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My Eco Diesel is officially a lemon.

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#1 · (Edited)
So after reading several posts on this site, and a few others, I realize that I'm not alone, so I'm looking for some guidance here.

Long story short:

My Eco Diesel has been in the shop (local dealer) for warranty air suspension, leaking transmission heater module, leaking oil injection pump, and now the catalytic converter and DEF (pump?). Total time in the dealer has been over a month, and they're not giving me a firm date on when a new catalytic converter will be arriving at the dealer. I've contacted Chrysler and I have a case going because that was necessary to get a rental paid.

The truck has 14,000 miles on it, and the title was issues 9 months ago. To be honest, I just don't trust it anymore and I want to dive into the world of the CA Lemon Law. I can't imagine that this process will be easy, but I have time to commit to it, and I'm willing to go the distance. What I want is for them to buy the vehicle back.

What resources or advice would somebody recommend to best navigate these waters? I've done Google searches and have read several docs, but some real world experiences would be of some help. Attorneys? Arbitration? Etc....

Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
No idea on how to go about it, but I definitely think you need to make that truck a lemon.
If you do get them to take it back as a lemon will you get another?
Good luck and keep up posted on what happens.
 
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#4 ·
The EcoDiesel engine is equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), diesel particulate filter (DPF), and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). That means the EcoDiesel requires the use of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) It does not have a catalytic converter All emission component's are along for the Ride "That's it" if your Service Dealer is tell you that YOU have a catalytic converter they are costing YOU money and Chrysler, If you/they want to condemn the truck, How about condemning a component its has.
 
#11 ·
OK...so for an update...my ED is still at the dealer (now over 40 days at 14K miles) and Chrysler has opened up a case. I formally explained to them that I want the Lemon Law on this truck, and they said that they need a week to review the case. If anyone is interested, I'm willing to document how this process works in "real time". Meaning, I can't imagine that many people have gone through this experience, and maybe it will be of some help to have a front row seat to how it all goes down. Chrysler has been fair and helpful up to this point, and I realize that stuff sometimes doesn't work out as intended, so I'm interested in seeing how this works. I'm going to go at it alone until I feel like things are not going the way I feel they should, then I'll hire an attorney. Till then, I'm working under the assumption that they are reasonable and fair. Everyone should start there at least...
 
#17 ·
Lemon Law Experience



New Member, First Post. I was just wandering around this forum, as a prospective RAM ED buyer doing my research. I stumbled upon your thread, and share your pain as I had to lemon law a MINI Cooper here in California. Did it on my own via the CA BBB arbitration and won. Took about 3 months. Without writing up a 20 page long post on how to do a lemon law I will tell you briefly what I learned. Of course this varies by state/country but since we are both in Cali, I'll share my experience.

1) Document everything. This means keeping every invoice, receipt, sales document, maintenance record, finance statement, email, and written journal of every written and especially non-written communication (i.e. phone calls, in person conversations, etc.). I may have left out some, but you get the idea keep & document everything.
2) Formally write a letter to the MFG. telling them about your experience/situation. Assuming you meet the minimum CA lemon law thresholds, then site the legal codes and tell them how you want it resolved. I've attached a link to a great letter that I used as a template <https://erichadalemon.wordpress.com>. No matter if you decide to go it on your own or you plan to hire an attorney you will still need to contact the mfg. in WRITTING to fulfill one of the first hurdles in any lemon law case.
3) In your communications with the mfg. or dealer be Professional & Firm. Avoid being emotional.
4) IF (big IF) you don't mind doing things yourself and researching a bit (PS the link above will really get you pointed in the right directions) then you can do it on your own without a lawyer. The mfg. and most long standing lemon lawyers know each other on a first name basis. As noted before in this thread, in lemon law the mfg. pays your attorney fees if you win. This can cost the mfg. additional thousand $$. I say this because there is a financial incentive for a mfg. to settle a lemon law case before you get an attorney. After you get an attorney the mfg. might as well delay the legal process as long as possible in hope that you get frustrated and move on...why not it's worth a shot? So if you present your case and show proper cause for executing a lemon law claim, they may be inclined to just settle up. Plus if they settle up with you and no lawyer they just "buy-back" the vehicle and then their mfg. record does not show having produced a "lemon", nor do they have to take the steep financial loss of trying to resell a "lemon" (fyi. if you don't sue them then the DMV does not record lemon on the title, they can resell your car for more). Plus if you get a lawyer and sue, then they have to hire a lawyer too (most mfg. hire 3rd party lawyers for this). In summary mfg, buys back your truck for $xx,xxx, if you hire a lawyers the mfg buys back your truck for $xx,xxx + your legal fees + their legal fees + the loss of resale value with the new "lemon" description on the title. Essentially you hiring a lawyer could end up costing the mfg another $10k+.

Best of luck. If you have questions let me know and I will try and help. I know how screwed up these situations are, but remember it just business for the mfg. and dealer, its not personal.

I'm not a lawyer BTW....hahaha :)
 
#12 ·
DUDE. My buddy in CA just did Lemon Law for his Mercedes. But you need to act NOW and jump on it and get the process rolling. The process is on the state consumer protection website. I also HIGHLY recommend you hire an attorney. Mine also read the entire fine print on the back of my purchase contract and found some things we can use in court.

Remember, under lemon law the lawyer fees the manufacture pays for if t goes to court.

Whatever you do DONT opt for arbitration. Just document EVERTHING. Write down dates and times of phone calls to every FCA douchebag you speak to. The people at customer care are useless. Forget that. Just focus with your lemon law process and follow the steps. My buddys MERC buyback took 1 year and 8 months in CA.
 
#15 ·
You need to bone up on your states Lemon Law so you can speak with some authority rather than guessing. It is better to approach them with a position of power ( knowledge) than to make casual and off hand comments out of frustration. Be assured, they know the law and are going to do what they can to try to fix the problem. Good for you if you are willing to work with them. Also good for you if you choose to follow the letter of the law.
 
#21 ·
A friend of mine used the Lemon law to get his Dodge car taken back by Dodge. After a long battle Dodge agreed to buy back the car. Problem was Dodge wanted 45 cents a mile for every mile on the odometer but did come down to 32 cents a mile. This was about 22 years ago, so no telling what they may charge today. You may be better off just trading the truck in on another truck. I have 17,000 miles on my truck and at 32 cents a mile that would be 5,440 dollars about the same amount of money if I were to trade or sell the truck and no hassle.
Hope you get everything worked out the way you want.
 
#24 ·
Following this seeing as mine is about to be declared the same. 37 days in the shop, but not 30 business days yet. Still have oil in the coolant and can't take it in until after I move. I'll be damned if I rent a truck to move myself to my new house when I paid the better part of $50k for one. Since I wasn't given a loaner for like 25 days straight the last time it was in despite much arguing, and then received a dodge journey (and also got an avenger for a previous visit), I can't let them take my truck in again til I'm done.

Sucks, and I really hope the resolution doesn't take a year like the Mercedes guy mentioned in this thread. And I still washed her today :(

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