Comments: 1-15, 16-24
Dealer butchered tailgate area when installing alarm.
Automatic transmission jumps and groans.
Water -leaks.
Rear suspension squeaks.
I traded in a '95 Wrangler SE for a brand new 2003 Wrangler Sahara with a sticker price of over $28,000. This was the worst mistake I have ever made.
First the dealership butchered the tailgate area by installing a large metal switch where the tailgate closes against the weatherstripping. This caused the tailgate to stay partially open, and created a water leak in that area. After arguing with the dealership over this "botched" installation and getting nowhere, I was forced to bring the Jeep to a body-shop and have it repaired at my expense.
I am amazed that a new car dealer could be so arrogant and treat customer so badly, but I guess if they can get away with it they will. Chrysler was of no help at all in settling this dispute.
My new Sahara is equipped with the 4 liter six-cylinder engine, trac-lock, ABS, and a Chrysler built automatic transmission. This transmission performs terribly!
The up-shifts are abrupt at any speed. The transmission groans and shutters causing the vehicle from side to side, and worst of all when coming to a stop, the transmission slams into a lower gear which often caused me to look in my rear-view mirror to see if I was rear-ended!
The other issue which is causing me to regret this purchase is that the rear suspension squeaks loudly on almost any road surface.
My Sahara does have some good points, the ride is much smoother than the leaf-spring equipped Wranglers. (I just hope they all don't squeak like mine does, the engine has plenty of power, and the interior is nicely finished. (Just look out for water-leaks!)
After having owned the '95 Wrangler, and having had a great experience with that A.M.C. designed, Chrysler built model. I have come to the conclusion that Chrysler Corp. has ruined the Wrangler, and is damaging the Jeep name.
I have heard rumors that Chrysler is failing, and that the Jeep name will be bought out by Ford. If this is true, I hope that Ford (or whoever buys the Jeep name) can repair the damage done by Chrysler Corp.
I would have cut my losses and traded this Wrangler for another new Jeep from a reputable dealer, but when I checked the blue book I found that this $28,000+ vehicle had depreciated $11,000 in less than 3 months! So I guess I must learn to live with this chassis-squeaking, water-leaking, transmission groaning vehicle for the next few years. How I wish I had my '95 back!
That's why its important to investigate before you buy. I assume you test drove this vehicle and it would be beyond my better judgement to believe you didn't notice the crappy automatic with waning from side to side before you bought the money boat.
Good luck, I'm gonna go get a lexus Dawg.
Honestly, How many Jeep Wrangler owners have automatics? If you get a wrangler, it's a manual.
The water leaks are a known problem and have been dealt with in a tech service bulletin. Same thing with the transmission (but I wouldn't take a Jeep with an automatic if you paid me).
Have you even tried taking it to the dealer with these problems? If your dealer sucks, take it to another.
- Owner of a 2003 TJ Sahara, standard, and not a single problem.
I have had a 99 sahara a 2000 sport and currently a 2003 sport, all have performed flawlessly, no leaks, no groans, no rattles. nothing, but solid performance out of all three. I tow a small boat, I tow it behind my motorhome and wouldn't take any other vehicle over my wrangler. The noise and ride and tolerable and knew up front that would be the case. Every ragtop vehicle I have owned was noisy and I always got wet when it rained except for my miata which had drip rails added to the top.. I must ask a simple question, jeeps have been around for years, they are basically still the same vehicle, they are no mystery, so why would anyone buy one then complain about it... just do your research, god knows there is plenty of it out there... good jeeping...
Thank you for your feedback. To answer the question why I didn't try before I bought. I drove a similar Wrangler, but ordered this one with trac-lock and ABS.
To respond to why automatic? Lot's of stop and go driving, so I thought I give an automatic a try.
I was unaware of the service bulletins on the transmission and water leaks, so thank you for the information. Finally, as to why complain? It's not the vehicle that is so bad. In fact I love my Jeep, but the dealership which I bought it from made this a bad experience. Believe me the most ardent Jeep fan would complain after an experience like that. I believe as time goes by, the negative initial experience will be replaced by the positive ownership experience.
I have had no problems with my Sport. I guess mine was built Tues/Wens/Thur at the plant. I agree with the Daimler/Chrysler 'ruining' Jeep comment. My dealership gave me no trouble, but I referred a friend to the same dealership she was given nothing but grief when she went. That kind of service made me and them look bad. I would take yours around to a friendlier dealership. Chrysler needs to go to the Japanese school of the "customer is always right" mode of thinking to stay competitive. Still love my Jeep.
I have an 2004 Sahara and love it, I have all options except for the auto transmission and I mean all. I bought mine for fun and so far my fun meter has been pegged. My wife bought an 04 Grand Cherokee and loves it. She bought it for comfort and mine for fun. You have to remember Jeeps are not the normal cushy rides and are totally different from all other SUV/4x4s. They are built to be used and abused all others are plastic and flash. As in every manufacturer there are bad ones it is the luck of the draw.
Harry.
I have a 2003 wrangler sport with the automatic and I bought it due to the fact it tows more. But I have the same problem with it down shifting hard when I come to a stop. The dealer says nothing wrong. I think this will be the last wrangler I'll buy. Thanks Chris.
I have had many makes of cars and I have found that taking it to the dealership for service costs a little more, but in the long run the repairs are done right and the parts last longer. So I always stick with the company that made the car.
That said, Chrysler dealerships in my opinion have always been sketchy (a search on the web shows this in abundance). They nickle dime you for everything and the corporate office has never been helpful or apologetic. They have always had a "too bad" attitude.
