Wbino
Well-Known Member
No it implies of all the gears in a daily drive 3rd is my favorite….Its gears not rocket science.
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CaiKi McSillyPants
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I drive a 2024 a manual Rubicon almost daily and I've had auto trans-rentals, 2 door sports.
We are a household that owns manuals exclusively and occasionally finds themselves in a auto-trans car.
Usually, we dread our lives whenever we find ourselves in an automatic. My wife's very anti, where I can sometimes appreciate a well designed auto-trans. I hate CVT, with a passion. I like DCT's, auto sequentials (gen46 M3 or the old MR2 comes to mind) a good designed multiplate clutch system with torque converter like the ZF-8speed(current Jeeps and other cars with an 8 speed).
The auto-trans in a Wrangler is something I could live with, with the right gearing for the tire size.
I don't think a new car is the right car to learn how to drive stick. This is one of those situations where practice beats theory always.
Then particularly, with the Jeep, even with our combined 40 years of manual driving, the Jeep took some getting used to.
She's heavy, she needs revs before you let the clutch go, first gear is very short, but if it wasn't I'd stall more and need more revs. I stalled plenty of times getting used to her.
There's a lack of feel in the clutch and like I said earlier, it needs revs to not stall where other cars we owned it was almost from idle rpm we let the clutch go and get going.
I've had overheating notifications from the clutch in stop and go traffic. The clutch does not like that constant slipping of the clutch in a constant stop and go situation.
I did an ATC-spring mod to the pedal to improve the feel and I think it's better. I feel the clutch a bit better, although muted still. Some of that has also to do with the lighter flywheel as a previous poster mentions. (The ATC-clutch upgrade actually includes a heavier flywheel).
One of the more annoying parts is there's no dead-pedal, because there's no room, to rest your foot next to the pedal, as in other manual cars. The auto also doesn't have it, but because there's no pedal in the way, you can mount one.
If you are 100% sure on not off-roading, an off-road oriented vehicle seems asinine to me. Having said that, unless you're of the opinion that "manual is life!", get the auto. It just makes more sense for a daily commuter, however impractical (thirsty, narrow interior for the width of the car, not so comfortable seats, leaky roof, very few storage spaces in the interior).
If you do choose manual and it has to be a new Jeep, I'd go for either Willy or Rubicon or whatever that comes with 4.10 end ratio or higher (so 4.56, 4.88, 5.13,... All good). In the 3.xx nets you to tall of a gearing to make sense.
The gearing of the manual box is a bit strange. First is very short, second is whatever, there's a very big gap between 3 and 4, 5 and 6 are basically 2 overdrives with little rpm change.
To me it's basically a 4 speed with 2 selectable overdrives instead of a 5 speed with overdrive or a 6 speed.
It is a great car for adventures, trails, off-roading, overlanding,... There's better options for commuters.
In case you do go off-roading and you did choose the manual, that first gear in 4L in a Rubicon with that 4 to 1 transfer case, is very low. I love the control in speed by selecting the right gear for the obstacle. I love the engine brake going down hill. 30°, no brakes, just throttle control. An automatic would not be as controlled.
I love I can idle over obstacles in a rock garden and brake at the same time, to remove drive train slop, without stalling.
Anyhoo, good luck, however it turns out.
We are a household that owns manuals exclusively and occasionally finds themselves in a auto-trans car.
Usually, we dread our lives whenever we find ourselves in an automatic. My wife's very anti, where I can sometimes appreciate a well designed auto-trans. I hate CVT, with a passion. I like DCT's, auto sequentials (gen46 M3 or the old MR2 comes to mind) a good designed multiplate clutch system with torque converter like the ZF-8speed(current Jeeps and other cars with an 8 speed).
The auto-trans in a Wrangler is something I could live with, with the right gearing for the tire size.
I don't think a new car is the right car to learn how to drive stick. This is one of those situations where practice beats theory always.
Then particularly, with the Jeep, even with our combined 40 years of manual driving, the Jeep took some getting used to.
She's heavy, she needs revs before you let the clutch go, first gear is very short, but if it wasn't I'd stall more and need more revs. I stalled plenty of times getting used to her.
