Top things you DON'T like about the New JL Wrangler

[twisty]

I greatly dislike the driver seat height and lack of comfort. I'm 6'4" and it's dangerous having my head right by the roll bar and having to look down on the instrument panel. They need to drop the seat atleast 2"! I'll gladly pay more $ for this option.

Same here and my TJ was the same as far as height but I didnt have the rollbar to contend with, so the TJ was better. I'm 6 1 and have found several suitable positions so I cant get too bent about it.

I was thinking of ordering or waiting for a driver side seat bracket to show up at a junk yard and possibly cutting it down about an inch, re-welding. That should do the trick I would imagine. If I was 6 4 like you I'd look into it. Might be all you need to do, leg room even for you should be stellar.

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[ChattVol]

Same here and my TJ was the same as far as height but I didnt have the rollbar to contend with, so the TJ was better. I'm 6 1 and have found several suitable positions so I cant get too bent about it.

I was thinking of ordering or waiting for a driver side seat bracket to show up at a junk yard and possibly cutting it down about an inch, re-welding. That should do the trick I would imagine. If I was 6 4 like you I'd look into it. Might be all you need to do, leg room even for you should be stellar.

I've done alot of research and took it to metal fab shop...they said the seat is already sitting on the floor...no room to lower. I will look into a different seat.

 

[rkammer]

The fact that I do not have the money to do all the upgrades that I want.

 

[VolCntry73]

The only two things that are real sticklers with me is:

1) The auto start/stop at idle. I make it a habit to turn this off every time I get into the vehicle. Will eventually get a permanent solution where I don't have to do that, but can't stand it.

2) Along with that...the two batteries. Or let me rephrase, the LOCATION of the second battery. I'm not sure what the logic was around the conference table when discussing where to put the battery that controls start up. Placing it under the main battery, requiring the amount of work it takes to get to it, makes no sense to me. You want a second battery, fine...at least put it next to or in a very easily accessible place.

Those two things said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Rubi. There may be some other things that pop up that I don't like (I've only had it a week), but even the two things above doesn't sway me from loving this vehicle.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@VolCntry73

You probably are aware of this, but the TazerJL programmer has the ability to disable ESS and to disable auto park. Of course, there are many other things the TazerJL can do for you/ your Rubi.

Yes, cost of the TazerJl is a tad under $300 (with discounts) but remember, when you finally sell your JL, you will be able to sell the TazerJL on say Craigslist, for more then half of what you paid for it. So, you will enjoy the benefits of the programmer for what $150+-.

Anyway, do consider a TazerJL ...

 

[VolCntry73]

@VolCntry73

You probably are aware of this, but the TazerJL programmer has the ability to disable ESS and to disable auto park. Of course, there are many other things the TazerJL can do for you/ your Rubi.

Yes, cost of the TazerJl is a tad under $300 (with discounts) but remember, when you finally sell your JL, you will be able to sell the TazerJL on say Craigslist, for more then half of what you paid for it. So, you will enjoy the benefits of the programmer for what $150+-.

Anyway, do consider a TazerJL ...

Yes, already on the mods list. That was my more "permanent" solution. But a few other things are ahead of the Tazer on the purchase order . But thanks for the info!!

 

[ToolMan514]

The only two things that are real sticklers with me is:

1) The auto start/stop at idle. I make it a habit to turn this off every time I get into the vehicle. Will eventually get a permanent solution where I don't have to do that, but can't stand it.

2) Along with that...the two batteries. Or let me rephrase, the LOCATION of the second battery. I'm not sure what the logic was around the conference table when discussing where to put the battery that controls start up. Placing it under the main battery, requiring the amount of work it takes to get to it, makes no sense to me. You want a second battery, fine...at least put it next to or in a very easily accessible place.

Those two things said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Rubi. There may be some other things that pop up that I don't like (I've only had it a week), but even the two things above doesn't sway me from loving this vehicle.

The second battery doesn't "control" the startup, it powers the Jeep computer and accessories while the engine is stopped. The main battery still does all the cranking for turning the engine over, cold and hot.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@ToolMan514

Ahhhhh, You do know this, right ..... That the JL will start even if you have the main battery removed from the JL.

Another point.... if the ESS/Aux battery is defective or depleted and the main battery is fully charged and connected, the JL will not start..............

Food for thought......................

 

[twisty]

@ToolMan514

Ahhhhh, You do know this, right ..... That the JL will start even if you have the main battery removed from the JL.

Another point.... if the ESS/Aux battery is defective or depleted and the main battery is fully charged and connected, the JL will not start..............

Food for thought......................

Have you tested this theory? because if true that really sucks.

 

[VolCntry73]

The second battery doesn't "control" the startup, it powers the Jeep computer and accessories while the engine is stopped. The main battery still does all the cranking for turning the engine over, cold and hot.

 

[Xingpao]

My biggest issue with the JL so far is the pathetically cheap plastic used throughout the interior and also the inner fenders. Extremely low durability.

The 7.0 version of the Uconnect has virtually no useful features other than serving as a media connection and adds zero value. From what I can tell the 8.4 is surely not worth even a penny more as well.

Both are very fixable in future iterations, but the sad truth is they will probably only go cheaper and cheaper.

 

[Matthew/E36]

Might have been covered already, but the radio having its own life.

It doesn't remember the position it was in when I turn the car off. I intentionally mute or power it off and it will often blast as soon as I start the car. Sometimes it will do that with a different source than I had when I shut it off too.


Irks me most because they put Uconnect in all their vehicles for cost savings...then don't bother to get the bugs out...

 

[AVENTUS]

STILL NO STOWABLE-in-cargo-area, 3-glass-sunroof, removable roof panels. As was featured on an earlier clay model.

