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2014 GC Totally $#@% dead

119787 Views 677 Replies 77 Participants Last post by  BobsWK2, 
amc2002
I really wish I could say in a public forum just how freaking livid I am right now. $41,500 sticker on this damn thing, I go to fill up the tank tonight just to take it out in the dark, because I haven't seen the blue lighted interior yet. I picked it up on Wednesday and it's got 300 miles on it.

I notice the lights are flickering. Weird. Don't think much of it. Pull out of the driveway, it jumps out of gear, engine revs. Damn it, I must have hit the gearshift or something. I still haven't gotten used to how it works. I keep putting it in neutral by accident. So I put it back in drive. Go down the street, come to a stop at the corner. Lights are flickering more. I figure, "let me shut it off and then turn it back on again." I shut it off. The damn thing is totally dead. No lights anywhere. I open the door. No lights. I get out. Walk around it. What the hell am I going to do now? I open the door. Lights are on. I figure, let me drive it back home, just down the street.

It starts up, lights are flickering again. Pops out of gear again. Eff it. I pull it to the side of the road. It dies. I'm not moving this thing an inch more. Chrysler can come pick it up and tow it back to the dealership.

Only, they won't.

Seems Chrysler Roadside Assistance will only tow it to the nearest dealer. Which in my case, just happens to be the dealer I decided not to purchase from because their dealer rating is terrible, and their BBB record is awful. We had gone in there on a whim, and later canceled an appointment for a test drive when we found this out. I told the salesperson it was nothing against him, we enjoyed speaking with him and thanked him for his time, but we just couldn't purchase a car from the dealership he worked for.

So this is where they want to tow my car. Not to the dealer 15 miles further. I'll have to pay out of pocket for that.

I said no thanks, and started to call AAA (which I have because of my 2002 Wrangler). Then I decided, no, I want Chrysler to handle this 100%.

Called Roadside again and they tell me I didn't purchase Roadside Assistance. I ask them doesn't it come with every Jeep? Not necessarily they say. I say I'm pretty sure the F&I woman would've tried to sell me on that if it wasn't. She asks when I bought the car. I said Wednesday. Ah, might not be in the system. How did the other guy get my record up? She wasn't sure.

So I give her a credit card. I'm paying the whole tab this time, not just the extra 15 miles. They will email me a receipt that I can bring to the dealer.

Tow truck driver says can't tow it tonight. They'll hold it and then it will go to the dealer on Monday morning. Lovely. I wonder where they're bringing it? Gave him a $20 and I hope that helps it find a safe spot wherever it is. I should ask the dealer for the $20 back as well.

So my wife had to cancel her trip tomorrow. Didn't even make it to 400 miles and it crapped the bed. Right now? I hate the damn thing. Will I ever be able to trust this thing? Probably just a ground somewhere, but this is NOT a good sign.

I'm fracking livid right now. This is my wife's DD. What if it had decided to jump out of gear and die on the highway with my 5-year-old on board?

I am so not OK right now.

UPDATE: Chrysler Roadside automated call -- Service is expected to arrive within 20 minues. Um, I've been back at the house for 20 minutes already. Classic.

"Based on your roadside assistance today, would you recommend Chrysler products to your friends and family."

Guess what I answered to that question.
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amc2002
Spoke with someone at Chrysler, who was very sympathetic, said I was a small small minority that had two problems like this in 300 miles and that he certainly felt that this was not the "new owner experience" that people looked for and that hopefully Chrysler would be able to take care of swapping this out, but said it's up to the NY district manager to decide about buybacks. He heard back from the manager while I was on the phone who told him "absolutely not -- we can fix anything." So apparently Chrysler has put the fear of god into the dealership service department and the company is sending someone there to personally "fix" this issue.

It doesn't seem like Chrysler swapping this out is an option right now, and the law is not (yet) with me. Am I being a wuss for not raising holy hell about this? Everyone's telling me "drop the car off with the keys and tell them you're not taking it back," but it's not as easy as that. I want to follow official channels and such, but I do not want to put my wife and child back in this car.

What a $#@% nightmare this is. Isn't owning a NEW CAR supposed to be a great experience? There is so much else going on in my life right now that I don't have time for this. I need a 100% reliable vehicle. Chrysler is going to expect me to take this back once it's "fixed," and I don't trust it enough to take me around the block.
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amc2002
Wow. So now I'm getting the run around. Apparently the local representatives are telling corporate, what are you so upset over? The customer brought the car in, we fixed it, and it's only back in for the second time. It's just a warranty issue and we will handle it.

