.... will let follow up and let you know what happens.
I just received my 2012JK (build date Jan 11 2012) back after having the left head replaced.
Sorry for the long post - but I want to share the details with you who are in the middle of the Pentastar problem.
This is my second newly bought Jeep and I consider myself a brand loyal customer; this has been by far the WORST consumer experience I have had with any product - and by that I mean the service department at the dealer, Larchmont Chrysler in Westchester NY.
I felt as if I had to beg to have my car fixed, and was treated with ridicule (sighs and eye-rolling) when reporting symptoms, and misinformation (or non information) throughout the process by the service writer when asking for the cause of the problem, the extent of the problem, and the ETA for job completion. Consumers would not tolerate this type of treatment at other businesses; I don't understand why it seems to be the norm in the consumer automotive business. You don't see this behavior at your dry cleaner or the grocery simply because it's not tolerated - this is no different than giving a bad review to a horrible restaurant - bad food/bad service/bad experience - others should be made aware, and the offender should be forced to improve.
The entire process took over 60 days from start to finish including 4 total visits to the dealer's service department.
This is my original set of symptoms:
Car ran great for 8 months
It always had "ticking" but not loud enough for me to say it was the Pentastar problem.
It always had valve clicking when accelerating up hills at 40-50% acceleration, I avoided that situation by using higher RPMs or aproaching the hill faster, etc.
Highway mileage was over 23 (65-70mph) by the onboard instruments.
Suddenly engine started running very rough when idling
Reported to service department (first answer was you have water in your gas or something and also tried to get me to sign agreement to $98 diag charge) who flashed PCM saying "this fixes all drivability issues" while knowing this was a lie - it's common knowledge now that the PCM software upgrade changes the frequency of misfires needed to trigger the MIL to a much higher number than standard under the bogus "to prevent false positives" note.
I felt they should investigate and fix this symptom which was obviously abnormal but they refused, even though they finally acknowledged they could hear the engine running rough.
Then problem worsened:
Vehicle is vibrating abnormally when stopped and idling, worse than before
Idling engine changes speeds and sound intermittently and is loud
Sometimes engine at idle feels like it's about to cut off and stop running, giving it gas keeps it alive
Loss of power felt at acceleration at top of lower gears (6spd manual)
White exhaust emissions after cold start, this never happened before
Engine light MIL is on - reads P0306 cylinder 6 misfire
When the MIL came on with P0306 it took the dealer an entire DAY to finally say yes, this is the Pentastar problem, the head and valves have to be replaced.
The head replacement itself took 11 days (after waiting 10 days for parts to arrive).
This same head replacement has been reported to take from 2-5 days by others. I have a feeling this service department doesn't know what it's doing (technically), and is unable to effectively manage parts flow.
After waiting for parts for 9 days I called Chrysler customer support to make sure the Service Center had registered my vehicle with them as having the Pentastar problem, and to ask them to assist me through the process. They had not received any mention of it. The Chrysler rep conferenced me in with the service center to "resolve" the problem, then exited the call saying "good luck" with the service center on mute. I asked the rep about a loaner car and she said yes, you'll get one, and hung up. I finished that call having the service center say they'd call to make the drop off date for the head repair, which they did the next day. Later I found out that the Chrysler rep had closed the case marking it "resolved".
The Chrysler rep said I'd get a rental and the next day the service writer stated "we don't provide loaner cars" and "we don't provide rentals". I continued to press the topic and he changed to "did they say you would get a rental?" and "we don't authorize the rental" and "I want you to call them and ask for a rental". I asked him to make the call and provide the service and he would not. He would not even answer my request just silence on the other end of the phone. More importantly, during the repair process, he would not answer my questions as to what work was being done, what state the vehicle was in (promised in 5 days, took twice the time), or what the ETA window for completion was. Unacceptable.
I was not offered alternate transportation and had to fight to get a rental car. Chrysler only offered $35/day for the rental which cost $40/day, and does NOT pay for insurance and tax. The rental cost ME $266 for the 11 day period.
I had to call Chrysler customer support 3 times pushing for my case to be handled. I finally did get the case manager to corroborate my experience and work with the dealer (some undisclosed set of steps) to finally "grant" me my warranty service and a rental car. Throughout dealing with Chrysler my questions were not answered and the rep seemed to want to "clear" or "corroborate" everything with the service manager before believing my story or proceeding with my case.
Some have asked about seeing the final invoice details for the left head replacement, here is a portion of mine:
http://hastek.net/P0306-invoice-annotated.png
I ended up with the rev AC head, part # RL141353AC
Any engine problem with symptoms like "loss of power at acceleration" and "engine feels like it will cut off or stop at idle" are, in my estimation, safety-related issues and I urge those that feel the same way to report their problem on the NHTSA web site here:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
and let them ultimately decide if investigation is warranted.
Result of new head so far - engine running very well but way louder than before after running it for about 7 hours. But it sounds even and healthy. Gas mileage is back to 22-23 at 65mph like before (just using the onboard instrumentation), and 17 around town. We detected a strong oil smell inside the closed car today - let's hope that isn't the engine! Was gonna check for leaks but it's been snowing cats and dogs all day.
Here's how I feel: I just spent $30,000 on a new vehicle and I should not have to spend one penny to have the manufacturer and their representatives fix a MAJOR engine problem expediently. Additionally Chrysler and the service departments have set up conditions to protect themselves from a recall and once again, consumers have to fight for what they thought were their basic rights. No, businesses should not be run this way. Chrysler: we just bailed you out, walk straight. Service departments: become better and more respectful communicators.
Thanks to any and all technicians and engineers on the forums who shared technical information and their insight during this issue. And to those who had a great experience at their local service department, boy, do I envy you (please send dealer recommendations).
Thank you.