FCA Defective Engines Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Etienne Maugain, Louise Shumate, Denise Hunter and Harry Reichlen filed a class action lawsuit against FCA US LLC.
- Why: Plaintiffs claim FCA manufactured and sold certain vehicles containing defective 3.6L Pentastar V6 Engines.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Delaware federal court.
FCA US LLC manufactured and sold certain vehicles containing 3.6L Pentastar V6 engines that were defective, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Etienne Maugain, Louise Shumate, Denise Hunter and Harry Reichlen claim certain model year 2014 and newer Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles sold by FCA contained the defective engines. They allege FCA falsely marketed the vehicles equipped with defective 3.6L engines as “safe to drive, durable, reliable and capable of providing transportation.”
Engine Defect Eventually Leads To ‘Catastrophic Failure’
The alleged defect causes the engine to emit an audible ticking noise and suffer from a loss of power, misfires, decreased performance, hesitation, premature wear and ultimately “catastrophic failure,” according to the class action lawsuit.
Maugain, Shumate, Hunter and Reichlen claim FCA knew about the defect as early as 2013 yet continued to falsely tout the “quality, durability, reliability and performance” of the vehicles to the public and in marketing campaigns.
Further, FCA is unable to repair the defect, plaintiffs argue, instead simply replacing defective parts with parts that are equally defective, leading vehicle owners to be in constant need for repairs.
The plaintiffs claim this not only causes the vehicles to lose economic value but also puts drivers at risk.
“The Defect not only decreases the value of the Class Vehicles, because there is no permanent repair, it can endanger drivers and passengers in the vehicles,” the class action lawsuit states.
Maugain, Shumate, Hunter and Reichlen claim FCA is guilty of, among other things, fraud by omission or fraudulent concealment and unjust enrichment and is in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, among other state-specific claims.
They want to represent a nationwide class and California, CLRA, Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts subclass of individuals who purchased or leased an affected vehicle. The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory relief and restitution, compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages for themselves and all class members.
A separate class action lawsuit, targeting FCA over claims it sold vehicles with defective gearshifts, was upheld by a federal judge in Michigan last month.
Join a vehicle safety defect class action lawsuit investigation (links to paid attorney advertising).
The plaintiffs are represented by Russell D. Paul, Abigail Gertner, Amey J. Park and Natalie Lesser of Berger Montague PC; Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett and Laura Goolsby of Capstone Law APC; and Steven Calamusa and Geoff Stahl of Gordon & Partners, P.A.
The FCA Defective Pentastar Engines Class Action Lawsuit is Maugain, et al. v. FCA US LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-00116, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- Geico Escapes Some Claims in Excessive Premiums Class Action
- Recall Check: Ford Recalls 200K Cars Due to Brake Light Issue, Rollaway Risk
- Navistar Agrees To $742M Settlement To End Decades-Old Retirement Benefit Class Action
- Mitsubishi, DENSO, Other Fuel Injector Direct Purchasers Price Fixing $13M Class Action Settlement
Washington residents: Did you receive a ‘refer a friend’ text for Capital One, Venmo, Tesla, Coinbase, or another company?
September 23, 2025 | Legal News
120 thoughts onFCA Class Action Claims Company Manufactured, Sold Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Vehicles With Defective V6 Engines
I purchased As Is on line a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. I have owned the vehicle for less than a year. The vehicle was inspected the following day. 6 months later the vehicle overheated. My car was towed to the repair shop. The following engine repairs were needed and performed: Replace left and right head gaskets. Engine Cylinder head bolt set replaced. Syn Antifreeze/ Coolant. Engine Cylinder head gasket. Ignition Coil, Oil filter. Engine Coolant Thermostat/Water outlet assembly. Exhaust Manifold Gasket Set. Engine timming cover gasket set. I phoned Chrysler. What a joke, they offered an Extended warranty- 400.00 down and 168.00 a month. I paid 5,000.00 for the Engine repairs. I phoned the dealership. The dealership never returned my call because I signed a disclosure agreement when they paid for the oil change that the repair shop had not been performed on the vehicle. Never in my wildest dreams that I would have imagined I would have Engine issues with the 3.6L . If there is a lawsuit I would like to be apart of it. Today – the Engine light came on – 8/4/25. The vehicle will go back to the repair shop for a complete inspection. Chrysler is not the company it used to be. The dealership I feel should have said something. Chrysler said I did not qualify for the Lemon Law because of the low miles – 109, 405, currently. It was less when I spoke with them 2 weeks ago. The customer is left at a huge disadvantage.
I have a Chrysler 300 2013 and it just doesn’t work! Something completely drains my battery and I have taken it to Dodge who said my battery wasn’t housed correctly and that was the only problem, got a new battery and Dodge said everything was fine, car ran for two weeks and now is completely dead and I’m stuck paying for a car that doesn’t work!! If anything can be done about this, please contact me!
I have Chrysler 300 with 123,000 miles and the transmission is not shifting right it’s gotten a loud ticking noise I’ve replaced arm ball joints swaybar we barely drove the car and all this goes wrong when u drive n hit small bumps in the road sounds like shocks are going to go thru the frame
Sharing my bad luck and opinion so others won’t be in my shoes.
Definitely don’t buy a Jeep Wrangler 3.6l v6 or probably not a 2.0l 4 cylinder turbo.
From 2019-2021 the penstar v6 had valve train issues. Supposedly fixed in 2022 and up with new cam and lifters. Long story short….. it has more problems now.
Day before yesterday, my jeep developed a pecking noise in the motor. It was worse today. I had Friendship Jeep diagnose the issue today. Cam and lifters worn out on right side of the motor.
Inconvenient yes…. but not my financial burden as I bought the platinum bumper to bumper extended warranty. So I said ok, well fix it…….
There are so many Jeeps with the same problem that cam and lifters are on infinite back order. The parts are unavailable period! No idea when or if they will get parts.
They pointed to another Jeep having the “FIX” done again…. 7000 miles after last “fix”. So a bandaid more than actual fix.
Drive it and we’ll call you when we get the parts was suggested. I said if the internals are bashing themselves to death, won’t driving it eventually blow the whole engine?….. “yes probably “.
My question was…. can you get a whole new engine? “Yes”….. but it will be the same engine with same problems?….. also yes.
Next question was since I love my jeep…. is the 2.0l any better? Found out they have issues due to over heating, pecks and noise from engine too.
Mine just turned 38000 miles. Always serviced at Jeep dealer. Now I still owe on it, can’t trust it to drive it, and can’t trade it with a bad motor…… and can’t get it fixed.
Please share with Jeep owners you know….. and buyers beware!
Feel free to share
#jeepwrangler #wrangler #jeepnation #jeep
Omg this is exactly what im experiencing and have gone though. Its crazy!
2014 Jeep JK with 121,000 miles. Slight ticking and I am concerned the whole engine will go into limp mode. Please add me. One would hope a court would place some type of process that FCA should follow. Is there a series of engine numbers that are effected?