Escalation notes as promised! Below are my notes, minutes and actions from my escalations and dealings with Chrysler Australia. This does not include the conversations/escalations to the Service Centre. A separate document covers all of the issues in detail and another separate document covers all my actions since going public on Wednesday 11th June 2014. Eventhough I am fuming at the way I have been treated (and I’m now seeing that I’m not the only one) I know that many Chrysler Australia employees are only doing what they’re authorised to do, and it wouldn’t be right for me to name them publically, so I have moved the names to a separate document. Within 15 months after purchasing my new Jeep Cherokee Limited, it had experienced a Major fuel leak (couldn’t even take the car from the dealership at the time of purchase), Rattling in the drivers door, Loss of all climate controls, Had a clock in the radio that could not keep the correct time, Bash plate underneath Jeep was falling off (it has never been off road, so I suspect it wasn’t fitted on properly after they refitted the fuel line), Turbo Inlet Manifold crack (towtruck required), Rain sensor failure, External mirrors coming loose and Major coolant leak inside the Jeep (towtruck required) HERE IS MY RUNNING LOG OF EVENTS If you’re experiencing issues with your Jeep you might want to use this information to save yourself a LOT of wasted time and effort. You’re welcome to use this in any way you like and have my full permission to print, copy and share it… cause I’M OVER IT (can you tell?) 27/7/2010 Fuel line fell off at dealership at the time of handover 28/7/2010 Noticed rattling in drivers door, reported on 13/3/2011, 27/4/2011 and 30/8/2011 10/3/2011 Loss of all climate controls 27/4/2011 Clock on radio resets (can’t keep the correct time) reported again on 30/8/2011, 27/4/2012 and 4/12/2012 27/4/2011 Noticed and reported Bash Plate falling off 27/4/2011 Turbo Inlet Manifold cracked (tow truck required) 30/8/2011 Rain Sensor issue (reported on this day but happening for months before) when you touch the internal mirror, the wipers come on 30/8/2011 Both external mirrors loose (had been getting worse so reported it on this day) 30/8/2011 Major Coolant Leak inside car THIS IS WHEN I’D HAD ENOUGH AND ESCALATED TO CHRYSLER AUSTRALIA. 2/9/2011: Spoke to (Name 1) at Chrysler Australia Melbourne to officially raise this issue. 5/9/2011: Spoke to (Name 1) who forwarded me onto (Name 2) in customer relations who is creating the case and will be requesting information from the dealership (at Noosa) and the Service Centre (at Maroochydore) where this Jeep has been getting towed to by Jeep Assist. 6/9/2011: received a call from (Name 2). Case 156302 has been raised with the Noosa dealership and they are awaiting contact from the dealership. District Service Manager (Name 3) has also been made aware of this. (Name 2) was unable to provide me with (Name 3)’s details – (Name 3) will call me if he needs information from me. (Name 2) to call back on 9/9/2011 with an update. (Name 2) mentioned that only the dealer can arrange a replacement vehicle, I questioned this on the basis that Chrysler Jeep import the vehicle and the dealer only sells the vehicle, I sent (Name 2) from Chrysler Australia an email asking for a copy of the “dealer agreement” so I can see where the responsibilities lie between the Chrysler head office and the dealer when it comes to vehicles with manufacturing defects. 9/9/2011: Received an email from (Name 2) stating that they cannot provide a copy of the Dealer Agreement. Called (Name 2) for an update, no update has been provided by the dealer as yet, (Name 2) to chase and update on Monday. 12/9/2011: Tried calling (Name 2) at 1pm and 1:55pm, no answer, left a message 15/9/2011: (Name 2) called and left a message telling me that (Name 3) would be calling me on Friday. 20/9/2011: Heard nothing from (Name 3), so I called (Name 2). (Name 3) called back and I discussed all the issues with him. (Name 3) offered a 1 year extension to the 3 year warranty, to which I asked for a replacement vehicle. Chrysler would only agree to a 1 year extension of the warranty. 7/11/2011 Airconditioning controls failed – couldn’t use controls – seemed to fix itself 3 days later. 24/4/2012: Called (Name 3) to see if I can arrange to have the clock issue resolved, no call back. 4/12/2012 Ignition failure – Jeep broke down again, had it towed to Maroochydore where they found the immobiliser computer had malfunctioned. 4/12/2012: Called (Name 3) to tell him I wanted a full refund. 