My 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited rubicon caught fire in the engine after driving about 20 minutes and parking. It appeared to originate near the bottom of the engine. Chrysler was out to inspect to determine cause only to tell me it was not a manufacturing defect. They refuse to give me a copy of the report. The repair shop where it was inspected overheard the inspector say something about oil leaking out of the engine onto the hot exhaust. The insurance company has now totaled my jeep.
2008 Jeep Wrangler 4-DR 4x4 engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 41, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Jeep will start honking horn, wipers on , washer fluid shooting out, door locks won't work. Then it all clears up, there are time when the battery has to be disconnected . But one day while driving to work. All bells and lights went on, wipers on high, horn was stuck on, and then engine just dies! Luckily I had enough speed to get it to the shoulder. Jumped out to pull the horn wire, I was in a residential area at 5 a.m. When all of a sudden engine started back up, with the keys in my pocket! Everything finally stop running and I went on to my job reluctantly. Now sporadically the wipers go on, doors won't unlock, engine won't start, horn blares, washer fluid goes on all by there self. This is my only car to drive, I'm going to an independent dealer to get it hooked up to scan the computer, and hopefully find the problem.
Purchased the car brand new in 2008. Approximately two years later , I began having problems with the car starting. Put the key in the ignition, turn it and you hear a click. Initially, it seemed to occur sporadically normally after it rained . Now, the problem occurs more frequently (daily) absent any rain. I've replaced the battery, alternator and starter to no avail. I also took the car to a jeep dealer to no avail .
When the engine is running there is a clicking sound coming from the engine. I took it to the dealership, as they do all of my service and oil changes, and the technician said it was a known issue with this engine, and there have been several people complaining about it. They said it was the lifters in the engine that are making the noise.
The car was in motion at n wharton maint st nj 07885 the car did got in fire.
While driving my 2008 jeep wrangler to work one sunny morning doing approximately 80mph on the highway I drive daily, I lost all engine pressure and smoke began to pour out from under the hood. I pulled off the road and saw oil draining from my engine. I had it towed to the nearest automotive shop and upon futher inspection they said that I blew a head gasket. Both of the mechanics said that they have never seen a gasket completely blow out of the motor and said that they felt that there was a faulty gasket to begin with which cause the mechanical failure of the engine. Now of course there is no warrenty coverage due to the fact that the 5 yrs inspection was not completed, which is required according to somewhere in the owners manual. I am the original owner and it has never even left the pavement, no trails or water, 58k miles. Chrysler/jeep refuses to do anything about it, basically said that this my fault. I will never buy another chrysler product again. Almost makes this girl want to buy a foriegn car.
I was on 75 south bound going 70 MPH. I had just gotten on the interstate from the bruce b downs entrance. After the right lane ended I switched to the middle lane. Coming up to fletcher exit, the gears changed. Almost like the car gave out. I looked down, I didn't change anything. On my way to look back up I see smoke from the hood and smoke through the rare view mirror. Grey smoke in the front and black in the back. I looked down at the gages and it was over heating. Looked to my left, no cars, pulled over to the left emergency lane. As I opened my door, the fire was already spitting out from the front left tire. I grabbed my phone. As I'm walking away, the fire was growing engulfing the whole front of the vehicle. Within minutes, law enforcement arrived on scene and we watched the whole vehicle go up in flames. At first 2 fire trucks put out the fire. Once they left and we were waiting for the tow truck to arrive, it caught fire again. The state trooper had to call the fire department to come back out. Before the fire started, there wasn't a noise or a light blinking to indicate a problem. The vehicle felt the same as it always did. Everything just happened fast and all at once. I never got any recall notices. I had the jeep for 2 months. Insurance company never did an investigation because there was nothing left to investigate. I never called chrysler because I didn't have proof who was at fault. I have never heard of this being an issue with jeeps until I bought my new car and the sales rep looked me in the eyes told me it was manufacturer defect. It happened to 2 of his former clients. Told me chrysler won't do anything because it can't be proven.
