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

[#HERJL18]

Wow... So Jeep has to definitely know about this issue if their have been other occurrences. The dealership told me they had a call into the head engineers at Jeep and they are trying to figure out what is wrong. I just saw another thread with a similar problem on a Sport JL. So it doesn't appear to be only the Rubicons either.

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[JeepCares]

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.

We had this EXACT same thing happen to our Jeep last Wednesday. I got a warning on my dash that said “stop safely, the vehicle will shut off soon.” I was able to get the vehicle back to my drive way cuz I was close to home. In the drive way, the windshield wipers came on and all the lights on the dash lit up. After that it just went completely dead. We had to have it towed to the dealership and it’s been there ever since.

Dealership called today and said it might be the fuse connectors that they said looked damaged. So they ordered new ones but they are not sure that will be the fix. I have a loaner 2dr JK but I want my brand new Jeep back.

Please let me know if you find out anything and I’ll let you know if the fuse replacement parts work.

Hi TexasBrit and #HERJL18,

We are terribly sorry to hear of this experience. We would like to offer additional assistance while your vehicle is in service. Please PM us with your VIN and mileage so that we can provide additional assistance while your vehicles are in service,

Darlene
Jeep Social Care Specialist

 

[TexasBrit]

Darlene,

I have sent a PM with the Vin number.

I do not have the exact mileage as I am without my vehicle, However I believe it was around 1500 miles when it was towed away.

The vehicle has been with the dealer for almost a month.


HERJL18

Sorry to hear you had issues too. By the sounds of it your jeep died completely, there was still power on our all the way on the tow and it kept "ruuning" lights / wipers etc, overnight at the dealers lot apparently - dead battery in the am.

So dissapointed for a new 55k jeep

 

[bearcat454]

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.

it sounds like you have a ground issue, or a loose wire. If it was me, I'd be reaching up and under the dash panels and jiggling wires till the issue happens, then marching down to the dealer and pointing fingers

 

[#HERJL18]

Good news... got my Jeep back and so far so good. They had to replace a bad 'Bus bar'. I am not technically savy, but it was explained as the part outside of the fuse box that distributes the power to where it needs to go. I'm hoping that this could help others with their random power issues. And everything was covered under warranty of course.

 

[RUSTYS]

When I bought my 2016 Lincoln MKX new the same kind of thing happened. I was getting onto the highway with a lot of traffic and as I merged on the car just shut off and I almost got killed by the semi behind me. I was able to get it off the road and turn the car off and then restarted it and went back home (the car switched into limp home mode). 20 minutes later it started right back up like nothing happened and the dealer never found anything.

 

[spiritrider1]

Hope there is a positive diagnosis and fix. I'd hate for this to be a random thing on random S/N vehicles. I'd rather have a recall to deal with than 'hope' it doesn't happen to me!
On another note, is there a steering lock on the JL?? Without a physical ignition module that typically engages the steering lock once the key is removed (and the wheel turned a bit), does shutting power off or losing power automatically engage a steering lock of some kind??

 

[Hbodo08]

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.

TexasBrit!

I am having the same issue. Driving 45mph up hill and i get a "service trans" message on the dash then the car died. Dealership has had mine for one week now. Chrysler sent a flash for the ecu for the trans and computer but ones that was updated they took it for a road test and it happened again. Talked to Chrysler today for a claim. Told them that this being my first Jeep (coming from a range rover past) i lost trust in the vehicle/brand and my family will not drive this jeep unless its completely replaced or bought back and i never want to see it again. My dealer is aware too and now we just wait. Tough to lease a new car like this with 1100 miles on it and then have to "trust" it for another 3 years. Anyone else feel my pain?

@JeepCares

 

[Hip2u77]

Hey all, I spent 7 years working at the Kansas City Ford Assembly Plant. We had 2 model changes in the time I was there. We hired a ton of new people in the time I was there. One thing I can say for sure is new model and new people = 10x more chances of dumb mistakes. Dumb mistakes like plugs, grommets, fuses, etc. not being seated / pushed in all the way. Some people are just not mechanically inclined and don't even realize they're not doing it correctly.

Anyway, the moral is try to check your JL over from top to bottom. Maybe that guy / girl that installed a certain ground screw doesn't realize he cross-threaded it. (I watched that happen with a main ground screw in the kick panel area of the Contours TONS of times.) The gun stopped turning so it must be tight, right? Nope, cross-threaded; the gun doesn't know the difference. The Jeep powered up when it was tested at the end of the line, but then you hit some RR tracks and everything goes nuts. That screw is tight but not tight against the frame / body. Think about a headlight that's out. A lot of times you can smack it and it will arc and work for a while. Over time those loose plugs / wires can work their way out and cause issues. Grab any connectors, wires, etc. and give them a light tug, try to move them around etc, as has been mentioned, check your fuses also.