However- I have found a great difference between Chrysler service departments. At first, I thought it was the "Five Star" dealerships that were the best (Chrysler's internal rating system) but now I don't think it matters. I have had my vehicle for five years and I have not been asked to take a service survey once except on my buying experience, so I don't know who they are being rated by, but it is not Joe Customer like myself. Granted, Five Star dealers are visually more appealing with lots of glass and chrome and free coffee, but I have gone to another Chrysler Service dealer with a dirty garage and received more personal service. I also have gone to two "Five Star" dealerships literally one mile apart and payed MUCH less for the same jobs. The cheaper dealership was more personal and did a better job on fixing things.
So to make a long story short (OK, I failed) I agree with trying different dealerships. I go to a Jeep dealer in a major city, and the people there knew me by name after a couple visits. That says something about the people working on your car.
Also, they should be able to do the EXACT maintenance items you request on your car. If they start trying to sell you a service "package" of things be very skeptical. One "package" usually applies to things across all cars and probably has lots of things you don't need. The most rediculous is the "tune up". On modern (post 1988) cars, a tune up is essentially like doing maintenance on a printer. You replace the spark plugs and replace a couple filters. When they say they are adjusting the timing, they are full of it. The car's own built-in computer continuously adjusts the timing. And then they throw a bunch of "Inspect"'s in there to make it look like you are getting a lot for your money. They have another one where they "inspect" your A/C system. They look at the belt then turn on your A/C and feel it with their hand to see if it's cold. I have seen them do it. Write down the EXACT things in your owners manual for them to do. The rest is BS.
Update on '03 Wrangler Sahara. The squeaking rear end was taken care of by the original selling dealer. (The dealership from hell!) They stated that it was fuel lines under the gas tank rubbing on the underside of the vehicle. After the squeak was repaired, I found another Jeep dealer to service my vehicle. The transmission continued to shift abruptly. No other problems developed over the first year of ownership.
I only kept the Jeep for one year and 11,000 miles, at which time I traded it in on a 2004 Jeep Liberty Limited.
The Liberty is quieter, has a smoother ride, gets better mileage, and the transmission shifts much more smoothly.
So far so good!
To respond to the comment about Five Star Dealers. I have gone to both Five Star and Non-Five Star Dealers, and some Five Star Dealers were noticeably better than some of the Non-Five Star. That doesn't mean that some Non-Five Star Dealers could not be better than some Five Star Dealers however. To earn Five Star status, a dealership most score consistently high customer satisfaction scores and their sales and service personnel must all be certified. This might make for better service, but perhaps not always.
The terrible dealership that sold me my Sahara was not a Five Star dealer, and I doubt that they ever will be.
A year and a half after my terrible experience with that dealership, I still can't believe that they actually would treat a customer so badly.
I guess as long as dealers and manufacturers get away with
treating customer unfairly they will. Unfortunately they have a lot more cash reserves than most customers and are able to fight all claims with their high price attorneys.
Most customers simply can;t afford to spend the time and money pursuing claims against them in court.
My dad owns a 2001 Wrangler Sport with soft top, manual trans, and the 4 litter engine, and it has preformed flawlessly since the day he bought it. I hope to get a Wrangler for my first vehicle.
As for the dealers, it depends on the dealer. I have started gathering information on purchasing one. I went to a “Five Star” dealership and had a bad experience. The salesman tried to tell me that 4 wheel drive vehicles don’t really have 4 wheel drive really only have 2 drive wheels, and 2 wheel drive vehicles only have 1 drive wheel, and that only the Rubicon has true 4 wheel drive… and he wanted me to purchase one because it is the most expensive.
Another local dealership I was impressed with. The salesman, although on top of us all the time, as most dealers are, I told him what features I was looking for, and he showed me the cheapest model he had with those features, the X, and he never tried to sell us the most expensive, it just depends on the dealership.
We haven’t bought yet, due mainly to lack of funds, but I still intend my first vehicle to be a wrangler, and it seams the X is the way for me to go.
I'm afraid I must make a corection to the last comment, the dealer which I visited was not a "Five Star" dealership.
I have a 2003 Jeep Wrangler X with 4.0 six and the 4 speed auto transmission. It just recently started shifting hard when coming to a stop or slowing down between 25 and 35 mph. I think it's from 4th gear to 3rd, but I'm not positive. It shifts down hard enough to shake the jeep a little. Does anyone know what this problem is or have the same issue with their 2003 or newer Wrangler?
Just traded 2004 Toyota Prerunner for 2002 Wrangler Sahara and am blown away by smoothness and ruggedness of "new" vehicle. Manual x-mission is effortless and is the way to go with Jeep. I'm worse than a kid at Christmas; my face hurts from smiling!
Joe
Alabama, War Eagle!
I bought a 2003 Jeep Sahara Wrangler with 8,000 miles on it. At 11, 000 the check engine light comes on, and it has been in the dealership numerous times for this same problem to be fixed. The code indicated an emissions leak. The dealership has replaced the car computer twice, the emissions pump twice, and all the wiring to the computer and pump the last time. Finally at 16,000 miles, the problem is fixed. Occasionally the check engine light will come on for a day, and that code indicates a throttle position sensor problem.
This jeep is an automatic, and at 20,000 miles the shifter became misaligned somehow. To go in R, it looked like N, To drive in D, it looked like it was in 1. Dealership took care of that, replaced the entire shift console/ assembly.
Minor problems: the AC leaked water inside the passenger front side, dealership fixed. The 4x4 handle regularly pops out somewhere underneath the car, and I have to take it back to the dealership so they can re- attach it, the handle will just flop around, but it isn't connected to anything.
This has been the worst car as far as problems that I have ever had. Maybe I got a lemon. It does not have enough miles on it yet to have all the trouble it has had. I am seriously considering trading it in while it's still under the manufacturers warranty. I worry about the cost and frequency of repairs once its past the 36,000 mile warranty.