My jeep's horn began honking, wipers came on, door locks began locking and unlocking. Nothing stopped until I got home and my husband disconnected the battery. He connected it several hours later and it was fine. I took it to the dealership where they told me nothing could be done as the problem had stopped. Several months later, the same thing occurred along with the A/C shutting off. We went through the same steps; disconnect battery, reconnect and took to dealership. Again I was told that they really couldn't diagnose because nothing was happening at that point. Last night my jeep began shaking violently and scared me as I could not regain control. I had to slow and pull over so it could stop. My husband came to get me and was following me when in addition to the past things happening (I call it possessed), the warning lights came on; brake, engine, ABS, battery, etc. It then stalled as I was turning. Luckily the woman coming the opposite direction slowed and went around otherwise I would have been hit. My husband towed the jeep to the dealership and left it there, and told them to fix it as it is a real road hazard. In reading about jeep complaints, I'm assuming it is a "tipm" problem and something called a "death wobble". I am absolutely shocked that this hasn't been recalled.
As I was stopping at local arby's restaurant for lunch, my 2008 jeep wrangler sahara unlimited started smoking from under the hood. It smelled like electrical wires burning. It ignited before I could exit the vehicle and within a couple of minutes it was totally engulfed in flames. There were several witnesses who saw the fire. I immediately called 911 and within minutes the fire department arrived and put out the fire. The jeep is a total loss.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler 4-dr 4x4. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the total integrated power module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Driving on the interstate the all of the dash warning lights came on and blinked(ABS,ESC,traction control,brake,seatbelt) then the vehicle stalled causing loss of control. Luckily no vehicles around and I regained control after going in the median. Put in 4 wheel drive and got out. The vehicle then stalled again turning everything off including 4 way flashers when I stopped at a light. It was dark and the jeep is dark green. I had a flashlight to warn other drivers. Very dangerous situation. I opened the hood and pounded my fist on the main fuse box. After 3 minutes the vehicle came to life and I started it to get off roadway.
My jeep's electrical systems started operating while the car was off. The hazard lights, windshield wipers, horn, locks, and windshield wiper fluid all started activating. I took it to the dealership; however, they had no idea what was wrong and returned the vehicle. The issue presented a few times over three months but stopped. In september 2014 the issue presented after a reached my destination; however, this time, after I removed the key, the jeep continued to run. I returned the jeep to the fred frederick dealership and I was told that it is the tipm but the part is on back order. After I received the information, I did some research on line and found this to be a common problem but not just for the wranglers but for a host of chrysler vehicles. I have elevated a complaint to chrysler to no avail. It is obvious that this issue is widespread and the expense to chrysler to service so many vehicles has to be astronomical. Still, someone will get hurt or worse if the matter isnt resolved.
On numerous occasions my jeep fails to start. When I insert the key in the ignition and turn to start, the lights on the dash lights up with a single click sound coming from somewhere in the engine compartment. After continuously trying over and over to start the jeep it would finally start. Some days it would take hours to start up. The problem occurs in any weather, day or night. Some days the jeep starts up fine on the first try, other times it is a nightmare and takes all day to start up. I have taken the jeep to the jeep dealership before for a diagnostic, but it was useless and a waste of money for me since the problem is still occurring! After researching online, I have noticed many people having similar problems. Due to expired warranty, I can't afford to continue to pay for parts that could probably fix the problem. An individual on-line posted a chrysler star case # 6505315 two years ago that could possibly help, but in the mean time there is no recall for this problem. If you want more information, check out jeepforum.com under 2008 jk starting problems. As for now, my jeep is parked at work once again until it decides it wants to start up again.
I had a lifetime warranty package on my 2008 jeep wrangler. I also keep great records of my maintained and did most of it at the dealership. I was driving 65mph on the highway and the transmission / engine area started smoking. When I pulled over group llc and lames were dripping from the transmission / engine area. Smoke quickly filled the vehicle and with-in 2 minutes the jeep wrangler was up in flames. I contact chrysler group llc and they sent an inspector out. They were very hard to work with and mailed me letter saying, "the inspector found no indication of a manufacturing defect that caused or contributed to the incident on 1 jul 14. No help at all! I want to look into this more. It seems the transmission / engine defect cost me a one jeep wrangler and they accepted no responsibility.
I am having a problem with my integrated power module (ipm). It is causing my safety bag lght to come on (not knowing if it would deploy) but that is not the only problem with the module. It's also causing my front lights to come on when the car is off and I am getting electrical shocks every time I touch my door. The most important issue is it sometimes turns off or I can't turn it on because my electronics goes completely off. I know this because when it happens I go into the box remove and replace the cable or plugs and it starts working. I would hate this to happen when I'm driving, which would cause my power steering and shifting to lockup leaving me with no options and maybe with no safety bag. I know this to be true because the vehicle has turned off on me when I was leave my parking space at work. I could not turn or shift the vehicle because all the electronic turned off. I have already replace my battery terminal cable (battery to the ipm) due to corrosion.
