First, an introduction. I'm, of course, new to the site. I have been a Ford enthusiast my whole life. I have an extensive back ground in backyard mechanics and have a history of racing both on the strip and at the stop light drags. I also have a good bit of experience piloting rigs offroad too; mud, sand, rocks I've done it. Nothing too extreme but I have never limited myself to just the bunny hills. With the exception of a rusty and beat $600 Wagoneer in my early 20s I have always driven Fords. Well, after a lot of soul searching I made the plunge and bought a new Jeep.

This was late last year and my wife and I were looking to replaced our high mileage Expedition. We wanted something newer but still had room for the baby seat. I'm active duty military and was scheduled to deploy soon (I'm actually typing this from down range now). We had to have a capable 4x4 and we had to get one soon. The North Dakota winters that were bearing down on us dictated that. Plus, we do some good road trips every chance we get. Those explorations have taken us on some gnarly back roads and trails. We've found the limits of our Expedition and a few other trucks a couple of times. Truthfully we were wanting to buy a Raptor. But there wasn't one within 500 miles of our town and every dealer that had one or could get one had a least a 5K markup on the already inflated price. In reality those trucks are way too big for what we were looking for and I didn't really want to pay the gas bill for one. I already have a 460 powered 1 ton that gets single digits MPG. So, looking around, and keeping an open mind I found a brand new '11 Unlimited Rubicon at my local dealer. It had 140 miles on it, nicely equipped, and they had it marked down for years end. Well, after a few weeks of haggling, and a lot of research (that's were I found you guys-the Wayalife videos sold me) I paid $32,500 and I drove it away.




Two days later we returned it for service. There was a rattle that sounded like it was coming from the front. They found one of the shocks were loose. This didn't fix it. The rattle is still there. We've taken it back a few time and they still can't find what it is. But hey, it not that big deal, it's a Jeep. There is going to be some shakes and rattles. This unrefinement is one of the selling points though with less that 200 miles I did expect better. Well, two weeks later, after we put a touch over 600 miles on it, we had a big problem

My wife, my son who was 11 months at the time and in-laws were out shopping in the Jeep. They came out of the store and climbed in. My wife started it up and put it in gear. The engine revved uncontrollably and the Jeep flew across the parking lot. Luckily, the lot was big and mostly empty and my wife had quick reflexes. She was able to get it under control by jamming the brakes and popping it up into neutral. We were lucky. If this had happened in a crowded lot or at an intersection I could have lost my whole family. ALL OF THEM! Well, the wife called me and told me what had happen. After messing with it for a little bit she was able to get the Jeep to run and she drive it to the dealer. It was only a couple miles away but she said that she had to fight it the whole way. It didn't want to idle, it would rev without touching the petal, wouldn't go when asked to; it finally went into limp mode as she pulled into the dealers lot.

I, of course, came running as fast as I could. When I got to the dealer they were already checking in the Jeep for service. To say the least I was fit to be tied. I immediately asked for the boss. When he came out, while remaining as claim and non-treating as I could (I've had enough sensitivity training to know yelling and cursing don't always get you what you want), gave him a piece of my mind. I told him that I can't believe a vehicle with 600 miles on it should have these problems. I told him how I could have lost my wife and child because of this vehicle they sold me. And I told him that I wanted my money back for this dangerous vehicle that they sold me. Well, he acted like a typical month piece for Dodge. He told me that they would fix it, that that is what warranties are for and they never have problems with Jeeps. To add insult to injury then he offered me a rental--a Toyota Tundra (they're a Toyota dealer too). That's when my sensitivity training went out the window and I got a lot more colorful. This guy had the audacity to expect me to drive a Japanese pickup! I had never been so insulted in my life.

They kept it for a few days and they did find a problem. They found a pin that wasn't seated in one of the engine harnesses. I guess that it was getting screwy readings and confusing the ECU. They told me that there are fail safe's programmed but with the unique problem it took a while before they kicked in. And yes I understand that this was a unique problem with my Jeep and probably isn't across the entire line. Hopefully this fixed it.

But this hasn't been the last problem. There has been a couple times since I've been gone that the Jeep wouldn't start for my wife. They've towed it to the dealer under warranty but have yet to fixed the problem. There are other intermediate problems in the electrical system. The door locks and remote start don't always work and we have gotten mystery CELs on the dash without cause. To make matters worst I'm trying to troubleshoot this from the desert. I bought new so my wife would have a reliable vehicle while I was gone. This thing has been a constant problem and I'm just about at my wits end.

I hate to say it but I think I got a lemon. As a matter of fact if these problems aren't fix soon I'm going to talk to an lawyer about turning this thing in under the Lemon laws. This breaks my heart. I really do like this Jeep and I was looking forward to a ton of mods and joining y'all in the Jeep life style once I got back this summer.