There's a lack of feel in the clutch and like I said earlier, it needs revs to not stall where other cars we owned it was almost from idle rpm we let the clutch go and get going.
I've had overheating notifications from the clutch in stop and go traffic. The clutch does not like that constant slipping of the clutch in a constant stop and go situation.
I did an ATC-spring mod to the pedal to improve the feel and I think it's better. I feel the clutch a bit better, although muted still. Some of that has also to do with the lighter flywheel as a previous poster mentions. (The ATC-clutch upgrade actually includes a heavier flywheel).
One of the more annoying parts is there's no dead-pedal, because there's no room, to rest your foot next to the pedal, as in other manual cars. The auto also doesn't have it, but because there's no pedal in the way, you can mount one.
If you are 100% sure on not off-roading, an off-road oriented vehicle seems asinine to me. Having said that, unless you're of the opinion that "manual is life!", get the auto. It just makes more sense for a daily commuter, however impractical (thirsty, narrow interior for the width of the car, not so comfortable seats, leaky roof, very few storage spaces in the interior).
If you do choose manual and it has to be a new Jeep, I'd go for either Willy or Rubicon or whatever that comes with 4.10 end ratio or higher (so 4.56, 4.88, 5.13,... All good). In the 3.xx nets you to tall of a gearing to make sense.
The gearing of the manual box is a bit strange. First is very short, second is whatever, there's a very big gap between 3 and 4, 5 and 6 are basically 2 overdrives with little rpm change.
To me it's basically a 4 speed with 2 selectable overdrives instead of a 5 speed with overdrive or a 6 speed.
It is a great car for adventures, trails, off-roading, overlanding,... There's better options for commuters.
In case you do go off-roading and you did choose the manual, that first gear in 4L in a Rubicon with that 4 to 1 transfer case, is very low. I love the control in speed by selecting the right gear for the obstacle. I love the engine brake going down hill. 30°, no brakes, just throttle control. An automatic would not be as controlled.
I love I can idle over obstacles in a rock garden and brake at the same time, to remove drive train slop, without stalling.
Anyhoo, good luck, however it turns out.
Last edited:
AVGeek99
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I got a bunch of mud in the first one. The holes at the bottom of the bell housing didn't have any rubber plugs in them. Up to that point I'd had no issues with the original clutch.
In 35+ years of driving I've owned one automatic. Prior to my JL the last clutch I had to replace was in my 87 4Runner at about 170k miles. Not sure if that was the original clutch, but I got it at 114k.
Futura
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Ordered a 2023 manual 2 door Rubicon. If I had to do it again it would be an auto so my wife could drive it.
Chowbaby
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I've driven manual only cars (including 2 Jeeps) for the past 20+ years.....and this time went with an auto. The manual on a Jeep is like driving a truck (i.e., rowing through the gears), but I loved it. However, I was victim to the clutch recall and my Jeep ended up sitting in the shop for 6+ months waiting for parts (I did end up getting a new transmission and clutch under warranty/recall at nearly 100K miles). It was such a headache experience, it made me consider getting an auto for the first time in my life. Now driving a 2.0, it is very smooth, and I expect (fingers crossed) I will not have any mechanical issues like I've had to deal with with my manual. And as far as I know, Jeep has not figured out a GOOD solution to the clutch plate recall issue yet....
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Castlenut
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Every Jeep I’ve owned is/was a manual. 23 JL 4 door with 3.45 gears and it sucks. It gets great mileage with the tiny factory wheels (I have a base model sport). I tow my jet skis thru the mountains and it’s awful. Manual with much higher gears would be better. Once you start adding tires and weight 6th gear is never used. Sometimes 5th. Usually just stick it in 4th when I’m towing in the mountains and foot to the floor in 3rd for the hills. There’s too large a gap between 2nd and 3rd.
I miss back in the day when you could option gear ratios on base models.
To answer the original question, I would still get a manual lol.
I miss back in the day when you could option gear ratios on base models.
To answer the original question, I would still get a manual lol.