2008 jeep wrangler 3.8l engine with 2nd cracked exhaust manifold in less than 12 months. Jeep knows this is a safety problem & dangerous fire hazard. Jeep has not fixed the problem, they just keep selling the same faulty exhaust manifolds that crack constantly.
Driving in beach dune area in oregon (had arrived maybe 10 minutes earlier). Smelled something burning and car burned to the ground. No overheating of engine coolant but hot oil and other lights flickered before shutting engine off. Got out of vehicle, looked under hood and wire harness along firewall was on fire and flames coming from that and between engine and firewall. Tried to suppress fire but was unsuccessful. Car a total loss - burned to the ground.
My jeep wrangler unlimited x 4 dr would not start and would just click once without turning over the engine. The entire dash was bright and functioning and my battery was brand new. After a few attempts the jeep started as if it was perfectly fine and did not struggle to start neither. Every few weeks to few months it will repeat the same thing over. Also, a few times the dash would show that the jeep was engaged in every gear. I stepped on the brake and shifted the automatic gear from p to 1 and back to p and the dash returned to normal. I have a strong feeling my computer or tipm / fuse box is going haywire yet the dealer finds nothing wrong. I just brought it to the dealer for a diagnostic and he found no errors. Why is there no recall on this if there are so many complaints about the same issues for jeeps from many models and years?? Please help! I have read on many posts that dealers have told customers that there are about 300-400 tipms are on backorder so why no recall? My warranty is still good but I'm afraid the dealer will do everything they can to avoid having to honor it as I was pretty much told they could do nothing for me. I'm still paying off the finance and it's not right that I have a lemon on my hands. The worst part about this is that I am in danger of the engine stalling while driving and now I fear my family's life/safety. No one should have to deal with such a dangerous situation.
I was driving my 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited on state route 23 northbound just outside of milan michigan when I began to notice a sputtering of the engine. I started to slow down to pull over and it stopped. As I accelerated back to speed I could feel it again. I pulled off the interstate onto the cone azail road exit as I slowed down the engine started to run fine again. I entered back onto the highway and as pick up speed it started sputtering I finally pulled over and as I was reaching to open the hood a flame shot out. With in minutes my vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. It happened so fast I was unable to recover anything out of the vehicle safely. When contacting chrysler regarding this incident they told me to take it up with my insurance company and that they would not cover any damages.
I owned a 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited, in 2010 the jeep started not wanting to crank off and on, of course when it was in the shop it would crank everytime, except the last visit it had and was there almost 2 weeks then they were doing the process of elimination still not knowing what to do. I contacted chrylser's corp. Office many times, they even provided me a rental car on one of the times the jeep was in the shop, this jeep stayed in the shop more then in my yard in 2010. The last visit was all I could handle, chrylser corp was not going to help me anymore, they simple did not care, the service dept.'s that the jeep was at they tried everything they thought possible, battery was good, so they changed out the battery cables said it was fixed, within a week same thing happens, I take it back, they replace the starter said that was the issue, needless to say within 2 weeks I was back with the same problem, the last time they said this might fix the jeep, if not, bring it back we will try something else, experiment I guess. I once again contacted chrylser corp. Office was treated as though I was a problem to them, I told them I was just giving up and trading the jeep in, which was one of thte hardest decisions that I have made, I loved my jeep, but the lemon that I had was just too much to keep paying for and catching rides to work since the jeep was in the shop all those times except the one time they paid for rental. I have traded the jeep but I still follow the concerns and see now, I was not the only one with the problem, of course, too late my jeep is gone now.
My 2008 jeep wrangler 4x4 spun a bearing due to inferior manufacturing, assembly and parts. I was turning a traffic circle corner at approx 40mph when the engine shut off once the bearing spun. As a result, I lost power steering and brakes. Unfortunately this is very common with 2007-2008 jeep wranglers. I think the manufacturer of the vehicle should be held responsible for the repairs as its due to poor workmanship and inferior parts. This is a very expensive fix and dangerous since the engine will shut off shortly after the incident.
About 18 months ago was 1st incident - inserted key, motor clicked but would not turn over, 2nd try worked. This same thing would happen every couple months or so then started taking 3-4 tries before turning over. In last 2 weeks it was been more frequent 2-3 times per week. Today it was at least 10 times - finally I shifted to neutral and back into park then it turned over. I've googled to see if others experiencing same, seems it's a common problem. Some say it's a problem with shifter not being all the way in park, others say it's "by a ground offset that causes the PCM to turn off the starter relay control circuit do to the double start override feature or a trs input state not valid. If the concern is gone, then add a 8 gauge or larger wire between engine and battery negative, from body to engine, and engine to trans bell housing to tie the grounds together. It is recommend to check the existing grounds and cables on the engine and for the PCM. If there is a bolt or stud, remove it and check to make sure they are clean and corrosion/rust free. Clean the effected areas and the threads if needed. Check the trs connector for signs of moisture or corrosion and clean connections". This really needs to be looked into!
I have a 2008 jeep wrangler sahara that I have owned since it had 100 miles on it. It is burning through oil a lot. Took to dealership for oils consumptions test and they say it is normal to burn through 1 quart of oil for every 750 miles. Figured this out because everytime I was getting an oil change (was using synthetic) at 6k I was being told the oil was bone dry. Not good.
My 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited has the problem of randomly not wanting to start. It gives me an initial click then nothing. I always end up getting it to start by letting it roll back a foot then start it. It seems to work. Other times it just randomly starts after numerous times. Don't know if this is coincidence or not. It is at the dealership now. Also have the problem of the gas tank not shutting off, and gas over flows over and outside the tank. Never will buy another jeep! I have been driving them for 13 years and this is my last!
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The vehicle was serviced for the remedy associated with recall 09v436000 (power train: automatic transmission). Upon receiving the vehicle back from the authorized dealer, the contact stated that while driving for an extended period of time, an engine warning light would illuminate on the instrument panel while driving uphill. The warning light would display that the vehicle was over heating. The contact stated that the failure was not dependent upon the speed at which the vehicle was traveling. This failure occurred three times and was taken to an authorized dealership on each occasion where the computer was reprogrammed. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The current mileage was 40,500.
Jeep caught fire with out warning.
I have a loud ticking noise after the engine warms up. Dealer states it is the fuel injectors. This noise is not fuel injectors. The noise sounds like a lifter knock. I have had it to one dealer three times. I have just taken it to another dealer. It would seem that if it was the fuel injectors it make the noise all the time and not after it is driven.
Have you had any investigations or experiences with fires in these new 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited models? These are the popular new 4-door models. There are a slew of videos and reports on the internet, but I'm having trouble identifying a common thread between them. Thanks, jay from the federal safety agency web site. *tr updated 01/30/09.
I bought a 2008 jeep wrangler (4) door unlimited rubicon. I did not have more than 150 miles on it before the engine would stall while making a turn at an intersection. The vehicle stalls on a regular basis. The vehicle now has 7000 miles on it and about two weeks ago it stalled on a main city road going about 40 ' 45 miles per hour. Vehicle display showed that it was out of gas but it had of a tank. After having it pushed off the road, and having 5 additional gallons of gas put in, it started with a very high RPM. The vehicle is now about 8 months old and has been in the shop for about 60 days. Some of the things that have been replaced are: fuel pump, tork converter, and power module. This stalling problem is a life safety liability. The dealership has been good to work with but our family is at risk every time we leave the drive way.
I bought a 2008 jeep wrangler (4) door unlimited rubicon. I did not have more than 150 miles on it before the engine would stall while making a turn at an intersection. I went on a vacation with about 1000 miles on it. I parked the vehicle at about a 15 to 20 degree angle; front facing down. The gas tank was 1/2 full, and I left the vehicle running for about 2 minutes. The engine shut down (stopped) running. I attempted to start the engine but it would not turn over. I checked all the gauges and there were no blown fuses. I checked the gas gage and it read that there was no gas in the tank. Because I was on a county road, in the middle of nowhere, I winched the vehicle to a level plane. I started the engine on the second try. After a very high rev cycle, the gas gauge again showed the gas tank being 1/2 full. With the vehicle stalling, and completely stopping on a hill, this could be a life ending situation in the future while in an intersection or going down a hill. The last incident happened on 11-25-2007.
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