Lessons learned from 8-month old '21 JLR 2.0L catching fire (fire extinguisher, buy-back, insurance)

[Strommen95]

That's always a scary situation. Glad you're okay.

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[21RedRubi]

Glad to hear everything worked for you. In the late '80s I had an '84 CJ7 catch fire in the engine compartment on the expressway. Luckily I was able to flag down a cop who had an extinguisher, now I carry my own. The fire got to the point of melting the carpeting in the footwell. A little more and it would have been over for her. As it was I got many more years out that baby.

 

[davewald]

Sorry, you lost your ride, but you can let us know, which engine you liked the best, 4 or 6 cylinder.
I changed my shocks, with Fox 2.0, you just made me happy I kept my old shocks, my wife thinks I'm a hoarder!

The 3.6 is better on the road and highway. Etorque makes starting and shifting much smoother, it's quieter and there's no turbo lag like with the 2.0. I haven't wheeled it hard yet, but doubt that I'll miss the small increase in torque that the 2.0 is reported to have. It's a bit heavier than the 2.0, which may be a minor issue when I start towing it behind an RV.

 

[Kevin32199]

I bought it in January of 2021, and upgraded it over the next 7 months. Lift, tires, wheels, bumpers, etc. Note that nothing was routed through the wiring harness, though. I'm very picky about things like that. I took it wheeling a few times at local ORV parks. It was perfect. In late September I made quick run to the store, and after 10 minutes I came out to see smoke coming from under the hood. I popped the hood and saw flames coming from the back of the engine and burning through the wiring harness (see pics). I used my 2.5lb fire extinguisher and the rest of my Starbucks Grande Americano to put it out, and had it towed home. 10 minutes later and it would have been parked inside my shop and likely caused a catastrophe.

The next day I had it towed to the dealer where I bought it, and they started the process of working with LCA/Stellantis to determine next steps. My initial thought was that it was the same issue that over 14,000 of the 2020 2.0L models had with gas leaking from a fitting on the intake and catching fire that LCA/Stellantis had to issue a recall for (Google it if you want more info). I filed a report with NHSTA, and suggested that it might be the same issue since mine was built shortly after the recall date.

LCA/Stellantis eventually sent a senior engineer out to look at it, and he, the service foreman and I spent hours climbing through the engine to determine what caused the fire. We quickly ruled out the gas leak issue, and finally agreed that it was likely something in the wiring harness, but we couldn't determine exactly what. He agreed that it was a manufacturing issue and immediately notified his HQ that they needed to buy it back. After 3 months, I finally got through the process and they agreed to a price to buy it back, but with a catch: I needed to return the Jeep to stock, and quickly. Dang. The only option was to buy another JLR and swap out the parts. There was only 1 JLR in the entire 3-state region. It's a 3.6L with several more options than my original one, but the parts that I needed to move over worked perfectly. LCA has now taken possession of it, and I expect they will be sending it to Detroit to find out the cause of the fire.

LCA/Stellantis did the right thing and paid me a fair amount, it just took longer than I thought it should. Yes, I know I could have filed with insurance, but that would have impacted my rates, gotten me less money, and would have resulted in me having to start all over again with getting the upgrades and getting them installed.

Lessons learned: (1) have a fire extinguisher and know how to get to it and use it quickly. (2) if you have an issue with your Jeep that you suspect was caused by a manufacturing defect, you have options other than insurance claim (3) the bigger the fire extinguisher you can carry, the better. I now carry a 4lb one.

I bought it in January of 2021, and upgraded it over the next 7 months. Lift, tires, wheels, bumpers, etc. Note that nothing was routed through the wiring harness, though. I'm very picky about things like that. I took it wheeling a few times at local ORV parks. It was perfect. In late September I made quick run to the store, and after 10 minutes I came out to see smoke coming from under the hood. I popped the hood and saw flames coming from the back of the engine and burning through the wiring harness (see pics). I used my 2.5lb fire extinguisher and the rest of my Starbucks Grande Americano to put it out, and had it towed home. 10 minutes later and it would have been parked inside my shop and likely caused a catastrophe.

The next day I had it towed to the dealer where I bought it, and they started the process of working with LCA/Stellantis to determine next steps. My initial thought was that it was the same issue that over 14,000 of the 2020 2.0L models had with gas leaking from a fitting on the intake and catching fire that LCA/Stellantis had to issue a recall for (Google it if you want more info). I filed a report with NHSTA, and suggested that it might be the same issue since mine was built shortly after the recall date.

LCA/Stellantis eventually sent a senior engineer out to look at it, and he, the service foreman and I spent hours climbing through the engine to determine what caused the fire. We quickly ruled out the gas leak issue, and finally agreed that it was likely something in the wiring harness, but we couldn't determine exactly what. He agreed that it was a manufacturing issue and immediately notified his HQ that they needed to buy it back. After 3 months, I finally got through the process and they agreed to a price to buy it back, but with a catch: I needed to return the Jeep to stock, and quickly. Dang. The only option was to buy another JLR and swap out the parts. There was only 1 JLR in the entire 3-state region. It's a 3.6L with several more options than my original one, but the parts that I needed to move over worked perfectly. LCA has now taken possession of it, and I expect they will be sending it to Detroit to find out the cause of the fire.

LCA/Stellantis did the right thing and paid me a fair amount, it just took longer than I thought it should. Yes, I know I could have filed with insurance, but that would have impacted my rates, gotten me less money, and would have resulted in me having to start all over again with getting the upgrades and getting them installed.

