[DHewes]

I have a 2014 Jeep Rubicon-X, outside of warranty (97K miles). Short version...since the 70K point when warranty expired I have had to replace the thermostat and housing twice, and the heater core has taken a dump and streaming hot water from under the dash to the passenger side floorboard. This is to the point where I have to completely refill the radiator and overflow tank every 30-40 miles before the coolant levels drop to the points where temps are hitting over 225*F. With each thermostat replacement the coolant system was flushed and there was sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank. Each of those repairs, all in, ran ~$800. The quote on the heater core replacement is just shy of $2K at the local Good Year shop (only place I have taken it so far). The service manager at the shop I went to let me know that there is a class action lawsuit against Jeep relating to manufacturing not getting all of the cutting/polishing aggregate flushed out of the cooling system during the build. I did some Google searches and it sounds like this has been underway for like 3+ years now. Essentially what the lawsuit states is that Jeep failed to clean this sand out of the engine, which under normal operation wears out parts and causes a sludge build-up in the heater core. This causes a variety of issues including thermostat and heater core failure. The tell-tale sign is a build up of sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank - EVEN AFTER a flush and cleaning out this tank. This describes my situation exactly.

My question is this: Has anyone tried and successfully had a Jeep dealership admit and address this problem outside of warranty? My local dealership in Columbia, SC is impossible to deal with. They told me on three occasions (while still under warrant) that the Jeep spiking to 245*F "was normal for a Wrangler" and refused to do anything about it. If anyone has been able to get Jeep to do this, how? What are the magic words? Who is the right person to talk to? I spent 3 hours and 10 minutes being bounced around the Jeep 800 Customer Support line before they put me on hold and hung up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...not a good time (is it ever?) to face a $2K maintenance issue.

 

[Digger84]

Call jeep cares but past warranty they don’t have to do anything and class action law suits typically make law firm millions and give other parties about$10 each

Laws are of by and for the lawyers who produce nothing and just move money around while skimming and pocketing large amounts themselves

Japan 10 engineers per lawyer USA 10 lawyers per engineer

You gonna have to explain how a little casting sand in coolant circulation would make a heater core leak as that ain’t real plausible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Sanders]

I have a 2014 Jeep Rubicon-X, outside of warranty (97K miles). Short version...since the 70K point when warranty expired I have had to replace the thermostat and housing twice, and the heater core has taken a dump and streaming hot water from under the dash to the passenger side floorboard. This is to the point where I have to completely refill the radiator and overflow tank every 30-40 miles before the coolant levels drop to the points where temps are hitting over 225*F. With each thermostat replacement the coolant system was flushed and there was sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank. Each of those repairs, all in, ran ~$800. The quote on the heater core replacement is just shy of $2K at the local Good Year shop (only place I have taken it so far). The service manager at the shop I went to let me know that there is a class action lawsuit against Jeep relating to manufacturing not getting all of the cutting/polishing aggregate flushed out of the cooling system during the build. I did some Google searches and it sounds like this has been underway for like 3+ years now. Essentially what the lawsuit states is that Jeep failed to clean this sand out of the engine, which under normal operation wears out parts and causes a sludge build-up in the heater core. This causes a variety of issues including thermostat and heater core failure. The tell-tale sign is a build up of sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank - EVEN AFTER a flush and cleaning out this tank. This describes my situation exactly.

My question is this: Has anyone tried and successfully had a Jeep dealership admit and address this problem outside of warranty? My local dealership in Columbia, SC is impossible to deal with. They told me on three occasions (while still under warrant) that the Jeep spiking to 245*F "was normal for a Wrangler" and refused to do anything about it. If anyone has been able to get Jeep to do this, how? What are the magic words? Who is the right person to talk to? I spent 3 hours and 10 minutes being bounced around the Jeep 800 Customer Support line before they put me on hold and hung up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...not a good time (is it ever?) to face a $2K maintenance issue.

Personally speaking, I think this idea of "Casting sand" left inside these engines, plugging things up is just pure silliness. Any sand that settles does so in LOWER areas and plugs things up as a simple matter of gravity. As for upper areas, you need something to bond the grains of sand together because they can't and don't bond together without. Try hard as you can to make a sidewalk or a building foundation without some form of bonding agent holding all the sand together.

