Jeep reliability - most common issues?

[chorky]

This is a flawed argument. All vehicles are able to be discussed on social media or in personal groups but somehow American vehicles seem to always come up and the Hondas and Toyotas of the world are rarely heard of.

Those YouTubers have a jeep following, they won’t bite the hand that feeds them…

no it is not a flawed argument. Maybe you are biased. I see plenty of big problems with honda. But honda and jeep are not even remotely the same class of vehicle so that is a invalid comparison. Toyota also has a lot of issues and more than a handful of people complaining about their drivability.

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[Mr._Bill]

You’re missing my point. I’m trying to say that everyone could complain online and everyone drives different vehicles. Somehow you are mostly hearing from American made vehicle owners, not much from the Honda and Toyota owners.

Are not Honda and Toyota considered American made? They built plants here to keep them from being considered imports, which affected quality since they are now built by American workers.

I don't own, and am not considering the purchase of, a Honda or Toyota. Unless it's on the television or in the newspaper, I'm not aware of their issues. I know about Jeeps, because we own two and I frequent this site.

 

[Tank43]

There are some great comments in here and loved reading them. The 2022 Gladiator is Jeep #6 for me since 1994, but not because of mechanical issues. One '83 CJ-7, three TJ's, and a '97 ZJ. No need to go back in time since the manufacturing process has changed so much and quality is better throughout the automotive industry than back then. I have been driving a 2008 Tundra I bought new 15 years ago and still own it. It's been a good quality truck and I can't complain. Although it is a motor vehicle and I've had stuff break beyond the warranty that we have had to has repaired. Stuff breaks. Part of modern life. We we're towing a 7,500lb RV around the country with it from 2008-2011 and it did great. At 173,000 miles now, the engine is still strong, although I just replaced the drive shaft for $2,600 (ouch). Last year we came back to Jeep and absolutely love the 2022 Gladiator we bought as a fun family vehicle. Only 7,000 miles, but no issues as expected. People buy Toyota's for that historic quality reputation, which they had a lot of good reputation over the years and still do. I also own a 2015 Toyota Sienna with 83,000 miles that has probably had more issues than my tundra (lots of "fancy x-tras Wife wanted...) But as others pointed out in earlier posts, Jeep is up there in quality now with other manufacturers. Although in some models less fancy stuff to break like power seats, moon roofs, and even wireless uconnect (that my wife's 2015 minivan has). I just dished out $430 for a used amp for the Sienna. Eh, issues happen if you own vehicles and is part of maintenance and upkeep. Especially if your wife insists on a vehicle with all the technological bells and whistles. And that Sienna has a better movie and sound system than my living room. All kidding aside, the minivan has its purpose and we can haul 2 kids plus grandparents on an extended trip to Orlando, FL with luggage in comfort. It can do things the Jeep can not and do what our family needs more then many other vehicles. It has its place in the motor vehicle pool.

This piece of advice is my opinion only, and if any of the mechanical experts want to correct me then please do. One piece of advice that may be counterintuitive and that I use, is to exercise your equipment on a regular basis. This is based on my use of multiple personal vehicles, boats, and military vehicles. Everything that moves needs to be used. I tell this to my wife... "Open the forward sunroof and rear sunroof once a month even in winter, seat controls, all that stuff." All those mechanical parts need to be exercised regularly. This includes the 4-wheel drive systems. I like to exercise moving parts at least monthly for everything being old-school, but maybe the mechanics and engineers here will correct me. All I know is, my instinct is to conserve usage of those parts until you need them, but experience has taught me to use them regularly just to lube the parts in the system.

 

[ScottBeach]

My doors and roof keep falling off. Jeep wont even try to address these major design flaws.

Also the gov should ger these things off the road. The windshild just falls down.

Do not buy. Save your family.

 

[Sandevino]

Reliability isn't assured for any vehicle make or model anymore as they're all mass produced as cheaply as possible to squeeze as much profit out of each unit.

With that out of the way, the ONLY issues I have ever had with a Jeep as on my '84 CJ7 and '22 JT Overland Diesel.

The '84 had a carburetor and no matter what I did it ran lean. I eventually swapped in a Holley and the issue went away.

The '22 JT Overland Diesel was solid - dare I say the best drivetrain bar none - until the fuel pump failed.

Now I've got a '23 JTR gas and it's a blast to drive. The 3.6L is no stranger and a known quantity which should serve me well.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

With that out of the way, the ONLY issues I have ever had with a Jeep as on my '84 CJ7 and '22 JT Overland Diesel.

