2020 JL Willys - Bumpy Start

[sknyfats]

Howdy All,

Picked up a new 2020 JL Willys 2 door this past weekend. It’s my 3rd Wrangler - previously had a ‘12 JK Sport 2 door & still have an ‘18 JKU Willys. Also spent a good amount of time on JKForums in the past.

I’m a bit disappointed in myself & Jeep so far on this one. Hoping the experience levels out & I’m ultimately as happy with the JL as I was with my previous JK’s.

1. When I was signing my purchase paperwork, dealer said there was an issue with my 2nd key fob and they’d have Service contact me to get me another one next week. Ok - no big deal, right?

2. Got home after driving it off lot (45 minutes to this dealer since they were the only ones that had the model/color I wanted), it was dusk & I wanted to check out all the lights. Noticed my front fender light and actual fenders were different! Soon realized I had one correct fender and the other was a Rubicon fender! Surprised I missed that - but I didn’t spend a lot of time with the vehicle since it was brand new and I know it was the model I wanted. But the factory AND the dealer both missed this major screw up too. Dealer contacted Jeep and correct fender was put on today (though I asked to have another Rubi fender put on instead for the extra 2” of clearance, but they said they couldn’t due to warranty concerns. Fine, I get it). A bit irked I had to deposit $25 for a rental and pay a few bucks for gas so that I didn’t have to spend all day in their waiting room & waited at home instead (had a 9am appt - they called me around 3pm to say it was done). No loaner or attempt to cover my inconvenience (Though they did pay the 1 day rental fee to Enterprise). New fender and it’s lights appear fine. And I mentioned to service I’m owed that 2nd fob since no one contacted me about it yet. I’ll have to make a separate trip in a few days to pick that up now. Glad the 2.0 is good on gas!

3. On day 1 of ownership, noticed bad - really bad - vibration with moderate bass in all genres of music from sound bar. Dealer said they’d look at it when I brought it in for the fender swap. So what did they find? Well, they agreed it vibrated - but said they checked another JL on their lot & it did the same thing - so that’s just the way it is. Wow. I read a couple other posts where dealers have given the same response for the same issue. Un-freakin-sat. I found a post where a guy was able to fix it and will be trying his steps tomorrow.

4. On way home from fender swap, went to adjust my driver mirror (power) and nothing happened. Power door lock button on door didn’t work either (passenger door lock button did work though). Did some searches and found many reports of bent pins for the door connector after people took their doors off and reinstalled them. . From 2018! My JK’s never gave me a problem & I don’t recall others complaining of this on their JK’s... I was able to bend the pins back - but no reason they should’ve bent in the first place! I was definitely careful and straight when putting the plugs together. Seems a fairly common issue going back to 2018 & Jeep hasn’t addressed this yet?

5. The soft top sits WAY high when dropped back with the new design compared to the JK’s. I get that they “improved” things by removing zippers, etc - and the lock mechanism is nice - but I need to use straps wrapped around the top and secured to the D rings in the floor to really lower the profile of it when down - until I get a boot/cover for it I guess. Disappointing. For that matter, the new design makes “on the go” storage of the soft top windows problematic too. Lots of threads on that I see. I discovered this when I started searching for a soft top window bag to buy. Guess I’ll find out for myself soon though I plan to try the http://bjanedesign.com bag.

And what’s with the stupid euro fillers? Not all models have them - so their clearly isn’t a hard “requirement”. I plan on getting new bumpers - but in the meantime - they’re ugly and not easily removed. If you remove the whole thing, you leave a lot exposed in the back of the fender, so it’s best to cut them out from what I’ve seen. Just a weird design all around on that.

And weird that some lights are LED and some are not. Why not make them ALL LED or ALL non-LED? I think there is a mix of incandescent & LED in the tail lights?

Sorry my first post is a bunch of complaints. I really hope things go well from here on. And look forward to contributing to the forums. But man, have a bad taste in my mouth right now...

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[Rufus]

Bummer about the squawks your experiencing on a brand new Jeep.

As far as the window storage bag, I have the Mopar bag and I really like it. Others here have reported liking it too. I like how it has the side “pockets” for aligning the hard pillars on the rear quarter windows. It can also be hung from the backs of the front seats.