I think the mistake made by FCA (and would make a much better class action) is the fact that there was a change in coolant being used and that the old and new coolants do not play well together.... mixing them causes a sticky gel... which I personally believe is indeed what you are calling "sandy sludge" in the bottom of your overflow.

 

[DHewes]

Call jeep cares but past warranty they don’t have to do anything and class action law suits typically make law firm millions and give other parties about$10 each

Laws are of by and for the lawyers who produce nothing and just move money around while skimming and pocketing large amounts themselves

Japan 10 engineers per lawyer USA 10 lawyers per engineer

You gonna have to explain how a little casting sand in coolant circulation would make a heater core leak as that ain’t real plausible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Totally agree on the lawyer aspect. Only reason I posted this is someone on a different forum posted in 2017 that he did get his local dealership to fix the issue, but no replies in years from him from others asking how he did it.

 

[DHewes]

Personally speaking, I think this idea of "Casting sand" left inside these engines, plugging things up is just pure silliness. Any sand that settles does so in LOWER areas and plugs things up as a simple matter of gravity. As for upper areas, you need something to bond the grains of sand together because they can't and don't bond together without. Try hard as you can to make a sidewalk or a building foundation without some form of bonding agent holding all the sand together.

I think the mistake made by FCA (and would make a much better class action) is the fact that there was a change in coolant being used and that the old and new coolants do not play well together.... mixing them causes a sticky gel... which I personally believe is indeed what you are calling "sandy sludge" in the bottom of your overflow.

I appreciate the feedback. I was aware that there was a difference and for both of the previous repairs I actually provided the correct coolant I had purchased at the dealership. Of course, I have no idea what they actually used, but I didn't get what I supplied back.

 

[Bob Sanders]

I appreciate the feedback. I was aware that there was a difference and for both of the previous repairs I actually provided the correct coolant I had purchased at the dealership. Of course, I have no idea what they actually used, but I didn't get what I supplied back.

Last time I went to the (jeep certified) dealer for coolant I told them to make sure I got oat... NOT... hoat. They didn't know what the hell I was talking about.

Last time I went to get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube, they topped off my overflow as a matter of normal service (which I didn't know). I have absolutely no idea what they put in.

At any rate, the idea of two coolants being placed into your system and gelling is a much more sound and viable idea than that of casting sand acting like glue and/or cement and defying gravity in the UPPER end of your cooling system. But hey.... I dunno. Get that "sandy sludge" analyzed and see what you come up with.

 

[SteedGun]

I still have a 2014 JLUR-X in the family. My daughter now drives it. I did have some cooling issues but it turned out to be a bad water pump. The only sludge issues I had was in the windshield washer fluid tank. Not sure what happened but I had quite the mess to clean out. I too have heard the sand mold stories but I have no real evidence of gunk in the cooling system. I did drain and replace my coolant after one towing trip where I thought I might have cooked it a bit. After that deal I replaced the thermostat and coolant. Only the water pump issue since and I think it has around 140,000 miles now. I will say that the cooling system on my 2014 is not great. The JLs are much better.

 

[ShotCaller]

2K to replace heater core seems high to me. See this link.

Jeep Wrangler Heater Core Replacement Cost Estimate

A Jeep Wrangler Heater Core Replacement costs between $1,022 and $1,190 on average. Get a free detailed estimate for a repair in your area.

repairpal.com

The heater core only costs $115 at autozone.

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/heater-core/jeep/wrangler/2014

Antifreeze is only 29 per gallon, so less than 200 total for heater core and anti freeze.

https://www.autozone.com/antifreeze-radiator-additives-and-windshield-wash-fluid/antifreeze-coolant/jeep/wrangler/2014

Check around for a good local mom and pop shop, they are usually alot cheaper then those big name repair places.
The one near me lets me give them the part and they just charge me labour to install it.

Also you can bypass the heater core for awhile until you get the money if you dont need heat. Search for bypassing heater core.

 

[Bob Sanders]

2K to replace heater core seems high to me. See this link.

