I posted last week here about not liking the cheap feel of the JLs, from the door handles to the bumpers to interior.. then this comes out. I really ain’t surprised. What was surprising was the ridiculous prices.
New Jeep Wrangler JL Frame Welds are Failing and Now FCA Is Issuing a Recall
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
OP
OP
I share your sentiments. While the interior of the JL does look "luxurious", it feels cheap to me with all the plastic. I don't like that on a Jeep. Maybe in our Subaru or Honda, but it doesn't make me feel like it's an off-road vehicle. It makes me feel like I don't want to get it dirty, because it's a Lexus or something.
Tj is all plastic interior too always felt cheap. My rubi’s doors and console. Cheap. . Plastic vents that crack so easy... Always hated that. All are cheap. But the JLs outer door handles for ex. Feel like they’ll not hold up, especially as rough as my kids are with them. And how easy all the plastic bends. windshields that break easily.. rust at weld joints... ugh.
I don’t mind getting it dirty, but I want something tough to withstand abuse and use. All cars for decades are plastic, but I’d like it to look good and be durable .
OP
The difference is that your TJ has a little plastic. The JL is plastic overload... it’s everywhere.
Personally I wish the TJ had a metal dashboard similar to the kind in the CJs.
I don’t want metal, but all the interior in my TJ is plastic. Just same as others. Console lid so thin cracked on one and vents cracked on all three tjs I owned. Window cranks flimsy... little plastic?’ Lots but flimsy.
The few JKs I’ve checked out had beefier feel inside. Console was durable, way thicker and doors were heavy and solid feeling, I had to keep reclosing them as I needed more force to fully close.. handles seem tough to take abuse. Never liked them till I got in one and felt the difference. Why didn’t Jeep keep this up on the JL! Make a truly durable Jeep inside and out.
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We know it's cheaper, and that's why Jeep uses it. But on a $50K + vehicle, what they put in it, and on it, is an insult to a buyer. I'd like it feel like quality, and not have to fix/mod.
All the Jeep models doors are relatively light, I read TJs were 55 lbs. and JK's were 62. Don't know about JL's. But on the welding.. My '98 TJ, the welds around the window cracked, and I've seen quite a few do that. My '06's door welds are awful too. But at least never cracked. KOW. Guess Jeep never got good at welding!
Tock13
New Member
I hope I don't get roasted for this post, I mean well by it. I am new to the wrangler world, I bought a 2004 sahara a couple weeks ago and have my fingers crossed it ends up being a good vehicle. I researched TJs for years, sifting through all the issues that have popped up in the TJ line in this and other forums. 2003-2004 seem to be the years with the least documented issues so I focused on finding on in those years. I came from owning a '79 FJ40 landcruiser for 15 years and sold it because parts are scarce and I am older looking for something to beat me up less. 
That truck started every time, was bombproof and I wouldn't have hesitated to drive it across the country...not sure I would be able to walk afterwards but you get the point. The decision on buying a landcruiser was...hmmm do I want a round headlight bezel or square...lift gate or ambulance doors. There was no "this year is susceptible for cracked heads, that year has a bad oil pump drive...don't get that transmission the PCM goes bad". Its stupidly irritating that a company can let crap go like they have with Jeeps and not give a damn about people spending hard earned cash on their junk. I guess though, it is kind of like Apples mentality where they know regardless of how bad they screw over customers they will still gladly come back to buy the next shiny new product.
My Jeep experience and memories came from my dads CJ5 he bought new in the 60s and I have always wanted something I can take the top off of to drive around up in the mountains. I loved the look of the TJ so that was the target. In my research on buying one I was absolutely blown away by the seemingly endless stream of issues TJs had in all years. Stuff Chrysler knew about, published tech bulletins about, lied about numbers affected so no recall forced on them, they in every case refused to stand behind their product to help the owners. How is that okay?
So who is really surprised at welds failing on new Jeeps? I am not at all. Their blessing is they are the only game in town so people have little choice if you want something like a Jeep so its no wonder they can get $40,000 for a vehicle of suspect quality. I was never a fan of Fiat or Peugeot and I wish Chrysler would just go back to being Chrysler with out a hyphen with some other name attached.
Don't get me wrong, I love Jeeps...I love the culture and I love the whole feeling of cruising down the road with no doors, thats the reason I now own one. Though to be honest I only bought this sahara knowing I can easily get my money back because of the low mileage and total lack of rust anywhere on it. I hope I will trust it at some point, but chances are slim.
