I tell you after reading all of the problems people have had with the JK I am wondering why I bought one. I should have done a little more research. I know I don't drive mine as hard as most on this site. It appears Chrysler does not stand by there products like some of the other manufacturers. Customer: "Hey my transmission oil gets hot enough to catch on fire." Chrysler: " Ok we will give you an annoying light and chime, there are you happy. You should drive your Jeep anyway just park it in the yard or tow it where ever you want to go and take the top off and sit in it. Now isn't that great."
The only problem I had with my TJ was the death wobble, which I fixed. Wish I hadn't gotten rid of it now. I love this Jeep but I can't afford to own a piece of Sh!t
List of know problems:
1) trans over hears
2) Seems both tops leak soft and hard top
3) Under powered
4) Burns oil
5) Will not warranty (for the most part) a modded Jeep even if the mods were done a the dealership
6) Your brake line might wear out because it is rubbing on something it shouldn't be
7) Oil light comes on too early

Just thought I would vent and show my concern. You would think Chrysler would do more to gain the customer's trust.

I don't see a whole lot of people stating they are getting a lot miles with no problems
Thoughts?

 

the problems aren't as common as it appears from reading this site. how often do you see a thread titled " hey just wanted to let you know i don't have any problems." not too often. however when someone has a problem they post looking for answers. so don't worry about everything you read. enjoy your jeep!

 

My 4 door 08 sahara is the best "car" (I know its a jeep ) that I have EVER OWNED. I absolutely love it. Everyday I climb in I am excited to drive it.

Absolutely no problems.

 

Just wanted to let you know I have had no issues here either!!

I would not worry about the odds and ends of issues that in the grand scheme of things are likely a very small percentile. You are going to find this with any and most vehicles on the market.......Ford Focus battery fires, Toyota Matrix gas pedal problem (wife's DD btw)
Dodge p/u truck problems with the Crank Position Sensor caving within the first year.

As for the tops, I think a lot of people just don't take the time to line it up or make sure all the hardware is tight or installed correctly. Again, these issues are in the minority. I'm not saying that are not problems and people don't necessarily deserve to have an engine crap out or have a soft top that leaks. You want some good reading, check this out and have a look at the top of the page where it lists recalls for vehicle manufacturers.

http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/default.htm

I think you will get over your nervousness!

 

A lot of this is perception. Keep in mind that this community (among other things!) is a place for people to come and ask for help. Not all JK owners are here, and you'll never see a post like "Just another day driving with no brake failure" or "WOW - my rear-view mirror shows me what's behind me"

Sure - there are issues. My starter died the day I put my winch on (Irony: that day I declared I'd never be stuck again! LMAO) But ALL vehicles have issues and when you're on a type-club-forum like this you'll hear everything from honest to God problems that may or may not be widespread and a few folks who will bitch because something broke when used improperly - whether they knew it was wrong to do so or not. Big community = all types.

Yeah my hard top leaks - if I put it on wrong or don't maintain it. Yeah it squeaks. My softtop never has leaked so far and if I were to do it again I'd have put the hardtop money into something else - just the soft top would be better for me year round.

As for the power - talk about subjective! I've got the 3.21 gears and for the most part love it. Yeah I have to row the gears but why would I buy a standard and complain about shifting? I have to plan passing more carefully that in my wife's truck with 4.10s but so what? I'm not emotionally tied to any gear so if I pass someone in 3rd, not 6th, so be it. That said, I'd like higher gears off road but for what I do low range takes care of that nicely.

The way some people yak about lack of power you'd think they thought the JK was supposed to be a solid-axle'd Hemi 'Cuda variant. I've never had a problem keeping up with traffic and am seldom the slowest guy on the highway.

Take everything here in context...

 

Your list covers some of the problems seen on the forum.
Here is my experience with those items:

1. N/A
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. N/A
5. N/A
6. N/A
7. N/A

 

No problems here. The only issue I had and it's far from a problem was the steering clunk developed at 2k miles. I packed the boot on the steering shaft with open gear compound and no longer have any sort of clunk.

No leaks in my HT, more than acceptable MPG, no idiot lights coming on early, I got 3.73's & manual trans, so I have no power issues. 8k miles, running smooth, even tire wear with AT's because I keep them rotated and properly inflated.

This is my second Wrangler and I highly doubt it will be my last unless Fiat really craps the bed.

 

I hate when that happens!

 

List of know problems:
1) trans over hears Never had any issues with my Auto at all.
2) Seems both tops leak soft and hard top Intermittant soft top leaks, hard to pinpoint, but not a dealbreaker for me.
3) Under powered Disagree. 4.10's & 33" tires on an auto, it has way more power than I need.
4) Burns oil Not so much as a drop.
5) Will not warranty (for the most part) a modded Jeep even if the mods were done a the dealership Not uncommon for ANY motovehicle. I have a heavily modified Honda XR650L and honda wont touch it. Ford wouldnt touch my lowered F150 either. You mod it, you assume the consequences.
6) Your brake line might wear out because it is rubbing on something it shouldn't be. 2minute fix with a pair of tin snips or dremel, hardly worth concern to me. The brakes on my F150 where complete shit and i spent thousands on that heap to make sure it stopped. A rubbing brake line was the least of my concerns.
7) Oil light comes on too early What is an oil light?

ALL vehicles have problems. Pick a car, any car, truck, SUV whatever, got to a dedicated forum for it and you will see lists of problems and complaints. Not everyone has all of them, most have none of them. Interent forums just condense it all into one easy to read bitch-fest and it is a skewed view as a whole. Very few threads about people that have no problems, and when they do get started they die quickly. People dont like to be happy, but they love to hop on the soap box and whine about any little thing they can.

My only real complaint of note was the dreaded stall bug, which i had in full force, but it is fixed and i have moved happily forward. Top got noisy, fixed it. its a convertible, they all make noise and leak. My dad's old chevy leaked, my sisters lebaron leaked... acceptable? no, but its part of owning one. If i hit a problem I'll get it resolved and keep moving on. Not getting rid of my jeep unless i flop it, whereupon i will buy another one and start over.

 

yep, zero issues so far 20k (knocking on wood). my oil doesn't burn, my engine gets up fine, top barly leaks if any. I wheel hard..and I mean hard!

this past weekend at the jamboree, my jk showed up almost all the jeeps in my groups. Most had lockers and mine is open, I jumped up rocks and hills that they slid out on. I also have AT tires where most had MT's and climbed a muddy bank and pulled 2 others through it.

The JK is stout, wide, sure footed from the factory. Add some personal touches and bigger tires and nothing stops it.

And ofcourse...these guys are right when they say "the forum is mostly for help questions, not so much "I love this" statements.

Keep that JK and love it....