I am considering trading/selling in my 2015 JKU. I’m definitely not gonna buy new one but are the 2019 -2020 models any more dependable than the 15 through 18 years.?
JoelS
Better is subjective. What do you want?
The JLs seem to have more electrical and electronic issues than anything else. I wouldn't call them Jeeps so much as I would luxury SUVs.
The JLs seem to have more electrical and electronic issues than anything else. I wouldn't call them Jeeps so much as I would luxury SUVs.
In a simple word - and JMHO - NO. You are going to have 50 people reply, get 85 opinions from them, and every one of them will claim their way is the only way. Good luck with that. So this is what you just did, opened a big can of worms.
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You are a big portion of the answer. What works for me may not be for you. There is a sliding scale in there, things to be considered on this scale is not just reliability..... but your mechanical ability, parts availability, and just what it is you want to do with it. MY OPINION: the 2012+ JK-JKU is perhaps the place to be right now.
YJs are nice but not as capable and need a lot of work and mods to get that capable. TJs are nice but getting kind of old. Depending on where it was driven and how it was cared for it may require extensive repairs, perhaps even a full frame replacement. The stock 4.0 I-6 is a steady engine with possibilities, but it isn't anything to write home about unless you do a lot to it. The LJ version is one to have if you can find one in good condition and can afford it.
The early JK-JKUs had the 3.8 liter V-6. There has been much written and said about that engine. Somewhere in 2012 the JK/JKU platform moved to the 3.6 liter V-6 Pentastar. That engine has it's haters and detractors. But if you consider that it has now been in production for 12+ years and how many vehicles use the engine, maybe the reliability isn't so bad after all. I take all complaints with a grain of salt. You will always hear the complainers because they are loud. They always claim proper maintenance was done religiously, only the best oils were used and the vehicle was never mis-treated. We've all heard recently of the Pentastar that had over 600,000 miles on it before a rebuild was needed. I know several that are over 300,000 and still running. There are some weak spots in the 2012+JK-JKU. Show me a vehicle that is perfect.
The JL-JLUs have their own issues. I know several early JLs that had issues. I also know several that are used as Overlanders and are not having issues. The fact that you can buy a JL-JLU built up and on 35s now is enticing. But unless you can special order a JL-JLU, you will be getting stuck with stuff that I would not have. There is no way I would own the 4XE. Way too many complaints about the battery. There is no way I'd want the E-Torque, again too many issues. And I got that warning from the local dealer mechanic, he is the guy who sees them come in on warranty.
The JTs have their own issues. I've not followed them closely because they just will not work for me. My JKU-R Hard Rock has a 6-inch Overland Lift on 35s, and I have scars on the bottom of my rear bumper. The rear-end of the JTs sticks out like a fat chick's booty. I can only imagine how that would work for me. There are about 10 JTs in the club. Two of them have issues, one is a clutch problem that the dealer has been sitting on for 10 months.
Bottom line is this. No matter what you consider, someone is going to tell you it is the best, and someone is going to tell you it is the worst. In the end you are going to need to form your own opinion and go with your best guess.
Me personally, my 2015 JKU-R Hard Rock has 73,000 miles on it. It is a TOY. All of those miles are off-road miles, or road miles on the way to off-road miles. No mall-crawling, no daily driving, no grocery getting. Everything is working perfectly. Stock 3.6-liter V-6 engine. Stock 5-speed Automatic Transmission. Stock 4:1 Transfer Case. Stock Dana-44 Axles F and R with stock lockers, regeared to 4.88:1. Front axle trussed and gusseted. Dyna-Trac big brake kit F and R and Ram 2500 Master Cylinder (I have brakes for days but I overland a trailer). Lift is AEV 4.5-inch S/C kit with AEV high capacity Overland Springs (6-inches lift realized). I have skid plates, diff-skids and lower control arm mount armor. All things considered, my only fear of this build is wearing out the engine. If that happens, I'll likely replace it with a Jasper and keep rolling.
That is my opinion..... FWIW. JKU-R is where I want to stay.
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You are a big portion of the answer. What works for me may not be for you. There is a sliding scale in there, things to be considered on this scale is not just reliability..... but your mechanical ability, parts availability, and just what it is you want to do with it. MY OPINION: the 2012+ JK-JKU is perhaps the place to be right now.
YJs are nice but not as capable and need a lot of work and mods to get that capable. TJs are nice but getting kind of old. Depending on where it was driven and how it was cared for it may require extensive repairs, perhaps even a full frame replacement. The stock 4.0 I-6 is a steady engine with possibilities, but it isn't anything to write home about unless you do a lot to it. The LJ version is one to have if you can find one in good condition and can afford it.
