Jeep is Gone

[scottedontknow]

Soft top, radio, intermittent lockers, steering getting loose. Sounds like you are throwing the baby out with the bath water. Any of these could be simple fixes.

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[#1 for me]

Our Rubicon started out great with the exception of the soft top but we just lived with it. We were in Moab ,Badlands and a lot of other great trails with it and then when 40,000 miles hit all the problems started. I never take out extended warranties cause you shouldn’t have to a vehicle should go over 100,000 miles with no problem.
I felt bad when people got brand new Jeep’s and they couldn,t keep them on the road and all the other problems. Unfortunately we were having issues with the radio, the steering was getting way to loose, the lockers would work sometimes and sometimes not.
We did nothing extreme that this vehicle would have suffered damage from and that’s why I’m just amazed how poor the durability of these Jeeps are. We never really had problems with our JK but initially liked the JL better until the problems started.
So for now we’re going around in a Gmc Canyon and wait a few years to see how the Broncos hold up or a Raptor or maybe a Toyota.

I agree next time mines has problems it's gone too ! 1800 miles and at the Dealer 8 times . No more ! I'll order a C- 8 and be done

 

[Mabar]

Our Rubicon started out great with the exception of the soft top but we just lived with it. We were in Moab ,Badlands and a lot of other great trails with it and then when 40,000 miles hit all the problems started. I never take out extended warranties cause you shouldn’t have to a vehicle should go over 100,000 miles with no problem.
I felt bad when people got brand new Jeep’s and they couldn,t keep them on the road and all the other problems. Unfortunately we were having issues with the radio, the steering was getting way to loose, the lockers would work sometimes and sometimes not.
We did nothing extreme that this vehicle would have suffered damage from and that’s why I’m just amazed how poor the durability of these Jeeps are. We never really had problems with our JK but initially liked the JL better until the problems started.
So for now we’re going around in a Gmc Canyon and wait a few years to see how the Broncos hold up or a Raptor or maybe a Toyota.

I see that your Wrangler is a 2018 model, the first production year for the new JL.

For many, many years, purchasing lots of brand new vehicles (including four Wranglers), I have made it a personal policy NOT to purchase a new vehicle during the first year of any major re-design. The first year of any newly re-designed make/model always, ALWAYS has more bugs and more problems, then the same vehicle a couple of years later.

I just factory ordered a 2021, 2-door Rubicon. I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping that many of these "initial model year" bugs/problems have been worked out.

 

[aldo98229]

Soft top, radio, intermittent lockers, steering getting loose. Sounds like you are throwing the baby out with the bath water. Any of these could be simple fixes.

On the one hand, we pay luxury prices for these Wranglers. On the other, through widespread indifference and incompetence, dealers themselves make worse the frustration of owning a Jeep with quality problems.

So far my Jeep’s been absolutely trouble free through its first 12 months. But I’d be hard pressed to keep it past the warranty period if it starts acting up. I am at point in my life that I don’t want to spend my time doing endless “simple” fixes.

I love my Jeep, I enjoy it and have fun with it, but I am well aware of FCA’s blind eye when it comes to reliability and customer service. So I take it one day at a time.

 

[SleepEatJeepRepeat]

On the one hand, we pay luxury prices for these Wranglers. On the other, through widespread indifference and incompetence, dealers themselves make worse the frustration of owning a Jeep with quality problems.

So far my Jeep’s been absolutely trouble free through its first 12 months. But I’d be hard pressed to keep it past the warranty period if it starts acting up. I am at point in my life that I don’t want to spend my time doing endless “simple” fixes.

I love my Jeep, I enjoy it and have fun with it, but I am well aware of FCA’s blind eye when it comes to reliability and customer service. So I take it one day at a time.

I have to say, i am concerned about quality.. but the brand has been pretty good.. very easily the they offered an extended warranty for free once my vehicle started having problems.. then of course they are proceeding with they buy back, so i can get into another vehicle. Also my business partner on his Cherokee was 50k miles past warranty, and his engine blow and needed to be rebuilt, they stepped up and covered half the cost, even though the vehicle was out of warranty. I have to commend them for making things right, even if i would like to see them stop the problems from happening.

 

[aldo98229]

I have to say, i am concerned about quality.. but the brand has been pretty good.. very easily the they offered an extended warranty for free once my vehicle started having problems.. then of course they are proceeding with they buy back, so i can get into another vehicle. Also my business partner on his Cherokee was 50k miles past warranty, and his engine blow and needed to be rebuilt, they stepped up and covered half the cost, even though the vehicle was out of warranty. I have to commend them for making things right, even if i would like to see them stop the problems from happening.

That’s great to hear.

Much of your positive experience is due to your dealer. Dealers are in a position to make quality problems appear trivial or seem like the end of the world.

Unfortunately, the number of Jeep dealers that can be trusted to do the right thing is very small.

I trusted my Jeep dealer in Long Beach, CA. Three-and-half years later, I am still looking for a Jeep dealer I can trust here in NW WA.

 

[word302]

it seems that the more loaded the jeep is, the more likely it is to have issues. just from my observations of these threads.

Meh, mine has almost every option sans the automatic transmission and I've had 0 issues in 2 years.