As far as the soft top being lowered it really does interfere with the rear view. I bought a J-Tops boot and found that it helps but is a hassle to install and remove for short trips. I see that Quadratec has released one that’s significantly cheaper and appears to hold the windows down further, though I don’t have firsthand experience with it. For short trips I do as you do and use some wide Velcro straps that I got cheap from Amazon.

 

[jludave]

And what’s with the stupid euro fillers? Not all models have them - so their clearly isn’t a hard “requirement”. I plan on getting new bumpers - but in the meantime - they’re ugly and not easily removed. If you remove the whole thing, you leave a lot exposed in the back of the fender, so it’s best to cut them out from what I’ve seen.

I removed mine completely, without putting anything back to cover where they were. I've had zero issues.

Nice rig btw. Good luck with her.

 

[GreyFox]

I'm kinda surprised that the dealer missed it during PDI and that you also missed it looking over your vehicle before taking ownership. Of course, I'm also surprised that it left the factory that way. But, I can "sort of" understand the factory because they are rolling off the line. But still, there should be some QC.

 

[YippieKiYayMrFalcon]

That’s nuts about your fenders. I wonder if one got damaged in transit and the dealer screwed up repairing it.
The bumper is the sport bumper, which I believe is standard on the Willys.

LED taillights are tied to the blind spot monitoring. I assume it was for ease of production to limit the number of different types of tail lights they have to make and also force people into their blind spot monitoring option, even if they only want LEDs. Which is dumb, especially if you have a 2 door and want LEDs, because blind spot monitoring on a 2 door is a waste.

For the sound bar rattle, I took mine and the surrounding trim pieces all off and put self adhesive sound dampening material everywhere the sound bar / trim pieces come into contact with the roll bar. Maybe took 2 hours and worked great, and so far so good a few months later. Sucks to have to do on an expensive new vehicle, but it is what it is.

I’ve got the Mopar storage bag for the windows, and it works great for storing them on the go. It clips to the back of the back seat and doesn’t take up much cargo room either.

The way the top lays when it’s down is a pretty big gripe of mine as well, but I think the idea was they made the top pretty easy to come completely off so they didn’t focus on how it is when it’s still on the Jeep. Which again is dumb, but other than that I love everything else about the new top design so I live with it. Compared to my older jeeps, or even my JKs, it’s a lot simpler and easier to take down.

All that said, enjoy your new ride!

 

[roaniecowpony]

Those "euro fillers" are Jeep's attempt at some aero work to increase the mpg for CAFE. Do they work? I dunno. But most people here seem to toss them/cut them out. Not many here bought their Jeeps for fuel economy. But if you're concerned with fuel economy, you might want to leave them.

The standard lights are all incandescent. Then you can get a package with LED tail lights and some other things, then there's another package with the LED headlight and front turn indicator/DRL lights. Sounds like yours is equipped like mine: rear LEDs but incandescent fronts.

 

[rallydefault]

Buy a couple Velcro straps to cinch the top when you have it down. Keeps it well below your tire carrier.

I also have the Mopar bag and it's awesome. The price is about 20% too high, but it is solidly built and does what it needs to do.

 

[viper88]

Different fenders? I herd of this happening before. FCA QC or lack of it is shameful. Contact FCA, they should compensate you for the screw up. Ask for a couple of months payments or a complementary extended warranty. The request to be compensated is not unreasonable and common. Good luck. Enjoy it!

 

[aldo98229]

Wow. That’s a lot to happen in less than a week. Jeep dealers and Jeep Service are crap, but this one takes the cake.

Here’s a possible scenario:

My hunch is that the dealer has done something with that Jeep. Either modified it, or rent it to someone, like a local show or a car clinic. Or something like that.

In 2012 I purchased a brand-new Chrysler 300S. It was fully loaded, dark gray exterior with red leather interior, panoramic sunroof, 20” wheels, memory seats, Advanced Safety Group, etc., etc. The car had an MSRP of $40,000; had it listed for $7,000 off!

I call in advance to set up an appointment later that week. On my way to the appointment I get stuck in traffic, so I text the salesman that I’d be 15 minutes late. He responds “No problem.”

When I get there the car isn’t ready. The salesman claims someone had to go fetch it from the annex lot. Wait for 45 minutes. The car shows up without a window sticker, with aftermarket tinted windows and 120 miles on the odo. At this point I’m tired of waiting so we get on with it. I test drive the car, we sit down and I sign the contract. At that point the dealer tells me the spare key fob and owner’s manual are missing; they will get me new ones. And off I go.

