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Update:
- U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy granted preliminary approval to a Fiat Chrysler class action settlement made to resolve claims it sold certain Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Ram and Fiat vehicles with an engine defect.
- The plaintiffs claimed Fiat Chrysler sold vehicles with a design defect that caused their engines to burn off more oil than what would be normal.
- Fiat Chrysler agreed to provide cash reimbursements, extend vehicle warranties to seven years or 100,000 miles and supply no-cost software upgrades as part of the agreement.
- The settlement agreement will benefit a class of nearly 1.7 million drivers.
- Drivers may be eligible to get $340 if they receive a service notification informing them they need an engine long block replacement, according to the settlement.
(May 5, 2020)
Fiat Chrysler has been hit with a class action lawsuit by Jeep owners who claim the company’s cars contain an engine defect that causes them to consume an excessive amount of oil.
Plaintiffs Amber Wood, Ashley Schuchart, Karen Burke and Danielle Oates say their Jeep vehicles, which are equipped with a 2.4L Tigershark MultiAir Engine II, consume too much oil, causing the oil pressure to drop dangerously low before recommended oil changes.
The plaintiffs claim the oil consumption defect can cause the vehicles can shut down during normal operation, which places the driver at risk of serious injury.
Wood, a citizen of Illinois, alleges she purchased a 2018 Jeep Compass from Bettenhausen Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM in Tinley Park, Illinois. She claims her vehicle is equipped with a defective 2.4L Tigershark Multi Air engine and fails to function safely, as advertised.
Wood says that, before she purchased the Fiat Chrysler vehicle, she reviewed the window sticker that was placed on the vehicle which advertised the car’s various features. She claims that she relied on the advertisements contained on the window sticker when deciding to purchase the vehicle.
The plaintiff says since purchasing the car, she has experienced excessive oil consumption and oil indicator lights persistently in the vehicle. While driving her car to work and making a left turn, the Fiat Chrysler vehicle shut off and would not move, she says.
Wood states she was finally able to get the car to start; once she got home, she called the dealership where she purchased the car.
She brought the vehicle to the dealership and was told the vehicle was sucking down oil and needed a new motor, the Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit alleges.
The dealership then replaced the engine, but Woods argues the oil indicator light recently came on even though it was only 2,000 miles since her last oil change.
“FCA never told Plaintiff about the Oil Consumption or Oil Indicator defects, so Plaintiff purchased her Affected Vehicle on the reasonable, but mistaken, belief that her Affected Vehicle would be reliable and safe and would retain all of its operating characteristics throughout its useful life,” the Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit goes on to say.
Wood explains she purposefully shopped for a Fiat Chrysler Jeep vehicle because she believed the advertising that went along with the car meant they were safe and reliable.
She states none of the advertisements disclosed there was a defect in with the engine and that Fiat Chrysler would refuse to repair the defects.
Wood says in the Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit that, if the company had disclosed that her vehicle had the oil consumption and oil indicator defects, she would not have purchased the vehicle or would have paid less for it.
Other plaintiffs in the Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit allegedly experienced similar issues due to an underlying defect affecting all of their vehicles.
The FCA class action lawsuit points to a March 2019 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaint regarding a 2015 Jeep Cherokee which states that a dealership indicated that there is an oil consumption issue having to do with the pistons.
Another complaint to the NHTSA, lodged in 2020, states that an owner of a 2019 Jeep Cherokee required a new engine because the piston rings in the engine broke and scored the cylinder which led to the engine to consume too much oil.
“Because of the Oil Consumption defect, the Class Vehicles are prone to sudden and unexpected shut down, creating unsafe driving conditions when the vehicle stalls or shuts off without warning,” the Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit argues.
The Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit alleges that prior to 2013, consumers had complained that some of the vehicles in the class were not powered enough. In response, the larger yet defective 2.4L Tigershark MultiAir II Engine allegedly supplanted the older engines.
The Class vehicles that were equipped with the new defective engine are 2015-2016 Chrysler 200, 2013-2016 Dodge Dart, 2016-2020 Fiat 500X, 2017-2020 Fiat Toro, 2014-2020 Jeep Cherokee, 2017-2020 Jeep Compass, 2015-2020 Jeep Renegade and 2015-2020 Ram ProMaster City.
“Owners of these vehicles are terrified of sudden, unexpected engine stalls, and left empty-handed by FCA dealerships and technicians who continue to ignore this serious safety hazard,” counsel for the plaintiffs said in a statement.
“It’s only a matter of time before this defect leads to a fatality, with millions of affected vehicles sold by FCA on the road.”
Do you own one of the class vehicles and are having trouble with the engine? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman and Elaine T. Byszewski of Hagens, Berman, Sobol, & Shapiro; E. Powell Miller of the Miller Law Firm; and Jeffrey S. Goldenberg and Todd Naylor of Goldenberg Schneider LPA.
The Fiat Chrysler engine defect class action lawsuit is Amber Wood, et al. v. FCA US LLC, Case No. 2:20-cv-11054, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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348 thoughts onFiat Chrysler class action over faulty engine claims settled with extended warranties
I own a 2018 Jeep Cherokee purchased it with 34k miles and I had the same issue with oil consumption took it in for the recall never really fixed the issue just wasn’t as bad but now at 85k miles my engine is shot. I’ve been without a vehicle for 6weeks and there is no eta time frame available for getting my car back from the Chrysler dealerships service department. This is not good Jeep! Not sure what to do or where to seek advice after countless phone calls to manufacture and dealership I still wait.
Point: even under the extended 100,000 mile warranty received from the class action Jeep is not eager to help costumers who purchased this vehicle they knew was defective. After a month of waiting I requested for them to buy back my vehicle and was denied that option. Car is paid off not sure the reason behind them denying the buy back. I just want my car fixed. No rental car offered on $40 a day for 7 days I would be reimbursed. 7 days has come and gone. I wonder what the CEO of Chrysler would handle not having a vehicle for over a month?
I have a Fiat 500X, 2017 and have had issues with it using more oil than it should (going from full after an oil change to near empty in about 2 months). When it is low on oil, it then stalls or struggles to accelerate.
I was misled when I purchased my recent used 2016 Jeep Renegade fro a dealer in Florida. Now I am told to watch the oil! Also had recall issue when it was sold to me an was not told
I have a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 4wd with the exact problems as plaintiffs in class action suit. My Hero only has 58,000 miles on it and it’s paid off. I also found recently that the entire back passenger underneath the seats, has complete rusting all over entire underneath seating in the back. I have water retaining in my driver door panel that I have to vacuum out. Also the tires that are made by Firestone/Bridgestone the tread on the tires are separating, causing slow leaks and now can see tread patterns separating and expanding. Please help me get this all resolved.
I have a Fiat 500X and have issues with oil consumption. I get “low pressure oil” warnings and my car will start chugging when I’m trying to accelerate. When the oil level gets low, I can hear popping sounds when my car is shifting.