 

[Vintage]

Darlene,

I have sent a PM with the Vin number.

I do not have the exact mileage as I am without my vehicle, However I believe it was around 1500 miles when it was towed away.

The vehicle has been with the dealer for almost a month.


HERJL18

Sorry to hear you had issues too. By the sounds of it your jeep died completely, there was still power on our all the way on the tow and it kept "ruuning" lights / wipers etc, overnight at the dealers lot apparently - dead battery in the am.

So dissapointed for a new 55k jeep

I had something very similar happen to me the day after I purchased my JLUR. Short version: I was stopped at a light in traffic, it went crazy, systems failed, told me it was unsafe and to pull over, brakes and steering went out, and then it died and would not restart, etc. Towed to Frisco Jeep (Texas) on a flatbed and then to Meador Jeep where I bought it. I lost my mind BTW.

A week later I had it back fixed - no problems since with 4k miles and 2 weekends off roading.

THE FIX: At first they thought, and it was in fact, a dead auxiliary battery. However, that was replaced and it happened again. AS IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME after quite a bit of tail chasing, there is a large/special fuse that is in the charging system, so even though the alternator was charging, the fuse had BLOWN and it was not allowing the AUX battery to charge. It seems that the little AUX battery wreaks havoc if it gets low or dies. Everything dies and is dependent on a 650ma battery. Weird, but true.

 

[NM Original]

THE FIX: At first they thought, and it was in fact, a dead auxiliary battery. However, that was replaced and it happened again. AS IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME after quite a bit of tail chasing, there is a large/special fuse that is in the charging system, so even though the alternator was charging, the fuse had BLOWN and it was not allowing the AUX battery to charge. It seems that the little AUX battery wreaks havoc if it gets low or dies. Everything dies and is dependent on a 650ma battery. Weird, but true.

Good to know.
I do need to find where all the fuses are. That was not on my pickup list. Glad I have the manual downloaded, time to RTFM.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[HardRock]

I had something very similar happen to me the day after I purchased my JLUR. Short version: I was stopped at a light in traffic, it went crazy, systems failed, told me it was unsafe and to pull over, brakes and steering went out, and then it died and would not restart, etc. Towed to Frisco Jeep (Texas) on a flatbed and then to Meador Jeep where I bought it. I lost my mind BTW.

A week later I had it back fixed - no problems since with 4k miles and 2 weekends off roading.

THE FIX: At first they thought, and it was in fact, a dead auxiliary battery. However, that was replaced and it happened again. AS IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME after quite a bit of tail chasing, there is a large/special fuse that is in the charging system, so even though the alternator was charging, the fuse had BLOWN and it was not allowing the AUX battery to charge. It seems that the little AUX battery wreaks havoc if it gets low or dies. Everything dies and is dependent on a 650ma battery. Weird, but true.

Crazy design - two batteries just to run that auto on/off feature. Its buried under the main battery too.

 

[HardRock]

TexasBrit!

I am having the same issue. Driving 45mph up hill and i get a "service trans" message on the dash then the car died. Dealership has had mine for one week now. Chrysler sent a flash for the ecu for the trans and computer but ones that was updated they took it for a road test and it happened again. Talked to Chrysler today for a claim. Told them that this being my first Jeep (coming from a range rover past) i lost trust in the vehicle/brand and my family will not drive this jeep unless its completely replaced or bought back and i never want to see it again. My dealer is aware too and now we just wait. Tough to lease a new car like this with 1100 miles on it and then have to "trust" it for another 3 years. Anyone else feel my pain?

@JeepCares

Worrisome. I got this vehicle for Overlanding - off the grid. Ain't no tow trucks out there...

 

[Jeepsterfreak]

Worrisome. I got this vehicle for Overlanding - off the grid. Ain't no tow trucks out there...

Way too many computers and sensors on this rig for that.

6 speed manual?

 

[Hbodo08]

Welllllllll....

Update on my Jeep - Dealer searched the vehicle over and over and did a road test again. Same scenario happened. After doing more wire tracing etc. they found that the ground had came off completely after hitting a bump so they replaced and bolted it down and the vehicle is running fine now. @Hip2u77 great call on what you said above. Maybe everyone should go and get theres looked at so this does not happen.

Now i only had it back for 2 hours so time will tell if this is the fix.

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