Man, I am sick and tired of hearing "Its a Jeep thing"! Who started that phrase anyway? So why did we pay $30 plus for our trucks if the doors won't close properly?........Must be a "retard thing".
Get the bloody door fixed or remove it and shove it up the dealers $%^!

 

Damn, wish I would have known earlier that JKs in Canada were going for $30. Hell I payed $29,970 too much for mine down here in the good ol US of A. Just busting your chops, I knew what you ment to say. Have to agree for the price we pay for everything these days they should at least work or at least the dealers should have a clue to the products they are selling. I am amazed how much info is available on the net and the dealers can't seem to break the code how to stay a step ahead of the customer. My dealer visits our site often and is never surprised when a problem comes their way. Like they told me it is easier to go ahead and fix things the right way than to figure out how to get out of doing it.

 

Hmmm . . That is a thought. I have the hard tops. I will check, but I'm pretty sure they are on correctly. The door seems to meet resistance at the front by the hinges. I tried several doors at the dealership and of course the passenger door on mine, and it is way off.

Also remember, it caused the door gasket to completely come off in the front from the way it was closing.

Take it back through lemon law? I just got finished putting new tires, wheels, lift kit, satellite radio, heated seats, what do I do with those things, take them off and start over? I also like my dealer. I'm sure he will do what he can to help. This is my first jeep and I can see where some will say it's a jeep thing. Will a hard off roading trip over rocks and trees result in the body shifting a bit and the door alignment changing a bit? I haven't done that yet, but if it will, I will call this a Jeep thing. If these things are a solid as a rock and the fit does not change at all over time, I guess I should be concerned.

Any comments?

 

1. It's a Jeep thing. To get the creature comforts, you would have to give up the outside hinges, soft top, removable carpet, etc.
2. Nobody held you at gunpoint to buy it. That's what test drives are for. Nobody forces you to take it home, and if you aren't satisfied, there are other Jeeps out there.
3. The beauty of capitalism is that we have a choice, and many of us make this choice.

 

Have you ever taken the doors off? If so, you may have something that is binding the hinges on that side. If not, you still might have something binding them, but you should try taking the door off and putting it on to see how it helps.
The other thing is that the hinges might be out of alignment slightly.

 

I'm a firm believer in "It's a Jeep thing". HOWEVER, if the original poster is being told by the dealership that the body shop has to make modifications to his Jeep. This is NOT a Jeep thing. I'd keep them from making mods to the body or otherwise. If the door is out of alignment I'd request a NEW door be put on before they try anything else. Unless they can just realign the old door. I wouldn't let them start banging crap around.

 

Yep, I agree. Not gonna let them start hittin it. As for the gentleman who said "Nobody held you at gunpoint to buy it. That's what test drives are for. Nobody forces you to take it home, and if you aren't satisfied, there are other Jeeps out there." All I can say is I ordered it and waited 14 weeks! The one I test drove had doors that closed.

I will be there when they take a look at it on Monday. If they say they have to get the cutting torch out, it's time to call the dealership and get a new door or at least have a Chrysler/jeep rep look at it before the evidence is modified. I'm not looking for a fight, like I say, I get along fine with my dealership. I think if we put a different door on the hinges and try it, we might find out if the door is made wrong.

 

But the one you ordered either had this problem when you picked it up (that's why you inspect it before you take delivery, etc), or this has happened since delivery in which case it is either damage or something else. Nobody forces you to take delivery after you order it either. The wait doesn't mean anything, if it is something you want, then it's worth waiting for.

That being said, I would blame the hinges before I blame the body. Unless you have some body damage near the hinges.
If the door fits flush after being shut, all the way around, neither the door nor the body are out of whack. It's physics. However, if the hinges are binding, that would cause your problem. Have someone look at the panel that says "Wrangler" in front of the hinges as you shut the door. If it flexes significantly, then likely the hinges are binding.

 

It's funny how after spending 30K on a Jeep and waiting 14 weeks for delivery, how we just want to jump in and roll down the highway without inspecting every bolt and nut on the vehicle. Guess it's human nature. The walkthrough I did was not more than look at the paint quality. Guess I've learned my lesson, but in all fairness, it's still under warranty and only has 2000 miles on it. There is no damage to the vehicle. The dealer and Chrysler are still on the hook for this one.

Your diagnoses to the problem is a good one. All surfaces are flush and gaps are equal. I tried the slam test and there is no movement at all near the logo on the quarter panel. It is as if the gasket material on the front of the door is too large not allowing the door to close. Well, I'm not going to obsess over the whole thing. Monday will be here soon enough and maybe we will find out the mystery.

 

OK, just got back from the body shop the dealer uses. They had one of their "crack" repair guys look at my door. He knew from the beginning that the door was to far forward causing the gasket to bind way too much. He loosened only the bolts on the inside of the body where the hinges attach to the body (3 on top hinge, 3 on bottom. How he moved these is not clear to me but it ended up with the top rear of the door being about 1/4 out from the body, while the bottom is about flush. The gap is half what it was before on the right door edge. It closes perfectly. Even better than the passenger side. We did notice the passenger side is the exact opposite. The bottom is out about 1/8 of an inch and the top of the door is flush with the body.

He said if he makes it flush top and bottom, than the door clasp does not work well. He believes the problem is in the body door frame not being properly aligned.

He said he has some concern with the top seal and said to watch it to see if it leaks. He thinks it should be fine but said I could loosen the top 3 screws and push the top of the door in just a bit and it will take care of any leaks. It will affect the closer though.

His last piece of advise was that I bring it back in 1-2 months and he thinks the gasket will "flatten" out a bit allowing him to bring in the top of the door about 1/8" - not flush, but close.

I took the Jeep to the dealer to let them know what was said. They said they would call the Jeep rep to look at it if it leaks or if the top of the door does not come in on the second adjustment in a month or two.

The body shop guy has a lot of experience with cars, doors, and Jeeps. He said Jeep is looking for a water tight seal more than door alignment. It's hard to have both unless just by dumb luck in the factory. I can live with that. I would rather have function than just cosmetics. Others may not agree. That's where "It's a jeep thing" enters into the discussion. I think most of us are willing to give up the perfect lines and looks for the full functionality of what buying a Jeep is all about. The driver's door is working perfectly now (don't know about the leak issue yet) abit, still not looking perfect. Can I live with it as it is? Hmmmm . . maybe I will wait for the adjustment in a month or so to answer.