Originally Posted by fallhollow

I hate that this is my first post here but I work at a different manufacturer in the exact department that deals with claims like this. As the insurance company investigator said, there was no determined cause and, unfortunately, that is what the Chrysler investigator probably determined: that no defect was determined to be the cause of the "incident." At that point, it becomes a matter of subrogation wherein the insurance company may (at their discretion) sue the manufacturer for reimbursement for the money they paid you as part of your claim. If the insurance company is successful, through court or settlement, you should see your deductible (if any) reimbursed as well.

Sucks that it happened and very well may have been defect related, but it appears a "no fault" incident is an insurance issue. Chrysler is not going to share their report with anyone, which is common practice in the industry, and is not just Chrysler being dicks. Your call to them allowed Chrysler to determine their liability and had something been found definitive, they probably would have just covered it. It is a business and "cost-effective" decisions are made everyday, but they aren't going to give the report out to be picked apart by "experts." They were asked to see if they were at fault and they found they were not in their opinion.

It doesn't appear to be the case here but the #1 cause of vehicle fires that we have investigated: thrown piston rod through the engine block because someone didn't change their oil. Sadly, everyone on "our side of the aisle" is jaded toward car fires.

Also, this is completely aside from any recall talk. That is a whole separate issue. And I am not making excuses for Chrysler but I hope this helps understand their actions.

Originally Posted by VETTETHRET

So there's a history of this with the NHTSA involved and all Chrysler have to do is deny it and there's no legal ramifications for these cowards? How many fires do there have to be for a class action lawsuit? This is the NEW America, no corporate responsibility here!

Originally Posted by jake_jay

Is this just Chrysler's attempt to cover their asses?

Originally Posted by jake_jay

He told me that their report indicated that the cause of the fire was a branch stuck in the undercarriage...

Originally Posted by fallhollow

No, but they did weigh the information they found in their investigation and found the issue deniable. OP asked for Chrysler to look into it and they did. OP now has a choice, sue or don't. Yes, the report "may" be obtainable through the discovery process of a lawsuit but that will be long down the road and it will probably be no more conclusive than OP's own insurance hired investigator. So, at the end of the day, OP will have hired a lawyer to get an inconclusive report and is no closer to proving Chrysler liable than he is now.

He will also have to prove real monetary damages and right now that appears to be just the insurance deductible right now; OP cannot sue Chrysler into a recall. A class action lawsuit for a widespread defect usually results in an extended warranty and a payday for the attorneys involved. Chrysler may pay for the actually burned cars but by then, it will be mostly reimbursements to insurance companies. Again, no recall.

NHTSA is the way to get a recall initiated, however inefficient they may be.

Originally Posted by Chefbrujo

What is the direction Fiat is taking Jeep? And how does anyone know that?