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The Chrysler Group LLC, which is now known as FCA US LLC, was hit with an amended class action lawsuit in a New Jersey federal court, alleging that the 2014 Jeep Cherokees have defective transmissions that are wrought with problems.
Plaintiff Stacy Oquendo, who lives in New Jersey, says in her Jeep Cherokee class action lawsuit filed on Aug. 6 that she purchased her Jeep Cherokee in April 2014, which she has since had “repeated problems” with.
“The repair history reflects complaints of the transmission not shifting properly, and other transmission problems,” the class action lawsuit says.
Because of the transmission problems she claims her Jeep Cherokee has faced, Oquendo says that “she has lost the use of her vehicle for repair, the value of the vehicle is diminished because of its frequent and persistent problems, and the vehicle poses safety concerns to the driver and occupants.”
The New Jersey woman claims that her Jeep Cherokee has faced an “abnormal” amount of “transmission, problems, malfunction, and failure.”
And she claims that she’s not the only 2014 Jeep Cherokee owner that has had these types of problems. Oquendo cites various publications that have reported on the transmission problems occurring in other 2014 Jeep Cherokees as well.
The Jeep Cherokee class action lawsuit cited Car and Driver as one such publication that has cited similar transmission problems: “At least 12 out of 30 complaints submitted thus far to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cite poor shift quality, including transmissions that held gears for too long or suddenly shifted into neutral.”
The industry magazine says that “Chrysler delayed the Cherokee’s launch last fall by several weeks to make last-minute fixes to the new transmission and then released two technical service bulletins,” which included “an entire step-by-step process to recalibrate the adaptive software to better match the owner’s driving style.”
These fixes, Car and Driver explains, are “supposed to smooth out shifts from first to second and second to third.”
The publication added that in its “reviews of a four-cylinder and various V-6 Cherokees, we noticed erratic behavior from the nine-speed. It would deliver crisp, well-timed shifts on some occasions, yet on others would respond with slurred and delayed changes.”
Oquendo says that the problems described by Car and Driver are the problems that both she and other potential Class Members have experienced.
However, the Jeep Cherokee class action says that instead of acknowledging “the problem Chrysler has proceeded to deny and/or conceal the problem and directed its dealers to provide deceptive, false, or misleading explanations for the failure to provide warranty coverage and reimbursement.”
The New Jersey woman is charging Chrysler with breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, fraud, violating the Consumer Fraud Act, and violating the Magnuson-Moss Act.
Oquendo is looking to represent a class of 2014 Jeep Cherokee owners who purchased their vehicles in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut, have experienced transmission problems with their vehicles, have had to pay for rental vehicles during repairs, and have also been hurt because of the loss of use and diminished value of their vehicles.
The Jeep Cherokee class action lawsuit was first filed in in a New Jersey state court in May, but Chrysler had the Jeep Cherokee class action lawsuit transferred to the federal court because there were cross-state issues.
Oquendo is represented by Howard A. Gutman of the Law Office of Howard A. Gutman.
Chrysler is represented by Thomas R. Curtin of Graham Curtin PA.
The Jeep Cherokee Class Action Lawsuit is Oquendo v. Chrysler Group LLC, Case No. 3:15-cv-05056 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
UPDATE: The Jeep Cherokee Transmission Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on May 2, 2016.
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158 thoughts onChrysler Hit With Jeep Cherokee Class Action Over Transmission Problems
Do you represent Pennsylvania Jeep owners?
I have a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude that I bought new and I have all the mentioned problems with my transmission, such as slamming into gears, lurching forward at a stop, its all over the place. I wont let my wife drive it. I have had it into dealer for service on it twice and it did nothing. I talked to one of the mechanics and he told me that he had just done a software update on one and it fried the transmission. So I am reluctant to let them do another update on mine. I have contacted Chrysler and gotten a real runaround and finally the best they would offer me it a extra warranty and I turned them down because it would not solve the problem, I want my transmission fixed. But it seems there is NO FIX and replacing the transmission does NOT seem to be the answer as those new transmissions are BAD too. Any way I can join a class action? HELP!
I’m in the same boat as you. I don’t know where to begin with this. Have you gotten anywhere are we just all basically screwed?
