This is my first Jeep and I've been on this site for awhile now. This is an awesome community that is always very helpful and I have learned a lot. Thanks! Can't say I have ever been this interested in my vehicle before and I've certainly never joined a forum to talk about it....but my Jeep is different. It really is like toy and the versatility and ability to personalize is what drew me to it.

Sometimes, though, I get overwhelmed with all the problems that people are seeking help with. Is this how it is on all vehicle forums, or do Jeeps just inherently have a lot of issues? Reading all this stuff makes me paranoid at times and has planted the seed in the back of my mind that my Jeep is fragile.

 

Most members have either no or only minor problems. People who do have problems tend to post them so the posts on problems you're seeing is giving you a bit of a skewed perspective. That being said, the reality is that you're likely going to have a few issues with this vehicle. After all, it's an American built 4 door convertible designed to go off road, but it's certianly not fragile.

 

I agree the talk of problems on this forum can be overwhelming, but think of it this way: there are a lot of Wrangler owners > Wrangler owners tend to be more passionate about their trucks than most people are about their cars > most people don't go on a forum to discuss the fact that they aren't having a problem with their car or truck.

So... since there's such a large community of Jeep owners and since those owners tend to take their Jeeps really seriously, it's natural that you will hear about it every time something goes wrong. Also remember that Jeeps tend to get used in potentially-damaging ways much more than other cars do. And they tend to get modified a lot.

It's a perfect storm for you to hear about lots of problems. But don't let that lead you to believe that Jeeps are inherently unreliable. You would need different data than Internet forum anecdotes to draw such a conclusion.

 

Fragile is not a word I'd use to describe a JK. Mine can sure take some licks.

 

People having problems with their vehicles are going to be more prevalent posting on forums like this seeking the advice of others, seeing if others have had the issue, and if so, what was done to correct it.

Whereas a person not having a problem with their Jeep isn't likely to come post along the lines of "hey, my Jeep has ran great for 2 years, nothing has broke on it....what can I do to break it?"

So you are going to see the problems forefront.


I saw similar things with a Ford site for the Sport Tracs when I owned one....site was real helpful, but at first glance, it seemed like after visiting...the ST must be the worst POS ever made with all of the problems posted about it. After having owned the ST for 3 years or so...I never saw 99% of the problems I saw posted on there...the only issue I ever really had was the rear power window (which others had had issues with), and Ford corrected for me. So my "ownership" of the ST certainly did not match my initial experience with the site and the problems.

Similar, my Jeep has been along those lines for me as well. Yes, I have had some issues...but nothing that has even dented my enthusiasm for owning it. Most, if not all of the problems have been experienced by others as well, and with those discussions here, shade tree mechanics fixes have been found which have been quite effective at solving the problem.

So I guess for me in the end, I would rather see every problem brought to a very useful forum like this, discussed, and the collective minds of the fellow Jeepers coming together for a fix.

 

As the others have said you will see a large concentration of problems on vehicle forums since most people come on here to ask for help. Im also a member of a few dodge and VW forums and they post just as many issues as jeep owners. So you definitely shouldnt let a forum scare you away from a particuliar vehicle. If forums were a true reflection of a vehicle's reliabilty, we'd all be walking!

 

While my jeep has never left me stranded or anything like that I will say it has had a lot of issues. Mostly suspension related. I have 17k and have replaced steering box, two steering shafts, ball joints, tie rod and now it looks like another steering box is needed. My jeep is driven 90% on road and has been babied. It is stock save for steel wheels, tires, shocks, control amrs and bumper. It is not lifted. Maybe I just have bad luck though.

 

Yep, everytime I read one of your posts I think "man, this poor guy has horrible luck"

We have ~25K on ours, its lifted and occasionally abused offroad. So far, we've only had three issues: Camshaft sensor, clutch click/squeal and a cracked manifold. While every issue annoys me, its about the average for every vehicle I've owned.

 

i must say this was very well said. i don't even need to reply to this post now

 

I like to think that Jeep owners pay alot more attention to their vehicle (inside/outside/ontop and under) than the average Taurus, Camry or Accord owner. The stats are going to look biased if that is the case.

There are alot of vehicles out there that are owned by those oblivious to the minor issues that are likely to occur.