Electrical issues - Jeep freezes/dies in the middle of road

[Chowbaby]

As I was driving home from work today, I was stopped at a light and when I began to take off, [I'm unclear if] I originally stalled (I drive a MT) or if the electrical just froze/cut out.

Regardless, my uconnect screen immediately cut out to black. I then attempted to start up again but when I tried to engage the start button, I got no response - it was stuck on "run." The odometer screen became extremely bright and stayed that way, regardless of the lights/dimmer. My a/c was on before it froze and I couldn't cut it off. Anyways, I disconnected the battery and waited for it to reset and started her up again without issue. Safe to say, I didn't trust neither ESS nor ESS stop button and engaged the clutch at every light until I made it home. Hopefully I can take it to the dealership this week and get to the bottom of it. First time I've ever been stranded in the middle of the road, yet alone with a new jeep. I guess such are the risks we take when buying: (1) a first generation model and (2) a jeep basically run by a computer (the pitfalls of technology). The thing that sucks most is if the dealership can't recreate the problem and/or figure out what happened, it will always be lingering in the back of my mind. Will report back what the dealer finds.

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[JEEPJL]

As I was driving home from work today, I was stopped at a light and when I began to take off, [I'm unclear if] I originally stalled (I drive a MT) or if the electrical just froze/cut out.

Regardless, my uconnect screen immediately cut out to black. I then attempted to start up again but when I tried to engage the start button, I got no response - it was stuck on "run." The odometer screen became extremely bright and stayed that way, regardless of the lights/dimmer. My a/c was on before it froze and I couldn't cut it off. Anyways, I disconnected the battery and waited for it to reset and started her up again without issue. Safe to say, I didn't trust neither ESS nor ESS stop button and engaged the clutch at every light until I made it home. Hopefully I can take it to the dealership this week and get to the bottom of it. First time I've ever been stranded in the middle of the road, yet alone with a new jeep. I guess such are the risks we take when buying: (1) a first generation model and (2) a jeep basically run by a computer (the pitfalls of technology). The thing that sucks most is if the dealership can't recreate the problem and/or figure out what happened, it will always be lingering in the back of my mind. Will report back what the dealer finds.

Glitch hopefully !!!

Smart restart method !

 

[JeepCares]

As I was driving home from work today, I was stopped at a light and when I began to take off, [I'm unclear if] I originally stalled (I drive a MT) or if the electrical just froze/cut out.

Regardless, my uconnect screen immediately cut out to black. I then attempted to start up again but when I tried to engage the start button, I got no response - it was stuck on "run." The odometer screen became extremely bright and stayed that way, regardless of the lights/dimmer. My a/c was on before it froze and I couldn't cut it off. Anyways, I disconnected the battery and waited for it to reset and started her up again without issue. Safe to say, I didn't trust neither ESS nor ESS stop button and engaged the clutch at every light until I made it home. Hopefully I can take it to the dealership this week and get to the bottom of it. First time I've ever been stranded in the middle of the road, yet alone with a new jeep. I guess such are the risks we take when buying: (1) a first generation model and (2) a jeep basically run by a computer (the pitfalls of technology). The thing that sucks most is if the dealership can't recreate the problem and/or figure out what happened, it will always be lingering in the back of my mind. Will report back what the dealer finds.

Hi Chowbaby,

We are sorry to hear of this concern with your new JL. Please send us a private message with your VIN, mileage, and dealer so that we can document this further. We would like to provide additional assistance while your Jeep is in service.

Darlene
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[TIDALWAVE]

My new Jeep warranty says that Jeep will provide free towing if it breaks down. I plan to off road in some really wilderness areas. Will Jeep actually send out a tow to get me or just tow starting at the nearest public highway?

 

[That One Guy]

My new Jeep warranty says that Jeep will provide free towing if it breaks down. I plan to off road in some really wilderness areas. Will Jeep actually send out a tow to get me or just tow starting at the nearest public highway?

Hell, since they straight up say offroading voids the warranty, I way way doubt they'd do a trail recovery, which are several times more expensive than a normal tow.

Assuming you find someone else out there, I'd pay them thirty or fifty bucks to flat tow you to the road. Then call towing and say it broke cruising down on that road.

