I own a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V8 engine, which was about $35K new. A small control board, a wiring harness, and some plastic doors in the environment control system failed. Apparently for a number of model years this was a common problem. The replacement of these parts required the removal of the dashboard. Labor was the majority of the $1400 repair. Being aware of the faulty design, Jeep designed a new wiring harness.
The new harness impedes air flow. The end result is that the expensive repair that Jeep offers provides inadequate air flow for both heating and air conditioning. I now have a 10 year old car with less than 80K on it that is barely usable in the winter and summer even after spending a lot in repairs. And there is no possibility of remedy.
Jeep offers no solution (the customer service rep at Jeep suggested I might be able to find an old wiring harness that will probably fail and spend another $1000 in labor to substitute it) and their customer support line can provide no way to contact a decision maker to register my concerns. The attitude that they presented (in less direct language): “You bought it and it is now out of warranty – tough luck! We are not interested in your concerns and we are not open to having a manager discuss design concerns with you.†I would like to add that having dealt with Toyota for my wife’s car, Toyota is a breath of fresh air – both in words and actions they let you know that they care.
Jeep dropped the ball in the following:
• their original design
• their attempt to deal with the poor original design
• their ability to deal with customers
Bottom line: I now have direct experience that shows why Jeep has a bad reputation. I will never buy another Jeep and probably not any Chrysler product. I recommend that no one invest in Jeep products (they apparently do not respect their product or their customers).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I own a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V8 engine, which was about $35K new. A small control board, a wiring harness, and some plastic doors in the environment control system failed. Apparently for a number of model years this was a common problem. The replacement of these parts required the removal of the dashboard. Labor was the majority of the $1400 repair. Being aware of the faulty design, Jeep designed a new wiring harness.
The new harness impedes air flow. The end result is that the expensive repair that Jeep offers provides inadequate air flow for both heating and air conditioning. I now have a 10 year old car with less than 80K on it that is barely usable in the winter and summer even after spending a lot in repairs. And there is no possibility of remedy.
Jeep offers no solution (the customer service rep at Jeep suggested I might be able to find an old wiring harness that will probably fail and spend another $1000 in labor to substitute it) and their customer support line can provide no way to contact a decision maker to register my concerns. The attitude that they presented (in less direct language): “You bought it and it is now out of warranty – tough luck! We are not interested in your concerns and we are not open to having a manager discuss design concerns with you.†I would like to add that having dealt with Toyota for my wife’s car, Toyota is a breath of fresh air – both in words and actions they let you know that they care.
Jeep dropped the ball in the following: • their original design • their attempt to deal with the poor original design • their ability to deal with customers
Bottom line: I now have direct experience that shows why Jeep has a bad reputation. I will never buy another Jeep and probably not any Chrysler product. I recommend that no one invest in Jeep products (they apparently do not respect their product or their customers).
- Tom M., Sedona, AZ, US