DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 27 – June 2022 | Adventureless in Sonoma
2022 Jeep Wrangler Spent More Time at the Dealership Than Out On the Road
Dear Suzanne,
I need your help with this 2022 Jeep Wrangler I’ve leased. I really, really wanted to love this car. I thought it would be perfect for me. My boyfriend and I are real outdoorsy people – hiking, camping, that sort of thing. So I thought this Wrangler would fit our lifestyle perfectly. But so far, the only adventures I’ve gotten to take it on are our regular trips to the Jeep dealership. It only has 13,000 miles on it, and I’ve had to take it back to the dealer four times so far for repairs. I didn’t expect to have to deal with this with a new vehicle at all.
At this point, I’m fairly certain it’s spent more time at the dealership than out on the road. Especially since every time I’ve taken it in they needed to keep it for ages to order parts and do the repairs. And I don’t mean a few days, I mean ages. Each time they did not have a loaner car available, so I’ve had to get a rental, which really starts adding up when my car is in the shop for almost a month each time I take it in.
The first time I had to bring it in was not long after I bought it, only 4,000 miles. It felt super bouncy any time I was driving, like I could come flying off the seat at any moment, even in town. It turned out that the shocks and struts needed to be replaced. Apparently, they normally last for at least 50,000 miles according to the tech, so they were likely defective. They had to keep my Jeep at the dealership for 31 days to replace them, and I had to get a rental in the meantime.
Next, the electrical systems started acting up. The onboard screen would go black, the backup camera wasn’t working, and all of the emergency lights would start flashing while I was driving. I brought it back to the dealership again, and they needed to reboot the computer system. For some reason, it took 29 days for them to do that, and again, I had to rent a car for the meantime. It still sometimes has trouble with the backup camera, but at least the emergency lights aren’t flashing anymore.
A few more thousand miles later and I had to take back into the shop yet again. This time, the Jeep was jerking and making all kinds of strange noises. It was super challenging to put into gear and clunky when driving. After the dealership had it for 10 days, they informed me that it would take three months(!) for them to fix the problem. Three months that I had to get yet another rental for.
Months later, when I was able to get behind the wheel again, finally, I noticed that the super bounciness while driving was back. I’d only had my Jeep back for a couple of weeks since the last repair, and here I was, bringing it back into the dealership again. Those shocks that had been replaced about 8,000 miles ago? The ones that should last for about 50,000 miles? Nope, they needed to be replaced again. And to no one’s surprise, they needed to keep the Jeep at the dealership for 34 days while those replacements were done. And, yet again, no loaner was available, so I had to pay for another rental.
I’ve driven the rental vehicles more than I have my Jeep. I haven’t gotten to go on any of the little adventures I planned. I’m locked into this lease for another 4 years, and at this rate, the rental costs are going to bankrupt me. I just want out of this lease, but the dealership wants to charge me if I break it early. Is there anything I can do?
Adventureless in Sonoma
Related Articles:
- Dealership: 2021 Jeep Wrangler Issues Are All Driver’s Imagination
- Arbitration Denial Leaves 2019 Jeep Cherokee Owner Stalled In Place
- 2022 Jeep Cherokee Engine Issues Leaves Owner Smoking Mad
194 Days in the Repair Shop? That’s Clearly A Lemon!
Dear Adventureless,
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience! That definitely does not sound like you’ve gotten to really enjoy your new Jeep at all. But, I’m here to help and I can tell you that you definitely have ended up with a defective lemon vehicle. Luckily, having so many problems so early on will benefit your claim greatly. It’s just unfortunate that you had to deal with so much to get to this point.
In California, we have something called the Lemon Law Presumption Period. This time frame begins when you purchase the vehicle and lasts for 18 months or your first 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. If, during this time, your vehicle meets any of the three qualifying conditions, then it is automatically presumed to be a defective lemon, putting the responsibility on the manufacturer to prove that it is not, rather than on you to prove that it is. Those conditions are:
- At least two repairs were made to your vehicle for a critical safety defect that may cause serious bodily injury or death;
- At least four repairs were done on your vehicle for a singular defect that is deemed a non-serious safety defect or issue;
- The vehicle was kept in the repair shop and out of service for at least 30 days (cumulative) for any combination of defects or issues.
Now, by my count, your Wrangler has been in the repair shop for 194 days total, that’s nearly 7 months! I don’t blame you for being so frustrated and wanting out of this lease. So clearly your Wrangler meets the 30 day repair condition. And then, since you’ve had four repairs so far, it meets the repair criteria as well. This is clearly a lemon and I don’t think a court would disagree with that assessment.
To get the best help, and to make the whole process easier, you’re going to need to contact a skilled lemon law attorney. They will be able to help guide you through everything you need to do, from submitting your repair documents to negotiating a settlement with the manufacturer.
In terms of settlements, you have a few options to choose from: a buyback, a cash and keep, or a vehicle replacement. While your attorney will be able to help you pick which option is best for you, I would recommend the buyback, personally. In a Jeep buyback, the manufacturer repurchases the vehicle from you, ending your lease. They will reimburse you for your down payment, monthly payments, and other costs like taxes and fees. The only amount they can hold back is something called the Mileage Offset, which accounts for the miles you were able to drive without problems. Since your mileage was so low at your first visit, a skilled lemon law attorney will do their best to have that waived.
In my experience, when a vehicle begins having such extreme and repetitive issues early on, it’s only going to get worse. This is why I wouldn’t recommend the cash and keep option, which is where the manufacturer will pay you an amount of cash compensation and you can retain ownership of the vehicle and your lease. If you really love the Wrangler, you could opt for a vehicle replacement and the manufacturer will replace your Wrangler with another of the same year and similar number of miles. In addition to the options above, a good lemon law attorney will also do their best to recover any incidental costs associated with the problems with your Jeep. In your case, that would be all those rental fees.
Since you’re nearing the end of your Presumption period, I would recommend reaching out to a knowledgeable lemon law attorney so you can get the ball rolling right away. While you won’t miss out on your chance to file a lemon law claim once you hit the 18,000 miles, it does give you a stronger case to work with. So, gather up your documents and call a lemon law attorney today, and you’ll be back out adventuring in no time.
Suzanne
Free Legal Advice About Your 2022 Jeep Wrangler Lemon Law Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about CA Lemon Law or how to file a claim in California, please write to dearsuzanne@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a California lemon law attorney to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
Related Articles:
- California Lemon Law FAQs
- The California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
- CA Lemon Law Arbitration Option Explained
Featured Images:
- 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara (top image) © DestinationFearFan (CC BY-SA 4.0 License)
- 2022 Jeep Wrangler, rear view (second image) © DestinationFearFan (CC BY-SA 4.0 License)