Had issues with the van and took it to dealer. I had purchased the extended warranty and of course had the powertrain warranty so no worries, right? Wrong! Apparently, my van went into service in December of 2007 so needed the powertrain inspection 4 months ago. The transmission needs to be totally replaced and no power train warranty because I was unaware of the inspection requirement. Everyone I have spoken to says they can't do anything about it. Is this an expensive lesson or is there someone who might be able to help me?

 

sorry to hear about the trouble you've had. Unless a manager is willing to help you out, I don't know what to tell you as far as the warranty issue goes. Did they happen to mention why the trans needs replacement?

 

I don't think the dealer's manager can do anything since he missed the Inspection dates. Usually this inspection has been explained during the vehicle purchase and Chrysler will send out mail.
Maybe call the 1800 Chrysler number and see if they can help.
Have you been doing your maintenance tho? and why does the trans needs replacement?


Well, if you have an extended warranty, why won't that cover the trans? What type of extended warranty? a 3rd party warranty or Chrysler factory warranty?

 

I've honestly never had the luxury of owning a vehicle with a warranty so I figured a manager might a place to start? lol.

 

All recommended maintenance done except for inspection. No reminder on the inspection. Not sure, honestly, if someone told me 5 years ago I would need this inspection 5 years later. To be honest, had not really thought about 5 years passing until they didn't grant this being covered.

I know very little about cars which is why I bought the extended warranty. Service rep said something about something being broken inside, I think.

Warranty purchased through dealer when I bought the vehicle. Have no clue who it's through, but I assume now and at the time that it was factory.

This was th first new car that I have ever bought, first extended warranty too. Quite possibly my last, since this happened. What's the use, really?

 

I've seen this happen a number of times. The extended warranties often have hoops to jump through. You miss a single deadline for an inspection or oil change and it can result in forfeiture of coverage. The Dodge plan is actually quite relaxed. Folks owning BMW or Mercedes get screwed far more often....you forget one oil change deadline and you're done.

These rules have a number of purposes, one being collecting premiums while bumping a large percentage of unattentive folks off the program who don't read the fine print.

Your only hope would be to demand refund of the original premium you paid for the warranty or have them credit it toward the repair.

A ton of folks are missing the 5 yr inspection. For newer cars, the free lifetime warranty goes null and void if you miss it. The window to get this inspection is quite tight, 60 days I think.

PS: the inspection requirement is clearly stated in the literature that came in your glovebox when you bought the car. Believe me, they have you....

To make matters worse, the 5 yr mandatory inspection you missed is 100% FREE.

 

The Factory Powertrain warranty has a 5yr inspection requirement. But extended warranty does not. None that I came across has one so far. Did you even tell your Dealer you have an extra Extended warranty you can use?

 

I found out after I took my car in that the required inspection would have been free and most things it found would have been covered. Expensive lesson to learn. Will never deal with Chrysler again, though. On a corporate level they were unprofessional and rude. Dealer was nice and worked out a deal so it wasn't as much, but small consolation since the policy is so cut and dried when they know there are major issues with the transmission they put in this vehicle.
There used to be something called corporate responsibility.

 

The situation you experienced where a mandatory inspection was missed resulting in forfeiture of warranty is consistent with all marques, not just Chrysler. Inspections aren't optional because it leads to neglect and hardware failure. Exceptions lead to discrimination lawsuits from customers who don't get special offerings. Toyota, Honda and Mercedes will give you the same exact treatment. The days of goodwill warranty are basically over for folks failing to follow mfr service schedules, even for those buying $100K BMW's & Mercedes with 100% free service for the life of the vehicle.

Visit any forum and you will see this is true. The 5 yr inspection is clearly outlined in warranty information provided at purchase (sitting unread in the glovebox).

I have to wonder why you didn't respond to Steak59's post. Something tells me you didn't buy a separate extended warranty, as you stated, or for some reason, the separate warranty you purchased is not being used for this repair. The forfeited warranty you're talking about comes FREE with all Chrysler products and applies to original owners who follow the inspection requirements. Any separate warranty you bought would have nothing to do with the factory 5yr inspection.

 

4 months past the 5 year inspection is a bit close. A call into Chrysler may net you some sort of assisstance. The dealership intervening on your behalf could help things along.

However, if you haven't set foot in a dealership since you bought it in 2008, they may not be interested in going out of their way to help you. This is where that whole "stay away from the stealership they'll rip you off" mentality pops up to bite you in the butt. Good luck.