IMO

 

[Torero]

Any update?

 

[Taxman]

Same thing happened to my ‘08 JKUR with 6-speed. I had it about two weeks and I stalled it coming out of a red light. Not sure why, maybe I had the radio blasting and didn’t hear the engine revving and let my foot off the clutch too fast and it stalled. When I went to turn it on, it wouldn’t start. Lights started flashing, radio kept coming on and off and then suddenly, it went dark. Nothing worked. I disconnected the battery and let it reset. Five minutes later, it started right up. Never took it to the dealer and it never did it again. 7 years and 86k miles and it was great.

I think it’s just a glitch. Good luck though.

 

[TIDALWAVE]

Hell, since they straight up say offroading voids the warranty, I way way doubt they'd do a trail recovery, which are several times more expensive than a normal tow.

Assuming you find someone else out there, I'd pay them thirty or fifty bucks to flat tow you to the road. Then call towing and say it broke cruising down on that road.

IMO

I know of only a couple of 'trail recovery' companies. Is there any kind of listing for them for North America? It's one thing to break an axle but another when the JL's computers simply decide to die.

 

[Chowbaby]

Hi Chowbaby,

We are sorry to hear of this concern with your new JL. Please send us a private message with your VIN, mileage, and dealer so that we can document this further. We would like to provide additional assistance while your Jeep is in service.

Darlene
Jeep Social Care Specialist

Thank you @JeepCares! I will send you a PM.

Any update?

Taking it to the dealership tomorrow - will provide an update soon.

Same thing happened to my ‘08 JKUR with 6-speed. I had it about two weeks and I stalled it coming out of a red light. Not sure why, maybe I had the radio blasting and didn’t hear the engine revving and let my foot off the clutch too fast and it stalled. When I went to turn it on, it wouldn’t start. Lights started flashing, radio kept coming on and off and then suddenly, it went dark. Nothing worked. I disconnected the battery and let it reset. Five minutes later, it started right up. Never took it to the dealer and it never did it again. 7 years and 86k miles and it was great.

I think it’s just a glitch. Good luck though.

That's relieving to hear. I dont know if I would prefer your scenario or just a simple "faulty x" so it's a clean solution/peace of mind. But I have been driving around the past few days without issue so it could very well be a one-off glitch.

 

[drdriller]

Dude. I have a 19 rubicon Jl. That’s happened to me twice. Dealer couldn’t reproduce it, so I’m kinda out of luck. Bunch of bs that my 19 Wrangler with 2k miles has died on my 2 times

 

[Dkretden]

Some members here report that they have fuses in the fuse box that are not fully seated from the factory. They push them in, click, and these types of intermittent issues reportedly go away.

 

[Redmands3]

Dude. I have a 19 rubicon Jl. That’s happened to me twice. Dealer couldn’t reproduce it, so I’m kinda out of luck. Bunch of bs that my 19 Wrangler with 2k miles has died on my 2 times

Same here 19 Rubi JLU w/ 5k miles. My dash is rebooting while I drive randomly. Speedo goes through a full sweep and all the lights restart like the car is turning on for the first time. Not a great feeling at 30MPH with the family in the rig!! I've also had it randomly not turn on or recognize the key fob in the car. Doors unlock and lock no problem but the start button won't move from 'OFF'. Had to pull the battery connections to reset the system so that I can drive it again. Taken it to the dealer and they can't reproduce.

 

[JeepCares]

Hi @Redmands3,

We're sorry to hear this has happened! We understand why this may be concerning. If you decide to return to the dealer for this, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team for assistance.

Darlene
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[Redmands3]

Hi @Redmands3,

We're sorry to hear this has happened! We understand why this may be concerning. If you decide to return to the dealer for this, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team for assistance.

Darlene
Jeep Social Care Specialist

Thanks. Don't see much value in taking it in vs. loss of my personal time. Last visit it was made clear that nothing could be done without it happening in front of the service department. When it leaves us stranded again we will have to have it towed to a dealer. Not a lot of confidence for a 50k+ vehicle.

 

[JeepCares]

@Redmands3

I apologize for the experiences that you've had thus far. In the event that you change your mind, please PM us.

Darlene
Jeep Social Care Specialist

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