Jeep Wrangler Maintenance and Repair Questions (1997 - 2006)
olivajcarmine
Member Posts: 4
in Jeep
I have a 2005 Jeep wrangler 4.0 auto, when driving over 50 MPH I hear a steady thump I can not hunt down were it is coming from. At speeds lower than 50 there is no noise. The noise does not get louder with any more speed. Any ideas would be much appreciated. only minamal vibration is felt with this noise.
Tagged:
0
Comments
-Rob
Has been to two different dealerships for a total of three times. All the seals have been replaced around the doors and windshield and the full metal doors have been realigned by the dealership's body shop twice. Still leaking. The water pours in at the top of the doors (both passenger and driver's side) and pools on the floor, soaking the carpeting. :mad:
I cover the Sport with a tarp when it rains. The sales mgr. at the dealership where I bought the Sport said it was unacceptable that this was happening and said he would take care of it -- that was two weeks ago.
The "official" statement from Chrysler is that there is nothing they can -- or will -- do at this point. It's my problem they said. And they also said that Wranglers are designed to leak. :confuse:
This car is a lemon :lemon: plain and simple. I love it, but it is going to be trashed from water damage. It is unacceptable that this brand new Sport, with only 3300 miles on it has such a major structural problem and that Chrysler will not do something about it.
Wranglers are covered by a bumper-to-bumper warranty. The bottom line is that when two different dealerships tried to fix this water leaking problem, they admitted that there was a problem and that it was not "normal" that this was happening. If it truly was a design characteristic, and the car was designed to leak, they would have never tried to fix it in the first place. In my opinion, this is a breach of warranty situation, which is what I am checking into now.
I do not believe that the Lemon Law is the way to go, as it is time consuming -- not to mention that Chrysler will not admit that there is a problem to begin with -- and, while we do the Lemon Law thing, our Jeeps are still leaking...
-Rob
Someone screwed up somewhere. Chrysler caught the mistake and remedied it (that's why all the 2005 & 2006 Wranglers do not leak, only some) and hoped that the people who bought the leaking Wranglers would complain a little bit, kick up a little dust, then go away.
If convertible Sebrings were leaking, they couldn't ignore it, because owners could not pull them apart and dry them out. If they were leaking, the cars would be trashed, one, two, three.
Taking out carpeting and removing drain plugs can easily be done in a Wrangler. It just so happens that Wranglers can be dismantled -- and are meant to be taken apart, which works to Chrysler's advantage in this case. They can ignore leaking Wranglers, because, given the fact they are rough and ready vehicles, the party line could be that they are "designed" that way, are "supposed" to leak and what the cars are doing is not unusual.
So what's you next step?
No word from the dealership where I bought the Sport. I am not holding my breath waiting for the sales mgr. to get back to me at this point. I think he was initially surprised and concerned and told me he would fix the problem, but when he looked into it was told by Chrysler to ignore the situation and not return my calls. (It's been two weeks since our conversation and I have called him three times with no response.)
This is by no means any sort of permanent solution. I agree that it should be fixed permanently. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a good solution in my 4 years of owning the vehicle. Your guesses are as good as mine, and I sure don't like it looking as though I closed groceries in my door whenever it rains outside, but for now, it seems to be doing the trick.
If you haven't written a letter, try it. Call the DMC customer support phone line and ask for the contact name and address to which you can send a letter of complaint. Stay completely calm, business-like, professional, and to the point. The customer support representative may be happy to hear they won't have to deal with you on that spot immediately and may get talkative while they look up the contact address. During that time, try to get a name of a director or vice-president of the product quality division.
You may have to research a little on the DMC corporate website to find directors' names but I think you'd be in the right to send copies of what you write to those individuals as well...be sure your letters state you're copying that letter to those "higher ups" so they know you've started, yet, another paper trail that may lead a senior manager back to them if they don't act.
In writing the letter, stick to facts and you should clearly state your emotional dissatisfaction with their product but that you honestly wish to continue patronizing their products if they can find a way to rectify their mistake. You can throw a little jab in about them reluctantly forcing your hand to look at competitor's products (especially if you name-drop Toyota...they're very scared of them).
Forgive me if you've already been down this path. I honestly feel a written letter(s) to the corporate mothership will get you much farther and ironically, faster than phone calls to the corporate customer support line and face-to-face with dealerships.
I wish you both luck.
Thanks for the info. I have had very few experiences with dealing with companies at a national level, but they all say the same...they let the local people decide and if they say no then you are out of luck.
-Rob
-Rob
Man, oh man, what a mess! It's just one thing after another!
I rec'd a call from the sales mgr. at the dealership where I bought my sport today. He said they are now ordering a whole new soft top for the car. :confuse: They still have no idea WHY it is leaking, but they figure they might as well throw a new top of the Sport. :confuse:
Then he told me that Chrysler says that when his service mgr. went to order the top, he was told that the 2005 soft tops are "currently unavailable" which leads him to believe that Chryslers thinks there is a problem with them and are scrambling to try to fix it. (Keep in mind, Chrysler STILL says there is no problem, so how they intend to fix a non-problem is beyond me. But they are sticking to their guns.)
Anyway, I asked the sales mgr. what happens if this doesn't work. And he said "then we go to Lemon Law...but Chrysler is good that way...they never let it get that far."
Whatever the heck that means...will continue to keep you posted...
This is different. I have twin cracks eminating from the edges of my defrost vent, starting upwards and then taking a sharp turn towards the sides. I noticed them first yesterday after driving in a snow storm with the defroster on pretty high. Today, I drove it again, and after the car cooled down and I got back in the cracks had spread. Anyone else have a similar problem?
