I just picked up my brand new 2014 Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited yesterday. When I got it home I was checking out the features and just to see how they came off, I took off the driver side freedom panel, then replaced it making sure I replaced it correctly and snugly. Today however it was raining and I noticed that both the driver side freedom panel and the passenger side freedom panel(which I did not remove) were leaking at the front outer corners by the A-pillar and dripping down the door and end of the dashboard. This is the only place it is leaking however. Now I know that I should expect some leaking when it comes to jeeps but I did not think that was with the Freedom Top. Can anyone please tell me if that is normal on even brand new jeeps, or if it is something I should be concerned about and have the dealer look at? Like i said, I know i should expect some leaking with a jeep but i just want to make sure it is nothing to worry about since it is in fact brand new.

 

I have had two new wranglers with freedom tops a 2013 jku and a 2014 jkur and neither have leaked a drop and both have been in plenty of rain monsoon style with no leaks.

 

When I got my jk it leaked. The dealership replaced the weather stripping on the freedom tops and never leaked again!

 

If you could search this or any other JK forums you might find same issue been reported by many owners many years before 2014. My brand new last summer 2013 Jku leaked in same spots and same way.

You could go one of two ways, dealer or fix it yourself. i followed one of the great suggestions and got 303 aerospace solution, wiped out around freedom panels and it helped. dealer might help you fixing it but it wouldn't be as easy.

 

Jeep bought my 12 back b/c of leak. My 13 thankfully has not. The last attempt they made was a sealant between the head gasket and windshield. This helped but didn't stop mine mainly because I was tired of screwing with it. I would try sealing that on both sides will probably stop it

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

Regardless of the vehicle if you pay that much for it I'd expect no leaks right after I bought it. It gets some age and abuse sure you might have a few but not off the showroom floor. Mine don't even leak in the car wash. I'd defiantly make them fix it.

 

In theory the top should not leak, at least that's how it was designed. The issue is that it's poorly designed and only holds out water with very narrow tolerances regarding how it's installed and how it sits on the weather stripping.

The weather stripping might not be fitting correctly from the factory; or; as is often the case, people don't install the panels in the exact way the manual describes, being very careful to overlap the seals perfectly and ensuring nothing is pinched, bound, or otherwise hung up. One of the more critical/key pieces is how the back screws are secured; TOO TIGHT and it will cause issues. It seems counter-intuitive but "loosely hand-tight" really is the key for those back screws. You don't want to crank on them and completely compress the seals.

My freedom top has been pretty good. It leaked once. The cause? A passenger helped me install the panels on a trip home. Once I took everything off and started the scientific process of re-installing it, it holds water out again.

 

Same thing happened to me on my new 14. I did just what you did and took off the driver and not passenger. I took off both sides and adjusted the weather stripping and put both back on. Fixed the problem.

 

Mine probably would have leaked on my 14 if it wasn't for me noticing the stripping sticking out from the factory install. But before I left the dealer I removed both sides and reinstalled.

 

The dealer should be capable of controlling 99% of water entry. It's not always easy (I do it as a Jeep tech). Now...if your talking about water pouring in when you open the door and dropping from the a-pillar joint onto the dash and floor....thats normal.