 

[JJSix]

Had a JK for 2 years, no issues and now my JK for about 14 months. It's been a solid weekend Warrior, already up to 27k miles and wheeled through the Arizona rocks. I've only been into the dealer once and that was for the steering fix about 2 weeks ago. So if you have one, don't dispair, there are solid builds out there!

 

[SleepEatJeepRepeat]

Had a JK for 2 years, no issues and now my JK for about 14 months. It's been a solid weekend Warrior, already up to 27k miles and wheeled through the Arizona rocks. I've only been into the dealer once and that was for the steering fix about 2 weeks ago. So if you have one, don't dispair, there are solid builds out there!

ya I had a for 4 years and never had an issue, and 2 grand Cherokees no issues.. by jlu is a piece of rubbish

 

[jonahgetz]

it seems that the more loaded the jeep is, the more likely it is to have issues. just from my observations of these threads.

I noticed the same.

Modern cars are advanced with the latest tech = more moving parts to quality check.

Fingers crossed on my gutted base model Sport.

At least I know the electrical windows won't break... And if I ever have a problem with the lockers not engaging it might be because I can't find the button...

 

[TheRaven]

I noticed the same.

Modern cars are advanced with the latest tech = more moving parts to quality check.

I have seen this a lot on all of the car forums I have spent time on. Owners post up to complain about (list of problems), noting how they had their previous (same model) for 10 years with no issues. But they don't stop to realize that the list of problems they posted was full of gadgets that didn't even exist on their 10 year older trouble free model. JK's didn't have electronic lockers, 8.4" touchscreen infotainment, ESS, turbo 4's...the list of things the JL has problems with that didn't even exist on the JK is endless. We're in a new world of Wrangler here, so comparisons to previous models are pretty pointless.

 

[rallydefault]

Overall the reliability stats for wranglers and the jeep brand just haven't been all that great; waste your time arguing it however you want, calling things "simple" fixes or whatever makes you sleep better, but facts are facts. When Consumer Reports or JD Power or whatever publishes their numbers, that's just what they are: numbers. No matter how much you hate the editorial content of <insert publication>, when it comes to reliability they're just showing you what actual owners are reporting to them.

For paying these prices, I don't blame a single person for being upset about problems, even "just" something wrong with the Uconnect or top or whatever. Some of you guys paying 50k for a jeep should be ticked off, frankly, instead of just parroting "it's a jeep thing." You're never gonna make this brand and vehicle better. The cold hard truth is that FCA or Stellantis or whatever they're called has definitely cut corners over the last couple generations. They started to refresh the jeep brand in earnest back in 2014 with the new Cherokee followed by the Renegade and Compass to cash in on the SUV craze, but almost all of their vehicles except the Grand Cherokee have been receiving low marks for reliability and fit and finish.

And although good for a laugh, these people who post "I've had my JL for 2 whole weeks and I haven't had any issues!" aren't doing anything for the discussion.

 

[aldo98229]

Had a JK for 2 years, no issues and now my JK for about 14 months. It's been a solid weekend Warrior, already up to 27k miles and wheeled through the Arizona rocks. I've only been into the dealer once and that was for the steering fix about 2 weeks ago. So if you have one, don't dispair, there are solid builds out there!

If you got a bad Jeep it would give you zero consolation that your neighbor got a good one.

Spending 50 large ones on a Jeep is not like playing the lotto: “You got a dud, pity. Try again.”

That’s not how this works.

 

[SecondTJ]

JK's didn't have electronic lockers

JK had electronic lockers for the entirety of its 2007-2018 model run.

(Only TJ had air lockers)

 

[TheRaven]

Overall the reliability stats for wranglers and the jeep brand just haven't been all that great; waste your time arguing it however you want, calling things "simple" fixes or whatever makes you sleep better, but facts are facts. When Consumer Reports or JD Power or whatever publishes their numbers, that's just what they are: numbers. No matter how much you hate the editorial content of <insert publication>, when it comes to reliability they're just showing you what actual owners are reporting to them.

For JD Power, yes. But not for Consumer Reports. CR is garbage and should never be trusted as a resource for automobile evaluation.

I agree about the price of these Jeeps...it's insane. But what motivation does FCA have to change anything? As much as the JL is problematic, and as expensive as it's gotten, it's still at the very top of the desirable vehicle list. Whatever it costs to buy and maintain, people are lining up to buy it at continually rising prices. As long as that continues, we will see NO improvement on either the cost or quality front. The Jeep brand as a whole is basically a money fountain for FCA.

I just arrived here two months ago from the land of boring high quality vehicles. Up until this year myself and my wife have been predominantly GM buyers (a couple randos mixed in over the years too) and are used to completely trouble-free vehicles. The problem is that those trouble-free vehicles are also (comparatively) boring AF. We finally decided it's time to take some risk, so we're here knowing full well we are in for more hassle than we have ever experienced with our vehicles in the past (well perhaps with the exception of my M5 and her Subarus) but still super excited to be here. Our garage has NEVER been as cool as it is now.

So I guess you could say that in the age-old cliche:

Pick any two:
-Awesome
-Reliable
-Cheap

...the Wrangler picked "awesome" twice.

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