Clutch Recall (2/23/23): Clutch Pressure Plate May Overheat -- Affecting 70,000 Manual Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators

[Chazdog]

My MT wrangler Willy’s now has a build date scheduled for 3/15. I’m wondering if it will have the repair made in production or if I’ll be looking at my new Jeep sitting at a dealers lot for months while they try to figure this out.

For all of you hoping that yours will have the clutch fix performed at the factory and that you will be able to take delivery when it arrives at your dealership, I’m sorry to say this is not likely.
The Y07 recall for the exact same issue required a stop sale order on 2/25/21 and was not lifted until 6/29/21. As others have mentioned, a sale by a dealership of an affected vehicle is strictly prohibited and punishable by some heavy fines.
Will FCA step up and implement a genuine long term solution or will they attempt to skirt responsibility for this cluster and foist yet another band aid fix on us?
I think I know the answer, however I hope I’m wrong.

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[IanNubbit]

Probably by pedal commander.

All throttle programmers do is change what the PCM see throttle input as. Does nothing to how the throttle plate reacts to load. Flooring it will have the same effect with or without one

 

[beachbumm78]

Not holding my breath they’ll actually replace anything. I’m at 105,000 miles now in 3.5 years. So far everything has been smooth in mine. So any “extended warranty” would be a joke for me unless it went over 100k. Already planning to do centerforce when I do replace.

 

[Dr. Jones]

I would say that would be a safe assumption! I expect that once the fix is announced, you and everyone else in D1 should start seeing movement on your orders!

DennisDillonJeeps, several minutes ago, Chazdog had a different take on how the flow of the recall might go from past experience. Is this a possibility that those at D1 with MTs might run into?
Just trying to get a clearer feel on what might happen.

 

[bonniejf]

I took delivery of my manual jl on 2/25/23 as a few others have mentioned.

I have 2 questions:

1) What seems to be the main cause of the problem? Is this a total random occurrence is does there seem to be a user error that would be good to avoid in order for the overheating not to occur?
2) Anyone on this thread that has had this issue occur to them?

I'm new to the forums, so forgive me if I'm asking a questions that have been answered already. This is my second manual jeep, owned a 2008 JK until 2017 and have been jeep less until 2 weeks ago. Loving it so far, but getting that recall notice has put a damper on things.

If you scroll to the bottom of this page, under "similar threads", there are threads 146 pages long and 30 pages long that detail everyone's suspicions and experiences. Or search the forum for "clutch" or "clutch recall". This has been discussed at length in may threads for 3 years. Probably not everyone is going to re-post their stories in this new thread.

As I wait on a solution from Jeep, I think I'm going to take my fire extinguisher out of the rear and keep it in the passenger seat to grab quickly if needed.

 

[IanNubbit]

For all of you hoping that yours will have the clutch fix performed at the factory and that you will be able to take delivery when it arrives at your dealership, I’m sorry to say this is not likely.
The Y07 recall for the exact same issue required a stop sale order on 2/25/21 and was not lifted until 6/29/21. As others have mentioned, a sale by a dealership of an affected vehicle is strictly prohibited and punishable by some heavy fines.
Will FCA step up and implement a genuine long term solution or will they attempt to skirt responsibility for this cluster and foist yet another band aid fix on us?
I think I know the answer, however I hope I’m wrong.

This. Its very simple and people are over thinking it. If the part that is being replaced was already put in the vehicle at the plant, its going to be built and sent to the dealer lot to wait. If the part has not been put in thats being replaced under the recall, the vehicle will stop assembly and await for the updated part to go in at the plant and will not show up as a recall on the vehicle

 

[Stengaaa]

This. Its very simple and people are over thinking it. If the part that is being replaced was already put in the vehicle at the plant, its going to be built and sent to the dealer lot to wait. If the part has not been put in thats being replaced under the recall, the vehicle will stop assembly and await for the updated part to go in at the plant and will not show up as a recall on the vehicle

My worry just stems that mine isn’t built and i don’t trust them to not discontinue the manual and not build it, part of my rush for getting a jeep rn is the discontinuing of my “affordable” dream car the challenger because 60k is somewhat affordable but just slightly out of my price range at my current job

 

[nomographer]

For everyone waiting on new builds, it's very difficult for us to speculate until the (scheduled) April announcement. Until we have a better idea of what problem THEY think they're repairing, there's nothing for us but to take wagers. Stellantis is a global company; the world still has lots of MT vehicles; the US is... weird.

