CPO Warranty Dishonored

[doctord43]

What is the name of your state?Nevada
In February we bought a CPO car at a Las Vegas dealership. The powertrain warranty was 7 years/100,000mi. No problems until we had put about 14,000mi on it and we were on vacation in Idaho. The rear driveshaft broke. We brought it to the closest dealer. They had to wait well over a week for the part because of a national back/order. We got the car back and drove home without problems. After another 2,000mi, we were visiting our kids in California when it broke again. We brought it to Lake Elsinore CDJR who put another driveshaft in after another week+ wait due to national back/order. It broke while the mechanic was test-driving it. They kept the car another 3 weeks not knowing what to do. Finally, a couple of days ago, they sent me a text message saying the car was in an accident at some point and the chassis is off by 1/4". Since we never had an accident, if this is true, this must have happened at the selling dealer in Las Vegas. They say this is no longer a warrantable repair. What do I do now?

 

[justalayman]

What is the make and model?

 

[doctord43]

2016 Grand Cherokee Summit Ecodiesel

 

[justalayman]

Well, to qualify for cpo status there must be no frame damage. Since the dealer now states there is, I think Jeep may have a problem to deal with.

Did they provide you with a carfax report when you purchased It? Obviously carfax is not guaranteed to be accurate and often isn’t but it is a source of info.


I have not discovered anything regarding the driveshaft being a problem but the fact there is a national back order, it makes one wonder if there isn’t some inherent problem. I cannot see a driveshaft breaking from the initial test drive due to the issue you have described. That makes me even more curious as to whether there is an inherent problem with the drive shafts in general.

I would contact fca. I would think there is contact info in the owners manual providing contact info for a zone rep.

 

[doctord43]

Well, to qualify for cpo status there must be no frame damage. Since the dealer now states there is, I think Jeep may have a problem to deal with.

Did they provide you with a carfax report when you purchased It? Obviously carfax is not guaranteed to be accurate and often isn’t but it is a source of info.


I have not discovered anything regarding the driveshaft being a problem but the fact there is a national back order, it makes one wonder if there isn’t some inherent problem. I cannot see a driveshaft breaking from the initial test drive due to the issue you have described. That makes me even more curious as to whether there is an inherent problem with the drive shafts in general.

I would contact fca. I would think there is contact info in the owners manual providing contact info for a zone rep.

Thanks,
I have contacted FCA Customer Care. Big run-around. They say they'll have someone call back, but they don't.
I've asked for contact info for their area rep. but they say that's confidential information!*! The most I've found out is that his name is Adam. I get the impression that Chrysler wants me to sue the selling dealer, but if they think the dealer screwed me, why don't they take action?!?
I'm at the end of my rope. As much as I hate lawyers, I might have to go that route.

 

[justalayman]

The problem with suing the dealer is they do not stand behind the warranty, fca does.

Was it the 877 IAMJEEP phone number you called already? If not, that is their customer care number

http://customerconnect.custhelp.com/app/fiat/b2c_detail/a_id/18141/~/fca-us-llc-customer-care---contact-information

 

[NeilTheCop]

If it's a driveshaft that connects the transmission to an axle a 1/4" offset in the frame would not cause the U.J's in a driveshaft any problems.
What part of the driveshaft is breaking?

 

[justalayman]

If it's a driveshaft that connects the transmission to an axle a 1/4" offset in the frame would not cause the U.J's in a driveshaft any problems.
What part of the driveshaft is breaking?

While I’m not in total agreement, I too believe there is something more than this misalignment causing the issue. The amount of misalignment isn’t going to trash a driveshaft immediately after installation on a test drive.

Now, as to whether the misalignment could damage the driveshaft;

Possibly. It’s going to depend on what that 1/4” misalignment actually is and what alignment it changes. It depends on whether it is simply an offset or if it causes a change of angle between the rear axle relative to the transmission (the output shaft of the trans and the pinion gear in the rear end need to be in true alignment in respect to the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle. If there is a angle misalignment, it can wreak havoc on u joints. The u joints are said to be out of phase. U joints in general are greatly affected by angle misalignment. It can cause binding in the u joints which can lead to premature wear of the joint or breakage of the joints or even the yokes on the shaft if the misalignment is great enough. If nothing else it would likely cause a vibration while driving.

Anyway, that’s a topic for another forum.