Abraham Jewett  |  February 1, 2022

Category: Auto News

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Chrysler Pentastar V6 Engine at the annual International auto-show
(Photo Credit: Boykov/Shutterstock)

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.


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106 thoughts onFCA Class Action Claims Company Manufactured, Sold Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Vehicles With Defective V6 Engines

  1. Anthony Mastriano says:

    2015 Jeep Wrangler
    Yes I have valve train issues, primarily starting to get the excessive valve train noises. Already recommend to replace engine, only has 87,500 miles on it. Dealership always refused to accept responsibility. Never had any warning either! Yes smells of anti-freeze on regular basis.

  2. Sarah Burney says:

    I live in Ontario Canada purchased in 2019 a new Jeep Wrangler Sahara – fully loaded. My 3rd Wrangler in a row. I paid it off, and invested in after market tires and rims. Only to have complete engine failure at 128k – out of warranty, and Jeep Chrysler said nothing they could do. With the Pentastar Engine Plant in the USA in its second month on strike and aprox. 700 engines on back order – I had no option but to buy a used engine out of a 2021 Gladiator with just 18,000 km. I got it back and 6,000 km later – same issue even worse damage to the engine. I now have no choice but to buy Another New Engine – as there is One available in Ontario. I am a single professional working mother – and this has all but depleted my entire savings. I will never trust a Chryler/Jeep/ Dodge product again.

  3. Timothy w Bryan says:

    I have a 2019 ram pro master 2500 high top . Smell antifreeze , every now and then it will loss power when pressing on gas then gain power .

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