— A Jeep oil consumption class action lawsuit has been filed that alleges vehicles equipped with 2.4L Tigershark inline 4-cylinder engines stall or completely break down due to engine failures.
According to the class action, Jeep models equipped with the 2.4L Tigershark engines typically consume one quart per 1,000 miles, including in these SUVs.
- 2015 to present Jeep Cherokee
- 2015 to present Jeep Renegade
- 2017 to present Jeep Compass
The Jeep oil consumption class action lawsuit alleges the vehicles enter limp mode and stall from engines too low on oil, with some drivers reporting no warning lights indicated any problems with the oil levels. The 2.4L Tigershark engines can suffer from catastrophic damage which requires total replacements of the engines.
California plaintiffs George and Lora Gordon purchased a new 2017 Jeep Cherokee Sport and say they have followed the owner's manual and taken their Jeep to the dealer for regular oil changes when the warning light came on.
However, when the Jeep had about 15,000 miles on it, the Cherokee Sport began stalling and in March 2020, the Jeep allegedly died in the middle of the road.
The FCA (Fiat Chrysler) dealer technician said the oil level was low, and the plaintiffs say technicians admitted "abnormally high oil consumption is a known issue with their vehicle and that the dealership itself has had to replace multiple engines as a result of abnormally high oil consumption."
The Jeep technician added oil to the vehicle and told the plaintiffs to return after 1,000 miles of driving so that the dealership could conduct an oil consumption test. After only 100 miles, the Jeep allegedly had already consumed 1/4 quart of oil and continues to suffer from oil consumption problems.
According to the class action, Jeep owners are allegedly told by dealers that excessive oil consumption in the 2.4L engines is a known problem with no fix in sight. But the lawsuit alleges that even when Chrysler agrees to replace the engine, the same defective Tigershark engine is used as the replacement.
The engines allegedly contain design or manufacturing defects that prevent the engines from maintaining adequate amounts of oil. Instead, the oil leaks or burns off at abnormally high rates, sometimes requiring oil to be added every 750 miles.
Jeep owners allegedly are told to add oil more frequently or to have oil consumption tests performed, but the plaintiffs say none of these actions fix the underlying oil consumption problems.
CarComplaints.com has heard from Jeep drivers about alleged oil consumption problems, including from these 2016 Cherokee owners.
"We have had our Cherokee for 2 1/2 years. We had the engine replaced at 20k miles due to severe scoring of the cylinder walls as a result of oil consumption causing the car to shut off/stall. NOW... 23k miles later we are replacing the engine AGAIN!"
"When the vehicle was under 50k miles it was burning a quart every thousand miles, which Chrysler said was acceptable. They advised oil change intervals at 5000 miles and the oil capacity is five quarts. Now that it has over 50k on it, they advised it's acceptable to burn a quart every 750 miles. The dealership won't work with me and Chrysler told me it was the TRANSMISSION that is causing it to burn oil!"
FCA allegedly refuses to recall the Jeeps and cannot provide suitable repairs to prevent excessive oil consumption. The automaker also allegedly doesn't offer Jeep owners and lessees reimbursements for expenses related to oil consumption issues.
The lawsuit alleges Chrysler has known about 2.4L Tigershark 4-cylinder oil consumption engine defects since 2015. By allegedly concealing the engine problems, Jeep occupants and others are put in danger because the engines are designed to shut off when the oil falls to specific levels.
In addition, even when the oil is dangerously low, the Jeeps allegedly show no warning lights or other indicators.
According to the class action lawsuit, FCA should stop selling the Jeeps and replace the engine components with parts that aren't defective. The automaker should also recall the Jeeps with 2.4L Tigershark engines and give up "all or part of the ill-gotten profits" made from selling or leasing the Jeeps.
The Jeep oil consumption class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Gordon, et al., vs. FCA US LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by Capstone Law APC.
CarComplaints.com has complaints from drivers of the Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Compass and Jeep Renegade.