Clutch Recall (2/23/23): Clutch Pressure Plate May Overheat -- Affecting 70,000 Manual Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators

[Willypug]

Did you try 4-low? The clutch is subpar for sure, but the stock gearing is also way too tall which just magnifies its shortcomings. I mostly don't mind the clutch in any application. It's not good, but the lightness is a nice change from the heavy clutches I'm used to.

Oh yeah, I have always been a 4 low guy in the sand and have been driving on the beaches here since I was like 8 in my dads CJ5 in the 70's. I did have one vehicle which was better in 4 hi and that was the 69 Bronco, just gearing. I did try hi in the sand and it was not even usable. Once you hit second, it bogged to a complete stop. Never, ever had that before in any manual. More than likely part and parcel of that last update they did reducing torque. Either way, yes, low and slow is how I roll on the beach.

Sponsored

 

[DanW]

Did you try 4-low? The clutch is subpar for sure, but the stock gearing is also way too tall which just magnifies its shortcomings. I mostly don't mind the clutch in any application. It's not good, but the lightness is a nice change from the heavy clutches I'm used to.

Actually, 1st gear is pretty short. Definitely shorter than the JK's 1st gear ratio. That's 5.13:1 for the JL and 4.46 for the JK. (The higher number means more rpm, or a "shorter" gear. This is always confusing. But 5.13:1 will get going easier than 4.46. For reference, 6th gear in the JL is 0.72. So the lower the ratio number numerically, the "taller" the gear.

When I re-geared my differentials, I was worried about going too far because it would make 1st gear too short. So I went with 4.56 axle ratio with 35" tires.

Side note: I've been to Moab twice, both on 35's. Once with 4.10 stock axles and once with 4.56. I had no trouble crawling with the 4.10's but the 4.56's were definitely better.

I've really got no complaints about the clutch. I'm hoping, though, that the recall gets me a new clutch, just to push that maintenance item down the road, and a new pressure plate that would be resistant to heat damage and fracturing.

 

[Choatecav]

I actually just got off the phone with Jeep and had a case number started.

From what the lady told me, it sounds like they will cover parts for an aftermarket clutch, (and labor if it's done at a jeep dealer).

I'm going to call my nearby dealer and see if that jives. And when they likely tell me that it will take forever to actually get scheduled to get the install done, I'm going to call Jeep again and will argue profusely that the labor needs to be covered regardless (I'm not paying for someone else's screwup)

Well, we are getting differing replies. I sent an email to Jeep about reimbursement if I get this done with aftermarket brand and they replied with this:

"Thank you for taking the time reaching out to us directly. We do not reimburse for parts that is not through Mopar. We do apologize for the inconvenience that this may have caused you.
William
Jeep Cares"

So, what is the straight story???

 

[redriderjf87]

Well, we are getting differing replies. I sent an email to Jeep about reimbursement if I get this done with aftermarket brand and they replied with this:

"Thank you for taking the time reaching out to us directly. We do not reimburse for parts that is not through Mopar. We do apologize for the inconvenience that this may have caused you.
William
Jeep Cares"

So, what is the straight story???

The 2nd person I talked to said that and then hung up on me (twice).

The 3rd person I talked to said it would void my warranty but then emailed me some reimbursement info.

They won't acknowledge that the Mopar parts in this case are a safety risk to the customer, hence the recall.

I want a truck with safe / properly designed components and an intact warranty. That is not asking too much, Jeep.

 

[SteveInOrlando]

The 2nd person I talked to said that and then hung up on me (twice).

The 3rd person I talked to said it would void my warranty but then emailed me some reimbursement info.

They won't acknowledge that the Mopar parts in this case are a safety risk to the customer, hence the recall.

I want a truck with safe / properly designed components and an intact warranty. That is not asking too much, Jeep.

Clutches are wear parts. Changing your clutch does not void your warranty! Let someone try telling me that, they wouldn't like the outcome of that stupidity!

If you replace your brake pads with other than Mopar, that doesn't void the warranty why would the clutch be different?

 

[Choatecav]

It would be great to be reimbursed- event just parts!!! I don’t expect it from Stellantis

Ok, I have the local dealership in agreement to install a Centerforce and will give me a quote of the cost if I give them the CF product number.

Spartacus, you are the CF expert, can you please share which model CF clutch kit you installed in yours??

thanks,

 

[Bbannongmu]

Ok, I have the local dealership in agreement to install a Centerforce and will give me a quote of the cost if I give them the CF product number.

Spartacus, you are the CF expert, can you please share which model CF clutch kit you installed in yours??

thanks,

I did the dual friction kit - KDF157077. It’s tough!!! Good luck!
https://www.centerforce.com/i-30500...=JEEP||model=GLADIATOR||submodel=3.6L - 6-SPD

 

[skiline900]

When I check my recall in the Jeep owners app it says:

"FCA US will conduct a voluntary safety recall on all affected vehicles to replace the clutch assembly and update software to provide escalating visual and audible warnings to the operator, ultimately resulting in the potential reduction of engine torque capability when clutch assembly temperatures rise to a level that may damage the inner pressure plate."

Is this new? A confirmation that they are replacing the clutch as part of recall?

 

[Choatecav]

I did the dual friction kit - KDF157077. It’s tough!!! Good luck!
https://www.centerforce.com/i-30500491-dual-friction-clutch-and-flywheel-kit.html#!year=2020||make=JEEP||model=GLADIATOR||submodel=3.6L - 6-SPD

Thank you, sir.
That is the model that I was anticipating you would give based on what I had been looking at.

