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JessBiron

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Quite frankly, for a clutch to generate that kind of heat, there would have to be a large, sustained discrepancy between rpms and speed, i.e. slippage. You can blame the dealer for faulty clutch, or slave , or whatever it was, but the Jeep burning to the ground is squarely on the shoulders of the operator.
Hey, I'm the niece Kenny is talking about and since I've been driving manuals since 16 I can promise you I did nothing wrong but thank you for the support however... it was a nice day driving along the road when out of no where I was signaled to pull over and then smoke came pouring out. No warning sign just boom smoke and less than a minute later the jeep was engulfed in flames. But my 2 dogs and I are ok and safe thanks to a volunteer fire fighter from out of state and his warning. Thank you so much for your concern sincerely jeep loving member
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Omarius

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Why are people so stupid these days? Amazed by folks like you who give such bullshit opinions. Watch the video again, you'll see the clutch pressure plate exploded and split the transmission causing the fire. If I was you, I'd edit my post and apologize.

jlfire.JPG
I don't think you are capable of understanding the problem, but I'll try for posterity. First, you probably mean flywheel. So follow the causal chain, and ask yourself, what would get a flywheel to explode? Heat? Okay, how does one generate that kind of heat in the transmission? Friction? Okay. How does friction happen for a long enough period of time in the transmission? Sustained clutch slippage? Okay. A slipping clutch is a faulty part, you are correct, but who controls the levers such that they can turn a faulty clutch into molten metal?

Again, if you need a 3rd party on the freeway to tell you that your flywheel has turned into a frag grenade miles ago, then you probably aren't equipped with the sensitivity to understand something more subtle, like a slipping clutch.

I understand the need to support, and I agree wholeheartedly. It was a bad hand, and I hope the Jeep is replaced with little hassle. However, I can't distort reality for the sake of moral support. Sorry. If this is what I, as a dispassionate engineer arrive to, then it'll be a common conclusion for others of equal objectivity. Take it as free consultation, and have your lawyers address my points, and if you can do that, then my input in this thread will have been more valuable than anyone else's to your cause.
 

Petey

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Thank you so much, we are so grateful for the sharp eyes of the other motorist who alerted her. Agreed this is one for the insurance and dealership.

photo the day she purchased it new in 2018
892DAF5D-43D9-4095-BFDA-EF6A169B5DA2.jpeg

then yesterday
69F573DA-B5CE-4F71-B05E-06CB0FC49A2F.jpeg

The dogs are safe in my Gladiator.
After getting a divorce from the jeep she is finally truly happy!
 

Bulletbill

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I don't think you are capable of understanding the problem, but I'll try for posterity. First, you probably mean flywheel. So follow the causal chain, and ask yourself, what would get a flywheel to explode? Heat? Okay, how does one generate that kind of heat in the transmission? Friction? Okay. How does friction happen for a long enough period of time in the transmission? Sustained clutch slippage? Okay. A slipping clutch is a faulty part, you are correct, but who controls the levers such that they can turn a faulty clutch into molten metal?

Again, if you need a 3rd party on the freeway to tell you that your flywheel has turned into a frag grenade miles ago, then you probably aren't equipped with the sensitivity to understand something more subtle, like a slipping clutch.

I understand the need to support, and I agree wholeheartedly. It was a bad hand, and I hope the Jeep is replaced with little hassle. However, I can't distort reality for the sake of moral support. Sorry. If this is what I, as a dispassionate engineer arrive to, then it'll be a common conclusion for others of equal objectivity. Take it as free consultation, and have your lawyers address my points, and if you can do that, then my input in this thread will have been more valuable than anyone else's to your cause.
Are you trying to say that she drove down the highway with her foot partially on the clutch and you somehow think that there is no coincidence that the Jeep just came back from the dealer from getting work done on the very thing that caused the fire?

If she was that bad at driving a manual transmission wouldn’t this fire have started a long time ago? Your logic doesn’t really fit the evidence.
 

