The Jeep Wrangler is One of the Most Unreliable Cars of 2020

[Strommen95]

Wranglers are falling apart after 5-7 years. Barely will last 10 years. Amazes me the absolute crap read on here sometimes.

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[viper88]

My 2018 has needed oil changes, wtf JEEP, unreliable POS.
It did get some wobble at 3500 miles, but it was fixed quickly, mostly because I read shit, and told the dealer how to fix it.
In fact, just the other day a chick in a 2dr flew by me on rt 80, so of course because there is no traffic ATM, I pegged it to 100 to catch her, drove beautifully
CS, jalopnik, Motorbiscuit and most other automobile reviewers can eat a bag of Richards. I do not value any of their opinions.

Is that you Clark?

 

[viper88]

I agree FCA could do better...that said my 2015 Rubicon Unlimited has been totally problem free except for paper trash left in the fuel filler pipe when manufactured. Fixed in first three days of ownership. Just took delivery of new Recon Unlimited Saturday. Too early to tell anything, but currently drives well, including steering, and the fit and finish is better than my 2015. I do see the wavey doors...they all have them.

Totally agree. I owned a '15 JK also. My '15 JK was pretty good but my current '19 JLR has better fit, finish, everything. Nice improvement across the board with everything. Except the doors.

Yeah, all JLs have wavy doors. It's not as noticeable on light colors like white. Has to do with them being aluminium and the sound insulation pad they glue inside the door skin. The doors warp after baking because the sound insulation shrinks and deforms the doors. I hear the factory is working on this. The factory tried addressing the problem back in April/2019 by slotting the pad to reduce the movement during baking. Doors are still wavy.

A easy fix for the doors is to remove them. Can't wait for the warm weather!

Overall my JLR is by far the best Wrangler I have owned. Absolutely love it!

 

[Eduardo909]

14k miles in 10 months, 0 issues in my 19 MOAB. Did a 5k mike round trip halfway across the country in 2 weeks and it went through all types of weather like a champ.

 

[JEEPIDON]

I am not talking about my JLR. It's way too early to determine if it will be a maintenance money pit. I don't think it will be. They seem to be holding up well.

I was talking about Bite My Wallet. Just read the technical section of Roundel the club magazine. I love BMWs and how they drive. Personally I would never own most BMWs without the assurance of a warranty. Not for daily driver anyway. I would rather take depreciation over repair cost because old BMW repairs and cost are just too unpredictable. BMW have common problems like oil leaks, electrical issues, coolant leaks, variable valve timing issues, fuel pump issues, etc. No matter how you look at it BMW labor rates are much higher. I have a friend who owned a X5 with the V8. A few months after warranty the alternator bracket failed. The problem with the bracket failing is oil leaks from a bad oil seal. The seal cost $10 but the labor was $2000. Another friend has a 550ix that has a bad oil consumption. Uses a quart of oil every 500-700 miles. It apparently is a very common problem with that motor. Not a cheap repair. You could buy a excellent TJ and a lot of mods for what it cost to replace that motor.

The unpredictable and high cost of repairs is why most European cars have very low residuals. You can buy a $100K BMW that is 6-7 years old for pennies on the dollar. That used BMW someone bought for $20K that used to cost $100K still is a $100K vehicle to repair.

As far as the rinse and repeat…We all pay to drive. It's either maintenance and repairs or depreciation. We all pick our own poison. Everyone will have a different perspective depending on their own finances. Someone who has the ability and knowledge and can wrench themselves are in a different position then someone who can't. Some people want peace of mind and don't mind the rinse and repeat.

I usually sell and buy something else because I am in the mood to try something new. Not because I think it will fall apart. Personally I see my cars as a hobby. It's something I enjoy and accept the fact it will cost me money like a vacation would. Same as anyone who likes to buy mods for their Wrangler. Or make payments on a new one every 4 years.

I owned a TJ and JL prior to my current JLR. The one previous benefit of owning a Wrangler was exceptional resale values. Prior to the JL, Wranglers have had exceptional resale. It might have made more sense to sell and buy a new one every 4-5 years then take maintenance and repair cost. I bet it was close? I did not do that with my TJ but I should have. My TJ was very unreliable, I got a bad one. I keep pretty good records. For sure it would have cost me less to make payments on a new one then to keep fixing the old one. That was even with me doing a lot of the work and being able to recoup a lot of the TJ cost because resale was insanely good. I That was when I was younger and did not mind doing the work. The work was part of the fun back then. Now I just want to pay and drive, rise and repeat. lol.

Yes, as a matter of fact the BMW 7 series is the fastest depreciating car on the market today!! I've had two and never again. More problems than any other cars I've owned. Same amount of plastic and stupid applications of such. 1500 miles and the plastic windshield reservoir split in the bottom seam....and so did the replacement!!!! Differential ring gear must have had a casting defect as the diff locked up backing out of the drive way. The mechanic showed me where a piece of the ring gear and broken off and jammed it up. (That was at the 16,000 mile level). Error codes you say.....had many and trips back to the dealer for them to scratch their heads to figure them out and why they recurred.

Now these were $95,000 cars and should have never had these issues.

I have among my fleet 2 Wrangler JL's, a black Rubicon and a Mojito Sahara. Both were built before May of 2018 and haven't had any issues with either. Had the steering stabilizers changed during the recall but they were both fine before and after. I'm all for transparency but I think we have too many trolls and bullshit artists loading the forum.

Motorbiscuit.....really? Who the hell would waste their time on an article written by some low life opinion rag?

Happy motoring to all jeep fans!

