Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs?

[Trollboogie]

There should be some effort to clamp, a max of 30 pounds of force. If it's "no effort", that can explain the whistling. It's not sealing well up front.

Exactly. I was thinking of tweaking the latch plates, but I don't want to mess it up for the freedom panels.

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[ShadowsPapa]

They are about 20 mins away from me. Drive by the building all the time. If you ever come up to visit them, let me know

I REALLY wish I was closer and had more time - with the surgeries coming up in October and trying to get the snow plow stuff back onto this truck - there's really no time for a road trip. I'm even skipping one of my favorite AMC events this month - just can't take the away time. It's going to be a hard push to get the wiring and snow plow brackets and all back in place. Might end up taking it to a dealer and paying to get it done. October means 3 trips and 2 surgeries and they said - for days I will not be allowed to drive or operate any equipment nor make any important decisions.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

UPDATE!

No update.
I've heard from the case manager and another person at Jeep customer care twice in the past week or so saying they were working with higher-ups to determine next steps.
"Still working with a higher manager to determine next steps in your situation" or words to that effect.

Otherwise, nothing.

It's really almost too late for them this fall anyway......... unless you like freezing on your drives.

 

[Jteakus]

I just read all 33 pages of this thread, horrible situation.
Credit to Bestop for the effort to make it right for you and others,
Jeep? It's a Jeep thing...

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Do you ever feel like you are going in circles?
Yeah, me too.
My truck has been to the dealership - they had it for 3 days one time. They said "STAR contacted us and wants more pictures and measurements" - that happened two days in a row.
4 trips to the dealer total, last time to insist they take off the dropped, damaged sunrider they installed and sent me home with.
They finally said "not our problem" and Jeep closed the case - yeah, there was STAR working on it, supposedly had a case according to the dealer people, and STAR closed it, determined it wasn't a Jeep issue.

Bestop has said "hold on, we found 2 more in Colorado like yours" and they were going to see if they could get information on those. That was about 3 weeks ago now? At least 2 weeks, noting.
So nothing from Bestop in the last 2, maybe 3 weeks, and this from Jeep today -

US Customer Care	9:34 AM (8 hours ago)
to me

I have been in contact with Toby the Service manager and they will be reaching out to you about bringing the vehicle in so we can get a Chrysler Tech case opened on this. They will be able to provide more information regarding this concern. Once your vehicle is brought back to the dealership please give us a call back so we can assist with this!


Thank you.
xxxxxxxxxx
Midwest case manager

Doesn't this sound like another STAR case? A Chrysler Tech case?

And doesn't it sound like I need to take it there and leave it?

Yeah, not gonna happen THIS month unless they give me another JT or Wrangler to use the whole time, including my trips to Iowa City University Hospitals for surgery.
I responded that I MUST have a loaner similar to my own as I needed my vehicle this month..

I have not heard from anyone at the dealership so far.

They had a case open, spent hours took a lot of pictures and measurements for STAR, over and over, then decided it wasn't their problem and closed the case.
Hmmmm what changed? Did Bestop contact them and say - yeah, it is your problem??

 

[mtudb24]

Do you ever feel like you are going in circles?
Yeah, me too.
My truck has been to the dealership - they had it for 3 days one time. They said "STAR contacted us and wants more pictures and measurements" - that happened two days in a row.
4 trips to the dealer total, last time to insist they take off the dropped, damaged sunrider they installed and sent me home with.
They finally said "not our problem" and Jeep closed the case - yeah, there was STAR working on it, supposedly had a case according to the dealer people, and STAR closed it, determined it wasn't a Jeep issue.

Bestop has said "hold on, we found 2 more in Colorado like yours" and they were going to see if they could get information on those. That was about 3 weeks ago now? At least 2 weeks, noting.
So nothing from Bestop in the last 2, maybe 3 weeks, and this from Jeep today -

US Customer Care	9:34 AM (8 hours ago)
to me

I have been in contact with Toby the Service manager and they will be reaching out to you about bringing the vehicle in so we can get a Chrysler Tech case opened on this. They will be able to provide more information regarding this concern. Once your vehicle is brought back to the dealership please give us a call back so we can assist with this!


Thank you.
xxxxxxxxxx
Midwest case manager

Doesn't this sound like another STAR case? A Chrysler Tech case?

