WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6

Published July 29, 2020

UPDATE FROM WARRANTY OPERATIONS
Hello Team,
As we continue to shift to an increased online experience, please make sure that you are using the innovative tools
that are available. From online vehicle ordering, expanded pickup/delivery, and mobile service, the options continue
to grow to match customer expectations. There are always new challenges to overcome, but utilizing these
processes are critical for customer satisfaction and retention. The flexibility offered goes a long way of showing
customers that you are there to deliver the best service in whatever way is most convenient and helpful to them.
It is important to remember that there is a person behind the screen making the appointment. With less face time
available, every moment you do have with your customer is paramount. You must examine all of the ways that you
interact with your customers and make sure that they are as positive as if they were in person.

Thank you,
Jim Sassorossi
Director – Dealer Support & Warranty Operations

FIXED FIRST VISIT IMPROVEMENT
AVERAGES for U.S. DEALERS:

FFV – Year to Date: 91.8%
May
93.0%

June
91.9%

July (As of 7/27)
91.1%

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6

All Models – Wheel Cleaning
All wheels and wheel trim, especially aluminum
and chrome plated wheels, should be cleaned
regularly using mild (neutral Ph) soap and
water to maintain their luster and to prevent
corrosion. Wash wheels with the same soap
solution recommended for the body of the
vehicle. The wheels are susceptible to
deterioration caused by salt, sodium chloride,
magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, etc., and
other road chemicals used to melt ice or
control dust on dirt roads. Use a soft cloth or
sponge and mild soap to wipe away promptly.
Do not use harsh chemicals or a stiff brush.
They can damage the wheel’s protective
coating that helps keep them from corroding
and tarnishing.

CAUTION: Avoid products or automatic car
washes that use acidic solutions or strong
alkaline additives or harsh brushes. These
products and automatic car washes may
damage the wheel’s protective finish. Such
damage is not covered by the New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
Only car wash soap,
MOPAR Wheel Cleaner or equivalent is
recommended.
NOTE: Many aftermarket wheel cleaners
contain strong acids or strong alkaline
additives that can harm the wheel surface.
Wheel staining from chemical contamination is
not a defect in material or workmanship and is
NOT a warrantable condition. (see below
example of “MAG” wheel cleaner damage)

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6
When cleaning extremely dirty wheels including
excessive brake dust, care must be taken in the
selection of tire and wheel cleaning chemicals
and equipment to prevent damage to the
wheels. Mopar Wheel Treatment or Mopar
Chrome Cleaner (or their equivalent) is
recommended or select a non-abrasive, nonacidic cleaner for aluminum or chrome wheels.
CAUTION: Do not use any products that may
contain any form of the following chemicals:
 Hydrochloric Acid
 Sulfuric Acid
 Chlorine Bleach
 Sodium Hydroxide
Any such damage is not covered by the New
Vehicle Basic Warranty.
Do not use any products on Dark Vapor or
Black Satin Chrome Wheels. They will
permanently damage this finish and such
damage is not covered by the New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
CAUTION: Do not use scouring pads, steel wool,
a bristle brush, metal polishes or oven cleaner.
These products may damage the wheel’s
protective finish. Such damage is not covered
by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Only car wash soap, MOPAR Wheel Cleaner or
equivalent is recommended. The following

aftermarket products have been tested and are
approved for use:
Safe aftermarket wheel cleaners:




Maguire’s All Wheel Cleaner
Mothers All Wheel Cleaner
SONAX Wheel Cleaner

Note: You should always follow manufacture’s
recommendations for application and removal
of wheel cleaners.
NOTE: If you intend on parking or storing your
vehicle for an extended period after cleaning the
wheels with wheel cleaner, drive your vehicle
for a few minutes before doing so. Driving the
vehicle and applying the brakes when stopping
will reduce the risk of brake rotor corrosion.
Dark Vapor or Black Satin Chrome Wheels:
CAUTION: If your vehicle is equipped with Dark
Vapor or Black Satin Chrome wheels DO NOT
USE wheel cleaners, abrasives or polishing
compounds. They will permanently damage this
finish and such damage is not covered by the
New Vehicle Limited Warranty. USE ONLY MILD
SOAP AND WATER WITH A SOFT CLOTH. Used
on a regular basis, this is all that is required to
maintain this finish. Use of any wheel cleaning
product will stain the surface and is not
considered a warrantable condition.

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6

Radio Core Return Changes
Effective Monday, June 8, 2020, the window to
return radio cores dropped to 30 days. You will
still receive a reminder at 15 days through your
invoice that your core is due or you will be
charged $1,000 for not returning a core. Once
you are charged, you are still allotted an
additional 30 days (for a total of 60) for the
charge to be reversed. Once the 60 days have
passed, your case will be closed and the credit
is not reversible. Any radio that was shipped to
you prior to this change, you will be
“grandfathered” in and will still have the
remainder of the 90 days to return the core.

Reminder: The cost of not returning a
core within the 60 days is $1,000.
This is all being done to bring more cores in
faster, as we cannot reman radios without
cores being returned from the field. Current
fallout is that 30% of all cores are not being
returned.

RECAP: Effective June 8, 2020, you now
have 60 days to return your radio cores
instead of 90 days. You will be charged
at 30 days instead of the previous 60.

