JL Build quality?

Bbqman151

New member
I truly hesitate to ask this, because I sincerely don't want to stir up a hornet's nest, but here goes....Are the JL's reliable for the most part? I have done searches for reliability and have seen discussions on this issue and that issue, YouTube videos showing anything from steering issues to broken welds on the frame, to serious electrical meltdowns. All of it tends to give the IMPRESSION that the JL is not very reliable. Am I just seeing a small percentage of complaints and getting a false impression so to speak? I truly hope so, because the new JL is soooooo sweet and I want one soooooo bad. I just don't want to spend close to 50k for a nightmare. I'm wanting a Mojito JLU Rubicon 6 speed. I truly hope that the "issues" on the forums and YouTube and Facebook groups just represent a small group and they're overall a good vehicle
Thanks for anyone's input. And again, I'm not trying to troll or stir up an argument, so please don't take it that way.
 

darrenroos

New member
Any 1st year of a new design is going to have hiccups. It’s the risk you take when buying the 1st year edition. The reward is that you have the coolest version of the Jeep Wrangler on the block. Too early to tell how it holds together long term but so far I have ZERO buyer’s remorse with my JL. I’ll have to admit though I did do a lease so that if the 2018 versions ends up being a lemon I am not on the hook for it.


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NFRs2000NYC

Member
There are quite a few documented problems with the JL currently...frame welds being the biggest one, with numerous lawsuits and quite a few NHTSA complaints which will hopefully result in recalls/FCA admitting it's a serious issue with SOME JLs (seems to be mostly those made in Feb.) . A few steering issues, door leak issues, heat blowing for no reason issues, uconnect issues, etc. There definitely are some areas of concern, the frame welds being the one that would keep me at bay personally until I see that it has been corrected...which it seems to be with the new production runs.
 

JTCO

Meme King
I worked in a dealership for many years. All types of vehicles have their issues, which is why they have warranties. You can always find the 'bad' stuff for any vehicle ever made if you want to.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
You’re seeing exactly what your are searching for. It you search for problems you will get those results.

Do a google search for dog shit and see if you get results of flowers. Probably not gonna happen.

:cheesy: Damn, I honestly couldn't have even begun to think of that to say but you're so damn right! :crazyeyes:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
What I can tell you is that I have one of the first JL Wranglers to be made and now have about 11,000 miles on it. Being that I work at home and don't have a commute, most of those miles are driving out to the trail, wheeling it and coming back. So far so good.
 

Bbqman151

New member
What I can tell you is that I have one of the first JL Wranglers to be made and now have about 11,000 miles on it. Being that I work at home and don't have a commute, most of those miles are driving out to the trail, wheeling it and coming back. So far so good.

I appreciate the input ya'll. I figured I was probably reading too much in to it.
 

darrenroos

New member
What I can tell you is that I have one of the first JL Wranglers to be made and now have about 11,000 miles on it. Being that I work at home and don't have a commute, most of those miles are driving out to the trail, wheeling it and coming back. So far so good.

Seeing that Wayoflife (Eddie and Cindy) bought a 2018 gave me all I needed to take that leap of faith. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for all of us. And if something is wrong or breaks in the future, Wayoflife will probably already have a video posted about how to fix it.


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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Seeing that Wayoflife (Eddie and Cindy) bought a 2018 gave me all I needed to take that leap of faith. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for all of us. And if something is wrong or breaks in the future, Wayoflife will probably already have a video posted about how to fix it.

:cheesy: Well, we appreciate the vote of confidence. You are right about one thing, if something goes wrong or breaks, you can be sure that there will be a video showing exactly what happened. :yup:
 

notnalc68

That dude from Mississippi
Honestly, I’d at least glance at the undercarriage to look at the welds. I had a JK with a bad weld where the rear control arm met the frame. It kind of mad me want to look over new vehicles, like I do used ones.


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darrenroos

New member
Honestly, I’d at least glance at the undercarriage to look at the welds. I had a JK with a bad weld where the rear control arm met the frame. It kind of mad me want to look over new vehicles, like I do used ones.


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All of this talk made me crawl under mine and look at the welds. I’m no expert but they look like crap. What would my next step be? Take it to a metals shop for a professional opinion?


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notnalc68

That dude from Mississippi
All of this talk made me crawl under mine and look at the welds. I’m no expert but they look like crap. What would my next step be? Take it to a metals shop for a professional opinion?


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A weld doesn’t have to be beautiful, to hold. My JK had a spot, 3 inches long, with no weld. Sorry, I can’t find pics of my weld. See the thread Wayoflife posted about Jet Li’s welds.

https://jlwrangler.com/showthread.php?1176-JL-Wrangler-Factory-Frame-Weld-Quality-on-JET-Li

This thread and these photos show one JL with poor welds. That does not mean the problem is widespread. I just like to look under new vehicles, now.

https://wayalife.com/showthread.php/52543-Look-over-your-JL-before-buying

IMG_2388.JPG
IMG_2387.JPG


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