A Monroe County, Michigan, couple is now in a legal dispute after leasing a new SUV.

The last two years have been a whirlwind for PJ and Carly Phillips. In 2023, they leased a brand-new Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. However, they say problems arose shortly after.

"The backup camera was going out. The screen was flashing," said Carly Phillips.

Since then, the couple alleges it's been nothing but issues. They leased the Jeep for 39 months. They say it sat at a dealership service center for at least eight months.

"They'd fix one thing, but something else would go wrong. Like down the line," said Carly Phillips.

The heat went out. The camera went out completely," said PJ Phillips.

After multiple repairs, the couple discovered Michigan's Lemon Law in hopes of getting their money back or a replacement. They ended up going into arbitration with FCA Stellantis.

"She [the arbitrator] said that the car is still under warranty, that there hasn't been criteria under Michigan's Lemon Law to qualify for a repurchase, and the car is fine," said PJ Phillips.

The couple says the car had been fixed and they were OK with the results.

"They offered me a customer retention payment for, like, our troubles because our car was in the shop, we didn't have it. So at that point, we get a little cash. The car's fixed, we're like 'OK,'" said PJ Phillips.

Two years later, in 2025, the minor problems and shop visits continued. In May, Carly Phillips said, while driving, something concerning happened.

"It totally shut off," she said. "I'm on the freeway. Thankfully, it's like 2 p.m., so I'm able to get to the edge safely."

Michigan's Lemon Law applies to newly purchased or leased vehicles. If a problem continues after a reasonable number of repair attempts, people could be entitled to a full refund. A car could be deemed a lemon if repairs on the same issue needed to take place four or more times, within two years of the first attempted repair.

"If you start to have problems early on, and it takes two years or three years to get to that full repair mark, depending on how it all plays out, you might be OK. It's very fact and case-by-case based," said attorney Ron Weiss.

Weiss, an expert in the Lemon Law, said he deals with hundreds of cases each year. He said Lemon Law cases can be a lengthy process.

"The court rules weren't designed to make things settle overnight. There's opportunity for the other side to file and answer, and then there's the discovery process. So, it can take a long time," Weiss said. "There's a range of settlement options. It could be that they deny the case up to they repurchase it or anywhere in between."

Carly and PJ Phillips said that since the freeway incident in May, the dealership still has the Jeep while they continue to pay over $700 a month.

"I think they want us to get so frustrated that we give up. That's my personal take on it," said PJ Phillips

This year, Stellantis put out a recall for 2022-2026 Grand Cherokee plug-ins. The automaker cited that a software error may result in a loss of drive power.

"There's never like a good one fix to everything," Carly Phillips said. 

"It's like a Band-Aid over a Band-Aid," said PJ Phillips.

The couple went into arbitration for a second time and won. But the payment given, following the first arbitration process and a miles driven deduction, was included in the repurpose order.

"We're going to need another car, but we can't afford another car payment right now until this one goes away," said PJ Phillips.

A judge vacated that decision, saying the arbitrator imposed unauthorized deductions. Now, all parties are heading to court.

"We're asking them to make it right. They could email us tomorrow and say, 'Hey, we'll buy the car back,'" said PJ Phillips.

The couple is hoping to get a fair refund for the lease.

CBS News Detroit reached out to Stellantis for comment. The company said it does not comment on active legal cases.