Would you buy a first year JL?

[ENDVR]

Hi-

I searched and couldn't really find what I was looking for so I wanted to make a post and get some opinions. I was dead set on ordering a new JLUR but it seems like every time I go and build one the pricing just keeps going up, So I have been looking around and I am seeing some pretty good deals on 2018 JLURs. I wanted to see what you all think about the 2018? I had 2013 JLUR and never had a single problem although I have heard the 2012-2014 was the worst 3.6 and had quite a few issues. I sold mine 5 months ago and have been regretting it since, it only had 80K miles on it and I had it pretty much dialed in. I THOUGHT I would be ok without having one but I am REALLY wanting a JL and living in the Denver area with access to hundreds of awesome trails isn't helping. Here's a pic of my 2013 just for fun.

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[blnewt]

Taylor, nice Jeep and cool dog!
2018s shouldn't be a problem if they were maintained properly and not abused. They came w/ an aluminum steering gear box that's been problematic (excess steering play) for some and there was a TSB that allowed many of us to change to a cast iron box (much better IMO), and there was a steering stabilizer recall, and there was a run of poor frame welds, with a good inspection you should be able to ID a problem there, but AFAIK that's it. If you get a 2dr you'll have much less trouble
But I'm biased I must admit!

 

[cobra]

I had a early 2018. Only issue was the hvac thing that would sometimes blow cold air at the pass foot well in the winter and hot in the summer. Unplugging the damper motor took care of that. It drove better than my 2021. Never had the steering box changed. Other than the hvac, no issues.

 

[jaymz]

I bought one a couple years back. It was built in April 2018. It’s been pretty trouble free. Had to replace a leaky radiator, but other than that nothing worth mentioning.

 

[longfiredragon]

A friend of mine has a 2018 V6 manual, with 70K on it. He has been across the country twice with it and off road many times. Not rock crawling but just lots of easier trails.

The only thing he has had done was the TSB for the steering damper, and just recently he replaced I think the track bar, just worn with 70K on it.

 

[Mikeoso]

Mine was an October 2018 build. Bought in June of 2019. Zero issues. 3.6 AT

 

[Smoke Showing]

Mine ’18 has been 100% reliable and headache free . It has only needed scheduled fluid changes and I’m ready for brake pads. If I didn’t spend a fortune on modifying it it would have been a great investment.

 

[blnewt]

Mine was an October 2018 build. Bought in June of 2019. Zero issues. 3.6 AT

Ours was an October 2018 build too, but picked it up in Jan 2019, and ours is a 2019 model year.

Oh, and @ENDVR all Rubicons have low caster from the factory so if you get one and don't plan to lift it any further (which I doubt from the pics of your last Jeep) you can get by w/ Mopar lift LCAs to get caster where it should have been in the first place.

And ALL JLs regardless of year have sun visors that can break at any time, it's something that was engineered by a group of morons and still has never been properly updated
Luckily there's easy repair for that or braces that you can by to keep them from falling into your lap.

 

[JEEPIDON]

Hi-

I searched and couldn't really find what I was looking for so I wanted to make a post and get some opinions. I was dead set on ordering a new JLUR but it seems like every time I go and build one the pricing just keeps going up, So I have been looking around and I am seeing some pretty good deals on 2018 JLURs. I wanted to see what you all think about the 2018? I had 2013 JLUR and never had a single problem although I have heard the 2012-2014 was the worst 3.6 and had quite a few issues. I sold mine 5 months ago and have been regretting it since, it only had 80K miles on it and I had it pretty much dialed in. I THOUGHT I would be ok without having one but I am REALLY wanting a JL and living in the Denver area with access to hundreds of awesome trails isn't helping. Here's a pic of my 2013 just for fun.

My early 2018 JLUR with 169,000 on it and never a serious issue. 8 seed auto, 3.6 and every factory option. All TSB‘s done and oil changes every 3000 miles. Leather is still excellent. No stearing issues. Yes, get one!

 

[aldo98229]

I own a 2018 Sahara V6, auto, Selec-Trac: I seem to have had fewer issues than some 2020+ JLs.

I had to replace both batteries 18 months into it; that’s it. That was 20 months ago; haven’t had anything else.

 

[2nd 392]

I own a 2018 Sahara V6, auto, Selec-Trac: I seem to have had fewer issues than some 2020+ JLs.

I had to replace both batteries 18 months into it; that’s it. That was 20 months ago; haven’t had anything else.

I thought the CJ’s lug pattern was different, how did you get those stolen wheels to work ? ?………. It’s good to be different

 

[J.Ferreira]

Hi-

I searched and couldn't really find what I was looking for so I wanted to make a post and get some opinions. I was dead set on ordering a new JLUR but it seems like every time I go and build one the pricing just keeps going up, So I have been looking around and I am seeing some pretty good deals on 2018 JLURs. I wanted to see what you all think about the 2018? I had 2013 JLUR and never had a single problem although I have heard the 2012-2014 was the worst 3.6 and had quite a few issues. I sold mine 5 months ago and have been regretting it since, it only had 80K miles on it and I had it pretty much dialed in. I THOUGHT I would be ok without having one but I am REALLY wanting a JL and living in the Denver area with access to hundreds of awesome trails isn't helping. Here's a pic of my 2013 just for fun.

I uhhh, only drive manuals so I wouldn't buy a 2018 myself. One too many horror stories from the early gen JL manuals.

 

[txj2go]

I did and I've not had any problems with it.
Actually I bought it used from the dealer with low miles on it. I've owned it almost 3 years and I've put 31k miles on it. It has done lots of moderate trails and lots of highway miles.

 

[The Fixer]

We have two 2018's and love them both. Knock on wood, both have been trouble-free. My wife's was ordered in March of '18 and delivered in May of '18. It's a 3.6/8-speed auto 4-door Sport S. It has 37K miles on it now, and has only needed routine maintenance and new batteries. My wife commutes locally with it, but we do our fair share of trips down the shore in the summer time, along with road trips to VT and other places.

Mine has an October '18 build date, and it sat on a couple of dealer lots until I got it in July of '19. It's a 2.0T/8-speed auto 2-door Sport and has 27K miles now. Outside of routine maintenance, I had to fix the passenger side sun visor and have the passenger airbag connector repaired in the seat (under warranty when it was about a year old). It's my daily driver (local commute), but we take it to one of the offroad parks in PA at least once a year, and also down the shore in the summer.

Either powertrain gives good fuel mileage and though I've not had the steering boxes replaced, they are perfectly fine and ride well. I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on an '18 if you found one with low miles that seems to be well-maintained and accident-free. Good luck on your search!

 

[VTSpam]

I had a bad experience. I bought a 2018 JLU Sahara at the end of 2020. Priced decently at a dealership and has most features I was looking for. It was low miles too. 38k. We started having problems immediately. The dealership kept saying “No problem” and would fix things. In the first three months, it spent 2 of the months in the shop. Some problems they couldn’t fix and they told me it was a known issue with no fix and it was “fine.” We had electrical problems, 4WD issues, battery problems, exhaust issues, and more. I think the original owner was rough on it and didn’t take care if it, but as someone who topical buys New cars, I learned my lesson and am just buying new from now on.

we ended up trading it in for a new 2021 JLUR and haven’t been happier. The only problem we have had is the same thing many people have… half the time when the backup camera is on, we don’t see the path lines showing where the heck we are going.

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