Car company agrees to fix Nunavut man’s recalled Jeep Cherokee

John Fawcett beside his faulty Jeep Cherokee: he’s pleased Fiat-Chrysler is dealing with his individual case but dismayed that other customers, who don’t start petitions, may not get the same treatment. (PHOTO BY STEVE DUCHARME)

An Iqaluit man facing more than $20,000 in fees to ship his car south for mandatory recall repairs says he’s had some success getting automaker Fiat-Chrysler to send the parts to Nunavut.

But the company is stopping short of rewriting its repair policy for customers in remote locations.

John Fawcett launched a petition calling for a Nunavut-wide boycott of Fiat-Chrysler in August, after he was told he had to cover the cost of sending his 2014 Jeep Cherokee, which is still under warranty, back south for the repair of several federally-recalled parts.

The estimated costs to ship the car south by air freight was more than the vehicle was worth, and shipping the vehicle by sea would take more than a year.

After 115 signatures on the boycott, representing more than $2 million in potential lost revenue from future Fiat-Chrysler customers, Fawcett says the company has agreed to send a new transmission to Iqaluit for his inoperable car.

The company said it’s also working on solutions to fix other computer and electronic issues within his vehicle.

Since he created his petition, Fawcett’s boycott has benefitted from national media attention.

But Fiat-Chrysler is still not changing how it plans to deal with vehicle defects in remote locations, Fawcett said—and that’s a problem.

Other Iqalungmiut have since tried to bring their own complaints to the automaker after signing the boycott but were told the company will deal with each issue on an individual basis, Fawcett told Nunatsiaq News, Sept. 27.

Fawcett says he was told by Fiat-Chrysler that the company is still deciding how it will install the transmission and fix the vehicle’s other faults, since there are no licensed Fiat-Chrysler technicians in the territory.

Fiat-Chrysler’s policy states that a licensed technician must perform all recall services and repairs—but the closest technician is more than 2,000 km away from Nunavut.

“For customers in extremely remote locations and depending on the complexity of the mechanical service required, we work with the affected owners on an individual basis to find a solution that will minimize the customer inconvenience while also ensuring the appropriate level of expertise and tooling are applied to the repair in question,” Fiat-Chrysler spokesperson, Lou Ann Gosselin, told Nunatsiaq News, Sept. 28.

“If a customer in a remote location suffers a warrantable mechanical breakdown at a considerable distance from an FCA dealership, we reserve the right to engage a nearby non-FCA service facility to repair the vehicle.”

According to Transport Canada, more than 35,000 2014 Jeep Cherokees were recalled in Canada for defective transmissions. It is unclear how many Fiat-Chrysler vehicles are in Nunavut.

“I’m without a car, I bought the vehicle for the safety of my child and I don’t have that ability,” Fawcett said.

Fawcett first noticed problems with his car shortly after buying it second-hand.

A few days before his child was born, Fawcett said his transmission shifted to neutral while he was driving home and wouldn’t return to gear.

After looking up his model online, he discovered a federal recall for the transmission, as well as other recalls for the vehicle’s airbag system and with wiring—which Transport Canada said is prone to catch fire.

“At this point it’s in Chrysler’s hands,” Fawcett said, but added the whole experience has made him feel “lost.”

You can read Fawcett’s online petition here.