Would you buy a diesel gladiator again?

[Zybane]

There are some pretty good year end deals with leftover diesel Gladiators. The question is, would you do it again?

Just thinking why I sold my '22 JTRD.

Obviously the fuel pump recall was a big one. The thought of my Jeep stranding me in the middle of the mountains while overlanding was a HUGE turn off. After the recall, do people feel the reliability is now there?

Then the recurring costs of more expensive oil changes, checking and emptying fuel filters, adding fuel additives every tank, unknown DEF/DPF future reliability, being poor for short drives, and of course diesel now the highest cost pump fuel and likely going to stay that way forever according to refiners.

Then of course my JTRD having uncomfortable seats, road wandering and quite intrusive road and wind noise. Not to mention the 8.4" uConnect being extremely outdated.

But I do miss the low end diesel torque, and the "fit anywhere" (compared to my F150 Raptor) of the Gladiator.

Anything I am missing?

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[Free2roam]

Absolutely! If I had the funds I'd buy a second one and put it in storage.

 

[DylanM]

Yep, in a heartbeat.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Yes.
The high pressure fuel pump issue is there with most diesels… can it leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere- for sure! However, a different motor/fuel can do the same…. Mechanical issues can and will go wrong….
I love diesels… I am pretty smitten with the fuel economy of the ecodiesel… it spins 37’s and I still get 24mpg on the highway??? Crazy… our JK was getting 9.5-10mpg on a heavy 37 beadlock setup…..

The maintenance cost? dude I’m spending $100 a bag at the grocery store (one, singular, bag…) maintenance costs on VW, Audi, Porsche (pretty much anything German) is usually pretty high, and that is what we drive when we are not driving jeeps…. So I suppose we are a little more numb to it that others.

I’m not a huge fan of the 8.4…. I really dislike the lag for the offroad pages… the seats are fine- when we finally tear the butt bolsters from sliding in and out- will likely change them for PRP’s in dark brown leather.

Costs at the pump? Again… the fuel economy is pretty reasonable. But if it sucks that bad pick up a model Y for mid to low $40’s not sure how it’s going to do on the rocks, or pushing through 3+ feet of snow. But hey- cheaper to fill right?

I can agree that the JL/JT’s are a significant money pit, as many start off with a $60k rig, before the journey of throwing thousands more into them…. They aren’t the most practical rig, but they get it done “most of the time.

This is probably our last “new” jeep…. TJ’s and LJ’s are more our Jam…. Tdi or a 2.8 Cummins will probably be our next “Jeep” only because the new ones have more going on with them electronics wise than I like to play with. From a “new” Jeep perspective, I would have considered a 2.0t wrangler before a 3.6 gladiator…. I seriously dislike the minivan motor….. (that’s my opinion… love jeeps- just not the 3.6- any of them…)

 

[Camaroboi13]

100% I’d do it all over again. The fuel pump does not bother me one bit. Almost 30k miles in and I haven’t even checked in to the recall stuff yet. In the grand scheme of things, I probably couldn’t get a non diesel gladiator for the price I paid for mine anyways.

 

[Vtur]

Approaching 3 years of ownership here. So far, I don't have any of the issues you listed it above (knock on wood) and i do short trips all the times (2 miles) picking up my son from school. Higher maintenance are just parts of having a good driving experience vehicles. So hella yes i would buy it again and again.

 

[Tim. Y.]

Yes. Love the way the JTDW drives, and purrs along. While I do miss the roominess of the F-150 cab at times, I get tons more smiles per miles.

 

[Cwg33]

Absolutely. I wish they would still offer it for 24’ & later models. I’ve had Wranglers with the 4.0, 3.8, 3.6, & 2.0 engines over the last 20yrs, and the Diesel JT has been my favorite.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

I started to research the problems of the EcoDiesel after I bought one - very clever.

But I like the characteristics of this engine so much that I most likely would buy it again.
And up to now, after 6 moths and 8500 miles there were absolutly no issues.

Have never driven a Pentastar but I can imagine that the high reving low torque engine is not really fitting to a mid size truck.

If money and German road regulations wouldn't matter I would ask somebody to throw a LS7 in the engine bay of my Gladiator. But that's another story.

 

[Rusty PW]

Almost 2 years and 33,000 miles of trouble free ownership. Yep.......i would buy another one. Fuel mileage with 37's is insane. 37's on my Power Wagon was around 10 mpg.

 

[Oilburner]

Wish mine would last forever, I have a feeling we might not be thrilled with the next version of the JT (Assuming there is one)

 

[Tom C]

Short answer yes.

Long answer yes. With buying it 18.25% below sticker price, most times getting 30 mpg on my commute to work, and pleanty of pep to get me to 70+ mph, it's the mid-sized truck we needed.

As far as the price of diesel, it's coming down. I noticed the price was $2.92 a gallon, WAY less than the $4.35 it was 3 months ago.

 

[upnover]

I wish I would have got a wrangler instead.

I really do enjoy the eco it’s the best engine (except 392). I don’t think I could do the pent or 2.0 again. The eco just moves the vehicle effortlessly.

 

[Belcher24256]

There are some pretty good year end deals with leftover diesel Gladiators. The question is, would you do it again?

Just thinking why I sold my '22 JTRD.

Obviously the fuel pump recall was a big one. The thought of my Jeep stranding me in the middle of the mountains while overlanding was a HUGE turn off. After the recall, do people feel the reliability is now there?

Then the recurring costs of more expensive oil changes, checking and emptying fuel filters, adding fuel additives every tank, unknown DEF/DPF future reliability, being poor for short drives, and of course diesel now the highest cost pump fuel and likely going to stay that way forever according to refiners.

Then of course my JTRD having uncomfortable seats, road wandering and quite intrusive road and wind noise. Not to mention the 8.4" uConnect being extremely outdated.

But I do miss the low end diesel torque, and the "fit anywhere" (compared to my F150 Raptor) of the Gladiator.

Anything I am missing?

Absolutely, the eco fits my needs and where I live. Just turned 10,000 miles and no issues. I haven’t even looked into the recalled pump yet. The percentage of those that actually failed is pretty darn slim. I will get it done when I have time but I feel there is and has been a lot of fever stirred over the high pressure pump, which was installed on other vehicles as well as the 3.0 eco. It’s a great truck and I could pull my house with it if the house were on wheels. Outside a HEMI you aren’t getting that kind of torque in a Jeep just yet. Fuel economy in the mountains maintaining 22-24 is phenomenal. For the record 22.9 is the lowest average I’ve seen since the JT was bought new. I would definitely buy it again.

 

[KEG2021]

There are some pretty good year end deals with leftover diesel Gladiators. The question is, would you do it again?

Just thinking why I sold my '22 JTRD.

Obviously the fuel pump recall was a big one. The thought of my Jeep stranding me in the middle of the mountains while overlanding was a HUGE turn off. After the recall, do people feel the reliability is now there?

Then the recurring costs of more expensive oil changes, checking and emptying fuel filters, adding fuel additives every tank, unknown DEF/DPF future reliability, being poor for short drives, and of course diesel now the highest cost pump fuel and likely going to stay that way forever according to refiners.

Then of course my JTRD having uncomfortable seats, road wandering and quite intrusive road and wind noise. Not to mention the 8.4" uConnect being extremely outdated.

But I do miss the low end diesel torque, and the "fit anywhere" (compared to my F150 Raptor) of the Gladiator.

Anything I am missing?

Absolutely, all day long.

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