2003 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L AMC Inline six

Summary:

A real SUV in a plastik world

Faults:

Windshield wiper motor when kaput when it first got cold after snowing.

Had some warranty work done, but it was minor.

Chrysler made a big mistake getting rid of that AMC 4.0L inline six.

Hardtop does come loose after 3 years and causes rear window to rattle:|

General Comments:

Awesome!

The Jeep TJ is an icon and a real Jeep unlike that plastic Liberty and sorry 4 door JK (JoKe?).

For an everyday driver, don't go bigger than 31" tires because that's what the Rubicon came with.

I'm young and it's a perfect fit for me, and I'm thankful to God for letting me be steward of it.

The German's killed the Wrangler with that new JK with a mini-van engine that makes its power at higher RPM's that's useless for serious 4WD activity. That's their revenge for losing in WW2.

Get a TJ! Even a last model year ('95) YJ is good also.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th May, 2008

2003 Jeep Wrangler Freedom Edition 4.0 inline 6

Summary:

Let's hit the trails!

Faults:

Left front axle seal at 36,800mi. - dealer replaced both sides under warranty.

Fuel gauge works about 99% of the time. Seems to be flaky at anything under 1/4 tank.

Randomly started beeping at me as I was driving down the road. No gauges out of line, no warning lights, and only happened once and never came back. Will keep an eye on it.

General Comments:

This is a little different than what I came from (Grand Cherokee), but I've grown up around CJs and Wranglers so I knew what I was in for.

I do love this Jeep though, peppy with the stick shift and pretty good gas mileage. Avg. 18-20mpg.

Its pretty cool being able to fold the top down and go for a cruise. Can't find anything else that you can take both the top and the doors off. Feeling of "freedom" (kind of like the model name).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th October, 2006

11th Oct 2006, 08:06

Are you sure that you didn't leave your directional on when your Jeep started beeping? '03 Wranglers had a nice feature that if you forgot your turn signal on they would beep to remind you after a minute or so. (At least my '03 Sahara did)

17th Oct 2006, 22:20

<<original poster replying to comment>>

No, my turn signal wasn't on. I am aware of that feature though. It had the symptoms like the turn signal was on because it would stop beeping when I came to a stop, but it would start after about a mile or so. Hasn't done it since and I would still love the Jeep anyway.

2003 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Summary:

I still love my jeep!!!

Faults:

Jeep jolting on the down-shift.

A/C not cooling.

General Comments:

I've had identical problems with my automatic transmission jolting when slowing down. I'm not accustomed to this hard downshift, but if this is the normal operation of my 2003 jeep sahara, so be it as long as this does not lead to bigger problems. Even though I have not driven my jeep much within the last two years, it will still cost you for not driving it.

My a/c recently stop cooling and the dealer said even though I don't drive much, I should still take the jeep out for a drive and test run the equipment. Problems could develop for just staying in the garage. I'm unsure what the exact problem may be. Any body know where the condenser and orifice might be on a jeep wrangler?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th September, 2006

22nd Sep 2006, 13:41

My 2003 Sahara's transmission jolted on when coming to a stop to. It acted weird since day one, but I only kept it for 11,000 miles. I went to a new Liberty and the tranny acted more civilized. However I missed the fun of the Wrangler, and went back to a 1995 YJ model with a manual transmission.

(Had to replace its tranny - but love the Jeep!)

8th Dec 2010, 20:56

My 2003 Wrangler Sport had the same transmission jolt when coming to a stop at around 17,000 miles. Took it to the dealer and they fixed it in less than 1 hour. They said it needed the computer resetting.

It now has 155,000 miles and it has never happened again. Love the Jeep, very dependable...