 

thanks for your service and your sacrifices you have made to do what few are willing and able .thanks ALOT. that said i hope you get your problems resolved quickly also glad your family is ok .i would have been upset too. but honestly modern autos are so complex that its a wonder that things like this are as rare as they are , i think you just got a jeep with a gremlin and jeep should make it right as im sure they will this type of publicity is certainly not what they would want espe ially with what toyota went through . so just let them try and then go from there. and welcome to the forums . stay safe

 

First off i would like to thank you for your service to our country . I to was a ford fan for most of my life i bought my jeep for many of the same reasons mine is 2010 JKUR. i have had zero problems with mine . I think most lemon laws are a three strike your done i would definitly contact a lawyer and chrysler they should give you a new vehicle or give you your money back . electrical gremlins are the worst in my opinion. we had a similar issue with my wifes ford edge and after the third time we had a lawyer draft a letter to the dealer and to ford customer service whala new ford edge the next day after recieving the letter . i hope this dont sour your opinion of jeeps because the 4-door rubicon is truly an amazing vehicle in my opinion . good luck to you i hope you get this resolved .

 

First I would like to thank you for your service. Takes a hell of a man to go over seas to fight for his country. With that said, although you had a terrible experience, you need to get over the Japanese thing. Yes WW2 was terrible, but when you have to use the wood ancestors, get over it. Be like a black man telling at you because white people enslaved his family. Get over it. If it wasn't for other countries like Japan, our country would be bankrupt.

 

I thank you guys for your gratitude. I've been doing this for a long long time and I'm carrying on a strong family tradition of service that goes back through every generation since our country wore red coats. And I also thank you guys for listening to my venting. I realize that these problems seem to be unique to my Jeep. At first, I was pretty upset and was blaming everything from the MOPAR printed on every part on the thing to the ghost of Henry Ford haunting my garage. But I know I was just unlucky and got one with bugs. I'm just very frustrated by this and the process of getting them fixed. Again thanks for listening. From where I'm at there not much I can do except gripe.

Oh, and please, don't take the Japanese comment as an insult. It was not meant as anything derogatory toward Japan or the Japanese people. It was only to express my pride in American industry. I am extremely proud of my country and support it as many ways that I can. That includes supporting our domestic manufacturers. I can be a little rabid about it and do come across a little strong. I apologize. I'm way too new on here to be ruffling feathers with my political views and that was not my intentions. I'm here to make friends, not waves.

 

Can you imagine a native American driving a Ford? Since we murdered their people and stole their country I guess they should drive.......?
It's sad that not the vehicle problems, but the offer for the Tundra loner popped your cork.
Just curious, do you own any Sony products?

 

Okay guys, I obvious said the wrong thing. I never thought that there would be so much Toyota support on a Jeep forum. Nor did I ever think that that there would be so much resistance to having pride in one's heritage and wanting to support your own country. I said something that, though wasn't meant to, obvious offended several people. I'm sorry. I have consider editing my post to eliminate those comments. I haven't. It was what happened and I wanted y'all to know the truth. I was upset. I just spent $32K on a vehicle (and if you know anything about enlisted military then you know we don't have an abundance of extra money laying around) and had this happen less than two weeks later. I think I had the right to be upset. Now should I have made, what some consider, derogatory comments towards a Japanese manufacture? Probably not. Should I have posted that I did that here? Obviously not. Do I need a little more sensitivity training? Well, I didn't think so but from what I'm hearing here maybe I need to rethink that.

I was looking for a venue to air out my frustration. I was looking for folks that might have insight into these problems. I was looking to join a community of like minded individuals, that loved the outdoors, motorsports, the beauty and grandness that this country has to offer. I was looking to make some new friends out of some of those folks that wave at me when we both pass by in our Jeeps. I wasn't looking at pressing any political agenda, I wasn't trying to be the "bad guy" in this story and I surely wasn't trying to express any prejustices in any shape size or form. Again, I'm sorry that I offend you. Now, please, can we move past this?

Let me reintroduce myself. My name is John. I'm active duty military and come from a long line of service members. Those in my family that haven't made a career of their military service have made their living in the honorable fields of farming, truck driving or the automotive manufacturing industry. I am an American and a product of our melting pot. I have strong blood lines that can be traced back to the earliest of European settlers as well as the Cherokee Nation. I am married to a beautiful woman from Puerto Rico who is a descendant of the Taíno Indians. We have a son (and more on the way in a few years?) that will grow to appreciate his heritage from both sides. I have traveled around the world and had experienced people and cultures that date back for thousands upon thousands of years. As much as I love these experiences it makes me love my home even more. America is the most diverse country in the world. That includes the land as well as the people and I love each and every one of them. Now I have a problem with a American made product that I bought using money earned in the defense of our way of life. Knowing that y'all are the experts on these vehicles I'm here to tell you my story, get some insight and possible make a new friend or two. Please realize that I am not a perfect person and do make mistakes from time to time. If you can see past those I sure that I can see past yours and in the end we may realize that we have a lot in common.