Lessons learned: (1) have a fire extinguisher and know how to get to it

I was picturing in my mind where the best place to put an extinguisher would be, and I realized that no matter where I strap it, that will end up being where the fire is. You see, I'm old, and I've now figured out through experience how the universe works.

 

[sstuner]

Glad that you came out of this OK. It's a shame that "Buy Back" takes so long, but damn they will sell it to you quickly. Good luck and have fun on the new Jeep.

 

[blueweb]

I don't know. I carry a fire extinguisher with me in my Jeep, but I keep it in case other people's vehicles are on fire; not mine. I pay to have comprehensive coverage, and in most states if you use your comprehensive coverage; it cannot be used against (no increase in premium). So I rather see my TJ burn to the ground than try and save it. If I was to try and save it from a fire; it will still never be the same as before and have an accident/damage report on it.

 

[hiimmike]

The 3.6 is better on the road and highway. Etorque makes starting and shifting much smoother, it's quieter and there's no turbo lag like with the 2.0. I haven't wheeled it hard yet, but doubt that I'll miss the small increase in torque that the 2.0 is reported to have. It's a bit heavier than the 2.0, which may be a minor issue when I start towing it behind an RV.

Well this is sad news... my 2.0 arrived this week at the rail yard. Now you have me second guessing, even after all the posts I read about people liking the 2.0 better. Curse you internet!

 

[Jhawth]

Well this is sad news... my 2.0 arrived this week at the rail yard. Now you have me second guessing, even after all the posts I read about people liking the 2.0 better. Curse you internet!

It's just personal preference. Honestly the differences are pretty minimal. I liked the turbo more than the 3.6 for everything. It's a dead horse!

 

[21RedRubi]

I don't know. I carry a fire extinguisher with me in my Jeep, but I keep it in case other people's vehicles are on fire; not mine. I pay to have comprehensive coverage, and in most states if you use your comprehensive coverage; it cannot be used against (no increase in premium). So I rather see my TJ burn to the ground than try and save it. If I was to try and save it from a fire; it will still never be the same as before and have an accident/damage report on it.

When my jeep caught fire my insurance company they wouldn't have covered it had it been sitting in my driveway. It would have been home owners then.

 

[davewald]

Well this is sad news... my 2.0 arrived this week at the rail yard. Now you have me second guessing, even after all the posts I read about people liking the 2.0 better. Curse you internet!

I loved the 2.0, and would've gone that way again if I had the choice. It outperformed a lot other well-built rigs on the trails. The 3.6 is better on the road and I expect will be fine on the trail, but it wasn't my first choice.

Either way you go, you're going to like it. After my experience with both brand new and within a year, I think all of the "2.0 vs 3.6 vs whatever" arguments are just nonsense. Get what you like and like what you get. Ignore all the drama queens who want to tell you that you made a mistake.

 

[VKSheridan]

That’s an interesting location for the origination point. Absent any external indicators of mice, I’m leaning toward the harness got bumped during assembly and merely took some time for the damage to manifest in smoke. Regardless, sorry it happened, glad things sorted!

 

[davewald]

That’s an interesting location for the origination point. Absent any external indicators of mice, I’m leaning toward the harness got bumped during assembly and merely took some time for the damage to manifest in smoke. Regardless, sorry it happened, glad things sorted!

Yeah, that's pretty much what the engineer decided. No signs of rodents and no other obvious causes.

 

[RudeJeepin]

When my jeep caught fire my insurance company they wouldn't have covered it had it been sitting in my driveway. It would have been home owners then.

Just an FYI...
From what I understand home owners insurance usually doesn't cover vehicles no matter what.
I had my insurance agent specifically state they wouldn't cover my old Jeep even when it was parked inside the garage. Even if the garage started on fire first and the Jeep was collateral damage.

 

[Gride420]

I have a hunch I know where it started. Bought a2018 2 liter and it caught on fire today but luckily we got it out immediately. Right above the heat shield that goes around the turbo, some debris, maybe a leaf or piece of paper (there is a paper tag from the manufacturer) hanging there as well. Once that ignited, it spread to the bonnet/hood under shield pad, that I believe is sound deadening material. At any rate, it caught on fire as well. Your pics look very similar to mine but much further along. See photo, I had the same burnt/spent material but there is a wire that comes down from wire harness.

 

[davewald]

I have a hunch I know where it started. Bought a2018 2 liter and it caught on fire today but luckily we got it out immediately. Right above the heat shield that goes around the turbo, some debris, maybe a leaf or piece of paper (there is a paper tag from the manufacturer) hanging there as well. Once that ignited, it spread to the bonnet/hood under shield pad, that I believe is sound deadening material. At any rate, it caught on fire as well. Your pics look very similar to mine but much further along. See photo, I had the same burnt/spent material but there is a wire that comes down from wire harness.

Fascinating. I never heard from Stellantis about what they found, or if they even investigated it after it was shipped back to them. I believe that reporting it to the NHTSA probably caused them to cut through the usual bs and respond quickly since the engineer they sent said he is responsible for dealing directly with NHTSA. He confirmed what I had heard that any serious damage to the wiring harness is almost always an automatic total. BTW, mine was (is) always parked inside when not being driven,, so minimal exposure to leaves and such. The tag could have been the culprit, though.

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