I told them are you kidding me? This is a DANGEROUS situation where the car SHUTS OFF IN THE ROAD. It's not an air conditioning malfunction or the radio stopped working, it is DANGEROUS.

I am livid. I just want to turn this thing in, be done with it, and go back to Acura at this point. This is the most horrible customer service I have encountered so far. Apparently corporate has no pull over the local reps. They can just offer what they would "like to see happen."
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T
I just read every post in this thread... I honestly feel extremely bad for you.

This is the kind of thing that makes spending big bucks on a vehicle seem ridiculous. The scenario here is something that just makes me mad, and literally has my blood pressure up just from reading it. I don't necessarily think they should "buy it back" yet, but they most certainly should be looking at it as an option.

You sir are a better man than me. I would be outside the dealership with a sign saying "Don't buy a Jeep, ask me why." until someone did something I was comfortable with.

Not sure what the lemon law is where you are, but I would be looking it up and getting it documented each time in writing. Just write on the paperwork "Strike One, Strike Two, ...
and get the manager to sign and initial it.
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S
Mines different problem with Uconnect console which is fu#$%^ dead and getting tired of being told its a new vehicle so parts is difficult wtf !!!??

heres a picture of the fcking screen , still waiting on the replacement head unit

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sundru said:
Mines different problem with Uconnect console which is fu#$%^ dead and getting tired of being told its a new vehicle so parts is difficult wtf !!!??

heres a picture of the fcking screen , still waiting on the replacement head unit

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They have a whole whack of that exact part sitting in the jeeps on the lot. I had a problem with some module in the stack and they took one out of a new car off the lot that same day. I was very impressed to be honest cause that car was now not sellable until they got the part in... which they said could be days. This wasn't even a real inconvenience for me as all the problem was doing was disabling the eco button.
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S
ty dint even think that was an option, am gonna pitch this solution to the dealer and have them think over it ..
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padgett
FWIW intermittants are some of the hardest problems to find. Am odd but would have an OBDII device and a tablet running Torque monitoring everything. Dealer should be doing the same and giving you a different car until they can determine exactly what is happening. May take Chrysler factory involvement.

If it were me, I'd call Customer Assisance, explain that it cannot be considered safe, and open a case directly.
1-877-IAM-JEEP
(1-877-426-5337)
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Tempest
If these were annoyances or downtime issues then i could see them saying no buyback just yet. You should NOT have to participate in an unsafe experiment against your will, which is what they are making you do. They can pull out your radio for a week and inconvenience you. They cannot require you to put your family in danger "just a couple more times" while they sort it out.
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M
We talked about this in a different thread, but I am in a similar situation with my two week old 2014 JGC...

Last week, the car shut down on the highway, then restarted, accelerating quickly. At the same time, there were a bunch of electrical issues. Dealer had it from Wednesday through last night. Replaced a snapped catalytic converter (claimed a bad weld) and messed around with the Manifold.
Gave me the Jeep back last night, saying they hoped the electrical stuff was a one time only thing, cause they could see the error codes, but could not replicate the issue.

Today, I was driving it, and it had issues accelerating, and the check engine light came on. Now the dealer has it back.

I don't mean to beat on Jeep, errors happen, but how are they going to give me that same Jeep back, and expect me to feel safe driving it around with my family in the car? What if it wouldn't accelerate past 10 mph while I was pulling out into traffic?
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kjf18
This truly is a significant safety issue. I would freak out. I suggest filing a safety complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. You can do this online. Just google "report vehicle safety issue".

KJF
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S
amc2002 said:
So the Jeep seemed fine all weekend. I ran a few errands with it, no problem. This morning, my wife goes to take my 5-year-old to a doctor's appointment and she calls me in a panic. All the lights in the dash went out, and the windshield wiper starts going on. I said get to a safe place and shut it off. Before she can do that, it dies in the middle of the road. She is understandably totally freaking out. We're both still a little raw from the accident a month ago.

She finally gets the car restarted and got to the side of the road, but she's not in a safe place. I am 30 miles away hearing this. My stepson coincidentally had a doctor's appointment 20 minutes later as the same doctor, so he got behind the Jeep and put his flashers on, and eventually they decided to move it a few hundred feet into a parking lot. It was still acting weird.

When I got there, I looked around for the grounds I could see that were mentioned here. Alternator didn't seem to have a loose ground from what I could tell. Everything seemed tight. Maybe stuff needs to be removed, cleaned, then re-tightened? Why would the Jeep be fine for days and then suddenly start freaking out again? THAT is what makes this such a nightmare.