The early JK-JKUs had the 3.8 liter V-6. There has been much written and said about that engine. Somewhere in 2012 the JK/JKU platform moved to the 3.6 liter V-6 Pentastar. That engine has it's haters and detractors. But if you consider that it has now been in production for 12+ years and how many vehicles use the engine, maybe the reliability isn't so bad after all. I take all complaints with a grain of salt. You will always hear the complainers because they are loud. They always claim proper maintenance was done religiously, only the best oils were used and the vehicle was never mis-treated. We've all heard recently of the Pentastar that had over 600,000 miles on it before a rebuild was needed. I know several that are over 300,000 and still running. There are some weak spots in the 2012+JK-JKU. Show me a vehicle that is perfect.
The JL-JLUs have their own issues. I know several early JLs that had issues. I also know several that are used as Overlanders and are not having issues. The fact that you can buy a JL-JLU built up and on 35s now is enticing. But unless you can special order a JL-JLU, you will be getting stuck with stuff that I would not have. There is no way I would own the 4XE. Way too many complaints about the battery. There is no way I'd want the E-Torque, again too many issues. And I got that warning from the local dealer mechanic, he is the guy who sees them come in on warranty.
The JTs have their own issues. I've not followed them closely because they just will not work for me. My JKU-R Hard Rock has a 6-inch Overland Lift on 35s, and I have scars on the bottom of my rear bumper. The rear-end of the JTs sticks out like a fat chick's booty. I can only imagine how that would work for me. There are about 10 JTs in the club. Two of them have issues, one is a clutch problem that the dealer has been sitting on for 10 months.
Bottom line is this. No matter what you consider, someone is going to tell you it is the best, and someone is going to tell you it is the worst. In the end you are going to need to form your own opinion and go with your best guess.
Me personally, my 2015 JKU-R Hard Rock has 73,000 miles on it. It is a TOY. All of those miles are off-road miles, or road miles on the way to off-road miles. No mall-crawling, no daily driving, no grocery getting. Everything is working perfectly. Stock 3.6-liter V-6 engine. Stock 5-speed Automatic Transmission. Stock 4:1 Transfer Case. Stock Dana-44 Axles F and R with stock lockers, regeared to 4.88:1. Front axle trussed and gusseted. Dyna-Trac big brake kit F and R and Ram 2500 Master Cylinder (I have brakes for days but I overland a trailer). Lift is AEV 4.5-inch S/C kit with AEV high capacity Overland Springs (6-inches lift realized). I have skid plates, diff-skids and lower control arm mount armor. All things considered, my only fear of this build is wearing out the engine. If that happens, I'll likely replace it with a Jasper and keep rolling.
That is my opinion..... FWIW. JKU-R is where I want to stay.
Did it ever get better? Every new model year, gets more electronics, therefore more failures. The FEDS are putting the hammer on manufacturing for better fuel economy, but not better quality control. So it seams to me, that it has not gotten better, but rather worse..............
Doing the same thing over expecting a different result.
I would get a LJR for the money the want for a used JL or Jks. At least it wont get lower in value those are collectible. best of the Tjs. Funny though the 4.0 years as well with issues. bad heads. OPD? i think its called gear to cam for timing issues. But the 4.0 is a simple thing compared to anything made today. that era was good one for most the Makers as well 90s and early 2000s, later 2000s things started to get much more clean? diesel went to DEF and ton of smog ect...
Why i went from newer to older now. Ford used to make reliable i have two 7.3s that are testimony to that. both tow and have for decades been really rather impressive life ones at 275k things still a beast and it is not stock. My truck is at 208k and just did injectors. did an checkup on it and still has compression of a new block.
should get 400 500k out of them . I wont need that many miles so ill ride out on a truck that is now 28 years old. see no need to have the latest thing. what are new trucks now??? 100K+ New SUVs can be that much as well 120k.... Think my Excursion is still the King of Suvs. Like a heavy weight coming in at near 4 tons of rolling coal 4x4. That thing is 21 now. goes on 1400 mile runs still towing at 275k.
Jeep was the last new purchase it tossed a head at 20k. Had other makers cars new as well all newer then 2008 all were junk. Now im done tossing money out like Spanky....I still have the jeep it is for one thing Trails.
I would get a LJR for the money the want for a used JL or Jks. At least it wont get lower in value those are collectible. best of the Tjs. Funny though the 4.0 years as well with issues. bad heads. OPD? i think its called gear to cam for timing issues. But the 4.0 is a simple thing compared to anything made today. that era was good one for most the Makers as well 90s and early 2000s, later 2000s things started to get much more clean? diesel went to DEF and ton of smog ect...
