Track bar frame weld issue recall! [Updated with official UA5 recall notice w/ repair procedure]

[grady2hig]

Best guess is that FCA will send explicit instructions/pictures to the dealers during this quarter, covering what is an acceptable weld and what isn't. Doubt that they will send a team around for the 18,000 Jeeps ... maybe the 800 Jeeps ... or the 80 Jeeps that are borderline. Another guess is that many of them will be triaged with FCA via photos.

I'm glad we were warned this quickly ahead of the final inspection/fix. Would have been better if they had an instant fix in mind and the warning, inspection, and fix came together ... that seldom happens with a complicated problem/solution. But, at least we've been made aware that the problem exists. That enabled me to crawl under the Jeep again and reinspect that particular weld for any sign of weakness or cracking ... just like you did ... yes? Oh yea, if mine showed up on the recall list, I'll probably give it a cursory exam every few weeks until something definitive was decided.

As for the non-mechanical minded soccer mom ... when she thinks she has a problem, she usually has someone, besides the dealer, who advises her. She can do the same thing here, just like she does with every other problem that she's not knowledgeable about. If I wasn't around, both my son and my son-in-law are mechanically knowledgeable enough to advise my wife. And, if they weren't sure if it was a problem, they have buddies who are experienced enough to advise.

This is not like the airbag fiasco where there was a recall with the underlying theme that if you're in an accident, and the airbag goes off, it could kill you. Oh yes, and we will be years getting enough parts to replace yours. I drove both of my vehicles like that for about two years before trading them in with the faulty airbags still in place. Since I didn't live near the ocean, the odds were in my favor enough that I kept on driving them.

Anybody seen chicken little? If he's around, think I'll barbecue that little SOB for dinner.

Maybe their fix will be to buy back the 4% with the issue.

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[47Jeepster]

Maybe their fix will be to buy back the 4% with the issue.

That could work to their advantage in the PR department. Then send a trained crew around with portable welding/repair equipment ... like a pipeline tie in welder. Place the repaired Jeeps into a rental fleet to age them well past the repair and then sell into the used market.

 

[NCJeepn73]

Since my FCA re-welds didn't pass re-inspections I'm still waiting on a replacement. I should have had the replacement over two weeks ago. But the thing is sitting in a train yard two hours away and STILL will not start. No updates no ideas as to why it will not start, nothing!

Most horrible dealership customer service I've received... and we've bought at least 8-9 other Jeeps at this same dealership.

I'm almost at the end of my patience.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

18k for inspection, not 18k affected with bad welds, but if you’re VIN is affected, get it inspected.

It says 18,055 potentially affected. If that many are “potentially affected” and need to be brought in for inspection, how can it possibly be determined that “only around 700” are bad? How do they know it’s only 700 before inspecting them? And if they do know that, why are they making the other 17,000 poor bastards come in?

 

[grady2hig]

It says 18,055 potentially affected. If that many are “potentially affected” and need to be brought in for inspection, how can it possibly be determined that “only around 700” are bad? How do they know it’s only 700 before inspecting them? And if they do know that, why are they making the other 17,000 poor bastards come in?

It may just be a time frame when a jeep could have gotten a frame from the bad welding robot...maybe the robot only did 700 some frames. They just aren't sure where they ended up, so they narrowed itit do to ones they possibly could have ended up on.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

It may just be a time frame when a jeep could have gotten a frame from the bad welding robot...maybe the robot only did 700 some frames. They just aren't sure where they ended up, so they narrowed itit do to ones they possibly could have ended up on.

OK. That makes some sense. I hope it’s something like that.

 

[trble]

My welds have bubbles and rust on them. My Jeep has no recall. SOOOOOOO, there may be more

 

[grady2hig]

My welds have bubbles and rust on them. My Jeep has no recall. SOOOOOOO, there may be more

That's not rust. It's silicon islands that paint didn't adhere to.

 

[Neanderthalman]

It says 18,055 potentially affected. If that many are “potentially affected” and need to be brought in for inspection, how can it possibly be determined that “only around 700” are bad? How do they know it’s only 700 before inspecting them? And if they do know that, why are they making the other 17,000 poor bastards come in?

Statistics.

You can do crazy things with it. You lock the nerds in the nerdery with their calculators and they can provide some shockingly accurate predictions of how these things play out.

They’ll likely have the numbers down pretty close on how many need to be repaired, but they won’t be able to tell exactly which 700 they are. To find them, they must inspect them.

 

[LABLUE]

FCA updated the UA5 track bar recall today. Some people will not be happy! I would take your JL in ASAP!

Anyone with the Rusty's track bar bracket will probably be charged to remove and install for inspection.

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

FCA released the UA5 track bar recall today. Some people will not be happy! I would take your JL in ASAP!

Curious why you would start a separate thread apart from the original (and appreciated) thread you already started on this topic.

 

[LABLUE]

I feel that first one is a heads up and this thread is FCAs fix. Did I do it wrong?

 

[VNT]

The recall is for 18,000 vehicles. That’s 9%. In recall terms, that’s quite significant.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2018/RCAK-18V675-4983.pdf

but, they must have confidence maybe 18k need to be recalled and inspected but less than 700 will be impacted, translation Tower must have pretty good idea of when the bad welds on the frames they supply were made, so like everything, the media has to blow it out of proportion. reminds me of a ball joint recall on my 2000 durango, had idiots come up to me at gas stations telling me my wheel was going to come off because of something they heard on the news, told the guy, no problem, some of us actually check the play in the ball joints when we rotate tires and to not worry about what you hear on the news LOL 19yrs later still driving it with the factory ball joints.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

Much easier to find FCAs solution in a new thread. Maybe change the thread title to indicate FCA has a solution.

Thanks for the info @LABLUE

 

[jeremyjeep]

Just take a look at this video from 2018 Wrangler JL Unlimited Rubicon owner Bret Stevens showing the front right tracking bracket and how it doesn’t seem to be touching much of anything when he turns the wheel.

What video? There wasn't a link to any video.

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