Jeep Apologists

[jedisrus]

Granted I have only had my JL for two months today but it is my daily driver and I have taken it on two road trips, but I have not had any of those issues. And as far as I know, the only one that was widespread enough to warrant attention from FCA is the issue with the welds.

I am very happy with my JL and have found it to be just as reliable and even more fun than the 2017 Civic Hatchback it replaced.

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[American Adventurist]

My JL is quite an improvement over my 2012 JK!

Infotainment software bugs? Nope
Death wobble: None
Cracking "windscreens"? Huh?
Leaky roof panels? Not on my JL
Poor chassis welds? Nada...

You're experiencing all of these issues with yours, or just spouting off issues that others have had? If so, sounds like you have yourself a lemon.

This

 

[jeepmikey]

Of 4 Wranglers, and this being my 3rd rubicon I just hit 5K miles on odometer. Since hitting 5K miles:

- Dampener replaced, now going into Jeep for 3rd time to try to fix death wobble with new control arms, track bar and aftermarket dampener

- 2 cracked windshields

- Multiple body gaps

- 2 blown speakers


There are other issues as well, those being the main in the past 2 dealer visits. Before my JLUR, I never once set foot in a Jeep dealership for service except when I did OPDA replacement on my 05 Rubicon and needed a part.

 

[CypressWrangler]

OP, you got to admit they have come a long way from when they were first imported in your AO.

 

[jeepmikey]

OP, you got to admit they have come a long way from when they were first imported in your AO.

I think the point is at these price points - the quality SHOULD be better. BMW, Porsche etc all have their issues but with sticker on my JLUR being $52K - it's hard to not think about the fact that I could have gotten a used Cayenne GTS with less than 20K miles on it for same price or just slightly more...

...I may also be bias based on the fact I'm going into service for the 4th time in 6 weeks.

 

[plex]

Infotainment system bug: this is pretty much across board for every FCA products using uConnect, a simple reset will fix 99.99% issues.
Cracked windshield: it is part of the design to have nearly 0 rake windshield. FCA can't fix physics.
Death wobble: bump steer shimmy was exaggerated by many people who never drive solid axle.
Leaky panels: the JL water managements are much better than JK and other convertibles, that is the tradeoff to have removable roofs.
Poor weld: it was a small batch during a specific range of date.

 

[jeepmikey]

Infotainment system bug: this is pretty much across board for every FCA products using uConnect, a simple reset will fix 99.99% issues.
Cracked windshield: it is part of the design to have nearly 0 rake windshield. FCA can't fix physics.
Death wobble: bump steer shimmy was exaggerated by many people who never drive solid axle.
Leaky panels: the JL water managements are much better than JK and other convertibles, that is the tradeoff to have removable roofs.
Poor weld: it was a small batch during a specific range of date.

As stated earlier - there are plenty of solid axle vehicles without the death wobble issues. If it’s an over exaggeration, I welcome anyone that thinks so to take my JLUR and drive it down the FDR where I drive once a week and tell me what color their knuckles are after doing so.

 

[Jondrew]

Just noticed OP has an '18 - might explain some of the issues...

So am I. and have none of those issues.

 

[Jondrew]

So am I. and have none of those issues.

Oh wait, does he have a MOAB?

 

[Paluss]

So, at the risk of upsetting...well pretty much everyone...who else will admit to being a Jeep apologist?

To explain, I do love my JL, I love how it handles the snow, I love how it looks, I like the utilitarian vibe, I tell people how good it is...but in my heart I also know that it really should be better. Sure there are compromises which are to be expected - it's not going to ride or steer as well as other cars because it has a ladder chassis and live axles, it's going to be noisier if it has a removable top etc...these are all fair compromises for a car which is so capable off road and that you can take the doors and roof off etc. Fuel consumption is going to be bad if it has the shape of a brick - fair enough.

But what really frustrates me are the things which really should be better. The software in the entertainment/navigation system is a joke, these things shouldn't crash and have bugs like this. The death wobble has no place on a modern car (don't tell me it's inevitable because it has live solid axles, the Mercedes G glass has these and no death wobble). Cracking windscreens, leaky roof panels, poor chassis welding etc...it's just plain wrong. It just gives off the feeling that the engineers, production and designers took the view that just about good enough was all they needed to do rather than actually put the effort, care, engineering and work in to make it a really good car, the car it should be.

So I'll hold my hand up - I'm a Jeep apologist, I say it's great but in my heart I know that really it should be better than it is.

MB Gclass no longer has live axle in the front it is IFS....

 

[PowerGuy]

Think it’s bad in the Jeep world, should spend some tome in the Tacoma world. Toyota is finally starting to upgrade some due to all the new competition in the market. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my Taco’s.

 

[Jondrew]

Meh...the OP is in France. What do we expect?

Stinky cheese?

 

[CanAmMick]

We’ve had our Jeep since June! Like a lot of others we have a cracked windshield, in two different places now. Goes onto the shop next month for hail damage and windshield replacement. No other problems. It’s a great vehicle. Just hope it stays that way for many years to come.

 

[jljeepster]

So, at the risk of upsetting...well pretty much everyone...who else will admit to being a Jeep apologist?

To explain, I do love my JL, I love how it handles the snow, I love how it looks, I like the utilitarian vibe, I tell people how good it is...but in my heart I also know that it really should be better. Sure there are compromises which are to be expected - it's not going to ride or steer as well as other cars because it has a ladder chassis and live axles, it's going to be noisier if it has a removable top etc...these are all fair compromises for a car which is so capable off road and that you can take the doors and roof off etc. Fuel consumption is going to be bad if it has the shape of a brick - fair enough.

But what really frustrates me are the things which really should be better. The software in the entertainment/navigation system is a joke, these things shouldn't crash and have bugs like this. The death wobble has no place on a modern car (don't tell me it's inevitable because it has live solid axles, the Mercedes G glass has these and no death wobble). Cracking windscreens, leaky roof panels, poor chassis welding etc...it's just plain wrong. It just gives off the feeling that the engineers, production and designers took the view that just about good enough was all they needed to do rather than actually put the effort, care, engineering and work in to make it a really good car, the car it should be.

So I'll hold my hand up - I'm a Jeep apologist, I say it's great but in my heart I know that really it should be better than it is.

So 2018 JLR here. It's my daily driver for about 500 to 700 per week and have had it since November 2018. None of the issues mentioned above. It's been a blast in the snow, on the trails and going 90 down the expressway.

 

[Maximusdafarmer]

I am somewhere in the middle of this. I love my Jeep. I do feel it is an improvement from the JK, and I agree many of the complaints are people who have never driven a vehicle like this before.

I have had a cracked windshield, not a huge deal and like previously stated, there is basically no rake. It happens.

I have found the infotainment to be glitchy and overall fairly underwhelming, but it is not enough to really bother me.

What I am truly frustrated with is Jeep service. I work offshore, so in owning the Jeep for about 9 months and being able to drive for about 4 of those months, it has been at the dealer for damn near two of those months while I was home. Now, the issues that brought me in are not what most people are experiencing, but the service for my warranty claims has been extremely slow.

Overall happy, but definitely room for improvement.

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