Why i went from newer to older now. Ford used to make reliable i have two 7.3s that are testimony to that. both tow and have for decades been really rather impressive life ones at 275k things still a beast and it is not stock. My truck is at 208k and just did injectors. did an checkup on it and still has compression of a new block.
should get 400 500k out of them . I wont need that many miles so ill ride out on a truck that is now 28 years old. see no need to have the latest thing. what are new trucks now??? 100K+ New SUVs can be that much as well 120k.... Think my Excursion is still the King of Suvs. Like a heavy weight coming in at near 4 tons of rolling coal 4x4. That thing is 21 now. goes on 1400 mile runs still towing at 275k.
Jeep was the last new purchase it tossed a head at 20k. Had other makers cars new as well all newer then 2008 all were junk. Now im done tossing money out like Spanky....I still have the jeep it is for one thing Trails.
I have no clue and can add nothing except that my 2013 JKU is sitting at over 182K on the clock and currently has no issues. The only things replaced on it ever were the alternator and radiator. But I offer zero opinion- riding with Mike-5 on this one.
2003 Rubicon was the best of the best. The rear locker was also LSD. Yeah, the JK introduced the electric locker, better than the low psi air locker of the TJ, but the JK began the bloated oversized era of the Wrangler, along with just piles of electronic gadgetry to "impr9ve" it. BLD, great idea, of you already have all that electronic crap anyway.
But the TJ was, to me, the pinnacle of that platform, be it MB, CJ, YJ, TJ, or JK.
But the TJ was, to me, the pinnacle of that platform, be it MB, CJ, YJ, TJ, or JK.
JK has can bus a federally mandated crap pile that is failure prone and unnecessarily complex system
Jk took an inherently balanced straight 6 and stuffed in a bean counter designed for transverse mount in a minivan never able to be balanced V6
And JK kept the worst manual transmission ever put in a six cylinder wrangler
JK added more unnecessary crap like power windows and door locks - just what no one needed in a vehicle with removable doors
Jk took an inherently balanced straight 6 and stuffed in a bean counter designed for transverse mount in a minivan never able to be balanced V6
And JK kept the worst manual transmission ever put in a six cylinder wrangler
JK added more unnecessary crap like power windows and door locks - just what no one needed in a vehicle with removable doors
There's nothing that can be added to that. To support that axiom, seek simplicity in design. Simple machines serve much better and longer than all the profitable factory lipstick money can buy. Do you seek a high maintenance woman for a life's partner or high maintenance friends to trust and depend upon? Simple machines can break down, but simplicity allows an owner to discover and apply means to avoid future breakdowns.
As each component broke down in my '87 XJ I was able to replace it with lifetime guaranteed parts and never again paid for the same part. Each time I worked on that XJ, the easier it became to keep it running and the longer it performed between breakdowns and the fewer tools necessary to make repairs. Once again, from heep6, "learn your machine." Avoid buying a machine you can't understand.
Yup a can of worms. Even though the vehicles are mass made each one can have it's own issues, some issues can transend to the production run but not the hole line. I had a '88 Grand Wagoner Star bought it used for $500 in mid '90's. I had no real problems with it, as it became not road worthy I used it for a plow vehicle. It had over 300k when I got rid of it. The only reason I let it go was because I was not going to pay $1,800 for new brake lines. I did routine oil changes and that was about it. In the end it was a "guess what gear your in" (automatic). It needed a washer on the the shifter rod into the trans. Since I was only plowing with it who cares? I started to need either to start it. I can't count how many times I set the engine on fire, it was that way for over 2 years. I couldn't kill it, it plowed like a champ even with a home plow setup. My drive was just under a 1/4 mile and up hill with a 20 degree grade thru a turn. Love it, sold it for $500, what I paid for it. My first and last new Jeep, 1977 Grand Cherokee, standard trans. Paid $5,000 new. By the time I was ready to replace it the cost of jeeps was redicules. Little did I know the cost would continue to rise sky high. Bought a used Plymouth wagon. My next Jeep, a '97 tj. Bought it with 173,000 on the clock, paid $5,000. No major repairs other then rust. Still have it with over 225,000 on it. I'm on the third set of front fenders and have more welds then frame. Can't kill it. I'm repairing the rust taking off the roof and using it for a summer ride. My next, and current daily ride Jeep is a 2014 jku. Bought it this year for $15,000 wit 109,000 miles on it. Runes great no problems, yet. The only reason I bought it was $15,000 was dropped into my lap. I look lone and hard before setteling on it. Love it. Sometimes you get lucky, I did on all my Jeeps. Which is the best Jeep to buy, a used Jeep. Researching the Jeep your looking at, not the model but the actual Jeep, it's condistion, prior repairs and price makes the best Jeep to buy.
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