Darth Santa
My Jeep is a Heap
3 min read
This past week I had to take my Jeep in for maintenance because it was acting crazy. I'm glad I brought it to the shop.
About three months ago I started to notice a strange and sort of loud rattle near the muffler but I couldn't isolate the sound. It sounded like there was a loose bracket - metal shaking against metal.
About a month ago, while I was on the freeway, I hit a crack or small bump and the whole vehicle started to shake fairly violently. I slowed down to about 45 and the shaking stopped. A couple weeks later the same thing happened.
In both instances my daughters were in the Jeep with me and I was afraid it would roll.
Then, this past week, my dashboard lit up with some strange lights that indicated my traction control and electronic breaking systems were messed up. I finally had some free time so I went to my mechanic and dropped it off for their inspection and potential repairs.
It wasn't good. Keep in mind this is on a 2008 Jeep Wrangler 4 door with only apx 28,000 miles on it.
The strange rattle was a heat shield between the muffler and the cab. The mounting points around the shield and rusted out and the shield was hanging on against the muffler. I'm not sure how the bottom of the Jeep got so rusty considering it has just been chilling here in Huntington, WV for as long as it's been around (according to the dealer and prior owner).
The heat shield was pretty cheap (about $50 to buy and replace including labor).
Then things got ugly. The rear wheel bearings were completely mangled. Subsequently all four of the tires on the Jeep were severely out of round and also need to be replaced. Plus, the front "shimmy shock" was completely dead and had to be replaced.
Once the garage was able to remove the wheels and get the bearings out they were able to inspect the axle and they discovered that the rear differential was completely burnt out. The lubricant was nasty and had bits of metal in it. The entire differential has to be rebuilt.
Basically, at this point I'm now replacing all five wheels (my spare was flat and also out of round from before it went flat), then shimmy shock, the rear differential, the rear wheel bearings, and the heat shield. Total cost of around $3600.
I've owned the Jeep for a little over one year. I guess they aren't as sturdy as I've been led to believe. It's really disappointing. I don't do any 4-wheeling or any off roading at all. I just needed something that could tow a light pop-up camper (apx 3,000lbs) and had room for my family of four. I'm pretty disappointed and doubt I'll buy another Jeep in the future.
I do not believe these repairs are covered by the warranty though I certainly wish they were. But the basic warranty is 3 years 36,000 miles. As the Jeep is at least four years old (but with only 28k miles) I guess I'm screwed.
