Experienced my first gremlin - fuses were not fully seated

[Biscuit]

I experienced my first Jeep gremlin after 1200 miles and a month of ownership. When I came out of the grocery store and punched the starter, the media display failed to launch - no display, no audio, completely unresponsive.

I drove home, put the grub away, popped the hood and popped the fuse box. Sure enough, almost all the fuses were not fully seated. Problem solved.

The moral to this story? Check the simple stuff first.

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[That One Guy]

I experienced my first Jeep gremlin after 1200 miles and a month of ownership. When I came out of the grocery store and punched the starter, the media display failed to launch - no display, no audio, completely unresponsive.

I drove home, put the grub away, popped the hood and popped the fuse box. Sure enough, almost all the fuses were not fully seated. Problem solved.

The moral to this story? Check the simple stuff first.

It's practically common knowledge on the forum by now that the factory has, and is continuing to do, a horrible job at properly seating all the fuses and relays. Everyone taking delivery of a JL should push them all in themselves; might save a problem or two down the road.

I'm literally doing it during my delivery inspection.

 

[Skye]

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/check-your-fuses.9420/

 

[Biscuit]

It's practically common knowledge on the forum by now that the factory has, and is continuing to do, a horrible job at properly seating all the fuses and relays. Everyone taking delivery of a JL should push them all in themselves; might save a problem or two down the road.

I'm literally doing it during my delivery inspection.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's because so much of this stuff is assembled robotically, untouched by human hands. Human QC is probably visual only ("Yep, it's got fuses.").

 

[cbr954]

You know, I always dismissed the "stay away from FCA" mantra as opposing fan boy bs.

However, it appears there is a lot of truth in it. Some of these issues are completely unacceptable, new model or not. Extremely disappointing and is actually giving me a bit of pause.

I'd sure like to get a look at the new Bronco before I pull the trigger on a vehicle that necessitates I seat the fuses upon delivery. What a load of crap.

 

[jamotn]

You know, I always dismissed the "stay away from FCA" mantra as opposing fan boy bs.

However, it appears there is a lot of truth in it. Some of these issues are completely unacceptable, new model or not. Extremely disappointing and is actually giving me a bit of pause.

I'd sure like to get a look at the new Bronco before I pull the trigger on a vehicle that necessitates I seat the fuses upon delivery. What a load of crap.

I seriously doubt Ford would make Broncos with such a lack of quality control. I have ordered 9 new cars since 1987. Some Fords,some GM's,1 Hyundai,1 Nissan. None have ever been back to the dealer for Warranty work. I did have recalls ,most of which I had done. I am amazed at all the "It's under warranty,take it it to the dealer" crap. I buy new cars so I dont have to worry about repairs and trips to the disliked and usually incompetent dealer. Being a new rollout is not a valid excuse for lousy quality control.
I really want a new JL but after spending time on this excellent forum,I am waiting for the '19 models b/4 I place my order and hoping they have sorted these things out somewhat. I dont need the added stress of dealing with shabby manufacturing,especially if I'm on one of the many lonely,no cell signal, Forest Svc roads in my area.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

after spending time on this excellent forum

OK, but keep what you're reading here in perspective. We have 8,000+ members, and only a very small percentage of them are posting serious issues. Juxtaposed with the logged NHTSA complaints (and the number of JL's sold so far), I'd argue that very few people are actually having issues with their JL's. Granted, the defective steering box one is really awful, but overall I'd say your odds for being happy with your truck are quite good. I'm more afraid of being hit by a bus than my steering box being defective.

That said, 2019 is not a bad idea if you don't mind the mild-hybrid (BSG) and a steeper price. Surely the steering box will be recalled and resolved by then, and maybe they'll start seating the damn fuses at the factory.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

If I’ve learned anything in my brief time here on the Jeep forum, it’s that something like this shouldn’t be considered a gremlin, it’s a feature. Why would anyone want a fully assembled ready to use vehicle, when you could just as easily have so many things that you get to finish/repair/ fix/adjust for yourself! Toyota doesn’t allow you to be a part of the final assembly process of your new vehicle like Jeep does! They should charge you extra for the hands on experience they are providing. It’s a Jeep thing!

 

[cbr954]

If I’ve learned anything in my brief time here on the Jeep forum, it’s that something like this shouldn’t be considered a gremlin, it’s a feature. Why would anyone want a fully assembled ready to use vehicle, when you could just as easily have so many things that you get to finish/repair/ fix/adjust for yourself! Toyota doesn’t allow you to be a part of the final assembly process of your new vehicle like Jeep does! They should charge you extra for the hands on experience they are providing. It’s a Jeep thing!

Lol, don't give them any ideas

 

[old8tora]

If I’ve learned anything in my brief time here on the Jeep forum, it’s that something like this shouldn’t be considered a gremlin, it’s a feature. Why would anyone want a fully assembled ready to use vehicle, when you could just as easily have so many things that you get to finish/repair/ fix/adjust for yourself! Toyota doesn’t allow you to be a part of the final assembly process of your new vehicle like Jeep does! They should charge you extra for the hands on experience they are providing. It’s a Jeep thing!

Very wry and clever , you are .

 

[old8tora]

I dont need the added stress of dealing with shabby manufacturing,especially if I'm on one of the many lonely,no cell signal, Forest Svc roads in my area.

Especially with the track bar breaking off at the weld issue ; that's why you will pay an extra $ 10K added on gouge price .

 

[Jkohler]

I finally remembered to check my fuses and relays the other day. I don't think even one was seated properly

 

[Jeepsterfreak]

I finally remembered to check my fuses and relays the other day. I don't think even one was seated properly

Oh geez. Jeep should be paying you guys to inspect and QC your own vehicles. Good thing Jeep raised the msrp by $500 after the third month of production. New owners should start seeing checks in the mail any day now.

I read you should also check the 10mm nuts on the PCM and the ground terminal nuts.

 

[Hootbro]

OK, but keep what you're reading here in perspective. We have 8,000+ members, and only a very small percentage of them are posting serious issues. Juxtaposed with the logged NHTSA complaints (and the number of JL's sold so far), I'd argue that very few people are actually having issues with their JL's. Granted, the defective steering box one is really awful, but overall I'd say your odds for being happy with your truck are quite good. I'm more afraid of being hit by a bus than my steering box being defective.

That said, 2019 is not a bad idea if you don't mind the mild-hybrid (BSG) and a steeper price. Surely the steering box will be recalled and resolved by then, and maybe they'll start seating the damn fuses at the factory.

You cannot extrapolate vehicle issue data from a forum membership number count. I have done membership analytics on a couple of forums in the past that had approximately 20K-30K members. What I found was that over 50% never post and 75% of members will have 10 posts or less in their lifetime. That left a 25% of the membership filling out the remaining posting of a board with a hyper 3% doing almost most of the daily posting on a given subject. Most members join to just lurk with most of those for the marketplace and have no visible presence on a given forum. I would bet percentages are no different here.

 

[NewyJeep]

This post just made my day! I picked up my 2019 JL wrangler last week and the USB-1 port would keep disconnecting reconnecting the charger on my phone. CarPlay would connect and disconnect from usb-2 but charge.
I saw this post after setting up an appointment with the dealer, so I ran out to take a look.

EVERY SINGLE FUSE WAS LOOSE!
Pushed them all in and everything appears to be working.

Going to drive around tomorrow and see how it all works.

Thanks again guys!

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