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End of the Road for 2015 Cherokee Limited

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2015 limited
6K views 20 replies 16 participants last post by  Da Jeeper 
#1 ·
Last Update.....

First I want to thank the members of this forum for being so generous with information, tips, strategies for dealing with Chrysler, etc. I subscribe to many forums but this one stands out as a wonderfully civil, respectful place. I learned so much in the last three months.

I parted ways with the 2015 KL Limited last Thursday, and am now driving a 2015 Honda CRV. It’s not nearly as nice, the seats are like park benches compared with the Jeep, and the “upgraded” sound system is nowhere near as thrilling as the Jeep one. It has the CVT and very much an “appliance” feel to it, but my hope is that it’s a reliable appliance.

That was the tipping point for me with Jeep: Consistency. I maintained a list of issues starting from day 2 of ownership, when a door handle fell off. That problem was fixed the second time, but many others – including one I believe is a safety issue, the way the Jeep sometimes “hangs” in reverse without responding to input – seemed to baffle the three service departments I visited. Finally I built a case w/ Chrysler and they sent a tech to a dealer to evaluate the car for five issues: three with transmission, two with the heater (no heat in footwell, and erratic behavior of thermostat), one with the sunroof rattle. I know from talking with the service dept that other KLs had those same issues, and they are often more severe. My misfortune was that these issues didn’t happen every time. So they kept the Jeep for a week, and on every problem, they reported “Working as Designed.” “No Codes in the System,” etc.

I encountered a few of those issues immediately after picking up the Jeep, and since this was my third visit on the same issues, I sought lemon law redress. Alas, what I learned is that it’s almost impossible to prevail if the vehicle is not throwing out error codes or not functioning correctly in a way that they can diagnose and repair. Intermittent issues are tricky in court. If I were to seek arbitration, Chrysler could claim that my issues were simply differences of opinion about matters of design and engineering – and that, after testing, the car was operating as intended, or at the very least the car didn’t exhibit my stated problems when Chrysler evaluated it. The lawyer I talked with liked the challenge of my case, and said that there was a chance of success, but it was slim.

I decided that it was foolish to devote any more energy to a vehicle that was, for me, not entirely trustworthy. I’m one of those idealists who believe that a new car should be a purely pleasurable experience, not one involving time spent at dealers and arguing over error codes. It was really hard to walk away from the Jeep, and not just because of the financial hit – it’s a tremendous cabin and a mighty V6. If it were really “operating as designed” I would have been happy to keep it.

Thanks again for the help, and best of luck on the journey....
 
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#2 ·
First off, I am very happy with my 11/13, 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited ADII 3.2L well optioned. Second, something for you to ponder. What do you want to bet the Honda dealer will turn around and sell your TrailHawk, at a good profit, to someone who will not find fault with it and be very pleased with it? I think some people just get it in their head they are not going be happy with a vehicle. Myself, no matter how perfect a Honda was I would never be happy with it because I grew up in the Detroit auto industry. All I can say is that Toledo still is having difficulty keeping up with the demand for the new Cherokee so some people must be pleased with it.
 
#3 ·
I get what you're saying. and boy did I research that car before purchasing -- for me it was the best in the segment by a long ways. I tested 4 of the Limiteds and only 1 had rough transmission. but mine sure did -- and the issue w/ "floating" into and out of reverse was deemed normal by Chrysler but didn't feel that way to me. I found it dangerous.

when I did the pros/cons list on keeping it, I had to acknowledge that the popularity of the vehicle was a factor too: some people w/ troubles are waiting 30-90 days for replacement parts. to me, this is not a good situation. and since my jeep had a list of problems, some of them admittedly subjective and some not, I felt it was smarter to take the loss than hope for the issues to work themselves out.

everybody's different, that was my response.....
with respect
TM
 
#4 ·
I hope the guy who started this thread never buys anything else. For example a house, where pipes might break or furnace draft inducer fans fail. Certainly not anything which uses electricity. Probably not a lawn mower. Maybe not clothing.

