FYI - JLU Rubicon Major Issues / Total Failure / Safety Concern

[TexasBrit]

So we picked up our new JLU Rubicon a few weeks ago and were so excited to have one of the first JL's.

A great car, with so many improvements...... and then around 1500 miles were left stranded in the middle of the street.

Being Jeep owners for many years we were devastated.

We love the new design, ride and vehicle overall, but this has given us a major concern over the reliability and safety of the vehicle.

From no where the car died, wipers started, the dash lit up like a christmas tree and the gear shifter, brakes and steering were unresponsive. The only saving grace being that we were on a quiet street and no going at any speed. I would hate to think what would happen if we were on the freeway and the same thing had happened.

The Jeep had to be taken away on a flatbed and has been with the dealer for the last 3 weeks, with no signs of a solution, and I can only hope that FCA do the right thing to resolve as they seem to have done with other "unlucky" owners / early adopters.

Love the new Jeep but I cannot risk the lives of my family, and others on the roads if this were to happen again.

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[That One Guy]

Did the brakes and steering still function on some partial level, or did those systems undergo TOTAL failure?

Sorry to hear of your experience.

Were you given a loaner or some kind of compensation to having a vehicle you're paying off out of commission for several weeks?

 

[TexasBrit]

My wife was driving at the time, and I was in the passenger seat. The steering, and brakes become stiff and she had trouble pulling to the side of the road. We couldn't turn off the lights, or the wipers, start or stop the engine. Turned into a brick.

Dealer has been good so far and we have a loaner which is appreciated but a real disappointment for a brand new Jeep

 

[Fuel Fire Desire]

I had something similar happen to me, though I haven't been able to recreate the issue in 6000mi since.


I was on cruise control set at 27 (on a busy and heavily patrolled 25mph road so I don't wind up doing more than 5 over). I came up to a steep railroad crossing thats known to be rough. While starting up the short steep hill I tap the "-" button twice to set 25mph. On the tracks the dash lit up, and "shifter not in park" popped up in the message center. I tap "cancel" on the cruise control, roll down the short hill, and give it a little gas.....nothing. The jeep is just coasting now. RPM's read zero, so I turned into a shopping complex to the right. Steering and brakes felt ok, but all I did was turn 90 degrees and come to an immediate stop. I put the shifter in park, with no change to the christmas lights and message. I hit the start/ stop selector, wait a few seconds, then restart. No issue since then.

My Uconnect will randomly go black and restart on its own after 10 seconds too. Typically over large bumps or big deep puddles at speed. It would also show my position on apple maps in car play on the other side of the state at random, giving me erroneous directions on roads Im nowhere near (just on apple maps, I don't have nav).

I bring the last two things up, because I haven't seen those issues recently. I doubt the jeep "healed" itself, but its more likely an over-the-air update occurred some time ago, and many of these weird computer issues have gone away since. Only ever so often does the connect go black anymore, and no issues with anything else. I think FCA is blasting out updates over the air on a regular basis to try and patch some of these issues.

 

[TexasBrit]

The biggest concern was that the vehicle did not fail safely, and that this affected the brakes and steering.

Also any amount of pushing the start / stop selector had no effect - We ended up with a crowd of helpful passers by gather around the car, with numerous comments that it was as if the car had a mind of its own.

 

[Fuel Fire Desire]

The biggest concern was that the vehicle did not fail safely, and that this affected the brakes and steering.

Also any amount of pushing the start / stop selector had no effect - We ended up with a crowd of helpful passers by gather around the car, with numerous comments that it was as if the car had a mind of its own.

Did it feel like the steering was "locked" (like mentioned in another thread)? Or did it feel like the vehicle lost power steering and brakes?


When mine failed, my electric steering was still active, and the brakes had enough vacuum pressure left in the booster for one complete application to a full stop since I was already going so slow and stopped right after the failure. So it was by no means as severe as yours.

 

[KillaRubi]

Were you using cruise control?

 

[tcadaniel]

Three weeks and no solution is really concerning. Sorry to hear about this, hopefully they will get it figured out.

 

[kkuntz01]

The biggest concern was that the vehicle did not fail safely, and that this affected the brakes and steering.

How did it not fail safely? Let's be honest, you won't find any vehicle manufactured in the last 50 plus years or so that would react any differently when the engine stalls. The steering is power assist driven hydraulically off of a pump on the engine as well as electrically if I understand the new system correctly while the brakes are require vacuum from a engine that is running.

I understand being upset that you're brand new vehicle crapped out. I'd be ticked off too to have a vehicle so new be laid up for as long as it has been laid up, however it's an overstatement to try and claim it didn't fail safely because the steering and the brakes were stiff because the vehicle stalled out.

 

[buried20kleague]

How did it not fail safely? Let's be honest, you won't find any vehicle manufactured in the last 50 plus years or so that would react any differently when the engine stalls. The steering is power assist driven hydraulically off of a pump on the engine as well as electrically if I understand the new system correctly while the brakes are require vacuum from a engine that is running.

I understand being upset that you're brand new vehicle crapped out. I'd be ticked off too to have a vehicle so new be laid up for as long as it has been laid up, however it's an overstatement to try and claim it didn't fail safely because the steering and the brakes were stiff because the vehicle stalled out.

this.

 

[TexasBrit]

I would say not this, but ok, hopefully will learn more and update for those who may be interested.

 

[TexasBrit]

And in response - no we were not using cruise control

 

[digitalbliss]

While reading this I was thinking, every vehicle I've ever had that crapped out on me while driving gets hard to steer and brakes get weak, for the exact reasons @kkuntz01 mentioned above.

 

[TexasBrit]

Well I was hopeful to provide a data point for other owners if they were unlucky enough to experience the same issue, I am sure it will get sorted one way or another.

Thanks all

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

While reading this I was thinking, every vehicle I've ever had that crapped out on me while driving gets hard to steer and brakes get weak, for the exact reasons @kkuntz01 mentioned above.

So... I was 16. Licensed for maybe a month. Parents out of town. On way home with my best friend and a case of beer in the trunk; our girlfriends waiting for our return. It’s about 9:30 at night in July. We don’t want my dorky next door neighbor to hear us drive in and crash our soirée, so I decide to pull a slick movie trick I’d seen - I turned the car off while pulling into my driveway so we’d have no headlights wouldn’t be heard. It’s important to mention, here, that the driveway sloped downhill at a 45 degree angle. It was maybe 35 feet long. Beyond the end of the driveway the lawn was maybe 25 yards until reaching the neighbor’s fence.

What did I learn? Two things: 1) power steering and brakes don’t work when the car (any car) isn’t running, and 2) I picked a good friend - he quickly realized my mistake and yanked up the handbrake before we careened off the end of the driveway and down the hill into the neighbor’s house.

Sorry for your breakdown, @TexasBrit. Hopefully it’s just a bad relay or something.

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