Clutch Recall (FCA W12 | 20V-124) on 2018-2020 JL Manuals [overheating clutch pressure plate]

[Jpat]

Test drove & bought a 2020 JL Rubicon 2dr MT on Tuesday evening only to find out that I couldn't take it home because of this recall. Now I'm driving their loaner Grand Cherokee Summit edition until the 30th when they are supposed to fix it & let me take it home. Best info about the recall I've found is in the past few pages of this forum. All of which was just confirmed yesterday by the manager of the dealership. I was a little frustrated at first but they have been pretty accommodating so far and I really like the Jeep.

Now I know why it was so hard to find a manual to buy in my area. I am surprised that none of the 10-15 sales people I talked to over the last week mentioned anything about the recall when I asked if they had any manual transmission Rubicons in stock. Not one! In fact, the 2 salespeople we were working with had no idea until the finance manager said we couldn't take it home.

How did you find that one? When i search on jeeps website, 0 are available.

I would love to find and buy one, even knowing i have to wait

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[rfm8os]

I forgot to post the other day. I also talked to my local dealer here in Massachusetts. Same thing in that they ran my VIN, said the recall is still showing as waiting for a fix and no parts or procedures are available and I should wait until I get a letter from Jeep saying parts/fix procedure are in.

 

[Jason's Jeep Addiction]

How did you find that one? When i search on jeeps website, 0 are available.

I would love to find and buy one, even knowing i have to wait

Same for me on the Jeep website. It was on cargurus.com--only one I could find after looking for a week so I called them right away. The sales guy didn't know they had one until I gave him the stock #. They said it was stored on a different lot. It was apparently a custom order that a guy backed out of after delivery--has a lot of extraneous options but was a great price.

 

[Jpat]

Same for me on the Jeep website. It was on cargurus.com--only one I could find after looking for a week so I called them right away. The sales guy didn't know they had one until I gave him the stock #. They said it was stored on a different lot. It was apparently a custom order that a guy backed out of after delivery--has a lot of extraneous options but was a great price.

I guess i just have to wait for them to get the recall fixed. I have been looking for weeks with no success. Thanks for the info

 

[Az-jewel]

I am not too concerned about safety with this issue. It probably would require a very high abuse of the clutch to get it heated to that level on highway or on city streets.
But I agree, in off roading situation, there may be more risk but even then it would give you enough signals before something extreme happens. This recall applies to JLs from 2018 so people have been driving this for two years now.

This is where I’ve had problems with the clutch. Smokes and slips and smells like burned clutch! I’ve had it happen a few times. On road it’s not a problem even if it slips a little bit, it’s not a hard load. But uphill or climbing over a rock it is definitely not working too well.

I spoke to my dealership today. They said they are replacing the entire clutch and waiting for parts.

I wish this were true. I’m pretty sure they’ll just reroute the wires and tell us to not worry about it. I’d like them to actually inspect mine since it’s been smoking and burning a few times.

 

[LawrenceR]

Okay, in reading over the various comments posted, I think it best if we "skim the top", take in various factors and try to reach a logical conclusion - sound fair ?

Regarding the "problem" with clutches, I feel it is best if we "give credit where credit is due" and we also take into account "human abuse" ...not trying to offend anyone here.

If we take all of the complaints and actual problems / damages and situations which could have been serious - actual fires or loss of life, we have to take into consideration, why are these situations happening ? Is it due to owners not knowing how to actually use a clutch - this is quickly becoming a "lost art", is the cause due to poor quality parts or a combination of the two ?

We have to factor in ( and Chrysler should also too ) that when off roading, there will be many times when a clutch will need to be given extra wear, slipping over rocks, navigating streams, etc. This is why we buy Jeep's.

The general public also should understand, that even resting our "left foot" on the clutch pedal can apply un-necessary pressure on the clutch. If the "clutch problem" is cause by poor "human habits", one shouldn't blame Chrysler...

