2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon from North America - Comments

I bought this Jeep used, and have only had it for 1600 miles, so nothing has gone wrong yet.

One tire is worn a bit crooked, so I don't know yet if it needs an alignment or if the previous owner failed to rotate on schedule.

The front seats are initially comfortable, but lose support and feel a bit narrow on a longer trip.

Considering that Jeep claims 15 city and 19 hwy, I'm glad to see that my Jeep gets 21 mpg hwy.

The interior is rugged but hard plastic.

I love the versatility and rough-edged appeal of this Jeep.

I took it out and wheeled it for the first time about a week ago (the previous owner never wheeled it). WOW!! This thing can crawl up a cliff. I've never had anything like it before.

The sound system is excellent with Infinity speakers and the right balance on the sub. Sirius satellite is nice too.

There is a surprising amount of room under the seats -- important since Jeeps tend to be a bit shy of space.

The power is more than adequate on and off road. With 4.10s, though there is a definite drop off in power when around 70mph. Still enough, but just not as punchy as when running at lower speeds. The automatic shifts smoothly and promptly.

Mine is Rescue green, my favorite color in Jeeps along with the new orange and white. There really isn't a bad color, though.

Since I'm the only Rubi owner to post a review, and because I've only had it for 1600 miles, I'll try to keep posting so that you all can keep abreast of my experiences with it. Come rain or shine, it's the coolest stocker off the pavement! Jeep on.

I took my Jeep to the black hills and did a little 4-wheeling. What a blast!! I was a little staid in my style, though, since I was wheeling by myself. The low gearing really pays off in the rocks. I can walk 3 times as fast as this thing crawls. Saves trouble when momentum isn't wanted or when you're picking your route carefully. I forded a few streams and climbed a couple of 45 degree slopes with not even a slip of a tire. I stayed in 4wd but didn't use my lockers or sway bar detachment (I should have--would have made things a bit smoother). A good trip.

One little problem cropped up which is apparently common on these JKs. There is a little clunk in the steering that is primarily noticed when off-roading or when the engine has been warm for a length of time. Turns out that it's a common but not dangerous issue with these Jeeps. According to guys on a Jeep forum I read, the problem is in the steering wheel half shaft. Trouble is the problem comes and goes and is thus difficult for techs to find. I took it to the Jeep dealer in Spearfish who was familiar with the problem but couldn't produce the clunking sound. Nice guys, though. They spent A half hour examining the suspension and steering and washed the Jeep for me and charged me a grand total of $0. Anyway if this problem gets more serious--enough for it to show up at a dealership, I'll post more about it.

Apart from that I'll just say... to you TJers, YJers, CJers, etc., I wave at any Jeeper. Please wave back.

The tires shouldn't need to have been rotated before you bought it if it only had 1,600 miles on it when you got it.

I would check the alignment, if you haven't already.

I bought it used with about 14,000 miles on it. I assumed (incorrectly) that the dealership that sold it to me would have rotated the tires. I was tipped off that they hadn't by how stuck the wheel was to the brake rotor. Also a Jeep mechanic told me that he didn't think they had ever been rotated. I had driven about 1600 more miles by then (14,000 + 1600 = 15,600 miles before first rotation!). So for now I'm guessing that the problem is a rotation rather than alignment issue. We'll see. Thanks for the input.

I should have read the review more carefully.

Certainly the tires should have been rotated by the original owner.

Yes, it could be a rotation issue, but it never hurts to check the alignment - good tires for Jeeps are not cheap.

I'm running Bridgestone Dueler Revos and they have been the best tires I've run on any of my Jeeps.

Great traction wet or dry, fantastic in the snow and pretty quiet - they weren't inexpensive to say the least, but a vast improvement over the stock tires.

Are you running the passenger ones or the LTs? I had them on a Toyota Tundra (passenger tires) for a while and thought they were a decent tire.

I'm running the Dueler A/T Revos and they are excellent year round on the Wrangler.

I've owned 3 Wranglers, and have found that these tires are far quieter and offer better traction (wet, dry, and in snow) than the stock O.E.M. tires that came on all of my Jeeps.

The Dueler A/T Revo comes in two flavors: Passenger or Light truck. The way to tell the difference is to look on the tire where the size is. If the size is preceded by a "P" it's a passenger tire. If it is preceded by an "LT" it's a light truck tire (more plies, heavier duty, better on rocks, rougher riding, deeper tread). Most Jeeps have LTs on them. I'm just wondering because how they ride and wear depends at least in part upon the type of tire that it is. Sorry for the tutorial if you already know this stuff. I guess I wasn't clear in my earlier question. I agree. The Revo is earning praise from many quarters. I liked the ones I had. Bigger question... what Jeep do you drive? Do you like it?

I'm running 31" LT's on my 1995 Wrangler 4.0 Liter, 5 speed.

I don't like my Wrangler - I love it!

I did a ground up restoration on it 3 years ago, and it is in absolute showroom condition.

