Defective Tailgate Casting??

[Inigo]

This past weekend I backed into a small tree in my campground. I was moving at about 2 miles an hour.... Coming out of a parking space... My son got out and looked at the back of the Jeep (2021 Wrangler Unlimited Sport) and said there wasn't a scratch or dent! The next morning I opened the tailgate and there was a good sized crack in the center of the door right through the casted interior. The paint was already peeling off and there was a small dent on the passenger side tire mounting attachment. I have a boomerang cover onmy tire that had no damage on it. I've had several Jeeps in my life. Never have I ever had such a small contact with a tree cause that much damage. I took it to the dealer and they were mystified by the amount of damage but assume that Jeep created the tailgate at this height as a crumple zone-so a minor impact will cause a great deal of expensive damage. I feel like my jeep is made of porcelain now. I had to put waterproof tape over the crack to prevent water seeping in..I contacted Jeep Care directly and they shrugged it off. I believe there's a casting defect and the aluminum is weak. Has anyone experienced any thing like this?

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[LittleDog]

That is a very pretty tire cover.

That cracked spot looks like it is right near where the spare mount bolts are. If you hit the driver-side edge of your spare, the mount would act as a fulcrum, bending the tailgate at that spot.

2 mph sounds slow, but ~5,500lbs (2.75 tons!) x speed x lever action of the spare = a lot of force. And the magnesium used in the tailgate makes it much lighter and stiffer, but also more brittle.

I'm not one to make false claims, but you aren't sure when exactly the crack occured, and there is no visible damage on your shiny tire cover.

 

[Nailgun]

This past weekend I backed into a small tree in my campground. I was moving at about 2 miles an hour.... Coming out of a parking space... My son got out and looked at the back of the Jeep (2021 Wrangler Unlimited Sport) and said there wasn't a scratch or dent! The next morning I opened the tailgate and there was a good sized crack in the center of the door right through the casted interior. The paint was already peeling off and there was a small dent on the passenger side tire mounting attachment. I have a boomerang cover onmy tire that had no damage on it. I've had several Jeeps in my life. Never have I ever had such a small contact with a tree cause that much damage. I took it to the dealer and they were mystified by the amount of damage but assume that Jeep created the tailgate at this height as a crumple zone-so a minor impact will cause a great deal of expensive damage. I feel like my jeep is made of porcelain now. I had to put waterproof tape over the crack to prevent water seeping in..I contacted Jeep Care directly and they shrugged it off. I believe there's a casting defect and the aluminum is weak. Has anyone experienced any thing like this?

These tailgates are reported to be heavily alloyed with Magnesium.....although I doubt they are pure. The issue with this material is it prefers to crack before bending. So no.....it's not defective. This is the failure mode for this material.

 

[Inigo]

That is a very pretty tire cover.

That cracked spot looks like it is right near where the spare mount bolts are. If you hit the driver-side edge of your spare, the mount would act as a fulcrum, bending the tailgate at that spot.

2 mph sounds slow, but ~5,500lbs (2.75 tons!) x speed x lever action of the spare = a lot of force. And the magnesium used in the tailgate makes it much lighter and stiffer, but also more brittle.

I'm not one to make false claims, but you aren't sure when exactly the crack occured, and there is no visible damage on your shiny tire cover.

I'm absolutely positive the crack occurred after I tagged the tree. It wasn't there when I unloaded my Jeep that morning (Saturday) and although it was the following morning (Sunday) that I spotted the crack, there was only the tree incident from 10 am Saturday til 12 noon Saturday, otherwise the Jeep was parked from noon Saturday til 8 am Sunday when I opened the tailgate and spotted the peeling paint and crack on the casting.... The crack it dead center in the door and the impact was 5 inches to the left at the right upper bolt of the mount. Again-I don't believe the impact should have caused the casting to split at such a slow speed. I've backed into plenty of things before without having my tailgate buckle on older jeeps

 

[LittleDog]

@Inigo I meant that if you had gone to the dealer with no visible damage to the tire cover and not mention the interaction with the tree, they could have formed their own conclusions.

Right in the middle is also a stress point, depending on how you hit it.

"Toughness" can mean multiple things. Like an old steel rim that you can dent, but just hammer out again, Vs. a super carbon fiber whatsit that weighs nothing but fails catastrophically at 1° past its limit. These are the trade-offs, until we find unobtainium.

Good luck, and keep us posted on the fix.

 

[Frank R.]

The tailgates on your older Jeeps were made of material that would bend, the tailgate on your JL is made of material that cracks instead.

With the point of impact being 5" to the left of center, the leverage factor would have been very much in play.

That said, it sucks - but I don't think you have a case here.

 

[JDub11]

Accidents happen man I get it. But, based on your comment about backing into plenty of things would you please inform the group when you will be on the road.

 

[Inigo]

Based on the research I have done - a Mg-Al alloy should be MORE impact resistant than aluminum alone. It's just surprising to me that this vehicle is this fragile.

 

[Inigo]

Accidents happen man I get it. But, based on your comment about backing into plenty of things would you please inform the group when you will be on the road.

Will do! ?

 

[Inigo]

@Inigo I meant that if you had gone to the dealer with no visible damage to the tire cover and not mention the interaction with the tree, they could have formed their own conclusions.

Right in the middle is also a stress point, depending on how you hit it.

"Toughness" can mean multiple things. Like an old steel rim that you can dent, but just hammer out again, Vs. a super carbon fiber whatsit that weighs nothing but fails catastrophically at 1° past its limit. These are the trade-offs, until we find unobtainium.

Good luck, and keep us posted on the fix.

The fix is going to be a full tailgate and mounting bracket replacement. Unfortunately the damage is not repairable according to the body shop (the metal isn't weldable) So they are planning on a full replacement... I just wanted to put this out there as a potential issue. I'm also going to talk to a local jeep mod garage nearby about extending the rear bumper beyond the spare and beefing it up. If the tree had tapped the bumper there would have been no damage at all.

 

[LittleDog]

The fix is going to be a full tailgate and mounting bracket replacement. Unfortunately the damage is not repairable according to the body shop (the metal isn't weldable) So they are planning on a full replacement... I just wanted to put this out there as a potential issue. I'm also going to talk to a local jeep mod garage nearby about extending the rear bumper beyond the spare and beefing it up. If the tree had tapped the bumper there would have been no damage at all.

Yes, the downside of Space Age materials is Space Age dollars required for repair.

Maybe ask for a bumperette-style hoop extensions. Should be cheaper.

 

[GtX]

If the tree had tapped the bumper there would have been no damage at all.

Don't blame the tree.

 

[Inigo]

Don't blame the tree.

It should have made an effort to move to the right a bit more...

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

That’s the price of weight reduction. I have the metal factory bumpers….they bend very easily when backing into stationary poles. Ask me how I know. No judgment here…crap happens and it gets expensive. Sorry for your mishap.

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