[TexasRay]

JK 2008 Wrangler Sport 38,500 miles. Sorry for this being so lengthy, but this is the cut and pasted complaint that I have submitted to the NHTSA. After reading numerous similar complaints, I realize now that is is a bigger problem than Chrysler/Jeep wants to admit. I have had my Dream Ride for 11 months and it has become my nightmare! I bought used, at 28,000 miles, to save some cash. Lessons learned! All feedback is much appreciative!

The first of many times happened one morning as I was getting into vehicle. The horn, windshield wipers, lights and instrument indicator lights all activated. The wipers sprayed all the fluid in the reservoir. I could not turn these off. After disconnecting the battery, the engine would not crank for some time and the horn no longer worked. The dealership diagnosed the problem as a faulty horn and replaced the clock spring, horn and a fuse. A few weeks later, while driving, the horn, wipers and lights all came on and I could not turn these off! Even after removing the key, the engine and all the above would not shut off! Once again, I had to disconnect the battery in order to shut these components off. This has happened numerous times since! Now the airbag light comes on periodically! The dealership is now saying the problem is with the TIPM. There seems to be a backorder of more than 400+ of these components. Every week that goes by, the dealership says that the ETA has been moved back a week and they will call me when it gets in. To the dealer's credit (after I went a little crazy in the manager's office), they have agreed to pay for the est. cost of $600. But, in the meantime, is this vehicle safe to drive? Shouldn't there be a recall since there are 400+ of these parts on backorder? Today, I called Chrysler Customer Service and they told me that they would document this. NOT GOOD ENOUGH! After insisting that something else be done, I was told that a Service Manager would be contacting me tomorrow. We will see. In the meantime.......I am somewhat fearful of driving my Jeep for the simple reason of the unknown. Not to mention the embarrassment that this brings when stopped at a busy intersection and my horn and wipers start blaring uncontrollably. This must be stopped and Chrysler should declare a recall!

 

[JeeperJake]

Are you sure this isn't one of those previously submerged in some flood vehicles out of the various Gulf State floods in recent years?

 

[TexasRay]

No floods shown in the Carfax. But, since there are others with the exact problem, I have to believe that it is the TIPM. Thanks.

 

[MTH]

I'm sorry for the problems you're experiencing. I have no idea whether it will or should be turned into a recall.

It's worth noting however that from 2007 to 2011 Jeep sold about 502,672 Wranglers. So a part backorder of a few hundred obscure electrical components that likely aren't heavily stocked anyway doesn't seem particularly surprising. Nor would I think a few hundred problems--in the context of over half a million Jeeps with no problems--would necessarily warrant a recall.

That said, there have been some threads around here related to spontaneous horn honking and windshield wiper activation. If you run some searches, I'd expect you could find them and see whether any resolutions were reached.

 

[SpudNuts]

There is a problem with the TIPM. Just because there is over a half a million vehicles sold doesn't mean a faulty part shouldn't be taken care of by the manufacture. Chrysler did the same thing with the 2008 models that had a fuel tank issue. Right at the end of fueling the fuel would spill out all over the place and everyone was saying that it was the auto shut off at the pump. Well, it wasn't. It was the tank in the Jeep. I know for sure because I had mine just replaced for free. There is a little thing called a "Service Bulletin" that can be generated by Chrysler to take care of these types of issues. It clearly means that they don't claim any responsibility but will take care of it. Calling Chrysler and getting it documented is the right thing to do, get a case created and get a case rep to keep it up to date. I'm also having a TIPM issue and at my time of ordering, there were 350 backordered. Oh and the number on backorder arn't nation wide, it's the total on back order locally (at least that is what my service manager and case rep said). So, if there are 400 at your dealer and 350 at mine, you can get an idea of just how big this problem is. 2007 Jeep Wranger TIPM's have already been recalled for reprogramming but I think this issue is a bigger problem. Temp fix though (what I do) when your possessed Jeep freaks out. Open the hood and just give the TIPM a little tap, works for me and everything goes back to normal.

Also, I was told by my case rep that the reason there is such a large backorder is because they are changing the manufacture of the TIPM. I wander why they would be doing that??? Interesting huh?

