jk_sea

I'm back! -for a moment. At roughly 32k, I got a CEL for P0302 cylinder misfire. The left-side engine ticking has grown in volume. I scheduled an appointment for the dealership to look at the vehicle on 9/13. My 5/60k powertrain warranty expires on 9/16. Now, I know the left-side cylinder head is warrantied for a lot longer.

Does this sound right/kosher/would you have objected?

Sequence of events:

1. I scheduled an appointment to drop off the Jeep.

2. I dropped off Jeep, chatted with service advisor. SA says there's a recall for power mirrors (I know, I don't care) but has me agree to it anyway. I also note the Jeep is at the 5y mark, if there's time to change coolant and brake fluid, please do that as well. "Ok, no problem!"

3. I receive a call at the end of the day of the service appointment (Jeep has been there all day). They completed the fluid flushes and recall. They had a service tech verify the noise, and yup, they also see it's a P0302. They don't have time to look at it further. Please schedule an appointment for next week...we are busy, can't keep the vehicle (no room) and can't give you a loaner vehicle. Drive it home with the light on and the engine ticking.

4. I expressed my frustration with the service manager and noted a trip to the dealership is almost 70 miles roundtrip....I was really expecting for them to look at the chief complaint. The other revenue-producing services were secondary and I told the SA the same thing, and hey btw, my powertrain warranty is up this week, so please take a look at said issue. She says they promise to cover the issue retroactively, but they can't do anything this week. She won't agree to anything in writing because they don't know what the issue is yet--a tech hasn't actually looked at it.

5. After picking up the vehicle with the CEL still on and engine ticking, $300 later for fluid exchanges, I received an automated feedback survey on my service experience. I was polite and grammatically correct, but I ripped the dealership a new asshole.

6. I received a very condescending, bitter email from Service Manager on the feedback.

7. Case opened with Chrysler customer care. Sent back an email to Service Manager stating the same, and that they will fix the vehicle next week as agreed, under supervision from Chrysler. Pls let me know if the case needs escalated if you are unwilling to work on the vehicle.

I'm a trustworthy guy in general but i know heresay does not create a legal contract for warranty coverage.
I'm also miffed that I have to sit in traffic for two hours++ to take the Jeep back to them.

What would you have done?
What do you think is going on here?
Is there any other recourse available?

akguy09

I would have done just about what you did. Too many times you here about dealerships trying not to do legit warranty work. Of course they and the techs dont make jack on warranty so I see why they do it, but you have to protect yourself as well.

jadmt

your bitch is legit. they have time for money generation services that they make a killing on but not for warranty work that they are lucky to break even on. A stand up dealer would have waited on the other items. I guess this is a good lesson for me if I have warranty work and they want to do something else. I will say sure you can change the brake fluid as soon as the warranty issue is completed. I guess if they don't have time they can forget the fluid flushes lol.

rob_engineer

I think you are handling it as I would. Such a shame that Jeep dealers generally suck. My wife has a BMW. Wow, what a different experience. They treat you like a king when your car is under warranty. They go over the car top to bottom and fix things under warranty that you didn't even know were wrong.

jk_sea

Thanks guys. This whole time the service manager is insisting this is "how the process works" and has been dismissive, unprofessional, and rude.

I know they probably don't want to deal with the issue because it makes no money. She even tried to get me to go somewhere else saying I "obviously" don't appreciate their service (what service? lol) and if I don't trust them that I should go to a different dealer.

And yes, in 5 years, my two visits to two different Jeep service departments have been horrible. I'm beginning to think the issue is systemic.

I've got Chrysler calling me on Wednesday to make sure the next visit goes off without a hitch, and I've got an email in to the GM of the dealership hoping he's got some common sense and is able to see the situation as a customer would.

jk_sea

Update: Involving Chrysler, or at least telling the dealer I did, helped. Seems the Service Manager has kinda bowed out of the situation and the service writer I'm working with now is good.

A leak-down on the left cylinder head showed the exhaust valves on #2 were trashed, so they're putting a revised head on it. Everything was going to be finished up today, until I got a call this afternoon saying the tech saw a bunch of scoring on the rocker arms and those will need to be replaced as well, so, more parts and time. I'm just glad they saw it and it's covered under warranty, no big deal on the delay. PLEASE, keep replacing parts

The customer service situation seems to have righted itself. They also put me in a loaner vehicle, which was much appreciated. At first I thought the car was a little dorky... (you know how you go to some dealerships, and they put you in a really nice vehicle in an attempt to upsell you on a nicer model) ...this is a 2016 Patriot with crank windows, manual side mirrors, stamped steel wheels. Whatever, it's transportation. BUT...the little thing has grown on me. It's fun to drive, having an actual lift gate is great for groceries and gear, it's easy to get in/out of, and even though the 2.4 is pretty wheezy, it's easy on gas. I like the boxy styling. That is to say, I probably won't be buying one - 2017 is the last model year anyhow - but it exceeded my expectations and probably sheds some light on the fact that these still sell well despite Chrysler pretty much completely abandoning them early on.