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That truck started every time, was bombproof and I wouldn't have hesitated to drive it across the country...not sure I would be able to walk afterwards but you get the point. The decision on buying a landcruiser was...hmmm do I want a round headlight bezel or square...lift gate or ambulance doors. There was no "this year is susceptible for cracked heads, that year has a bad oil pump drive...don't get that transmission the PCM goes bad". Its stupidly irritating that a company can let crap go like they have with Jeeps and not give a damn about people spending hard earned cash on their junk. I guess though, it is kind of like Apples mentality where they know regardless of how bad they screw over customers they will still gladly come back to buy the next shiny new product.My Jeep experience and memories came from my dads CJ5 he bought new in the 60s and I have always wanted something I can take the top off of to drive around up in the mountains. I loved the look of the TJ so that was the target. In my research on buying one I was absolutely blown away by the seemingly endless stream of issues TJs had in all years. Stuff Chrysler knew about, published tech bulletins about, lied about numbers affected so no recall forced on them, they in every case refused to stand behind their product to help the owners. How is that okay?
So who is really surprised at welds failing on new Jeeps? I am not at all. Their blessing is they are the only game in town so people have little choice if you want something like a Jeep so its no wonder they can get $40,000 for a vehicle of suspect quality. I was never a fan of Fiat or Peugeot and I wish Chrysler would just go back to being Chrysler with out a hyphen with some other name attached.
Don't get me wrong, I love Jeeps...I love the culture and I love the whole feeling of cruising down the road with no doors, thats the reason I now own one. Though to be honest I only bought this sahara knowing I can easily get my money back because of the low mileage and total lack of rust anywhere on it. I hope I will trust it at some point, but chances are slim.
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You have to remember that for the dozens, and let's say maybe hundreds, of issues you read about on forums, there are tens of thousands of Jeeps, that never have issues, you never hear about, because people are not on forums to tell about how their Jeep was fine from the day they bought it to the day they sold it. Or died while owning it.I hope I don't get roasted for this post, I mean well by it. I am new to the wrangler world, I bought a 2004 sahara a couple weeks ago and have my fingers crossed it ends up being a good vehicle. I researched TJs for years, sifting through all the issues that have popped up in the TJ line in this and other forums. 2003-2004 seem to be the years with the least documented issues so I focused on finding on in those years. I came from owning a '79 FJ40 landcruiser for 15 years and sold it because parts are scarce and I am older looking for something to beat me up less.
My Jeep experience and memories came from my dads CJ5 he bought new in the 60s and I have always wanted something I can take the top off of to drive around up in the mountains. I loved the look of the TJ so that was the target. In my research on buying one I was absolutely blown away by the seemingly endless stream of issues TJs had in all years. Stuff Chrysler knew about, published tech bulletins about, lied about numbers affected so no recall forced on them, they in every case refused to stand behind their product to help the owners. How is that okay?
So who is really surprised at welds failing on new Jeeps? I am not at all. Their blessing is they are the only game in town so people have little choice if you want something like a Jeep so its no wonder they can get $40,000 for a vehicle of suspect quality. I was never a fan of Fiat or Peugeot and I wish Chrysler would just go back to being Chrysler with out a hyphen with some other name attached.
Don't get me wrong, I love Jeeps...I love the culture and I love the whole feeling of cruising down the road with no doors, thats the reason I now own one. Though to be honest I only bought this sahara knowing I can easily get my money back because of the low mileage and total lack of rust anywhere on it. I hope I will trust it at some point, but chances are slim.
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There's no excuse for an auto manufacturer to gloss over issues, but those same issues are not as prevalent as they seem on Jeep forums.
Artemis
TJ Enthusiast
The Subaru Ascent had some similar weld issues... https://www.autoblog.com/2018/08/15/2019-subaru-ascent-recall-replacement/
I’m not a Subaru guy, but definitely speaks to your point.
Fortunately with TJs the repair is often inexpensive and generally obvious (or well narrowed down) - because they’re simple and easy to work on.
A lot of the issues I read about with TJs seems to be someone wanting a car they can use with little regard for maintenance. For those you’re better off going with a Honda or older Toyota, with the obvious trade offs associated.
That said, after the initial Cam Position Sensor issue with mine I was initially in the “can I trust this thing” camp. I’ve come around and either have Stockholm syndrome or it’s earned my trust.
That could be the next viral topic. " How much do you trust your Jeep"
OP
Wow, that's informative. This is again though why you never, ever, ever buy the first year production run of any vehicle. Hell, the last year is always the best year to buy!
That's what I did, bid farewell to my TJ for an '18 JK., Though, I miss my Rubi a ton. But it was just too costly to fix and try to keep. Even with a measly 33,600 miles. : ( Still to see her drive off in the sunset after 12 years...was tough.
My TJ was one of the last ones to roll off Toledo line. And they slapped that thing together so crappy. There was a bunch of stuff on my '06 TJR that was so shabby. I think that's why the body rust was so extreme, maybe they didn't do all the finish prep work involved. Rust bubbling on the panels. The interior tub was put together so bad, carpet didn't cover the sides where you could see all the flawed work, the door welds were very sloppy on the outside, It held up but looked like shit. The rubber around the windshield was never installed and just hung off on the side, never leaked though. But she ran beautifully and the frame wasn't bad shape as far as rust.
I hope this new JK fairs better. I'm gonna take the extra steps, like oil undercoating for ex.