I've seen commercials for the clapper, i'm guessing our Jeeps have something like that too...lol

 

[rkyoung99]

Same issue. Wipers/lights failed to work in icy rain/snow. Road visibility was low & couldn't see instrument panel. I had no option but to continue home at slow speeds to avoid an accident. After 20 mins of driving w/o wipers, they turned on by themselves. I couldn't adjust the speed at all. I got home, turned the Jeep off and removed keys, wipers still would not turn off. I had to disconnect battery to shut em down. Dealer claims it was a faulty wiper motor. I told them I think it's a faulty TIPM based on what I read online. They told me the TIPM was working fine. When they ordered/installed new wiper motor, it didn't fix the problem. They admitted they were wrong with diagnostic & TIPM is faulty. Told me I need a new TIPM & they are on nationwide backorder. Seems TIPM failure is recurring theme w/ Jeeps. If your lights/wipers can go out while driving, this is a HUGE safety hazard! I called Chrysler to complain & have yet to hear back from them. Any progress w/ your issue?

 

[tbruck]

Bad TIPM after spending nearly $300 on new starter!

Seriously! Now my mechanic said they spoke to the local Chrysler Dealer and they replace 40 TIPM's EVERY WEEK! Really?????? How do they get away with not recalling this? Vehicle is sporadically not starting. Can't get a part for two months???? Come on Chrysler! Anyone out there know where I can put in some complaints? I will stay up all night filing complaints if it might help!

 

[kik]

It seems like you're doing everything you can in this situation. If everyone with these types of issues lodges complaints, maybe a recall can happen but don't count on it even though I would have to think it is a safety issue. It seems like they know it's a component problem that they'll fix but I can understand your frustration. If I had to worry about my JK lighting up like a Christmas tree whenever I took it out I would be pissed too.

 

[daggo66]

Seriously! Now my mechanic said they spoke to the local Chrysler Dealer and they replace 40 TIPM's EVERY WEEK! Really?????? How do they get away with not recalling this? Vehicle is sporadically not starting. Can't get a part for two months???? Come on Chrysler! Anyone out there know where I can put in some complaints? I will stay up all night filing complaints if it might help!

Calm down. The TIPM is basically a computer. If it's bad, it's bad. It's rare that if they are good that they turn bad. There isn't a need to replace all of them unless they can determine a specific batch. A recall is not going to help you if they are already getting you a new one and it certainly won't get a backordered part there any faster.

 

[JeepWranglerNation]

Our Horn works.. when it wants to.. everything else is fine.. even had my nephew (electrician) look it over. Pulled the fuses.. etc.. at least I know where I'm taking the jeep when it's time to wire up some Aux lights..

 

[RRTRI]

After reading this I'm wondering if the TIPM is at the root of a small annoyance my wife has been having with her JKU. About a month ago her wipers started occasionally wiping on their own while driving around. Until today it has been a single wipe at a time happening every few days or so. Today was a bit different in that they came on and continued wiping. To make them stop she turned them on and then back off and that seemed to do the trick.

Guess we'll be calling the dealer have it looked at.......hopefully it won't end up being a PIA. Issues like this that can't be reproduced at will are always fun when it comes to service.

 

[mijku]

The wipe thing could be the multi function switch/stalk. My friend had lights that would randomly come on. New switch stalk and all the bugs went away.

 

[SpudNuts]

I had this same issue with my 2008 JKU. The issue is the TIPM and to prove it, I went out to my Jeep during an event and just tapped on the TIPM and the event stopped. The dealer tried to blame the problem on the "excessive" lighting on my Jeep and tried to tell me that even though the switch is off, there is still voltage going through that wiring. I'm no electronic genius but I do know better than that. I told him that mine wasn't under warranty, so stop trying to baffle me with BS. I contacted a Chrysler respresentative and raised a big stink about it. First problem was that there are posts all over the internet about this issue, second problem was after I ordered a new TIPM, I was told it wasn't in stock and would have to wait. I waited over 3 months. You need to contact Chrysler and get a representative assigned to your case. Why is that important you might ask? Because she re-imbursed me everything (including labor) minus $100. I got a nice check from Chrysler for over $400 back. If your dealer hears that you have a representative assigned, you'll see just how different your service is. Dealers are independantly owned and Chrysler will drop the hammer down if your not taken care of.

