Best combo for reliability?

[Ridgway Jeeper]

The only issue the 3.6 6 speed ever had was a few with clutch issues. The clutch is an easily replaceable wear item with aftermarket support. Our 3.6 manual Jeep, while still very new has been a joy, zero regrets on the V6 manual.

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[JeepViking13]

If your objective is overall reliability, I'd go with the V6 and the AT. The issues with the V6 are mostly known and in general it's a very reliable engine. If you can't swing, $ wise, the AT then I'd go with the V6/ MT. The tranny itself is fine, it's the clutch that's a POS but you'll have aftermarket options to fix that down the road should it be a problem. Just plan for and start squirrelling away $10 - 20 a month...

That's pretty much what I'm thinking. Clutches are simple fixes you would think Jeep would have fixed it by now. Hopefully they have for 2022.

My only slight objection with this combo is will I still want to be shifting 20+ years down the road. When I think about that it that way the older me from the Future makes me lean toward the 2.0 and Auto combo..

 

[JL_Confidential]

I’ll die on the 2.0 hill before the 6MT any day. It’s why I went with the 2.0/Auto in my Willys. In fact I still have a 3.6/6MT still in my garage that I’m waiting to sell to carvana in the next week. I drove it the other day to get a recall done and much prefer the auto. I’ve had six YJs and TJs with one out of the bunch an auto. Much preferred the manual in those. Not so much in the JL.

 

[Strommen95]

Most owners on this site bought their first Jeep in the last few years. Take their opinions on long term viability with a grain of salt. Look at all the YJs, TJs and older JKs running around with no problem. Not to mention XJs and old Grand Cherokees. The biggest thing you could ever do for yourself to avoid electrical gremlins over the long term is getting a dual battery setup rather than having an auxiliary battery. 99% of electrical problems, which most people will suggest to be your biggest issue long term, will be tied down to the auxiliary battery.

The 3.6 is a little more reliable than the 2.0 and has less potential for repair long term. The MT seems to have had it's share of issues and is definitely less reliable over the 8 speed auto. Though they're easy fixes to be fair. My personal opinion would be to decide on your transmission and not worry about the engine.

 

[JL_Confidential]

I also plan to keep mine for the foreseeable future with hopes to have it paid off in four years.

 

[JeepViking13]

I also plan to keep mine for the foreseeable future with hopes to have it paid off in four years.

Exactly. Who the hell wants car payments for the rest of their life. I look at it as many people are driving Jeeps that are 30 to 40+ years old right now. I'll be starting off with 2022 to lead me into the Future. Pretty good start. And like I said with the aftermarket and parts available it will last forever.

 

[omnitonic]

I have a '21 JLU Willys with the 3.6 and the 6MT. I've had a keen interest in the experiences other drivers have had with this combo, and I've been comparing and taking notes for the last six months or so.

The big clutch problems seem to be sorted now. My clutch was weird, and it took me a few thousand miles to get used to it and/or break it in so that it behaved more reasonably, but it never had any of the major problems the older model years did. Basically, I just stalled it out a lot at first, and looked stupid more than once. Like when I stalled it three times trying to get it off the lot on my test drive.

The stock 3.45 Sport/Sahara gears suck with this transmission. Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I finally ended up just driving it like a 4-speed and ignoring 5th and 6th gears. This got me an extra 1.5 mpg.

I could probably live with it if I already had 4.10 gears. I'm going to regear to 4.56 now that I'm rolling on 35s. This is a minor annoyance compared to how glad I am that I bought what is probably the last manual transmission vehicle I will ever be allowed to own. Electric cars don't have transmissions.

I only have 8,000 miles on mine so far, but the gearbox itself is one of the most wonderful manual transmissions I've ever owned. It's tight, it's smooth, it's slick, and it doesn't feel like it's going to go all to hell anytime soon. It's basically a Toyota transmission. I've learned through the forum that it's a cable shift, but it doesn't feel like a cable shift at all. I think it's going to turn out to have a long, satisfying life, although that is simply a prediction.

So, to summarize, in spite of some annoyances, I wouldn't take the 2.0 turbo with the 8-speed if the Jeep came with Margot Robbie in the passenger seat.

 

[Jebiruph]

That's pretty much what I'm thinking. Clutches are simple fixes you would think Jeep would have fixed it by now. Hopefully they have for 2022.

My only slight objection with this combo is will I still want to be shifting 20+ years down the road. When I think about that it that way the older me from the Future makes me lean toward the 2.0 and Auto combo..

If you prefer shifting now, you will prefer it in 20 years unless you develop a physical condition that makes it difficult.

