Persons who bought or leased a 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee or Ram 1500 pickup with an EcoDiesel engine should be eligible for a $3,075 payment following a ruling resulting from a class-action lawsuit.
FC's 3.0-liter EcoDiesel Engine has landed them in some trouble, with the company reaching an $800 million settlement with the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of California and several other entities in early 2019.
The fallout will see them pay out the aforementioned sum to original owners, while second-hand owners will be eligible for $2,460. Current and former lesses will get up to $960.
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Former owners and lesses will need to submit valid claims by August 1, 2019. Current owners have up to February 3, 2021, to submit their claims but will have to get their vehicle software updated by May 3, 2021.
The software update will be available in the next two weeks. It isn't expected to change any "key vehicle attributes" like fuel economy, performance or reliability but the fix should be a fast one. FCA will also supply free loaner vehicles if the repair is scheduled to take more than three hours or is not done in three hours.
"Fiat Chrysler has reached settlements with consumers and federal and state regulators involving the following Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles equipped with the 3.0L EcoDiesel engine (the "Subject Vehicles").
The settlements consist of:
- A Class Action Settlement Agreement between Fiat Chrysler, Bosch (Robert Bosch GmbH and Robert Bosch LLC), and certain current owners/lessees and former owners/lessees of the Subject Vehicles; and
- A Consent Decree between Fiat Chrysler and the United States Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California by and through the California Attorney General and the California Air Resources Board."
The court has also approved consent decrees between FCA and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S Customs and Border Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and all 50 states.
The agreement with the EPA and CARB, FCA will “apprise an independent auditor of the status of various initiatives within the company, such as training advancements and certification process improvements.” But FCA also notes that the “settlements contain no findings of wrongdoing, nor admission of any wrongdoing, by FCA US.”