My Jeep Cherokee Limited 2014 will be two years old in May. I have disliked the transmission from the start, given the rough gear changes, but it has gotten progressively worse. I started driving it to the city and back weekly, and the lurching/gear change lag/delays are very noticeable when in stop and go traffic. The problem is very easy to duplicate. Press hard on the gas when in first or second gear, and the RPM will go up and stay up for a few seconds before the gear slides into place. If I am stopped and need to accelerate quickly, the car hesitates for a moment, then lunges forward without warning. It is dangerous and unpredictable. I complained to the dealer about my transmission around 10k miles (I have 25K now), and they did a software update. I did not notice an improvement and now it is worse. I plan to visit dealer this coming weekend and take the mechanic for a spin so that he experiences first hand what my car is doing. After reading the experiences online, I am concerned the dealership wont take the problem seriously. What does it take to widen the class action suit? We were all sold lemons and at the very least, Chrylser owes us new, improved transmissions. Love my car but HATE the transmission.
I have had issues with my Cherokee since it hit about 100 miles!!!!!!!! It has been in the shop several times and they cant seem to get my vehicle to run smooth. It is a hassle taking it up there because they really don’t offer loaner vehicles and I can not be with out a car for a day or more! I have to go thru a whole process with calling the HQ number so they can approve the dealer paying for a rental.
transmission issues
new center console
rattling under the hood (they still have not fixed)
etc….
I am truly unhappy with this car. Even my kids don’t like it.
I don’t feel safe in it and it is very unreliable
2016 Cherokee Trailhawk. We had issues IMMEDIATELY with it. We were at the dealership within 130 miles after purchase. It looks like the transmission issues have followed all they way to the latest model year. The transmission was defective from day one. The service manager told me they do fail and if they are going to fail they do so in the first 2000 miles. In this case we noticed issues going from reverse to drive. We had a delay going into gear or seemed to slip out of gear then go back into gear. If turning hard left and going into drive you hear clunking. If going 45-55 MPH and decelerate to around 20 MPH while waiting for folks to turn or merging into traffic after yield you just get NO THROTTLE RESPONSE. The vehicle has been in service for over 2 weeks now and is now getting a new transmission because they couldnt fix it. REDICULOUS that they wont just replace the vehicle AND that they still use this horrible transmission putting all of us in DANGER!!
Let me start off my saying I purchased a 2012 Grand Jeep Cherokee and I loved it. In December 2013,I ended up trading in my 2012 for a 2014 Grand Jeep Cherokee Overland because my first experience was great. I should’ve kept my 2012. First incidence occurred after two months of purchasing the jeep. I was going down a hill and it just cut off. My dashboard lit up like a christmas tree and I ended veering over to the side of the street. After I turned it off (waited a minute) & turned it back on I immediately went back home. The next day it wouldn’t even start. Jeep sent a tow-truck over to take it back to the dealership. A week later jeep contacted me & said it was some software issues and now the issue has been resolved. Three weeks later back at the dealership. My truck had been doing some hard jerking. Had to pay for a rental car. Dealership called me back to pick up my truck because they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it & they said they didn’t notice any jerking. REALLY??? I even the jeep dealership to just give me another jeep because the one I had was defective. They wouldn’t work with me at all. After 6 months of frequent trips to the dealership, endless amounts of rental cars I was done. Took a $4k loss but ended up trading in my truck for a 2013 BMW X3. I would never buy another jeep.
At about 9000 miles on my new, 2014 Jeep Cherokee Sport, the transmission started to occasionally shift hard, and bumped on the downshift just before a stop. Then, last week, first week of 2016, at just over 17000 miles, the check engine light came on. So I took it to the dealership. They said there was no code recorded in the Jeeps computer, and they sent me on my way. Two days later, the engine light illuminated again. I returned it back to the dealership. This time the dealership updated the software in the transmission module. Off I go again. Next day, engine light came back on. Back to the dealership I go, and having to take time off work. Then the dealership replaced the transmission module and a fuse it blew. my fiancee drove the Jeep off the dealerships lot, Late Friday evening, alas,on goes the engine light. Having to change our weekend plans, we dropped off the jeep again Saturday morning. Then we get the phone call from the dealership telling us the Jeep needs a new transmission! WTF!!! Are you kidding me!!! But now, as I see here, I am definitely not alone. I hope we can all get some kind of compensation for buying these lemons. We all work hard for our money, and we are losing it with these Jeeps. Thank you for reading this. Best regards, and best of luck to us all.