... and sit here listening to all the automatic owners pontificate (in a non-automatdc thread durrr) about their explicit, not-even-anecdotal expertise on the intricacies of the behavior of this clutch. Even a tech (sorry my dude) has specific technical details for us but MIGHT not have on-the-road experience with this MT. (Our resident tech has done an excellent job clarifying their data versus any opinions).

But the planned announcement is only four weeks away, so read the user manual again, watch some YouTube videos, and have happy dreams.

 

[Albertaktm]

My MT wrangler Willy’s now has a build date scheduled for 3/15. I’m wondering if it will have the repair made in production or if I’ll be looking at my new Jeep sitting at a dealers lot for months while they try to figure this out.

Was their a previous build date and they moved it?

 

[Shnee]

Question for you (sure everyone is curious)and anyone else that has experienced their clutch go out. What happened exactly with your clutch? Miles? Any mods- larger tires? Did it just start slipping driving down the highway/not on the highway? Smell the clutch burning? It's definitely a bad design...

She is stock as for as powertrain except swap of tires on stock rims to 285/70R17, no gear swap, no lift. Everything else I've done to this point has been cosmetic, She was right under 50,000 miles. I hadn't smelled any clutch and it was shifting smooth.
The beginning of the end - My oldest son spun out on snow and ended up in ditch with his Mustang and where he was on the hill, we decide to pull him out with the Jeep. It performed outstanding. Maybe about two days after I smelled clutch when shifting on highway... This continued when shifting in higher gears - seemed worse 3 to 4, 4 to 5, and the rare chance to 5 to 6. About 4 days after pulling out the boy, the release went high and the friction zone got real small. I called the shop that day. They couldn't get me in so I called around. Everyone had similar story - booked up and if they could get me in and I needed clutch parts... they were on back order. Finally got a appointment. In mean time I stopped driving her and swiped my other son's Ford Ranger for work commute. I used JLU one time and the burn smell was bad and very little friction zone and decided to wait to limp her to appointment. Day of appointment, roll out with ample time (live in rural area) and have no issues on back roads, I get to the highway and go to get up to speed to enter traffic up onto the on ramp and shift from 3 to 4 is nothing is there.... goes in gear but no power, Tac shows engine racing... but not any action is being distributed to axil - She is done. Once stopped, wouldn't roll forward or backward... was locked. The clutch smell is over whelming... it is winter mind you, and I contemplated pulling doors off it was so damn bad. Called a wrecker & the hauled it to my already scheduled appointment. I believe I got lucky that mine just seize when it heated up, but I baby it and kind of knew it was coming. It sucks... I have pulled things and used my Jeep as a Jeep should and this shouldn't happen, this is not my first Jeep. I had a CJ7 and a YJ that I beat the ever loving hell out of those, but taken more care on this one... I really do love this JLU, but damn they can do better - she got fixed and is back.
Oh - One thing I had to do when I got up and going again was to change the cabin air filter... running any air was continuing to pump burnt clutch odors in and it was not fun. I went with a Premium K&N filter that is washable and it was not too long after intall the smell was gone.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

But the planned announcement is only four weeks away, so read the user manual again, watch some YouTube videos, and have happy dreams.

I don’t think the letter will indicate what the fix is. It’s just going to be a hard copy of what is in the Jeep app and NHTSA website. My $0.02.

 

[jbcrane]

Please forgive if these questions have already been asked, but:

1) Will they 'test' my '21 before determining whether it needs the recall - or will they simply perform the recall procedure on all JL's with clutches?

2) Will 'testing' it (i.e., dumping the clutch, which I hate the thought of), accelerate any problems that are not quite showing yet and cause it to future fail earlier?

I have ESS 'permanently' disabled with the Taser, and did get a 'hot clutch' warning on the dash once last year when I didn't turn off traction control while trying to get un-stuck in the snow.

