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How reliable is the new 3.6l? is it straight out of the gc?

offcamber

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Source? Last thing I read was that this problem affected 1/2 of 1 percent of jeeps. On top of that years 11-13 had the warranty extended for the head... after the affected years, the head defect was fixed and to my knowledge there haven't been any problems.
Radiator on the other hand I totally get as I know tons of people that go off roading and never empty their radiators like they should.
It's way higher than 1%. At the time I bought mine I complained about the ticking which is indicative of the issue. The service manager took me out and we started 3 of the 4 2012s they had on the lot. They all had the tick and i was told that was normal. It wasn't until my head failed the 3rd time and it was replaced with a non defective head that I realized the bad valve was the source of the tick for sure. I've known a lot of other members of my club that also had bad heads. A service manager told me the lady time I had the head replaced that it was something like 20% at least of 2012s and early 2015s. 2011s were not affected.

As for the radiator, you do realize the service intervals for changing the coolant is 102000 miles? There is no reason to change it according to the factory. It's a closed system so it's not like wheeling is going to affect that
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stuckonjeeps

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LIMITED PROBLEMS? 40% of the 3.6's made for 2012 and early 2013 had faulty heads. I don't know that I'd say that was very limited. Add in the fact that all years have had problems with remnant casting sand left in the block to later clog up radiators and heaters, etc. My 2012 had the radiator, water pump and heater replaced at 43,000 miles and then had to have the radiator, water pump and oil cooler replaced at 92,000 miles. DO NOT BUY a 3.6L without getting extended warranty. It is definitely the cheaper way out.
Two Jk’s With about 60k miles each. Not one single issue with the engines. Just ordered a 2019 JL. Would love a hemi someday but only need it on the highway. Off-road the 3.6 is enough.
 

Biscuit

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It's way higher than 1%. A service manager told me ... that it was something like 20% at least of 2012s and early 2015s. 2011s were not affected.
You were asked for a source. Since when does hearsay (information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate) constitute a source? Furthermore, 20% is a lot less than the 40% you alleged in your first post.
 

VNT

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The 3.6 used now is not the old 3.6, has increased compression, two stage valve lift, new heads,and cooled EGR,different new rings, valve springs, new coatings etc

Seems to be decent engine, my freinds who are techs dont see many issues with the newer ones, old ones had the guide issue in one of the heads back in 2012 or so, would trigger the cell, changed many heads, but they corrected that, upped the warranty, and in any case the new PUG version in the JL is redesigned.

https://www.allpar.com/mopar/V6/PUG-2015.php
 

Chinarider

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Yeah....my 2012 JKU is at 102k miles & has had the heater core replaced twice, the radiator once, water pump once, oil pump once, and the starter once. Additionally (while not engine-related), the rear driveshaft just had to be replaced, seat heaters replaced, hvac seals replaced (that was a big job), and at one point the rear brakes were leaking fluid. Internally, though, the 3.6 has been fine.

And, yes, I got my 2018 JLUR with the 3.6 as well.

FWIW, I got the lifetime warranty for both vehicles at time of purchase. Best decision ever, but then again, I’ve had 7 Jeeps since 1979 & have come to know that for someone like me, who holds on to them for many years & miles, the initial cost more than pays for itself down the line.
 

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offcamber

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You were asked for a source. Since when does hearsay (information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate) constitute a source? Furthermore, 20% is a lot less than the 40% you alleged in your first post.
I can tell you when I got my 2012, it had a ticking noise which is the main symptom of the head issue. I took it to the dealer, they said it was normal. i disagreed. They had 7 2012's on the lot, the SM got the keys to them and we went out and started each of them. 5 out of the 7 had the ticking. That was their argument for it being normal. As folks in my club would buy the new JKs with the 3.6, i can't even estimate how many times I told someone that they had a bad head way before the CEL came on. More than half of the 2012's ticked and would later throw a CEL and need new heads. Hell mine was on it's 3rd head replacement when I traded it.
 

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I can tell you when I got my 2012, it had a ticking noise which is the main symptom of the head issue. I took it to the dealer, they said it was normal. i disagreed. They had 7 2012's on the lot, the SM got the keys to them and we went out and started each of them. 5 out of the 7 had the ticking. That was their argument for it being normal. As folks in my club would buy the new JKs with the 3.6, i can't even estimate how many times I told someone that they had a bad head way before the CEL came on. More than half of the 2012's ticked and would later throw a CEL and need new heads. Hell mine was on it's (sic) 3rd head replacement when I traded it.
And again, I can tell you that your anecdotal and second-hand tales don't pass muster. Jeep has sold just shy of 191,000 Wranglers, most of them with the 3.6L engine, in 2018 alone. By your reckoning of 20% to 40%, at least 20,000 to 40,000 of them must have defective engines.

