I am the second owner of a 2016 Town & Country.
I bought it with 22K miles on it. At 5.5 years and at 86K miles on the engine light came on. My mechanic said it had a Cylinder 6 misfire and low compression pressure in that cylinder. After further inspection my mechanic told me it had a burnt exhaust valve in the 6th cylinder. (An common issue with the V6 Pentastar motor dating back to 2011).
The dealer service manager told me it was due to using crappy Arizona gas. Seriously, that’s what he said verbatim. I’m currently seeking legal help.
Sounds like bo-o-o-gus, but:
What is the gas specified in the owners manual?
Does the gas you used meet that standard? How do you know?
I would expect a 2016 design to adjust itself for fuel octane. From what I"m seeing the v6 3.6L engine has two knock sensors. Unless the knock sensor’s havent been working, the bad gas theory seems unlikely imo. Also there’s a customer interest bulletin regarding the PCM, 18-069-16 ask your shop if this could be associated w/this problem.
Exhaust valve problems can occur if the valve clearance is out of spec, esp if too tight, something worth checking. Too tight means the valve may not be closing completely. An exhaust valve must close completely in order to dissipate the heat from the firings.
The service writer can say anything they want, they are not under oath and the Powertrain warranty expired at 5 years/60,000 miles.
Were you arrested?
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And thus it’s obvious why he’s a manager and not an engineer.
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I guess there’s nobody there at the shop stopping them from talking; but if a service manager makes a statement to a customer that is factually untrue or an attempt to mislead or obfuscate, are you sure they are allowed to do that?
Those are not really managers; they are salespeople and not well educated in auto repair. There usually isn’t a supervisor nearby to correct the mistakes.
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The warranty on the engine is expired. The original warranty, and the warranty extension, only apply to the original owners. You are the second owner and are therefore not entitled to warranty coverage. I think it’s understandable that used cars don’t come with the same warranty as new ones.
You are responsible for the repairs. What sort of legal help are you interested in?
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Bad gas causes a burnt valve? No possible way, especially on an engine which does not require high-octane fuel. Improper valve lash, or a head gasket leaking between two cylinders are more reasonable explanations.
I don’t know what type of warranty Chrysler offers on its vehicles, or if the powertrain warranty is valid to an owner who purchased the vehicle secondhand. With only 86,000 miles, I’d have the motor repaired, not replaced. If there is no valid warranty, I’d find a shop which specializes in engine repair, which is not going to be a dealer.
When I’ve had Chrysler-specific questions like this one, allpar.com has usually been helpful.
There is more to gas than octane. One of the differences between top tier gas and non top tier is the amount or kind of detergent in the gas. both kinds meet minimum standards but the top tier have more cleaning detergents. Deposits on the valve can cause the valves not being to close completely which will make them burn.
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I agree with @asemaster, no warranty, it’s not Chryslers problem. Where would “legal help” come into play? Why don’t you just start a “go fund me” if you want someone else to pay for your problem? That seems like the current fad.
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dads chrysler van had a cracked oil filter housing. made of plastic? known design flaw? shop which changed his oil said so. oof. it was not $200. quite a bit more. maybe your motor has same ticking time bomb. besides bad head.
OP: I just purchased a 2016 T&C about a month ago with only 66,000 miles on it…and a local mechanic gave me this EXACT SAME DIAGNOSIS. What did you end up doing? The dealer only gave me a 15 day warranty on mine. My mechanic is telling me a total engine replacement is likely the best option as a repair would be incredibly intensive and expensive.
For best help, suggest to briefly summarize that diagnosis, so folks here don’t have to re-read the entire prior thread. When purchasing a used car, the common advice here is to first obtain a pre-purchase inspection from your own mechanic. Did you do that?
This is a very common issue on these. The head replacement isn’t cheap but is much less then a new engine. And it isn’t that difficult of a repair, especially for the dealer who likely has a tech that has done it hundreds of times before.