Looking for help with Jeep Service/Warranty

Hello everyone,

I am looking for some guidance or suggestions on dealing with a paint issue I am having with my Jeep. The short of it is that "Jeep" service stated that it would not be covered under warranty. I expect my next step is to get an attorney, however I wanted to get feedback from fellow Jeep owners that may have had experiences dealing with Jeep service to cover items. My apologies in advance for the long thread, just want to make sure I have all details covered as I will probably need them.

Background:

When I had cut my OEM fender flares, I had noticed that there was paint chipping right at the pinch seam right above the rock rails, on both sides on the jeep (same location on both sides). Back in September, I took the Jeep to my dealer and showed them and they stated that since they did not have a "paint service" at the dealer, I would need to take the Jeep to the next closest dealer (about 20 miles away) to have them service it. I did so and the first thing they said was that I had to take it to "my" dealer, they would take pictures and submit the claim for warranty. I stated that the previous dealer said I had to bring to you (paint service) to start the process. After several minutes of discussion, the service manager said he would take a look at it. His first response was that it would not be covered because he said the issue was the result of the rock rails that are on the Jeep. I said fine, as the rock rails are "OEM" rock rails installed. He said they were not and after walking him over to a "Hard Rock" edition jeep to show him the rock rails, he stated that he would not submit the claim and I would need to take the Jeep back to my purchasing dealer so they can handle the “headache”. I stood there amazed and confused that this was the level of customer service I was receiving. He then walked away and said he could not help me. I drove directly back to my original dealer and explained the situation, this time with the Service Manager. After much reluctance, they took a picture with an old flip phone and said they would submit to Jeep for warranty. Ok....

After 3 weeks of not hearing anything, I called my Jeep dealer 5 times to find out the status of my submission and I had never received a response. I drove up to the dealer and spoke again with the SM and he said they had not received a response from Jeep. Ok, perhaps this is possible, however I decided to now contact Jeep corporate directly to get this addressed.

After another couple of weeks, I received a response from Jeep to take the Jeep back again to my original dealer and they would have the Service Manager look at it and submit the claim (again?). I had advised that this was original done back in September, but I did so to get this item addressed. The Service Manager took a look in more detail and agreed with me that the issue was not caused by any impact, there is no dented metal and no signs that it was caused by anything I had done. He stated he would get this back on track to get the issue addressed.

Spoke with Service Manager (SM) on 11/9 and he advised me that his Area Manager (AM) had declined the service repair however would not provide a reason for the denial. I asked SM to provide me AM contact information and he stated that he could not. I asked SM if he could contact AM and have AM contact me directly in regards to the reason for the denial and he said he would.

Called and spoke with SM again on 11/13. SM stated he contacted AM and had relayed to him all of my vehicle information and details and asked to call me. He had received no response and said that he would contact AM again today.

I had not received a response from SM regarding this issue. I called and spoke with SM again on 11/23. SM had told me that he had asked for AM to contact me, however AM had not. SM e-mailed AM and AM responded that it would not be covered because of the aftermarket rock rail I had installed. My response was that was great, because the rock rail is not aftermarket and it was installed from the factory (OEM). SM said he would contact AM with that information and let me know next steps.

11/27 – No response from SM, called back and spoke with SM and he said that he sent a follow-up back to AM advising him that the rock rails are factory rails and not something that I had installed. SM stated that he had not received a response yet from AM. I asked SM to forward me the notes that were in the Jeep CAIR, as well as the e-mail response from AM stating that the item would not be covered. SM forwarded me the e-mail that reads "The customer installed the running boards where the damage is located". I sent another e-mail in to Jeep corporate customer support to have this item escalated.

12/2 – Received a call from Jeep corporate stating that she had discussed this with her senior management and had responded that there would be nothing they can do at this time. She stated that even though the Jeep buildsheet states that the rock rails are factory and that AM stated the issue was the result of the rock rails that were something that I installed, there was nothing else that Jeep corporate can do at this time and is backing the Area Managers decision.