799 Claim Support
All claims related to warranty coverage code
799 will require a copy of the Vehicle
Registration and Driver’s License starting August
1, 2020. The WAM has stated the dealer is
required to obtain this information as part of the
inspection since the inspection process started
in 2012. Similarly, the Service Write-Up section

of the WAM states the dealer needs to confirm
ownership using Customer Owner Information
(COIN). The Service Write-Up section of the
WAM has been revised to match the inspection
process, and now states the Vehicle
Registration and Driver’s License will be
required as an attachment to the RO.

Body Shop Time Punches
A few dealers have asked if they can time punch
on an RO for the sublet vendor, and we have
reviewed this request with the Audit
Department. The Audit Department has
confirmed that the Technician who is actually
working on the vehicle must be the person

providing the time punches. Therefore, to
correctly support an AT request from a sublet
Body Shop, the Body Shop will need to provide
the correct support. You as the dealer cannot
provide the support for them.

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6

MVP Vehicle Digital Imaging
Beginning July 29, 2020, dealerships in the US
market will be submitting Vehicle Digital Imaging
(VDI) requests for US MVP Service Contract
covered repairs. This launch will occur in 2
phases. This first phase is utilizing the existing
functionality of the Warranty VDI portal with the

addition of a new Category - MVP Special Group.
There is also a new Claim Type option to
differentiate between W - Warranty Digital
Imaging Requests (All Markets) and F - Service
Contract for MVP Digital Imaging Requests (US
Only).

It is important when selecting the Category to
only select one of the Warranty related
categories - Glass, Hard/Soft Top, Paint, Special,

Steering Wheel, Trim and Wheel. Only Claim Type
- W - Warranty should be selected.

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6
If the incorrect Claim Type is selected, you may
still change it back to W - Warranty so long as
your Request Status is either “Hold” or “Need
Info”. If you select the wrong Category, you will
only be able correct the selection if the Request

Status is still “Hold” and you have not attached
any images to the Request. Otherwise you will
need to create a New Request to select the
correct
Category
and
Claim
Type.

If you have already submitted your Request and it
is in “New” or “Pending” Status, you can add a
Comment indicating you had selected the
incorrect Claim Type and asking that it be
returned to you as “Need Info”. Then you can
change the Claim Type and resubmit it. You
cannot change the Category once a Request is
submitted so you will need to create a New
Request.

submitted your Request in the incorrect Category
or with the incorrect Claim Type. However, you
should still monitor your Requests. If you do not
see timely activity from corporate, review the
Category and Claim Type to ensure there is not
an error in the Category and/or Claim Type
selections.

FCA corporate personnel reviewing your
Requests will be communicating with you if you

Phase 2 of the US MVP Service Contract VDI is
scheduled for December 2020. At that time
enhancements will be made to ensure the
incorrect claim type cannot be selected.

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6

VSR Mail Box
Are you having trouble managing VSRs required
to support claims? A few dealers have informed
FCA that to better manage their VSRs, they have
opened a dealership email box that technicians
send every VSR scan to. Here are a few
examples to help you set up a similar process, if
interested:
 Email address could be:
[email protected]

Subject lines could be:
 VIN, RO#, and date with the word
BEFORE (scanned before repair)
 VIN, RO#, and date with the word
AFTER (scanned after the repair)
 VIN, RO#, date and Technician
name
The mail box is managed by the Service Manager
or Warranty Administer, which allows all scans to
be in the same place and ready to be used when
needed.


Suggestion Mailbox In WIC
Do you have a suggestion you would like to give
FCA Warranty Operations? If so, please use WIC
Ask A Question link to submit your request. Make

sure to use the Product “Suggestion Box” to
submit your comments.

WARRANTY OPERATIONS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6

2020 Warranty Bulletin Highlights

Bulletin #

Subject

D-20-01

Automatic Labor Rate Increase (ALRI) 2020

D-20-02

DIPAP Requirements – Addition of Jeep Wrangler (JL/JK)
and Jeep Gladiator (JT) Hard Top and Targa Top Panel
Replacements – All Dealers
Suspension of Operations at QEC Part Return Center
and Part Chargebacks – Excluding Core Returns (Rev. A)
Temporary Warranty Policy Adjustments

D-20-03
D-20-04
D-20-05

D-20-06
D-20-07
D-20-08

D-20-09
D-20-10
D-20-11

Jeep Gladiator (JT) - All Models and Model Years
Equipped With Truck Hero, Inc. Mopar Components Warranty Coverage
Recall W25 – Time Punching Exemption
Ram Pickup (DS/DJ/D2) Mopar Truck Hero, Inc. Soft
Tonneau Covers – Warranty Coverage
Addition of 2.4L Multiair Engines to the Powertrain
Service Center (PTSC) Pre-Authorization Program – ALL
DEALERS
Activation of Operations at QEC Part Return Center
(X88) Active Head Restraint – Select 2014 - 2015 Dodge
Durango (WD)
Removal of 9-Speed 9HP48 Transmission from STAR
Restriction

Release Date

DCMail ID#

01/29/2020

62283

02/12/2020

62677

03/25/2020
03/31/2020

63805
64010

04/15/2020

64512

04/20/2020

64625

05/06/2020

65049

05/06/2020

65065

05/13/2020

65252

06/10/2020

65818

06/24/2020

66202