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I'm in the market for a new SUV. Eyes on a Rene TH. I keep seeing people dogging Jeep for reliability issues. I've never owned a Jeep and I'm curious about what everyone is talking about??? Can anyone elaborate?
Jeep Reliability - Worries and Questions THREAD
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What everyone is talking about is initial quality.
Jeep has one of the lowest initial quality scores of the industry.
That is, more defects on new vehicles than the industry average when new.
However, Jeeps score above average for long term durability.
This focus on initial quality is natural for car journalists since they drive new cars every week.
Because they don't keep cars around, auto journalists will talk down Jeeps while at the same time talking wistfully about Mazda cars with rotary engines.
Cars that are famous for dying like a cockroach sprayed with RAID shortly after the factory drivetrain warranty expires.
Auto journalists are like children. They get bored with every toy they get in five minuets and are always chasing the after the next, new shiny distraction.
In short:
If you are planning on leasing the all-new TH Renegade for a few years as a mobile fashion accessory, you proably will be dissapointed with it's initial reliability.
If you are planning on buying the Jeep and getting the unlimited mileage warranty, you could hardly do better.
Jeep has one of the lowest initial quality scores of the industry.
That is, more defects on new vehicles than the industry average when new.
However, Jeeps score above average for long term durability.
This focus on initial quality is natural for car journalists since they drive new cars every week.
Because they don't keep cars around, auto journalists will talk down Jeeps while at the same time talking wistfully about Mazda cars with rotary engines.
Cars that are famous for dying like a cockroach sprayed with RAID shortly after the factory drivetrain warranty expires.
Auto journalists are like children. They get bored with every toy they get in five minuets and are always chasing the after the next, new shiny distraction.
In short:
If you are planning on leasing the all-new TH Renegade for a few years as a mobile fashion accessory, you proably will be dissapointed with it's initial reliability.
If you are planning on buying the Jeep and getting the unlimited mileage warranty, you could hardly do better.
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What if I'm planning on leasing because I'm afraid I'll A. Not like it after a few years (Most likely want to upgrade to a newer model) or B. Don't want to take the chance on long term issues with a brand new model? I've owned an original model Honda Element after a previous owner turned it in after his lease was up. I love it and had only minor issues in its life. I've had extremely good luck with Hondas though. Was just wondering why Jeep was getting bashed so. Don't Wranglers have one of the highest resale/most reliable/most likely to hold onto rates for any cars? Right up there with Subaru?
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Also, what kid of reliability issues are we talking about here? Transmission stuff? Leave you on the side of the road types? Or just annoying, I have to take it to the dealer again to fix a light or minor nuisance?
Incognito - can you point us to the numbers for long-term?
The only source I have is Consumer Reports, and they show relatively poor and below-average reliability on the Jeep models I checked. Also very unhappy owners.
If you can provide a link, I'd like to read it.
The only source I have is Consumer Reports, and they show relatively poor and below-average reliability on the Jeep models I checked. Also very unhappy owners.
If you can provide a link, I'd like to read it.
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All of the above.
The Wrangler has been out for years now and is solid.
The new for 2014 Cherokee, on the other hand has had the worst reliability of the Jeep lineup.
About 2% of the 2014 Cherokees have had transmission problems.
Where the Renegade will fall is anyone's guess, however........
Both the 1.4T and 2.4L engines have been out for years and are good.
The C635 manual transmission on the 1.4T is also used on the Dodge Dart and is known to be reliable.
The 9-speed auto used on the 2.4 is the same one used on the Cherokee.
Jeep says they have gotten over the 9-sped's first year blues, only time will tell if they have or not.
The reason the Wrangler has such high resale is because Jeep never builds enough Wranglers per year to cover demand.
There simply isn't another vehicle that directly competes against it.
This keeps the Wrangler's rebates non-existent and the per-unit profit margin high.
High resale value is a side effect of this shortage and helps keep Jeep dealers profitable when leases are turned in.
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Hmm Good food for thought. Thanks.
sorry, but wasn't the last rotary engine in a Mazda the RX-8?
between my wife and I we've owned 3 jeeps, a 99 Cherokee, a 2004 Grand Cherokee and a 2006 Commander. We found them to be decent reliability wise up until about 100,000 miles. At that point all three developed multiple problems that resulted in trading them in. This however was all before Fiat got involved. Now you're putting together 2 brands with atrocious reliability ratings....seems like a recipe for disaster.
Yes the last rotary was the RX8. But Mazda is still tinkering in the labs. It's hard to justify investing engineering resources on a very small-volume engine like that.
I owned a 1993 RX7 R1, and I miss it to this day. 155 mph, 1+ lateral G, totally reliable for the 50,000 miles I owned it, and still racing in MA the last time I checked. If I could buy it back this instant, I would.
It was the most elegant car I've ever encountered. Smooth as silk. But it was a rocket ship when the primary turbo kicked in.
And to hear somebody on a FIAT forum (oh sorry, it has a Jeep sticker) insulting another brand's reliability? ROTFL
I owned a 1993 RX7 R1, and I miss it to this day. 155 mph, 1+ lateral G, totally reliable for the 50,000 miles I owned it, and still racing in MA the last time I checked. If I could buy it back this instant, I would.
It was the most elegant car I've ever encountered. Smooth as silk. But it was a rocket ship when the primary turbo kicked in.
And to hear somebody on a FIAT forum (oh sorry, it has a Jeep sticker) insulting another brand's reliability? ROTFL
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My dad has a 96 cherokee 4.0 that we but every one of its 306,000 miles on with the original drive train.
I have an 05 grand cherokee laredo 3.7 that has 189,000. its my daily driver, which is why i'm on here it gets about 15 mpg on average. It's time for an update.
I have an 05 grand cherokee laredo 3.7 that has 189,000. its my daily driver, which is why i'm on here it gets about 15 mpg on average. It's time for an update.
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If you are looking for Honda reliability you wont find that in a Jeep nor most car manufactures. It all depends on which model you want to base reliability on too. Your Patriots and Compass don't fair so well where the Grand Cherokee seems to do well and the Wrangler is is mediocre. The New Cherokee has had transmission issues but I chalk that up to being a new design.
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You won't find it in hondas anymore either, so...
Kind of like I won't find the kind of reliability and cost of ownership I got out of my 88 camry.
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They are still far and above the automotive average while Jeep and Fiat are at the bottom are they not?
When I used to work for the Mazda brand, there were hints that they were working on a hybrid using a rotary as the generator. The rotary engine is compact and efficient; making it an ideal generator.
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Exactly. I'm in the market to replace my beloved Element with something equally unique and practical for my lifestyle. The Rene appears to be that vehicle (finally)! And something I noticed while driving through Upstate NY this weekend - there are a **** ton of Cherokees on the road. People obviously love Jeeps in general. They can't be all bad or why would we keep buying?
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Unless you get a v6 with an at it seems. What Honda does still do is ride herd on dealerships and look out for the customer a bit more than most brands.
As I have said many times, it's more about models than brands, and even with brands there are surveys other than CR and JD that rank the brands quite differently.
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Yes that is true there is more than JD and CR, but it doesn't change the fact that Honda is always in the top 5 while Fiat and Jeep are in the bottom 5.
I'd go with leasing. I wish I had. And yeah, my renegade left me stranded. Check in the service forum area (and my thread specifically), a few other people have had problems that left them stranded.
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