Since the issue was identified it has continued to spread and where it used to be within the wheel well, it is not expanding out to the body more visible right below the back doors. (see pictures). I fear this will continue to expand and get worse unless it is addressed quickly.

There is no damage to the metal. There is also no damage to the rock rails that are below the damaged areas.

As I had stated earlier in the thread, I'm not sure what other options I have at this point and my only avenue will be to go the legal route, however before I do I want to ask the Jeep community if you have any other suggestions or recommendations?

I appreciate your time. Thanks!

They need to handle this. Glad you kept all the notes on the contact info (times/dates/etc). If I were in your shoes, I would speak to the General Manager of the dealer where you bought the Jeep (not the service dept manager). They are giving you the run around because they don't want to do the leg work of a warranty repair without having an in-house body shop. You should tell the general manager everything that you've been dealing with and professionally let him know that you will be seeking legal action if this is not dealt with. That's what I would do.

Your in a bad situation as the customer service on the dealership part and the corporate part is horrible. As I had to go through what you are with my torque converter blowing through the bell housing weeks after I bought my jeep. I would call the corporate office again and ask them to send you all the claims and denials they have formally done. Then take it to a lawyer. That is clear that the paint job is coming off from either poor installation of the rock rails or the paint job itself.

What's most likely going on is this: The service writers get paid commission on parts and labor for warranty repairs and customer repairs. Because they can't do the warranty work at this shop, if they create a ticket, it will most likely fall under 'sublet' which the system doesn't track as parts or labor so no one gets paid on it. When I used to write service, sublets were the worst type of work, because you have to do a ton more work and don't get paid at all for it. So that is my gut feeling as to what is going on. Either way, they should take care of the customer.

You have done everything, and I agree with the others. Get all the documentation you can in hand, Work with the GM if they can't help you then Lawyer up.

... I now need to look at my jeep/rock rails...

talk to the owner or gm and if they still deny, contact your local news media consumer affairs reporter. see if they will pick up the story and go to the dealership for you. dealerships absolutely hate this type of attention.
also contact Chrysler consumer direct and let them know what has happened and that it is not something you installed aftermarket they have proven that on the build sheet. let them know you will give them one more opportunity to make it right or you will go to the state general attorney to file a complaint and seek lemon law action. each state should have a dealership complaint at the government level to help keep dealers honest. I told the gm i would proceed with this process over an issue with another jeep and the decision to correct the issue was within 24 hours even though i gave them 2 full days.

Hello everyone, thank your for your suggestions and experience. Over the past couple of weeks I did my due diligence and contacted the Service Manager, General Manager and the dealer owner offering them the opportunity to do the right thing and address the issue. Unfortunately, I had received no responses from anyone, both when calling them directly and leaving messages on their voicemail and emailing them. Not a single return call. I honestly cannot understand why they choose to ignore any contact with me. It is unfortunate that this lack of any customer service exists. Looks like I have no other choice but to take the legal route.

Finn Sizzle said:

Hello everyone, thank your for your suggestions and experience. Over the past couple of weeks I did my due diligence and contacted the Service Manager, General Manager and the dealer owner offering them the opportunity to do the right thing and address the issue. Unfortunately, I had received no responses from anyone, both when calling them directly and leaving messages on their voicemail and emailing them. Not a single return call. I honestly cannot understand why they choose to ignore any contact with me. It is unfortunate that this lack of any customer service exists. Looks like I have no other choice but to take the legal route.

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Prior to taking legal action, if it isn't too far of a drive for you, I would go in there in person and talk to the General Manager. At least if you're in their face, the can't 'fail to return the call.' At least it would be one last attempt. I'm really surprised they're giving you that much run-around, they should be dealing with it.

WJCO said:

Prior to taking legal action, if it isn't too far of a drive for you, I would go in there in person and talk to the General Manager. At least if you're in their face, the can't 'fail to return the call.' At least it would be one last attempt. I'm really surprised they're giving you that much run-around, they should be dealing with it.

