I purchased a new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 in May of 2023. Woot woot! This was strictly a recreational vehicle, and not my daily driver, so it only had 2,100 miles on it by April of 2025. That is when tragedy struck, the motor straight seized up! No problem right, it is still under warranty and only has a handful of miles on it. I took it to Heritage CDJR of Logan where I bought it for warranty work. After months of run around, and the Jeep sitting outside, I was told that Jeep refused to cover it because I did not have "service records" showing that the oil changed every 6 months. Surely this must be a mistake right? Vehicles sit on the dealer lot all the time for extended periods of time and there is no policy from Jeep to change the oil when purchased. I called Jeep Customer Care who told me that they dealer had placed the restriction on the Jeep and they were the only ones who could remove it. I went back and forth between Jeep Customer Care and Heritage who kept pointing fingers at each other. Infuriating. Finally Jeep Customer Care suggested that I take it to another dealership and they should be able to lift the restriction. I should point out that the restriction they are referring to is over the ENTIRE Jeep. Any warranty work that needs done to this vehicle from here forward will face strict scrutiny from Jeep because I didn't change the oil every 6 months. Yep, if the dash goes out, or the window won't roll up, the warranty is flagged by Jeep for additional review.
I ended up putting the Jeep on to a trailer and driving it 100 miles to Larry H Miller Jeep in Sandy. The service team at LHM said that they would work with Ryan Lamb, the area manager for Stellantis, to see what they could do. Perfect, finally we are working with a live person in customer support and retention. LHM eventually told me that Jeep still refused to do anything on the warranty so I asked for a conference call with Ryan Lamb to explain the situation. It did not go at all as I had imagined. As soon as the point was brought up that Jeep dealers are selling vehicles with "expired oil", by their own standards, Ryan became aggressive and audibly upset to the point that he was yelling over me trying to speak. He could not, or would not, answer why customers are being held to a higher standard than dealers. In fact he was so agitated that he ended the call abruptly. Wow!
I'm still searching for the answer to my question as customers are buying vehicles with expire oil, or nearly expired oil, every day by Jeeps definitions. Since the call I have tried reaching out to Jeep Customer Care who will only send me to Ryan, not his superior, and Ryan will not return my calls. I have also tried talking to Jon Weece - owner of Heritage Auto to see if he could move me up the food chain so I could discuss Ryan's behavior and ask the unanswered question - so far no luck. I have also tried reaching out to Ryan directly who has blocked me. You can reach Ryan Lamb,Metro Area Manager at Stellantis, on LinkedIn.
I realize that the warranty is voided by my inaction. That is not the point of this post. The point of this post is:
1 - Help others from making the same mistake.
2 - Get an answer to why Jeep is selling vehicles with "expired oil", by their own definition, and holding their customers to a higher standard for oil changes than they are their dealerships?
In the end, I had to replace the 392 engine and am still without my Jeep 7 months later as the dealer has yet to get it running. If anyone has any other contacts at Jeep/Stellantis, or ideas on how to get this question answered, I would love to hear from you.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Rant.
I ended up putting the Jeep on to a trailer and driving it 100 miles to Larry H Miller Jeep in Sandy. The service team at LHM said that they would work with Ryan Lamb, the area manager for Stellantis, to see what they could do. Perfect, finally we are working with a live person in customer support and retention. LHM eventually told me that Jeep still refused to do anything on the warranty so I asked for a conference call with Ryan Lamb to explain the situation. It did not go at all as I had imagined. As soon as the point was brought up that Jeep dealers are selling vehicles with "expired oil", by their own standards, Ryan became aggressive and audibly upset to the point that he was yelling over me trying to speak. He could not, or would not, answer why customers are being held to a higher standard than dealers. In fact he was so agitated that he ended the call abruptly. Wow!
I'm still searching for the answer to my question as customers are buying vehicles with expire oil, or nearly expired oil, every day by Jeeps definitions. Since the call I have tried reaching out to Jeep Customer Care who will only send me to Ryan, not his superior, and Ryan will not return my calls. I have also tried talking to Jon Weece - owner of Heritage Auto to see if he could move me up the food chain so I could discuss Ryan's behavior and ask the unanswered question - so far no luck. I have also tried reaching out to Ryan directly who has blocked me. You can reach Ryan Lamb,Metro Area Manager at Stellantis, on LinkedIn.
I realize that the warranty is voided by my inaction. That is not the point of this post. The point of this post is:
1 - Help others from making the same mistake.
2 - Get an answer to why Jeep is selling vehicles with "expired oil", by their own definition, and holding their customers to a higher standard for oil changes than they are their dealerships?
In the end, I had to replace the 392 engine and am still without my Jeep 7 months later as the dealer has yet to get it running. If anyone has any other contacts at Jeep/Stellantis, or ideas on how to get this question answered, I would love to hear from you.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Rant.
I'm a big proponent of a 1,000 mile oil change.
