NHTSA Complaint #10064399 — 2001 JEEP WRANGLER

I BOUGHT MY WRANGLER IN OCTOBER 2000, WHICH WAS A NEW 2001. UP UNTIL THIS YEAR, 2004, I HAVE BEEN LOSING COOLANT FLUID FROM THE RESERVE BOTTLE. THE DEALERSHIP WHICH THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, BILL DELUCA CHRYSLER, PLYMOUTH, JEEP, INC., IN HAVEHILL, MA, TESTED IT RIGHT THROUGH MY WARRANTY EXPIRATION. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I BROKE DOWN IN CT, WHERE ANOTHER JEEP DEALERSHIP, GEORGETOWN JEEP DEALERSHIP, TOLD ME ABOUT A DYE TEST SHOULD BE PERFORMED. WHEN I WENT BACK TO MY ORIGINAL DEALER, I HAD TO ARGUE WITH THEM TO PERFORM THE DYE TEST, BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO PRESSURIZE MY JEEP...AGAIN. WHEN THEY PERFORMED THE DYE TEST THEY FOUND THE HEAD GASKET LEAKING AND TOLD ME I HAD TO PAY FOR IT. EVENTUALLY, THROUGH COMPLAINING THE THIS PROBLEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOUND ON MY PREVIOUS VISITS BEFORE MY WARRANTY EXPIRED, THEY DID A "GOOD WILL" JOB. I STILL ENDED UP PAYING A GOOD PORTION. TWO MONTHS LATER MY ENGINE SEIZED AND IT WAS DESCRIBED, FROM DELUCA DEALERSHIP, AS A MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE AND I WOULD REQUIRE A NEW ENGINE. WHEN THEY BROUGHT THE PROBLEM TO THEIR CHYRSLER REP., THE PERSON TOLD THEM I ONLY NEEDED A SHORT BLOCK AND NOT THE FULL ENGINE. THOUGH I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A FULL ENGINE, I WAS ONLY GIVEN A SHORT BLOCK. I ASKED THE DEALERSHIP IF I STILL HAD FULL ENGINE WARRANTY AND I WAS TOLD YES. AS TIME WENT ON, I WAS STILL LOSING COOLANT. I EVENTUALLY MOVED TO ANOTHER STATE. WHEN I BROUGHT IT TO A NEW JEEP DEALERSHIP, GEORGETOWN JEEP, IN NORWALK , CT, THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING AT FIRST. I GAVE THEM THE OKAY TO DISMANTLE MY ENGINE TO LOOK DEEPER. WHAT THEY FOUND WAS A CRACK IN MY ENGINE. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS INSANE I DID NOT RECEIVE A FULL ENGINE. CHRYSLER AND DELUCA REFUSED TO PAY AND I ENDED UP PAYING $2000. I WAS TOLD THIS CRACK WAS THERE FOR QUITE A LONG TIME AND POSSIBLY UPON INCEPTION OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE WROTE TO CHRYSLER AND THEY STILL REFUSE TO HELP STANDING BY THEIR ORIGINAL WORD. CUSTOMER SERVICE WOULD NOT EVEN HELP ME AFTER REPEATEDLY CALLING. *JB