I own a 2014 Jeep Cherokee that It has been losing oil like crazy for almost two years, and finally two weeks ago, with over 78,000 miles on it- out of both the manufacture and Powertrain warranties expired, the dealership tells me the engine needs replaced. Yesterday I’m informed by the dealership, Chrysler will pay all but $1000 for a brand new replacement because we brought the problem up prior to the Powertrain running out. I’m both mad that they want us to pay a dime, and thankfully aware that the financial lose could be much worse. Even still, WHY WOULD THEY PAY OVER $6000 TO REPLACE AN ENGINE THAT’S NOT UNDER WARRANTY UNLESS THEY’RE AFRAID OF SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER? I’ve not agreed to pay the $1000 yet, instead I’m consulting a class action attorney. Has anyone else already spoken to an attorney? I’d love to hear from you.
You have a vehicle with 78,000 miles on it that Chrysler is willing to put a brand new $6000 engine in for $1000? They are ADDING value to your vehicle. There is no loss.
Go talk to an attorney. I’d guess they will tell you, no loss, no case.
That offer expires at closing time tonight.
I’d pay the $1000 and try and get it back with your class action attempt.
Pay the 1000.00 and get back on the road . Jeep has a lot more attorney’s than you can afford . I am actually surprised they are doing this much .
With respect offered to our fellow Community member who posted this, I always wonder why anyone with a long-term major problem would let the warranty expire without trading the vehicle in or selling it on (and then buying a used car for the same money). I would never have the guts to keep it.
Take the offer and then start planning on a replacement vehicle . . .
Depends on your financial situation, I guess. If you’ve financed the problem car, you might lose more money by trading than it would cost to replace the engine. Especially since the dealership was apparently aware of the oil burning (probably assuring the owner it’s “within spec”) and not repairing it under warranty until it actually breaks down.
I’ve traded problem cars (trucks actually) in early due to engine knocking, etc. I often wonder in hindsight if I would’ve been better off financially to have kept them and rolled the dice. It’s pretty easy to lose 6 grand trading in a vehicle really early.
I agree. I would JUMP on that offer, before they change their mind–which they will if you play hardball. They are giving you a goodwill repair, and you should take advantage of it. To put that $1000 into perspective, I have paid more than that to have a timing belt changed, which is just routine maintenance.
From my experience, almost every engine death I’ve ever seen was caused by.,.,.,.
- Failure to change the oil often enough.,
- Not checking the motor oil level often enough.
Either one or both can cause oil consumption issues which can lead to engine failure.
If you are guilty of the above then you should accept Chrysler’s offer as manna from heaven.
They could easily do nothing and you have to chase them to pay a dime. I would pay the $1000 and then not buy a Chrysler product again.
How about overheating as #3?
That’s not a bad deal. They don’t have to do anything for you.
Good customer relations. Showing that they are willing to be reasonable about it.
You probably should.
If you serve them or even threaten legal action, fully expect their offer to be retracted, and for them to stop talking to you. I doubt if consulting an attorney will yield helpful results for you. As you’d have to prove wrong doing on the dealership/FCA’s part.
The longer op waits, the greater the chances the offer will expire
If I were op, the second the dealer made the offer, I would have said “Let’s get going. Here’s my credit card”
For $2000 an attorney can make that co-pay problem go away, I think I could even handle the task myself.
That’s called an on-going warranty issue.
This means if a component that’s under warranty shows failure prior to when the warranty expires, the manufacturer can’t delay the proper repairs until the warranty expires to avoid paying for those repairs.
It’s one of the consumer protection laws.
So, if the component that failed was under warranty when it was reported, you shouldn’t pay anything.
Tester
If I had that problem I’d just pony up the $1,000 and be happy to have a brand new engine. But then again that’s maybe why you don’t see me at the top of the list of America’s billionaires. There’s no “George from San Jose” on the list right? Whew!! 
I would however make sure I understood and got in writing beforehand what my total out of pocket expenses were going to be, parts, labor, etc, and that I agreed to the terms of the warranty on that new engine. If I didn’t like those terms I’d negotiate on those before negotiating on the $1,000. It depends on OP’s tolerance for unpleasantness of course. Life can be very unpleasant when relying on a lawyer, but sometimes it can be even more unpleasant without one. In this the case imo the former applies, not the latter.
Granted, overheating or a catastrophic parts failure can lead to engine failure but oil related problems are by far the most common.
A new engine for a grand means you should be all over that offer. What happens if they decide to ask for oil change receipts and they can’t be produced? That offer man vanish into thin air.
I did not paint an adequate narrative; there is a design flaw issue with this specific engine that Chrysler was made aware of way back before my husband and I even purchased the vehicle brand new in March of 2014. The oil doesn’t burn up and it doesn’t have an exterior leak. I don’t speak car very well, so I’ll post a couple of links. This is a HUGE recall waiting to happen.
https://www.cars.com/articles/why-jeep-replaced-our-2014-cherokees-engine-1420662989303/
https://www.telegram.com/news/20190804/car-talk-stalled-for-answers-to-jeep-cherokee-engine-issue
Like I stated, you shouldn’t pay anything.
Tester
What was the engine’s oil consumption rate before the warranty expired?