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Yep, I completely agree. I don't understand the lack of customer service.

I did stop by and speak with the GM and he is looking into it. To me it is a clear cut item. jeep stated the issue was caused by rock rail installation. Rock rails were installed by Jeep. Warranty should cover. The fact that I need to find someone who understands the concept really confuses me.

Finn Sizzle said:

Yep, I completely agree. I don't understand the lack of customer service.

I did stop by and speak with the GM and he is looking into it. To me it is a clear cut item. jeep stated the issue was caused by rock rail installation. Rock rails were installed by Jeep. Warranty should cover. The fact that I need to find someone who understands the concept really confuses me.

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I'm glad you at least made contact with someone. Time will tell if they help you or blow you off. Good luck from here. Post back with updates.

The general manager isn't going to help you... Not because he doesn't want to and it's possible he doesn't want to btw, but because he can't. Chrysler uses warranty reps that authorize these type of things and they pretty much have the final say unless you're willing to go up the ladder and make a stink.

Do you have the original window sticker? It should show those as factory installed equipment, that might help your plight. If you don't then the service manager should be able to provide you with a build sheet on your vehicle.

It looks to me like there is some body damage or dents where the paint is peeling and I'm sure thats whats causing your issue. This may make your claim pretty tough because of the checks and balances that are in place when these cars are built. The factory inspects them before they go on a truck, the truck driver makes the service rep. Inspect for damage and sign off on them when they arrive at the dealer. The technician does a pdi ind signs off on the car and then you as a consumer sign off on it at delivery. Whether or not anybody actually inspected the vehicle is irrelevant and hard to prove otherwise after the fact. This is why they are blaming you or whoever they "thought" installed the rails. A window sticker may help but be prepared for them to still blame you as it looks like actual damage as opposed to just a random spot in the hood peeling per say.

I hope you can get them to rectify but as shitty as this sounds, you may want to start weighing the cost of attorney's vs the cost of repairing it.

Blazindevl said:

The general manager isn't going to help you... Not because he doesn't want to and it's possible he doesn't want to btw, but because he can't. Chrysler uses warranty reps that authorize these type of things and they pretty much have the final say unless you're willing to go up the ladder and make a stink.

Do you have the original window sticker? It should show those as factory installed equipment, that might help your plight. If you don't then the service manager should be able to provide you with a build sheet on your vehicle.

It looks to me like there is some body damage or dents where the paint is peeling and I'm sure thats whats causing your issue. This may make your claim pretty tough because of the checks and balances that are in place when these cars are built. The factory inspects them before they go on a truck, the truck driver makes the service rep. Inspect for damage and sign off on them when they arrive at the dealer. The technician does a pdi ind signs off on the car and then you as a consumer sign off on it at delivery. Whether or not anybody actually inspected the vehicle is irrelevant and hard to prove otherwise after the fact. This is why they are blaming you or whoever they "thought" installed the rails. A window sticker may help but be prepared for them to still blame you as it looks like actual damage as opposed to just a random spot in the hood peeling per say.

I hope you can get them to rectify but as shitty as this sounds, you may want to start weighing the cost of attorney's vs the cost of repairing it.

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I understand what you're saying here but at one of the previous dealer that I worked at, when service would blow off the customers, the general manager would get shit done. That's my experience with it.

Blazindevl said:

The general manager isn't going to help you... Not because he doesn't want to and it's possible he doesn't want to btw, but because he can't. Chrysler uses warranty reps that authorize these type of things and they pretty much have the final say unless you're willing to go up the ladder and make a stink.

Do you have the original window sticker? It should show those as factory installed equipment, that might help your plight. If you don't then the service manager should be able to provide you with a build sheet on your vehicle.