4/12/2012: Tried to call Chrysler Australia Melbourne but all lines I tried were unavailable. 4/12/2012: Raised official complaint with Office of Fair trading. Emailed (Name 3) from Chrysler Australia to inform him that this has been escalated. 17/12/2012: Spoke with the Office of Fair Trading, case C-2012-13811 has been raised. 10/1/2013 Service light came on dashboard took car in to find that the Seatbelt Tensioner was faulty ESCALATION TO THE OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING 14/01/2013: Spoke with the Office of Fair Trading, dealer has rejected any wrongdoing as the car has been getting towed (by Jeep assist) to my local Jeep Service Centre and not his service centre (I don’t mandate where Jeep Assist tow the car) he believes the responsibility lies with Chrysler and not his dealership. He has refused to provide refund and suggested I take it up with the manufacturer/importer. 18/01/2013: Called dealer to discuss, but principle is not in the office today. 21/01/2013: Dealer (Name 4) called back and stated that he is not prepared to replace the vehicle as this is “obviously a Jeep manufacturer issue” and needs to be dealt with by Chrysler Australia. The best he can do is remove his margin and delivery charges if Chrysler Australia agree to provide a new replacement vehicle. 21/01/2013: Called Chrysler Australia customer care and spoke to (Name 5). Emailed (Name 5) with the full details and requested a response by COB 25/1/2013 25/01/2013: Had no reply from (Name 5) so I called office and am awaiting a return call. 29/01/2013: Called (Name 5) who stated she has not been receiving my emails, she has provided a different email address. No response received after multiple contact attempts. 8/2/2013: Received call and letter from the Office of Fair Trading. Both Chrysler Australia and the dealer have confirmed that are not willing to provide any redress to me. AT THIS POINT I GAVE UP MY FIGHT 5/7/2013 Coolant smell in vehicle – car went in and they found another heater exchange leak behind dashboard (different place to last time apparently) 28/10/2013 Starter motor continues to run AFTER the engine starts. This is intermittent but the car cannot be driven when this happens. – starter motor replaced 15/11/2013 till 14/2/2014 Starter motor issues continue with the new starter motor installed, reported but service centre cannot seem to replicate issue with testing. 14/2/2014 Left external mirror very loose again 25/3/2014 Car went into LIMP MODE while my wife was driving through a terrible storm with the kids in the car… I was en-route to an airport, so could not help her. 26/03/2014: After these recent defects throughout 2013 and 2014, I escalated directly to Fiat-Chrysler CEO (Name 6) through her PA, (Name 7), sent them the full history of the vehicle and again requested a full refund or vehicle replacement. From Melbourne I created Facebook page “jeepissues” and asked my friends to help me get attention, within a few hours Chrysler Australia contacted me through facebook and told me someone from Customer Assistance Centre would call me. I responded with my contact details and the details of the service centre in Maroochydore so there’s no reason they could give me for not being able to contact me… still received no contact. 27/03/2014: 10:30am No contact received from Chrysler or from (Name 7) or (Name 6). Escalated to a group called “Not Good Enough.org” and paid for them to take this officially to Chrysler Australia, as all my attempts to resolve this myself have failed. 11:15am Contacted by (Name 8) who told me she was from the office of the CEO and would work with me to resolve the issue. I told her the first priority was to get my wife a loan-car so she had a mode of transport while I was interstate. (Name 8) arranged a Camry from Avis at Sunshine Coast Airport which my wife picked up at 2pm the same day. I updated my facebook page to say that we were finally getting somewhere. 28/03/2014: called by (Name 8) at 8am to tell me she was in training, but this has very high visibility within management. I made it clear that the only outcome I would accept was a replacement vehicle and she said she had already noted that down and management were looking into it. Called later by (Name 9), who told me that (Name 10) was assigned to help me with the repair. I told (Name 9) that I wasn’t looking for a repair, I am demanding a replacement vehicle… (Name 9) told me that (Name 8) didn’t have the authorisation to talk about that. I then called (Name 10) who confirmed he’s looking to get my old car back on the road as soon as possible. I told him to speak to head office as I am not accepting my old vehicle as it’s not fit for purpose. 