The '84 had a carburetor and no matter what I did it ran lean. I eventually swapped in a Holley and the issue went away.

Was it a 258 with the feedback carburetor? If so, there's a simple fix for the lean condition (well, actually a couple methods)

And for other carburetors, I kept a really small, trim, pointed punch on hand and did some tweaking in a couple of spots.
Never had a lean issue afterwards.
You didn't do some of these things while the customer was around.

 

[Sandevino]

Was it a 258 with the feedback carburetor? If so, there's a simple fix for the lean condition (well, actually a couple methods)

And for other carburetors, I kept a really small, trim, pointed punch on hand and did some tweaking in a couple of spots.
Never had a lean issue afterwards.
You didn't do some of these things while the customer was around.

It was the 258 and a Carter carb. I bought is from the original owner in 2006 and ripped the Carter off replacing it with a Holley. No issues....

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It was the 258 and a Carter carb. I bought is from the original owner in 2006 and ripped the Carter off replacing it with a Holley. No issues....

Took the easy way out, eh? LOL Sorry.
I think I found the reason for hesitation on this one....... but then the car sat in a grassy field in northern California for over 10 years. I put gas in the tank, started and drove it for several weeks then it started to hesitate when taking off from a stop -

 

[Sandevino]

Took the easy way out, eh? LOL Sorry.
I think I found the reason for hesitation on this one....... but then the car sat in a grassy field in northern California for over 10 years. I put gas in the tank, started and drove it for several weeks then it started to hesitate when taking off from a stop -

Easy way... no. It was missing pieces so it got tossed.

 

[Varooom]

Don't feed the troll!!
Varooom

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Don't feed the troll!!
Varooom

????????????????

 

[sawman]

I know this thread is a bit old, but for people researching....
I have 105,000 miles on my 2020 base Gladiator Sport, Freedom top, no lift, no mods. 23mpg combined highway and town. No issues and would buy again without any reservations.

 

[Swordfish44]

Iam interested in purchasing a gladiator, I keep hearing that jeeps brake down a lot.If so what is the most common issues

My first jeep cherokee was a POS. I bought it new from the dealership and it wouldnt start the next day... 11 miles.... It took the dealership over a month of misdiagnoses to finally figure it out (it was a connection from the starter). Then a couple months later a clicking noise starting coming from the front tires when turning at slow speeds. It got progressively worse to the point it was annoying to drive. The dealership couldnt figure it out so i ended up taking the wheel hub apart and greasing it. That fixed the issue. BTW there is no grease added to the wheel hub by the manufacturer (dealership said it wasnt needed).

Second Jeep Gladiator i have now has been perfect so far, although i only have 300 miles on it at this point. (fingers crossed). If you really want a gladiator i would say go for it. Anything that might go wrong will be covered under warranty as long as you buy new. I will say that the diesel engine for the gladiator is Italian made and is unreliable. The gas v6 engine is far more reliable. IMO.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

My first jeep cherokee was a POS. I bought it new from the dealership and it wouldnt start the next day... 11 miles.... It took the dealership over a month of misdiagnoses to finally figure it out (it was a connection from the starter). Then a couple months later a clicking noise starting coming from the front tires when turning at slow speeds. It got progressively worse to the point it was annoying to drive. The dealership couldnt figure it out so i ended up taking the wheel hub apart and greasing it. That fixed the issue. BTW there is no grease added to the wheel hub by the manufacturer (dealership said it wasnt needed).

Second Jeep Gladiator i have now has been perfect so far, although i only have 300 miles on it at this point. (fingers crossed). If you really want a gladiator i would say go for it. Anything that might go wrong will be covered under warranty as long as you buy new. I will say that the diesel engine for the gladiator is Italian made and is unreliable. The gas v6 engine is far more reliable. IMO.

Did you, or are you going to check the wheel hubs for grease on the new one? Did you take photos of the hub job on the first one?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I will say that the diesel engine for the gladiator is Italian made and is unreliable. The gas v6 engine is far more reliable. IMO.

Glad you added the latter part, the "IMO", otherwise, I'd suggest asking the guys who have over 100,000 or even 200,000 miles on their "Italian made" diesels, and then check with the guys who have had cams replaced in their 2020 Gladiator.

Pros and cons to each, I can't say one is more reliable, it depends on too many factors.
In the end, I'd suggest both are very very reliable engines, the diesels in many RAM trucks, and Jeeps, without issues (other than emissions crap or the fuel pump) and same for the 3.6 - over 10,000,000 served, as the signs used to say under those arches.

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