Took it to a Goodyear service center, and they said "well, the other guys didn't understand that your van has to have ceramic pads".
Long story short, I had to pay for the job twice, but the second time it got done correctly. Totally fixed the problem. Just posting my experience in case it helps anyone, but it may not be the same problem.
I have a 2005 Rubicon that has the same water leak problem. Can you tell me, did have any luck stopping the problem with a new door?
Thanks
-Rob
I am dropping the Sport off at the dealership where I bought it tomorrow so they can replace the soft top. Right after my attorney called the dealership, the new top (which I had been told for over a month was "unavailable") magically appeared.
If a new top doesn't fix the problem, we are going with the Uniform Commercial Code and I will be parking the car on the dealer's lot and calling in the media. (I will still have to make the car payments in order to preserve my credit rating, but Chrysler is not getting away with this.) Lemon Law is not the way to go.
And BTW there is a recall notice out on all 2005 & 6 Wranglers (and other Chrysler vehicles) for a transmission problem. Seems that Chrysler made a mistake when building some of their cars. They can't seem to stay in park without the emergency brake being on. "Whoops" Chrysler says. "My bad." :P
Will keep you guys posted on progress...
and below the windshield. I've had it happen to a few vehicles,
especially ones that have been parked under pine trees and the like.
The cowl area fills up with crap, displaces water that is supposed to drain out, and it ends up in the venting system to the cabin. Other than that, I can say that my 1988 Wrangler does NOT do this currently, and never has. Mine just leaks from the roll-bar pads after heavy rain with no top on :P Other than that, make sure you check into the windshield wiper gaskets/seals and make sure it isn't running inside that way, and then down through the dash to your legs. Keep in mind, if water is getting to both sides, its gotta be getting in on both sides, or travelling through a passage that goes there. Good luck! Let us know what happens.
Has anyone had similar experiences with their Wrangler? If so, what's likely the problem and how much is it going to cost to fix (it's out of warranty, of course)? Is there something I'm missing or not doing right?
I took it to the dealer and they said they lubed some clutch part to make it go away. It went away for about 1000 miles, then returned as before. Took it back to the dealer again, and was told that the part was lubed again to make it stop but that the noise would most likely always return. They said they had checked with Chrysler who told them that it was "normal" and they were aware of it. Sounds fishy to me. Bottom line, my dealer said to just have this clutch part lubed every visit. Guess who gets to pay for that when the warranty runs out??
Does anyone else have this problem or know anything about it? Does Chrysler really say this is normal?
I've no in-depth knowledge of the HVAC system on the earlier Wranglers, but diagnosis is fairly simple.
First, when the coolant is up to working temperature, feel both the hoses linking the heater to the cooling system. One is a flow and the other is a return.
If one is hot and the other is cold there is no flow through the heater core. This will either be a blocked core or a faulty valve (if fitted), or even both.
If both hoses are hot the problem will be related to the blend door inside the HVAC housing. This door directs either hot or cold air, or a mix of both, through the air ducts.
Repair for any of the failure modes is self explanatory.
What I find suspicious is that the previous owner (vehicle purchased less than 30 days ago), supposedly replaced the front wheel bearings before turning it over to my son.
Any experience and/or knowledge regarding this problem would be appreciated.
Remove the carpets and let the Jeep air out. If the smell remains then remove the seats. If it's not the carpet or the seats, then tracking down the location of the smell using your nose should now be fairly easy.
tidester, host
I guess that I misunderstood your earlier statement "...it seems to smell if the ac is not on...... you can smell it a little when the heat is on..... but its worse when nothing is on at all."
If it is related the HVAC system then it either grew there, or was physically introduced i.e. someone threw up into it. If it contains vomit you'll have to clean it out (not fun), but if mould has grown inside the HVAC housing, maybe due to lack of use or a blocked condensate drain, then it can be treated with a antifungal/disinfecting spray. These vary in effectiveness depending on the type of mould and the frequency with which the A/C continues to be used. Why not get some advice from a local independent A/C specialist, as some of the sprays are designed to be injected through a hole drilled directly into a specific part of the housing.
i have a 93 wrangler with auto transmission and a/c, about 110,000
miles. it's been sitting idle for quite a while, but the last few
times i've driven it, i've noticed an intermittent 'clunking/clacking'
noise coming from down by the passenger's side floor/dash. it only
happens while the heater is on. if i turn the heater off, the noise
stops, then comes back again when i turn the heater back on.
anyone know what this is?
thanks very much for your help.
i really appreciate your time. thanks!
With that ruled out it only leaves the circulation of the coolant, though there is a very outside chance that it could be something expanding and contracting with the heat. I would guess that it could be either a partially blocked heater core, or that one (or both) of the heater coolant hoses has partially collapsed internally. Instead of coolant flowing smoothly through, pressure builds behind the blockage then pulses through.
I'd treat it to a new pair of heater hoses, then using the new hoses, reverse flush the heater core with a garden hose.
i'll replace the hoses and flush the heater core. when i'm finished, i'll let you know if that fixed it. i'm pretty confident it will.
thanks again!
I guess it depends on the depth of your wallet!
Dropping the tank isn't particularly hard, but be careful disconnecting the wiring and the vent hose. The pump is more likely to be close to failure if you regularly run the tank to nearly empty before filling.
I have a 2002 wrangler with an automatic transmission. I have a problem stopping on icy roads--especialy when backing down or going forward on a hill. I try to go slowly and prepare, but I often have to shift into neutral to come to a complete stop. I love this jeep, but it's very frustrating to go through this every winter! thanks in advance for any help...