No locking chrome gas cap door

Ugly cheap charcoal plastic trim on fenders
Ugly cheap charcoal plastic all over interior

No factory larger (33-35”) off road tire options

No factory soft doors
No hyperlight powerless quick remove doors

No chrome wheel options
No stock waterproof seat cover options

 

[ember_season]

Overall I am very pleased with the new JL. Love the styling both inside and out (aside from a few below mentioned things) and a lot of the new features. However, there are a few things that do bug me about the new design, that I wish were different. I am mentioning below from largest concern to smallest, the things I like LEAST about the new Jeep Wrangler JL. Make sure to post your own lists below.

1.) Push Button Start / Stop
For me, this is the biggest contention. I hate electronic push button starts. I want an actual mechanical turn key. Also, I don't want to have to find another place to put my key ring with all my keys on it. I'd rather have it hang right in the ignition. Now I have to find a place to put it which takes up more space for something else. some push button start vehicles have a slot where you can still insert the key in to hold it (and the chain with all the other keys). I would have at least preferred that! Especially since it is a ridiculously large and over sized key. Seriously, the thing is huge and takes up way too much space in a pocket. I heard that the key was more normal size, and the slot in the cup holders was made for a smart phone, but they figured they could put the key in there too, so just made the key larger so it would fit in there better. WTF kind of logic is that? That's ignoring the end for the sake of the means!

The main problem with the push button start is the reliability concern. There are already two reports (that we know about) of people being stranded in their new JL because their electronic key fob / push button malfunctioned. If the electronic key fob gets wet or damaged (crushed, dirt, etc) you are stranded. You would not be stranded with a physical mechanical key and ignition. Why would I want something that compromises the reliability of my vehicle? Just because it is "new" or "cool" is not a legitimate reason to want something when it compromises your reliability.

2.) More Slanted Windshield
It's supposed to be a jeep and look like a jeep. I hate this slippery slope of "modernizing" or "homogonizing" the wrangler by rounding things and canting other things. It's supposed to be unarrowdynamic and boxy, that's the point! How much MPG are they really gaining by the more slanted windshield? Is it even half a MPG? If you want gas mileage, the wrangler isn't the vehicle for you! Luckily, on its own, the slope isn't super noticeable, however, if you have it next to a JK it really sticks out and doesn't look right.

3.) One Gallon Smaller Fuel Tank
With a longer and wider vehicle, you would think they could have at LEAST maintained the same size fuel tank. I have a JK unlimited now, and the 22.5 gallon tank is great! I want all the range I can get, even if they supposedly increased MPGs slightly. I could maybe forgive them reducing the tank capacity by half a gallon so it was 22 gallons even, but one full gallon less is too much!

4.) Lack of Mud Tires on the Rubicon
Come on, it's the RUBICON! The off road model! They should at least give you the option to choose off road / mud tires for it. Not that I hate the KO2s, but I'd really like to continue to see the Rubicon come with off road mud tires to pair with the off road vehicle that it is. Like I said, there should at LEAST be an option to pick mud tires as an option. They have different wheel options, why not tire options? Another attempt to homogenize the wrangler and make it cookie cutter.

5.) Return of the Push Button Automatic shifter
There is nothing like the smoothness and ease of the current JK's 5 speed automatic Mercedes transmission. You just throw it into whatever gear you want with a hand motion and it shifts in smooth as butter. I had the older auto transmission with the push button shift (like most autos), and it was noticable slower and clunkier to shift. Maybe this is minor, but I really thought the Mercedes tranny was a nice touch and much appreciated feature when throwing the wrangler into gear.

6.) Increased Length w/ NO Increased Trunk Space
They increased the length on the JL a couple of inches, and they put it to waste. They increased the leg room of the rear seat and didn't touch the trunk size / space? They must not understand wrangler people too well, esp the two door owners! It's a wrangler, not a luxury or a passenger vehicle. The rear seat room was fine as is. You would have been MUCH better increasing the TRUNK SPACE an inch than trying to make the wrangler a cookie cutter passenger vehicle by increasing leg room.

They should have increased the leg room in the front of the wrangler for the driver if anything as there are some tall / long legged people who do not fit in a wrangler well as it is. This would at least make a few more tall people able to comfortably drive a wrangler, and lead to more sales. How many more sales is the increased leg room in the back going to lead to?

I am actually shocked that they didn't even TRY to increase trunk storage on the 2 door JL at all, as that was a very lamented feature on the 2 door JKs. They should have done something to increase the space there at least!

7.) License plate on the rear bumper
I don't like the look of it, or the idea that if I actually have to use my bumper, my plate is going to get trashed. Not sure why the tail gate had to be widened as that wasn't really a feature requested by anybody? The wider tail lights still end up sticking out past the jeep, so you don't gain any clearance anyway.


Well, that's my basic list in order from biggest gripes to least. There are most likely a few small things that I didn't mention due to being basically inconsequential, or just not knowing about them. These are the major gripes I have with it as of right now though. The pros still greatly outweigh the cons though (esp on the Rubicon), so don't view this as a bash thread. Let me know what you think, and post your own lists below.

You can still start the engine with the push button if the battery is dead or the fob doesn't work. Just use the fob to push in the push button and it will read the RFID chip In it which requires it to be nearby the button

 

[Biscuit]

I had to laugh when I read this. I doubt the person wanted feedback. Especially just to say “I don’t care”. On option 5 they probably meant a light circling the glove box key hole.

Okay then, I hate the fact that I don't have anything to whine about. I think maybe I have a case of Jeep Anxiety Disorder (JAD), which I'm told is similar to Trump Anxiety Disorder (TAD).

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