April 2014 - Purchased brand new 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland Diesel 3.0 for $55,000 (incl. tax, title and destination). Loved the car, the way it drives, the handling, fit and finish, everything was really top notch and I was very happy until…
July 2014 - Transmission failure at 5,500 miles while driving home on a hot Summer afternoon from vacation with my pregnant wife. *As stop and go traffic dissipates, I attempted to accelerate and the car lurches, the check engine illuminates and the transmission rests permanently in forth gear (aka “Limp Mode”.) Limp mode is a ‘feature’ used to make sure a car will keep running even in the event of certain failure. We 'limped' the $55,000 vehicle off the expressway and into a parking lot in a community clearly scourged by methamphetamine and prescription painkiller addiction.
First, we called Chrysler Roadside assistance. *They advised me that a tow truck would tow us to the nearest Chrysler dealer and that they would call us back in 20 minutes with an expected time of arrival. *As I waited, junkies scurried about in the parking lot while I attempted to get the car out of limp mode and into gear. *Eventually, only reverse and neutral were working. *After an hour, Chrysler roadside assistance finally called and provided me an ETA of 2 hours. *This was unacceptable and despite my pleas for assistance (e.g. pregnant wife, junkies, getting dark soon, etc), they couldn’t promise a better response time. My next call was AAA and they arrived within an hour. **The AAA driver pointed out, while loading the car onto the flatbed, that my transmission was oozing transmission fluid. *By now, it was getting late and the technicians at the local dealership as well as the rental car companies were getting ready to close. **I began to wonder if I should try and find a prescription painkiller dealer... **
My wife and I load into the cab of the tow truck and drive to the dealership. **The very competent tow truck driver made some calls and found us a rental car location that would be open for another 90 minutes. **We arrive at the dealership about 30 minutes later and the dealer technician had gone home for the day. The tow truck driver attempted to unload the car but he couldn't get it into neutral or reverse. We couldn't find the override switch anywhere in the console. *I tried at least five times and the transmission wouldn't budge out of park. *The tow truck driver had to employ a two ton jack to lift rear tires, a bottle of Joy dish detergent to allow the front wheels to slide and essentially shake the new jeep grand cherokee off the bed of truck. *The person at the dealership was extremely reassuring that they would look at it first thing in the morning but that they were extremely busy and probably wouldn't get it fixed for a few days. After an hour of rigorous shaking, the Jeep was off the flatbed and completely useless. **
The tow truck driver raced us over to the rental car place. *We rented an ash try on wheels and found a place to stay for the night. **The next morning, I called Chrysler customer support and explained the situation. *Chrysler explained that a) loaner cars and rental reimbursement is NOT covered by warranty and b) nothing can be done until the dealer makes a diagnosis. *By noon, I called and checked with the dealer to see if they looked at the vehicle. *They had it on the lift and had just begun.
My wife and I agreed that it was very unlikely that the dealer would get the car fixed the same day and we had to go to work the next day so we started to drive home. *After 2 and 1/2 hours we stopped at a diner, ate and decided to call the dealer. **As it turns out the dealership explained that the vehicle was being washed and I can come pick it up. We couldn't believe our ears. We raced back to the dealership (another 2 1/2 hours) in our rented Marlboromobile and found our jeep shiny and ready to go. **I wanted to hug the tech as he explained that there was a cooling line going into the transmission that wasn't properly installed by the factory and popped out, allowing all the transmission fluid to drain. *
Thanks to Hiller Dodge, we drove home from vacation, albeit a day later, trouble free. The vehicle remained trouble free for another 5000 miles until....
September 2014 - Me and my (still) pregnant wife (full-term and can go into labor any day) were on the highway on our way to get breakfast at the local diner and suddenly..limp mode. *On the bright side, we happen to be within 2 miles from my local dealership. We drove on the shoulder at the maximum speed, 5 MPH and arrived at the dealership about 25 minutes later. *They're closed (Saturday) but I left them the keys and we took a taxi home.
At this point, we had 10,660 miles on the vehicle. *As we waited for a car service, I called Chrysler customer service to complain but they were totally useless. **Also, my local dealership's salesmen were rude and didn’t offer any help what so ever.
I went home and purchased the Mopar Maximum Care 100,000 mile Extended Warranty for about $2,400.
The following Monday, the dealer called us and advised that the Vehicle is ready. “What was the issue,” I asked. “The pressure actuator was not seated causing turbo under boost.” I don’t know what that means but I was glad to get my car back.
November 2014 - Me, my wife and our newborn daughter were taking our first family Thanksgiving vacation to Cape Code. We’re about 20 miles from our destination, we hit a puddle (yeah, a puddle in our Jeep) and suddenly “SERVICE DEF - See Dealer” pops onto the screen. My wife flipped open the owners manual and explained that if we don’t get to a dealer in 150 miles, the car will not restart. We were 300 miles from home.
I called my dealer and Chrysler customer service. Both advised that the car would go into Limp Mode within 150 miles if we attempted to drive back home. We searched around and found a dealer 40 minutes from where we were staying. We drop the car off on the mooring (Friday) after Thanksgiving. They called me at 4PM that afternoon and told me that we need a new DEF line and it wouldn’t be available for another week. I called Chrysler and after talking with three different unhelpful representatives, they put me thorough to the “Chrysler Customer Satisfaction Department.” Unfortunately, they don’t work weekends so there was nothing that could be done until the following Monday morning.
