Trail Recon 392 Sold

[ratherbskiing]

I like that Brad has tried so many jeeps. I'd do it too if I could. I can't fault an enthusiast for wanting first hand experience with all of the exciting new variants from the brand we love. Who cares if he tests them hard and then moves on? Arn't we all on a perpetual journey to dial-in our rigs and setups from the thousands of options and configurations available? He can evaluate faster than most of us since this is his full time gig. The Cruiser and the Bronco were likely stunts to attract subs from outside of the Jeep crowd who already know him. Still, can't blame him. vI've myself been cruiser-curious a time or two. Never Bronco tho

I especially love that he tried the Diesel, 392, and 4Xe. I don't fault him for any of his conclusions on those. His diesel over heated (just like mine), the 4xe too unreliable for heavy service, and the 392 being not without quirks and gremlins. Seems spot on.

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[Spank]

I miss the old days when all you had to do is fight the dealership to get things covered under warranty. Now it's that plus parking your Jeep there for a month before work gets started.

 

[Oletimer]

I miss the old days when all you had to do is fight the dealership to get things covered under warranty. Now it's that plus parking your Jeep there for a month before work gets started.

A good friend use to own a dealership in our small town. he would tell me of the insane offers from the big corporate stealerships to buy him.
he would tell them it's not worth what your offering.
He gave people a good deal and had good employees that made a fair living and cared.
he finally caved in and sold.
they cut pay, best employees left , raised prices , brought in their slick talking sales managers .
what a joke it is now. they own every stealership in town.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I miss the old days when all you had to do is fight the dealership to get things covered under warranty. Now it's that plus parking your Jeep there for a month before work gets started.

And they do that after you make an appointment. I will fix all the little things myself, rather than go to the dealer for it, even under warranty. And when I fix it, it's usually done better, with better parts. Oh, and I never tell myself that I couldn't replicate the problem.

 

[pnut]

Watched his video earlier, it was interesting to hear how much he liked the 392. And then how he fell out of love with it. A real honest review.
I was surprised that the locker sensor was the straw that broke the camel's back... I get that potting them is not for everyone but I found it pretty easy. The fuel starvation issue on downhill was new to me, does this happen to pedestrian Wranglers?

My perspective is that I am the former owner of a 2021, and now current owner of a 2022 392 (which both have been completely problem free) over about 20,000 miles combined. I also take mine offroading (although only on dunes, no towing). So I really watched his video with great interest.

His comments on why he sold, and problems he had were very honest, and were not punitive. I could very much relate to what he said.

I haven't had any of his problems, but I am constantly concerned about the common failures (locker, transfer case). I've often considered that if one or more of these occur then I might consider selling. Is the Jeep worse than other vehicles in general with reliability or quality? Maybe, maybe not. But in the end, I don't want to have a 2nd/3rd vehicle that I can't rely on, and get reliable results with standard maintenance. If this were a topic of a broken axle shaft due to heavy rock crawling, or broken tie rod due to 40 inch tires, those are understandable and acceptable. But to have the internals of a transfer case prone to failure on an almost $100k vehicle, designed for heavy duty offroad use, just isn't ok. But I haven't faced that yet so maybe unfair to say.

 

[pnut]

I like watching his trips, but it is pretty obvious he isn't all that mechanically inclined. All Rubicons that are pre '24 have or will be affected by this. This includes all the ones he owns. My '18 went out, I used the Z-Automotive bypass to fix it as it was out of warranty. My buddy had his go out last fall when we were in Moab on his '22. It was still under warranty so Jeep fixed it.

The transfer case issue was caused by him. He was driving around with his trailer on dirt roads in FT. Of course he burnt the clutches. Driver error.

The fuel one is one that seems to be affecting the 392s, at least more have been reported with 392s than the other engine configurations. Not sure if it is because the fuel pickup is different in the 392s or because they use more fuel. Most have figured out to bring extra fuel though.

This guys has bought and sold more Jeeps than all my friends combined (and I belong to a Jeep club). I think he was being dramatic for clicks.

That's the point, you said it yourself. "All Rubicons that are pre '24 have or will be affected by this".

How is that ok? I would / when it happens be pissed off.

 

[ArmyRN]

The Asian dude with the shaved sides and pony tail. He makes good videos. Banned here, from my understanding, due to drumming for his own forum. W A Y A L I F E, take out the spaces and search YouTube.

I liked his videos. They were informative. It is too bad he was banned.

 

[flyer92]

I liked his videos. They were informative. It is too bad he was banned.

Agree. Funny...the more something is restricted or banned, the more people tend to talk about and call attention to it, just like we're doing now. I still don't understand why folks got butt-hurt about whatever he posted on some other forum, but his Youtube channel is among the best for us Jeepers and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Heimkehr]

Funny...the more something is restricted or banned, the more people tend to talk about and call attention to it, just like we're doing now.

I doubt the subject would get as much screentime as it does here, were it not for the precious little macro that inserts "[Banned Site]" whenever someone types the correct spelling of the YT channel that's been recurringly referred to. Consider the number of posts just in this single thread that call it out.

Absent that programmed substitution, the matter probably wouldn't have as much oxygen as it does. Ironic, perhaps.

 

[plex]

Lite Brite is on OnlyFans? Guess I learn something new today

 

[DanW]

They also don't work right in the older JLs. I'll go months without a light then all the sudden it will be on every day for a week, then off again. I wanna try a Tazer harness but I always end up finding something more interesting to spend $170 on.

Buy once, cry once. I carried the Tazer harness as a precaution and not long after, my rear sensor went boobs-up. I've had the harness on there for 2 or 3 years, maybe more, and it's worked flawlessly ever since.

There's another out there now that is a little cheaper...$150 I think. Simple device, should work just fine. I need to pick one up while I wait for the front sensor to fail or either of them in my Gladiator.

 

[DanW]

Lite Brite is on OnlyFans? Guess I learn something new today

That sucks. Sad to hear that. Hope it isn't true. Nice folks, but I don't care for whoring for money.

 

[DanW]

I liked his videos. They were informative. It is too bad he was banned.

His videos are great. But he's can be an a-hole, big time. I had a conversation with him once where for no reason at all he became hostile and nasty. He's got a reputation for that. I didn't really believe it until I experienced it. I wish him well, but I don't have respect for him.

 

[DanW]

It’s kinda funny to see these online auto influencers. Many, but not all, have adopted the same speaking style, inflections, and cadence. Somewhat like the British car show hosts. And so many of them always pronounce the as thee.

LOL! That's so true! I think they go to YouTube content producer conventions and learn all that stuff. When they become too polished, I sometimes lose interest. Plenty of competition out there.

 

[Jeep Wick]

Buy once, cry once. I carried the Tazer harness as a precaution and not long after, my rear sensor went boobs-up. I've had the harness on there for 2 or 3 years, maybe more, and it's worked flawlessly ever since.

There's another out there now that is a little cheaper...$150 I think. Simple device, should work just fine. I need to pick one up while I wait for the front sensor to fail or either of them in my Gladiator.

I bought 2 harnesses and ran them for awhile. Then one of the wires broke. Zauto was kind enough to replace it out of warranty. But I ran without it for awhile and then potted both sensors when the light started flashing. I was lucky and that fixed the issue permanently.

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