As far as clutch issues go, the main issue so far was with the hydraulics, not the actual clutch. I had my clutch replaced under the recall and after they fixed the hydraulics, the new clutch that was installed was the same part as the old one. And the new clutch feels like a normal clutch, the original was real touchy and easy to stall.

 

[FloridaLarry]

Might as well get 4runner with automatic.

Then in 20 years, he will have a vehicle designed 30 years prior.

 

[displayname]

If you really want the engine to last as long as possible, you should plan to stick to very tight maintenance schedules. Fuel should be part of that, which means you should probably run the recommended premium fuel as suggested for the 2.0. It would take a long time to recoup the price difference between the 2.0 and 3.6, but you are talking about keeping this vehicle well beyond that, so it's worth considering.

Not to mention who knows where gas prices will be in 10 years, let alone 20.

 

[JeepViking13]

If you really want the engine to last as long as possible, you should plan to stick to very tight maintenance schedules. Fuel should be part of that, which means you should probably run the recommended premium fuel as suggested for the 2.0. It would take a long time to recoup the price difference between the 2.0 and 3.6, but you are talking about keeping this vehicle well beyond that, so it's worth considering.

Not to mention who knows where gas prices will be in 10 years, let alone 20.

I always run premium in my vehicles so that definitely won't be an issue.

 

[rkwfxd]

While reliability is SUPER important I think it is a mistake to gloss over what I would ENJOY driving for the next 20 years. I like torque so the 2.0T was a clear winner for me. I’ve own like 7-8 MT vehicles and they are fun to drive but in So Cal traffic Im over it. Im happy to have an auto and this one appears to be great.

 

[Tyler88]

Ok so I have time to think about this before I order my 2022 Jeep but I'd like to get some opinions from experienced Jeep JL owners in the mean time to help make my decision easier when the time comes in October.

When I order my Jeep I have a set budget that I can't break. Which leaves me with 2 options. I either chose the 2.0 engine with the Automatic transmission or I chose the 3.6 pentastar with the manual.

I've actually owned the 3.6 in a Dodge Charger before and it's a hell of a good engine that's very reliable and as strong as the older V8s power wise. I've seen articles online showing that can get 600k+ miles even. So I already know that the 3.6 is super reliable. If I go this route then the question becomes how reliable is the 6 speed manual it will get mated up with? I've seen the 6 speed had some issues in the past. Looks like they got ironed out but not sure.

The there's the 2.0 Turbo. I know nothing about this engine and it seems the jury is still out on how long it can last long term. It's definitely got the power which intrigues me. But reliability comes first as this new Jeep will be a long-term investment and ownership. Then there's the 8 speed Automatic which is a very reliable and good transmission that performs well that it will be mated to.

So in the end what's the better reliable combination? The 2.0T with Automatic or the 3.6 with the manual?

I have the 3.6 with the Automatic which I have not had really any problems so far, but I would say the manual might be more reliable, but the 6 speed had that recall to replace the clutch and so far I do not know of any recalls on the 8 speed. But it is really depends if you want to shift gears or not for what you get.

 

[VNT]

I'm with this guy. There are so many 300,000 mile Toyota trucks (including Toyota's definition of "modern" ones) with original everything, that 300k is hardly even a milestone anymore.

Ha Ha, not in my area, all the iron worms took care of them, you need to go to a local junkyard to see where all these supposedly long lasting vehichles end up and note the end of life condition and mileage when they arrive to visit the crusher. My local yard gets all the 3rd hand derelicts and crushes 3500 cars a year, most including most Toys are about 10yrs 150-200 K. You dont see old Toyota trucks here.

Per the OpP get the 3.6 and pony the 1500 for the auto. IMHO that combo will probably be the easiest to maintain, most common and easiest to get key spare parts long term.

 

[aldo98229]

While reliability is SUPER important I think it is a mistake to gloss over what I would ENJOY driving for the next 20 years. I like torque so the 2.0T was a clear winner for me. I’ve own like 7-8 MT vehicles and they are fun to drive but in So Cal traffic Im over it. Im happy to have an auto and this one appears to be great.

You raise an excellent point. Vehicles depreciate for about 14 years, then prices settle and start to come back up.

Twenty years is a long freaking time. Yes, reliability and durability will be key for the first 10+ years. But holding onto that vehicle beyond that time is going to be based more on fun, emotional and sentimental value than on practicality, efficiency and reliability.

Toyotas last a long time but, besides old FJs, hardly anyone restores them.

Definitely something to think about.

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