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

[aldo98229]

Your Jeep is going to continue refusing to start as long as you insist in calling it a "car."

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[The Last Cowboy]

Post a picture of the removed device. It would be interesting to see what all was there, and might help other recognize it if their Jeep has one.

 

[canbo17]

Your Jeep is going to continue refusing to start as long as you insist in calling it a "car."

Cool. My beautiful Wrangler.

 

[canbo17]

Post a picture of the removed device. It would be interesting to see what all was there, and might help other recognize it if their Jeep has one.

Here it is.

 

[NBB]

Electrically, it looks like you got all of it, maybe the existing port needs to be mounted back in it’s place. Looks like $40 on ebay. I bet that pos was simply interfering with normal messaging as it almost certainly would not be able to disable your vehicle from the consumer side of the secure obd port. Mixed messages on the CAN bus. If you like your dealer, I agree it most likely was left in on accident - so give it back - otherwise toss it.

 

[canbo17]

Electrically, it looks like you got all of it, maybe the existing port needs to be mounted back in it’s place. Looks like $40 on ebay. I bet that pos was simply interfering with normal messaging as it almost certainly would not be able to disable your vehicle from the consumer side of the secure obd port. Mixed messages on the CAN bus. If you like your dealer, I agree it most likely was left in on accident - so give it back - otherwise toss it.

This takes the OBP port as an input connection, gives one OBP port as output and another connection goes to the tracking device. I emailed the dealer just now.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I wouldn't waste the time and effort to return it unless they will actually give you some kind of meaningful credit or refund on it.

 

[carpendj]

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.

Please ignore everyone who is sending you off down a rabbit hole talking about a device that has nothing to do with your problem. I have a 2020 Jeep Wrangler JL Willys - Auto with the 3.6. I have the same problem. There is some issue here that either Jeep are not aware of or know of the problem and do not yet have a fix. Others have posted the same problem and nobody has yet found the solution. I park my Jeep in my garage overnight and on most mornings I find the brake pedal is super stiff. If the brake pedal is normal it will start. If the brake pedal is stiff then it will not start. The first time it happened to me I could not start the vehicle and was planning on getting it towed to the dealer. I discovered by pure accident that if you push down on the pedal super hard you can start it. The pedal is so stiff that you feel like you are going to snap it in two. There is barely any play in the pedal when its stiff. The dealer keeps telling me that they cannot find a problem. They even kept it overnight and said that it worked fine for them the next day. Its maddening because there is clearly an issue here. Its like the dealer does not believe me. My Jeep has only done 1700 miles (7 months old) and this only started a month ago. There techs even made some stupid comment like "yeah..the pedals are harder in these JLs". Bullshxt dude....this is a problem and does not happen every time and its not normal. They even gave me a Gladiator loaner for 2 days and it happened to me once in that vehicle. I have tried Jeep customer service and cannot get any real support. Jeep dealer said that they cannot contact Jeep tech support unless they see the issue. I say keep raising this and keep your eye open for a solution and post in this forum.

 

[Crawldad]

time to get on Yelp and let people know about that dealer...

 

[canbo17]

Please ignore everyone who is sending you off down a rabbit hole talking about a device that has nothing to do with your problem. I have a 2020 Jeep Wrangler JL Willys - Auto with the 3.6. I have the same problem. There is some issue here that either Jeep are not aware of or know of the problem and do not yet have a fix. Others have posted the same problem and nobody has yet found the solution. I park my Jeep in my garage overnight and on most mornings I find the brake pedal is super stiff. If the brake pedal is normal it will start. If the brake pedal is stiff then it will not start. The first time it happened to me I could not start the vehicle and was planning on getting it towed to the dealer. I discovered by pure accident that if you push down on the pedal super hard you can start it. The pedal is so stiff that you feel like you are going to snap it in two. There is barely any play in the pedal when its stiff. The dealer keeps telling me that they cannot find a problem. They even kept it overnight and said that it worked fine for them the next day. Its maddening because there is clearly an issue here. Its like the dealer does not believe me. My Jeep has only done 1700 miles (7 months old) and this only started a month ago. There techs even made some stupid comment like "yeah..the pedals are harder in these JLs". Bullshxt dude....this is a problem and does not happen every time and its not normal. They even gave me a Gladiator loaner for 2 days and it happened to me once in that vehicle. I have tried Jeep customer service and cannot get any real support. Jeep dealer said that they cannot contact Jeep tech support unless they see the issue. I say keep raising this and keep your eye open for a solution and post in this forum.

