2018 JL Clutch Question

[Grip]

2018 Wrangler Sahara JL with standard trans had the clutch go out at just under 31,000 miles. The dealer mechanic showed me the clutch and pressure plate after he removed them. All of the rivets holding the lining to the clutch were sheared off, the material had large pits in it, and the pressure plate had several hot spots in it. It did impress me though, as I looked at those parts, that the clutch surface seemed surprisingly small for a car of that weight.

This is my wife’s car. She “babies” this thing and is the only one to drive it. We are older, so we both learned to drive on stick shifts (back when only well-to-do folks could afford an automatic transmission!)
This is our 5th Wrangler, all have had standard transmissions and have been virtually bulletproof. I’m wondering if any other owners of JL’s have had any clutch issues. Though the vehicle comes with a 60,000 mile drive train warranty, the clutch is only warranted for 12,000 miles. The dealer is charging $2,650 to replace the clutch assembly, so if this becomes a chronic problem, I won’t be keeping this vehicle.

The Jeep mechanic told me that this Wrangler has a “dual inertia” clutch on it. He implied that this was new on the JL’s. I’m somewhat savvy mechanically, but I’ve never heard of a dual inertia clutch. I googled it and couldn’t find an exact match for “dual inertia”. There are “high inertia” clutches showing up in the search, but those have been around several years. Anybody know specifically what a dual inertia clutch is?

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[Squibbles]

I was wondering if he meant dual mass flywheel but at 2600$ I doubt it. How much of the price is labor?

 

[Grip]

I was wondering if he meant dual mass flywheel but at 2600$ I doubt it. How much of the price is labor?

The price for the clutch assembly (online) is around $500, so I'm guessing the rest is labor.

 

[AlamedaJeep]

All of the rivets holding the lining to the clutch were sheared off, the material had large pits in it, and the pressure plate had several hot spots in it.

Sorry about your clutch

Is the dealer claiming all of the above is "normal wear and tear"? It sounds like there may be something else going on and hopefully covered by the powertrain warranty.

 

[Squibbles]

The price for the clutch assembly (online) is around $500, so I'm guessing the rest is labor.

Are there any other shops around you’d feel comfortable taking it to? My last clutch was 1250$ and I paid a shop $400 to put it in. I have to imagine a clutch replacement on the Jeep is a lot easier since you have to drop the transmission and not a transaxle.

 

[G.D.S. 4x4]

Just checked Mopar list prices(What ya pay at the dealer) Flywheel $335 Clutch set $627 + tax 8% $77 +$1039 plus 9.9 hrs. labor Mitchell time @
$162.50 = $1609 + $1039 $2648 Ding ding ding! There ya have it. Pro estimating done every day.

 

[Grip]

Sorry about your clutch

Is the dealer claiming all of the above is "normal wear and tear"? It sounds like there may be something else going on and hopefully covered by the powertrain warranty.

The dealer is standing firm by the letter of the warranty . . anything over 12,000 miles and the clutch is no longer warranteed. I argued that the clutch must have been defective from the very beginning to cause such a catastrophic failure so soon. The dealer said there is no way to document that to FCA.

What is odd, though, is that we picked up the car from the shop this evening and the dealer says we have a 24 month, unlimited mileage warranty on the new clutch! Double the life of the original clutch! Go figure.

 

[Grip]

Are there any other shops around you’d feel comfortable taking it to? My last clutch was 1250$ and I paid a shop $400 to put it in. I have to imagine a clutch replacement on the Jeep is a lot easier since you have to drop the transmission and not a transaxle.

Right. My first thought was to take it to a transmission shop that I know and trust and see what their quote was. My reservation was that if the transmission shop worked on it, the remainder of the drive train warranty might become void.

 

[GeoTracker]

Have you seen this thread?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ith-37s-on-a-rubicon.15727/page-2#post-850578

Sounds like Centerforce might have a good replacement clutch. Also looks like we have might a twin disc clutch and dual mass flywheel per this poster.

 

[Indio]

The dealer is standing firm by the letter of the warranty . . anything over 12,000 miles and the clutch is no longer warranteed. I argued that the clutch must have been defective from the very beginning to cause such a catastrophic failure so soon. The dealer said there is no way to document that to FCA.

What is odd, though, is that we picked up the car from the shop this evening and the dealer says we have a 24 month, unlimited mileage warranty on the new clutch! Double the life of the original clutch! Go figure.

Sorry to hear that. My wife and I have had very good luck with manual transmissions, including over 200,000 miles on a little Geo Storm with the original clutch. My CJ5 and old Mustang back in the day never had clutch issues either. So I was considering a manual trans if getting a JLU. But shoot only 12,000 mile warranty on the clutch seems lame. I haven't heard of other failures, although the vehicle is still rather new, and automatics outnumber the manuals.

Also given your prior experience with driving manual transmissions, misuse seems not a factor. I wonder if there was some defect that prevented your clutch from fully clamping all the time. Maybe something not enough to realize it was slipping, but enough over the course of a few years to eventually burn it up.

 

[Squibbles]

Have you seen this thread?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ith-37s-on-a-rubicon.15727/page-2#post-850578

Sounds like Centerforce might have a good replacement clutch. Also looks like we have might a twin disc clutch and dual mass flywheel per this poster.

If the dealer is only charging 350$~ for a new dual mass that would surprise me.

Have you seen this thread?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ith-37s-on-a-rubicon.15727/page-2#post-850578

Sounds like Centerforce might have a good replacement clutch. Also looks like we have might a twin disc clutch and dual mass flywheel per this poster.

I never recommend dual mass flywheel for any application. Good to see they’ll make a heavy flywheel for the wrangler they should be a bit hardier.

 

[Squibbles]

Right. My first thought was to take it to a transmission shop that I know and trust and see what their quote was. My reservation was that if the transmission shop worked on it, the remainder of the drive train warranty might become void.

I’m curious, was there a complete loss of drive by the time you brought it to the dealer?

 

[Sheepjeep]

Right. My first thought was to take it to a transmission shop that I know and trust and see what their quote was. My reservation was that if the transmission shop worked on it, the remainder of the drive train warranty might become void.

the dealer would have to prove that installation of the new clutch caused the failure of what ever broke next, but keep all documents for this

 

[Grip]

I’m curious, was there a complete loss of drive by the time you brought it to the dealer?

Yeah, just about a complete failure. It’s about 5 miles from my house to the dealer, and by the time I got there the clutch was slipping like crazy. Don’t think it would have made another 5 miles.

 

[Grip]

Have you seen this thread?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ith-37s-on-a-rubicon.15727/page-2#post-850578

Sounds like Centerforce might have a good replacement clutch. Also looks like we have might a twin disc clutch and dual mass flywheel per this poster.

I saw the Centerforce video onYoutube where they installed their clutch with a heavier flywheel in the JL. Added 8lbs, if I recall. Did the uphill crawl test and it definitely improved performance.

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