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There are 4 class action lawsuits against dodge Chrysler Jeep.

10K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  shakanobie 
#1 ·
My 2018 Compass Trailhawk has every single issue in this lawsuits. Transmission slips and rough shifts. Engine oil consumption and combustion chamber, a loud clicking noise from the motor and finally the Uconnect system crashing and not working properly. Has anyone else had these issues
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the site. The only problem you mention that I've had was the oil consumption on my previous (2018) Compass. There is a free update/recall that should solve your oil consumption problem. Others on the site say it has worked for them.

You didn't say what tranny you have. I presume you have the ZF9a/t. No, other than a significant gap between 5 and 4 when descending a hill, the transmission has been fine. The drive-train does make a grumbling noise but that is normal. (If you've ever ridden in a Subaru, you'll agree the Compass is comparatively quiet!).

Not sure what you meant by "combustion chamber." All internal combustion engines have a combustion chamber. That's integral to the design and function.

I've not had a problem with the U-connect, but if you do it ought to be covered under the warranty. Unfortunately some other owners on this site have also had problems with the electronics. IMHO there is too much unnecessary technology. Do we really need the heater controls on a touchscreen??? What foolishness! But since they can do it, they think they should.
 
#3 ·
Any time I try to get anyone to work on my car under warranty, I get the run around. I even pay for an extra extended warranty as well as a Powertrain warranty. I bought it pre certified used at a Toyota dealership. Asked the many questions of anything wrong? Why it was traded, ect. They told me, as well as my own mechanic, that Jeep’s were rated in the top makes of vehicles. This is the first vehicle I’ve bought at an actual dealer. Toyota tells me I need to take to Jeep, I took it to my local jeep for a window repair (insurance claim) and I was not pleased with the services at all and the front desk lady told me I needed to take to Toyota because that’s where I bought it. I can’t be without a car and also can’t afford a rental at $139 a day while app these issues are fixed. So I’m at a loss of what to do. I most certainly wouldn’t want to sue anyone. I’m just stick with a lemon of a jeep and between 2 kids, school for all of us, me working, it gets stressful abs expensive trying to fix.
 
#4 ·
One never knows why a used vehicle is on a dealer's lot. It could be something traded in, but if someone trades for a different brand, I'd figure the owner didn't like the brand so they traded for something else. Or it could just be an off-lease vehicle that went to auction. A dealer wants an assortment on their lot, probably a couple of every brand or at least in every category, e.g., mini-van, SUV, sports car, pick-up, etc. If they buy at auction they probably have no idea of it's history.

Don't expect a Toyota dealer to know much about Jeeps, and don't expect a Jeep dealer to stand behind something a Toyota dealer sold. I tend to avoid aftermarket warranties. I figure I'll save the money by not purchasing the warranty so I'll have the money if I need a repair. The one time I bought an aftermarket warranty they company was gone when I needed it.

On the bright side, I was given a free lifetime warranty on my 2008 Patriot. They replaced the transmission twice under warranty, once at 120,000 miles, and again at 270,000 miles. Didn't cost me a dime.
 
#6 ·
One never knows why a used vehicle is on a dealer's lot. It could be something traded in, but if someone trades for a different brand, I'd figure the owner didn't like the brand so they traded for something else. Or it could just be an off-lease vehicle that went to auction. A dealer wants an assortment on their lot, probably a couple of every brand or at least in every category, e.g., mini-van, SUV, sports car, pick-up, etc. If they buy at auction they probably have no idea of it's history.

Don't expect a Toyota dealer to know much about Jeeps, and don't expect a Jeep dealer to stand behind something a Toyota dealer sold. I tend to avoid aftermarket warranties. I figure I'll save the money by not purchasing the warranty so I'll have the money if I need a repair. The one time I bought an aftermarket warranty they company was gone when I needed it.