Hi Carpendj,

I understand your frustration. I think I am pretty clear what happened to my Jeep. The installed device was malfunctioning the clutch sensor. I assume you have an automatic transmission. In my understanding, the brake pedal gets stiff it is pushed a couple of times without starting the vehicle. In your case, there must be a sensor error or something similar that causes the pushed brake info doesn't transfer to the brain of the Jeep. Do I trust dealers? No. Not at all. I also have a Chrysler and the dealer cannot find a stalling issue that is related to a recall. Since your vehicle very low in miles and they cannot find the issue. I suggest that you go for the Lemon Law and ask them to buy the Jeep back.

You can either wonder in another brand or try another year of the model you like.

Good luck

 

[DavidArmen]

Please ignore everyone who is sending you off down a rabbit hole talking about a device that has nothing to do with your problem. I have a 2020 Jeep Wrangler JL Willys - Auto with the 3.6. I have the same problem. There is some issue here that either Jeep are not aware of or know of the problem and do not yet have a fix. Others have posted the same problem and nobody has yet found the solution. I park my Jeep in my garage overnight and on most mornings I find the brake pedal is super stiff. If the brake pedal is normal it will start. If the brake pedal is stiff then it will not start. The first time it happened to me I could not start the vehicle and was planning on getting it towed to the dealer. I discovered by pure accident that if you push down on the pedal super hard you can start it. The pedal is so stiff that you feel like you are going to snap it in two. There is barely any play in the pedal when its stiff. The dealer keeps telling me that they cannot find a problem. They even kept it overnight and said that it worked fine for them the next day. Its maddening because there is clearly an issue here. Its like the dealer does not believe me. My Jeep has only done 1700 miles (7 months old) and this only started a month ago. There techs even made some stupid comment like "yeah..the pedals are harder in these JLs". Bullshxt dude....this is a problem and does not happen every time and its not normal. They even gave me a Gladiator loaner for 2 days and it happened to me once in that vehicle. I have tried Jeep customer service and cannot get any real support. Jeep dealer said that they cannot contact Jeep tech support unless they see the issue. I say keep raising this and keep your eye open for a solution and post in this forum.

Do you pump your brakes after shutting down the engine? The only logical way the brake will become super stiff as you describe is if the brakes were pumped while the engine was off (‘pumping’ means depressing the brake numerous times with the engine off until it can no longer be depressed).
Even if that is the case, you can still initiate the sensor for the push button start if you press the brake hard enough, don’t worry it will not break.

If, however, you do not pump your brakes at all with the engine off and yet your brakes become super stiff completely on their own, then you have a brake problem what I have never heard of or encountered. Good luck.

 

[carpendj]

Do you pump your brakes after shutting down the engine? The only logical way the brake will become super stiff as you describe is if the brakes were pumped while the engine was off (‘pumping’ means depressing the brake numerous times with the engine off until it can no longer be depressed).
Even if that is the case, you can still initiate the sensor for the push button start if you press the brake hard enough, don’t worry it will not break.

If, however, you do not pump your brakes at all with the engine off and yet your brakes become super stiff completely on their own, then you have a brake problem what I have never heard of or encountered. Good luck.

No, I do not pump the brakes. There is no need to do something like that. I am an old dog who has been driving for 32 years. lol. I have driven more cars than I can even remember. I have no need to pump the brakes in my 2020 Jeep with ABS. I drive into my garage, move transmission to Park, apply parking brake and push the stop/start button. All basic stuff. Get into car the next morning and the brake pedal is super stiff. No other issues, no check engine lights. If I push down super hard on the pedal I can start the engine. I can then feel pressure return to normal in the brake pedal. The normal feel returns and all is well for the rest of the day. Same thing happened in the loaner Gladiator. Got into the car and all was well. Drove it to a store about 5 miles away. Went into store, came out, brake pedal super stiff and car would not start. I knew to push down super hard and it started. Not sure if this is some electrical issue or something like the Vacuum brake booster check value. Dealer claims its neither. Not noticed any braking issues while driving. In fact, brakes felt better in my Wrangler than the Gladiator but I did not check the specs to confirm they are the same type and I would expect the gladiator is heavier. Plus that had different tires. If any of you see anyone post a solution I would greatly appreciate you sharing that.

 

[tfergus20]

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.

Did you ever solve the problem? I have a 2021 4dr auto Willys that just stalled while going 40mph. Won’t start, had power, all lights work, stereo screen says “enter anti theft code”. Nearly caused an accident and was towed to dealer after hours. Any feedback on what may have happened to yours? Thanks!

 

[mwilk012]

Did you ever solve the problem? I have a 2021 4dr auto Willys that just stalled while going 40mph. Won’t start, had power, all lights work, stereo screen says “enter anti theft code”. Nearly caused an accident and was towed to dealer after hours. Any feedback on what may have happened to yours? Thanks!

these are completely unrelated problems.

 

[Fellis]

Same issue on my 2021 Willy's...JL. Many, many similar issues for years on Jeeps of all models can be found on the internet. No clear solution that I've found. Dealers seem to be unable/unwilling to admit the design fault.

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