I forgot to mention I have contacted FCA and have a case number also, but I feel with reading many statements from so many dissatisfied customers it will be fruitless. I also believe that their software has been hacked again too. File a report with the Safecar.gov powered by the NHTSA like myself and many others are starting to do.
Please add me to the suit. 2015 trailhawk, 16k 4x to dealer, all fixes tried. Transmission being replaced. Two week time frame given. No longer would allow my kids or wife in this vehicle.
Don’t really know where to start…..it is good to see that someone is finally pursuing this legally. I know Texas is not included withing this lawsuit and that is where I am from but I am rooting for all of us who have been affected. I have a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude and I had it in the shop within the first 3000-4000miles. I have given up in fighting with the dealership as I get the run around every time. Opened a claimed through Chrysler and that was a joke. Got the run around there as well. Case manager did not contact me within the time frame it was indicated and when I called to complain that the 24 hour timeframe I was given to hear back was now 4 days past due. I was informed that the case manager had entered a note saying they had tried to call me and they \would not have entered a note if they didn’t call.\ I offered to print off my phone records and send them in because I had not heard from anyone. The whole time trying to deal with Chrysler it was this way. I’d have to call them instead of hearing from the case manager. After my last attempt in fighting with the dealership to fix my car and being were told it was computerized and it would \operate the way I drove it\ and they could not find anything wrong with it I tried to call my assigned case manager only to be told my case was closed?!?! No notice, no resolution, nothing…..but I am sure there’s a note on their system saying otherwise. I have given up and have not tried anymore. I have kept all records and had to fight with the dealership to get any type of documentation. My car jerks almost everytime I accelerate and even after having 2 people from the dealership ride with me and a knowledge that they could feel the jerking, I got the paperwork saying \unable to duplicate the concern.\ I did question them both as to their acknowledgement of feeling the jerking and requested them to document accordingly only to get the same exact dovumetation and a vague explanation that the mechanic couldn’t duplicate the concern. It’s been at least 5 months since I have even tried to deal with it. I feel unsafe and always worry one day my car will not start or die on me. Unfortunately getting out of it is hard, I have already tried. Apparently, the trade in value is awful and the reputation of this vehicle is not any better. Now I am stuck either taking a huge hit and trading with a lot of negative equity due to the poor trade in value, keep it and pray it doesn’t break down, or try to come up with a large down payment for a new car. I sure hope at least some people are able to push this issue and at least get the word out there about this issue.
I was only able to solve my first round of problems by asking chrysler on twitter why it was so hard to get my Jeep fixed. I had been spun around by Customer Care – – it seemed as if their job was simply to frustrate and delay – – and I got so mad that I went to Twitter. Lo and behold, a response within 24 hours.
I am in the DFW area also and purchased a 2015 Jeep latitude V6 from Don Davis Jeep Nov 4 2015 with 98 miles on odometer. It drove ok first couple days of ownership but started lunging forward and not responding to gas pedal when applied with an odd hesitation like engine loss power at about 150 miles on odometer. I took it in for a bad back up camera and the drive-ablity issues. Statement made was could not duplicate the issue but they did do some updates. Figured problem solved nope wrong thinking that. The odd shifting patterns with odd lack of throttle response got worse. Toke it back in after I nearly got hit turning left at an intersection when vehicle seemed to ignore the gas pedal. I had to press it to the floor to get it to move then it really got weird it kicked in and gave me full power so it was an oh bleep moment with over-steer and hard braking to regain control. Took it back in, they looked at TSB for a new transmission flash. None so they re-flashed transmission and said it had to relearn my driving habits. I pamper this vehicle for good fuel economy which nonexistent 15-16mpg city with only 859 original miles on the odometer. I do feel the engineers do know how to fix issue but it will entail replacing all of these 2014-2015 transmissions with the newer solenoid pack and different clutch packs. Their also may be a speed or inertia related sensor or circuit that may be causing this issue in software conflict. It may not be up to specs as originally designed so it sends out false readings which doesn’t set trouble codes. FCA, I believe has advised all service reps to say that the problem can not be duplicated. I believe the re-flash to the problem transmissions has been written not set codes until a major failure occurs similar to what Volkswagen did to the diesel software so it would pass the emissions test. This buys them time to make more excuses. A review of their software should be done to make sure this in not the case. Stay safe and soon we should get a resolution because I refuse to be injured or injure someone else with this $29000 mistake.