Brizio81

I've ever driven manual transmission in sporty cars (two minis cooper s, an european hot hatch, the rwd bmw I own at the moment) and in Italy auto transmission are the smaller part of the market (due to bad fuel consumption in general and by the cost of fuel more than double than in the US). So my doubt in the choice between manual or auto while thinking about a JK purchase.

Having not experienced a difficult manoeuvre in off road I thought it was helpful using only the brake pedal instead of clutch and brake. Plus the fact it's impossible to stall the car! It's my biggest fear: remanining stuck in a muddy slope, without the ability to go up, maybe sliding downwards with all the wheels blocked! I'm a rookie, i know!! :-)

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods...

Mark Doiron

Not sure if the European JKs have the clutch interlock switch to prevent starting the Jeep without pressing in the clutch, but if all of that is wired as for U.S. models, then you don't need to press in the clutch in 4-low to start the Jeep. Just crank on the starter and the Jeep will roll forward and the engine will start. It's a good reason to be in 4-low for certain situations.

Brizio81

Great, never heard it before! It's a good help in severe conditions!

Usually we've no particular difference with US apart the diesel engine and the horrible front and rear bumpers (they did their best with them thanks to pedestrian impact rules...)

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods...

Cutman

I was just wondering if that was normal. After almost 6 months of driving it, it has loosened up a bit and doesn't take as much force to get it into 6th. But you do have to pull slightly right when shifting. My Patriot was only a 5 spd so this was foreign to me at first anyway. But it's good to know the Jeep physically won't let me do that.

jk_sea

The newer JK's have Hill Assist which holds the brakes for you while you let out the clutch, and releases them as the clutch grabs and move the car forward. It's a neat feature for folks who aren't 100% confident driving a manual trans in tight situations.

Haggis_Forever

Wasn't there a recall addressing this?

I seem to recall there was something about the inner shift boot being too rigid, leading to this problem.

07tungsten

Yes there was a recall on the shifter popping out of gear. My 08 had that issue and it was covered under warranty.

On a side note, I'm on my 3rd JK with a 6-speed and I have no regrets!

Omar Brannstrom

Hi

"If we had to point to one fault on this specific Wrangler, it would be the sometimes noisy and clunky six-speed manual transmission. Sacrilegious as it sounds to want an automatic in a Wrangler, this platform simply performs better with the auto"

From 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Moab - Long Term Report

I have one problem in threads like this and that is that people here dont mention what model year they have experience with. They say auto, but there are a difference between differerent brands, models and years. A JK had a inferior automatic transmission between 2007-2011 compared to JK 2012+. The new (rather old actually) automatic have a transmission cooler and are mated with some V12 engines in Mercedes vehicles. And in this automatic transmission You can manually change gears.

It seems that with diesel (pentastar?) the auto have slightly more torque.

"This overseas-available Jeep CRD turbodiesel punches out 200 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque for automatic transmission models and 302 lb-ft for Wranglers with manual transmissions"

From What's New for the 2017 Jeep? - Future Wrangler

Looks even so with the Pentastar

Omar Brannstrom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ENWYAifSl8

Haggis_Forever

I'm on my first with a manual. I also have no regrets, though rush hour driving around Boston is close to one. A bad left knee and a manual transmission aren't a good combination some days.