A good dealership service department will track down intermittent problems.

Of course, this is the Internet, so we do not know if the post if not really from an employee of some other car company, or of a company working for some other car company, or just somebody who does not even own a car.
 
#5 ·
I have no reason to doubt the legitimacy of what the OP posted. It's no fun to come to the realization that a vehicle you bought and thought you'd love owning turns out to have a lot of problems. It then comes down to deciding whether you want to live with the issues, part availability and service problems or simply cut your losses and move on to something else.

That can happen to anyone or to any vehicle. Stop being fanboys and realize he made the choice that was best for him.
 
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#6 ·
I have no reason to doubt the legitimacy of what the OP posted. It's no fun to come to the realization that a vehicle you bought and thought you'd love owning turns out to have a lot of problems. It then comes down to deciding whether you want to live with the issues, part availability and service problems or simply cut your losses and move on to something else.

That can happen to anyone or to any vehicle. Stop being fanboys and realize he made the choice that was best for him.
I agree. I made the same choice because of all the little things that weren't quite right. If (as I believe they will be) most of the little things are dealt with, I'll be looking at a '16 Summit.


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#7 ·
There would be less reason for doubt if people used their real names and photos on the Internet. I do.

If you want to read some good stories about tracking down mystery and intermittent problems, I highly recommend the Model Garage series featuring fictional mechanic Gus Wilson which ran in Popular Science for many years. Google has scanned (searchable) Popular Science back to the first issue, and there is at least one Model Garage web site.

I once had to sell a vehicle I'd just bought, but it was my fault for not having a sufficient test drive(s), and the maker for failing to design such an expensive vehicle with a better range of adjustments to suit different drivers. It was functioning as designed. The thing was an expensive top of the line Toyota minivan. The steering column, by design, slanted to the left, and the seat, as my wife jokes, was designed for short housewives, not 6' 1" guys. My neck and upper back would still be hurting the second day after driving it my typical average 120 miles per day (various destinations, often multiple destinations, all for business).
 
#9 ·
Mr Masek:
I read your initial post saying how you hope that I never buy anything that might break again. I appreciate the comic relief but have to admit I'm baffled: These forums exist so that people can share knowledge and experience. That's what I was doing. This forum, in particular, was very helpful to me when car shopping -- I learned about the ongoing transmission issues, etc. -- and when I reached the end of the road with the Jeep, I felt that since I'd shared steps along the way, my decision might be helpful to someone else. I wasn't interested in just complaining, I didn't post random diatribes about Chrysler, I simply shared what I encountered. And judging from the topics here, other owners are having some similar problems. I'm happy for all whose Jeeps are troublefree, and my earnest hope is that for those who do have issues, this forum will remain a source of vital information.
de gustibus, etc.,
Tom Moon
 
#11 ·
the exact same thing has been posted on the JCC forum

End of the Road for 2015 Cherokee Limited - 2014 - 2015 Jeep Cherokee Forums

"First I want to thank the members of this forum for being so generous with information, tips, strategies for dealing with Chrysler, etc. I subscribe to many forums but this one stands out as a wonderfully civil, respectful place. I learned so much in the last three months."

I even provided my input about how perfect Honda CRV is :confused:

Enjoy
 
#20 ·
I hope the original poster has better luck with his new purchase. It's too bad the dealership/Chrysler couldn't fix the issues because I think the Cherokee is a very nice vehicle in its class but life is too short to deal with a brand new vehicle with that many issues.


Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#21 ·
Saw this and had to put my 02 cents in.
Op state's that he frequently goes to many forums...if this is true, I have to wonder why he went cr v...if you go to any cr v forum, or Google 2015 cr v problems.
I'm in the market for a small suv...I liked the crv until i read info on the forums.
Uncontrollable shaking at idle is the main issue. Honda has no known fix.
Honda also recently fired all the top brass for cutting corners.
Not hear to bash honda..if they get back to what they used to be...i would buy one
 
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