 

[Platinum7990]

Yes, as a matter of fact the BMW 7 series is the fastest depreciating car on the market today!! I've had two and never again. More problems than any other cars I've owned. Same amount of plastic and stupid applications of such. 1500 miles and the plastic windshield reservoir split in the bottom seam....and so did the replacement!!!! Differential ring gear must have had a casting defect as the diff locked up backing out of the drive way. The mechanic showed me where a piece of the ring gear and broken off and jammed it up. (That was at the 16,000 mile level). Error codes you say.....had many and trips back to the dealer for them to scratch their heads to figure them out and why they recurred.

Now these were $95,000 cars and should have never had these issues.

I have among my fleet 2 Wrangler JL's, a black Rubicon and a Mojito Sahara. Both were built before May of 2018 and haven't had any issues with either. Had the steering stabilizers changed during the recall but they were both fine before and after. I'm all for transparency but I think we have too many trolls and bullshit artists loading the forum.

Motorbiscuit.....really? Who the hell would waste their time on an article written by some low life opinion rag?

Happy motoring to all jeep fans!

I’ve owned a few 750s and yes it amazes me how people buy these cars brand new and just one year alone depreciates it 50%. Even the current new body that came in 2016 are going in the 20k range. Lol

 

[viper88]

I’ve owned a few 750s and yes it amazes me how people buy these cars brand new and just one year alone depreciates it 50%. Even the current new body that came in 2016 are going in the 20k range. Lol

A new 7-series BMW and S-Class Benz are both dogs as far as depreciation. You can buy a new JL for what it cost to drive one of these for a year. lol.

 

[Grantee]

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-jeep-wrangler-is-one-of-the-most-unreliable-cars-of-2020/

Thoughts?

Haven’t had any big problems. And the beauty of a Jeep is so much is DIY so unless it’s computer related many of us can fix it ourselves.

 

[ChrispyJL]

So did you catch her ? If you did, then what ? Story ? Pics ?

Caught her, she was a Blonde, cute AF, we went to lunch, ended up getting married and had 2 kids.

wait...wrong story lol.

I just threw her a jeep wave as I blew past her lol

 

[ChrispyJL]

I've never heard of autobiscuit but I think they need to be covered in gravy.

How is that fair to Gravy? Gravy never did anything to be used to cover trash.

 

[ScottyD-NJ]

I laughed when this articles said something like "...the 2020 wrangler may crumble on contact". HAHA. I've seen so many people get into accidents with cars and deers in their wranglers and always amazed at how the wranglers hold up, especially the frames.

 

[GGolds]

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-jeep-wrangler-is-one-of-the-most-unreliable-cars-of-2020/

Thoughts?

I'm an intelligent guy. I view all the facts. I've had many jeeps. First Wrangler was a 90, then 92, 95, 97, now a new 19. My 19 is over a year old now. Just about 17,000 miles. Not a single issue or even a rattle. Our Mazda CX-5, Subaru Crosstrek, Mini's, Kia Sorrento, all had something in the first 17,000miles. Nothing major however. My family has received Consumer Reports since 1955. I have every issue saved. I've had Civics, 4Runners, Range Rovers, Corvettes, every pickup truck ever made. The only vehicles that Consumer Reports pretty much has nailed it on for reliability ratings has been the Land Rovers/Range Rovers. They are just plain awful. Loved them, but wouldn't ever trust a long drive in one, they always have problems. Big and small. Other then that, my Wranglers/Jeeps including my wife Cherokee Limited 2019 have been very reliable and wonderful to own. I don't feel my Wrangler drives much worse then my Sorento. A little noisier in the Wrangler but not a huge difference. In short, I love my Jeeps, always have. Read Consumer Reports with a grain of salt. Use it as a helpful guide, as for "motor Biscuit" ignore it. One more thing. Consumer Reports also mentions and does a survey on, if you would buy it again would you. IE satisfaction with your vehicles. Read this in the April Auto issue. The Wrangler has one of the highest "happiness" scores, satisfaction ratings of any vehicle out there. About the same as the Subaru Outback. So if it were really all that unreliable I'm sure that score wouldn't be so high. Take that into consideration when doing your research as well.

 

[dctech]

Has anyone ever seen a favorable Consumers Report to a FCA vehicle or any of the big 3?

 

[Platinum7990]

A new 7-series BMW and S-Class Benz are both dogs as far as depreciation. You can buy a new JL for what it cost to drive one of these for a year. lol.

the s class still holds much more value over the 7 series which is why the 7 series was never able compete against the s class in the last 6 years. But agreed the cost of my Rubi diesel is equivalent to a one year used s560 lol

 

[viper88]

Has anyone ever seen a favorable Consumers Report to a FCA vehicle or any of the big 3?

I think they gave Buick a favorable rating.

 

[Cypher]

meh, own 2 and no issues

And I have owned 3.

2018 - bought back due to bad frame welds.
2019 - Repurchase due to all kinds of issues. (Engine coolant leaks, steering issues)
2020 - has been great overall. However I am impacted by the 2020 recall for the LCA bracket weld missing / off.

I fully understand why the overall quality may be viewed as low. But.. again I have had 3, and would buy another if the conditions were right. For example, if they make a Wrangler version of the JT Mojave , a wrangler raptor so to speak I would be all over that. I'm planning to build mine like that anyways, but if I can get it from the factory and not have to worry about dealership / FCA warranty hassle due to modifications I would be all for it. I am also looking at the Bronco, really to me it is about the vehicle meeting my needs for how I use it. I am not brand loyal, as no brand is loyal to you. I will go with what works for me.

aftermarket parts on the other hand, very much brand matters as some stick by their products much better than others,

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