GabeBoyTheGreat
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What you described sounds like the 3.6l engine hesitation issue that there is a thread dedicated to. That doesn't have anything to do with the transmission as the issue is present on the autos as well.
chrispy001
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Hey there! We bought a 2025 Willys 2-dr last year with auto trans and 2.0L . Love the powertrain! Had a manual trans TJ prior. You’ll love that automatic. Great calibration and works well!
gpassida
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I guess we are lucky - and hope that continues. We purchased our 2025 Wrangler 2-Door Willy's with the 3.6 and manual transmission two weeks ago. Just about 1,000 miles on it now. I drove it 9 hours on the trip home from the dealer and it's now my wife's daily driver.
I have not detected the engine hesitation issue at all. I read the other thread that details how to recreate it. Tried a few times and it is not happening. Smooth acceleration through the RPM range and gears every time.
I have a ton of manual transmission experience in 3 other jeeps (three CJ's, a YJ and a TJ) as well as several passenger cars. I agree, for a Jeep, the clutch feel is a very different experience compared to the fully connected feel and friction feeling pass through of the earlier jeeps. However, it is very close to the passenger car clutch feel from my experience. Smooth and isolated.
I got used to the JL clutch on the drive home pretty quickly. And when I jumped into my Scrambler with the 350 V8 and NV-4500 transmission, pushing the clutch in the first time was shocking how stiff it was. And I chirped the tires when I was getting going. Fully truck like feel vs the passenger car feel of the new JL.
My wife has adjusted well to the JL clutch and only had an issue with relearning the JL reverse location. (6th gear on the JL is where reverse is on the CJ/YJ/TJ) She was going into 6th and not reverse. So, backing up she stalled it a few times until she relearned it.
I can see that switching regularly between the JL manual and a truck or older Jeep manual would be tough both ways.
Mbehnke74
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I would stay as far away from the manual as possible. I have a 2023 that had a recall on the clutch come out a month after it was custom built for me. They Did the “fix” and ever since I have had nothing but problems with it due to the software update they put on it. They still can not get it right. I wish I would have ordered an automatic.
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GabeBoyTheGreat
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Not sure if it will help, but did you get the latest software update that came out this year?
Gfrench440
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I waited 7 months for my 2 door Sport S with a manual transmission. I got mine after the recall issues had been resolved in the production models. I spent months debating on whether I should wait for the stick or cave and get an auto. Let me start by saying I read all the stuff about the clutch issues and the pedal pressure and so on. I had absolutely no issues with the clutch or the pedal pressure or the transmission. You said that you probablly wouldn't be doing a lot of off roading and that was my case as well. The guys that put on the big tires and do some serious off roading may very well have clutch issues. I understand that these vehicles are supposed to be made to do that kind of stuff so they shouldn't have problems when doing it. But for street use and lite off roading the clutch / manual transmission is fine.
Now to the point of your question about manual vs auto. After 1 year I realized that I really needed the extra room of the 4 door. I haul around my 2 three year old grandsons and so I almost always have 2 car seats in the back and every time I needed to haul something I had to take those seats out to fold down the back seat. That motivated me to look for a 4 door and at the time Jeep and Jeep dealers were offering insane discounts so I decided to pull the trigger on a 4 door. Because I had to choose from inventory that was in stock I didn't have the luxury of ordering exactly what I wanted like I did with the 2024 2 door. Problem was I couldn't find a 4 door equipped like I wanted with a manual. I found one that was perfect and just like I wanted but it was an automatic. I felt like a real Jeep looser. To me, in my old school thinking, a Jeep had to be a 2 door with a stick to be a "real Jeep". I got over it and bought the automatic without even test driving it. The $14000.00 discount was a major consideration in the decision.
The first thing I noticed was how much faster the automatic is. The 8 speed vs the 6 speed keeps the engine torque in the sweet spot and of course not having to let off the gas and shift also makes a difference. Passing is so much better because the automatic instantly responds to throttle changes and quickly downshifts to the perfect gear. Both of my Jeeps, a 2024 and 2025 were 3.6L engines. I know there are a lot of 6 cylinder haters on this forum but I drove a 4cyl turbo and I didn't care for the sound of the engine. That's just a personal thing.
