Toledo, Ohio — The corrosion warranties of Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator have been questioned because each warranty requires that the corroded aluminum plate must also be perforated.

The US plaintiffs claimed in the corrosion warranty lawsuit that they paid excessive fees for the Jeep due to premature corrosion of the aluminum body panels causing paint problems. 

Stellantis-formerly known as Fiat Chrysler with the Jeep brand-began using aluminum in body panels and chassis to reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency.

The original equipment manufacturer allegedly concealed from consumers what the lawsuit alleged was the “false” corrosion extended warranty, because the aluminum body panels were said to have to be perforated due to corrosion and rust.

"In its brochure, FCA boasted that the 2018 Wrangler was'lighter in weight' and pointed out that'[h]high-strength, lightweight aluminum is used for the entire door, hood, windshield frame, swing door and fender To help the Wrangler get rid of 200 pounds," the Jeep Wrangler wrote in the corrosion warranty lawsuit. "It's strong, durable, and helps improve efficiency."

The lawsuit also alleges that Stellatis was aware of aluminum corrosion and paint problems a year ago because the automaker issued a technical service announcement to the dealer. The lawsuit alleges that the automaker issued TSB-31-001-19 in March 2018, entitled "Corrosion Repair of Aluminum Body Panels for the Jeep Wrangler in 2018." The announcement involves "inspecting and, if necessary, removing corrosion and refurbishing suspicious aluminum hoods, doors, or liftgate panels." 

Wrangler TSB mentioned, “[a] Aluminum corrosion along the front edge of the hood or other outer surface areas of the door or lift door” and told the technician “[r]emove [the] Affected panel” and “[ g] Rind the corroded area of ​​the engine cover... Grinding disk", and then sanding the panel and preparing to repair it.

TSB 31-001-18 was later revised to include the 2018-2019 Jeep Wrangler fender. It also diagnosed the problem as "[a] Aluminum corrosion along the front edge of the hood or other outer surface areas of the door, fender, or liftgate."

In November 2018, the TSB revised again to require the replacement of the affected aluminum panels because of "severe pitting corrosion that cannot be removed with sandpaper after the initial blister coating is removed from the surface of the panel with a grinding disc." 

Corrosion warranty suits include Jeep Wrangler vehicles from 2018 to 2021 and Jeep Gladiator vehicles from 2020 to 2021, which are alleged to have corrosion issues that caused paint to blistering, peeling, peeling, rusting and/or blistering. The lawsuit was filed by American plaintiff Mark Bordelon (Mark Bordelon) Louisiana, who bought a new 2018 Jeep Wrangler; Maine plaintiff, Antoine Louvat, who bought a new 2020 Jeep Wrangler; and Florida, the US plaintiffs Domingo and Irma Orozco, who bought a new 2019 Jeep Wrangler while living in New York. 

Jeep initially came with a corrosion warranty to provide a "metal plate" warranty period, which was valid for 36 months and had no mileage limit. The class action lawsuit also pointed out that the outer body sheet metal plate corrosion was extended by 50 months of the warranty period, which the automaker defined as "painted and visible when someone is walking around." vehicle. " 

According to the aluminum corrosion lawsuit, the corrosion warranty is defective because "it is widely known throughout the automotive industry that aluminum body panels are not perforated due to corrosion. Therefore, [Stellantis] knew that customers who purchased Class Vehicles would never accept the corrosion warranty The advantage in the perforation of the panel is the requirement to obtain coverage." The plaintiff claimed that this made the extended warranty coverage of the "external body metal panel" misleading and deceptive.

The plaintiff also claimed that the maintenance of the technical service announcement did not solve the corrosion problem, nor did it do anything to reduce the value caused by repainting the Jeep. Moreover, according to the lawsuit, "the new painted jeep is more valuable than the original painted jeep."

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