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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350 thoughts onFiat Chrysler class action over faulty engine claims settled with extended warranties
I have a 2017 Compass, with this issue. I have been going around with the dealership, They have performed the oil consumption test, but at the time the TSB was saying 1 QT in 2000 miles, now they have revised it down. The car has died twice and both times was over 3 quarts low. Scared my daughter so much she does not want to drive. The can started having issues before 8000 miles now it has 24000 and is still having issues. I would not have bought this car if I had known about these issues.
Please add my 2017 Jeep Cherokee with 22,000 miles to the class action lawsuit. It burns about a quart of oil every 1000 miles.
We own a 2017 Jeep Cherokee with 22,000 miles and the four cylinder engine. It is using oil – approximately a quart in 1000 miles. I have been taking it to the dealer to monitor the oil consumption. The dealer states that it is consuming just below the new standards instituted by Chrysler for engine replacement. I will just have to live with this problem. The car’s value has been diminished by this defect and it is dangerous to operate. How can this happen?
I have a 2016 Fiat 500x Trekking with 27,500 miles on it that almost ran out of oil between changes. No oil light came on. I bought the car certified used and was never told to check oil in between changes or that the car consumed so much oil.
My girlfriend is at work so I’ll make the comment for her. She purchased a 2018 jeep renegade with the 2.4 engine. She has owned it a year now and between every oil change about 2000 miles Into the oils change her oil light flashes and she checks the oil when and it is 1.5-2.0 quarts low on oil. We go and purchase Chrysler approved 0-20w pennzoil fulL synthetic and replace it. Thinking this shouldn’t be happening but don’t know what to do about it. Well I read online about it being a common issue and we called last week and asked the local Chrysler dealership about it and they tell us it’s normal for these engines to do so and that there is nothing they can do to fix the issue unless the engine blows. And then if it’s not under warranty we would be looking at about $7k for a replacement. Well we are 10k miles away from the warranty ending now and they want us to bring it in and let them do an oil consumption study on it for the next 7500 miles. It sounds like they know that there is a very costly issue that they can fix but they want to make sure it’s not under warranty before they “find” this issue. What can she do?
i am having the same issue. i have a 2018 jeep renegade trailhawk. have experienced sudden shut off of engine in the middle of the road amidst traffic. very scared to drive my vehicle but have no choice as the dealership will not do anything about it. i constantly run out of oil way before an oil change is due. im spending double what i should in maintaining a decent oil level to get back and forth to work. i cannot believe that there has not been a lawsuit as of yet or a recall. but above all i am disgusted that the dealership allowed me to drive off the lot with such a dangerous vehicle.
2016 Jeep renegade…using way more oil , only 24.000 miles, Having to put oil in it more then once a month and get very frequent oil changes.
I have a 2016 Fiat 500x
Just bought a 2019 ram 3500 , truck cost over 60,000 dollars and truck has 35,700 miles now and is consuming 3 quarts of oil every 4000 miles, i took truck to the dealer and service manager told me engine missing exactly 3qts of oil, and he add oil to the engine and told me to come back in 2000 miles for consumption test and a put a camera inside engine to check cylinders and he said everything is ok truck, the first thing i did after i pick up my truck from dealer is i changed the because i know something is strange that my truck stop consuming oil in 2000 miles,after i changed the oil i drove truck 1000 miles and is starting to consuming oil, i believe they are lying to me, i will take the truck there again and see what they say. I’m worried because i don’t know what to do if they continue to say truck is fine and my warranty expires. I know my truck and it’s consuming a lot oil. I need a advice (help)
Add me to the list! 2015 jeep renegade, 40k miles. Currently in the shop because it needed a new TCM (already had the transmission replaced) and oil sending unit. They told me my oil was very low and I told them I had only driven 1200-1500 miles since my last oil change, which was at the same dealership. They said it looks like I’ll need a new engine. So first a new transmission, and now possibly a new engine but the same engine that’s going to cause the same problem in the future. I have a whole list of problems I’ve had with this car but this is dangerous!!