31/03/2014: (Name 8) is not returning my calls today and (Name 10) called to tell me that my local Jeep dealership will be contacting me to discuss the options. 1/4/2014: Still no word from (Name 8) or the Jeep dealership, so I called and SMS’d (Name 10), who replied suggesting I contact (Name 11). Called (Name 11) at the Jeep dealership and he told me he’s just been asked to provide (Name 10) with a trade-in price of my existing vehicle. Called (Name 10) a number of times with no reply, so have emailed (Name 10), (Name 6) and (Name 7) asking for an update. Also emailed (Name 10) demanding a meeting with the CEO in Melbourne to resolve this once and for all (1st offer of a meeting with the CEO) 1/4/2014: 7:49pm (Name 10) emailed me to confirm a meeting has been setup for 4pm on 2/4/2014 at Maddocks with 3 Chrysler Australia representatives (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14), but not the CEO Maddocks is a very prestigious national law firm, with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, so I had no choice but to arrange my own legal representation for the meeting, at a cost of $700 TWO HOUR MEDIATION IN MELBORUNE 02/04/2014 4:00pm till 6:10pm at Maddocks, Level 6, 140 William Street Melbourne Vic 3000 Attendees: (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14), Ashton Wood, and Ashton’s solicitor (interestingly, no representation from Maddocks themselves, when questioned they told me they were just using Maddocks offices as their head office was being renovated… I wondered how they could run a business if there were NO meeting rooms available at Chrysler Head office and suspect the meeting at Maddocks was just a scare tactic) Opened meeting, introduced Ashton’s Solicitor and discussed full history of vehicle including major and minor defects and the expectation of an outcome by the close of the meeting. Ashton went on to explain the impact to his family and lifestyle caused by a vehicle that has not been fit for the purpose it was built and purchased for. Ashton also explained that the vehicle had failed at the dealership at the time of purchase (fuel line fell off) and other major issues such as Turbo inlet manifold crack, Ignition failure, Major coolant leak inside car, Transmission error code which cause the vehicle to stall in the middle of a terrible storm and the ongoing Starter motor issues as well as 12 other issues over the life of the vehicle. (Name 12) advised that no fault had been found this time (even though the computer log showed an issue), however the battery had been replaced and the Jeep was ready to be picked up. At 4:35pm, (Name 12) confirmed that the only offer to be made to Ashton was the replacement of the battery in the current vehicle, which resolves all current issues. Ashton asked about the starter motor issue, which (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14) were not aware of. When questioned about further recourse, (Name 12) confirmed that this was fair and reasonable and again confirmed that no further action was to be taken about replacement / refund of the vehicle. Ashton re-visited the issues, the time without the vehicle and confirmed that a replacement battery was not a suitable settlement for the amount of issues incurred with this vehicle and a current open issue of a starter motor problem. Other discussions ware had around issues with the vehicle, (Name 12) and (Name 13) confirmed the reliability of Jeep as a brand and Ashton agreed that he had obviously been very unlucky with this vehicle, as he had owned a Jeep, purchased new in 2006 and sold in 2010 (to purchase the current Jeep) with absolutely no issues. Ashton confirmed he just wanted a vehicle that was fit for purpose and suitable for the use it was built for. Ashton was asked if he would ever buy another Jeep, Ashton made it clear that with the current issues experienced he would not go out and purchase another Jeep. Ashton confirmed he paid $49,163.00 for the vehicle and is seeking a full refund or replacement to the same or greater value, as detailed on page 2 of the “Major Issues Report” that (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14) confirmed they had received and read. Mediation took place and (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14) returned and offered one (1) extra year warranty on the existing vehicle, which Ashton and Tony immediately rejected. At 6:05pm, (Name 12) then raised the prospect of “trading in the vehicle” Conversations went on and there was another mediation session for Ashton and his