Jeep Wrangler Heater Core Replacement Cost Estimate

A Jeep Wrangler Heater Core Replacement costs between $1,022 and $1,190 on average. Get a free detailed estimate for a repair in your area.

repairpal.com

The heater core only costs $115 at autozone.

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/heater-core/jeep/wrangler/2014

Antifreeze is only 29 per gallon, so less than 200 total for heater core and anti freeze.

https://www.autozone.com/antifreeze-radiator-additives-and-windshield-wash-fluid/antifreeze-coolant/jeep/wrangler/2014

Check around for a good local mom and pop shop, they are usually alot cheaper then those big name repair places.
The one near me lets me give them the part and they just charge me labour to install it.

Also you can bypass the heater core for awhile until you get the money if you dont need heat. Search for bypassing heater core.

And if you use the "dash cut" shortcut to install, the job can easily be handled in a couple of hours by most backyard diy'ers

 

[vanhalo]

OEM Heater Core is $75+shipping online.

 

[USStrongman]

There are plenty of repsonses here. 50+ pages worth

Class Action Lawsuit 2012-2017 radiator

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/707189-jeep-wrangler-class-action-says-vehicles-manufacturing-defect/ By Anne Bucher June 2, 2017 FCA US LLC has been hit with a class action lawsuit over an alleged manufacturing defect in certain Jeep Wrangler vehicles that...

www.wranglerforum.com

 

[vanhalo]

There are plenty of repsonses here. 50+ pages worth

Class Action Lawsuit 2012-2017 radiator

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/707189-jeep-wrangler-class-action-says-vehicles-manufacturing-defect/ By Anne Bucher June 2, 2017 FCA US LLC has been hit with a class action lawsuit over an alleged manufacturing defect in certain Jeep Wrangler vehicles that...

www.wranglerforum.com

It's a glorious read.

 

[Bob Sanders]

There are plenty of repsonses here. 50+ pages worth

Class Action Lawsuit 2012-2017 radiator

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/707189-jeep-wrangler-class-action-says-vehicles-manufacturing-defect/ By Anne Bucher June 2, 2017 FCA US LLC has been hit with a class action lawsuit over an alleged manufacturing defect in certain Jeep Wrangler vehicles that...

www.wranglerforum.com

Yeeah well....

UPDATE: The Jeep Wrangler Manufacturing Defect Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on December 21, 2017, due to individual settlements being reached.

If you read between the lines, that means there was nothing substantial found to support or prove the claim

 

[5JKs]

Pull your glove box and look at the core. I'm pretty sure normal replacement involves pulling the dash. You can cut the two lines (in and out) and do from inside the vehicle. As mentioned above, there's a shortcut method. Like it or not, vehicles are designed to be manufactured, not serviced.

 

[DHewes]

There are plenty of repsonses here. 50+ pages worth

Class Action Lawsuit 2012-2017 radiator

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/707189-jeep-wrangler-class-action-says-vehicles-manufacturing-defect/ By Anne Bucher June 2, 2017 FCA US LLC has been hit with a class action lawsuit over an alleged manufacturing defect in certain Jeep Wrangler vehicles that...

www.wranglerforum.com

Oh this looks like perfect, "After Turkey, and while avoiding the the liberal members of the family, Thanksgiving reading..." Thanks.

 

[DHewes]

Thanks everyone. I did reach out to the lawyers who were filing this action. I was informed that it was no longer being pursued. I have read a lot about the actual replacement methods, including the cutting out the plastic bracket, and the three-cuts on the C-channel method, etc. I will be doing this but due to a current lack of place to do this, and lack of tools (divorce), it will need to wait. I did just throw a by-pass on it (posting about that in a new thread) until I can get sorted. Hopefully I didnt screw up the bypass... Thanks everyone for your feedback.

 

[Bob Sanders]

Thanks everyone. I did reach out to the lawyers who were filing this action. I was informed that it was no longer being pursued. I have read a lot about the actual replacement methods, including the cutting out the plastic bracket, and the three-cuts on the C-channel method, etc. I will be doing this but due to a current lack of place to do this, and lack of tools (divorce), it will need to wait. I did just throw a by-pass on it (posting about that in a new thread) until I can get sorted. Hopefully I didnt screw up the bypass... Thanks everyone for your feedback.