On the bright side, I was given a free lifetime warranty on my 2008 Patriot. They replaced the transmission twice under warranty, once at 120,000 miles, and again at 270,000 miles. Didn't cost me a dime.
That’s awesome I’m glad your things got repaired. So what would be your opinion on what I should do or how I should go about this
 
#8 ·
Every automaker is in a constant state of getting sued, none of it ever goes anywhere, they all have top notch lawyers and are pumping millions of dollars into legal defense non-stop year-round. Anything you read about class action stuff is just the hungry small-potatoes lawyers groups trying to drum up attention and find a ***** in the armor. They are just beating their heads against the wall. If you wait for class-action to come down and force Jeep to fix your car it will never happen.

This doesn't help you but for anyone else's sake or anyone who ever asks me I tell them the same thing: Never buy a used Jeep. Jeep isn't the only brand you shouldn't buy used, but its definitely one of them. Would you buy a used BMW or Audi? Most people would say "No, they have too many quirky issues, once they are out of warranty they are too complicated and expensive to maintain." Well, sorry to say Jeeps are like that nowadays too. They didn't used to be, and not a lot of people are willing to admit it but that's how I see it (and we own two of them).

Jeep has evolved constantly over its long and tremulous history, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. It seems like every time they start to get a good grip on what they're doing, they suddenly have new foster parents (meaning, the brand gets sold again) and the direction changes and things fall apart internally.

The Wrangler is its own thing with its own division, it has its issues too but outside of the Wrangler I'm talking about all the other cars that Jeep's name gets put on, but Jeep doesn't really make anything of their own besides the Wrangler. Its all rebadged cars and platforms from sister brands under its owner's umbrella (which is and always has been constantly changing for them). Its always a re-mix of parts from the sibling companies with half-assed supervision from whatever current foster parents they have at the time and lo and behold the remix of parts always comes out as vehicles with stupid problems that shouldn't have happened.

Huge consistency issues. Some lucky ducks get "good ones" that either don't have a lot of issues and/or the issues they have don't affect that particular owner and the way they use the car. One of my rear doors does not work in the winter. You can't open it if its below freezing outside. I just deal with that one because I don't have kids and I almost never have passengers. Stupid, but true.

My car was haunted with issues out the gate and has spent more time in the shop than any other car I've ever owned put together, (and I've owned many more cars than most people ever will in their entire lifetime).

When its working properly, its one of the best car's I've ever owned. The most comfortable. The most stylish. The coolest features. Great handling. Excellent capability. When its working its awesome.

But Jeep is not a reliable brand. It just isn't. They aren't reliable and they aren't consistent. Some have great experiences, some are mixed like mine, and some are just plain bad.

Nobody should buy a used Jeep that is not covered by a thorough warranty.

The only way to buy a Jeep, in my eyes, is to lease a new one for long enough to ensure its not a lemon and let the dealership service department work out all the kinks under warranty. If all goes well you will either feel OK about keeping the Jeep and buying it out at the end of the lease, because you can live with whatever stupid issues are remaining (my car has been into the shop for the door issue twice, they simply can't fix it) , OR, you will not feel OK about keeping it due to too many unresolved, unlivable issues and so you return the lease and make a graceful exit into something else.

I truly believe that's the only way to not land in the spot the OP is in right now. The OP is stuck holding the bag of someone else's returned problematic lease (or they failed to get issues addressed when it was still under warranty).

You need a thorough warranty, and it needs to be an extended one because Jeep's factory warranty is the shortest and worst in the industry and is gone before you can blink.

These are really cool lifestyle vehicles they try to make but Jeep's home life is terrible, like I said they basically just got bought and sold again and watch out because the newest foster parents appear to be homeopathic vegans... who knows what's going to happen to the brand in the next five years. It's definitely not headed in a real good direction right now.

Circling way back to the OP's current problem, you are going to have to decide whether to chip away at these things fighting with the dealer service department or unload the vehicle if its too unbearable. Most likely you will never get all the issues resolved (like me) but you might get it to an acceptable state. It will be a constant fight at the dealership because the service centers are between a rock and a hard place too, corporate won't pay them for a lot of things that should be covered under warranty which forces them to push back on you to avoid them eating a dirt sandwich. That's not really your problem but you have to work with them somehow.