solicitor to discuss what had been offered. Ashton and his solicitor discussed their position and concluded that there are only 3 options to consider 1. Take the offer of the free battery and 1 year additional warranty 2. Take the offer of a possible $18,000+ buy-back 3. Take the matter to QCAT (Civil & Administrative Tribunal) for mediation and a possible hearing in Queensland where the vehicle was purchased. Ashton confirmed that option 1 was not acceptable and that he was looking for was a full refund or replacement vehicle, which (Name 13) stated was not Ashton’s position earlier in the meeting. Ashton clarified that earlier in the meeting he was asked if he would “buy” another Jeep and his answer was “definitely not”, however as detailed at the start of the meeting and noted on page 2 of the “Major issues report” (which everyone confirmed had been read), Ashton would consider a replacement to the same or greater value. (Name 14) confirmed that the model of Ashton’s vehicle is no longer made, so Ashton again confirmed replacement with a current model at the equivalent (or greater) value. Neither (Name 12) nor (Name 13) could confirm if Chrysler Australia actually made a vehicle around the $49,000 mark, to which Ashton suggested the Jeep Grand Cherokee started at around $45,500. (Name 14) confirmed he had seen it on TV at that price (seriously). The meeting continued for a short time, but it was clear that no outcome would be achieved. Neither (Name 12), (Name 13) or (Name 14) were willing or able to provide a “buy back” value at the time of the meeting, so at 6:10pm Ashton and his solicitor suggested the meeting end with no outcome. (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14) agreed and took the action to review the “buy back” value of Ashton’s current vehicle or to consider a replacement vehicle of current (2014) year and a 5 year warranty. Ashton received commitment from (Name 12), (Name 13) and (Name 14) that he would receive the proposed counter-offer by COB Monday 7/4/2013 and the use of the rental car will remain in place until this issue is resolved. OFFER OF BUYBACK RECEIVED 7/4/2014: Received a call from (Name 10) from Queensland (the Melbourne representatives who I met with did not bother to call me directly, which shows a real lack of respect for this issue) (Name 10) has offered me a “buy back” price of $22,500 for my $49,163 vehicle. 7/4/2014: My solicitor has sent Chrysler Australia a response overnight, confirming that this offer is not acceptable 11/4/2014: Called (Name 10) and left a message asking if I can have the offer in writing for my records. Received email with offer in writing and formally rejected the offer. APPLICATION TO QCAT FOR MEDIATION AND HEARING 14/4/2014: Lodged application with QCAT and returned hire car to Avis, as I don’t expect Chrysler Australia to provide me with a hire car if I’m taking them to court. (My Jeep was still at the service centre, so we had to make do with one car, causing my family major inconvenience and costing me money for the airport transfers for my regular flights interstate ($100 each way) 16/4/2014: Received hearing date from QCAT (4/6/2014, 08:30am) 18/4/2014: Made a 2nd offer to (Name 6) CEO (via email) for a meeting to resolve this privately (declined through (Name 10)) CHRYSLER AUSTRALIA COUNTER CLAIM!!! 15/5/2014: Received counter-application from (Name 14) at Chrysler Australia through QCAT stating: 1. That my vehicle is in good working order, 2. That I have no claim, as I purchased the vehicle (6 months) before the new Australian Consumer Law coming into operation stating that my claim was unwarranted, 3. That my facebook site was not factually correct, 4. Asking me to pick up the vehicle which had been at the Service Centre for 52 days, 5. Demanding that I make a formal apology in the Australian Financial Review! 16/5/2014: Upon receiving the counter-application, I picked up my Jeep from the Service Centre at Maroochydore the very next day, after leaving it there for 52 days (since 25/3/2014) in the hope that I could get an explanation on the cause of the recent “drivetrain control module code” that caused the Jeep to fail and the intermittent starter motor issue… still no proper explanation except that the battery was faulty? (I later received a copy of the email from the Service Centre to (Name 10) telling him that the vehicle was driven off the towtruck and road tested with no issues apart from the drivetrain control module code, so how was the car started and tested if the battery was faulty?!?) 