Canadian EcoDiesel Trucks Registered in US: Emissions Scandal Options
Update: Stern Law is unable to assist with claims for vehicles originating in Canada any further. The following is provided as a general overview of our work done on those cases.
After years of fighting a class action lawsuit during an ongoing Department of Justice/EPA investigation, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) recently announced it had agreed to settlements regarding emissions issues in their 2014-16 EcoDiesel vehicles. One requirement of that settlement involved new emissions software on the affected vehicles that meet DOJ/EPA requirements. Unfortunately, for far too many, that software update has created issues. While Class Counsel and FCA is supposed to help those owners with their problems, a unique sub-group has emerged that has not, from what we have been told, received proper help with their issues. Owners of EcoDiesel versions of 2014-16 Jeep Grand Cherokee and RAM 1500 trucks that were sold in Canada, but have since been registered in the U.S. have faced significant challenges in securing required legal assistance. Stern Law is now offering help to those owners – if you bought a Canadian vehicle that has since been registered in the U.S., please continue reading.
Stern Law has become aware of major problems facing 2014-2016 EcoDiesel trucks that may have been originally sold in Canada but were since registered in the United States. While problems with the patch seem to occur regardless of whether the truck was originally sold in the U.S. or Canada, owners of that Canadian group have not been treated properly. The issues owners have experienced with the AEM software update and ensuing performance problems with the trucks deserves immediate attention and legal assistance. While the class settlement website claims that owners of vehicles original sold in Canada are entitled to the same warranty protections and assistance as American-based EcoDiesel trucks, this does not seem to be accurate according to owners who have contacted our firm for assistance. Further, the Class Settlement’s offer of ~$3000 has not been offered to those with vehicles originating in Canada.
Stern Law not only believes the class settlement failed to properly warn EcoDiesel owners of the issues the patch could and would impact vehicle performance (including MPGs, towing, torque, acceleration, resale value and more), but our firm is also especially disturbed over this ‘loophole’ now harming owners of trucks originating in Canada. Though the $3000 class settlement has completely failed to properly compensate owners who have faced dramatic drops in resale value and vehicle performance, the fact that compensation is not being openly offered here shows a clear gap in the class settlement that further harms owners of these trucks first sold in Canada.
Our firm already represents owners of EcoDiesel trucks originating in Canada. In most, if not all of their cases, our clients were not even aware their truck was originally sold in Canada and simply bought the truck used from a dealer in their neighborhood. The issue these owners now face is that dealers will either install the patch without permission or otherwise push a software upgrade on the owner, without any compensation or assurance of warranty coverage. Costs caused by the patch can accumulate and if a major breakdown occurs with no assistance from dealers or FCA’s corporate offices, what then? While FCA claims they will reinforce warranty coverage, our clients tell us that was not the case when they reached out to multiple dealerships and even Fiat Chrysler’s corporate offices for help when problems emerged.
If you own a 2014-16 Jeep Grand Cherokee or RAM 1500 EcoDiesel vehicle that originated in Canada but that you have registered in the U.S., it is important to protect your legal rights. These vehicles were excluded from the class action settlement, meaning owners can make individual claims through our firm for maximum compensation related to the AEM emissions software update/”patch.” Whether your vehicle has been updated with the so-called software “fix,” or not at this point, its country of origin seems to play a major role in terms of the help FCA will or will not provide. What’s more, given their exclusion from the class settlement, legal options exist for these owners and we would like to help anyone involved to better understand their rights.
For more information on how we are helping U.S.-based owners of EcoDiesel trucks that were originally sold in Canada, but have since been registered in the United States, please call us at (844) 808-7529 or fill out a contact form. Stern Law represents more U.S. EcoDiesel owners who opted out of this country’s emissions class action than any other law firm nationwide and we are bringing that knowledge and focus to U.S. owners of Canadian-sold vehicles as well. If you own an EcoDiesel truck that originated outside of the U.S., and has since been registered here in the U.S. we hope to hear from you soon!