And doesn't it sound like I need to take it there and leave it?

Yeah, not gonna happen THIS month unless they give me another JT or Wrangler to use the whole time, including my trips to Iowa City University Hospitals for surgery.
I responded that I MUST have a loaner similar to my own as I needed my vehicle this month..

I have not heard from anyone at the dealership so far.

They had a case open, spent hours took a lot of pictures and measurements for STAR, over and over, then decided it wasn't their problem and closed the case.
Hmmmm what changed? Did Bestop contact them and say - yeah, it is your problem??

I can't even imagine what your going through on this. That's just awful. Sorry for your pain.

 

[ecidiego]

Apollo Eagle landed in 1969.

Apparently we don't have the engineering technology today to make a flip top seal on a Jeep.

JFC......

 

[ecidiego]

Charles - I don't suppose you know the exact part number of yours from 2022?

Mine is AB - not sure what the difference between it and AA might be.

I bought this one in 2022 for my 2021. Not sure if relevant. What I like about buying it from Jeep is it's completely assembled and you don't have to deal with any S clips or any BS such as when you buy it from Bestop... @Bestop ships it Ikea style. Not sure why. Ship it ready to go. No one wants to 'build' their Sunrider.

EDIT: Holy shit inflation sucks. lol @ the 2025 price!!! It's nearly 50% more than what I paid @ BAM in 2022!! Seriously...why the f*** is a Sunrider priced 50% higher than 3 years ago? That's beyond any other inflation metric.

 

[Charles 236]

Do you ever feel like you are going in circles?
Yeah, me too.
My truck has been to the dealership - they had it for 3 days one time. They said "STAR contacted us and wants more pictures and measurements" - that happened two days in a row.
4 trips to the dealer total, last time to insist they take off the dropped, damaged sunrider they installed and sent me home with.
They finally said "not our problem" and Jeep closed the case - yeah, there was STAR working on it, supposedly had a case according to the dealer people, and STAR closed it, determined it wasn't a Jeep issue.

Bestop has said "hold on, we found 2 more in Colorado like yours" and they were going to see if they could get information on those. That was about 3 weeks ago now? At least 2 weeks, noting.
So nothing from Bestop in the last 2, maybe 3 weeks, and this from Jeep today -

US Customer Care	9:34 AM (8 hours ago)
to me

I have been in contact with Toby the Service manager and they will be reaching out to you about bringing the vehicle in so we can get a Chrysler Tech case opened on this. They will be able to provide more information regarding this concern. Once your vehicle is brought back to the dealership please give us a call back so we can assist with this!


Thank you.
xxxxxxxxxx
Midwest case manager

Doesn't this sound like another STAR case? A Chrysler Tech case?

And doesn't it sound like I need to take it there and leave it?

Yeah, not gonna happen THIS month unless they give me another JT or Wrangler to use the whole time, including my trips to Iowa City University Hospitals for surgery.
I responded that I MUST have a loaner similar to my own as I needed my vehicle this month..

I have not heard from anyone at the dealership so far.

They had a case open, spent hours took a lot of pictures and measurements for STAR, over and over, then decided it wasn't their problem and closed the case.
Hmmmm what changed? Did Bestop contact them and say - yeah, it is your problem??

A "tech case"? They are going in circles, a STAR case is opened by a tech. It sounds like the dog is chasing it's tail again.

 

[D_JT]

I bought this one in 2022 for my 2021. Not sure if relevant. What I like about buying it from Jeep is it's completely assembled and you don't have to deal with any S clips or any BS such as when you buy it from Bestop... @Bestop ships it Ikea style. Not sure why. Ship it ready to go. No one wants to 'build' their Sunrider.

EDIT: Holy shit inflation sucks. lol @ the 2025 price!!! It's nearly 50% more than what I paid @ BAM in 2022!! Seriously...why the f*** is a Sunrider priced 50% higher than 3 years ago? That's beyond any other inflation metric.

What blows me away is the over all price of the sun rider. $900 is stupid. For $900 I can buy a ENTIRE Bestop soft top for my TJ that also has a sunrider built in. How does that make sense?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I bought this one in 2022 for my 2021. Not sure if relevant. What I like about buying it from Jeep is it's completely assembled and you don't have to deal with any S clips or any BS such as when you buy it from Bestop... @Bestop ships it Ikea style. Not sure why. Ship it ready to go. No one wants to 'build' their Sunrider.

