NHTSA Complaint #11463551 — 2014 JEEP WRANGLER

Parts R2123503AC & 68087998AA which are available for inspection failed while driving my vehicle a day after in was serviced by the dealer. I heard a loud bang emit from under vehicle. At which point all forward motion stopped & the vehicle would not move at all when the accelerator was pressed. The engine was running and all electrical components continued to function. It stopped in the road and was not able to make it to the shoulder without being pushed. Fortunately traffic was light and the vehicles behind me were able to stop before a collision. Had this happened on the highway or at an intersection the outcome could have been much worse. There were no warning lights prior to or after the failure. I had the vehicle towed to the dealer who requested 3 hours of shop time to disassemble the powertrain. At which point i was contacted and told i needed a new transfer case. When i went to look at the transfer case i saw that the transfer case adapter and external housing was rusted and the gears were worn away. (photos) . Upon taking the part to mechanics and another dealer I was informed such wear was not a result normal usage, wear and tear. I opened a case with FCA (82582111) to enquire as to how the failure occurred. The FCA nor the dealer provided any explanation as to how the failure occurred. For background , the vehicle was custom ordered from the factory, and purchased new in 2014. It a had 64990 miles at the time of the failure. I'm the original owner & only driver of the vehicle. The vehicle has never been off-roaded or driven through high water. The vehicle has not been modified other than a Mopar 2" lift kit installed by the dealer. All scheduled factory service , maintenance and inspections were performed by the dealer. The extent of the rusting and the wearing of the components would indicate that the issue had been occurring for some time. Yet it was not detectable without the vehicle being lifted and the transfer case removed.