Common JL Problems

[Chugiakguy]

this should really go in the Chukiaguy thread about "why is my MPG so bad.?" .. you got 1/2 a ton of steel hung off the front of your jeep !!!!

Now, if it were in fact a steel bumper, AND had a winch on it, you would have a very valid point, 40Caliber! That would have added well over 100 lbs over stock, sitting as far forward from the front axle as possible. But I am purposely avoiding that situation (for now ... never say never!).

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[MountainRigged]

Didn't read through every page, but my unconnect doesn't recognize my Note20 Ultra for AndroidGo or whatever it is anymore. Worked fine the first 600 miles. Also blue screen backup camera.

I did soft reset, holding the buttons down as well as check all the wiring and connection points, and also disconnecting the battery for more than 5 min etc.

When I took to local dealer, they went to refill the windshield washer. And scratched the hood and side of the Jeep and then had the audacity to say 'nono is rock chip' I said bull shit buddy, you better fix it. He's like 'we have camera we can see' and I said, 'better go take a look then before you tell me what it is or isn't don't you think?'. Sheesh man, whatever they can do to avoid responsibility. I was there for all of 5 minutes and had zero interest in calling out any Individual employees, but if you fuck it up then fix it. He's like 'we have to take off all the stickers, and order them' and I said 'I don't care what you have to do, it's the principle of the matter, I didn't sign any release of liability, I just stopped by to see if you could fix the backup camera.'

So, finally the service manager agreed, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[Banjomule]

J

JK was much worse, 1st replacement on my JKU was at 700 miles

That hasn’t been my experience:
2 TJs, 60,000 miles each, 0 broken windshields
2 JKs, 70,000 miles each, 1 broken windshield
1 JL, 10,000 miles, 2 broken windshields, first broken one at 350 miles

maybe it’s all random luck, but from my experience the JL windshield is the weakest

 

[Asuriyan]

That hasn’t been my experience:
2 TJs, 60,000 miles each, 0 broken windshields
2 JKs, 70,000 miles each, 1 broken windshield
1 JL, 10,000 miles, 2 broken windshields, first broken one at 350 miles

maybe it’s all random luck, but from my experience the JL windshield is the weakest

My experience has been the opposite. I have a couple of superficial chips on my JL from impacts that I'm quite certain would have fractured the glass in my older Jeeps. No gorilla glass or anything, just the OEM windshield.

But, I'm also aware that there's a strong element of luck involved (glass won't be the same exact strength in every spot), so I guess I better knock on some wood.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

That hasn’t been my experience:
2 TJs, 60,000 miles each, 0 broken windshields
2 JKs, 70,000 miles each, 1 broken windshield
1 JL, 10,000 miles, 2 broken windshields, first broken one at 350 miles

maybe it’s all random luck, but from my experience the JL windshield is the weakest

Perhaps it is just that all the Millennials that are driving JL's ..... tailgate big rigs, gravel trucks, trucks without mud flaps and such, whereas the older guys/gals driving JK's over the years, knew better then to do that....

Yes, some Millennials were taught by their parents, to avoid following gravel trucks, following big rigs to closely and such...

Sure, you can still get a cracked windshield if you are very careful in regard to how you follow other vehicles, but ...

.

 

[Chugiakguy]

Perhaps it is just that all the Millennials that are driving JL's ..... tailgate big rigs, gravel trucks, trucks without mud flaps and such, whereas the older guys/gals driving JK's over the years, knew better then to do that....

Yes, some Millennials were taught by their parents, to avoid following gravel trucks, following big rigs to closely and such...

Sure, you can still get a cracked windshield if you are very careful in regard to how you follow other vehicles, but ...

.

Rhinebeck, I suspect that there is a strong element of truth in your hypothesis here.

Over the past ten or so years, I have noticed that extreme tailgating has become a plague --- I routinely see idiots driving 30 feet, and often even much less, away from the vehicle in front of them on the highway. If (and when) they were to cause a wreck, I would have NO sympathy for those idiots whatsoever.

 

[Sidewalk]

On topic...

Supposedly the clutch sucks on the manuals, guess I will find out with time. So far my only complaint there is a lack of feel, but I knew that ahead of time.

Mine is brand new with only 4000 miles in the past few months, but I am not too stressed about issues.

Rhinebeck, I suspect that there is a strong element of truth in your hypothesis here.

Over the past ten or so years, I have noticed that extreme tailgating has become a plague --- I routinely see idiots driving 30 feet, and often even much less, away from the vehicle in front of them on the highway. If (and when) they were to cause a wreck, I would have NO sympathy for those idiots whatsoever.