16/5/2014: Called QCAT to discuss the upcoming case. QCAT told me that Chrysler Australia had sent their response in too late, so I could contest the information from Chrysler in court. In the interest of getting this resolved I did not contest the date that the information was supplied to the court, even-though I strongly disagreed with the statements within. 16/5/2014: Emailed (Name 6) the CEO for the 3rd time, informing her of the upcoming QCAT hearing (just in case she hadn’t been informed through other channels) and offered her a private meeting to resolve this once and for all. 17/5/2014: Received reply from (Name 10) declining my offer of a meeting with the CEO 23/5/2014: Called (Name 15) at the Service Centre to book Jeep in for replacement of leaking rear-right Strut (picked up through an inspection by an independent mechanic). He told me that the component had been superseded so would need to replace both rear struts, so he ordered them in and will call me when they arrived. 30/5/2014: Called by the Service Centre to tell me the struts had arrived, I was travelling interstate the following Monday and Tuesday and needed both my cars, so we booked it in for Wednesday 4/6/2014. 31/5/2014: Experienced intermittent wiper issue (again) while driving (I told my wife that if we wanted any hope of redress we will need to catch these intermittent issues on camera) 2/6/2014: While I was in Melbourne, my daughter managed to capture the intermittent wiper issue on camera from the back seat while my wife was driving. 3/6/2014: While I was still in Melbourne, my wife managed to record the intermittent starter motor issue on her mobile phone and forwarded it to me. I rang (Name 15), informed him we have the intermittent issues on camera and sent the video to his mobile phone. I caught my flight to home from interstate that night. 4/6/2014: 07:30am I started my Jeep to take it to the Service Centre and managed to record the intermittent starter motor issue on my mobile phone and showed the (Name 15) at the Service Centre when I dropped the Jeep off to get the rear struts, wiper and starter motor seen to. QCAT HEARING, WHAT A JOKE! 4/6/2014: 08:30am Attended QCAT mediation The mediation started with an issue around who from Chrysler was allowed to attend (QCAT cannot be attended by Solicitors, but we will get into that separately) (Name 14) confirmed that the vehicle is fit for purpose. I reminded (Name 14) that the vehicle has 3 current defects and is at the Maroochydore Service Centre right now with these issues under investigation, so it is certainly not fit for purpose. I showed (Name 14) and (Name 10) the video footage of one of the issues happening (in front of the mediator), so there is no question about these failures. I confirmed again that the vehicle has the following 3 major Design Flaws, as follows: a. Engine Management System – causing vehicle to enter “limp mode” if the battery voltage is low. Only apparent on this model of Jeep (if it is in fact the battery, as I found out later that the car was driven off the tow truck and road tested perfectly) b. Turbo Inlet Manifold – known to crack on this model of vehicle, causing engine to be starved of air and vehicle un-drivable c. Electronic issue – causing starter motor to continue turning over, wipers to initiate for no reason and ignition system to fail. It has experienced 4 Build Quality Issues, as follows: a. Fuel line not secured to engine (fell off during handover in July 2010) b. Coolant line connectivity to heater exchange (broke off behind dashboard in August 2011 and then created another leak in July 2013) c. External Mirrors coming loose (many times and still an issue) d. Rattling in drivers door It has also experienced 8 Component Failures, as follows: a. Drivers side seatbelt tensioner failure b. Heater Exchange fracture c. Rain Sensor failure d. Climate control failure (twice) e. Ignition failure f. Transmission control failure g. Radio clock failure h. Oil leak from rear strut This vehicle is obviously not fit for purpose. After some discussion, and when reminded by the mediator that we were here to come to an agreement, I offered to drop my claim by a whopping $10,000 (from $49,163 to $39,163) for a resolution today. (Name 14) and (Name 10) were asked by the mediator if Chrysler Australia would be willing to negotiate, after some time, (Name 14) offered $500 more than the previous offer of $22,500 (to a total of $23,000) The mediator and I were very surprised that (Name 14) was unwilling to negotiate further and clearly demonstrates one of two issues: a. Chrysler Australia sent the wrong person from Victoria, who did not have authority to resolve