Sorry in advance for the length of this post, but I wanted to relate my top replacement saga…the timeframe from my first contact with Chrysler to resolution was almost 1 month, with nearly daily email or phone contact during that period.

My top showed no signs of problems until about 3 months ago when it rapidly began separating along the sides of the window. It is now to the point where both sides are completely separated and it has started to creep along the top and bottom edges.

At the suggestion of maxcichon’s post, I went to the Chrysler Customer Assistance site (Chrysler - Contact Us) and registered my vehicle, describing the problem, noting that it will soon present as a safety hazard and asking them to please resend the X31 notification letter to me as I hadn’t received it yet. I received a reply that there was no extended warranty notice for my vehicle in their database.

I acted surprised that my car would not be covered since it was exhibiting the problem described in the X31 extended warranty and I was aware of (at the time) over 20 vehicles that received the extended warranty. I also said that I purchased the car from a Chrysler dealer in TX and was told by them that I was the first owner of the vehicle. I also noted that I purchased a 6 yr./60,000 mile extended warranty when I bought the car. Finally, I reiterated that this will be a safety hazard when the glass falls out on the highway.

At this time, I also registered my complaint with the NHTSA website (https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/) (again at maxcichon’s suggestion).
I received the standard reply from Chrysler care that the X31 extended warranty only applies to vehicles in selected states, and that my car was originally shipped to a dealer in Michigan and sold in Michigan.

Now I really WAS surprised! I wrote back that the TX Chrysler dealer told me that I was the first owner and that the car was used as a demo. I asked who originally purchased the vehicle. They replied that they couldn’t tell me who the first owner was because of security, but that I was the second owner.

(I ran a VIN check on my car that night, and found out it had been titled as a lease vehicle in Illinois and sold at auction as a manufacturer’s vehicle just over a year later. Checking that title, it had ‘multiple owners’ listed – all this leading me to believe that possibly a dealer purchased it as a fleet vehicle.)

I sent back that: 1) I was disappointed that my TX dealer felt they had to misrepresent the vehicle history to me and asked if it was a dealer that purchased the car in Michigan…wouldn’t that be the same as just transferring the car to TX in the end? and 2) this was all well and good, but my car was still exhibiting the problem – Chrysler has admitted that it is a known defect, so are they just going to ignore the fact that my window is falling out? I asked how the X31 extended warranty can not apply for vehicles purchased in a non-covered area then relocated to an area that aggravates the problem? I closed with stating that I have by far owned more Chrysler vehicles over the last 30 years than any other maker and have always experienced that they stood behind their products. Was this no longer the case? Had Chrysler given up on the customer?

Their reply was to forward my issue to a ‘more appropriate area for their attention and response’. I received my very own case manager who contacted me and said that she would try to get the top covered for just the cost of my deductible on the extended warranty I purchased ($100). I said this would be acceptable, and I took my car into a Chrysler service center to have them verify the problem. The service people started talking about re-gluing the glass and that they had done a bunch of them. I said hold on a minute, Chrysler was supposed to replace the top, not fix the one I have. They said that they would do whatever Chrysler told them to do. The whole ‘inspection’ process took about 5 minutes.

About a week later, I received a call from the service center that my replacement top was in and that I could bring my car in to get it installed! They also said that Chrysler was going to cover 100% of the cost! My case manager called and said she was very sorry for my problems and that they were indeed going to cover the complete cost of the replacement.

And that is where the story ends for now…my car is in the shop (they farm their convertible top work out to another company), and I’m waiting for a call (hopefully today) telling me the work is done and it is ready for pickup.
In one way, this renews my faith in Chrysler since they took care of my problem…but in another way, I’m disappointed that I had to go to such lengths to get the problem resolved, and that there are still so many people out there being denied.

I guess the moral of the story is DON’T GIVE UP! Also, no matter how frustrating they can be, don’t lose your cool when dealing with them. Be pleasant but persistent, polite but confident. I dealt with them by asking one question dealing with one issue at a time, and kept pressing…

Good Luck to All!