While I certainly don't mind the interior of my Jeep getting wet, seeing as how the rear panels of my TrekTop NX are usually off come rain, shine, snow, hail, etc., I disagree with your sentiment. Nothing about the Jeep way of life says you can't have a rig that's taken off road regularly that still smells like a mall crawler. Mine obviously does not, but still. The point is that it's a defect in the craftsmanship of the vehicle from the factory and it needs to be corrected. Some of us choose to live with it and that's perfectly fine. Others of us have a problem with a brand new vehicle having a recurring problem, no matter what it is.

BTW....I still have carpet in my Jeep. I have OEM heated seats, too. That make me less of a Jeeper because I run heated seats with the doors off during the winter months? And....my Jeep doesn't leak.

 

Good luck, I hope you get it ironed out.

 

Hey, see if they can hermetically seal it while your at it. Crying over water in the Jeep maybe you should have bought a Renegade.

 

Another m--r=n heard from

 

While I agree that water leaking into your jeep is not the end of the world, I do agree with the OP that a $30-40k piece of machinery should not leak. The wranglers have been getting more and more refined over the generations and they should be able to figure out how to keep water from getting in. I have a hard top 2012 JKU. I found out just after my factory warranty expired that my driver side door leaks. Floor gets sopping wet. I do have the lifetime warranty but it's not worth paying the $100 deductible to try to fix it. A coworker also has a 2012 that had the same leak. He fixed it with a few dollars worth of self adhesive weather stripping from Home Depot.

 

I'll add to that. It's completely unacceptable for any new car to leak water. Period. All of the "it's a jeep thing" folks are just doing their part to keep Jeep quality down. If we would quit making excuses and hold them accountable, they would absolutely fix this.

Jeep has the longest running production line of removable-top vehicles in history. For over half a century they have been "refining" this. Mazda managed to get non-leaking convertible tops right on the very first year they made one, and somehow Jeep can't be expected to do it after 50+ years of trying? that's ridiculous.

This is not rocket science. If Jeep would just plainly copy what every other convertible in the world does then they would not have a problem. It's an obvious design flaw that causes these leaks, but they won't ever fix it as long as Jeep buyers keep paying $40K for a new vehicle and then offering excuses for horrible quality rather than holding FCA accountable to get it right.

 

I had very similar issues with my top leaking. Started where the two freedom panels meet, right above the radio, moved around as seals were replaced to both front doors. Unfortunately the rain schedule/the dealer trying to recreate the leak and waiting for parts that never got ordered made it so i couldn't use the lemon law and my warranty expired. That made it so the warranty was only on the parts that were replaced, which was just about every seal around the freedom part of the top. The dealer i went through had a bad habit of claiming parts were ordered for the top and a claim was made with Jeep but never actually doing either until i contacted them myself. After that the woman at Jeep confirmed everything with me that the dealer was telling her and made sure parts were actually ordered. After over 10 trips to the dealer over two years they ended up replacing both freedom panels, assuming they were "warped" somehow. That leak stopped when the panels were replaced. Now there is a new leak around the back, driver side door but that is not covered but its not bad enough to soak anything just a few drops here and there.

I did end up with 8 free oil changes and extended warranties from the whole deal but it was a pain. I recommend following up with Jeep to confirm everything your dealer is telling them and you.

 

The quality is lacking in some aspects that unfortunately comes with a Chrysler product, but in the end you'll find that overall these things are tough as nails. A little DIY customizations here, some TLC there and it'll run forever and hold its value like crazy. At first I hated the imperfections, but after 120k my 08 has never broken down and has done everything I have wanted it to do. Best vehicle I have ever owned. I wouldn't bother trying to lemon it over a leaky top. Don't bother with a dealership. Fix the leak yourself and then you'll know how to do it again. Convertibles, no matter the make and model, can be a nuisance. It'll be fine you'll figure out where it's leaking.

 

The flaw with the Jeep top is assuming it can be sealed. They need to assume it will leak and find a way to deal with water that might get in. A Miata top has an internal drip rail and intentionally channels water into the interior of the vehicle and has drains inside the interior of the car to catch it. Water never gets into any area where it's not intended to be, but they at least don't make the assumption they can keep all water out. They can't. Seals will wear and age and deform and even if they were perfect from the factory (and they never are), they will eventually begin to leak.

This is just a design flaw with the Jeep top. No amount of DIY fixing will help. It needs an engineered solution, completely different design.

 

Whats an "m--r=n"?