Badmouthing Jeep

[HardSell]

I love my Jeep

I have no love whatsoever for Jeeps in themselves, but I do love what they have been able to do. In the past their purpose has been to provide economical, practical round trip access to remote, difficult terrain coupled with simple repairability. I do love the JLs manners driving from the dealer lot and back again, but FCA for the sake of MAXIMUM profit requires me to tolerate the expense and inevitable trouble of everything I don't want. I'm seeing the platform morph into no choice Land Rover like excesses, de-emphasizing the more practical aspect of economic round trip performance.

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[HardSell]

Not all of our wives smell.

Your sense of analogy certainly does.

 

[HardSell]

please quit banging the same drum over and over and over...

There's a place in Cleveland going to great lengths honoring many who have done just that.

 

[rickinAZ]

Your sense of analogy certainly does.

I think that most members will think that it's spot on. You make a poor decision, we don't mind commiserating a FEW times, but after that our patience runs thin.

 

[HardSell]

but after that our patience runs thin.

My patience is never exhausted hearing the persistent warning from a pit viper.

 

[HeavyUser]

I have been a Jeep guy for 12 years but this is my first Wrangler. With all of the problems on the JL reported on this forum it bothers me that someone says just move on. I am not happy that my JL sport S can possibly just die, allegedly because of some ESS fault that Jeep seems to have no idea why it happens. Seems that the JL has a lot of new systems that don't play together well. Really concerned that I need 2 batteries to keep this JL going. Whish the dealer could turn the ESS off. I am not paying the $$ to buy a programmer to do it. And yes my JL steering wanders also. Like driving my 28ft class A motorhome. So if you have legit problems please complain, maybe someone at Jeep will wake up to the JL issues seen on this forum

Some people just like to complain about people complaining

 

[Mwags]

I love everything about my Jeep!..No issues yet at 13k miles

 

[roaniecowpony]

Seems like a lot of venom spewing over venom spewing.

 

[lohr500]

I guess some of us who have posted negative comments are just disappointed by the experience we have had with our JLs.
I love my JLU Rubicon, but I don't think it is acceptable in the space of 10 months for it to have spent over 6 weeks in two different dealerships trying to get faults rectified. And this spread across 7 or 8 visits.

The technical support for the dealers in the UK is woefully inadequate and there seems to be more knowledge on this forum about various faults than within the Jeep network.

In 12 months of ownership I have had the following issues :

• Front parking sensors not working. Eventually the root cause was traced to an incorrect sensor module fitted at the factory. Took 6 months to resolve.
• ESS stopped working in April. Still under investigation after numerous visits to the dealer. New Aux battery to be fitted next week.
• Vehicle alarm kept going off for no reason. Internal sensors changed twice and now only happens around once per month. I can live with that.
• Went in for 1st service and service had to be abandoned because dealership didn't have an oil filter. Took them 2 weeks to get one due to back orders at Jeep.
• And now the Engine Management Light has come on. My OBD reader says fault code P2471.

In isolation, any one of the above problems would be a minor annoyance and could be seen as a risk when buying a new model.
But when you put them all together and factor in the inability of Jeep and its network to fix them efficiently, then the ownership experience falls well short of what I would expect with a $60k plus vehicle. All of this on a vehicle with only 8500 miles from new.

I really do hope they can sort out the ESS and engine warning light issues next week when it is back at the dealership yet again.
I bought the JLU as a long term keeper in my retirement to replace a Land Rover Defender, but if faults keep developing, I will cut my losses and sell it before the warranty expires. Such a shame as it is a great vehicle in many ways.

 

[aldo98229]

I guess some of us who have posted negative comments are just disappointed by the experience we have had with our JLs.
I love my JLU Rubicon, but I don't think it is acceptable in the space of 10 months for it to have spent over 6 weeks in two different dealerships trying to get faults rectified. And this spread across 7 or 8 visits.

The technical support for the dealers in the UK is woefully inadequate and there seems to be more knowledge on this forum about various faults than within the Jeep network.

In 12 months of ownership I have had the following issues :

• Front parking sensors not working. Eventually the root cause was traced to an incorrect sensor module fitted at the factory. Took 6 months to resolve.
• ESS stopped working in April. Still under investigation after numerous visits to the dealer. New Aux battery to be fitted next week.
• Vehicle alarm kept going off for no reason. Internal sensors changed twice and now only happens around once per month. I can live with that.
• Went in for 1st service and service had to be abandoned because dealership didn't have an oil filter. Took them 2 weeks to get one due to back orders at Jeep.
• And now the Engine Management Light has come on. My OBD reader says fault code P2471.

In isolation, any one of the above problems would be a minor annoyance and could be seen as a risk when buying a new model.
But when you put them all together and factor in the inability of Jeep and its network to fix them efficiently, then the ownership experience falls well short of what I would expect with a $60k plus vehicle. All of this on a vehicle with only 8500 miles from new.

I really do hope they can sort out the ESS and engine warning light issues next week when it is back at the dealership yet again.
I bought the JLU as a long term keeper in my retirement to replace a Land Rover Defender, but if faults keep developing, I will cut my losses and sell it before the warranty expires. Such a shame as it is a great vehicle in many ways.