It is easier to pace traffic when you can more easily see the vehicle ahead of you while glancing over your phone.

Also easier to block people from changing lanes into yours.

We really need self driving cars for 99% of the population already.

 

[Midwestguy]

Problem #1 should be expanded to corrosion at hinges/paint bubbling. But its not a ‘common’ problem with 2018-2021(ish) models….its guaranteed to happen with time.

 

[Chugiakguy]

Problem #1 should be expanded to corrosion at hinges/paint bubbling. But its not a ‘common’ problem with 2018-2021(ish) models….its guaranteed to happen with time.

Do you firmly believe that that is the case, Midwestguy? Or can we even really know, with the oldest JL being just over four years old at this point?

 

[funglenn]

I agree, the windshields aren't "bad," they just get more frequent direct hits at the worst possible angle than most other cars, because of the angle of the windshield. You see the same issue with FJs and the new Bronco.

I had to resort to putting a windshield film kit onto mine and it seems to help a lot, it's absorbed the impact from a bunch of hard hits at this point. So at least one of the "problems" is solved for me.

totally agree on the windshields this is a JEEP THING. My TJ went through tons of windshields, it is the angle and the problem goes back to the Jeeps used by the allies in WWII. Definitely a piece of our heritage. They are not fragile.

 

[funglenn]

Do you firmly believe that that is the case, Midwestguy? Or can we even really know, with the oldest JL being just over four years old at this point?

it is happening to the majority of JLs. I know 3 jeep owners and they all have it, from 2020-2018s and from sahara to rubicon. my dealer said they are getting about 3 a week. Garaged, not garaged, it does not seem to matter as it is corrosion not rust causing the problems.

 

[Chugiakguy]

it is happening to the majority of JLs. I know 3 jeep owners and they all have it, from 2020-2018s and from sahara to rubicon. my dealer said they are getting about 3 a week. Garaged, not garaged, it does not seem to matter as it is corrosion not rust causing the problems.

And so FCA/Stellantis is going to be obligated to repair and repaint ALL of those Jeeps, or all JLs, period? Damn!

In that case, I hope that whatever bean counter who led them into foolishly using aluminum body panels, or preparing them for painting in a haphazard and/or sloppy manner, gets the ax. As in, a literal ax. And he (or she) would deserve it.

 

[Quadjeeper]

I don't recall any other generation of Jeep having weak windshield problems like the JL has. Perhaps the JK did (I completely ignored that era), but the current windshield is by far the most slanted back in history, so these new ones should be amazing if the angle was any factor.
Additionally, I've smacked unthinkable things off the YJ windshield without a scratch but I think a bug chipped my JL windshield last week.

I second that. I've had CJ's for years on and off road, never cracked a WS.

 

[Morrepe]

My experience has been the opposite. I have a couple of superficial chips on my JL from impacts that I'm quite certain would have fractured the glass in my older Jeeps. No gorilla glass or anything, just the OEM windshield.

But, I'm also aware that there's a strong element of luck involved (glass won't be the same exact strength in every spot), so I guess I better knock on some wood.

I've owned four different Jeeps (two Tjs and Two JKs). Never broke a windshield

 

[Chugiakguy]

One factor, well maybe two, in all this is that (too) many people today are driving MUCH faster than they were 20 or especially 30 years ago. And kinetic energy --- the energy of any moving object, such as a stone flung up against your windshield --- is not just proportional to speed, but to the square of the speed. So in other words, if you double the speed of an object, its kinetic energy does not increase by a factor of two, but by a factor of four (2 X 2).

So you have stones and road debris being flung up by vehicles traveling faster than in the past, hitting vehicles that are traveling faster than in the past. The combination of those factors mean that windshields are getting hit by road debris with MUCH more energy than before.

For example, take a stone flung by a vehicle traveling at 60 mph (let's just assume for simplicity here that the stone is flung up, backward, at the same speed as the vehicle that flung it up is traveling forward), hitting a vehicle also traveling 60 mph. The stone is effectively hitting the windshield at 120 mph (60 mph + 60 mph). The square of that speed is 144,000.

Now take the same scenario, with both vehicles traveling 80 mph. The stone in this case is effectively hitting the windshield at 160 mph, and the square of that speed is 256,000.

So in the 80 mph scenario, the stone is hitting the windshield with almost double the kinetic energy of the 60 mph scenario --- with 78% more energy, to be exact ([256/144] X 100 = 177.78%). Add in the greater density of traffic nowadays, with corresponding shorter following distances, and the real-world net increase in impact energy would be even greater.

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