crzytrekker

Please direct me elsewhere if I am posted in the wrong venue. Have a warranty question. It appears this has been a big issue for a few members of the forum.

I opted for the 100K extended warranty when I purchased my 2007 JK Unlimited in 2006. Currently have about 80K on my Jeep. Routinely drive off road. Went to Moab in April with a group and Elephant Hill put a nice dent in one of my stock skid plates. Said dent is about 6" diameter and 1/2" deep. Driver error. Skid plate did its job.

Took the Jeep in for oil change and rotate tires today. Asked the service rep to also have my steering/front suspension checked due to a lack of "smoothness" in the steering (barely noticeable). After servicing, the service rep told me that the steering shock has a small leak and that I could also use a new front crank seal. The dealership quoted $237.00 for the steering shock and $295.00 for the front crank seal. As I drove away I thought, "wonder if that stuff is covered by my warranty?" I will go home and check my warranty paperwork.

Question for the Forum: Assuming this is all under warranty, will the dealership deny me warrnty work due to the obvious off road use? I use my Jeep as a daily driver and am therefore conservative (low and slow) when going off road. But the last time I was in Moab I did a few trails at the upper end of my Jeep's capability. If I had to guess, I would say that the Moab trip might have something to do with the steering shock and the front crank seal. But that's what the Jeep is for, right? What do you think?

myklt8

as with all things warranty, it depends on your dealer. they should cover it, but might not want to. you have to then decide if it is worth the fight.
if they do not cover it, get an aftermarket steering stabilizer, they are trying to rape you on the amout they are charging to install that thing

crzytrekker

mykilt8,

Thanks, if the dealership will not cover it under warrnaty then I will go to High Performance 4x4 in Denver and see if they can do the work with aftermarket parts. Hopefully the dealership will stand up though...

isolated1523

This kind of brings up a different point than most of the other warranty questions, does it not? The majority of those denials have been because of modifications (lift, etc) not because of trail use...correct me if i'm wrong (i'm in afghanistan and dont have my manual/warrantly lol) but i thought the wrangler warranty was one of the few that actually covers off-roading, as long as its not deemed "extreme"??

crzytrekker

Good point. My Jeep isn't lifted and all steering/suspension parts are original.

JKlad

Yeah, I've found that whether it's lifted (or otherwise modified) or not makes more of a difference to the service dept than it's offroad use.

I drowned my JK up to the top of the headlights when I got stuck in a muddy waterhole, so I took it to the dealer to get all the fluids changed; paid for it myself as it was my stupid mistake. A month or so later my ABS motor & module failed due to internal short-circuting caused by water (the unit was completely submerged for an hour or so) & they replaced it under warranty no questions asked even though the electrical connectors were full of dried mud. The amp on my infinity sound system also died shortly afterwards (hangs low under the dash, so it was submerged too) & they also replaced that under warranty even though there was evidence of water in it too.

Meanwhile a friend had his JK in to the dealer for a rear diff problem & Chrysler did a lot of stalling because he had a 3" lift and they claimed this must have contributed to the problem. (they eventually approved the warranty work to be undertaken but it took several weeks and a lot of phone calls to Chrysler Service to get anywhere).

jason0341

What a f-in joke these dealerships are. Do they not know you can get a high-end aftermarket SS along with the relocation bracket for way less. It always baffles me on how much they hike the rate on their crappy ass parts!

sintaur

I'd like to hear what the dealer says when you walk him over and point to the factory-installed "Trail Rated" medallion on the side of your Jeep...

crzytrekker

Great points. I have this one in the bag. Considering JKlad's story, the dealership shouldn't have an issue with my off road use. I will walk the service rep over to my "Trail Rated" medallion if there are any issues! Thank you.

warlord

they way chrysler is going now they will concider that bump at the bottom of your driveway before you touch street "extreme offroading"