I just contacted Chrysler. 338 miles on the Jeep, dead twice in the middle of the road, I don't want the car back. I just don't trust it. No way I'd be able to take a trip in this thing out of state and have any belief we would make it back safely.
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I just don't understand Jeep's response to this. They should get you a new vehicle period. Obviously, a serious issue. I would capture this beast from the road and get the engineers on it ASAP to find out what is causing this to incorporate the necessary changes in the production to prevent it. Could be assembly or faulty electrical parts - can't be every Jeep or it would a public outcry. Jeep's reputation is on the line here - I work in healthcare and this would be a sentinel event or near miss in the airlines. Come on Jeep, do what is right.
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amc2002
I really did start to think what the hell did I buy a new car for? And you're right -- they are asking my family to take part in an unsafe experiment.

Honestly, I am exhausted from this whole thing. I've been fighting with Chrysler corporate, my kid is sick, my wife is not feeling well (they were both going to the doctor), having issues with my job and my boss was out today and I was supposed to be covering for him.

At first they said they didn't have a loaner for me and didn't know when they would get one. After corporate called them (the rep there said -- this is just embarrassing for us, we have a deal with Enterprise, they should have gotten you a rental if they couldn't get you a dealer loaner), I got a call saying they had a loaner for me.

So we went in and got it and I asked to speak with the service manager. He wasn't available, but the guy at the desk said, "are you Aaron?" I said yes, and he said one of the techs had just gotten back and definitely found another loose ground. He assured me that they were going to go through this vehicle front to back and they were going to put a bunch of miles on it and test it extensively. I said that was all I wanted the first time, because I had my doubts it was an ABS module. My wife and kid were with me and I reiterated that I did not want to put them in an unsafe vehicle that would die in the middle of the highway. If nothing else, for the first time I felt I had made my point with them. The service guy said he understood -- "if it was me, fine, but I know it's your family." Exactly.

What I think I'm going to ask for is that when I get the car back, I get to keep the loaner for a week. My wife can't drive my Wrangler (5-speed), so I want to take it back and forth to work for an entire week and make sure it is OK. I don't know if they'll go for that, but I think they can spare a week of wear and tear on a Dodge Caravan to make this good.

And one more issue, and I am definitely taking this to the TSB or whoever I need to bring it to in govt. It is getting to the point of absurdity.

And marosenb - I hope they take care of you. I can't believe I'm giving Chrysler the chance to fix this AGAIN (and yes, corporate is involved, supposedly -- they have already spoken to the dealership and are supposedly sending over a tech), but I'm just completely worn down by the whole experience. Thanks, Chrysler/Jeep! You wore down a loyal customer!

If you get the next JD Power rankings and Jeep has fallen several brackets, it will be because I skewed the results so dramatically.

The Lemon Law in NY states that within 18K miles or some such, you have to have had the dealer try to fix the issue four times without resolution, or have had the vehicle in the dealer service shop 30 days (not consecutive) unable to resolve the issue. That is the LEGALITY of it. What is the RIGHT thing to do by a customer should be BELOW that threshold. The law only protects those where the dealer/manufacturer is being combative.

Right now, Chrysler corporate pretty much agreed to what I wanted -- an even swap for a different vehicle -- but the local district manager in NY apparently said "no way in hell -- you already compensated him generously (they picked up my first lease payment -- appropriate, since I have had the car only a few days in two weeks). This is a simple warranty claim that will be fixed. We can fix anything.

So apparently, the local reps can throw the guys in Michigan around. What kind of effed up hierarchy is that?
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amc2002
And can I just say I *never* thought I'd be one of these people in a forum complaining about my vehicle being dead in the road? We were looking at an Acadia a couple years ago before we got the Acura, and I remember reading stories like mine and thinking, "holy crap -- what would I do if I got my wife a car and it died in the middle of the road while she was driving?" And here we are. Never thought it would be a Jeep.

Titan - I hope the dealer is a decent one and will take a unit out of a new car for you. That is just wack.
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M
Thanks amc2002. I think I am going to give them until the end of tomorrow before I start pushing really hard. The dealership has been great with me so far, and the guy I talked to from corporate seemed decent enough. I want to hear what he says now that he knows it is back in the shop, because he certainly seemed sympathetic with the first round of issues.

