Throwing 'Quality Control' out the window

[OldBlue]

No offense, but we had a '19 Sportage for the wife. Biggest piece of crap we've ever owned, and we've had a lot of cars/trucks over the years. Bought it new and had it 18 months - back to the dealer 3 times for numerous problems. Drove like an absolute bag of dog doo.

On the way to trading it in, it died on the highway with an 18-wheeler barreling down on me. Stepped on the gas to go around another slow moving semi, and after about 3 seconds in the left lane it died, almost as if you turned it off. No lights, no radio, no A/c, nothing - just dead. Looked in the mirror and had a pucker moment, as the aforementioned semi was coming up behind me. Instinctively, I nailed the gas again and it restarted and accelerated. After changing my underwear, I proceeded to drive it carefully to the dealer where we traded it in. GOOD RIDDANCE! First and only time I've experienced something like that in my life. Never again.

Sponsored

 

[aldo98229]

What irritates me is seeing the effort put into hiding cutesy Easter eggs all over instead of just basic QC.

I don’t give a damn about a Jeep silhouette scrolling across the odometer. I sure would like it if the auto locking for the doors behaved consistently.

Etc…

It’s all about the sizzle that sells, unfortunately.

 

[aldo98229]

The part that irates me most in this whole thing is how Jeep talks from both ends of its mouth.

On the one hand, Jeep parades highly modified “concepts” at Easter Safari and other auto shows. At press events Jeep loves to brag how Wrangler is the most customized vehicle on the market. Mopar and dealers are constantly pushing all these accessories down our throats. Dealers themselves put 3-inch lifts and 20-inch wheels on Wranglers and park them in front of the lot to attract kooks.

On the other hand, the moment you pull into the dealer for some warranty issue, all hell breaks loose because you slapped new wheels, tires and an aftermarket sticker onto your Jeep.

So which one is it? I love Jeeps; I’ve owned twelve of them. But I refuse to buy another one until Jeep makes up its mind.

 

[gburchett]

There's plenty of owners out here that are going to echo these comments and plenty of other owners that are gonna be like "So what? Get over it". I know the market is insane and Jeep is going full send on production to make orders happen, but sacrificing quality to make it happen isn't good either. I hate to say it but, @JeepCares this is the kind of rushed work that is getting skipped in production and pissing owners off.
Brand New 392 with less than 300 miles on the chassis.


For argument sake, yes, it's Litebrite's new build on a brand new 392. In fairness though, how many owners have experienced the same kind of failings in QC from Jeep lately? Between paint that's bubbling on the body to skimping on proper corrosion prevention, this sort of laziness is obnoxious and unacceptable to see in a product that can cost anywhere from $30,000 all the way north of $95,000. I've seen Kia's with less rust than this after 80,000 miles.

Am I crazy or is this just part of the whole "well, it's a Jeep so get used to it" experience? I'm thankful my 4xe has been relatively rust free since I ordered it, but this is getting ridiculous for a model that retails just shy of 80 grand.

I’m actually not surprised about the QC. According to the Jeep order tracker, when they finally got building my Jeep, it only took 1 day!!! How is that even possible. I don’t know if other manufacturers build that fast or not, but if they do, that is where a lot of QC items can be missed. I’m sure that they probably only pull a certain number of vehicles to do a QC on as doing everyone made would be next to impossible. That said, they should make issues right when they show up, especially under warranty, unless it’s totally obvious a mod caused the issue.

 

[RenegadeT]

I’m actually not surprised about the QC. According to the Jeep order tracker, when they finally got building my Jeep, it only took 1 day!!! How is that even possible. I don’t know if other manufacturers build that fast or not, but if they do, that is where a lot of QC items can be missed. I’m sure that they probably only pull a certain number of vehicles to do a QC on as doing everyone made would be next to impossible. That said, they should make issues right when they show up, especially under warranty, unless it’s totally obvious a mod caused the issue.

The "1 day" to build is assembly time. All parts are already in the warehouses, your VIN has been assigned a slot on the assembly line. Finished parts are scheduled to be delivered to the line, workers and bots assemble it...voila, your Jeep is done in a day.