The fly over the Atlantic Ocean seems to worsen many of FCA’s inadequacies. A 2-week wait for an oil filter sounds like something Fiat would pull over here in the 1970s. That type of crummy experience got them to leave North America with their tail between their legs. Looks like old habits die hard.

I haven’t decided if I am going to keep my Jeep past the warranty period either. So far I haven’t had any major issues with my JL. But JL has too many electronics and Fiat parts to own without a warranty, and my past experience with Jeep dealers hasn’t been good.

If it’s any consolation, Land Rover’s quality and customer service on this side of the Atlantic are not much better than what you are experiencing from Jeep.

Over here, Land Rover’s poor quality is only exceeded by Fiat’s.

Jaguar and Land Rover customer service rank at the bottom of luxury in the US.

 

[lohr500]

I switched to Jeep after numerous bad experiences with previous Land Rovers here in the UK !!
The only notable difference is that the LR dealerships were able to rectify problems quickly, whereas the two UK Jeep dealers I have been using seem unable to do so. And the LR dealerships knew how to pick up a phone and to return calls as promised. Again, something that the Jeep dealers find hard to achieve.

I wouldn't go back to Land Rover as they are stupidly priced and all the models look the same now. The new Defender is a massive disappointment for me.

The one development I am watching closely in the UK is the Ineos Grenadier. There still aren't any photos of it, but development is allegedly progressing nicely with a planned launch in 2021.

 

[HardSell]

I bought the JLU as a long term keeper in my retirement to replace a Land Rover Defender,

I fully understand the Land Rover issue; then FCA goes and triples down on exactly what has always diminished the Land Rover. With ESS and a totally under dash electronically dependent Rube Goldberg engine start-run setup (including a stupid proximity key), relying on radio frequency recognition, all dependent on a $2 transmitter battery and $10 RF circuitry, in a break down is impossible to trail analyze and repair. One's not going home when it happens and a fool will tell you it'll never happen. That's the injury. The insult is FCA gives the buyer no choice to reject their computer garbage and only buy the Jeep stuff.

Your issues are the unnecessary minor irritations. Put this stuff on real trails over time ("JLU as a long term keeper"). Durability, simplicity, and trail fix-ability, flexibility are the features which have allowed for Jeep's high resale values. As the goof ball electronics age on the foisted "goodies", JLs are destined to become the modern Wrongler. After driving a Rubicon JL, I so wanted one, the relevant drive-ability issues are well addressed, but from experience, I cannot buy all the crap forced by FCA which has nothing to do with what a Jeep is about and everything to do with what a trail lemon will cause a driver to endure. I sincerely hope my instincts are wrong, but I'm sticking with them trusting a 15 year old Rubi now being set up for me.

 

[Cthehentz]

SO far I am one month in new ownership of my first jeep and long time owner of Land Rovers. I love the luxury of my Rovers just tired of all the little things that go wrong or constant failures that they all suffer from across the board. My Jeep for the most part is simple, I like simple with a little old school feel. For the haters, they are out there and will be miserable there entire lives never happy and only bitch to hear themselves talk. In my older years if you don't like it, change it....

 

[digitalbliss]

I fully understand the Land Rover issue; then FCA goes and triples down on exactly what has always diminished the Land Rover. With ESS and a totally under dash electronically dependent Rube Goldberg engine start-run setup (including a stupid proximity key), relying on radio frequency recognition, all dependent on a $2 transmitter battery and $10 RF circuitry, in a break down is impossible to trail analyze and repair. One's not going home when it happens and a fool will tell you it'll never happen. That's the injury. The insult is FCA gives the buyer no choice to reject their computer garbage and only buy the Jeep stuff.

Your issues are the unnecessary minor irritations. Put this stuff on real trails over time ("JLU as a long term keeper"). Durability, simplicity, and trail fix-ability, flexibility are the features which have allowed for Jeep's high resale values. As the goof ball electronics age on the foisted "goodies", JLs are destined to become the modern Wrongler. After driving a Rubicon JL, I so wanted one, the relevant drive-ability issues are well addressed, but from experience, I cannot buy all the crap forced by FCA which has nothing to do with what a Jeep is about and everything to do with what a trail lemon will cause a driver to endure. I sincerely hope my instincts are wrong, but I'm sticking with them trusting a 15 year old Rubi now being set up for me.

It's a wonder you even bought a Jeep with fuel injection rather than a computer less carburetor!

 

[Wolfff]

Great point, and nice to read so many viewpoints. Another angle is that releasing/venting about some issues and finding others who share the same problems may be therapeutic to some degree, kind of like when a parent asks about their kids/babies symptoms and gets relieved that many experience the same things. Perhaps a very select few complain to the point where they would part ways with Jeep, but most I think love their "baby" and just want to learn and share the good, the bad, the ugly, which ultimately makes you more attached to the brand (IMHO). And bottom line, an average vehicle is assembled with roughly 30,000 parts, and NO manufacturer is immune to defects or issues. Many of the "dependable" brands, like Toyota and Honda, or any other brand you choose to call dependable, have recalls ALL the time.

This is correct but if a manufacturer intentionally forced customers to fix issues out of their own pocket ( steering play issues ) it deserves harsh criticism. In my case FCA stated that since I did not have an accident and since I was able to drive my new vehicle with 2 inch steering play there was nothing wrong with it.
After countless workshop visits for 38 days I decided to invest $600 and installed an AE style steering gear myself. This solve all my issues.

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