I think my dealer is F@&:$ing me
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 7
From: United States
Yes, I believe auto manufacturers have a vested interest in cars not lasting forever without costly repairs. Look at Tesla, they have little to no maintenance and as a result every vehicle has to be sold at sticker for them to make money. Of course there are other differences in their model, like all stores being corporate owned, but regardless parts and maintenance is big business for the auto makers and franchised dealers. Of course machines break down more as they get old, but proper maintenance can prolong the life. The question is what is 'proper maintenance.'
You say extending the service intervals has no value to Chrysler? Oil Changes on a couple million cars add up very quickly, so extending the service interval to nearly 3x the traditional accepted standard is saving A LOT of money. Add to that the fact that it's probably accelerating the wear and tear at least a little bit and they're cutting costs and while increasing the need/demand for parts and repairs. Maybe it's cynical of me to think that way, or maybe you're just naïve. All I know is that my Infiniti, serviced every 3k or less lasted 227k with not a worry in the world when I sold it. My parents' cars, from 7 series to Range Rovers and Suburbans have always just been serviced based on the extended intervals and they've all had major problems. Maybe it's the Japanese build quality that kept my Infiniti going, but I've seen plenty of Infinitis fall apart when not maintained.
You say extending the service intervals has no value to Chrysler? Oil Changes on a couple million cars add up very quickly, so extending the service interval to nearly 3x the traditional accepted standard is saving A LOT of money. Add to that the fact that it's probably accelerating the wear and tear at least a little bit and they're cutting costs and while increasing the need/demand for parts and repairs. Maybe it's cynical of me to think that way, or maybe you're just naïve. All I know is that my Infiniti, serviced every 3k or less lasted 227k with not a worry in the world when I sold it. My parents' cars, from 7 series to Range Rovers and Suburbans have always just been serviced based on the extended intervals and they've all had major problems. Maybe it's the Japanese build quality that kept my Infiniti going, but I've seen plenty of Infinitis fall apart when not maintained.
JK Freak
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 830
Likes: 1
From: LI, NY
perhaps not major in the sense of catastrophic failure, but major in the sense that their dealers charge thousands of dollars to fix them. The BMWs, a 2001 740 and 2007 750, were both serviced using BMW's included maintenance at BMW's recommended intervals and they both have had a couple problems with the cooling systems(I don't remember what exactly). The 750 had a good size oil leak and needed the valley pan and a bunch of gaskets replaced(was like a $6k bill at the end). The newer Rovers we tend to get rid of sooner, but have a 95 county that was maintained using traditional standards and still runs pretty strong at 154k and our 1998 which we had until 2 years ago and maintained regularly was pushing 170k when we got rid of it with no issues even though head gaskets are a very common an issue on the 4.6 P38 Rovers. Our 2003 Rover was an absolute disaster, but it was an August 2002 delivery so it was one of the first new ones - totally related to build quality. Our 2006 on the other hand was much better. We got rid of that one around 50k miles and a few months later I came across it on ebay with a fresh engine. Tried to get in touch with the owner, but didn't hear back from him.
no one here seems to agree with me and that's fine. I'll service my Jeep like I always have and you guys can service yours however Chrysler tells you to. It doesn't matter to me and I'm not going to continue to argue about this on here.
no one here seems to agree with me and that's fine. I'll service my Jeep like I always have and you guys can service yours however Chrysler tells you to. It doesn't matter to me and I'm not going to continue to argue about this on here.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 7
From: United States
perhaps not major in the sense of catastrophic failure, but major in the sense that their dealers charge thousands of dollars to fix them. The BMWs, a 2001 740 and 2007 750, were both serviced using BMW's included maintenance at BMW's recommended intervals and they both have had a couple problems with the cooling systems(I don't remember what exactly). The 750 had a good size oil leak and needed the valley pan and a bunch of gaskets replaced(was like a $6k bill at the end). The newer Rovers we tend to get rid of sooner, but have a 95 county that was maintained using traditional standards and still runs pretty strong at 154k and our 1998 which we had until 2 years ago and maintained regularly was pushing 170k when we got rid of it with no issues even though head gaskets are a very common an issue on the 4.6 P38 Rovers. Our 2003 Rover was an absolute disaster, but it was an August 2002 delivery so it was one of the first new ones - totally related to build quality. Our 2006 on the other hand was much better. We got rid of that one around 50k miles and a few months later I came across it on ebay with a fresh engine. Tried to get in touch with the owner, but didn't hear back from him.
no one here seems to agree with me and that's fine. I'll service my Jeep like I always have and you guys can service yours however Chrysler tells you to. It doesn't matter to me and I'm not going to continue to argue about this on here.
no one here seems to agree with me and that's fine. I'll service my Jeep like I always have and you guys can service yours however Chrysler tells you to. It doesn't matter to me and I'm not going to continue to argue about this on here.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 244
Likes: 0
From: Southeastern, PA
I had some problems with a dealer when I was looking to buy my Jeep. I wrote to the Chrysler CEO about my ordeal. Someone high up on the food chain handled my complaint and gave me 12 oil changes to utilize within three years. First was at 1000 miles and then every three months since, whether it needs it or not. Not even a blink from the dealer I'm using now, milage has been under 3000 miles each time. Once the free time has passed I'll go with 5000 or 5 months. I ride a motorcycle a lot so racking up miles on the Jeep takes awhile.
JK Junkie
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 3,697
Likes: 2
From: Grosse Pointe, MI
This is timely: MSN Autos just ranked the top 15 used cars to avoid (based on data of failures and complaints). 2007-2012 JKs all made the list! Congrats to Chrysler for finally getting a win.
