A tale of 3 (now 2) JL Wranglers...

[OldBlue]

Well, I got a phone call last night around 8:30pm from my daughter. She told me she was freezing in her JL, that she had no heat. Hmm, I though to myself, the first thing I think of is low coolant. She hangs up and calls back 30 seconds later and tells me she has some kind of overheating warning on the dash, and that it's running like . She's pulled over on I-71, so I tell her to sit tight and I'll be there shortly.

Shortly is about 45 minutes, so I show up with coolant, tools, rags, and a flashlight. I'm a little shaky, because we're right on the edge of the highway (soundwall prevented us from getting any farther over), but after a quick look, there's antifreeze all over, and dripping onto the berm of the highway. Not going to mess with it where is was sitting, so onto a flatbed it goes, to the nearest dealer (who I've had decent luck with in the past). We'll see what they have to say.

And the only reason it went to the dealer was because it's still under warranty. Wondering if it's from the TSB for the lose water pump bolt.

--EDIT--

It was the water pump bolt, which was repaired and she picked it up Friday, 2 days later. They even cleaned and detailed her JL while it was in. Nice of them. She was told that Jeep is turning it into a recall.

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[OldBlue]

Well, the battery in wifey's '20 Mojito sh!t the bed. 48k miles and 43 months, most of it with the auxiliary battery out of the equation in an attempt to lengthen the life of the main battery, all for naught. Got the usual weird electronic gremlins playing havoc with her JLU (remote start not working, lights on the dash going bonkers, horn for the alarm going off when it wasn't locked, etc.), so we swapped rides for todays drive into work, and I've got a new EverStart from Walmart waiting for me to pickup and install when I get off work (and I brought along the jump pack, JIC). Got the larger H7 battery for hers, even though she does not have the trailer towing package. It will fit and give a bit more juice.

 

[blnewt]

Well, I got a phone call last night around 8:30pm from my daughter. She told me she was freezing in her JL, that she had no heat. Hmm, I though to myself, the first thing I think of is low coolant. She hangs up and calls back 30 seconds later and tells me she has some kind of overheating warning on the dash, and that it's running like . She's pulled over on I-71, so I tell her to sit tight and I'll be there shortly.

Shortly is about 45 minutes, so I show up with coolant, tools, rags, and a flashlight. I'm a little shaky, because we're right on the edge of the highway (soundwall prevented us from getting any farther over), but after a quick look, there's antifreeze all over, and dripping onto the berm of the highway. Not going to mess with it where is was sitting, so onto a flatbed it goes, to the nearest dealer (who I've had decent luck with in the past). We'll see what they have to say.

And the only reason it went to the dealer was because it's still under warranty. Wondering if it's from the TSB for the lose water pump bolt.

--EDIT--

It was the water pump bolt, which was repaired and she picked it up Friday, 2 days later. They even cleaned and detailed her JL while it was in. Nice of them. She was told that Jeep is turning it into a recall.

Glad it was an easy fix, is this water pump bolt on the 4 or the 6cyl? I've had coolant smell and a very minor leak that I can't find for a couple years now and would be nice if it was simple, really don't want to take out the radiator at the moment.

 

[OldBlue]

Glad it was an easy fix, is this water pump bolt on the 4 or the 6cyl? I've had coolant smell and a very minor leak that I can't find for a couple years now and would be nice if it was simple, really don't want to take out the radiator at the moment.

It's just on the 2.0L. The V6 doesn't have the water pump issue, at least not this one.

 

[OldBlue]

Well, the battery in wifey's '20 Mojito sh!t the bed. 48k miles and 43 months, most of it with the auxiliary battery out of the equation in an attempt to lengthen the life of the main battery, all for naught. Got the usual weird electronic gremlins playing havoc with her JLU (remote start not working, lights on the dash going bonkers, horn for the alarm going off when it wasn't locked, etc.), so we swapped rides for todays drive into work, and I've got a new EverStart from Walmart waiting for me to pickup and install when I get off work (and I brought along the jump pack, JIC). Got the larger H7 battery for hers, even though she does not have the trailer towing package. It will fit and give a bit more juice.

The continuing saga...

Really turned out ok, so far. As I was driving her JLU to get the battery, it threw a CEL and started running really bad, surging and not maintaining a steady speed. Stopped at the local AP store, and they hooked up their scan tool to it. Code was P000A, which, according to our old friend Google, says "The P000A OBD diagnostic error code indicates that there is an issue with the car’s ‘A’ camshaft position, particularly in Bank 1, and shows that there is a slow response." So, I bought a new sensor (under $30), and headed off to WallyWorld to pick up the battery.

Got the bucking bronc... umm... Wrangler home, pulled the old battery and spacer from the battery tray (installed the larger H7 battery), hooked it up, fired it up, and low and behold, no more CEL! Happy days! At least so far (knock on wood!). We'll see if the CEL was just a side effect of a failing battery, or if the sensor is actually bad.

--EDIT--

Been 3 weeks now, and no further issues. Just the typical JL craziness when the battery is on it's way out. Fortunately I did not have to change out the cam sensor(s).

 

[OldBlue]

And then there were two...

Yes, we are down to 2 Wranglers in the family. My ’21 Hellayella has been traded in on a ’21 Silverado. I’m going to miss daily driving a JLU that was equipped exactly the way I would have ordered it new, but the wife and I needed a vehicle with a higher towing capacity, as we’re going to purchase a travel trailer so we can see the country a bit as we creep into our retirement years.

The only real problem I ran into with mine is the corrosion problem on the hinges/doors. I really noticed it starting on my ’21 a couple of months ago. We’re still waiting to get it fixed on the wife’s ’20, but still, it shouldn’t happen to begin with. We are still keeping her JLU and the daughter still has her JL, so we’re not Jeep-less, just down one. Still may pick up a nice TJ later, as I’ve owned too many Jeeps over the years to go too long without one.

