Jeep's new lifetime power train warranty: What exactly is covered?

[Ryan in Maine]

What parts will Jeep (and friends) be filing under "power train"?

[Matthew Carberry]

Anything with a replacement cost of only 2 digits. 

I swear they think their stuff is made of gold.

Does the dealership not have a brochure?

[Harold Tuttle]

Q2: What does the new powertrain limited warranty include?
A2: The Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Warranty covers the cost of all parts and labor needed to repair covered powertrain components  engine, transmission and drive system  on most new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge 2006 MY, 2007 MY and 2008 MY vehicles.

Q3: What powertrain parts and components are covered?
A3: Gasoline engine, transmission and drive systems (FWD, AWD, RWD or 4WD).

Q4: Are there specific provisions to the new warranty?
A4. In order to maintain the Chrysler Lifetime Powertrain Warranty, you must have a powertrain inspection performed by an authorized Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge dealer once every 5 years. This inspection, performed at no charge, must be made within 60 days of each 5-year anniversary of the warranty start date of the vehicle. It is your responsibility to perform preventative maintenance on your vehicle. Youre strongly encouraged to follow the instructions contained in the Scheduled Maintenance Service guidelines in your Owners Manual.

[Ryan in Maine]

That works. Thanks guys. 

I guess it's a little better than I thought it was.

The literature I've read so far has been very prolix.

[Paddy]

Chrysler needs a lifetime powertrain warranty because they make the worst automatic transmissions on the planet.  You'll be lucky to get 70k out of one. 

[Tallpine]

Well, if it breaks, then I guess its "lifetime" is ended ...   

[Matthew Carberry]

Well, if it breaks, then I guess its "lifetime" is ended ...   

That's not fair.

They hire deathbed patients to sign on behalf of the company, it's their lifetime you have to worry about.

[lee n. field]

Whose lifetime?

Picked up one of these with a "lifetime warranty".  Six months of normal use later it is completely shot.  Warranty fine print turns out to be "This warranty is for the normal, usable life of this product. This warranty does not cover damage caused by normal wear and tear nor by improper care, accident, misuse, or alteration. Natural breakdown of materials occurs over time and use.", so I don't think I'm going to bother.

[Brad Johnson]

Don't know for a fact, but was told that the "Lifetime Warranty" only applied to the original owner, and only if all the service (inluding preventive things like oil changes) was performed at a dealership.  If the car was sold a standard month/mileage warranty went into place.

Again, hearsay, but sounds plausible.

Brad

[Boomhauer]

Let's look at this rationally...

1) ChrysDodJeep makes horrible vehicles that fall apart. The used car lots are full of Dodge trucks...
2) Manufacturers typically rig the "Lifetime" warranty gig with so many constrictions and conditions that it is very hard to meet

Don't know for a fact, but was told that the "Lifetime Warranty" only applied to the original owner, and only if all the service (inluding preventive things like oil changes) was performed at a dealership

More than likely this is the case...

[Declaration Day]

......and since so few people who buy new cars keep them until they die, Chrysler is off the hook on at least 90% of the cars covered by that warranty.

It's just like mail-in-rebates.  They make the company look good on paper, but almost nobody sends them in.

[Paddy]

but almost nobody sends them in.

And those of us who do don't always get the rebate.

[Declaration Day]

but almost nobody sends them in.

And those of us who do don't always get the rebate.

Really?  I guess that makes sense, as so many of them tell you to wait 8 to 1,000 weeks for delivery.  Just enough time for most people to forget about it.

Come to think of it, I never received the ten thousand free "Stop 2A" anti-gun posters that the Brady Campaign was offering for free months ago.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

[K Frame]

Knowing Jeep, NOTHING will be covered. It all sounds great and is excluded by the fine print.

[roo_ster]

Don't know for a fact, but was told that the "Lifetime Warranty" only applied to the original owner, and only if all the service (inluding preventive things like oil changes) was performed at a dealership.  If the car was sold a standard month/mileage warranty went into place.

Again, hearsay, but sounds plausible.

Brad

Some states have outlawed this requirement and as long as the maint is done by somebody, the warranty is not voided.

Chrysler quality has improved over the years, along with most other auto makers, but is probably not up to par with Ford & Chevy.

One last note: If you do get a vehicle with a lifetime warranty, and have to put the warranty to use a significant number of times, you will still end up hating the auto.

[K Frame]

"but was told that the "Lifetime Warranty" only applied to the original owner, and only if all the service (inluding preventive things like oil changes) was performed at a dealership."

As far as I know that is absolutely UNTRUE under the strictures of the Magnuson-Moss Act.

[Brad Johnson]

I think Magnuson-Moss was designed to deal with warranty cancellations from "implied" (unstated) warranty issues related to the installation of third-party and aftermarket parts.

If memory serves it came from manufacturers voiding warranties when owners installed aftermarket parts even though the repercussions of such installations were not specifically addressed in the warranty agreement.  In other words, the warranty agreement did not specifically state that installation of the parts would void the warranty, thus the warranty can't be arbitrarily voided just because said parts were installed.

If memory serves, a manufacturer can require anything as a condition of a warranty so long as that issue/item is specifically addressed in the warranty agreement.

Brad

[Nick1911]

In general, I've never found a warranty that wasn't designed to screw the consumer out of money.  I refuse to buy into warranties for this reason.  I'll take my chances.

[Declaration Day]

I did some digging on that warranty.  It seems the only caveats are 1) owner must keep up on maintenance (duh) 2) an inspection every five years and 3) warranty is non-transferable.

I'm guessing the reason for the five-year inspection is to detect any emerging problems before they cause more costly problems in the future, followed by the mechanic's opinion that you're not properly maintaining the vehicle so the warranty is void.   

It does not say that the owner must provide records showing that all scheduled maintenance was performed according to the owner's manual, but I'd advise anyone buying a new Chrysler to do so.

[K Frame]

I'm pretty sure that Magnusson-Moss did away with the requirement for dealership service for warranty coverage.

In the old days the dealership could require that owners have their oil changed at the dealership to maintain the warranty. It wasn't uncommon for a pre 1975 dealership oil change to cost $50 or more. Failure to do so could, and often did, result in the car's entire warranty being voided.

It now falls on the owner to prove that maintenance has been maintained in a manner consistent with manufacturer specifications.

In other words, the dealer can't, as was common in the old days, cancel your warranty totally because you have a set of non GM or Chrysler but totally OEM spec spark plugs installed.


Here, check out this link and scroll down to "tie in provisions."

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.shtm#Magnuson-Moss


Here's the applicable section: "Generally, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed. Such a provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to buy an item or service from a particular company to use with the warranted product in order to be eligible to receive a remedy under the warranty."

It's no coincidence that places such as Jiffy Lube and Kwik Lube Express, as well as a bunch of other businesses just like them, came into existence after 1975's Magnuson Moss act.

[Ryan in Maine]

Kind of disappointing the warranty isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I've been thinking about upgrading from my Pontiac Sunfire (shouldn't be hard to do). I was considering the Jeep Compass as a daily driver since I don't do any real off-road driving but the winter conditions here make for very poor driving.

What might be a good daily driver under $16,000 that can handle a northern Maine winter?

So far I've been looking at entry-level vehicles. Mostly used, but some new cars are interesting.