Depending on the miles you might still be able to snag some kind of third-party warranty, tread carefully though as they can be treacherous and expensive. Seems like the only time you can get Jeep to halfway try to work on these things' problems is that short period when they are brand new off the lot. After that you become chopped liver, even with extended warranty sometimes...

Well, anyways, I'm off to go spread sunshine and rainbows elsewhere (as I do) 😁 Good luck!
 
#13 ·
Every automaker is in a constant state of getting sued, none of it ever goes anywhere, they all have top notch lawyers and are pumping millions of dollars into legal defense non-stop year-round. Anything you read about class action stuff is just the hungry small-potatoes lawyers groups trying to drum up attention and find a * in the armor. They are just beating their heads against the wall. If you wait for class-action to come down and force Jeep to fix your car it will never happen.

This doesn't help you but for anyone else's sake or anyone who ever asks me I tell them the same thing: Never buy a used Jeep. Jeep isn't the only brand you shouldn't buy used, but its definitely one of them. Would you buy a used BMW or Audi? Most people would say "No, they have too many quirky issues, once they are out of warranty they are too complicated and expensive to maintain." Well, sorry to say Jeeps are like that nowadays too. They didn't used to be, and not a lot of people are willing to admit it but that's how I see it (and we own two of them).

Jeep has evolved constantly over its long and tremulous history, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. It seems like every time they start to get a good grip on what they're doing, they suddenly have new foster parents (meaning, the brand gets sold again) and the direction changes and things fall apart internally.

The Wrangler is its own thing with its own division, it has its issues too but outside of the Wrangler I'm talking about all the other cars that Jeep's name gets put on, but Jeep doesn't really make anything of their own besides the Wrangler. Its all rebadged cars and platforms from sister brands under its owner's umbrella (which is and always has been constantly changing for them). Its always a re-mix of parts from the sibling companies with half-assed supervision from whatever current foster parents they have at the time and lo and behold the remix of parts always comes out as vehicles with stupid problems that shouldn't have happened.

Huge consistency issues. Some lucky ducks get "good ones" that either don't have a lot of issues and/or the issues they have don't affect that particular owner and the way they use the car. One of my rear doors does not work in the winter. You can't open it if its below freezing outside. I just deal with that one because I don't have kids and I almost never have passengers. Stupid, but true.

My car was haunted with issues out the gate and has spent more time in the shop than any other car I've ever owned put together, (and I've owned many more cars than most people ever will in their entire lifetime).

When its working properly, its one of the best car's I've ever owned. The most comfortable. The most stylish. The coolest features. Great handling. Excellent capability. When its working its awesome.

But Jeep is not a reliable brand. It just isn't. They aren't reliable and they aren't consistent. Some have great experiences, some are mixed like mine, and some are just plain bad.

Nobody should buy a used Jeep that is not covered by a thorough warranty.

The only way to buy a Jeep, in my eyes, is to lease a new one for long enough to ensure its not a lemon and let the dealership service department work out all the kinks under warranty. If all goes well you will either feel OK about keeping the Jeep and buying it out at the end of the lease, because you can live with whatever stupid issues are remaining (my car has been into the shop for the door issue twice, they simply can't fix it) , OR, you will not feel OK about keeping it due to too many unresolved, unlivable issues and so you return the lease and make a graceful exit into something else.

I truly believe that's the only way to not land in the spot the OP is in right now. The OP is stuck holding the bag of someone else's returned problematic lease (or they failed to get issues addressed when it was still under warranty).

You need a thorough warranty, and it needs to be an extended one because Jeep's factory warranty is the shortest and worst in the industry and is gone before you can blink.

