— A Jeep 4xe FORM class action lawsuit is moving forward in court minus several claims that have been dismissed.
The Jeep 4xe FORM lawsuit includes 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The consolidated class action alleges the Jeep 4xe vehicles are equipped with defective fuel and oil refresh mode (FORM) features which make electric-only or electric-assisted driving unavailable for long periods of time.
The consolidated class action lawsuit includes Jesse Crowell v. FCA and Singh v. Stellantis.
The Jeep 4xe vehicle has a gasoline engine and an electric motor to enable gasoline-only, battery-only or combination driving.
Fiat Chrysler advertises the Wrangler 4xe as being capable of up to 21 miles of electric-only driving before switching to the gasoline engine. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is alleged to have up to 25 miles of pure electric range.
And the Jeeps are supposed to be fine in cold weather, and the 4xe versions are much more expensive compared to gasoline-only Jeeps.
According to the Jeep 4xe lawsuit, the FORM mode is triggered “if the system detects a stale fuel or aged oil condition after a long period without combustion engine operation” to maintain the engine lubrication and prevent engine or fuel system damage.
The plaintiffs say the Jeep 4xe owner's manual says frequent short trips in cold temperatures may also trigger FORM. The lawsuit alleges the original owner's manual indicated the gasoline engine may need to run up to 20 minutes when fully warm before exiting FORM.
The manual was later updated to increase the estimated time from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours when fully warm.
But the class action lawsuit alleges some Jeep 4xe customers "had almost no pure electric-powered transport for months while their Class Vehicles remained in FORM."
The plaintiffs also contend Chrysler admits the Jeep 4xe vehicles enter fuel and oil refresh mode more often and for longer time periods when the weather is cold.
Motion to Dismiss the Jeep 4xe Lawsuit
Several state-based claims have been dismissed, along with common law fraud, affirmative misrepresentation, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and breach of express warranty claims.
On the other hand, several claims were not dismissed, including the nationwide class action allegations.
According to FCA, the nationwide claims should be dismissed because the plaintiffs allegedly do not “attempt to plead the claims under the laws for all fifty states.”
The automaker also argues the plaintiffs “lack standing to assert claims under the laws of states where they do not reside and did not purchase any vehicle."
The court admitted there are serious different opinions from district courts as to when the standing inquiry should occur in a class action lawsuit certification. FCA references certain rulings, while the plaintiffs cite completely different rulings.
This is a classic example of how identical laws result in different opinions based on how judges "interpret" those laws. Regarding this Jeep 4xe FORM class action lawsuit, the court ruled against Chrysler and said it will "defer the standing inquiry until class certification."
The Jeep Wrangler 4xe fuel and oil refresh mode lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware: Jesse Crowell v. FCA US LLC.
The plaintiff is represented by deLeeuw Law, LLC, Migliaccio & Rathod LLP, Gustafson Gluek PLLC, and Scott Hirsch Law Group, PLLC.
The Jeep 4xe class action lawsuit was filed by these owners:
- Jesse Crowell / New Jersey
- Jason Figley / Pennsylvania
- Kenneth Forst / Minnesota
- Stephanie Gelber / New York
- Christopher Gittings / Montana
- Lonnie Heeter / Indiana
- Mike Kwiatkowski / Ohio
- Peter Nau / Iowa
- Bener Saka / New York
- Robert Thompson / Georgia
- Anshuman Singh / California
- Theresa Clark / Colorado
- Jeremy Erskine / New York
- Michael Lindgren / Oregon
- Jeffrey Monheit / New Hampshire
- Mackenzie Pirie / Michigan
- Amy Schachow / Michigan
- Mike Bennett / Colorado
- Mike Chavez / Colorado
- Jennifer Berner / Nebraska
- Frank Koss / Vermont
- Michael McGowan / Illinois
- Renee & Joshua Miller / Pennsylvania
- Gabriel Morrison / Wisconsin
- William Nevitt / New Jersey
- Matthew Raque / Illinois
- George Souders / Minnesota
- Chad Altschafl / Wisconsin
- Gregory Grigoriou / Connecticut
- Aaron Kornblum / Washington
- Tracy & John Hansen / Ohio
- Mark Grams / Colorado