— A Chrysler lifetime powertrain warranty inspection lawsuit alleges FCA (Fiat Chrysler) concealed the requirements regarding the need for an inspection to keep the warranty effective.
The plaintiff claims warranties are constantly canceled because of issues with the inspections.
The class action includes, “All persons who purchased a vehicle from Defendant FCA US LLC and were provided a Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty on or after October 31, 2009.”
According to estimates included in the lawsuit, damages could exceed $50 million, and that's before attorney fees are added.
The plaintiff says he purchased a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 on October 31, 2009, which came with a lifetime powertrain limited warranty.
The terms of the warranty says the warranty could only lapse if the owner didn't have "a powertrain inspection performed by an authorized Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep dealer once every 5 years ... made within sixty (60) days of each 5 year anniversary of the in-service date of the vehicle."
According to the plaintiff, he brought the truck to a dealership for an oil change on December 22, 2014, and the dealer allegedly performed a twenty-three-point inspection. However, there was no inspection of the powertrain and the plaintiff doesn't claim he requested one.
The Ram owner says he continued to bring the truck to the dealership for routine service but didn't know the powertrain inspection time window had passed.
Then in April 2016 the truck was making ticking noises, and in May the dealer found broken bolts in or on the exhaust manifold.
The lawsuit alleges it's a problem Chrysler knows about because a technical service bulletin (TSB) was sent to dealerships in February 2011 that allegedly described the same problem. The dealership performed the repairs but the work wasn't covered under warranty and the plaintiff says he paid $1,323.53 to make the repairs in May 2016.
The dealership, which was also sued, told the plaintiff it was his responsibility to ask for the required inspection to keep the lifetime powertrain warranty active. But according to the plaintiff, the dealership should have reminded him the inspection was required.
And the lawsuit says the warranty "does not expressly require Plaintiff request the authorized dealer to perform the required inspection."
The plaintiff says he called Chrysler to ask about reimbursement, but the automaker allegedly said it was up to the dealer, and the dealer allegedly said it was up to Chrysler.
The Chrysler lifetime powertrain warranty inspection lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas - Marksberry, et al., v. FCA US LLC, et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Bell Law, LLC.