I'm at just under 26K miles and all is well, but have to admit I'm always wondering if it will suddenly happen to mine. I want mine fixed. I have too much into him to think about losing or replacing and plan on keeping him for the long haul. Thnx - JBC

 

[gek]

I joined the forum yesterday and spent a few hours reading every post in this thread since @OldGuyNewJeep started it. On the 1st of this month I purchased a 2018 JLUR, 6mt with 36,000 miles from an individual. I ran the VIN and found it had already had the W12 recall performed to address the clutch problem but was lacking the Y07 recall. So I took it in and had the PCM “fix” performed. Now, thanks to this forum, I learned yet another recall (19A) has been issued for the same problem and my VIN is on the list.

I will try to summarize what I’ve read to answer your first question:

1) Although there is some speculation that driving habits may contribute to the failures, the consensus seems to be that there is an inherent design flaw in the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel group. Most of the failures have occurred at speed and not under heavy load/torque. There doesn’t seem to be much of anything we, as owners/operators of the affected vehicles, can do to avoid the problem - other than not ride the clutch. Some mention has been made of some owners smelling the distinct “burnt clutch” odor or sensations that the clutch was slipping prior to failures. So if you detect either of those, stop driving and get your fire extinguisher ready. Chrysler has not yet given a definitive cause for the failures and therefore no indication of what will be done to remedy the situation or when.

As for your second question


I believe there were a couple of posts indicating they experienced the failures but I don't recall who they were. My clutch isn't exhibiting any indications of impending failure. As we all are, I am anxiously waiting to see how this plays out.

Gold star for doing some research instead of asking the same question that has been asked and answered time and time again.

 

[Als@Ohio]

She is stock as for as powertrain except swap of tires on stock rims to 285/70R17, no gear swap, no lift. Everything else I've done to this point has been cosmetic, She was right under 50,000 miles. I hadn't smelled any clutch and it was shifting smooth.
The beginning of the end - My oldest son spun out on snow and ended up in ditch with his Mustang and where he was on the hill, we decide to pull him out with the Jeep. It performed outstanding. Maybe about two days after I smelled clutch when shifting on highway... This continued when shifting in higher gears - seemed worse 3 to 4, 4 to 5, and the rare chance to 5 to 6. About 4 days after pulling out the boy, the release went high and the friction zone got real small. I called the shop that day. They couldn't get me in so I called around. Everyone had similar story - booked up and if they could get me in and I needed clutch parts... they were on back order. Finally got a appointment. In mean time I stopped driving her and swiped my other son's Ford Ranger for work commute. I used JLU one time and the burn smell was bad and very little friction zone and decided to wait to limp her to appointment. Day of appointment, roll out with ample time (live in rural area) and have no issues on back roads, I get to the highway and go to get up to speed to enter traffic up onto the on ramp and shift from 3 to 4 is nothing is there.... goes in gear but no power, Tac shows engine racing... but not any action is being distributed to axil - She is done. Once stopped, wouldn't roll forward or backward... was locked. The clutch smell is over whelming... it is winter mind you, and I contemplated pulling doors off it was so damn bad. Called a wrecker & the hauled it to my already scheduled appointment. I believe I got lucky that mine just seize when it heated up, but I baby it and kind of knew it was coming. It sucks... I have pulled things and used my Jeep as a Jeep should and this shouldn't happen, this is not my first Jeep. I had a CJ7 and a YJ that I beat the ever loving hell out of those, but taken more care on this one... I really do love this JLU, but damn they can do better - she got fixed and is back.
Oh - One thing I had to do when I got up and going again was to change the cabin air filter... running any air was continuing to pump burnt clutch odors in and it was not fun. I went with a Premium K&N filter that is washable and it was not too long after intall the smell was gone.

Thank you for the detailed reply. Glad it didn't grenade on you. I've been driving manuals for decades. Clutch on the JL is definitely a different animal...fingers crossed Jeep comes up with a real fix this time.

 

[jbcrane]

Just heard back from my sales associate. A great guy with lots of helpful insights, I've kept in touch with him since purchase 2 years ago. He said it looks like they're replacing the pressure plate, but this hasn't been substantiated. None the less encouraging, seeming to point to not just another bandaid/software fix but something that will actually address the root problem. We'll see.

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