Land Rover Defender TD4 w/ snorkel
Should Jeep honor the warranty on this Gladiator? Or did the owner abuse the vehicle over and beyond normal use?
Pictures at the link.
Isn’t Jeep owned by the Chinese?
Italians make nice shoes, but I wouldn't wear them hunting.
Depends.
What do Jeep ads advertise it as?
I’ve seen ads showing them driving vehicles through mud and other rough terrain as if they are built to handle an6thing.
If they are going to advertise it as such, then people will do such.
IMO, then, the company is liable or should be charged with false advertising.
I think that if the owner is a man, then Gladiatrix is the wrong handle.
Land Rover Defender TD4 w/ snorkel
Check out Steve Lehtos video on Fiat “Lifetime” warranties.
I am not an expert, but I tend to agree with AAC.
When you think of a Jeep, you think of a vehicle that can handle extreme conditions. And it sounds like there’s a huge litany of problems that came from some mud?
Seems off to me. But then again, I’m no expert.
Maybe Jeep should see about putting some protective shielding under its important parts; I realize it will make it heavier.
But as another person said, you don’t buy a sleek sports car and then go four-wheeling in the dirt, grass and mud.
‘No no, we said you get the IMAGE of a car that can go through mud, not the reality. What do you think you get for 60 grand? “
Honor the warranty.
In all of these commercials they show trucks doing these crazy stunts - and there’s fine print on the screen saying “Do not attempt”. Mixed messages if you ask me.
Modern jeeps are living off a long-dead reputation for toughness in my opinion
Drove a Land Rover through mud so bad the passenger was holding down the washer button so I would have a tiny space to see out of.
After we got back on the pavement we threw a couple of buckets of water on the windows so we could see.
The cops stopped us because the jeep was so filthy they could not tell what color it was and they were looking for a jeep.
Washed it off after we got home and never had a problem.
If their vehicles are too dainty to deal with a little mud maybe they should drop the Jeep label and just make Fiats. Nobody expected them to stand up to a little mud.
When I dropped off my Ram 2500 for service a few months ago, I walked around the lot. There was a row of about 10 Gladiators, so I walked over and checked them out. Really cool trucks. Every one of them had a “lemon law” sticker on the window, having been bought back by FCA after several failed attempts at repair. I’d say this guy should hire a lawyer.
We have had far more mud than that on pickups just getting home from town.
I would expect a Jeep to be made to deal with mud.
I know a guy who basically did this to a Mercedes G 550. I can’t remember if he limped it to the dealer, or ended up with a tow. In any case, he flew home, they replaced the alternator and some other stuff, he returned and paid a couple weeks later and drove home.
The G Wagon might a more serious off-road vehicle than that jeep.
In any case, alternators don’t like being clogged with mud.
The -ix suffix in the owner’s nickname implies that the owner is a woman.
And I suspect that we’re talking about more than just “some mud”. Vehicle designers are very careful about protecting the electricals on offroad vehicles, and the first mechanic’s diagnosis of needing radiator work makes me think that the owner took the Jeep mud bogging, swamped the vehicle completely in a very deep hole, and is now hoping that the dealership will be unable to repair her truck and will give her a new one.
I’m with the dealership on this one. Jeeps can handle some mud and water, but the owners manual specifies the max fording depth, and beyond that you’re on your own.
I can remember bringing my CJ5 home and the only somewhat clean spot was where I was sitting.
Then there was that time I got home late and parked it in the yard, put a sprinkler under it and went to bed. The next morning there was 100’s of pounds of mud that had been washed off. That was a real crowd pleaser with mom.
That being said, it sounds to me like he/she ran it thru enough mud that it packed the radiator and enough water to fill the rear diff. That means it was up to the frame rail for some period of time.
I can’t fault the manufacturer on that one.
These vehicles are advertised and glorified as being off road worthy. LOL, hell no.
I’m a very serious off road rider of motorcycles and also own a CanAm Maverick X3 Turbo UTV.
When you buy an off road vehicle, it’s good enough to drive on a gravel road, pick up the mail.
If you actually intend on doing serious off road, you are putting thousands, or tens of thousands into the vehicle to improve the;
Armor
Weak parts
Weak performance
Upgrading radiators
Desmog
Wheels/tires
Suspension
on and on and on....