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Petey

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I’m thinking you’re onto something, she said it was cruising just fine, no slippage, traffic slowed so she pushed in the clutch to downshift and the petal stayed on the floor. She used her foot to pull it back up, pushed it again and that’s when the other motorist (a volunteer firefighter) got her attention.
I can envision a scenario where a clutch fluid leak ignites a fire, spreads immediately to the throw-out bearing slave cylinder, that heat compromises the rear main seal and you’ve got all the fuel needed to create a real problem.
Im not sure theres
Non-flammable clutch slave fluid is needed.
nahh ..all they have to do is lower the output of the engine...this will fix everything
 

Petey

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Are you trying to say that she drove down the highway with her foot partially on the clutch and you somehow think that there is no coincidence that the Jeep just came back from the dealer from getting work done on the very thing that caused the fire?

If she was that bad at driving a manual transmission wouldn’t this fire have started a long time ago? Your logic doesn’t really fit the evidence.
i wonder if anything , what they touched as far as the hydraulic lines go..
 

Petey

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Glad driver and dogs are OK. Either the clutch and or flywheel grenaded, shattered the bell housing, shredded the hydrolic lines, and puuff.

I would love to forensicly diagnose what happened here, including measuring the pressure plate thickness to see if the disk was worn down or something else let loose.

Hopefully NTSB will eventually get involved and get FCA to recall and replace these faulty clutch/flywheel assembly.
im not absolutely sure but a while back i read somewhere that the recall was to either move the line or put some protective covering on them ..maybe im wrong
 

ssrgeoff

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Glad to hear your niece and her dogs all made it out safe, material is replaceable. Did this happen on the 5 in/near Kalama? We were in traffic yesterday for what I thought was just a roadside fire.
 

mwilk012

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This transmission obviously needs a redesign. It was clearly slipping, for a long time. The fact that the ecm cannot recognize this is absurd.
 

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Omarius

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Are you trying to say that she drove down the highway with her foot partially on the clutch and you somehow think that there is no coincidence that the Jeep just came back from the dealer from getting work done on the very thing that caused the fire?

If she was that bad at driving a manual transmission wouldn’t this fire have started a long time ago? Your logic doesn’t really fit the evidence.
I think the dealer broke something on the Jeep. They likely introduced clutch slip where it previously did not exist. I don’t think she’s bad at driving manual, it’s just muscle memory. The problem is understanding the mechanical systems enough to stop use before catastrophic failure.
 

mwilk012

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I think the dealer broke something on the Jeep. They likely introduced clutch slip where it previously did not exist. I don’t think she’s bad at driving manual, it’s just muscle memory. The problem is understanding the mechanical systems enough to stop use before catastrophic failure.
That’s not possible.
 

Bayrat

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Jess, Ignore the one absurd (insulting) comment on this thread.

I'm happy that you and your dogs are safe. Quite frankly, my last four Jeeps prior to the JL were versions of the JK, and other than the fly by wire delay, which created obvious issues with the manual when moving from a dead stop, my opinion is that they were engineered much better than the JL model. If this were me, I'd drop back a couple of years and pick up a loaded Rubicon, with the stick, as a replacement. They did have a bushing on the shifter which "might" fail. Mine never did, but it was replaced along the way. The steering was much better than JL's, that's for sure. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
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Glad to hear your niece and her dogs all made it out safe, material is replaceable. Did this happen on the 5 in/near Kalama? We were in traffic yesterday for what I thought was just a roadside fire.
Yes that was the one
 

gato

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You nailed her attitude exactly, “I purchased a manual because that’s what I wanted and my next Jeep will be a manual in spite of this”.
Her money, her decision.

But in this case Jeep has made it perfectly clear that they don't care about JL manual transmissions and will not invest to improve or fix known flaws in it. That is why they limit manual to just the most basic engine. Don't offer any of the cool packages (e.g. XR) with manuals, etc.

There are many other manufacturers (e.g. Chevy and Ford with Tremec and Porsche with Getrag) that offer great manual transmissions - properly geared, durable clutches, no lift shifting, even selectable rev matching if you are into that.

There are manuals worth having (I have one on my Camaro 1LE) and manuals you should avoid (the JL being at the top of the list). It is not just the clutch issue. The shifting action is atrocious. The gearing is insanely long for 4-6. I tried it. It was miserable, specially when the alternative is the best auto transmission in the business (the ZF8).
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