aas

This may need to be a sticky thread.

I've seen several reports on this forum regarding a broken front axle. Many of us have had dealerships who were either reluctant or refused to fix them when they broke. One thing that helped me was my citing others' reports of similar issues from this forum. Many of us were not doing anything harsh to our vehicles when they broke and I believe this to be an issue that should be addressed by DC and maybe raised to whoever the regulating agency on this type of stuff is (NHTSA?).

The following thread seems to have the most users reporting the problem thus far:

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/stock-jk-tech-12/broken-jeep-3030/

Mine broke when I was off-road, driving up a hill. I wasn't doing anything harsh to my vehicle at the time. I was in 4L and 1st gear at about 2500-3000 RPM when it self-destructed. I believe the brake-lock traction control feature was engaged when it broke. The dealership stated that because I was off-road it is not covered under warranty; however, because I purchased the vehicle new from them last month, that they were going to cover the repair.

KrasnayaZnamya

Brings up a question I've had: When selling a "trail rated" 4x4 vehicle whose brochure is 90% pics of off-roading, why wouldn't such things be covered by the warranty?

From the sales literature, they almost beg you to take the vehicle off road, would seem kinda stoopid (in the nicest way, of course) to not cover something that happened on the trail.

Granted, I think there would be a lot of debate over just how far that would go, but the scenario that aas lists above should be covered.

Just curious.

Rugbyduck

I just read that entire thread you linked to. I hope all works out for your case too. I am tempted to spot weld that end but sure enough if I do...

aas

One other thing to mention is that they say it should be ready to pick up tomorrow. I had it towed in on Tuesday afternoon. From the looks of others' situations, my dealer's treating me real well in covering this and having a 7-day turnaround.

On a side note, I emailed AlloyUSA about front axle shafts for the JK last week. They replied back saying that they expect to have them available in 4-6 weeks.

Rugbyduck

So I take it there is no TSB on this yet? Seems to me a recall should be in order.

nam6869usmc

There is a bright side to this,..I think there are 3,536 members and I think there were 3 that broke in the Thread you posted, not really that bad, but definitely very bad luck for you guy's. Some guy's are pounding the living H#ll out of their JK's & not breaking. I hope you guy's get results that goes in your favor.

aas

So it looks like we have four, with a 75% coverage rate:

SLICKWILL -- lifted w/ 37s. Looks like they covered him.
CombatChuk -- Not covered, said he was getting a lawyer
BradOB -- Looks ilke he was covered
Me (aas) -- Covered by the dealership because I bought it from the dealership, but they insinuated that it shouldn't be covered.

I recall reading a second post by SLICKWILL where he broke another axle.

jkrubi

Ya know, I agree 100% (that this is not a huge issue - 4 out of over 3000). I've been wheeling for a while. To date, the only stub I've seen with the ears mowed clean off has been on this board while out for a casual drive with stock tires. Really? No Jeep is ready for the Baja 1000 from the showroom floor and they will break - so will everything else you can buy. I'm very comfortable wheeling my rubi with 35s and I'm not deterred by the failures I've seen here. Bottom line is they are likely 100% attributable to the driver. What's new about a D30 w/760x joints? Not a JK problem IMO. What's the rule? As slow as possible, but only as fast as necessary.

nam6869usmc

Very well said, I'll be at CampJeep July 26th/27th and definitely trying out my JK. With this Aussie Locker up front I know that there will be some added stress to my D30, hope everything goes well for me, I'll definitely be abiding by this statement below...... .
What's the rule? As slow as possible, but only as fast as necessary.

Mike JK

If this happens to you, remember the following:

You were NOT off road when it happened. You were on a gravel road (a county road, as in official road) and you had it in 4 high. Traction control kicked in, and the axle broke.

When dealing with the kind of shifty #(&*$*& that would market and sell you a hard core uncompromising off road vehicle and then refuse to cover it for breakage off road do not deserve your honesty.