It looks to me like there is some body damage or dents where the paint is peeling and I'm sure thats whats causing your issue. This may make your claim pretty tough because of the checks and balances that are in place when these cars are built. The factory inspects them before they go on a truck, the truck driver makes the service rep. Inspect for damage and sign off on them when they arrive at the dealer. The technician does a pdi ind signs off on the car and then you as a consumer sign off on it at delivery. Whether or not anybody actually inspected the vehicle is irrelevant and hard to prove otherwise after the fact. This is why they are blaming you or whoever they "thought" installed the rails. A window sticker may help but be prepared for them to still blame you as it looks like actual damage as opposed to just a random spot in the hood peeling per say.

I hope you can get them to rectify but as shitty as this sounds, you may want to start weighing the cost of attorney's vs the cost of repairing it.

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Yep, I agree with you, it is an uphill battle for sure. The thing is, there is no dents or damage to the metal where the paint is peeling at all. There is no damage to the rock rail either, basically it is a damage free area, minus the paint peeling issue. The service manager had checked the attire area as well and confirmed that assessment. I took it to a body shop as well and they told me that the metal did not appear to be properly sealed before they painted. Whether that is true or not, I cannot say, just need to take an experts word on that.

I had spoken to a lawyer about it already who reiterated to give the dealership a final chance thru the GM or dealer owner and if not addressed, he would begin his work. I don't believe in suing people over everything, I'd rather have them do the right thing here and address the issue, however if it comes down to my only option, that is the route I would need to go.

I'll keep everyone posted as it progresses. Thanks again for the support/suggestions

Finn Sizzle said:

Yep, I agree with you, it is an uphill battle for sure. The thing is, there is no dents or damage to the metal where the paint is peeling at all. There is no damage to the rock rail either, basically it is a damage free area, minus the paint peeling issue. The service manager had checked the attire area as well and confirmed that assessment. I took it to a body shop as well and they told me that the metal did not appear to be properly sealed before they painted. Whether that is true or not, I cannot say, just need to take an experts word on that.

I had spoken to a lawyer about it already who reiterated to give the dealership a final chance thru the GM or dealer owner and if not addressed, he would begin his work. I don't believe in suing people over everything, I'd rather have them do the right thing here and address the issue, however if it comes down to my only option, that is the route I would need to go.

I'll keep everyone posted as it progresses. Thanks again for the support/suggestions

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I wish you luck my friend, my only advice would be to retain an attorney that has some experience with this kind of stuff.

I agree with what everyone else said on the warranty side of this. I absolutely hate dealing with warranty issues with the dealership. Factory paint is crappy to begin with. The aftermarket rails comment should tell how little they know to start with and how little they care.

It really does look like the rock rail got pushed into the sheet metal though. It may just be the photos and an optical illusion caused by the peeling paint.

You should look at the shape of that area on another jeep, especially one without any rails. That way you can clearly see what shape it should look like. Then you will be able to tell if it was pushed in. It doesn't take much to crack cheap paint. Your rail looks really close, but they are close any way. Maybe a 1/4 of an inch. You can check that distance on any 10A, Hard Rock, ect enhanced rock rail or even any rubicon rock rail.

As I am a service manager at a SoCal Jeep dealership I can tell you that any paint warranty must be done thru Digital Imaging in dealer connect and the engineers in Auburn Hills make the call. I myself am very warranty friendly as some of you on this forum have known. 60% of my business is warranty so I welcome it all the time and as modified Jeep owner I can work ways around things. That said the pics look like something in the body has flexed causing the paint to split. Did you remove the rails when you cut the fenders ? How was the reinstallation ? I see hundreds of Wranglers and have never seen that type of splitting without some sort of damage. Did the dealer that took the pics actually submit to Digital imaging ?, because if they denied it I cannot overturn them. I can look at it if you PM me, but again if the suits denied it I cannot help....John

shoeless said:

As I am a service manager at a SoCal Jeep dealership I can tell you that any paint warranty must be done thru Digital Imaging in dealer connect and the engineers in Auburn Hills make the call. I myself am very warranty friendly as some of you on this forum have known. 60% of my business is warranty so I welcome it all the time and as modified Jeep owner I can work ways around things. That said the pics look like something in the body has flexed causing the paint to split. Did you remove the rails when you cut the fenders ? How was the reinstallation ? I see hundreds of Wranglers and have never seen that type of splitting without some sort of damage. Did the dealer that took the pics actually submit to Digital imaging ?, because if they denied it I cannot overturn them. I can look at it if you PM me, but again if the suits denied it I cannot help....John

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Shoeless, you didn't win the PowerBall by chance did you?

