Chrysler will end its warranty of seven years or 70,000 miles on its engines and transmissions, more than three years after it initiated the offer, a spokesman said Monday.
Beginning with 2006 model year vehicles, arriving on the market in coming months, the powertrain on Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles will be covered by the three-year or 36,000 mile warranty, as are all other parts.
Customers did not place much value on the extended warranty for the engine and transmission, so the company decided to redeploy the funds used backing the offer, spokesman Kevin McCormick said.
“We felt like if customers are not seeing that as a value added we felt we could direct that into others areas of the company like product development,” he said.
Chrysler first began offering a seven-year or 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain in November 2001 order to reassure consumers about its quality and tout the benefits of the 1998 merger between Chrysler Corp. and Daimler-Benz AG.
Initially, Chrysler said it would offer the extended warranty for a limited time, as it competed with interest-free loans offered by General Motors and other automakers. But in July 2002, Chrysler indefinitely extended the seven-year or 70,000 mile mile warranty on the powertrain.
Several Asian automakers, such as Hyundai, Kia and Isuzu Motors offer longer warranties in an effort to boost their image and convince consumers about the quality of their cars.
The Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands all recorded improved scores but still ranked below the industry average in last year’s benchmark study of customer-reported problems during the first 90 days of ownership by J.D. Power and Associates.
