Anyone else have issues with their Pentastar?

[ChuckQue]

Count your blessings then. I have cancer, I live in an old house that is falling apart, and work at a job that kills me. I just wanted a nice jeep just as one thing that's good in my life but I guess everything in my life has to be crap.

As long as you are still above ground, you’re doing ok partner. I know shit is rough and it’s hard when the one thing you saw as a bit of happiness in the darkness then turns into a negative. Never had cancer but I’ve been through some hard times and I’ll say it’s easy for others to say buck up and be positive. I don’t have any advice to give regarding the Jeep that others haven’t already said here so I’ll only say I hope it gets worked out for you in your favor so you can enjoy it and feel some goodness.

Sponsored

 

[MagnusWolf89]

Would somebody who has used "Made in Mexico" as a pejorative on this thread be kind enough to post some actual statistics to make the case that the quality of the engines made there is somehow worse than the quality of the engines made in the U.S. or elsewhere?

https://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/04/which-cars-are-made-in-mexico.html

Well I work for toyota and the new tacomas are built in Mexico and they are complete garbage, the previous generations were made in the USA and Japan and I see them with 400K miles still running strong with no issues.

 

[AcesandEights]

No offense, but you're complaining about the state of. It's like complaining about your shower being too hot when you turn it to "H". Or the pressure being too low when you turn it off. Are you also upset that it has 285 horsepower? Or that your manual transmission has six forward gears and one reverse?

The Pentastar 3.6L is one of the most reliable Jeep engines, with a long service life and minimal maintenance. Your pressure is off by 1 psi from what some yahoos on the Interwebs posted and you think that's a thing? It's not.

You should be letting the engine idle for 30 seconds anyway. Get in, hit "run" and make sure your coffee is in the cup holder and your granola bar is in the other one.

You're fine.

 

[roaniecowpony]

yes there is, one in Trenton Michigan, and the other in Saltillo Mexico. Unfortunately all the wranglers and gladiators get their pentastars from the Mexico plant. Makes no sense to me

I wouldn't worry about quality from a Mexico built Pentastar, unless you have some specific data on their quality. Otherwise, I'd just say, I don't like that we had to put work outside the US. Saltillo is the Detroit of Mexico. Multiple manufacturers are there.

 

[gek]

Exactly, they should put in a USA made pentastar built by trained assembly people that get paid decent. Not some guy making 5 pesos an hour with no training just slapping an engine together. The only two countries that should be building something as complex and sensitive as an engine are the United States and Japan.

I have had several vehicles made in Mexico, America, Japan, and Germany. They all have their issues but I have had more issue with quality in American assembled vehicles than any others combined. I understand your frustration, but you are just making an assumption here without knowing anything about how the engine was assembled in either location.
BTW my vehicles built in Mexico where all turbos and way more complex than the 3.6 pentastar.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Well I work for toyota and the new tacomas are built in Mexico and they are complete garbage, the previous generations were made in the USA and Japan and I see them with 400K miles still running strong with no issues.

I've had a GMC for 8 years that was assembled in Saltillo. It's better than the Ft Wayne truck I had.

 

[No IFS]

No, Love mine. One of the most favorite engines I’ve owned. Light and powerful. Four years of ownership not a problem never burn a drop a oil. Just awesome

 

[aldo98229]

I've had a GMC for 8 years that was assembled in Saltillo. It's better than the Ft Wayne truck I had.

Yup. The much beloved 392 HEMI is Hecho en Mexico, too. Saltillo to be exact.

Toyota made a bunch questionable design and engineering choices with the current generation Tacoma that have little to do with it being made in Mexico. Both the 3.5 V6 with direct injection and the 6-speed automatic are utter crap.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Really don't mind the occasional noise/chatter at startup, but sometimes after a trip home from work, it'll start sounding like a diesel and have some vibration transferred into the cabin more than usual (my car's noisy turbo 2.0 is a smoother running engine, imo).

Overall lack of refinement aside, I really don't hate the engine, but I'm always wishing it had a bit more power and balls behind it, at least lower down in the RPM band. Really think if the new 3.0L i6 S.O. ever makes it to the 2-door JL/JM, the 350 to 400HP/TQ would be a much better match for the weight of the vehicle. Never understood why they thought it was a good idea to stick an underpowered made in Mexico minivan engine in an enthusiast off-roader.

Seems to me jeeps always had small engines and way less power than the JL v6 or 2.0. I for one, am really impressed with the 3.6 @ 285hp. My "high performance" Z28 in 1974, had less power.

 

[Opus]

Well I work for toyota and the new tacomas are built in Mexico and they are complete garbage, the previous generations were made in the USA and Japan and I see them with 400K miles still running strong with no issues.

My father-in-law used to work for GM in Kansas City and told stories about how he and other guys on the line used to drink on the job and hide their empties behind the door cards as they came down the line... But that's an anecdote, not a fact.

I'm sorry you're not happy with your engine. I think taking it up with JeepCares is a good idea.

 

[MagnusWolf89]

I wouldn't worry about quality from a Mexico built Pentastar, unless you have some specific data on their quality. Otherwise, I'd just say, I don't like that we had to put work outside the US. Saltillo is the Detroit of Mexico. Multiple manufacturers are there.

Well like I said before, I've been a tech for toyota for 10 years and the previous generations that were built in the USA and Japan have been extremely reliable but now that most of our new trucks are built in mexico we see just stupid issues with them on a daily basis. When you try to have cheap labor assemble your products then they will cut corners to save time and money and your quality control goes down hill. There is no reason why car manufactures need to hire cheap labor when they are already charging extreme amounts of money for their vehicles. They can afford better quality control to keep their customers happy and loyal to their brand.

 

[aldo98229]

My father-in-law used to work for GM in Kansas City and told stories about how he and other guys on the line used to drink on the job and hide their empties behind the door cards as they came down the line... But that's an anecdote, not a fact.

Yup. I’ve been doing automotive business in Mexico for 20 years: my clients in Mexico work twice as hard as my US clients...and complain half as much.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Well I work for toyota and the new tacomas are built in Mexico and they are complete garbage, the previous generations were made in the USA and Japan and I see them with 400K miles still running strong with no issues.

Then that's the fault of Toyota, not Mexico. My Saltillo assembled GMC has been trouble free for 95,000 miles now. And cheap labor doesn't necessarily equate to poor quality. It's just economics of the geographic location.

 

[blnewt]

Mine's been great, in 2dr trim it gets along just fine, too bad you're not in a happy place w/ yours OP.

 

[MagnusWolf89]

Then you all are lucky because my engine sounds like garbage when I start it up in the morning and when I leave work, lifter tick and then either spark knock or piston slap I don't really know. It will be the last pentaturd I ever buy that's for sure. It would be nice if I could figure out how to fix the damn thing.

Sponsored