 

[aldo98229]

That’s how all manufacturers build vehicles these days.

Major components, dashboards, frames, engines, arrive at the factory already preassembled from other factories or directly from the suppliers. Most of the time is spent scheduling and manufacturing these components at different locations and coordinating them to converge perfectly at the assembly line. Once everything arrives to the plant, the final assembly takes only a few hours.

The finished vehicle then spends the rest of the time in transit, parked at rail yards or sitting on trains.

 

[dougywarren]

Sadly manufacturing quality control is non existent across the board. Look at the RV forums, 300K+ motorhomes being built shoddily. The auto industry has been at it much longer and should have the process down so, no we shouldn't be OK with some of the problems. Are they still having problems with seated fuses - every one of the fuses on my '21 was not fully seated. It's a little thing like that that gets exponential down the line. The steering box took too long to correct and I think they still have a class action lawsuit going. Look at Ford and the Bronco - the hard top, the 2.7 engine failures, the brakes not working when being towed behind and RV. No idea where actual quality control went - I think it cover your ass control more than anything else!

it really is in every market. Past several years no matter how much I spend on something, how much research, or where or how it’s made, I expect to have to send everything back for a replacement. Price of everything has gone up, but seems like you’re really buying the same product multiple times at once. I could list several expensive things that I bought new that needed replacements or repaired in the last several years but I’ll just start getting angry haha

 

[RenegadeT]

So back to the LiteBrite video...I agree completely with Kevin. I got my 2018 JL used with 9kmiles in late 2021. The rusted frame welds were one of the first things I noticed, I was shaking my head thinking "really!? wtf"

 

[rickinAZ]

Exactly and then some. It’s all about the bottom line…almighty dollar. How to do more and make more with less. Less quality folks which trickles down to less quality parts and so on. What’s really scary is this is across the board in all business realms to include aviation.

I couldn't agree more. And...I find it ironic that we push for lower prices and then complain when vendors go offshore to meet that price point.

 

[slowcrawlerZJ]

I couldn't agree more. And...I find it ironic that we push for lower prices and then complain when vendors go offshore to meet that price point.

EXACTLY!

 

[AFD]

I couldn't agree more. And...I find it ironic that we push for lower prices and then complain when vendors go offshore to meet that price point.

But it works both ways. Why should consumers not be upset that prices have been increasing every few months, while overall quality control never seems to improve.

In the automotive space, I really don't recall prices ever dropping substantially to reflect outsourced components and materials. When the Wrangler started getting their Pentastars built in Mexico (even with an operable Pentastar factory still in Toledo), did the prices drop? No, they stayed the same for a while and then increased in price several times since then.

Personally find it disgusting when US auto manufacturers have less US-made parts and assembly than the foreign manufacturers building their cars in our country.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

I had a Kia Rio for commute, the engine exploded.

 

[Roky]

It’s a F,,,,,king Jeep Wrangler people, quality control has never been there, this isn’t front page news. It’s a one of a kind vehicle, it’s at the top of the food chain off-road. One of the most fun vehicles on the market, so you’ll have to deal with it if you want one, otherwise buy something else, bitching about it hasn’t done any good for 80 years, what makes you think it’s gonna help now……… ……………………..

 

[swozey]

I have one of the first JLURs ever sold in Texas, I only have 15k miles but I've had a great experience. I'm no fan of Chrysler whatsoever and would've bought a new 4runner if they had modernized them but they didn't. Anyway, I've been impressed with my box on wheels and I get great service at my local dealer which was a huge concern coming from BMW dealers where you're treated like gold.

 

[TX_Ovrlnd]

It’s a F,,,,,king Jeep Wrangler people, quality control has never been there, this isn’t front page news. It’s a one of a kind vehicle, it’s at the top of the food chain off-road. One of the most fun vehicles on the market, so you’ll have to deal with it if you want one, otherwise buy something else, bitching about it hasn’t done any good for 80 years, what makes you think it’s gonna help now………

Social media tells these people publicly crying about something will draw enough of their like-minded followers together. They have power in numbers @Roky, Greta would be proud.

Sponsored