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

[Rahkmalla]

I highly doubt Jeep will address all the shortcomings beyond the liability concerns.

They acknowledge the problem is in the design, but are "fixing" it by giving us the same design and doing another software flash. Someone let me know when a class action starts up.

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[amoyer_01]

Does anybody have high miles on a stock manual without a problem? I am at 22k with no issues yet.

I have 40k and no issues so far.

 

[koldfront_xj]

I called the FCA recall center back in May and spoke to a rep there who assured me I would be fully reimbursed for aftermarket parts and labor as long as the clutch replacement was done at a certified Jeep dealership. He also told me that Jeep would have replacement parts on September 5th. So not wanting to wait 4 months, and being told that I would be fully reimbursed, I ordered the ACT clutch and had my local dealer install it. Total cost was just over $3k. When I submitted for reimbursement, I was denied.

I submitted another request for reimbursement last week, and got the same denial email back.

I even have the conversation with the FCA rep in May recorded, but unfortunately @JeepCares does not care and will not take responsibility for what their recall center reps are telling customers. I’ll try again once they officially announce a fix, which I guess hasn’t happened yet?

Anyway, I now have almost 7,000 miles on the @ACTman clutch, including a trip to Windrock (trails 26 and 51), and it has been phenomenal. The performance and feel are significantly better than the stock clutch and reverse is usable! I highly recommend going this route, regardless if you are wanting to wait for whatever “fix” Jeep comes up with.

 

[redriderjf87]

BS like that makes me want to dump FCA and new cars in general, and just drive an old square body Chevy.

I tried getting a written commitment from FCA that they would reimburse me and got hung up on multiple times.

Jeep, you admitted you have an issue that puts customers at risk. Do the right thing and give a small amount towards an aftermarket replacement that fixes your issue.

 

[Brokenpinata]

Well, now is as good a time as any to teach my wife to drive a manual.

 

[seven30]

I have 40k and no issues so far.

58K zero issues pulling trailers over mountains all the time and rocky trails a few times a year.
HOWEVER, a 1500-2000mi TLC breakin was needed. The clutch is now really excellent. Pedal is light and engagement precise. Never overheats even rock crawling or backing trailer up the drive.

My method was simple. If I can smell the clutch ITS OVERHEATING. And during breaking that's REALLY easy to do.

From my observations there are three parts to this situation:
1) Mushy engagement during the long breakin period
2) Low torque V6
3) Dual mass flywheel facilitating stalling at near idle rpm.

Jeep seems stuck with dual mass for start-stop fuel economy targets which would limit their range of solutions.

No after market solution incorporates dual mass that I am aware of.

 

[Frank...]

I need this recall to commence already & get it done, whatever it is. My Centerforce clutch is collecting dust in my garage, it will be installed promptly after the recall fix.

 

[ACTman]

...Dual mass flywheel facilitating stalling at near idle rpm.

Jeep seems stuck with dual mass for start-stop fuel economy targets which would limit their range of solutions.

No after market solution incorporates dual mass that I am aware of.

The dual mass flywheel has nothing to do with the stop-start or feature or economy. It is designed to put the torsional damping further upstream (rather than in the clutch disc) which reduces the chance of gear noise and lightens the load on the synchronizers. This is beneficial in vehicles with excessive torsional vibrations (BMW E46 M3 comes to mind).

Jeep or LUK (the clutch OEM) decided on a clutch/flywheel package lighter than the JK and this is what facilitates stalling.

I find no worthwhile benefits to the Jeep JL/JT dual mess flywheel (misspelling intentional) or the LUK self-adjusting twin disc clutch. This is why ACT (and others) offer a solid flywheel for the JL/JT and a conventional single disc design. This will have little/no impact on the self-start or economy.

 

[seven30]

The dual mass flywheel has nothing to do with the stop-start or feature or economy. It is designed to put the torsional damping further upstream (rather than in the clutch disc) which reduces the chance of gear noise and lightens the load on the synchronizers. This is beneficial in vehicles with excessive torsional vibrations (BMW E46 M3 comes to mind).

Jeep or LUK (the clutch OEM) decided on a clutch/flywheel package lighter than the JK and this is what facilitates stalling.

I find no worthwhile benefits to the Jeep JL/JT dual mess flywheel (misspelling intentional) or the LUK self-adjusting twin disc clutch. This is why ACT (and others) offer a solid flywheel for the JL/JT and a conventional single disc design. This will have little/no impact on the self-start or economy.

Thanks for the response on dual-mess. I bought this Mojave JT new and broke in the clutch carefully(tedious). I have a manual MJ 4.0 for reference. There is a difference in the WAY these to setups stall. The JT seems to stall abruptly without warning whereas the MJ you can feel the engine pulses and finesse it a bit. If there was a way to map the relative mass motions at stall point I believe you would see the engine side (1/2 flywheel mass) briefly move opposite the tranny side mass enough stop rotation at very low rpm.

I assumed the dual-mass was as much to reduce starter motor loads as anything since your sure not going to notice gear noise in a drafty JT!

 

[ACTman]

Thanks for the response on dual-mess. I bought this Mojave JT new and broke in the clutch carefully(tedious). I have a manual MJ 4.0 for reference. There is a difference in the WAY these to setups stall. The JT seems to stall abruptly without warning whereas the MJ you can feel the engine pulses and finesse it a bit. If there was a way to map the relative mass motions at stall point I believe you would see the engine side (1/2 flywheel mass) briefly move opposite the tranny side mass enough stop rotation at very low rpm.

I assumed the dual-mass was as much to reduce starter motor loads as anything since your sure not going to notice gear noise in a drafty JT!

I know what you mean but it's in the tuning. I have a TJ with the 4.0 and a JKUR (similar 3.6). It seems like the TJ is tuned so that it feeds air/fuel more aggressively to prevent stalling than the JT/JL/JK. The TJ is more like a tractor. Of course it also doesn't rev like my JK.

 

[seven30]

I know what you mean but it's in the tuning. I have a TJ with the 4.0 and a JKUR (similar 3.6). It seems like the TJ is tuned so that it feeds air/fuel more aggressively to prevent stalling than the JT/JL/JK. The TJ is more like a tractor. Of course it also doesn't rev like my JK.

Good point. its almost like they used the automatic tuning and just swapped in a MT.
A nice 8spd sequential on the Mojave would be appreciated too!

 

[tarndesigns]

Saw this posted on fb this morning.

 

[howeitsdone]

I bet they're trying to 'fix' the '23 MY first to get them off the lots

The fact that they're estimating next August for a '22 solution is insane...

 

[AustinL911]

I bet they're trying to 'fix' the '23 MY first to get them off the lots

The fact that they're estimating next August for a '22 solution is insane...

F'n July for '21? Well over a year, Jeep. Do better.

If I could just get them to install my ACT as an actual replacement, I'd consider it a win.

 

[howeitsdone]

My hope is that enough owners already replaced with Centerforce/ACT etc. so that it speeds up the process. I also want to throw in a Centerforce, but am unsure if I'll get a reimbursement so I'm trying to hold out, but we'll see...

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