ATLANTA — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is asking a federal judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit, which charges the company with saddling Jeep owners with bad transmissions. The suit involves the nine-speed transmission in the 2014 Jeep Cherokee.
Consumer investigator Jim Strickland found a southwest Atlanta woman who found the same trouble in both the 2014 and 2015 models.
Heidi Houston says her 2014 transmission failed three times. FCA bought it back and replaced it with a 2015. She was driving it to North Carolina last month when the 2015 quit, with what was later diagnosed as a transmission failure.
"Driving down the interstate, it decelerates. All of a sudden, it stops," she said. "I'm very frustrated, and I'm scared ;Lo and behold, thank goodness, a truck or any kind of vehicle didn't run into the back of me."
Her dealer replaced the whole transmission in a car less than 6 months old.
"I don't want to be one to complain, but there's something going on here and something needs to be done," Houston said.
A class action lawsuit filed in New Jersey over the 2014 model accuses FCA of fraud for knowingly putting out a defective product. The company won't comment on court cases, but a motion to dismiss the lawsuit says the suit contains "vague allegations," which are "legally insufficient."
Houston's not part of the lawsuit, but she wants her own justice.
"Take this back, and give me back my down payment," she said of her demands.
Houston told Strickland rather than a buyback, FCA is offering an extended warranty and one month's payment on her car note. Houston says the risk is too great to stay in the Jeep.
WSBTV