EDIT: Holy shit inflation sucks. lol @ the 2025 price!!! It's nearly 50% more than what I paid @ BAM in 2022!! Seriously...why the f*** is a Sunrider priced 50% higher than 3 years ago? That's beyond any other inflation metric.

Appreciate the added input - and agree.

The one that came with mine - from the Jeep plant, strapped in the bed of the new truck, was simple. Open top long box flap,, pull out a cardboard drawer type of thing. Top is fully assembled and resting on foam pads. Lift off the cardboard slider, put it on the Jeep, bolt in place.

Bestop sent me an experimental one - one they had modified to account for the apparent differences in my Jeep. It came fully assembled just like the Jeep one.
I put it on and it was WORSE. It sat way high in the front and was almost impossible to clamp. So I took it off and put it back on the box. So I have one that wont work at all in a box sitting here.
Bestop got my original one from Jeep and tried it on their test stand - perfect fit. They put it on a real Jeep vehicle, perfect fit (they sent me photos as proof it worked fine there)

The top on my JT now has experimental "clamps" or mounts at the front of the sides. One doesn't have that lower jaw and uses shims to get it to the correct height and parallel to the door top, the left side has a normal clamp that's been milled differently to sit higher.
It's better, but the clamping force up front is still off and it pulls up on the Jeep parts that these and the panels clamp to. They aren't supposed to distort those clamping areas.

Bestop a couple of weeks ago said they have to others in Colorado with the same issue I have - getting info from them, I'm told by Bestop engineer.

Like Charles said - they are running in circles - there was a case, days spent taking pictures and measurements, then STAR decides it's not a Jeep issue and closes the case.
Now they want it back to open a "Chrysler tech case".
HUH?
So we start all over again.

Gotta run, off to Iowa city for a battery of appointments for the scary as hell surgery next week.

 

[Trollboogie]

At least Bestop is still trying to make it work. I wish you the best with your surgery.

 

[Stan H]

Appreciate the added input - and agree.

The one that came with mine - from the Jeep plant, strapped in the bed of the new truck, was simple. Open top long box flap,, pull out a cardboard drawer type of thing. Top is fully assembled and resting on foam pads. Lift off the cardboard slider, put it on the Jeep, bolt in place.

Bestop sent me an experimental one - one they had modified to account for the apparent differences in my Jeep. It came fully assembled just like the Jeep one.
I put it on and it was WORSE. It sat way high in the front and was almost impossible to clamp. So I took it off and put it back on the box. So I have one that wont work at all in a box sitting here.
Bestop got my original one from Jeep and tried it on their test stand - perfect fit. They put it on a real Jeep vehicle, perfect fit (they sent me photos as proof it worked fine there)

The top on my JT now has experimental "clamps" or mounts at the front of the sides. One doesn't have that lower jaw and uses shims to get it to the correct height and parallel to the door top, the left side has a normal clamp that's been milled differently to sit higher.
It's better, but the clamping force up front is still off and it pulls up on the Jeep parts that these and the panels clamp to. They aren't supposed to distort those clamping areas.

Bestop a couple of weeks ago said they have to others in Colorado with the same issue I have - getting info from them, I'm told by Bestop engineer.

Like Charles said - they are running in circles - there was a case, days spent taking pictures and measurements, then STAR decides it's not a Jeep issue and closes the case.
Now they want it back to open a "Chrysler tech case".
HUH?
So we start all over again.

Gotta run, off to Iowa city for a battery of appointments for the scary as hell surgery next week.

@ShadowsPapa wishing you the best of luck and smooth surgery & quick recovery

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Sitting waiting for all of the testing, MRI, physical at University of Iowa hosp. The real scare is the 10th!
They make a hole in my skull.
Appreciate all of the well-wishers and such.

 

[Charles 236]

Sitting waiting for all of the testing, MRI, physical at University of Iowa hosp. The real scare is the 10th!
They make a hole in my skull.
Appreciate all of the well-wishers and such.

I'm offering a prayer for you, Bill. Any surgery is a major thing, and recovery does not ever come fast enough.

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