On my 35 mile drive home, I find out the satellite radio is not working, the blind spot monitor starts acting up, and the rear window power shade is rattling. I drive the 35 miles back to the dealer to let them know. They schedule me in to bring it back later next week. I do, and they take care of the satellite radio and the blind spot monitor but not the rattling power shade.

Another week goes by and the heated steering wheel and heated seats are not working. Instead of driving 35 miles, this time I take the car to my trusted, local dealership 10 miles away. They know me. Anyway, they find a fried electronic module and order me a new one. A few days later as I go back to have the electronic module replaced when I notice a loud rattle coming from the passenger seat. They find 2 of the 4 large bolts securing the seat missing! They order me 2 bolts and ask me to leave the car since it isn’t safe to drive without a secured seat. A few days later I get a call that the car is ready. I pick it up. As I drive home, I detect a rattling coming on the panoramic sunroof.

To make a long story short: my trust in this car is now shot. I contact Chrysler Cares to explore my options. They open a case to track my visits. That car ends up at the dealer 12 times in the first six weeks of ownership.

After some investigating from their and my part, we deduce that the selling dealer rented the car to the Orange County Auto Show or a car clinic, to be used as an exhibit. They had to remove the passenger seat to route the electric wiring to power the interior lights, frying the electronics in the process. They removed the window sticker, tinted the windows, and the fob and owner’s manual got lost in the shuffle. When I appeared for my appointment, they were hastily putting the car back together as I waited under the “story” that they had gone to fetch it from the annex lot.

Although the car showed only 120 miles on the odo, thousands of people had been getting in and out of the car at the exhibit, slamming the doors, the trunk, and getting their butts onto the seats. That’s why the interior was rattling like that of a 10 year old car.

There’s nothing Chrysler could legally do to dealers renting out new vehicles to be used as exhibits. Chrysler offered my a buyback. I took the money and factory ordered a Dodge Challenger SRT.

Your vehicle has too many unexplained issues for a vehicle that new. Something smells rotten. I suggest you record all your visits and keep an eye, but don’t antagonize the dealer. The more your story lines up with the dealer’s, the easier it will be for FCA to resolve your case.

Good luck.

 

[GreyFox]

I agree with everyone. I think the dealer must have done something. I still find it hard to believe that it left the factory that way. I've personally seen dealers take stuff out of one vehicle and put in another. So yes, it does happen. It could have been damaged in transit and the dealer thought they could just swap fenders. Anything is possible. Anyhow, once you get it fixed, you'll be a happy Jeeper

 

[madscientist]

The factory primarily uses barcodes to control every part used in a vehicle build- there is little human verification. It is possible that a supplier or sub-tier supplier incorrectly labelled a rubi fender with the barcode for a std fender.

You could have kept the mismatch and renamed it "Franken-Jeep"... but alas it sounds like that ship has sailed...

 

[Trauma Jeep]

Howdy All,

Picked up a new 2020 JL Willys 2 door this past weekend. It’s my 3rd Wrangler - previously had a ‘12 JK Sport 2 door & still have an ‘18 JKU Willys. Also spent a good amount of time on JKForums in the past.

I’m a bit disappointed in myself & Jeep so far on this one. Hoping the experience levels out & I’m ultimately as happy with the JL as I was with my previous JK’s.

1. When I was signing my purchase paperwork, dealer said there was an issue with my 2nd key fob and they’d have Service contact me to get me another one next week. Ok - no big deal, right?

2. Got home after driving it off lot (45 minutes to this dealer since they were the only ones that had the model/color I wanted), it was dusk & I wanted to check out all the lights. Noticed my front fender light and actual fenders were different! Soon realized I had one correct fender and the other was a Rubicon fender! Surprised I missed that - but I didn’t spend a lot of time with the vehicle since it was brand new and I know it was the model I wanted. But the factory AND the dealer both missed this major screw up too. Dealer contacted Jeep and correct fender was put on today (though I asked to have another Rubi fender put on instead for the extra 2” of clearance, but they said they couldn’t due to warranty concerns. Fine, I get it). A bit irked I had to deposit $25 for a rental and pay a few bucks for gas so that I didn’t have to spend all day in their waiting room & waited at home instead (had a 9am appt - they called me around 3pm to say it was done). No loaner or attempt to cover my inconvenience (Though they did pay the 1 day rental fee to Enterprise). New fender and it’s lights appear fine. And I mentioned to service I’m owed that 2nd fob since no one contacted me about it yet. I’ll have to make a separate trip in a few days to pick that up now. Glad the 2.0 is good on gas!

