2021 Wrangler Willy's - two weeks since purcase - 300 miles on it - won't start

[canbo17]

Hi everyone,

I hope your 2021 started well. I guess mine didn't. My brand new 2021 Wrangler Willy's (manual transmission) won't start. This happened today. I parked at a restaurant lot and dined in with my family. After an hour, hoping to head back home, we got in the car, and it didn't start. It also had a stiff brake. It was really frustrating. I had my kids in the back crying and my wife next to me really worried about seeing a brand new car stalled. I had a battery power bank in the trunk. I was assuming this was a battery issue. I tried to jump it. But it didn't help. I called the nearest dealer, the service department was closed.

After 20 min or so, I tried again, and it started this time. We immediately drove it back home. I parked the car on the street and stopped it. Kids got out. And just for curiosity, I tried to restart it. And again it won't start. And again brake became really stiff.

I can't explain how disappointed I am right now. I ordered this car and waited for 2.5 months. The dealer helped me ordering is 45 minutes away from my home. I hope that I don't have to take this car back there. I drove only 300 miles so far. I filled the tank only once. I got it 2-3 weeks ago. And now I am worried about it and it won't start, stalled on the street.

I plan to open a case with FCA customer service. My Monday will be super busy at work as I have client meetings. Also, I am supposed to take my daughter to threapy.

I need to get the car towed, I will need a loaner. I am not sure if the dealer or FCA customer care will hassle me about covering these. I don't want to pay for any of these, since this is a brand new car.

But all aside, I was so excited about this car, I didn't see a disappointment coming this early. I would appreciate it if anyone can advise what to do in a situation like this. I saw so many threads about a stiff brake and some advice on how to depress it and start the car. I tried some easy things but I don't want to mess with a brand new car on my own.

Any help would really be appreciated. Jeep wave everyone.

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[JimmyZ]

Crappy start... No pun intended... I hope they do right by you and get this rectified

 

[NBB]

Starter turns over but the engine doesn't run, or you press the start button and hear nothing?

You 100% sure the clutch pedal was pressed in? What about the proximity of the key and is there possibly anything that would cause interference - ie, get all your phones and any possible aftermarket electronics out of there and retry?

The "stiff brake" thing is trivial - motor not running, no power brakes.

 

[beaups]

Push the brake pedal harder next time.

 

[ItsNo4RE]

On top of what was stated above... please ensure that every fuse in that freaking fuse box is seated (pushed all the way down)

 

[Arterius2]

Do you hear the starter click and are you able to at least turn to ON without issues?

 

[canbo17]

Thank you all for your comments. To answer some of the questions. Yes, i pushed the brake harder. And the clutch. The key fob works. I had acc power as well. I also pressed the fuses to make sure none is loose. None of these worked.

When I looked down, I saw a bunch of wires hanging in there on the side of the clutch. I am not sure if this is normal. I just tighten these connections. And bingo the car started. See the photos I took. When I realize these wires, they weren't so close to the clutch but they were just hanging there free. I pulled them out a bit to tighten them and take the photos.

I think one of these connections is for the clutch and it was the cause of the problem. I still can't understand how Jeep can finish a vehicle in this condition. How this car passed all the inspections. Weren't supposed to be a cover there for these wires to be tucked in somewhere. On one of these pieces, it says this side down.

I am still considering taking the vehicle to the dealer since I think there is a safety concern. Could these cause brake or clutch misbehave? Life threatening malfunctioning.

 

[Sol]

A few other threads have shown a similar LoJack / immobilizer device tapped into the scan port. These things are installed by your sleazy dealer to make repoing your Jeep easier for them. It’s likely your issue is entirely due to the poor workmanship of your lazy sleazeball dealer, not FCA.

If the above is the case, the big question is: why would the dealer sully your pristine new Jeep with such a device and then not tell you about it?

Complaints to this type of dealer won’t have much impact; opening a case with FCA might make you feel better but, at best, FCA can only slap the dealer’s wrist for poorly installing a 3rd-party device on your vehicle.

edit: googled the “VS-4LU“ model of the device in your photo - it tracks your vehicle, it remotely stops your vehicle and is conveniently accessible through a mobile app.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

They put those on at many car lots as a way to track the vehicle if it’s stolen. It gets then a big insurance break. The guy who installed it must have cut some corners. Have it removed and you should be good.

 

[NBB]

Lol - just unplug that mess. I say then call dealer and offer to sell it back to them to cover your time - or just chuck it.

 

[22Mag]

That's sad that a dealer would stoop so low as to install something like that, and then not tell you about it is so wrong. I would be very pissed and in contact with them, and especially when they ask you for a dealer survey on your new car buying experience...give them all 0's

 

[aldo98229]

That was FCA’s way to...force the OP to come on this forum to make new friends...

 

[aldo98229]

That's sad that a dealer would stoop so low as to install something like that, and then not tell you about it is so wrong. I would be very pissed and in contact with them, and especially when they ask you for a dealer survey on your new car buying experience...give them all 0's

Best thing to nail them on a survey is to give them either low or mid-pack ratings.

If you give them all zeros, the dealer will appeal to FCA to toss out the survey because “the customer is visibly unreasonable.”

 

[aro]

Unplug it. That's what I did. From what I remember it was between the OBD port and the Jeep wire harness.

At my sleazy dealer, this was an add-on they didn't want to remove, worth a few extrathousand, together with some more add-ons they didn't want to remove. All in all, $10K worth of worthless add-ons on my contract.

Couple of days after buying the Jeep, I went in and canceled all of them, since none was legally binding. Of course they didn't like it, but they had no choice. I can only imagine that most, if not all buyers from that dealer don't do that.

 

[Egralia]

I found one of those on my jeep after delivery and I took it off. Didnt want anything on my Jeep that can start to mess around with the computers when it’s start to fail. It was hidden in the kick panel.

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