking about when I talk to them. Also I don't want someone getting hurt over a "$30 part". I don't think I am exagerating on this one. I have always been really nice to them, but they have gone to far now.

adaycj

It is actually pretty unlikely you will be hurt if the ujoint and associated shaft parts fail. At any real speed the parts will just get smashed to bits and the wheel will still roll. It is actually more dangerous at slow speeds because the wheel can lock, and the broken parts and sliding tire could impede steering.

I see from the pictures in your other posts that you are running stock wheels and tires? If so, I would inquire with the manager about the direct cause of the joint and shaft. When he starts on "mud, scratches, ..." just ask for the "DIRECT" failure. If he says "mud" then ask about operation on muddy public roads. Any engine mods? It seems to me you have one of the clearest cases of a warranty claim I have seen. I mean, there is not even a creative explanation about additional stress from bigger tires or engine mods.

RokinRubi

Yeah, your right about the U-joint getting smashed at hi-speeds. I have to drive down a muddy road at least twice a week. He was quick to say that a muddy road couldn't kick mud up underneath it. So he's saying that I'm lying. He also said it was caked in the brakes. That still doesn't have anything to do with the U-joint failing does it?