2020 Gladiator Clutch Plate exploded

[BigJohn]

I've had the 2020 Gladiator with a manual transmission for a year and and half it had 52000 miles on it always had it serviced maintained it, well on October 20th (my birthday) I was on the highway and I smelled a smell then I heard grinding when I was in 6th gear going 80 mph I put it in neutral and t hen heard a big explosion fire came out from underneath and thru the engine compartment I pulled over. My wife and I got out without injury within 5 minutes the Jeep was gone

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[Hockeypilot44]

Holy smokes. Talk about a dangerous situation. Glad you’re okay.

 

[Bbannongmu]

YIKES!!!! ?‍ Glad you are ok. Puts the $2300 I spent for the Centerforce clutch in perspective now. Hurt at the time… not to this level.

 

[Outback_Joe]

WOW, very sorry that your Gladiator went up on you two. Very glad that you are both Okay.

What is the issue with the pressure plates in these? I mean they have been around for well over 100 years. You would hope that all the issues that could have been fixed should have been by now. Are the OEM pressure plates that weak?

 

[dmwphoto]

Pretty sure there is a recall on that. Glad you both are ok

 

[Bbannongmu]

Pretty sure there is a recall on that. Glad you both are ok

Yup
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...0-manual-jeep-wranglers-and-gladiators.67644/

 

[Gren71]

Holy smokes! glad you both made it out...however I can %100 say the fire would have been slower had you not installed the grumpy grill on it.

 

[Hootbro]

Pretty sure there is a recall on that. Glad you both are ok

To date, recall or not, I have yet to see Jeep/Stellantis step up and cover any fire.

 

[Frank...]

Jeep Care, care to chime in????

 

[Frank...]

Recall still says parts not available, what’s the hold up?
Does our safety matter?

 

[Hootbro]

Jeep Care, care to chime in????

You gotta tag them @JeepCares

They will probably be on permanent lunch break on this one.

 

[AustinL911]

Well, there goes the theory about people flogging on the clutch and causing it to heat up. These stupid things are probably slipping at speed (in this case, 80mph/6th gear) to the point that they heat up and fail. That's concerning.

One would think their software 'fix' would pick up on this wherein a person might not. If the engine is turning, say, 2200rpm, but the input shaft is only turning 2100rpm to maintain 80mph d/t clutch slippage, a person might not notice, but you would think the software would. I suspect if this goes on for long enough, heat would build up causing a failure.

Jeep needs to get their stuff together and fix this.

 

[The Sigma]

YIKES!!!! ?‍ Glad you are ok. Puts the $2300 I spent for the Centerforce clutch in perspective now. Hurt at the time… not to this level.

I've been considering going to a Centerforce for a while. Reading this post is putting that clutch replacement higher on the priority list.

Wondering a few things:
Bbannongmu:
a) did you notice a significant change in clutch feel when you swapped over?
b) did something happen with the stock clutch that caused you to swap?

BigJohn:
a) was there any prior indication, or weird things going on with your clutch that might have given you an inkling something wasn't right before this event?

 

[Bbannongmu]

I've been considering going to a Centerforce for a while. Reading this post is putting that clutch replacement higher on the priority list.

Wondering a few things:
Bbannongmu:
a) did you notice a significant change in clutch feel when you swapped over?
b) did something happen with the stock clutch that caused you to swap?

BigJohn:
a) was there any prior indication, or weird things going on with your clutch that might have given you an inkling something wasn't right before this event?

The effort for the more aggressive dual friction clutch is I have is increased. I frankly don’t remember how soft/easy it was before. Not a huge deal but the less aggressive CF is supposed to have stock feel - can’t confirm this since I haven’t driven one.

I could smell clutch when backing a trailer with the stock clutch. Smelling clutch means it’s burning. My left foot was no where near the clutch - it was fully engaged so the only reasonable conclusion is that it was slipping. I was an early adopter of a Clutch. Lots of info in my build thread and my YouTube. I’ve literally driven over 500,000 miles (over 180k in one vehicle and sold it with the stock clutch, still going strong ) in manual transmission vehicles over 33 years and never burnt out a clutch. This one is different.

 

[Chaos Theory]

Unfortunately, people coming in with their first post claiming disaster is always met with some skepticism. It's the reality of the internet. It may entirely be legit, and I'm sorry if it is, but getting attention from Jeep in this forum is unlikely.

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