 

[MikeGinVA]

I have a 2008 also. I'm at speed, 55 mph, and the engine dies, it felt like it downshifted, all dash lights are on, wipers come on and I managed to safely get to the shoulder from the far left lane. Then the horn goes off and the wipers speed up, I start the engine and then it wouldn't cut off. Just as quickly, it returns to "normal." I get back on the road and beat feet to the dealer. The wipers and horn intermittently went off during the trip. I pull into the service lane and everything goes off again. I get out, horn blaring, etc. Walk in, one of the service guys opens the hood, bangs on the TIPM and it all stops. My JK is in the shop over the weekend to diagnose and correct the issue. Hopefully a TIPM is nearby. They said it would take a couple of days to get one if it turns out to be the TIPM. No one seemed surprised about the problem which leads me to believe they've seen this before. I plan on calling Chrysler Monday morning.

 

[Terradb82]

Went to the dealer last week and sat in the waiting area for two and a half hours. Then they came out and told me they couldn't do anything till they see it do it. I just now googled it and I can't believe that this many people are having same problem. If I would have known then what I do now I would have told them that they are going on the 11 hour drive with two young kids and jeep wipers and horn coming on randomly!

 

[scottmphoto]

American quality!

 

[rics1997]

American quality!

You don't actually think that a circuit board is made in America do you?

The thing is, American Quality is usually pretty great. We as Americans though demand tons of money and benefits but want to buy everything for nothing so manufactures have to make more and more items overseas to put in so called American products. One of the reasons Chrysler and GM went bankrupt was the cost of making a car including a very aging population of retirees with premium benefits and health care cost. One of the reason most now buy the parts from other countries. And the newer car companies from overseas come in with no unions and no huge retiree base and can make a car for a lot less. And we will buy their products thus making the problem even worse.

We want the best of both worlds in this country and it is coming back to bite us in the rear. Cheap products and high wages. We tend to put down countries like china who pay their labor little of nothing while still buying from them so to support our lifestyle while forgetting this country became great early in the 1900's based on sweat shops and hard work. We won't nothing to do with that now yet will not pay for a quality American made item. So companies are more and more having their product either completely made or partly made over seas so to meet this need causing poor quality. Craftsman tools is a good example of this. But what can these companies do? They can't afford to pay the wages with benefits we demand and sell the products for the price we demand. It's a no win for them. My favorite excuse is that Japanese cars have more american parts then and American car does, lol. Have a robot assemble an Japanese engine in the US and slap made in the USA on it. Not sure were that myth came from but even if a little true it isn't by much though we are keeping Japan rich with that logic though. They are smiling all the way to the bank with that line of thinking.

 

[JKUCRUSHMIKE]

Right on.

 

[Hilldweller]

My Power Wagon is VOR (vehicle off road, and not in the good way) right now at the dealership waiting for its back-ordered TIPM. This is its second failure in 5 months.

I was told (completely unofficially) that they've had many JK TIPM failures. They also told me that they think that Chrysler has changed vendors for the part, hence the delay.
Since that was all unofficial, it has as much credence as anything else on the web. Might as well quote J-Lo or Brittney Spears.

I just want my dang truck back.

 

[j0nx]

... One of the reasons Chrysler and GM went bankrupt was the cost of making a car including a very aging population of retirees with premium benefits and health care cost. One of the reason most now buy the parts from other countries. And the newer car companies from overseas come in with no unions and no huge retiree base and can make a car for a lot less. And we will buy their products thus making the problem even worse.

We want the best of both worlds in this country and it is coming back to bite us in the rear. Cheap products and high wages. ...

Actually the federal reserve has created so much inflation via fiat currency that manufacturers have no choice but to export their labor costs to 3rd world countries. This is the problem in a nutshell. All that other stuff you just said is a symptom of the disease.