Communication Breakdown - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com · February 2016

Communication Breakdown - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Our long-term 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk spent three days in the shop after returning from Detroit.

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yellowbal · February 2016

FIAT reliability with Chrysler service. They should hire models so the excessive shop visits would be more enjoyable.

miata52 · February 2016

Honestly, what do you expect from Jeep/Chrysler? Poor quality and service are the norm.

tlangness · February 2016

These test aren't about our "expectations" @miata52. They're about real-world ownership experiences. This was definitely one of those.

daryleason · February 2016

The dealerships consider warranty work to be their lowest priority. The compensation they get from the manufacturer is no where near what they charge an actual customer for work done. So I'm betting the Renegade was bumped multiple times for more lucrative service jobs. As for the "pulling" issue being solved by swapping the tires back, there's a problem there that wasn't resolved. It sounds to me that there's an issue with a rim or something. This wouldn't have been an acceptable solution to me. I'd swap the tires back out and get it to another dealership to get them to work it out. If it's the rim, they can replace it under warranty. If it's something else, they can fix it instead. But just knowing you have to keep a certain rim off the front to get the vehicle to track straight isn't a "fixed" issue.

longtimelurker · February 2016

So you has the tires in position A for around 7500 miles, then had them rotated F to R to position B for 7500 miles. Now they are back to position A. The intervals are OK, but you are not supposed to have to rotate them to get rid of a hard pull. You had an alignment issue, and it ate one or more of your front tires, but it's probably not equal to both tires. So the fact that it doesn't pull now with one tire worse than the other means that you have one bad tire on the LR and you still have an alignment problem.

Also this vehicle asked for an oil change last time at 7500 miles...so it's getting ready to ask for another one...I don't suppose anyone at the dealer or Edmunds thought to get that done since the car was going in - ?

kirkhilles1 · February 2016

I don't mean to be harsh, but is it really that critical to get it back? I'd think most people would be more interesting in getting to the bottom of everything and having it all documented. Just keep calling 2x-3x a day until its all completely fixed. Don't let them push things till out of warranty.

chiefsfan58 · February 2016

Yeah, this sounds identical to how the dealership where I live "fixed" my transmission issues with my 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Suffice it to say, I sold it and got a Chevrolet Colorado and couldn't be happier.

cpearre · February 2016

My wife had a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. One of the reasons she traded it for a 2016 Mazda CX-5 GT was the poor service experience from our local dealer. The sad part is I have a 2015 Dodge Challenger that came from the same dealer. It has been much better that the Jeep. However; when a problem occurs it takes two times to fix it. They can't get it right the first time. FCA needs to get a hand on this or they'll become extinct.

allthingshonda · February 2016

kirkhilles1 said:
I don't mean to be harsh, but is it really that critical to get it back? I'd think most people would be more interesting in getting to the bottom of everything and having it all documented. Just keep calling 2x-3x a day until its all completely fixed. Don't let them push things till out of warranty.

Yes it is that critical and it's also about the lack of communication. If this was a regular owner they would have to get rides everywhere since no loaner or rental was initially offered. Also, calling and being put on hold three times and not being told what's happening is uncalled for.

nagant · February 2016

FCA and the dealers are at war over so many issues. Pressure to inflate sales numbers, slow payment for warranty work....the list goes on and on. FCA is such a house of cards.

nate001 · February 2016

I think if the dealer gives a loaner or is willing to reimburse for a rental then that buys them an extra day or two to fix the car if they can't look at it for a few day and give a loaner that works also.

You could have also tried calling the main Jeep Customer Care center and said something along the lines of "My car is at the dealer for three days and I am sick of leaving voicemails and then waiting for them to call back" a call from the corporate office might have put a burr in their saddle.

saxdogg · February 2016

A lot of FCA hating in here.....my local ram dealer has been great for me. Warranty work and basic oil changes both. Maybe it's a west coast or institutional problem and not the brand?

s197gt · February 2016

a vehicle can be within alignment specs and have a tire that causes a pull. if you can figure out which tire it is and put it in a spot that will not cause the vehicle to pull... well, i think most people would rather just do that than buy a new tire (or pair).

"A tire that has conicity due to a manufacturing error will be apparent right after installation or immediately following the first time the tires are rotated."

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=12

you COULD check to see if you can get a new one under warranty,though.

longtimelurker · February 2016

s197gt said:
a vehicle can be within alignment specs and have a tire that causes a pull. if you can figure out which tire it is and put it in a spot that will not cause the vehicle to pull... well, i think most people would rather just do that than buy a new tire (or pair).

"A tire that has conicity due to a manufacturing error will be apparent right after installation or immediately following the first time the tires are rotated."

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=12

you COULD check to see if you can get a new one under warranty,though.

I agree with this however they rotated the tires and took a long, long highway trip, and started to notice the pull on the way back, rather than when they first started out - that leads me to think the issue was that the tire wore to conicity, not that it was that way when it first got put on the front of the car right before the trip.

notfast · February 2016

Thanks, Edmunds, for reminding why I continue to skip Chrysler products. The suburban Chicago Jeep dealers (for the wife's SUV) are total criminals & it sounds like the ones in SoCal are just a different breed of loser...

desmolicious · February 2016

I've had serious issues with Glenn E Thomas service, where they returned my Jeep Wrangler with an oil leak, a coolant leak, and a harmonic vibration in the dash. All after getting my left cylinder head replaced under warranty (a bad batch that also affected Edmund's Wrangler).

misterfusion · February 2016

I'm lucky enough to live fairly close to a FCA dealer that has a really good service dept. But otherwise it's a crapshoot. It's been that way for as long as I can remember -- way longer than FCA has existed as an entity. If you can find an independent Jeep shop that does warranty work, it's probably worth going there.

In fact, it's probably true that if you can find an independent [any make] shop, you may be better off. Even if you feel like you're being treated well by the dealer, it doesn't mean they aren't fleecing you.

Communication Breakdown - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

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