These are really cool lifestyle vehicles they try to make but Jeep's home life is terrible, like I said they basically just got bought and sold again and watch out because the newest foster parents appear to be homeopathic vegans... who knows what's going to happen to the brand in the next five years. It's definitely not headed in a real good direction right now.

Circling way back to the OP's current problem, you are going to have to decide whether to chip away at these things fighting with the dealer service department or unload the vehicle if its too unbearable. Most likely you will never get all the issues resolved (like me) but you might get it to an acceptable state. It will be a constant fight at the dealership because the service centers are between a rock and a hard place too, corporate won't pay them for a lot of things that should be covered under warranty which forces them to push back on you to avoid them eating a dirt sandwich. That's not really your problem but you have to work with them somehow.

Depending on the miles you might still be able to snag some kind of third-party warranty, tread carefully though as they can be treacherous and expensive. Seems like the only time you can get Jeep to halfway try to work on these things' problems is that short period when they are brand new off the lot. After that you become chopped liver, even with extended warranty sometimes...

Well, anyways, I'm off to go spread sunshine and rainbows elsewhere (as I do) 😁 Good luck!
Thank you for your reply. Mine has 40,000 mile. I just bought 6 months ago
 
#9 ·
I think arudlang is a little huffy. No, there is no completely reliable brand, and the older any of them get the more problems they will have. There is a reason used cars are cheaper than new cars.

OP's car is almost new so it's definitely worth the repair. @Kmanning143, I don't know the terms of your warranty. Does it have to go to the selling dealer for a repair? If not, I'd say take it to a Jeep dealer. They're better equipped to trouble-shoot their own brand. If the first dealer blew you off, find a different Jeep dealer, and tell them your story without getting POed at them. Remember, the new dealer didn't make it and didn't sell it to you. They are as much at the mercy of the manufacturer as you are. However, a Jeep dealer has more resources than the Toyota dealer did, because they can access Service Bulletins and Star Cases. Jeep dealers work on Jeeps and nothing else all day long so there's a good chance they've seen your problem(s) before and may have some solutions that may not be commonly known yet.

Failing that, your local mechanic may be clever enough to figure it all out, but it will take time and research. Like I said, a franchised dealer can probably find the solution quicker.

Be patient. I had a Jeep with 200,000+ miles on it that had a wiring problem. I have a dealer that I knew and trusted. They worked on it several times before finally finding the solution. I got another 80,000 miles out of that vehicle, so it was well worth my effort. Yours is so new it is definitely worth the repair.

Finally, consider that new cars are in very short supply these days. You may just go to a dealer and tell them you know it's a short market right now and if they can give you a good deal on a trade, you might get something that gives you less trouble. Don't tell them your tale of woe; just say you want something smaller, cuter, bigger, different color, whatever. I did that with my '74 Cherokee. I loved it, but as a newly married couple we couldn't afford the maintenance. I traded for a '78 Plymouth (almost new at the time) and got something reliable and the payments weren't all that much more.

So, try a different dealer. I think that's your best bet. If a couple more tries can't fix it, go shopping. Whatever dealer buys it will probably wholesale it anyway and you'll never hear about it. If you try to sell it privately, the next owner is going to show up at your door and that won't be good.
 
#10 · (Edited)
"paid for extra extended warranty as well as a Powertrain warranty"
Suggestion:
Get your copy of your warranties. Read through them and the fine print. A lot of them cover a rental car.
Call them ask them for a recommendation on a repair shop. I don't know how many Jeep dealers are in your area, do a search make a few phone calls and ask to speak with the service manager and explain what is going on. Write things down so you can explain the best you can. I personally would start a conversation with (1) JeepCares | My Jeep Compass Forum on this forum and see if they can help you out. I had a number of issue with my Jeep Trailhawk since the day I bought it brand new and it was very discouraging. The first 5000 miles were per hell. But I found a great dealer with a outstanding service department. Worked with a representative from Jeep and got the issues fixed. Now a 120,000 miles later it has been a very reliable vehicle.
 
