Over the past 3 months I’ve spent 2k+ on my 07 JGC! It was initially a crunching front passenger wheel sound that lead to speed sensor, bearings, and ABS sensor. Noise began again, which led to rear pinion seals replacement. I had the car in 3 times to fix the fixes.
Now the driver side wheel is making same noise, but much worse and the suspension feels involved (truck hopping in left turns). Last week the remote stopped working and I couldn’t open manually - transponder replacement.
Just prior to these issues she was in for warranty recall repair for 4 WD issue.
In having a good Indy guy look at her next week, I hate the dealership.
Truck has 92k, I drive about 50 miles a month (dog and hobby transport, and snow days, I have a commuting car I put miles on). She hasn’t been off-road or towing anything.
Are these probs unusual? In considering getting something else, I’m frustrated !
Pretty much everyone I know personally who owns a Jeep of any make, once it starts having mechanical issues it becomes a constant litany of various things breaking down and they end up spending thousands just to keep the thing running, I would never buy one, my Dad owns a Wrangler and I can’t tell you how many thousands of dollars he has spent to keep driving it, just the transfer case alone he has had to have replaced or worked on like three or four times, and he has had a lot of issues besides that including things like electrical problems you usually don’t have to worry about much. Get out now while you still can!
whatever you do, don’t buy a German vehicle. they’re even worse.
You have a Daimler-era Chrysler product, and one from the nadir of Stuttgart-mandated cost cutting. Suspension components were probably the weakest part of any Chrysler vehicle produced under the Reich of Nickel-and-Daimler. I had a (Neon) SRT-4 which, while an unfailingly reliable car, was not durable. I think in the 170,000 miles I put on it it ate multiple sets of control arm bushings, outer tie rods, wheel bearings, half shafts, stabilizer bar links, and so on.
I’ve owned several Wranglers (5?). I put around 150,000 miles on them, then trade in on a new one. Maybe my experience is atypical, but I like Wranglers.
Hmm, I just had a thread where I touted the cost benefits of repairing your existing vehicle. $2K is about 1/3 the yearly total cost of payments on a new car if we assume say $500/mo on a 5 year note. It’s less than that if you buy more expensive cars than I do.
It only makes financial sense if the cost of repairs comes close to out pacing monthly payments, or if the regularity of monthly payments on a new car is more easy to deal with than larger occasional bills.
But there are other problems to contend with, too. The frustration of having the vehicle repaired, along with having to find alternate transport while it is being repaired has to be figured in, as well. But, unless it’s depriving you of many weeks out of the year, I’d still revert to the economic argument.
But then again, if you don’t love the vehicle, you don’t love it. It won’t feel bad if you sell it.
This is very interesting information. First my 4WD went out – thankfully it was covered under a Chrysler recall.
Thus far my V8 engine/fluids/tranny/other mechanicals are in great shape, so there’s that. My brother owns the twin of the Jeep and he is experiencing electronic-electrical issues, but no major suspension trouble (yet).
I traded in my first Wrangler (a 2001) with just 8,000 miles on it – not enough for problems to arise. Mrs. Shark just sold her 2014 Wrangler, it had 3,200 on the odometer
(yup, that’s 3,200 and not 32km, she doesn’t drive much). So, again, not enough miles on it for problems to occur.
I loved my Cherokee but I wouldn’t buy one now. Would you consider something like an Explorer, Edge or a Terrain? They’ll haul 3500 lbs no problem and if you’re not doing any real offroading there’s no reason to not consider a decent size SUV with AWD. Hell, I’d even look at a Tahoe if i had to tote dogs and toys comfortably. One of my co-workers shows dogs and she bought an Expedition so she can haul all her kit and kids comfortably (we call it the Death Star…).