I've got a paint question that I'd like to PM you on if you don't mind.

Blazindevl said:

The general manager isn't going to help you... Not because he doesn't want to and it's possible he doesn't want to btw, but because he can't.

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maybe your gm cant help you at your location, but mine did everything in their power to help me. I bought a Jeep as is with no warranty about 4 weeks ago and I had a steering issue #1. They replaced the blown steering dampeners with two dual stabilizers no issues. That didn't end up being the problem though....it ended up being the draglink bushing or whatever on the passenger end was blown. I didn't want a factory one, so I opted to get it done myself and took it to NR4x4 and got a synergy high steer drag link flip installed for a really good deal.

Fast forward 2 weeks after this....my transmission completely blew going down the highway (1 1/2 months after I bought the Jeep). I called the dealership and asked them if they could help me at all because the timing was bad and I was going to be screwed coming out of pocket for a $3k+ repair. This was on a saturday (1/9/16). They paid for the tow truck to come pick it up from my Apartment complex. Called me 3 days later and told me a new transmission was on order and not to worry about it, it wasn't going to cost me anything. :thumb:

They can help you, but I guess it matters on your relationship with the dealership and past actions. They are screwing you over something very minor.

Trevo said:

maybe your gm cant help you at your location, but mine did everything in their power to help me. I bought a Jeep as is with no warranty about 4 weeks ago and I had a steering issue #1. They replaced the blown steering dampeners with two dual stabilizers no issues. That didn't end up being the problem though....it ended up being the draglink bushing or whatever on the passenger end was blown. I didn't want a factory one, so I opted to get it done myself and took it to NR4x4 and got a synergy high steer drag link flip installed for a really good deal.

Fast forward 2 weeks after this....my transmission completely blew going down the highway (1 1/2 months after I bought the Jeep). I called the dealership and asked them if they could help me at all because the timing was bad and I was going to be screwed coming out of pocket for a $3k+ repair. This was on a saturday (1/9/16). They paid for the tow truck to come pick it up from my Apartment complex. Called me 3 days later and told me a new transmission was on order and not to worry about it, it wasn't going to cost me anything. :thumb:

They can help you, but I guess it matters on your relationship with the dealership and past actions. They are screwing you over something very minor.

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Most people dont know this but all cars sold at dealerships come with a warranty, even those that are "as-is". It's called an implied warranty and the terms of this vary from state to state. Implied warranties usually only cover drive ability and maintain that a vehicle sold can and will get from point a to point b. A power window regulator or air conditioning would not be covered but things like your steering concern and transmission certainly would be as they affect a vehicles ability to drive. I believe Colorado law for implied warranties is one year from date of purchase which is why they helped you. The good news is they did help you, most will actually push you away or ignore you and hope you get tired and go away on your own so they don't have to deal with it as in the OP's case which is why I made the comment. I've seen my fair share of this believe me!

Blazindevl said:

Most people dont know this but all cars sold at dealerships come with a warranty, even those that are "as-is". It's called an implied warranty and the terms of this vary from state to state. Implied warranties usually only cover drive ability and maintain that a vehicle sold can and will get from point a to point b. A power window regulator or air conditioning would not be covered but things like your steering concern and transmission certainly would be as they affect a vehicles ability to drive. I believe Colorado law for implied warranties is one year from date of purchase which is why they helped you. The good news is they did help you, most will actually push you away or ignore you and hope you get tired and go away on your own so they don't have to deal with it as in the OP's case which is why I made the comment. I've seen my fair share of this believe me!

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oh wow....I actually didn't know that. that's good to know should I have any further problems should they not want to address them (hopefully not). :thumb: