The December consumer reports arrived today and had a chart for predicted reliability for 2016 vehicles. In a ranking of 1-28 with 1 being best Jeep scored 27th out of 28 of that they rated the best and worst reliable of the manufacturers vehicles. Wrangler was rated jeeps most reliable and Cherokee was rated jeeps most unreliable, probably that whacked transmission in the Cherokee. Interesting chart to look at but I like looking at charts with overall owner satisfaction vs these reliability ratings, in the end overall owner satisfaction is what matters more to me.
Jeep and other FCA brands have consistently been among the worst in reliability for years. 7 recalls and a tow on my 2014 fit the rating well. I love the looks, features, performance, etc but the poor quality is forcing me to look elsewhere...
Jeep and other FCA brands have consistently been among the worst in reliability for years. 7 recalls and a tow on my 2014 fit the rating well. I love the looks, features, performance, etc but the poor quality is forcing me to look elsewhere...
My exact sentiments. I highly doubt a third Jeep is in my future, sad to say. I came from two 4Runners in a row and I'll probably be back if they ever decide that the current 4Runner needs to be updated.
Consumer Reports is bad about taking an issue like the numerous problems the V6 models have had with their transmissions and telling customers to stay away from ALL Grand Cherokees, despite the relatively few issues the other drive trains have had.
One thing that drives me up a wall with Consumer Reports is that their ratings for everything can be great, but then they'll have a poor rating for the audio system or something and that gives the entire vehicle a poor rating. Their rating is the lowest score of any item on the list, not a weighted average.
I find all of these reliability ratings basically useless. I have owned vehicles that had marginal ratings and plenty of pissed off owners, yet I never experienced any significant issues (note that I did not say they were problem free--they just did not have major issues that left me stranded or were a safety hazard).
Humm weird, I have owned two WK2's, a 2012 Overland V6, and now a 2014 Summit V8. Both vehicles have been flawless. F consumer reports is what I say. Never have and never will read that junk. If it were up to consumer reports we would all be driving base model Toyota Camry's.
My 2014 summit v8 has been back 18 times for non maintenence new car issues in the last 2.5 years, mostly minor issues yet things that needed fixed. Jeeps initial quality is abysmal, they belong at the bottom concerning initial quality. I love my jeep and I'm glad I got it but working out the new car bugs took awhile. Consumer reports needs to also focus more on overall owner satisfaction because a car can have lower reliability but still be well liked by people. I'd take jeep with a few issues rather than a boring a to b Toyota anyday.
The thing with Jeep, and Chrysler in general, is that when compared to other brands they typically are rated pretty low by all the organizations. It's not like only CR finds them lacking, or that it is only occasionally.
I've owned 2 Jeeps, one was 100% trouble free for almost 4 years. The next one I left behind after a year and a half.
While I am not saying FCA or Jeep are perfect, take a look at the Ram brand. Very low, barely above Jeep, in the CR rankings.
Yet in other reports, like JD Power, the Ram is quite high, frequently above the Toyota Tundra (which, if memory serves, was at the bottom the of the ranking this last round), and yet somehow Consumer Reports gave the Tundra the best rating among 1/2 tons.
I like to look at Consumer Reports as part of some of my research, but their stalwart loyalty to Toyota amuses me. I am not saying all Toyotas are terrible or that they are the worst out there, I am simply saying that many other review places are much more neutral and reliable in their stances when it comes to automobiles.
Sorry, but this is wishful thinking. There is no bias at CR. In fact they go to great lengths to be unbiased; their credibility depends on it. They are simply reporting survey results.
I love the GC, but let's face it, there is a lack of attention to detail at Chrysler compared to other makes.
I've never been a CR fan. Years ago we had little else to rely on for product reviews, but research today is much broader and easier with simple net searches. Quite often reviews by individuals with real world experience differ widely from the staged CR reviews.
What whacked transmission? My Cherokee is two years old and I have never had a problem with it. Let me tell you the problem with Jeep and the Cherokee in particular. Consumer Report and the general public expect the Jeep to ride, drive, and perform like a foreign car for a soccer mom. Jeeps became cool and so the general public wanting to be cool rushed to buy them. The public didn't do its research as to how a Jeep rides, drives, and performs and so now the public and Consumer Report is bad mouthing the Jeep. Ever look at the vehicles Consumer Report recommends? I wouldn't own one let alone put one in my drive way.
PS: The biggest problem with the Cherokee transmission is people throwing flashes and TSBs at it trying to get it to shift softly like a foreign luxury vehicle. Like I said my Cherokee is two years old and shifts just fine, but then again I have not done any of the flashes or TSBs to it to screw it up. The flashes have gotten so bad that one dealership in my area will no longer perform transmission flashes and flat out refuses to do them.
lol that is grand yours shifts just fine but many people have issues with it just like the grand cherokee v6 trans. Of course not all of them have issues but enogh do that it is a noted problem not just in consumer reports.
Anytime you make a million of something there are going to be a few bad examples in the group. Try going apple picking and and not finding one bruised apple or one with a worm hole.
Anytime you make a million of something there are going to be a few bad examples in the group. Try going apple picking and and not finding one bruised apple or one with a worm hole.
The difference between number one and dead last is also like those bruised apples...one orchard had .89 bruised apples.per 100 and the worst had 1.20 bruised apples per 100. (Just an example haters....not true numbers)
Yes, this is exactly right. Not a big difference between best and worst in these three-year reliability surveys - not enough for me to base a purchase decision on. If it were, I 'd be forced to buy a hideous looking Lexus.
I think you should simply buy what you like. I have had a 11' Laredo and now a '14 Limited and I really have loved both. They have both had some issues, but I put up with them b/c IMO there is no other SUV on the market that looks as good, or has the same features for the price. Almost every other SUV looks like a minivan to me now.
I was thinking of getting a 4 runner or a Highlander and although I knew those were both probably more reliable than my Jeep I could not get one. Jeeps drive different, look different, and simply put are cooler than the competition. That is why so many are sold. This is part of the problem though. So many people buy them and expect them to drive like a minivan and they don't. Whenever someone asks me my opinion on my Jeep I tell them the truth. I love it, but it's not without it's issues. So I always tell them it's not something I can recommend to the every day driver.
I'm bummed they are reducing the powertrain warranty. Almost every hemi owner I know needed a water pump replacement at 51k miles. That's just the beginning.
I'm at a point where I wish I could eliminate stuff like the panoramic roof and Quadra drive because they are so problem prone.
Consumer Reports has ZERO credibility when it comes to rating cars, and consumers themselves, who are the ultimate judge of a product's worth, have borne this out by generally not following CR's advice.
CR has a strong bias against SUV's in general, and American made SUV's in particular. They have always hated Jeep, and I'm sure that won't change.
On the other hand, they had a long affair with German cars, recommending Audi and Volkswagen until the screams from buyers pointing out the myriad of problems with those vehicles finally embarrassed CR into putting an end to it.
Maybe that's true FOR YOU, but the fact of the matter is that CR has millions of subscribers (and non-subscribers) who not only believe in their credibility, but take their word as gospel.
I have pretty much decided on a 2018 GC Trailhawk. I am not a fan of many of the services that rate reliability but the general trend I see, along with what owners say, convinces me that I will spend more time at a dealer getting repairs than I have ever spent with a car. I even expect some repeat trips to fix things that do not get fixed the right time.
I am willing to put up with this because anything with the blend of comfort, space, off-road capability, and performance (I will get the 5.7 Hemi) would cost 50% more. I read a posting the said most of these 5.7's required a water pump at 51k miles which is pretty frightening.
What I would like to know from people here is, do people get stranded and need a tow very often with them. I am moving to the southwest and will often be out of cell range. I am not going crazy off country but I would like to know that I am not going to break down.
This is a different aspect of reliability but is the most important one for me to make the final decision.
So... how many people not been able to drive to the dealer for repair under their own power?
I have pretty much decided on a 2018 GC Trailhawk. I am not a fan of many of the services that rate reliability but the general trend I see, along with what owners say, convinces me that I will spend more time at a dealer getting repairs than I have ever spent with a car. I even expect some repeat trips to fix things that do not get fixed the right time.
I am willing to put up with this because anything with the blend of comfort, space, off-road capability, and performance (I will get the 5.7 Hemi) would cost 50% more. I read a posting the said most of these 5.7's required a water pump at 51k miles which is pretty frightening.
What I would like to know from people here is, do people get stranded and need a tow very often with them. I am moving to the southwest and will often be out of cell range. I am not going crazy off country but I would like to know that I am not going to break down.
This is a different aspect of reliability but is the most important one for me to make the final decision.
So... how many people not been able to drive to the dealer for repair under their own power?
My 2 cents...If you look at the CR of a month or three ago they had a lot of info on vehicle reliability. CR, like JD Powers, makes a big deal out of their "index numbers" that rate the best to the worst. 20+ years ago the difference between the best and the worst was HUGE. Today the difference between best and worst is trivial, all modern cars are nearly trouble free for nearly all owners. In the CR article you could see that across the board with very few exceptions, and jeep wasn't one, that the repair costs per year were almost the same for them all. Still, someone has to be "best" and someone "worst", but you really need to look at whether the problems are significant. CR considers a blown engine the same as blown fuse, each is a trip for service. The more important thing is the cost of repairs. As I said, there's not much difference. Should you pass up the vehicle you want for one you don't want because it costs 350 a year on average for repairs and the other one only costs $250?
When I was looking for a replacement two months ago for my 92 Explorer my first look was at JGC. After reading some complaints I started wondering if it would be a mistake.. then I started reading about other possible choices... guess what, you can find horror stories about ALL of them. For a while I considered a Subaru.. then read about how poor the infotainment/information system was, blown head gaskets, oil consumption. So I stopped worrying... and bought the JGC WITH the lifetime MaxCare warranty.
Remember, many of the issues with the earlier models involved the Chrysler built 8 speed unique to the V6 gas engine. Hemis and Diesels had the German built ZF with very few issues. All ZF's are now built in the US.
Lots of threads with MaxCare pricing. HIGHLY recommended regardless of model choice!
CR is very biased. Read and watch enough reviews and you will find out yourself. I had a 2006 jeep liberty 4x4 3.7 and i never had a single issue. Rock solid and only did standard maintenance. I read alot about transmission issues in the jeeps and it didnt bother me. Most of the problems were user error. Some were manufacturing defects. The transmission in the wk2 is same for alot of other companies like audi.
With that said there is no car company that is perfect and alot of manufactures have problems. Its just how the company takes care of it. Ford is horrible for quality and customer service. Quality of material is also horrible with fords. Subaru is very good at taking care of its customers. At least jeep for the most part has higher quality material. I have a 2017 trailhawk v6. I just got 2500 miles on it and it seems rock solid without a hiccup. It drives smooth, runs great, quiet, and shifts perfect. I took a chance buying a new jeep, I was not worried about the reliability but more worried about the customer service aspect if I do have a problem.
As someone else stated the rankings are a bit busted because they can be separated by .1 of a gap. Take everything with a grain of salt and do your own research. Most people who have a reliable car do not complain or praise it online. Its the people who have issues whether its big or small will complain and complain until something is done to their standard.
Also to add, there are people who will purchase a car and expect it to last till the end of time. Through the wear and tear people still expect it to last forever. When something goes wrong at 50k miles. Sometimes it happens.
Of course Jeep guys won't like Consumer Reports. FCA products don't look good in CR. But to say they are somehow biased is ridiculous. What evidence do you have?
Your personal good luck proves nothing. Remember, anecdotes are not statistics. CR surveys hundreds of thousands of readers and simply quantifies the results. Not bias, simple fact.
My contention is Chrysler products may not be the best, but there is not enough difference between good and bad to base a buying decision on.
According to JD Power's (who I don't like for other reasons) 3 year Dependability surveys, the best cars (Lexus) will have less than one problem (dealer visit) per car. Jeep, one of the worst, will have less than two problems per vehicle. I'm okay with that. It's reasonable, and I plan to buy a GC soon.
The reason why I say its biased is if you watch the videos and read the articles is that you will see them fluff the numbers for fuel mileage compared to the epa ratings and use the epa ratings for other brands. They also leave alot of info out for other cars but the cars they constantly put at the top they will fill in all the info. They also never say anything bad about the top rated cars like toyota. Their infotainment systems are/ or have been outdated and they claim them as the best and the fastest. While alot of other brands have way better infotainment systems they never mention it.
I have seen videos from them about how bad a volvos portrait infotainment screen is not good just based on the orientation and other brands are praised for it. I have seen them complain about bad mpg is with some cars that are lower ranked but the cars they rank high they always fail to mention that those mpgs are just as bad.
Or they will compare cars such as ones a base and ones fully load and use that as ranking.
I have 2014 jeep grand cherokee limited with the 5.7 Hemi, Lux II group. My water pump starting making noises at about 37,000. My breaks started losing pressure around the same time. I was still able to drive it, took two weeks to get an appointment for a loaner. They replaced both water pump and brake booster.
Other issues I had was the passenger seat belt would not retract, after the dealer updated the software the uconnect system/Radio crashed and would not work. Fuel door broke and was wobbly so that had to be replaced. Rear camera had condensation in it so that had to be replaced as well. Everything was covered under warranty.
I love the truck but the dealership service departments are the biggest issues I have dealt with. The issues I have had with the service department makes me unsure if I want to purchase another one. But all around it's a great truck and love it.
Hopefully this post helps.
...and everything you listed would be things people would have issues with.
With my last vehicle, a Ford F150, the only major thing that went wrong was a computer problem within a few months of owning it. It would have been an expensive repair had it not been under warranty.
However, after that, the vehicle was very reliable for over 15 years. Other than normal parts that wear out, such as tires, brakes, etc., the only items that needed repair over its life were:
- Rear leaf spring shackles (one broke and I replaced both).
- The alternator
- A broken emissions return pipe
At the time I traded in, it was coming due for new brakes and tires and the clutch was starting to get a bit spongy. I could have kept it and fixed those items, but I decided I wanted something new after all those years and opted to put that money toward a down payment on the Jeep.
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