 

[loganjeeps]

Clutches are wear parts. Changing your clutch does not void your warranty! Let someone try telling me that, they wouldn't like the outcome of that stupidity!

If you replace your brake pads with other than Mopar, that doesn't void the warranty why would the clutch be different?

Yes ? , in fact if you bought new with an extended Mopar warranty as I did and you read the details it specifically lists the clutch along with other parts such as brakes and wipers as not included in the warranty.

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

When I check my recall in the Jeep owners app it says:

"FCA US will conduct a voluntary safety recall on all affected vehicles to replace the clutch assembly and update software to provide escalating visual and audible warnings to the operator, ultimately resulting in the potential reduction of engine torque capability when clutch assembly temperatures rise to a level that may damage the inner pressure plate."

Is this new? A confirmation that they are replacing the clutch as part of recall?

Yes, but we don't know if they are replacing the clutch with a different design, or replacing it with the original design in case your current clutch is damaged.

 

[msugeek]

I logged in to My Jeep as well and noticed the difference in titles of the last recall and this one. The last specifically stated a software update. This one specifically states a clutch assembly replacement but parts are unavailable. I'm guessing the reason parts are unavailable is they are trying to source a properly designed one at a price they're willing to pay and get some sort of manufacturing run set up.

I've owned two cars now with a dual mass flywheel and they both have suffered the same design flaw. The intent was to put a flywheel in that was lower weight for better fuel mileage and keep vibrations down. The actuality is you end up with clutches that fly apart and are a safety concern. I'm not sure why manufacturers keep doing this. If you buy a manual, you're doing it for specific reasons and are ok with the extra feel you get during the drive.

 

[DanW]

I logged in to My Jeep as well and noticed the difference in titles of the last recall and this one. The last specifically stated a software update. This one specifically states a clutch assembly replacement but parts are unavailable. I'm guessing the reason parts are unavailable is they are trying to source a properly designed one at a price they're willing to pay and get some sort of manufacturing run set up.

I've owned two cars now with a dual mass flywheel and they both have suffered the same design flaw. The intent was to put a flywheel in that was lower weight for better fuel mileage and keep vibrations down. The actuality is you end up with clutches that fly apart and are a safety concern. I'm not sure why manufacturers keep doing this. If you buy a manual, you're doing it for specific reasons and are ok with the extra feel you get during the drive.

It takes awhile to ramp up the supply chain. Of course they are trying to get the best deal possible. Why would that be unreasonable? I'm pretty confident they want this problem solved as much as we do. This is expensive to them and hurts their reputation.

According to the information we've seen, it isn't the clutch that is falling apart. And it isn't the flywheel. It is the pressure plate. When it heats up somewhere near 1k degrees, due to too much slippage, it apparently causes the metal structure of the pressure plate to change or degrade and it can then fracture, causing a catastrophic event that blows it out of the bell housing. The software update was designed to detect excessive slippage and when it reached a certain point (using wheel speed sensors and comparing to engine rpm/gear) the engine power would be reduced to a "limp home" level until the slippage reduced enough to cool the pressure plate.

This is purely my own speculation.....I would guess (yes, I said guess) that the problem with this is that it doesn't actually know the temperature of the pressure plate and that if there was continued slipping, even in limp mode, it would not allow the pressure plate to cool enough or might even allow it to continue to heat up, causing the degradation of the metal, leading to fracture. Again, that's just a guess at what might have been the flaw in that fix. I'm no engineer, though. So I could be completely wrong.

Anyway, you might be right about issues with dual mass flywheels. But I'm at 77k miles on my JL with plenty of towing and hard running and it performs and feels like it did when new. So I'm hoping whatever the fix is doesn't change anything but the safety and durability of it. And I'm hoping to get a brand new clutch out of it so that I can push back its eventual replacement due to normal wear. I do usually get VERY good life out of clutches. I think the earliest I ever had one wear out was about 125k miles. Most have gone further than that. I replaced the clutch in my JK at 116k because they put a new transmission in it and it saved me a bunch of labor cost. But the old clutch looked good and still appeared to have a lot of life left in it.

 

[msugeek]

It takes awhile to ramp up the supply chain. Of course they are trying to get the best deal possible. Why would that be unreasonable?

Right, I wasn't insinuating that shouldn't be a part of their considerations. Cost is always a consideration. Not unreasonable at all.

According to the information we've seen, it isn't the clutch that is falling apart. And it isn't the flywheel. It is the pressure plate.

This is purely my own speculation.....I would guess (yes, I said guess) that the problem with this is that it doesn't actually know the temperature of the pressure plate

I was just referring to the clutch assembly as a whole. When the pressure plate fractures and fly apart, it causes other components in the clutch assembly to break as well, but yes, it's the pressure plate. You're also right again in that the ECU does not know the temperature of the pressure plate. They are just using the nearest temperature sensors to make an estimate of what the temperature is at the plate and then adding in a safety factor to ensure they aren't exceeding it. This rarely provides a very accurate indication of what's actually going on, and it's no different in this case. As others have said, there's a group of engineers somewhere thinking we told you so. (I am an engineer. Worked at a tier 1 automotive supplier for a little while and work at a power plant now. Engineers rarely get to implement the fix they want the first time. Management always wants to try the easy, cheap, longshot fix first and cross their fingers. If it doesn't, then they weren't out much and it could've saved them millions if it had.)

 

[NachoRuby]

Have many of you received this latest recall notification? I've been patiently waiting, but I have not for my JT or my wife's JL.

Sponsored