Guess I better change my signature!

 

[OldBlue]

Another oil change, another tire rotation, another inspection for the wife's Mojito JLUSS. 50,103 miles. Also changing out the cabin filter. I'm going to wait a bit though for a few additional things. I still need to change the gear lube in both diffs and also drain and refill the transfer case. I also need to use JScan to turn off the tire pressure sensors since I've got '21 wheels on a '20. No other additional problems at the moment, though it's not been problem free either. Still waiting to get in to the dealer for the corrosion issue on the hood and doors/hinges.

 

[OldBlue]

More issues w/ the daughter's JL yesterday. She called me on the way home, saying the ABS and Traction Control lights were lit up on the dash and she was getting an error message on the screen (which disappeared by the time she took a picture). 2022 w/ 25114 miles. Got an appointment w/ the dealer since it's under warranty, but the Jeep quality fiasco continues. She's getting tired of the issues she's' been having and told me she wishes she never got rid of her '20 Honda Civic Type R. Hopefully this doesn't color her perception of her Jeep too badly, and curious as to what the issue actually is.

This is on top of the general drivability problems she's had recently, with it just not accelerating the same, rough running and stumbling, and hard starting and stalling problems she's encountered over the last few months. Hopefully that was/is bad gas or something similar, but it hasn't fully abated yet.

 

[blnewt]

More issues w/ the daughter's JL yesterday. She called me on the way home, saying the ABS and Traction Control lights were lit up on the dash and she was getting an error message on the screen (which disappeared by the time she took a picture). 2022 w/ 25114 miles. Got an appointment w/ the dealer since it's under warranty, but the Jeep quality fiasco continues. She's getting tired of the issues she's' been having and told me she wishes she never got rid of her '20 Honda Civic Type R. Hopefully this doesn't color her perception of her Jeep too badly, and curious as to what the issue actually is.

This is on top of the general drivability problems she's had recently, with it just not accelerating the same, rough running and stumbling, and hard starting and stalling problems she's encountered over the last few months. Hopefully that was/is bad gas or something similar, but it hasn't fully abated yet.

Sorry to hear of those issues, hopefully you can get this sorted out, need to have happy kids

 

[The Last Cowboy]

She may have a head gasket issue or a cracked head related to the overheat episode. Have it checked for that. She would have been losing coolant or making white smoke if that was the issue.

The batteries may also be going bad. I'd do the same thing you did with your wife's. Eliminate the aux and replace the main with an H7.

 

[OldBlue]

She may have a head gasket issue or a cracked head related to the overheat episode. Have it checked for that. She would have been losing coolant or making white smoke if that was the issue.

The batteries may also be going bad. I'd do the same thing you did with your wife's. Eliminate the aux and replace the main with an H7.

I did eliminate the auxiliary battery on hers, just as I did on the other 2. They're still there, just out of the loop, though I did go over and hook her auxiliary battery back up before it goes in. My first thought was the battery (always is with the JL's when there's an electrical issue ) and though it's not impossible, I think there may be a sensor issue since both the ABS and T/C use the same sensors. We will see - it goes in Thursday to the dealer for (what should be) a warranty repair.

 

[OldBlue]

...and there was a sensor issue. Didn't get the lowdown from the daughter on which one, but there was a sensor replaced under warranty. All back to normal.

 

[OldBlue]

The daughter brought her JL over for some moddin' last weekend. She bought a new bumper from Rough Country that she wanted help installing. Good project to do together - and it looks better than I expected it would. Her JL, she can do what she wants, but this turned out pretty well I think. Now she's going to look into a new front skid plate, and I suggested a switch plate (like THIS one) since there are now 2 different switches mounted to/in the lower portion of her dash. Looks like the skid plate and that switch panel will be the next things we tackle!

 

[blnewt]

Nice to see you're both at a seemingly happier place, dog looks happy too, COOL!

 

[OldBlue]

Well, I just got an actual appointment scheduled for the wife's Mojito! to get the corrosion on the hinges and doors addressed. It would be almost comical if the Wrangler hinge corrosion issue wasn't so widespread. As I type this, it's 7/22/2023, and her appointment is ... ... 4/8/2024, 8 1/2 MONTHS away.

The body shop manager was pretty informative though, so credit where credit is due. With all the corrosion issues w/ Stellantis vehicles (not just Jeeps), it's the first time we can get in. I have 3 Jeep dealers 'relatively' close to me, but only 1 of the 3 does warranty body work, and they do it for all 3 of those dealers. He did explain the process and the changes to the hinges (completely primed and with a gasket now), and how they do the repair. He also told me that even if only 1 hinge on a side shows corrosion, they will replace all of them on that side of the Jeep. They also will supply a loaner/rental for the duration of the repair, something that Stellantis was not doing much of before. There are 6 hinges showing corrosion (so far, as well as the hood), so all 8 on her JLU will be replaced, and all 4 doors and hood repaired and repainted. The hood may be replaced, we'll find out when it actually goes in.

They have 2 techs that do only Wrangler corrosion repairs and the repairs take 5-7 days, and they are backed up that far. He also told me the Stellantis is warrantying numerous vehicles in their lineup with the same aluminum panel corrosion problems; Chargers/Challengers, 300, other Jeep models, etc. He said the Pacifica is actually the worst of all of their vehicles, with corrosion issues with all of their hoods. He also told me that they all had one thing in common - that there is an issue with the prep prior to painting the aluminum body panels on all their vehicles, and that Stellantis figured it was less expensive to warranty repair all the vehicles of those that customers complain about versus fixing the process in the assembly plants. At least that's what he told me.

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