Jeep Brand Vehicles Problems??

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Lessee, I’ve owned 5 Jeeps through the years, all but one of them were bought used. There were 1990 and 1997 XJ Cherokees, a  1997 TJ Wrangler (new), a 1997 Grand Cherokee, and my current driver, a 2005 Grand Cherokee. 
 

All have been bulletproof reliable although body rot got the better of the XJs. The Wrangler was totaled when I got t-boned in traffic. The ‘97 GC was lost to divorce. They all had that wonderful 4-liter inline 6 and awesome transmission.

Damn, I loved that Wrangler. I put off-road tires on it and kept up with all but the most tricked-out Jeeps in the Jeep Club. It was box-stock except the tires. I learned then that all 4-wheel drive and hi-tech mods do is get you stuck further from the road if you don’t use your noggin. 
 

I know nothing of the Jeeps made beyond when Daimler-Benz owned them. My ‘05 is one of them. At first I wondered about the capability of the baseline full-time 4WD.  I was so used to the lever of the other cars.
 

My concerns were allayed on a bird hunting trip in central Kansas. Those rural roads were covered in that wet Kansas goop that’s slick as goose poop and dries like concrete. One of our party abandoned his new Silverado 4WD and hitched a ride in mine. There was a lot of sliding, but we never got stuck. 
 

I only have 125K on it, minimal repairs, and at 5k a year and my 71 years of age, it might be my last vehicle. Truth is, there’s nothing out there I need or want that’s worth $50k-plus. I hate car payments. 

 

Unrelated musings:

 

One last thought/question since this foreign vs domestic car topic comes up periodically on this forum: Since my current Jeep was made in Canada and contains German parts,  and my wife’s Buick was made in Mexico and contains Asian parts, does that make them foreign cars? Since my son’s Honda was made in Ohio and includes Asian parts, does that make it an American car? All have been very reliable. 

 

 

[Dantankerous]

6 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

... I hate car payments...

 

Agree. I won't do car payments for any reason. They suck the life right out of a person.

 

 

[Buckshot Bob]

6 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

 

 

Unrelated musings:

 

One last thought/question since this foreign vs domestic car topic comes up periodically on this forum: Since my current Jeep was made in Canada and contains German parts,  and my wife’s Buick was made in Mexico and contains Asian parts, does that make them foreign cars? Since my son’s Honda was made in Ohio and includes Asian parts, does that make it an American car? All have been very reliable. 

 

 

That’s the hard call anymore. Being raised in Mi I was always taught as a child that foreign cars were evil . When I moved to Ca everyone there drove a Toyota. I had a hard time  accepting it at first but had to admit as a whole they make some very reliable vehicles. 
I’ve owned Chevy’s made in Canada and Mexico, a Subaru made here in the US . 
Currently own a Ram truck that was made in the US “when I bought mine in 17 the dealer said some were made in Mexico” but my understanding is Stellantis is considered a foreign owned . I’m guessing RAM was when I bought mine in 17 . Last fall we got my wife a new vehicle and she liked the Toyota RAV4 . I have no problem with Toyota but would have rather seen her in a bigger vehicle but that’s the size she likes , happy wife happy life. I actually enjoy driving it and like the fact it’s naturally aspirated with a well proven transmission and AWD system , It was made in Canada. 
Anymore I try to do as much research as possible, and buy models at the end of their run that seem to have most of the bugs worked out of them, at the time I’m in the market. That’s honestly more of a priority to me than manufacturer or assembly point. I just want to decrease my odds of owning a pos as much as possible. But that’s always a crap shoot , even what people consider to be the best manufacturers make a turd every once and awhile. 
Any more what’s the difference between buying a Ram or a Toyota truck ? They are both foreign owned companies making a vehicle here in the US. Chevy is made in different countries depending on the model with parts sourced from all over the world. Same with Ford . 
Anymore I guess you would have to drill down to the percentages for the most American made . But if that doesn’t coincide with what I consider to be “best in class” I’m not buying it . It’s gotta give me a warm fuzzy feeling to lay down as much cash as a new vehicle costs anymore. 
Individuals have some very different ideas about what the perfect vehicle is. I guess the same could said about guns. One man’s trash is another’s treasure. 

[bgavin]

Consumer Reports details all the problems with Jeeps.

[Eyesa Horg]

The Death Wobble in Wranglers was special!

[Dantankerous]

43 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

The Death Wobble in Wranglers was special!

 

It freaking sucked.

 

I fought DW for several years, trying everything, changing everything, bla bla bla. I'd get it so ramdomly I could never pin point the cause. Sometimes a bump, sometimes a pothole, sometimes a smooth paved road!

 

I broke the factory Dana 30 so I put in a Teraflex Dana 44, a REAL Dana 44, and a real axle, made right and DW went away forever.

 

DW is a reason I'll not own a Jeep again. Scarey stuff at 35 mph let alone highway speeds!

 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

1 hour ago, Dantankerous said:

 

It freaking sucked.

 

I fought DW for several years, trying everything, changing everything, bla bla bla. I'd get it so ramdomly I could never pin point the cause. Sometimes a bump, sometimes a pothole, sometimes a smooth paved road!

 

I broke the factory Dana 30 so I put in a Teraflex Dana 44, a REAL Dana 44, and a real axle, made right and DW went away forever.

 

DW is a reason I'll not own a Jeep again. Scarey stuff at 35 mph let alone highway speeds!

 

 

I was a Service Advisor for a few months at a Jeep dealer. A lady kept coming in complaining about the DW and even went to tears once. The techs pretty much changed the front end and no joy. I had to go for a test drive with the customer as a passenger and right by the dealership was a railroad crossing. She told me to hit it at about 30 mph! Oh my gawd is all I could say!! I could no doubt see how it could terrify somebody.

A parts store once told me that engineers threw a bunch of parts in the air and what came down became a Jeep!! I owned a 71 pickup plow truck for a while and you couldn't buy parts without having the old one with you. Nothing listed in the books back then were what I had!! It was always "Oh, you got one of those those"!

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

2 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

The Death Wobble in Wranglers was special!

 

2 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

It freaking sucked.

 

I fought DW for several years, trying everything, changing everything, bla bla bla. I'd get it so ramdomly I could never pin point the cause. Sometimes a bump, sometimes a pothole, sometimes a smooth paved road!

DW is a reason I'll not own a Jeep again. Scarey stuff at 35 mph let alone highway speeds!

 

6 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

I was a Service Advisor for a few months at a Jeep dealer. A lady kept coming in complaining about the DW and even went to tears once. The techs pretty much changed the front end and no joy. I had to go for a test drive with the customer as a passenger and right by the dealership was a railroad crossing. She told me to hit it at about 30 mph! Oh my gawd is all I could say!! I could no doubt see how it could terrify somebody.

About 99% of the time, Death Wobble can be attributed to tires not being balanced. That's not to say that there are not other causes, worn steering components, worn track bar can do it, but unbalanced tires, especially larger tires, is most likely it.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I had the death wobble in the 2 ‘97 Cherokees. Fixed it by replacing the worn elastomers on the front anti-sway bar. 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

JEEP (at service time ) Just Empty Every Pocket 

[Eyesa Horg]

2 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 

 

About 99% of the time, Death Wobble can be attributed to tires not being balanced. That's not to say that there are not other causes, worn steering components, worn track bar can do it, but unbalanced tires, especially larger tires, is most likely it.

The one I had to help with was brand new!