So to conclude. After having both manual and auto back to back I would now choose the automatic hands down. I still like the 2 door better but it just doesn't fit my needs right now. I hope that helps.
Now to the point of your question about manual vs auto. After 1 year I realized that I really needed the extra room of the 4 door. I haul around my 2 three year old grandsons and so I almost always have 2 car seats in the back and every time I needed to haul something I had to take those seats out to fold down the back seat. That motivated me to look for a 4 door and at the time Jeep and Jeep dealers were offering insane discounts so I decided to pull the trigger on a 4 door. Because I had to choose from inventory that was in stock I didn't have the luxury of ordering exactly what I wanted like I did with the 2024 2 door. Problem was I couldn't find a 4 door equipped like I wanted with a manual. I found one that was perfect and just like I wanted but it was an automatic. I felt like a real Jeep looser. To me, in my old school thinking, a Jeep had to be a 2 door with a stick to be a "real Jeep". I got over it and bought the automatic without even test driving it. The $14000.00 discount was a major consideration in the decision.
The first thing I noticed was how much faster the automatic is. The 8 speed vs the 6 speed keeps the engine torque in the sweet spot and of course not having to let off the gas and shift also makes a difference. Passing is so much better because the automatic instantly responds to throttle changes and quickly downshifts to the perfect gear. Both of my Jeeps, a 2024 and 2025 were 3.6L engines. I know there are a lot of 6 cylinder haters on this forum but I drove a 4cyl turbo and I didn't care for the sound of the engine. That's just a personal thing.
So to conclude. After having both manual and auto back to back I would now choose the automatic hands down. I still like the 2 door better but it just doesn't fit my needs right now. I hope that helps.
Mbehnke74
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Yes, they did the whole clutch recall replacement and initial software update November 2024 and then another software update May 2025 and it still gives a clutch overheating warning anytime I get stuck in any stop & go traffic for more than 5-8 minutes. I live in So Cal so I basically can not drive my Jeep anywhere during rush hour times. It even did it in a long drive thru line. I’ve never had this issue and I’ve driven manuals forever. Never had this issue until they did that 1st software update.
GabeBoyTheGreat
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There was a TSB released on July 10, 2025. It may be worth looking into.
Raydar
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Without having read all the postings, I'll mention that we have a 2 door JK, and two JLUs. All are 3.6s and manuals. I much prefer a manual for my vehicles, but I have driven manuals for ever. I find the transmission easier to shift in the JLs, but the JL clutch is... interesting. (There is a whole separate thread about clutch recalls. But keep in mind that what you are reading are the horror stories, mostly.)
What the others have said about the 3.45s with a manual is absolutely true. They are horrible. 6th gear is useless. I had my JL Sahara regeared to 4.11s (Eaton aftermarket) and our other JL came with 4.10s. Makes all the difference.
A word about the clutch recall. The factory pretty much got the software right. It's the dealer retrofit of that software that is causing issues. Especially if your Jeep is modded/regeared.
If you buy a new Jeep, and don't mod it with big tires and a regear, you'll probably bypass all the clutch drama.
With all of that said, the 8 speed automatic (at least the one in my Ram) is, hands down, the best automatic I've ever driven. They are made by ZF, and are reputed to be bulletproof. Whoever did the programming for my Ram should have gotten a huge bonus and a promotion. It's very intuitive.
It's like it understands what you want, when you're driving - especially with the cruise control.
What the others have said about the 3.45s with a manual is absolutely true. They are horrible. 6th gear is useless. I had my JL Sahara regeared to 4.11s (Eaton aftermarket) and our other JL came with 4.10s. Makes all the difference.
A word about the clutch recall. The factory pretty much got the software right. It's the dealer retrofit of that software that is causing issues. Especially if your Jeep is modded/regeared.
If you buy a new Jeep, and don't mod it with big tires and a regear, you'll probably bypass all the clutch drama.
With all of that said, the 8 speed automatic (at least the one in my Ram) is, hands down, the best automatic I've ever driven. They are made by ZF, and are reputed to be bulletproof. Whoever did the programming for my Ram should have gotten a huge bonus and a promotion. It's very intuitive.
It's like it understands what you want, when you're driving - especially with the cruise control.
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