3. On day 1 of ownership, noticed bad - really bad - vibration with moderate bass in all genres of music from sound bar. Dealer said they’d look at it when I brought it in for the fender swap. So what did they find? Well, they agreed it vibrated - but said they checked another JL on their lot & it did the same thing - so that’s just the way it is. Wow. I read a couple other posts where dealers have given the same response for the same issue. Un-freakin-sat. I found a post where a guy was able to fix it and will be trying his steps tomorrow.

4. On way home from fender swap, went to adjust my driver mirror (power) and nothing happened. Power door lock button on door didn’t work either (passenger door lock button did work though). Did some searches and found many reports of bent pins for the door connector after people took their doors off and reinstalled them. . From 2018! My JK’s never gave me a problem & I don’t recall others complaining of this on their JK’s... I was able to bend the pins back - but no reason they should’ve bent in the first place! I was definitely careful and straight when putting the plugs together. Seems a fairly common issue going back to 2018 & Jeep hasn’t addressed this yet?

5. The soft top sits WAY high when dropped back with the new design compared to the JK’s. I get that they “improved” things by removing zippers, etc - and the lock mechanism is nice - but I need to use straps wrapped around the top and secured to the D rings in the floor to really lower the profile of it when down - until I get a boot/cover for it I guess. Disappointing. For that matter, the new design makes “on the go” storage of the soft top windows problematic too. Lots of threads on that I see. I discovered this when I started searching for a soft top window bag to buy. Guess I’ll find out for myself soon though I plan to try the http://bjanedesign.com bag.

And what’s with the stupid euro fillers? Not all models have them - so their clearly isn’t a hard “requirement”. I plan on getting new bumpers - but in the meantime - they’re ugly and not easily removed. If you remove the whole thing, you leave a lot exposed in the back of the fender, so it’s best to cut them out from what I’ve seen. Just a weird design all around on that.

And weird that some lights are LED and some are not. Why not make them ALL LED or ALL non-LED? I think there is a mix of incandescent & LED in the tail lights?

Sorry my first post is a bunch of complaints. I really hope things go well from here on. And look forward to contributing to the forums. But man, have a bad taste in my mouth right now...

Other then that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln? That’s horrible man. The QC department must have been drinking on the job.

 

[Trauma Jeep]

Howdy All,

Picked up a new 2020 JL Willys 2 door this past weekend. It’s my 3rd Wrangler - previously had a ‘12 JK Sport 2 door & still have an ‘18 JKU Willys. Also spent a good amount of time on JKForums in the past.

I’m a bit disappointed in myself & Jeep so far on this one. Hoping the experience levels out & I’m ultimately as happy with the JL as I was with my previous JK’s.

1. When I was signing my purchase paperwork, dealer said there was an issue with my 2nd key fob and they’d have Service contact me to get me another one next week. Ok - no big deal, right?

2. Got home after driving it off lot (45 minutes to this dealer since they were the only ones that had the model/color I wanted), it was dusk & I wanted to check out all the lights. Noticed my front fender light and actual fenders were different! Soon realized I had one correct fender and the other was a Rubicon fender! Surprised I missed that - but I didn’t spend a lot of time with the vehicle since it was brand new and I know it was the model I wanted. But the factory AND the dealer both missed this major screw up too. Dealer contacted Jeep and correct fender was put on today (though I asked to have another Rubi fender put on instead for the extra 2” of clearance, but they said they couldn’t due to warranty concerns. Fine, I get it). A bit irked I had to deposit $25 for a rental and pay a few bucks for gas so that I didn’t have to spend all day in their waiting room & waited at home instead (had a 9am appt - they called me around 3pm to say it was done). No loaner or attempt to cover my inconvenience (Though they did pay the 1 day rental fee to Enterprise). New fender and it’s lights appear fine. And I mentioned to service I’m owed that 2nd fob since no one contacted me about it yet. I’ll have to make a separate trip in a few days to pick that up now. Glad the 2.0 is good on gas!