I've owned five Pentastar-powered vehicles, all of them problem-free wrt the engine. All that proves is that I apparently had five good ones and you had one bad one.
 
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My 2013 JKU has 115 K miles on it. I changed the starter at around 90 K. other than oil changes at every five k with full synthetic, and all fluid changes before required ( my choice ) the engine runs like the day it pulled off the lot. Its daily driven, pulls trailers, and goes into chemical plants and refineries. Hunts deer, hogs and wheels on a very regular basis.

Our 2015 JKUR had a radiator change at 40 k, other than that it was flawless until it was T boned, flipped and buried. Got big faith in our 2018 JLUR to do well. Jeep on!
 

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I’ve got a 2018 JLUR V6, 8 speed auto, with 2700 miles on it. Having problems with #2 cylinder misfire. No idea yet if it’s something serious or simple as I’ve got to wait 10days before the service dept can get me in. There has been similar problems that were related to the rocker arms or pcu.
 

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I’ve got a 2018 JLUR V6, 8 speed auto, with 2700 miles on it. Having problems with #2 cylinder misfire. No idea yet if it’s something serious or simple as I’ve got to wait 10days before the service dept can get me in. There has been similar problems that were related to the rocker arms or pcu.
Hello Guast,

Before you go into service, let us know if you'd like an additional layer of assistance during the appointment. Our team is available by private message if needed.

Jasmine
Jeep Social Care Specialist
 

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I have gotten the impression the new 3.6l is right out of gc, so not new at all? this true, and if it is is there any bad issuessor reliablity probs with gc 3.6l?
Not the same. New block casting. Also I believe slightly higher compression. But paired with the 8 spd auto, the thing is a whole new animal!
 

AZ2017JKU

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I can tell you when I got my 2012, it had a ticking noise which is the main symptom of the head issue. I took it to the dealer, they said it was normal. i disagreed. They had 7 2012's on the lot, the SM got the keys to them and we went out and started each of them. 5 out of the 7 had the ticking. That was their argument for it being normal. As folks in my club would buy the new JKs with the 3.6, i can't even estimate how many times I told someone that they had a bad head way before the CEL came on. More than half of the 2012's ticked and would later throw a CEL and need new heads. Hell mine was on it's 3rd head replacement when I traded it.
This tick noise you hear is not a defective cylinder head it's the rollers on the rocker arms wearing and causing excessive play and you get a tick noise. The cylinder head would only be bad if you performed a leak down test and had over 25% leakage, you would know this was bad as you would have a bad misfire and CEL light for 2,4 or 6 cylinder. very few heads were actually bad and heads were replaced for no reason. Alot of so called mechanics just dont know as much as they think about this engine.. I see very few water pumps, oil pumps, radiators, etc::: i do see alot of oil cooler leaks, this seems to be a weak point that needs addressed better.. If we had access to a good aftermarket roller rocker arm like comp, lunati, etc. we could fix this rocker problem and if someone would make a good aluminum oil cooler and get rid of the plastic stuff this engine would be in the top of its class. as far as radiators go, yeah they leak, get a quality aftermarket one and be done with it..
 

Lou3.6

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I have gotten the impression the new 3.6l is right out of gc, so not new at all? this true, and if it is is there any bad issuessor reliablity probs with gc 3.6l?
After leafing thru all 27 posts . . . no-one has yet mentioned the "obvious" !? In mentioning the JL's, the G.C.'s and the RAM 1500 DT's, that all have the 3.6L - updated since 2016 - and associated 8 speed automatic, the "TUNING" of these are all different ! The RAM gets the 305hp-269lb/ft. The WK2/G.C. gets the 295hp-260lb/ft. The JL (only) gets the 285hp-260lb'ft.
And sadly the new Gladiator that weighs in at between 400 lbs > 600 lbs. more than the JL (depending on model) ONLY gets what the JL gets. Go figure .
 

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3.6 is a very reliable engine. They had some issues to work out when it first came out in 2012, but those issues were fixed under warranty + an extended warranty was given due to these issues for 2012/2013 JK owners. More importantly, the Wrangler Pentastar has had pretty much no issues since the 2013 model year which is a while ago now. That's far more telling then some issues when it first came out 7 years ago.
 

SecondTJ

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3.6 is a very reliable engine. They had some issues to work out when it first came out in 2012, but those issues were fixed under warranty + an extended warranty was given due to these issues for 2012/2013 JK owners. More importantly, the Wrangler Pentastar has had pretty much no issues since the 2013 model year which is a while ago now. That's far more telling then some issues when it first came out 7 years ago.
Eh, the notion of the 3.6 being very reliable is overblown. The JK has continued to have cylinder head/lifter issues into the 2017 model year. FCA never resolved the issue on the Gen 1 Pentastar. Hopefully they fixed it on Gen 2
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