Having said the above, either there is a problem in the quality of clutch materials being in stalled by Chrysler, or we have a bunch of people who don't know how to shift. I'm tending to believe the problem is due to poor quality parts, we can't have that many people who can't shift. As one previous person mentioned, "...if we can put a clutch into a big rig, which will go over a million miles, why can't Chrysler put a clutch into a Jeep..." ?

The basic "bottom line" for me is, apparently there is enough of a problem ( serious enough to be worried about loss of life - actually killing someone ) that Chrysler has called a recall on any product with a clutch for the last two years.

What bothers me is, the recall came out in mid to late February. We are now in the last week or so of April, WHY HASEN'T CHRYSLER FOUND A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM ?

My order went in February 17th - about a week or two before the actual recall. Chrysler already knew of the problem, but took my order anyway. For me, Chrysler has had over nine weeks to work this problem out and as of yesterday, my dealer still doesn't know ( actually told me - no fix yet) to figure this problem out.

The guys (or gals) who will come up with the fix for the clutch problem are not working on the assembly lines, so why doesn't Chrysler have a fix for the problem by now. THIS IS NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE IN MY OPINION !

I often wonder, if we "buyers" are having this type of problem before we actually buy a Jeep product, what can we expect after Chrysler has our hard earned money ?

Don't get me wrong, I am one of the many, who is still hanging in there hoping for a quality fix for the problem because I really want a Jeep.

I still fell like a mushroom, "feed me B.S. and keep me in the dark".

 

[Toycrusher]

The design of the twin disc clutch is slow to engage leading to unnecessary heat buildup. Add in high loads and occasionally less than optimal clutch control, and you have really really high heat, much higher than would be generated with a single disc clutch.

The extremely high heat is causing the pressure plate to fracture. It is unknown if it is the dual mass flywheel pressure plate or the one inside the clutch assembly that is fracturing.

The fix probably involves redesigning the clutch and flywheel. This can result in engine calibration changes needing to be made, which would result in powertrain recertification becoming necessary. This can take quite some time to accomplish, not counting the COVID delays.

Don't be surprised if it's next February before Jeep has repair parts available

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

This is where I’ve had problems with the clutch. Smokes and slips and smells like burned clutch! I’ve had it happen a few times. On road it’s not a problem even if it slips a little bit, it’s not a hard load. But uphill or climbing over a rock it is definitely not working too well.

To me, this is evidence that only some Jeeps are affected. My clutch has never slipped on its own in 30k miles. Not. Even. Once.

@DanW has posted many threads about his heavy off-roading adventures. He says his manual performed excellently.

This, albeit anecdotal, evidence leads me to conclude that those of us who have no slippage and no burning smell have nothing to worry about. We’ll let them move the wiring harness and move on. For the rest, we’re all very curious to see what they do for you. Personally, I hope it’s a new clutch.

In the back of my mind I can’t also help but think about how the affected Jeeps were driven during break-in. If those drivers were new/rusty/just bad at it, they may have been polishing that pressure plate pretty good during break-in... not that such a thing would remove any of FCA’s responsibility to fix the issue!

What bothers me is, the recall came out in mid to late February. We are now in the last week or so of April, WHY HASEN'T CHRYSLER FOUND A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM ?

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a global pandemic that took hold in late February... sorry, I couldn’t resist being that guy.

 

[M151]

Hello Guys,

Im new to the forum and this is my first post. I have a brand new 2020 Rubicon JL (2 door MT) waiting for me at the dealership since March 12th, and like some of the forum members, am stuck waiting for the W12 fix. My dealership has no info on the subject at hand either. At least I have not signed any loan documents and I am not paying for the vehicle yet.

 

[DanW]

I have never felt mine was slow to engage. i drive it back to back with the NSG370 in my JK and if anything, the JL clutch feels quicker to engage. That's why Motor Trend can't drive it without stalling it.

As @OldGuyNewJeep said, I've run mine HARD, both off-road and on. No smell, ever, except when my wife and her brother both smoked it trying to start in 5th gear. Total driver error. (Of course my tears for my beloved Jeep would have been enough to put out any fire when that happened!)