#12 ·
I haven’t figured that out. Indiana does not currently have an active lawsuit. So I’m going to have to start one, but that’s something at this point, I’m willing to do. I would check your [State] class action lawsuits list. i know California and I believe New York and Ohio all have them. My 2018 Jeep Compass trail hawk can even be traced back to Ohio being original dealer. STILL WONT HELP.
 
#15 ·
I'm one of the lucky ones. My 2018 sucked oil but not as bad as some. My 2019 has been trouble-free.

I agree about not buying a used Jeep, even a Wrangler. There is something about a Jeep that people want to see what it will do so it gets driven into places that angels fear to tread. Bad things happen and the vehicle gets sold. I've seen one person on here who bought a used Jeep and discovered the tires were wearing funny because the frame or suspension had been bent and alignment couldn't correct it. I presume a previous owner had climbed a rockpile and done some hidden damage. Except for the Wrangler, most Jeeps today are simply cars with AWD. Only a nut-case is going to take a $50,000 vehicle out in a swamp! Ah, but they do, because of those 4 letters on the fender.
 
#17 ·
Yes that happened to me they tried to give me the run-around untill I called the corporate office and send the bbb,DMV investigator and others involve first it was my motor then my transmission and it was semi new 2019 but they insist on saying is not a lemon car and o paid it cash 23,000.00 I so regret it. Good luck get everyone involved so you have record 😉😁
 
#24 ·
We're sorry for the frustration, lbug5.

Our team is available via private message if you need assistance with your concerns!

Steph
Jeep Cares
 
#25 ·
I also bought a jeep less than a year ago. I traded my 2018 Chevy cruiz for a 2020 jeep compass trail hawk addition. I wish I never did that! At 7 months in just before winter, October I backed out of my drive way heard a loud clunk noise went to turn my wheel heard that noise again. I got out to investigate and my driver's side wheel fell off of my jeep! The ball joint was seard off at the nut? If me and my 14 year old daughter were on the freeway doing 75mph we would of been dead it's do doubt a fatal incident. I have an extended warranty with a $100 deductible but wound up walking out of the dealership paying them $400? Also it took them 3months to fix ir after I had gone down to their lot to throw a fit. I'm a single mother who lives in a rural area so getting my daughter to school was fun also me getting to work was just as fun! The warranty only covers a rental car for a single week yeah they had my car for 3 months! So I bought a little throw away car which wound up blowing up on me which caused me to go and have them get the job done. I felt very taken advantage of and I wasn't happy I'm still not happy! I feel like there's nothing I can do because I am just a little fish in their big pond and I don't have the money or resources to be able to make them listen to me. I feel defeated and I feel I could of had better treatment after all I'll end up paying almost 40k for this jeep and I haven't even had it a year. I pay for a service that I'm unable to take advantage of and although they fixed it it wasn't without problems getting them to. Now my other side is going out should of figured they didn't check the other side while underneath the thing. I'm scared to have it taken care of there and I need my car I can't do anything because my hands are tied can't get another vehicle I owe to much on this one and i don't have a manufacturing warranty so I don't have a case under the lemon law! Anyone have any suggestions on what I might be able to do?
 
#26 ·
The ball joint was seard off... I have an extended warranty with a $100 deductible but wound up walking out of the dealership paying them $400?... Now my other side is going out should of figured they didn't check the other side while underneath the thing.
A new ball joint is <$50, and it should take less than an hour to replace. An alignment is needed afterwards. You should be able to get one replaced for <$250 all-in. It's a simple job, take it to a good independent shop, not the dealer.

Why did you pay more than the $100 deductible? What didn't they cover?

But I wonder if that's really the issue. Ball joints very rarely fail, they get worn and cause sloppy steering and uneven tire wear. And there's something suspicious about a 2020 having bad ones. They should be good for 100K+ miles. And your wheel won't "fall off", although the suspension on that side might collapse with the wheel sticking out at an angle.
 
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