1998 JEEP WRANGLER Complaints

1998 4.0 JEEP WRANGLER (49K MI) WITH CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD. HAVE REPLACED MANIFOLD TWICE, ONCE WITH OEM AND THE LAST TIME WITH BANKS HEADER W/LIFETIME GUARANTY. MOST 4.0 I KNOW HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE HEADER WITHIN THE FIRST 100K MI. DESIGN SUCKS...*AK

VEHICLE WAS EXPERIENCING AN ERRATIC INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, AND AIR BAG LIGHT OPERATION. INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER ROLLED BACK TO ZERO, AND THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. ALSO, AT 82,000 MILES LEFT TURN SIGNAL ENGAGED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, AND AT 78,000 MILES WHEN DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR WAS OPENED WHILE THE TRUCK WAS STILL RUNNING THE DEFROSTER LIGHT CAME ON. DEALERSHIP HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED. *AK CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO TWO JEEP DEALERS AND SAID THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND MANY CUSTOMERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. ALSO, THEY SAID THAT IT WAS A DEFECTIVE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR. *LA

THIS IS NOW THE 3RD SWAY BAR END-LINK I'VE REPLACED ON MY JEEP, AND THE 2ND I'VE REPLACED ON MY FRIEND'S 97 JEEP WRANGLER. I ASKED MY MECHANIC ABOUT THIS AND HE TOLD ME HE GETS THIS PROBLEM ALL THE TIME. HOW CAN SUCH WIDE SPREAD FAILURE OF AN IMPORTANT SAFTEY ITEM LIKE THE SWAYBAR END LINK ESCAPE BEING PART OF A RECALL. MY JEEP HAS FAILED THE PENNSYLVANIA SAFETY INSPECTION FOR TWO YEARS NOW BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. IN THE FALL OF 2002 WHILE MAKING AN SUDDEN EVASIVE MANUVER, MY JEEP HANDLED THE SITUATION SO POORLY THAT I ENDED UP CRASHING THE VEHICLE. I FOUND, DURING REPAIR, THAT THE SWAYBAR END-LINK WAS NOT IN WORKING ORDER.*AK

PASSENGER SEAT BELT FAILS TO RETRACT, ALSO GETS CAUGHT IN DOOR JAM.. EXHAUST MANIFOLD CRACKED. WATER LEAKS INSIDE ONTO PASSENGER FLOOR BOARD. GAUGES FAIL/AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON. CATYLIST CONVERTER FAILED. THROTLE POSTIONING SENSOR FAILED. THESE INCIDENTS HAVE APPEARED OVER THE PAST 6-12 MONTHS.*AK

WATER LEAK IN PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. I FINALLY HAD TO REMOVE RIGHT SIDE FLOOR CARPETING AND GLOVE BOX COVER AND SHOW THE DEALER WHERE THE BODY WAS LEAKING. I HAD THE WRANGLER TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERS FOR THIS PROBLEM. EACH DEALER CHARGED ME $100.00 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. PROBLEM ONE WAS A LOWER WINDSHIELD SEAL. PROBLEM 2 WAS TO RE-SEAL BEHIND THE HEATER WHICH IS BEING DONE AT THIS TIME. SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE WOULD TALK TO CHRYSLER ABOUT REPLACING CARPET ON RIGHT SIDE WHICH BY NOW WILL NOT MATCH LEFT SIDE AND THEY WILL PROBABLY NOT PAY FOR IT. I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MY TRANSPORTATION FOR SEVERAL DAYS ON AND OFF BECAUSE OF THE LEAK AND THEIR INABILITY TO FIND THIS LEAK. THERE POLICY ON RENTAL CARS IS IF THEY CAN'T FIX THE CAR IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS THEY WILL GIVE YOU A RENTAL CAR. THEY SEND YOU HOME CAR-LESS TO WAIT FOR THE CALL AS TO WHEN YOUR CAR WILL BE READY. THEY HAVE HAD MY CAR FOR 3 DAYS NOW AND I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CALLS THEM TO FIND OUT WHEN MY CAR WILL BE READY. IN THE PAST I HAVE PURCHASED A NUMBER OF CHRYSLER PRODUCTS. WHEN I SELL THE WRANGLER AND DURANGO, MY CHRYSLER DAYS ARE OVER. WHILE I BELIEVE THEIR CARS AND TRUCKS ARE ALMOST AS GOOD AS MOST AMERICAN PRODUCTS TODAY, TRYING TO WORK WITH THE DEALERS IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. I THINK THEY HAVE A TERRIBLE DEALER NETWORK.

EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS ARE SNAPPING OFF IN THE BLOCK OF JEEP 2.5 4 CYL ENGINE. THIS PROBLEM IS DOCUMENTED BY CHRYSLER AS A DESIGN FAULT PROBLEM BUT THEY WILL NOT COVER IT. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED YET BECAUSE CHRYSLER WILL NOT COVER IT AND IT IS A VERY EXPENSIVE FIX THAT CAN'T BE AFFORDED AT THIS TIME. THE PROBLEM IS ALSO A SAFETY PROBLEM DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE EXHAUST IS LEAKING FROM BETWEEN THE MANIFOLD AND HEAD AND COULD GET INTO THE VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM WAS FIRST NOTICED IN ABOUT JAN 02. THE VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS 54000 MILES ON IT. THIS VEHICLE ALSO HAD A TOTAL CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILURE THAT WAS COVERED UNDER THE EMISSIONS WARRANTY. I FEEL THAT THIS PROBLEM WITH THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER, THE SAME WARRANTY, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT IT WAS A FAULTY PART DESIGN AND NOT WEAR AN TEAR. CATALYTIC CONVERTER "IMPLODED" ALL THE INTERIOR COMPONENTS CAME LOOSE AND BEGAN TO RATTLE. IT WAS REPLACED UNDER THE 8 YEAR 80,000 EMISSIONS WARRANTY. SUPPOSEDLY A COMMON PROBLEM

EXHAUST MANIFOLD CRACKED IN 3 PLACES. THE FIRST MANIFOLD WAS REPLACED BY DEALER AT APPROXIMATELY 35,000 MILES. SECOND MANIFOLD IS CRACKED. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON DEFECT WITH JEEP WRANGLER 4.0L YEARS 1997-1998. *LA

THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED FROM THE DEALERSHIP WITHOUT A BACK SEAT. THE DEALER PROMISED TO PLACE THE SEAT IN THE VEHICLE BEFORE THE CONSUMER SIGNED THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT, BUT THE CONSUMER PLEADED FOR TEN MONTHS, THEN THE BACK SEAT WAS INSTALLED, BUT WITHOUT SEAT BELTS. THE DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT INSTALL THE SEAT BELTS. THE DEALER ASKED THE VEHICLE OWNER TO GO TO THE SALVAGE YARD AND CUT OFF THE SEAT BELTS FROM ANY VEHICLE AND INSTALL THEM HIMSELF. *AK *SCC *JB

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED OPERATING INSTRUMENTS ON THE DASHBOARD DO NOT WORK. ALSO, AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT STAYS ON ALL THE TIME, AND SPEEDOMETER IS INOPERABLE. MANUFACTURER AND DEALER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF THE PROBLEM.*AK WHILE THIS CONDITION PERSIST THE ODOMETER DOES NOT RECORD MILEAGE AND THE AIR BAGS MAY BE INOPERATIVE IN A CRASH. *NLM

1998 JEEP WRANGLER, 4.0L. THESE TWO ISSUES ARE ON SERVICE BULLETINS, BUT SHOULD BE RECALLS. THE FIRST ISSUE OCCURRED AS MY WIFE WAS DRIVING WHEN THE VALVE SPRINGS SNAPPED, STOPPING THE CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE. DISCUSSED IN DETAIL ON SERVICE BULLETIN 182298, INITIALLY ISSUED BEFORE I EVEN PURCHASED MY CAR. IT WAS VERY FRUSTRATING TO FIND OUT THAT JEEP WAS AWARE OF SUCH A DANGEROUS ISSUE AND DID NOTHING TO PREVENT SUCH FAILURES FROM OCCURRING. THE SECOND IS A VERY WIDESPREAD AND DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WHEN THE MAIN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SPONTANEOUSLY STOPS WORKING, INCLUDING THE SPEEDOMETER, ODOMETER, AIR BAG INDICATOR, FUEL GAGE, OIL GAGE, ETC... DISCUSSED ON SERVICE BULLETINS, 081599 I BELIEVE. YOU CANNOT TELL YOUR SPEED, HOW MUCH GAS YOU HAVE, ETC... ANOTHER IMPLICATION IS THAT THE ODOMETER IS INCORRECT ON MANY JEEPS. *LA