I think the time it took FCA is reasonable considering the fact that when they knew there was a problem, they still hadn't isolated it. Once they did that, it takes a good while to choose a new material, test it, and then manufacture a bunch of them. Remember, they are replacing ALL manuals thta have been made over about 26 months. They are trying to do this in 3 months. If the parts start showing up even in May, my hat will be off to the speed at which they've moved. This is certainly no easy task. Good thing they have such a large and experienced vendor, as Aisin. That certainly helps.

 

[Shepherd12]

There is some condescending BS in this thread.

“New/Rusty/Bad” drivers beat on all sorts of vehicles with manual transmissions. They ruin their clutches, replace them and move on, and none of them manage grenade their pressure plates or set fire to their vehicles. This is a “Jeep Thing” and they need to own it and fix it.

 

[Az-jewel]

To me, this is evidence that only some Jeeps are affected. My clutch has never slipped on its own in 30k miles. Not. Even. Once.

@DanW has posted many threads about his heavy off-roading adventures. He says his manual performed excellently.

This, albeit anecdotal, evidence leads me to conclude that those of us who have no slippage and no burning smell have nothing to worry about. We’ll let them move the wiring harness and move on. For the rest, we’re all very curious to see what they do for you. Personally, I hope it’s a new clutch.

In the back of my mind I can’t also help but think about how the affected Jeeps were driven during break-in. If those drivers were new/rusty/just bad at it, they may have been polishing that pressure plate pretty good during break-in... not that such a thing would remove any of FCA’s responsibility to fix the issue!


In case you haven’t heard, there’s a global pandemic that took hold in late February... sorry, I couldn’t resist being that guy.

I also wonder if some of the challenges with my manual off road are that I’m running 35’s and lift, bumpers etc on stock sport gears? I just regeared and am excited to see how it’ll do on steep climbs and rock walls now. It would need accelerator and I definitely needed to ride the clutch a bit on some climbs to keep from stalling. Even so, Ive driven manual for years and was quite surprised by the smell etc.

my Jeep was a 2018 leftover I bought in June 19. It had 400ish miles on it and was one of the only manuals on the lot. Now I’m wondering how rough some of those test drives may have been? Still shouldn’t be a factor.

I had a ‘17 JKUR before this, and the stick in that was completely different! Much more like a truck. The JL stick, at least mine, has a bit of lag to fully engage, especially second gear. Reverse is odd too, I had to give it gas to prevent stalling before, but I doubt that’ll be a problem with the 4.88 gears.

 

[DanW]

There is some condescending BS in this thread.

“New/Rusty/Bad” drivers beat on all sorts of vehicles with manual transmissions. They ruin their clutches, replace them and move on, and none of them manage grenade their pressure plates or set fire to their vehicles. This is a “Jeep Thing” and they need to own it and fix it.

Nobody has suggested that there is not a problem, especially the recall related problem. Nobody's been condescending, either. It has just rightly been very delicately and politely pointed out that SOME situations where the clutch is emitting a burning smell in normal driving COULD be caused by driver error in techique, which happens to be very common.

As for owning and fixing it, I'm wondering how a full blown recall is not owning it. Looks to me like they are doing exactly that.

 

[beaups]

I've followed this thread pretty closely, but perhaps I've missed this: What does a wiring harness have to do with this issue? Is the harness interfering with some linkage and preventing the clutch from fully engaging? I don't see any other way for a wiring harness to be a cause for this.

 

[Toycrusher]

I've followed this thread pretty closely, but perhaps I've missed this: What does a wiring harness have to do with this issue? Is the harness interfering with some linkage and preventing the clutch from fully engaging? I don't see any other way for a wiring harness to be a cause for this.

I don't know where it's being relocated to. There aren't many options. I also don't see what the point is. Shrapnel from the clutch assembly is puncturing the fuel lines and starting the fire, i could understand a scatter shield to protect those lines but the wire harness seems immaterial

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