You missed post number 13 above. The class action was dropped back in 2017.... maybe 5 months after it opened. Clearly it lacked any serious teeth.

 

[99GoldenSahara]

Why avoid the liberal members of your family? They’re the problem with the Jeep?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Got2bjb]

I have a 2014 Jeep Rubicon-X, outside of warranty (97K miles). Short version...since the 70K point when warranty expired I have had to replace the thermostat and housing twice, and the heater core has taken a dump and streaming hot water from under the dash to the passenger side floorboard. This is to the point where I have to completely refill the radiator and overflow tank every 30-40 miles before the coolant levels drop to the points where temps are hitting over 225*F. With each thermostat replacement the coolant system was flushed and there was sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank. Each of those repairs, all in, ran ~$800. The quote on the heater core replacement is just shy of $2K at the local Good Year shop (only place I have taken it so far). The service manager at the shop I went to let me know that there is a class action lawsuit against Jeep relating to manufacturing not getting all of the cutting/polishing aggregate flushed out of the cooling system during the build. I did some Google searches and it sounds like this has been underway for like 3+ years now. Essentially what the lawsuit states is that Jeep failed to clean this sand out of the engine, which under normal operation wears out parts and causes a sludge build-up in the heater core. This causes a variety of issues including thermostat and heater core failure. The tell-tale sign is a build up of sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank - EVEN AFTER a flush and cleaning out this tank. This describes my situation exactly.

My question is this: Has anyone tried and successfully had a Jeep dealership admit and address this problem outside of warranty? My local dealership in Columbia, SC is impossible to deal with. They told me on three occasions (while still under warrant) that the Jeep spiking to 245*F "was normal for a Wrangler" and refused to do anything about it. If anyone has been able to get Jeep to do this, how? What are the magic words? Who is the right person to talk to? I spent 3 hours and 10 minutes being bounced around the Jeep 800 Customer Support line before they put me on hold and hung up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...not a good time (is it ever?) to face a $2K maintenance issue.

I have the EXACT same Jeep! 2014. My Heater just went cold at 85,000 miles. so what i'm reading is Hmmmmm, I just had my Oil cooler replaced! Interesting

 

[ikelweini]

I have a 2014 Jeep Rubicon-X, outside of warranty (97K miles). Short version...since the 70K point when warranty expired I have had to replace the thermostat and housing twice, and the heater core has taken a dump and streaming hot water from under the dash to the passenger side floorboard. This is to the point where I have to completely refill the radiator and overflow tank every 30-40 miles before the coolant levels drop to the points where temps are hitting over 225*F. With each thermostat replacement the coolant system was flushed and there was sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank. Each of those repairs, all in, ran ~$800. The quote on the heater core replacement is just shy of $2K at the local Good Year shop (only place I have taken it so far). The service manager at the shop I went to let me know that there is a class action lawsuit against Jeep relating to manufacturing not getting all of the cutting/polishing aggregate flushed out of the cooling system during the build. I did some Google searches and it sounds like this has been underway for like 3+ years now. Essentially what the lawsuit states is that Jeep failed to clean this sand out of the engine, which under normal operation wears out parts and causes a sludge build-up in the heater core. This causes a variety of issues including thermostat and heater core failure. The tell-tale sign is a build up of sandy sludge in the coolant overflow tank - EVEN AFTER a flush and cleaning out this tank. This describes my situation exactly.

My question is this: Has anyone tried and successfully had a Jeep dealership admit and address this problem outside of warranty? My local dealership in Columbia, SC is impossible to deal with. They told me on three occasions (while still under warrant) that the Jeep spiking to 245*F "was normal for a Wrangler" and refused to do anything about it. If anyone has been able to get Jeep to do this, how? What are the magic words? Who is the right person to talk to? I spent 3 hours and 10 minutes being bounced around the Jeep 800 Customer Support line before they put me on hold and hung up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...not a good time (is it ever?) to face a $2K maintenance issue.
applinked

same question here.