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Improvements of JL by model year?

Jeepaddict76

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Traded my 18 JLUR for a 21 and noticed my new Jeep has added interior drip rail to minimize rain pouring in when front door is open. Also, ESS automatically disables if AC is on any level unlike my 18 which was only automatically disabled if it was on Max AC.

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Asuriyan

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My apologies, but i'm confused. It's my understanding from reading this forum that FCA does not give a rat's ass about quality, customers and improving their products.
That seems to be true of most dealerships, and occasionally of the assembly QC process, but there are clearly some engineers working on the Wrangler that take serious pride in it.

Great information!

It's great to hear there have been running improvements for road noise, handing, fit and finish.

What did the steel steering box improve? The wondering? Was it a significant improvement?
The retrofit brought my old one pretty close to the way my new one handles, but the bump steer effect is noticeably less prominent on my '21. It's enough that I've wondered if they underfilled the steering fluid when they did the replacement. The shocks feel stiffer and more responsive, too, which may be part of it.

I daily drove a YJ once upon a time, so even the launch-day JL was pretty tolerable to me, but it's sure nice not to have to fight the wheel so much at 65MPH.

Traded my 18 JLUR for a 21 and noticed my new Jeep has added interior drip rail to minimize rain pouring in when front door is open. Also, ESS automatically disables if AC is on any level unlike my 18 which was only automatically disabled if it was on Max AC.
Hey, nice Jeep. I did the same thing... What color did you trade in?
 

Chupacabra

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There are many reports of poor back-up camera visibility at night without a lot of ambient lighting. My back-up camera at night is poor at best if there is no other ambient lighting.
I've never had a backup camera that was very good at night (I go through cars quickly). I did change out my incandescent bulbs in back for LEDs, including the backup light. That helped a little bit, at least it's somewhat tolerable.

What really helped where the LED brake bulbs. They are so damn bright that if I hit them at night, I can see everything behind me for quite a ways, it's just everything is red :)
 

Chupacabra

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Traded my 18 JLUR for a 21 and noticed my new Jeep has added interior drip rail to minimize rain pouring in when front door is open. Also, ESS automatically disables if AC is on any level unlike my 18 which was only automatically disabled if it was on Max AC.
Hmmm. I'm positive my '21 ESS has kicked on with AC running (using Auto mode anyway). I'll have to pay closer attention as it gets warmer to see if that's the case for sure.
 
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viper88

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I've never had a backup camera that was very good at night (I go through cars quickly). I did change out my incandescent bulbs in back for LEDs, including the backup light. That helped a little bit, at least it's somewhat tolerable.

What really helped where the LED brake bulbs. They are so damn bright that if I hit them at night, I can see everything behind me for quite a ways, it's just everything is red :)
Go check out the back-up camera and 8.4" infotainment on a 2021 Grand Cherokee. It's excellent.

Getting more lighting back there definitely helps the back-up camera.
 

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SilverSurfer

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Changes I noticed:

They now offer an auto 4WD option with the Rubicon Rock trac transfer case.
-A big part of why I went Sahara in 2019 was for the Selec trac auto 4wd. The auto 4WD has been available on the Rubicon in europe for some time. (possibly from the beginning)
Correct, I have a RHD 2018 JLR with the rock-trac transfer case (4:1) and the AWD Auto option. It also has front park distance control sensors that I believe the LHD versions do not have - It is a PITA because finding an off road bumper is almost impossible and the Mopar steel front bumper is not an option (You would not be able to remove the end caps).
 

dgoodhue

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If you get the auto transmission The V6 is now the upcharge engine and comes with E-torque. The traditional V6 with ESS only comes on the manual transmission now.
Per the May Order Guide this has changed. You can now order the V6 automatic with ESS (not the Rubicon) or the V6 auto with etorque.
 

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I can say that Jeep virtually made 4L inoperative/unusable on many 2021 Rubicons... mine included.
 

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MallBrawler

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viper88

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Per the May Order Guide this has changed. You can now order the V6 automatic with ESS (not the Rubicon) or the V6 auto with etorque.
Not sure of how updated the Jeep site is. 2.0T ESS is no charge on a automatic Rubicon. There is a up charge for the 3.6 and eTorque is required.
 

JeepTime

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Per the May Order Guide this has changed. You can now order the V6 automatic with ESS (not the Rubicon) or the V6 auto with etorque.
well weā€™ll thanks for the update on that! Wonder why not the rubicon. Iā€™m about to place an order on a rubicon and trade my in and would love the V6 non-torque again. On the non-rubicon what was the cost on the non- e torque V6 with automatic (besides the charge of the transmission?)
 

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Mostly due to mods, recalls and TSBs done on my Jeep; hereā€™s what I know about:
The interior dome lamp on the 2018s only lights the center lamp with door openings; 2019&up lights the center lamp and all four map lamps with door openings.
The early track bar was upgraded to address some steering issues. The early steering damper was replaced with one that wouldnā€™t lock up at low temperatures. As others mentioned, the steel steering box corrected excessive steering wheel play and wander that was an issue with the earlier aluminum steering box.
Fuel line shields were added so a manual transmission JL is less likely to burn to the ground if the clutch explodes.
If memory serves, the 5ā€ infotainment screen and mechanical dash indicators were no longer in use for the ā€˜21 Sport models.

The noisy radiator fan (software fix?) was one early issue that somehow missed my JL...
 

Sol

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Anyone own more than one model year and notice improvements?
Donā€™t know if this is a year-to-year improvement or if it is a model upgrade: The wifeā€™s ā€˜20 Willys has denser carpet with heavier backing than my ā€˜18 Sport
 

Jeepaddict76

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That seems to be true of most dealerships, and occasionally of the assembly QC process, but there are clearly some engineers working on the Wrangler that take serious pride in it.



The retrofit brought my old one pretty close to the way my new one handles, but the bump steer effect is noticeably less prominent on my '21. It's enough that I've wondered if they underfilled the steering fluid when they did the replacement. The shocks feel stiffer and more responsive, too, which may be part of it.

I daily drove a YJ once upon a time, so even the launch-day JL was pretty tolerable to me, but it's sure nice not to have to fight the wheel so much at 65MPH.



Hey, nice Jeep. I did the same thing... What color did you trade in?

Thank you! I traded in 2018 Punk'n JLUR, 6 cyl, 6 spd for Sarge Green, 4 cyl turbo with Auto transmission.
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