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Is the JL the worst Jeep ever?

fun2drive

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I have learned the hard way to not be a beta tester for the car manufacturers. 2007 BMW E93 cost me more to keep going then all my 12 previous BMW’s combined and I did all the work myself except for walnut blasting water pump replacement. Sorry to hear your issues but this problem never goes away. 1974 Chevy Malibu SS which would go dead. I mean dead as in nothing. Imagine 9 pm at night and the car dies on the interstate and you coast to the side of the road no lights brakes except manual etc. I think I would ask for a meeting with the general manager of the dealership. Failing that posting on FB might be a good idea too. Again man best of luck been there twice before. Maxcare for my current JGC and CPO for my 15 Sahara JKU while I love.
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tawsenior

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I have a 2018 JL 2Door Sport that was built is September of 2018 and I have had zero issues with almost 40K miles on it. I offroad frequently and have driven it across the country. I know there are people having issues, but it may have to do with when it was manufactured as much as anything else.
 

aeonixx1001

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Other than oil changes and tire rotations (I get for free) not one trip to the shop. I am quite happy with my Jeep.... In fact I love that little F*&^%$er
 

Tintin

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At first I thought your subject heading was just going to be click bait but I was wrong.

I too bought a new JL Rubicon 2020 last month and have driven it less than 40 minutes in total. It died weekend one and died weekend two.

dealer said water in connectors, faulty BCM and then faulty wiring harness. In short it appears to me the dealerships are Ill-equipped to deal with these newer tech heavy cars.
I also think Jeep have failed to provide diagnostic codes and scanners which enable root-cause determination.

as a result our cars don’t go, and FCA gets a bad rap.

Jeep got involved and offered me my money back or a new car, so I took the new car offer. It turns up tomorrow.

truely hoping for some trouble free motoring going forward.
 

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Ronnie772

Ronnie772

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Jeep got involved and offered me my money back or a new car, so I took the new car offer. It turns up tomorrow.
Thanks Tintin. I also now have Jeep involved and hopefully they will be able to do something to help the dealership get my car fixed. Unlike yours though, mine was pre-owned, so it's unlikely they will offer me a new car. Even if I get my money back, the money I spent on wheels and a lift, plus two months of interest on the financing, will put me in the hole pretty badly.
 

nwhunter

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my wife has a 2018 jl and in 40,000 miles other than steering it has been a good rig. I had the replacement steering box installed and it went from a 4 to a 6 but is still not any better driver than a 1960 pickup. We have the 3.6 and the automatic. Her previous rig was a 2016 Cherokee with the 2 liter and I knew we didn't want that. But she loves her JL, if she's happy I'm happy.
 

Black Jeep Convertible

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JL is the best Wrangler ever! I never wanted the JK, because it was so ancient and outdated.
 

Ray Pezzi

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This is my first post here. It's my first post because I've not had much time with my JL.

Within a week of buying a certified pre-owned 2018 Sahara it died. I was driving down the highway when all power was lost, the dash started displaying every possible malfunction warning and I barely made it to the side of the interstate where I sat with my wife and 2-year-old son without even my 4-way emergency flashers working! It was an incredibly scary and dangerous experience.

I had it towed back to the dealership from where I purchased it and it's been there since. That was 6 weeks ago!!! Since then it has sat at the dealership, leaving me with nothing but frustration and a car payment.

Initially the tech thought it was a body control module, after replacing that didn't work, they said it required an ignition control module to pair with the new BCM. After that didn't work they told me the replacement BCM was defective and they needed to swap it again. After that didn't work they said it could be a wiring harness, but it turned out to not be that either.

When the shop threw up their hands, they opened what's called a "Star Case". That entails the local technician emailing an engineer at FCA who responds within 24-48 hours. The local technician will try the step suggested by the engineer, email the result back, and within another 24-48 hours will get the next step. The technician will then try turning the screw the other way and 24-48 hours later will come the next suggestion. That went on for a couple of weeks, when they apparently escalated it to a "Level 2" engineer for more back and forth.

The local technician tells me he barely touches my car. He gets a response every day or two, does what it says, reports back, and then waits another day or two for the next response. He's in the same position as he's been for more than a month, not even knowing what's wrong with the car, and this tedious process FCA has for diagnosing problems with their vehicles has taken me from regretting my decision to outright hating the Jeep brand.

