Coming From a Tacoma...Should I be Worried

[Bigdagdaman]

I left my Tacoma for a Rubicon JL, about a year ago. My decision was based on the Tacoma transmission shifting, but more importantly, I rarely used the bed and carried my dogs in the back seats. The transmission shifting was an issue to me as I live in CO, and going to the mountains was a lot of manual shifting with an automatic. I have had no issues with my JL and only oil changes to date.

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[Whaler27]

Jeeps are garbage compared to Toyota in terms of quality and workmanship. Chrysler and Fiat each in their own are the laughing stocks of the auto industry. Mine has been okay but it is not like my Taco where after 20 years it literally has had not a single issue at all. I still like my Jeep though. A lot of people on this forum are noobs. I’ve been driving Jeeps for a few decades now. The dealerships and FCA are pretty bad too. But it’s FCA you know what you’re taking a chance on.

 

[GGolds]

Have read some discouraging reports on the reliability of the JL at CR and other outlets.

So I can pull the trigger now on a 2021 or wait until 2022 when it will be the JL's 4th model year and hopefully all the problems are fixed. Did the JK get better toward the end or are Jeeps just going to be prone to problems?

My family has been receiving CR since 1950 when my parents got married. I read every issue and examine all the stats thoroughly. I've had Honda's, Toyota's, Mazda's, Mini's, Subaru's, Land Rover's (Just don't buy any Land Rover ever) and on and on. I've had 9 Jeeps. My current JL Sahara 2019 has 26K miles on it. Not so much as a rattle. Actually a little rattle but it went away. Reliability of our Cherokee 2019 has been perfect at almost 30 K miles. I had more issues with my Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tundra then any of my Jeeps. Those weren't bad just had a few issues with The Tundra and Ridgeline. Still they were very good overall vehicles. I would NOT worry about buying a Wrangler at all!. Even my 90 Wrangler was very reliable and CR rated that one of the worst vehicles for reliability they ever tested. Take it all with a grain of salt. My next vehicle will be another Wrangler. I absolutely love them and see no reason not to buy or lease one. Have fun, life is short and the more toys the more fun you can have. God Bless.

 

[Vinman]

I like Toyotas, I had a pair of Tundra’s, 2008 and a 2012, both bought new. My wife is on her 6th Toyota.
While all were relatively problem free, they were not perfect.

I’ve had about 35 vehicles over the last 4 decades and the only ones ever to have battery corrosion issues were both of the Tundra’s.
Here is a picture of the battery terminal on my one year old, less than 12,000 mile Tundra after it wouldn’t start one day.

 

[LeodaJeep]

Came out to my JL the other day and a guy was walking around it, checking it out. Then he hung his head and walked over to his Taco...wishing he had a Jeep JL.

 

[Hayseed_JLUR]

They are both great vehicles and they both suck - just depends who you ask and what day of the week it is.

 

[Gallagher]

I have had both a Gen 3 (2016) Tacoma TRD and a 2019 Rubicon Unlimited. So far the Jeep has been a WAY better vehicle than the TRD in basically every respect. I had some issues with my Carplay, but eventually it was found to be a bad USB in the center console.

My Tacoma had two stereo head unit replacements, I hated the buzzy motor and confused AF automatic trans (Jeep auto is really nice). When the tacoma was three weeks old the driver's interior door panel started falling off. I had a really annoying rattle in the box that the dealer couldn't fix... turns out its a design flaw with the box mounting where the box compresses and the bolts that mount it to the frame can't be tightened up.

I have a bit of a mountain pass highway close by that I travel quite often, and if I set the cruise in the Tacoma going up hill it would downshift into third gear at about 4000 rpm to maintain highway speed of 55mph. When I crested the peak and started going downhill it would stay in third at 4000 rpm until I switched it to manual mode and shifted it myself. this was after the transmission controller was flashed and with software updates.

I finally dropped it off at the dealer and told them to keep it after the ABS system, four wheel drive transfer switch, traction control system, cruise control and basically every major electronic system all died simultaneously on a road trip. Seats were crap...truck was crap. I was so happy to walk away from that thing.

 

[SlowPoke21]

I bought a 2018 off-road Tacoma. Loved everything about it. Minus the shitty transmission. Terrible road manners with the shift points. Very happy to get rid of it when I did.

 

[aldo98229]

RE: Coming From a Tacoma...Should I be Worried?

Yes. You will regret having wasted so many years driving a Tacoma...!

 

[neil]

what are your concerns?

PS....really digging the wife's one touch.

 

[greenvillebigwheels]

I had a 2016 tacoma trd off road manual before my 2019 jlu. The transmission is what sold me on the tacoma, loved shifting that thing. But ultimately I couldnt take the motor and how pig slow it was any longer and didnt even have the truck 2 years. No wonder nothing breaks...not enough oomph to break anything. Its 2sec slower to 60 than the jlu and boy do you feel it daily driving around. It also got worse mileage, I only got 20mpg on the highway.

 

[neil]

I had a 2016 tacoma trd off road manual before my 2019 jlu. The transmission is what sold me on the tacoma, loved shifting that thing. But ultimately I couldnt take the motor and how pig slow it was any longer and didnt even have the truck 2 years. No wonder nothing breaks...not enough oomph to break anything. Its 2sec slower to 60 than the jlu and boy do you feel it daily driving around. It also got worse mileage, I only got 20mpg on the highway.

It's cause they use the same damn tranny they had in when New Order released their second double lp. Or so it seems.

 

[Whiskey 13]

As the saying goes, One mans junk is another mans treasure.

People sometimes are very difficult to please, give a man a million dollars in hundred dollar bills and he'll bitch because he wanted 20 dollar bills.

Comparing any Jeep to any Tacoma is like comparing an apple to an orange but if you like apples and you like oranges you should like a Jeep

I have had many Jeeps and I have had many other vehicles for highway and off road driving but when I do my mechanical work which is putting a rear end in a drivers seat I love to strap it down in a Jeep.

 

[GGolds]

Have read some discouraging reports on the reliability of the JL at CR and other outlets.

So I can pull the trigger now on a 2021 or wait until 2022 when it will be the JL's 4th model year and hopefully all the problems are fixed. Did the JK get better toward the end or are Jeeps just going to be prone to problems?

CONSUMER REPORTS New Car Issue this month shows a MUCH BETTER THEN AVERAGE reliability rating for the Wrangler and Gladiator in their reliability statistical chart. Showing for 2020 reliability as good or better then any Toyota or Honda. Buy the issue.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

CONSUMER REPORTS New Car Issue this month shows a MUCH BETTER THEN AVERAGE reliability rating for the Wrangler and Gladiator in their reliability statistical chart. Showing for 2020 reliability as good or better then any Toyota or Honda. Buy the issue.

That’s encouraging. I wonder if paint bubbles and steering issues impact reliability rating. Mechanically the wrangler is solid.

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