Let me give my too reason for not following the manufacturers recommendations. You can't trust the factory to do it right the first time.
Example (and I'm one of many): manual trans noise started at 8k miles on my 2013. At 10k I decided to change the fluid (tell me what the maintenance interval is...). Yep, half full from the factory and the fluid was not high quality.
Maybe it would have died in warranty, maybe not. Maybe they'd blame me and not cover it. I also saw the crap fluid that came from my diffs after 5k miles. None of it gives me optimism in the recommended interval. Sure, say you don't care and you have a warranty. Do you really want to be the guy driving to the dealer every week swearing something is wrong, but no one hears it? Or dropping it off for 5 different repairs that never fix the issue?
I always used to say "the engineers know what they're doing, so follow the recommendation." Yeah, BS. I've lived in MI many years of my life and half my business connections are big 3 employees. While certainly not malicious, having too much faith in engineering is not warranted.
Let me give my too reason for not following the manufacturers recommendations. You can't trust the factory to do it right the first time.
Example (and I'm one of many): manual trans noise started at 8k miles on my 2013. At 10k I decided to change the fluid (tell me what the maintenance interval is...). Yep, half full from the factory and the fluid was not high quality.
Maybe it would have died in warranty, maybe not. Maybe they'd blame me and not cover it. I also saw the crap fluid that came from my diffs after 5k miles. None of it gives me optimism in the recommended interval. Sure, say you don't care and you have a warranty. Do you really want to be the guy driving to the dealer every week swearing something is wrong, but no one hears it? Or dropping it off for 5 different repairs that never fix the issue?
I always used to say "the engineers know what they're doing, so follow the recommendation." Yeah, BS. I've lived in MI many years of my life and half my business connections are big 3 employees. While certainly not malicious, having too much faith in engineering is not warranted.
JK Freak
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 845
Likes: 3
From: Scituate, MA
My 2008 oil change light came on at just over 3k. Not sure why, but did that a few times, now it displays after longer miles. If I were you, change it and an OEM filter yourself, but DON'T reset the sequence. Now the light will come on from 1 mile to a few thousand depending on when it was going to do it. If it comes on in a few miles, just wait until you want it changed and take it in with the light on. You'll have to put up with the single "ding" and change oil light for this time frame. You'll be happier and so will your JK. Future oil changes can be you do one, they do one etc etc.
JK Freak
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 548
Likes: 0
From: United States
The one real reason I never used the free oil changes or state inspection at the dealer I bought it from is that I found out they are not mod friendly. Brown-Daub in Easton, PA will tell Chrysler if you mod anything. Plus they look for things that you have to pay for, and give a hard time on warranty work.
I had a girl friend take a Grand there for free inspection. They told her it needed front brakes. Her boyfriend and I had just put front brakes on it two months before. They were giving her a hard time, so I drove over, and they relented.
Free at a dealer isn't ever free, even if you pay for extra oil changes. I would use one of those lube places either. Find a local garage you can trust if you can't do it yourself.
I had a girl friend take a Grand there for free inspection. They told her it needed front brakes. Her boyfriend and I had just put front brakes on it two months before. They were giving her a hard time, so I drove over, and they relented.
Free at a dealer isn't ever free, even if you pay for extra oil changes. I would use one of those lube places either. Find a local garage you can trust if you can't do it yourself.
JK Newbie
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Plymouth, Vermont
I purchased my 2013 JK in September, and by mid December I had 2,200 miles on it. Deciding to put it in the garage for the winter (so much salt on the roads, I don't want it to rust out prematurely), I went to a Jeep dealer....not the one I purchased it from, because he's over 150 miles away, to get my oil changed.
No problem. The dealer changed it and put the sticker on the windshield, reminding me to have it changed again at 6,000 miles.
You won't void the warranty by changing your oil...even if you have the dealer do it and pay for it. You're still eligible for your free maintenance when the scheduled miles roll around.
No problem. The dealer changed it and put the sticker on the windshield, reminding me to have it changed again at 6,000 miles.
You won't void the warranty by changing your oil...even if you have the dealer do it and pay for it. You're still eligible for your free maintenance when the scheduled miles roll around.
JK Freak
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 571
Likes: 1
From: Seattle
For your "free" oil changes the dealer should provide you with a coupon book. each coupon is good for 1 oil change at ANY Chrysler dealership.
If the one you bought your Jeep from is bugging you, find another one. Warranty and service contract is good at any Jeep dealer.
Dealer changed my oil and filters at 500 miles then every 3,000 since it was brand new off the showroom floor in 2007.
No questions asked whatsoever.
My new 2012 Rubicon gets the same exact treatment, first oil change at 500 miles then every 3K.
This little small displacement, high revving V6 pushing 5,000 lbs just loves fresh oil.
If the one you bought your Jeep from is bugging you, find another one. Warranty and service contract is good at any Jeep dealer.
Dealer changed my oil and filters at 500 miles then every 3,000 since it was brand new off the showroom floor in 2007.
No questions asked whatsoever.
My new 2012 Rubicon gets the same exact treatment, first oil change at 500 miles then every 3K.
This little small displacement, high revving V6 pushing 5,000 lbs just loves fresh oil.
JK Junkie
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 2,191
Likes: 6
From: Boston, MA
Jeeps (Wranglers) are always on these lists. They aren't cars. No car gets modified or used the way they do. It's the nature of the beast.