Top things you DON'T like about the New JL Wrangler

[msujedi]

My JLU Sport S is my first Wrangler. Overall, I LOVE it! I knew what to expect with a "Wrangler", so it wouldn't be fair to mention gas mileage or even wind noise compared to a less modular/versatile vehicle. So, I just have 1 minor complaint for the FCA engineers: 2 Straps.

- Levers are much easier to use to recline seats over swiping my hand around to catch the strap & pull it.
- The strap keeping the driver door from swinging too far open is rather stiff. It protrudes into my left leg while I'm driving. Sure, I can reposition my foot, but why should I have to? The upside is that it will encourage me to take the doors off sooner this spring

Oh yeah, and the ginormous key fob. I thought it might bother me that it is so needlessly large. But, it works just fine & hasn't been a problem.

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[cellinio]

Interesting comment. I have a baby on the way (my first) and I was thinking about getting a JL. My 4runner seems spacious enough for a car seat - do you think a new born rear facing car seat would be tight? I sincerely don't want to deal with a wife yelling at me because the baby won't fit in my Jeep! Lol

Most of baby car seats have the weight and height limitations, but if your child can reach to the height of seat, I guess the types of convertible car seat will be a perfect choice, which is an adjustable car seat from rear-facing to forward-facing, like the Graco 4EVER that I am using for my kid. I hope the article of car seat for infant based on types and many advantages of different brands of car seat may do you some help.

 

[HawkRubicon]

1) Do you still use a rotary phone at home and have a cell phone the size of a briefcase? Just curious.

And what the hell is wrong with leaving the key in your pocket. Ya know, where it was before you got in the car? And incidentally where it will go when you get out of the car?

And the weight of key chains hanging from the ignition, after a while is hard on it.

 

[Tunesoul]

Overall I am very pleased with the new JL. Love the styling both inside and out (aside from a few below mentioned things) and a lot of the new features. However, there are a few things that do bug me about the new design, that I wish were different. I am mentioning below from largest concern to smallest, the things I like LEAST about the new Jeep Wrangler JL. Make sure to post your own lists below.

1.) Push Button Start / Stop
For me, this is the biggest contention. I hate electronic push button starts. I want an actual mechanical turn key. Also, I don't want to have to find another place to put my key ring with all my keys on it. I'd rather have it hang right in the ignition. Now I have to find a place to put it which takes up more space for something else. some push button start vehicles have a slot where you can still insert the key in to hold it (and the chain with all the other keys). I would have at least preferred that!

2.) More Slanted Windshield
It's supposed to be a jeep and look like a jeep. I hate this slippery slope of "modernizing" or "homogonizing" the wrangler by rounding things and canting other things. It's supposed to be unarrowdynamic and boxy, that's the point! How much MPG are they really gaining by the more slanted windshield? Is it even half a MPG? If you want gas mileage, the wrangler isn't the vehicle for you! Luckily, on its own, the slope isn't super noticeable, however, if you have it next to a JK it really sticks out and doesn't look right.

3.) One Gallon Smaller Fuel Tank
With a longer and wider vehicle, you would think they could have at LEAST maintained the same size fuel tank. I have a JK unlimited now, and the 22.5 gallon tank is great! I want all the range I can get, even if they supposedly increased MPGs slightly. I could maybe forgive them reducing the tank capacity by half a gallon so it was 22 gallons even, but one full gallon less is too much!

4.) Lack of Mud Tires on the Rubicon
Come on, it's the RUBICON! The off road model! They should at least give you the option to choose off road / mud tires for it. Not that I hate the KO2s, but I'd really like to continue to see the Rubicon come with off road mud tires to pair with the off road vehicle that it is. Like I said, there should at LEAST be an option to pick mud tires as an option. They have different wheel options, why not tire options? Another attempt to homogenize the wrangler and make it cookie cutter.

5.) Return of the Push Button Automatic shifter
There is nothing like the smoothness and ease of the current JK's 5 speed automatic Mercedes transmission. You just throw it into whatever gear you want with a hand motion and it shifts in smooth as butter. I had the older auto transmission with the push button shift (like most autos), and it was noticable slower and clunkier to shift. Maybe this is minor, but I really thought the Mercedes tranny was a nice touch and much appreciated feature when throwing the wrangler into gear.

6.) Increased Length w/ NO Increased Trunk Space
They increased the length on the JL a couple of inches, and they put it to waste. They increased the leg room of the rear seat and didn't touch the trunk size / space? They must not understand wrangler people too well, esp the two door owners! It's a wrangler, not a luxury or a passenger vehicle. The rear seat room was fine as is. You would have been MUCH better increasing the TRUNK SPACE an inch than trying to make the wrangler a cookie cutter passenger vehicle by increasing leg room.

I am actually shocked that they didn't even TRY to increase trunk storage on the 2 door JL at all, as that was a very lamented feature on the 2 door JKs. They should have done something to increase the space there at least!

7.) License plate on the rear bumper
I don't like the look of it, or the idea that if I actually have to use my bumper, my plate is going to get trashed. Not sure why the tail gate had to be widened as that wasn't really a feature requested by anybody? The wider tail lights still end up sticking out past the jeep, so you don't gain any clearance anyway.


Well, that's my basic list in order from biggest gripes to least. There are most likely a few small things that I didn't mention due to being basically inconsequential, or just not knowing about them. These are the major gripes I have with it as of right now though. The pros still greatly outweigh the cons though (esp on the Rubicon), so don't view this as a bash thread. Let me know what you think, and post your own lists below.