3. On day 1 of ownership, noticed bad - really bad - vibration with moderate bass in all genres of music from sound bar. Dealer said they’d look at it when I brought it in for the fender swap. So what did they find? Well, they agreed it vibrated - but said they checked another JL on their lot & it did the same thing - so that’s just the way it is. Wow. I read a couple other posts where dealers have given the same response for the same issue. Un-freakin-sat. I found a post where a guy was able to fix it and will be trying his steps tomorrow.

4. On way home from fender swap, went to adjust my driver mirror (power) and nothing happened. Power door lock button on door didn’t work either (passenger door lock button did work though). Did some searches and found many reports of bent pins for the door connector after people took their doors off and reinstalled them. . From 2018! My JK’s never gave me a problem & I don’t recall others complaining of this on their JK’s... I was able to bend the pins back - but no reason they should’ve bent in the first place! I was definitely careful and straight when putting the plugs together. Seems a fairly common issue going back to 2018 & Jeep hasn’t addressed this yet?

5. The soft top sits WAY high when dropped back with the new design compared to the JK’s. I get that they “improved” things by removing zippers, etc - and the lock mechanism is nice - but I need to use straps wrapped around the top and secured to the D rings in the floor to really lower the profile of it when down - until I get a boot/cover for it I guess. Disappointing. For that matter, the new design makes “on the go” storage of the soft top windows problematic too. Lots of threads on that I see. I discovered this when I started searching for a soft top window bag to buy. Guess I’ll find out for myself soon though I plan to try the http://bjanedesign.com bag.

And what’s with the stupid euro fillers? Not all models have them - so their clearly isn’t a hard “requirement”. I plan on getting new bumpers - but in the meantime - they’re ugly and not easily removed. If you remove the whole thing, you leave a lot exposed in the back of the fender, so it’s best to cut them out from what I’ve seen. Just a weird design all around on that.

And weird that some lights are LED and some are not. Why not make them ALL LED or ALL non-LED? I think there is a mix of incandescent & LED in the tail lights?

Sorry my first post is a bunch of complaints. I really hope things go well from here on. And look forward to contributing to the forums. But man, have a bad taste in my mouth right now...

The literal embodiment of the Swiss cheese effect.

 

[sknyfats]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

My main concern with the Mopar bag - or any bag based on the window design now - is they’re all vertical storage now. In Florida, it gets hot & I’ve read reports of people having sagging windows when the plastic gets soft. Don’t know if that causes damage or what.I’ll be finding out myself soon enough.

I have always used a boot on previous Wranglers, so hoping the boot I get meets my expectations. From what I’ve seen, I think it will. For now, I’m using bungees wrapped around it until I get some Velcro straps or the boot.

I dropped my sound bar today and used some insulation tape I had laying around. I think me and my boys got 99% of the vibration stopped from up there. That sound bar removal process is a bit more involved compared to JK’s too. Fun times!

Regarding my fender - the vehicle had 30 miles on it when I got it - so definitely possible it was damaged prior to purchase in shipping or at dealer and they did a goofy fix. Funny thing - when I bought my ‘16 Ram 1500 up in Ohio, 2 days after I purchased it I found the passenger side front fender wasn’t lined up with the bumper properly. It clearly was sanded down & painted at the edge. And the headlight had a subtle scuff. I then noticed my hood vent was ever so slightly warped. Then I found screws missing from the air damn. It too was damaged at some point and it was like pulling teeth to get the dealership (who claimed they didn’t damage it) or Ram to fix it. Dealer body shop down in FL said the hood was out of alignment and the bumper had been painted. Ultimately Ram did repair it all properly - but the whole evolution was ridiculous. I am def going to reach out to FCA about this & remind them about that.

Wow @aldo98229 - that is quite a story! I’ll def be documenting things - just in case. Again - the only real thing outside the norm (based on other posts I’ve read) was the fender. The rest is design or build issues that Jeep needs to be aware of.

Yes, I’m bringing up some negatives - but I want to point out too that I love so much of what the new Wranglers are. From the door detents to the new new radio options, to the (surprisingly) peppy 2.0 turbo & gas mileage & so much more. Hopefully everything is smooth sailing once me and this thing get fully acclimated

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