In addition to the "Star Case" the service department opened, I called FCA and got assigned a Case Manager who I follow up with every few days but who hasn't really been able to do much in moving the process along.

Notably, before this one I had a 2014 JKU, immediately before that a 2007 JKU and a couple decades ago I had a TJ. I have been very loyal to Jeep, so it really pains me that the latest iteration of the Wrangler is anything but the durable and reliable car I expected and is instead such a complicated mess that even their own technicians can't fix them.

I'm reaching out to the community to ask what more I can possibly do and to see if you agree that the JL is the worst Jeep ever.
Well, I can't answer the question of whether it's the worst Jeep ever, but of the many, many cars and trucks I've owned over the course of my life, it's probably the least reliable. Mine's going bye-bye soon, even though I'll be taking a heck of a bath on something that's 1.5 years old with only 5,200 miles. I'd like to be able to drive down the road again without worrying about whether the screen, interior lights and gauges are going to suddenly black out again, or whether the screen will go solid blue and the climate controls won't even respond to the knobs....or whether it'll even start up the next time I shut it off.
The funny thing is that when I bought my Jeep, I traded in a 2013 Toyota Tacoma that I'd become pretty bored with. Put the key in the ignition, start it up, and everything worked perfectly -- day in and day out for 6+ years. Similar experience with a 2000 Toyota 4Runner Limited that I bought new and drove for 90,000 miles: zero problems.
I love the way my Jeep looks and I can live with the wandering steering - we've got a nice plush Lincoln Nautilus for our comfortable long-distance cruiser. The Jeep was just supposed to be a fun vehicle to throw the dogs in and go for a hike in the woods. We used to have an old Honda Element that had about 1/10 the style and functionality of my Jeep....but with none of the problems, either. I'd buy another Element in a heartbeat for my official dog-walking vehicle if they still made them.
Oh well, back to something reliable for me!

Jeep Wrangler JL Is the JL the worst Jeep ever? Window Sticker
Jeep Wrangler JL Is the JL the worst Jeep ever? IMG_20201220_110822101
Jeep Wrangler JL Is the JL the worst Jeep ever? IMG_20201219_110638041_HDR
 

Dcleblanc

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I've owned every generation of the Wrangler since the YJ and I still argue the early model JKs were the worst ever made. The ones I owned all had major problems well before 10,000 miles. However, the service techs employed by Chrysler have managed to become increasingly worthless throughout the years.



This sounds like a battery issue...



...and what a surprise. They didn't even bother starting there.
Completely agree, this is for sure a battery issue. Both batteries need to be replaced.
 

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Iggy

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My JLU is a 2018 Certified used Sport model. It has no electric anything like windows or locks which I admit to be more of a pain than I thought it would be.

The reason for buying a Sport was because the 2017 Grand Cherokee Limited I purchased a few months before I traded it in on the 2018 JLU ... did the exact same thing that happened to you with your Sahara. Mine died on my driveway and was towed away. I feel for you. I blamed the amount of electronics stuffed into each new vehicle for being beyond the QA systems of the OEMs.

Just because some electronic gadget comes on a Mercedes or Lexus doesn't mean it should be on a Jeep or a Ford or a Chevy. The US OEMs don't seem to have the same executive commitment to engineering and QA depth as foreign OEMs. The US OEM marketing departments seem to have too much say in what gets into rushed into production. Ergo: electronic Godzillas!!

And next week I'm taking my JLU in for its 6th steering-related inspection/shrugged shoulders/try to blame the owner/don't know/can't say customer service extravaganza.
 

gschones

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I have bought several new Wranglers. I love the JL but I have had more trouble with my 2018 than any other car I have ever owned. I have been to the service dept. so many times that I am getting to know those guys pretty well. I have had to be towed in and had to video several of the problems so they were documented. I am in the process of shopping for a 2021 and hope the bugs are worked out. I hope all the people on this forum who say they are first in line for the new 4XE electric Jeep are paying attention. I will probably buy a 2021 JL but would not even entertain the idea of buying a 4XE. I have one person in the 4XE chat on this site respond to me that the Chrysler Pacifica has been using that same technology so it has to be reliable. I am still shaking my head over that one.
 

Mgdstar

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That is why I now only buy new vehicles. NO new vehicle is perfect but you have the warranty to get you through for a while with a lemon until you can get some sucker to buy and think they are getting a great deal.
 
 



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