Dealership Admits They Can’t Diagnose My Car, Voiding Warranty Anyway — What Do I Do To Protect Myself?

Location: Colorado

As short as I can make it: my husband and I own a 2021 vehicle we leased in 2020 that has experienced four catastrophic engine failures since June 2024, under 60k miles, and all while under warranty. Each failure has happened at highway speeds and has put us in extremely dangerous situations.

The first failure occurred just as our lease was ending. But we bought the vehicle out (big mistake, in hindsight) because we have mods we couldn’t recover while it was in their possession, and since then it has spent all but 4 of the last 19 months in dealership possession. Corporate and two authorized dealerships have repeatedly replaced the engine without ever diagnosing the underlying cause.

Now they want to install a fifth engine, terminate the warranty they’ve been honoring since 2024, and tell us that if it fails again, we’re financially responsible for this vehicle that, per them, cannot be repaired.

Key Points:

- Corporate is blaming suspension modifications (installed by their specialists and not engine-related) but has provided no evidence and has not tested this theory.

- They refuse to provide diagnostic reports, inspection data, or documentation

- They refuse to allow an independent second opinion

- The owner of the dealership admitted they don’t know what’s wrong with the car, would not put their own family in it, and suggested we sell it to another unsuspecting consumer once the new engine is put in

- They are now asking us to sign a service contract that entails the voiding of warranty but will not let us review it in advance

We’ve contacted over 10 consumer protection attorneys and cannot even get a consultation. We are not necessarily trying to sue — we just need to know how to protect ourselves, our finances, and our safety. We’re facing the loss of tens of thousands of dollars on a vehicle that the manufacturer admits they cannot diagnose or safely repair. And the last 19 months have been a nightmare. This is our family and hobby vehicle and we have lost wages, missed out on trips, spent thousands on insurance for a vehicle we can’t drive, tows, etc etc etc.

What kind of lawyer should we be talking to, and what should we absolutely not sign or agree to right now? Are we going to have to just suck it up and eat the loss?

Any guidance would be appreciated. We’re feeling at such a loss.