What do you do when a car under warranty keeps requiring repairs?

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone, I’m not really sure what to do. My husband just got a 2021 Dodge Durango we’ve had it less than a month and it’s already had to be serviced twice (still under warranty). Last time was 2 weeks ago they replaced some electronic part and it ran fine until yesterday. My husband went to work and the check engine light was on a prompt to check the shifter was also on. He took it to Dodge today and their diagnostic was showing over 20 codes. All the fluids are new and it isn’t driven around like a beater. He uses it for work and we’ve taken it grocery shopping twice.

[ConfusedGirl100]

Seems like they sold you a lemon. No car that is not even 2 years old should be experiencing that many problems. Our car was brought 6 years ago and it has never had any problems especially none that required constant servicing and repairs.

Tell them you want a new car or speak with a lawyer because you will end up spending more on repairs than the car itself in the long run.

[Asker]

Yeah definitely seems so. Our last truck was bought second hand it was 15 years old and ran like a dream we only got out of it to get this cause it was bigger for our family and gave our kids more space.

[ConfusedGirl100]

Definitely get onto it asap with requesting a new car or speaking with a lawyer, because your car sounds very much like a death trap, but make sure you have kept all of the evidence regarding how many times the car has had problems and you have had to take it back to get fixed, so if you do go down the path of getting a lawyer and it goes to court, the dealership can't lie.

Wishing you all of the best

[Asker]

Thank you we have all the paperwork for each repair, we checked our lemon laws we have to let it be repaired one more time (unsuccessfully) for the car to qualify as a lemon, or it will have to be off the road inoperable for another 8 days. I’m still going to bring all the paperwork and try to get switched out by the dealership.

[art84]

I know my mom had bought a Tahoe and it had problems with the check engine light recently. Wasn't under warranty as we got it like 4 years ago. Service center wanted $300 to fix it which is crazy. My mom ended up taking it to her nephew and he reset the check engine light. It has to do something with filling up gas all of the way. Like your supposed to not fill more when you hear the click when filling up gas.

[Asker]

That sucks I’m sorry. Yeah this has nothing to do with gas, my most educated guess would say that the electric part they replaced last time caused a chain reaction through the electrical system in the cars brain box

[God_of_Thunder]

I would recommend you consult a lawyer, and ask about your options under your local "lemon law".

It's a law designed to protect a buyer from exactly this kind of problem.

[Asker]

I have found the lemon laws for my area it’s three unsuccessful attempts to repair the vehicle or 15 days that the car is unable to be used within 24 months of purchase

[TheNameIsRob]

Look up the lemon laws where you live and document everything. Every minute spent dealing with the issues needs to be documented. At some point they will have to replace it or refund you. Do some research and see if there have been others filing complaints about the same make and model. Good luck

[Asker]

Thank you I have looked up the laws and started documentation.

[TheNameIsRob]

Good and I hope everything works out

[jshm2]

Stop buying shit American made cars for a start. Buy South Korean or even Japanese instead.

[Danny_dan92]

It’s a piece of shit, or you aren’t properly maintaining the vehicle.


Or both

[Asker]

It’s not improperly maintained at all. We bought it had the oil changed and fluids checked in the service center. As soon as it showed a code we took it to dodge they said it was an electric component with a defect they replaced it and it ran for 2 weeks to and from work which put 260 miles on it plus two trips to the grocery store that’s another 16 miles. Gas has never been below half a tank.

[Danny_dan92]

You are aware that a lot of mechanics don’t actually do proper maintenance to ensure you keep coming back right?

It’s a slimy business model but it does happen

[Asker]

Yes I am well aware of that we had the diagnostics ran by a friend of my husband when we got it back last time no codes came up we double checked our fluids at home all were topped up.

[Danny_dan92]

Yep, that’s why it’s best to either know someone that knows how to do mechanic work or know yourself.

They do this so they can keep a paycheck

[Asker]

We can do work on cars I don’t have the diagnostic machine but my father taught me how to do a lot with cars, I just never imagined a new car would suck so much

[Danny_dan92]

Newer cars are relying more on computer systems than traditional mechanical parts. Thus it’s more costly and leads to more potential to need to see a mechanic.

Cause now you have both the computer to worry about as well as the parts they control. It sucks. I miss older generations of vehicles tbh.

[ArtemisSilver]

Try to exchange it and consult a lawyer for options.

[ArtemisSilver]

If the contract is less than 30 days old a lawyer should be able to blow it up

[Asker]

I will have my husband talk to one.

[Anonymous]

Trade that thing for a Toyota 4Runner

[Asker]

We love 4Runners I’m just not looking forward to trading it in and having to pony up another down payment or go upside down on the Durango.

[In_Trance]

get the repairs done

[Asker]

We had the first repair done it’s in the shop now for further repairs.