Wow, that's a lot of complaining... Geeez... Maybe shift your focus to all the amazing things this Jeep has to offer? JMO...

 

[Tyrantresister]

There have already been two people stranded due to the electronic key fob and push button start. How do you like it now??

They wouldn't have been stranded if they had a mechanical key and ignition. I bet they think that button is a lot less cool now, don't they?


I am all for technology, but not at the expense of reliability. Anything that compromises the reliability or security of my vehicle, I am not in favor of.

The keyless electronic FOB compromises on reliability and security, so I am not sure why people here stroke it so much?

No one has been able to logically with empirical evidence explain to me why I would desire a keyless electronic FOB over a mechanical key. They just say things like "It's cool".

Well something being "cool" or "different" isn't a persuading factor to me. Having my key break because it gets wet and strands me with my vehicle is!

Having someone push the start button against my will because the key is in proximity is!

Having to find a place to store the stupidly large bulky key fob (and associated attached house / work keys) instead of just hanging in the ignition is.

I don't want to be unable to use my vehicle because my electronically sensitive fob is malfunctioning. With a physical mechanical key, that is never a problem.

Again, why should I desire a electronic non durable keyless fob and a push button start?

 

[72commando]

So far after one day I really dislike the start/stop. I have never had a vehicle with this feature and the 1st time it kicked in i though it died or someone bumped me from behind as it does that weird stutter and go thing. I haven't had time to figure out how to make it just stay off yet so needing to turn it off every time is annoying.

 

[PavementWarrior]

Again, why should I desire a electronic non durable keyless fob and a push button start?

I guess if you wanna blame any elctronic failure in the system on fob cause thats whats in your hand...

Dont get me wrong, I would prefer a simpler system, but the FOB is a pretty simple system compared to the rest

 

[obwahn]

So far after one day I really dislike the start/stop. I have never had a vehicle with this feature and the 1st time it kicked in i though it died or someone bumped me from behind as it does that weird stutter and go thing. I haven't had time to figure out how to make it just stay off yet so needing to turn it off every time is annoying.

Have you tried the "A" button on the dash below the heater controls. That turns ESS off.

 

[72commando]

Have you tried the "A" button on the dash below the heater controls. That turns ESS off.

Yeah but it turns back on every time i turn the jeep off. Just a extra step each time I dont like. Hoping there is a permanent off.

 

[obwahn]

Yeah but it turns back on every time i turn the jeep off. Just a extra step each time I dont like. Hoping there is a permanent off.

As they always said on SNL, "Nevermind"

 

[ParkerS12]

There have already been two people stranded due to the electronic key fob and push button start. How do you like it now??

They wouldn't have been stranded if they had a mechanical key and ignition. I bet they think that button is a lot less cool now, don't they?


I am all for technology, but not at the expense of reliability. Anything that compromises the reliability or security of my vehicle, I am not in favor of.

The keyless electronic FOB compromises on reliability and security, so I am not sure why people here stroke it so much?

No one has been able to logically with empirical evidence explain to me why I would desire a keyless electronic FOB over a mechanical key. They just say things like "It's cool".

Well something being "cool" or "different" isn't a persuading factor to me. Having my key break because it gets wet and strands me with my vehicle is!

Having someone push the start button against my will because the key is in proximity is!

Having to find a place to store the stupidly large bulky key fob (and associated attached house / work keys) instead of just hanging in the ignition is.

I don't want to be unable to use my vehicle because my electronically sensitive fob is malfunctioning. With a physical mechanical key, that is never a problem.

Again, why should I desire a electronic non durable keyless fob and a push button start?

You shouldnt desire a non durable keyless fob. Nor should anyone. I hope the issues are easily worked out. I can tell you I have never taken my key out of my pocket and it is very convenient not to dig it out of my pocket like my jk key. That being said I’ve been swimming with my fob and bashed it and it has never malfunctioned. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. As to why the new fob is huge I have no clue. The srt isn’t.

 

[citzen z]

I am getting the basic sport. the only upgrades I am getting is the hard top, ac and tinted windows. everything else is not critical to me

 

[Tyrantresister]

I guess if you wanna blame any elctronic failure in the system on fob cause thats whats in your hand...

Dont get me wrong, I would prefer a simpler system, but the FOB is a pretty simple system compared to the rest

My current fob will still start my jeep even if the fob's battery is dead /inoperable.

 

[ThirtyOne]

I wasn't really concerned about the key fob and push-button start but after reading posts about it on like 37 different threads I am starting to realize that these things are horrible and it is making me angry.

And I don't mean just a little angry. I mean like a lot angry. Like a really angry little man screaming at the world about how angry I am about the key fob and push-button start. When I think about pushing all those buttons it just makes me angrier. I don't want buttons. I want a damn key.

Excuse me. I need to go kick a puppy.

 

[Blood Type J+]

I've been driving a proximity/push-button car for several years and I wouldn't want to go back. It's great to throw my keys in my pocket or bag and not worry about them again. Between the car and garage door opener, I almost never use actual keys.

Without the proximity feature, though, I don't think there's anything particularly useful about the button-start - past not having something shear a key off in the lock when I go tumbling down a ravine unexpectedly =)

The real downside to all the electronics is when I get into another car without them:

Why won't the door open, I touched it?!

Where's the start button (followed by fishing for keys while squeezed into a car seat)?

Something's wrong - my phone is ringing - why is the radio still playing? Hello! Hello! DOH!!

It's so hard to see at night in this car > omg the headlights are broken > where's the damn switch?!

And 5 minutes into the drive wondering why it's so hot or cold still and then having to figure out the controls.

First-world/1% problems....

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