this issue, or b. Chrysler Australia have no interest in resolving this issue with me fairly. With no agreement reached in mediation we proceeded to court Once it was clear that (Name 14) was unwilling to mediate, the mediator referred the hearing to court, where the Judge ruled that the claim was above his jurisdiction and recommended that I take this matter to the next level in the Magistrates Court. Interestingly, the judge also recommended that we take this opportunity to discuss in the area outside the court room, while we were all together at the Magistrates Court, and reach an agreement today. He also noted that 92% of cases get resolved this way, so I waited for (Name 14) and (Name 10) outside of the courtroom and offered my time to mediate further. (Name 10) from Queensland sat with me afterwards to discuss the issues but confirmed he didn’t have the authority to deal with refunds or replacement vehicles, all he could do was to try and get my vehicle back on the road as soon as possible (Name 14) (Chrysler Australia Melbourne representative) chose to sit on the other side of the waiting area and did not even attempt to discuss this further. 4/6/2014: Sent an email to (Name 10), (Name 14) and CEO (Name 6) stating the above (and also questioning why they would send a solicitor to a QCAT hearing which clearly states that solicitors cannot attend a QCAT hearing. In that email I gave the CEO (Name 6) 2 more days (till COB 6/6/2014) to arrange a replacement or refund before I will take further action. Called the Chrysler Australia Office that afternoon to confirm the title of the Melbourne representative (in-case there was any question of his role), the receptionist confirmed he is listed in the corporate directory as “Solicitor” 7/6/2014: (Name 10) replied to my email stating that Chrysler’s offer of $23,000 stands until Friday 13th June 2014 and that Chrysler Australia “is not willing to authorise a replacement 2014 vehicle (of same or greater value) with a 5 year warranty, or a refund of the purchase of your vehicle in the amount of $49, 163.00” 7/6/2014: I sat with my wife and we discussed the option of taking their offer or selling it retail (could possibly get $28,000 for it retail). We both agreed that no-one should be cursed with our Jeep that has given us so many problems (and still has 3 issues), so we agreed to destroy it for good. 7/6/2014: I replied to Chrysler’s email as follows: That’s a real shame (name 10), After 4 years of issues, 1,009 days (yes 1,009 days) of escalation, 2 formal mediation sessions, countless emails and phone calls, and even 3 offers to the CEO for personal meetings, I can rest assured I gave Chrysler Australia a fair chance to resolve this with me directly. What happens next is up to the community. Kind regards, Ashton Wood Filmed some footage and sat up for 2 nights and built a campaign for people to help me destroy my Jeep on private land. I knew the risk of Chrysler Australia trying to shut me down, so decided if I was going to do this, I would need to do it swiftly and on a large scale. I setup a facebook page facebook/destroymyjeep and a Kickstarter campaign called DestroyMyJeep, arranged the registration of the domain destroymyjeep and had a website built Took a flight to Singapore for work (flight had been booked for weeks and I had to be there with my client) and launched the campaign at 6am from the hotel room on Wednesday 11/6/2014. Newspaper Courier Mail were the first commercial paper to run the story and by Friday 13th it had coverage all over the internet and in papers. Had calls from TV stations radio all asking for interviews. Relying on the community for assistance to raise $22,500 to Destroy My Jeep and show Chrysler Australia that this service is just not good enough. Have since been contacted by a number of people all going through the same pain as myself, so my aim has moved from not only destroying my car but to raise awareness and see if my actions can help others too. The rest is history (but you can see it all on my Facebook page called facebook/destroymyjeep ) The total destruction of my Jeep will send a very strong signal to Chrysler Australia and the entire industry that ignorance of the Australian Consumer Law is not acceptable. It may even cause the Australian government to further tighten the law and bring it in line with the Lemon Law in the USA so there’s no question, thus helping anyone with a new car that develops systemic issues such as mine. Ashton Wood
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 20:48:12 +0000
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