So I thought I'd start a thread about our various dealings with our dealerships.

I'll start with today when I brought my 2015 JKU hardtop in for warranty work as I've found it has been leaking. I will preface this with that I've never removed any part of the hardtop and it may have been leaking much longer than I've thought as I'm in the PNW where it rains a lot in the winter, I don't have a garage and believed I was getting water in getting in and out. So to continue, they call me to say that the problem is that the windshield header seal is smashed from the freedom panels being improperly installed and that they don't feel it should be a warranty claim. To which they tell me other seals are covered and going to be replaced but they wanted around $600+ for the header seal. I politely explain that I feel differently as I've never removed the freedom panels and the only other group that could have done it was the dealer or the factory and ask how I go about appealing their decision. I was told that he could get the service manager on the phone to which I counter with I can just come down to the dealership and talk about it. About 5-10 minutes later as I'm half way there they call me back saying that they're gonna do me this "one time deal" and do all the repairs for free. Now they could be actually be doing me a solid but it didn't feel like it. What are your thoughts?

 

Typical.

They're not doing you a solid by begrudgingly doing their job. Get them to fix it, then take your future Jeep business elsewhere.

I have to take my Jeep 30 miles outside of town for warranty service because the two local dealerships here are useless. One won't honor warranty claims without giving me grief and the other can't seem to fix things correctly the first two or three times.

 

This is the second time I've gone to have warranty work done. The first time was right around 800 mile I heard a grinding noise and took it in. "Couldn't duplicate sound" and sent me in my way. 250 miles later I was back and well here is the write up.

 

To be fair, a dealership typically won't replace or fix a part they can't confirm themselves is faulty or broken.

 

never took my jeeps in on warrenty work
but having a good relationship with the salesman has helped alot getting small things done

 

Dealing with the Morons in the service dept. is sometimes more grief than when you arrive to purchase a new vehicle. They behave like they are loosing money by having to perform warr. work. In a number of instances, the work involved is beyond their whelm. Especially things like water leaks. Hit or miss fixes. You just have to be patient with your dealings with them and be prepared to go up the ladder. Most of these people have no problem dealing with the vehicle issue, or dealing with themselves. But when it comes to dealing with the public, they are out of their FISHBOWL so to speak and don't always act wisely.

 

Picked up my '16 JKU last month from a dealer 250 miles away. Brought it home and after second fill-up the engine light came on and stayed on. 500 miles later, I reluctantly took it in to a MUCH closer dealer. All they had to do was reset the light. They were good to deal with. And their parting comment to me was "Hey, bring it in anytime. We want to do your warranty work. If something is wrong and it breaks, we'll get paid for fixing it by the warranty." Now that's an attitude I can live with. (I'm not a wrench at all).

 

In a way, you are lucky. I had a leak in the 3 piece top, and made an appointment to have them look at it. I showed up on time, but the "water guy" didn't. I waited about an hour, and they said he was still at another dealership, and had no idea when he would arrive. It seems that there is only one "water guy" for the area, and he gets to about two dealerships a day. I rescheduled a week later, and the same thing happened again

My leak stopped by itself. I was in later for an oil change, and tried to get them to flash my 430 to accept a backup camera. I had heard that the price for that varied from free, to a full hour for a 10 minute job. They said they don't do anything for "aftermarket" parts, but I could do it myself, and gave me a URL. When I went to that, I get a request for a dealer login ID

I sure hope I don't have any warranty issues with the many other "aftermarket" parts I have, like trailer hitch, front bumper, and winch, which is hooked to the battery...

 

As with anything; there's good ones and bad ones...

That they're doing you a favor "one time deal" by replacing the header seal; TOTAL BS!!!

Yes, the panels must be installed in a correct order (and pattern of the retainers) that is outlined in the owner manual, or the seals will not seat flush...

But even if they're not seated correctly, this is a warranty issue (one that has been ongoing for years now).

Water leaks on JK's are a given...

If yours isn't leaking; give it some time... it will.

But it's also something that can be fixed.

Less frequent removal of the freedom panels will alleviate the issues as the foam pieces at the corners are prone to wear.

They're a little delicate, but they have to be in order to fill the void between the rubber seals and the plastic top.

If that dealership gives you trouble again...

Just step outside for a minute and call 1-800-992-1997 (FCA Customer Care).

 

Last year about this time we just had a huge rain storm and I hit a puddle on the road and my Jeep went into limp mode. So I limped it to the dealership and dropped it off. A week later they called and said they found the problem, my fuel lines were pushed back on top of the gas tank and kinked. They stated it would $350 to replace them because it was not covered under the life time warranty. I asked why and their response was the damage to my fuel tank skid place cause the problem not hitting a water puddle. If I could prove to them that it was the puddle they would cover it. Really a dent in the fuel tank skid causes my fuel lines to be moved back and kinked. So needless to say my Jeep has not gone back in for work at that dealership.

I would not have had an issue if I were still in Florida. I had a great working relationship with the service manager and he took care of a lot my small issues.

To the OP there are two holes behind the rear fender flares that allows water into the Jeep. Easy fix is to remove the flares and inner liners and put some gorilla tape over the holes. This will keep the water from entering there and seeping into the back seat.