Actually, I think in many ways it is better than when it was new because I added a host upgrades such as a 1 1/2" lift, six speaker sound bar & upgraded stereo, and lots of stainless steel (bumpers, bumperettes, grille etc.)

That is one of the great things about the Jeep Wrangler, there are so many things you can do to customize, upgrade & individualize to your likes and needs.

Amen!! Sounds awesome.

So far--so good. The Jeep has been perfectly reliable except for the very occasional steering clunkiness.

I'll be installing a lift soon. I'm just planning on a 2.5" lift and 33s or 34s. I like a taller, narrower tire because of the advantages in the rocks for that kind of setup. I wish someone made a 35x11.5 17. That tire would be perfect for my Jeep. But in lieu of that, BFG Mud Terrain 255 80 17s are the way I'll probably go when my tires are shot. Toyo makes an Open Country 285 75 17 that works out to 34". Nice setup but each tire is $330. Ouch! Probably an excellent tire though.

Still getting about 17mpg for day-to-day driving. 55mph driving is where this Jeep really gets good mileage (21-23mpg). Faster or slower and it starts to suffer.

What an animal off road!! I've gone wheeling several times since my last post. Jeeps rock. 10 minutes off-road and I'm grinning from ear to ear. In fact a friend with his 05 LJ Rubicon and I are going on a trail ride today. :)

I'll keep up to date on any problems as the miles rack up. Thankfully my JK doesn't leak with either top. I've heard that leaks are a problem with the Freedom Top and some with the soft top. My hard top doesn't even leak in high pressure car washes.

I've thought about getting a Mygig. Anyone install one? Problems?

See you on the trail.

I installed a 2.5" Budget Boost so I could easily get a bit more breakover angle. Nice thing about a BB on a JK is that the suspension arms are long enough that even a 3" lift doesn't require a long arm kit. I wasn't disappointed; the lift hasn't hurt the on-road ride and allows for better approach, departure, and breakover angles. The steering feels just a tiny bit more "wandery." Not at all bad, just enough to require attentive driving.

Off road the extra height is a nice addition. Jeep did a good job reshaping the skid plates on the JKs but its better to keep them off terra firma. When the original tires (32" BFG Mud Terrain) are worn out, I'm planning on 33"-34" tires to replace them. That will give me 11"- 11.5" running ground clearance as measured at the pumpkin.

In the future I'm planning to go to a 3" coil lift so I can get 35" tires under there. For now, though, this is all the lift my wife will allow because of the step-in height.

The Jeep is still trouble free, and still getting +/-17mpg in day-to-day driving. Of course, winter will probably drop those numbers a little bit.

By the way, while I'm on the subject, it looks like the original tires will go 40000-45000 miles. That isn't bad when you consider the type of tire and the fact that the 1st owner failed to rotate them. I've heard that 50000 miles isn't abnormal for these; on a mud tire, that is amazing. Jeep specified a harder rubber compound for the stock tire than the normal BFG MT so they would wear better. I haven't noticed any problems off road with that compromise. In fact they grip all the terrains I've thrown at them with a tenacity that I've never seen before in a tire.

I should add that I've put on 6000 trouble-free miles since we purchased the Jeep. I've read that others have had issues with teething problems on the new JKs but so far I'm thinking that Chrysler has them mostly worked out (crossed fingers). I checked and the recalls that afflicted the JKs early on were all performed on my Jeep. Also I had an alignment done because its recommended after a lift, and the "wandery" feeling in the steering disappeared. So its all good at this point.

Who needs a snowmobile?! This thing ROCKS in the powder. I was just reading that Jeep Wranglers have a brake-lock differentials. What that means is that if a wheel starts to spin faster than the other on the same axle, it will automatically apply the brake to the faster one. Then you give it a bit more throttle and the wheel that grips will do its job. This is true on both axles. In practice this setup makes for amazing grip while maintaining an open diff's ability to allow you to turn--unlike when its locked up. Lockers still provide more traction, but this setup allows you to wait longer before locking em up.

One word, though... when driving with a brake-lock system, if a wheel starts to spin and the system starts to work, you'll lose half your torque so in order to move you'll need to give it more gas just about the time you're thinking about stopping and backing up for another run at it. So it requires a change in driving style or habit.

P.S. I got all of this info directly from a Jeep corporate blog so it *should* be accurate :D

We've had several feet of snow to test out the system on and it really helps. Up 'til now I've assumed that the jeep gripped well because of the tires (which is true) but there's obviously more to it than that.

Well I'd better stop or somebody is gonna think I'm a dealer or something (thank God I'm not these days :) ). Cheers!

Now I've been out snow-wheeling a number of times. The consistency of the snow makes a HUGE difference in how easily you can drive through it (OK, so maybe a snowmobile would be nice sometimes) but I've never gotten stuck. Because of the brake-lock diffs, shifting into full-locked mode is a surprisingly minor change. That system is going to be excellent in the rocks.

I've had no problems with the Jeep. It runs smooth and strong. It now has almost 22,000 miles on it. I hope this continues...