It's funny, I am coming from an Acura too, an RDX. I had considered the Acadia at one point but thought it was not for me. Before that, I had an 07 Jeep liberty, that I really liked. I leased the last couple of vehicles I had, because my family was growing, and I did not know what I would need/want down the line. Of course, with this JGC, I bought it. Go figure.
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amc2002
marosenb said:
Thanks amc2002. I think I am going to give them until the end of tomorrow before I start pushing really hard. The dealership has been great with me so far, and the guy I talked to from corporate seemed decent enough. I want to hear what he says now that he knows it is back in the shop, because he certainly seemed sympathetic with the first round of issues.
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The rep I spoke to has been sympathetic as well, but it certainly doesn't seem like he has much power to do anything. Although he did seem to kick off communication with the dealership between them and corporate, so hopefully that helps. But yeah, this is just about as far away from the "new car experience" as you want to be.

It's funny, I am coming from an Acura too, an RDX. I had considered the Acadia at one point but thought it was not for me. Before that, I had an 07 Jeep liberty, that I really liked. I leased the last couple of vehicles I had, because my family was growing, and I did not know what I would need/want down the line. Of course, with this JGC, I bought it. Go figure.
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I looked at the RDX this time around, but really it seemed about the same size as the TSX SportWagon we were coming from, and one of the most appealing things about the GC was that it was the same length as the TSX, had the same turning radius, but had a bit more interior room due to being a little wider and obviously a good deal taller.

We had a Liberty for our first loaner and my wife and I really liked it a lot. I can see why they're all over the road here on Long Island. The car press clearly don't "get" them though -- I checked out the reviews before going to the GC and they all universally panned the Liberty so we didn't even look at them, not to mention it was the last year, of course and the mileage was just terrible. Then we got it as a loaner and liked it. I feel like telling the auto magazines, "it's a Jeep thing -- you wouldn't understand..." But right now, the only thing I'm understanding about Jeep is that I should never have stepped in the showroom.

Funny, when I was at the body shop going over some of the damage to the Acura, I asked the guy what were some of the best cars as far as crashworthiness and he pointed to a Liberty behind me. "This one was in a 55mph accident -- sure, the front end is damaged, but the engine was fine, suspension was shot, but pretty unscathed." I was impressed. My Acura, at 50mph or so, was totaled. Of course, I don't know how bad the person inside the Liberty was hurt. My wife and I walked away. The Acura has that ACE system that absorbs all the energy. Still remarkable how we walked away with just soreness, not even a scratch.
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padgett
Personally would think that with this documented history of sudden power loss, CJF corporate lawyers would be falling over themselves to get you a new car (if they know about it).

The problem is that while aparently the ABS module was the only one to completely fail (any new codes this time ?), we do not know what else was stressed (I have seen bad connections cause over 200V surges in 12v systems which is Not Good for electronics) and will fail. Do know what would happen if something like this occured in an airframe & would not be "return to service & hope for the best" (am somewhat fanatical about SOF).

Do agree that the GC is one of the safer cars to be in should something happen, one of the reasons I bought one and my '12 has had zero problems (is very well instrumented though). It does exactly what I want.
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M
Got off the phone with Chrysler. I had really high hopes that they would come up with a solution.

Their solution: They will have their tech people talk to my dealer, and if i want, I can trade my GC in for a loss. They would be willing to give me a discount on a new GC though.

I'm at a a loss as to what to even say to that.
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marosenb said:
Got off the phone with Chrysler. I had really high hopes that they would come up with a solution.

Their solution: They will have their tech people talk to my dealer, and if i want, I can trade my GC in for a loss. They would be willing to give me a discount on a new GC though.

I'm at a a loss as to what to even say to that.
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I know what I would say....
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GCLimited
marosenb said:
Got off the phone with Chrysler. I had really high hopes that they would come up with a solution.

Their solution: They will have their tech people talk to my dealer, and if i want, I can trade my GC in for a loss. They would be willing to give me a discount on a new GC though.

I'm at a a loss as to what to even say to that.
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I would tell them to go pound sand, and say to them "See you in court".

It's stories like ours that drive people to buy foreign.
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padgett
Just a suggestion but I would send a registered (return receipt) letter to:
Chrysler Group Customer Care
P.O. Box 21-8004
Auburn Hills, MI 48321-8004

Outlining exactly what has happened, how your feeling of safety for your family has been affected, the lack of trust for the electrical system, and request the car either have the complete electrical system replaced or a replacement car.

Phone calls are usually not worth the paper they are printed on.
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