Since I had to go to work that Monday, I rented a car and we drove home. Today it's been 11 days and I still don’t have my Jeep back. I'm not even sure if I want it back...
July 2014 - Transmission failure at 5,500 miles while driving home on a hot Summer afternoon from vacation with my pregnant wife. *As stop and go traffic dissipates, I attempted to accelerate and the car lurches, the check engine illuminates and the transmission rests permanently in forth gear (aka “Limp Mode”.) Limp mode is a ‘feature’ used to make sure a car will keep running even in the event of certain failure. We 'limped' the $55,000 vehicle off the expressway and into a parking lot in a community clearly scourged by methamphetamine and prescription painkiller addiction.
First, we called Chrysler Roadside assistance. *They advised me that a tow truck would tow us to the nearest Chrysler dealer and that they would call us back in 20 minutes with an expected time of arrival. *As I waited, junkies scurried about in the parking lot while I attempted to get the car out of limp mode and into gear. *Eventually, only reverse and neutral were working. *After an hour, Chrysler roadside assistance finally called and provided me an ETA of 2 hours. *This was unacceptable and despite my pleas for assistance (e.g. pregnant wife, junkies, getting dark soon, etc), they couldn’t promise a better response time. My next call was AAA and they arrived within an hour. **The AAA driver pointed out, while loading the car onto the flatbed, that my transmission was oozing transmission fluid. *By now, it was getting late and the technicians at the local dealership as well as the rental car companies were getting ready to close. **I began to wonder if I should try and find a prescription painkiller dealer... **
My wife and I load into the cab of the tow truck and drive to the dealership. **The very competent tow truck driver made some calls and found us a rental car location that would be open for another 90 minutes. **We arrive at the dealership about 30 minutes later and the dealer technician had gone home for the day. The tow truck driver attempted to unload the car but he couldn't get it into neutral or reverse. We couldn't find the override switch anywhere in the console. *I tried at least five times and the transmission wouldn't budge out of park. *The tow truck driver had to employ a two ton jack to lift rear tires, a bottle of Joy dish detergent to allow the front wheels to slide and essentially shake the new jeep grand cherokee off the bed of truck. *The person at the dealership was extremely reassuring that they would look at it first thing in the morning but that they were extremely busy and probably wouldn't get it fixed for a few days. After an hour of rigorous shaking, the Jeep was off the flatbed and completely useless. **
The tow truck driver raced us over to the rental car place. *We rented an ash try on wheels and found a place to stay for the night. **The next morning, I called Chrysler customer support and explained the situation. *Chrysler explained that a) loaner cars and rental reimbursement is NOT covered by warranty and b) nothing can be done until the dealer makes a diagnosis. *By noon, I called and checked with the dealer to see if they looked at the vehicle. *They had it on the lift and had just begun.
My wife and I agreed that it was very unlikely that the dealer would get the car fixed the same day and we had to go to work the next day so we started to drive home. *After 2 and 1/2 hours we stopped at a diner, ate and decided to call the dealer. **As it turns out the dealership explained that the vehicle was being washed and I can come pick it up. We couldn't believe our ears. We raced back to the dealership (another 2 1/2 hours) in our rented Marlboromobile and found our jeep shiny and ready to go. **I wanted to hug the tech as he explained that there was a cooling line going into the transmission that wasn't properly installed by the factory and popped out, allowing all the transmission fluid to drain. *
Thanks to Hiller Dodge, we drove home from vacation, albeit a day later, trouble free. The vehicle remained trouble free for another 5000 miles until....
September 2014 - Me and my (still) pregnant wife (full-term and can go into labor any day) were on the highway on our way to get breakfast at the local diner and suddenly..limp mode. *On the bright side, we happen to be within 2 miles from my local dealership. We drove on the shoulder at the maximum speed, 5 MPH and arrived at the dealership about 25 minutes later. *They're closed (Saturday) but I left them the keys and we took a taxi home.
At this point, we had 10,660 miles on the vehicle. *As we waited for a car service, I called Chrysler customer service to complain but they were totally useless. **Also, my local dealership's salesmen were rude and didn’t offer any help what so ever.
I went home and purchased the Mopar Maximum Care 100,000 mile Extended Warranty for about $2,400.
The following Monday, the dealer called us and advised that the Vehicle is ready. “What was the issue,” I asked. “The pressure actuator was not seated causing turbo under boost.” I don’t know what that means but I was glad to get my car back.
November 2014 - Me, my wife and our newborn daughter were taking our first family Thanksgiving vacation to Cape Code. We’re about 20 miles from our destination, we hit a puddle (yeah, a puddle in our Jeep) and suddenly “SERVICE DEF - See Dealer” pops onto the screen. My wife flipped open the owners manual and explained that if we don’t get to a dealer in 150 miles, the car will not restart. We were 300 miles from home.
I called my dealer and Chrysler customer service. Both advised that the car would go into Limp Mode within 150 miles if we attempted to drive back home. We searched around and found a dealer 40 minutes from where we were staying. We drop the car off on the mooring (Friday) after Thanksgiving. They called me at 4PM that afternoon and told me that we need a new DEF line and it wouldn’t be available for another week. I called Chrysler and after talking with three different unhelpful representatives, they put me thorough to the “Chrysler Customer Satisfaction Department.” Unfortunately, they don’t work weekends so there was nothing that could be done until the following Monday morning.
Since I had to go to work that Monday, I rented a car and we drove home. Today it's been 11 days and I still don’t have my Jeep back. I'm not even sure if I want it back...