Unexpected Lemons

[XS]

Just wondering if you've ever had an experience with a stereotypically reliable brand that turned out to be anything but.
I have a couple. My ex had a Honda Civic ('00 if I remember correctly). The god forsaken thing was the most infuriating turd I have worked on. We took great care of it and still, constantly, one problem after another. To add insult to injury, everyone always said about the car, "ah! A Civic! Take care of it and it'll last forever!". In the three years we had it, and 40,000 miles she drove it, I replaced the following:
Ball joints, and tie rod ends
Distributor, and 3 caps (kept breaking, and I did not over tighten it).
Catalytic converter and both O2 sensors.
Neutral safety switch.
Heater core.
Water pump, twice.

Then, we had Jeep Cherokee 4L. It's true the inline six is bulletproof. Unfortunately the vehicle surrounding it was awful.

I know MOST people that own 4L Cherokees and Civics love them, which kind of makes you feel a bit unlucky hahaha. But if you also have any unexpected lemons, let's hear about them!

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[Strokerswild]

Then, we had Jeep Cherokee 4L. It's true the inline six is bulletproof. Unfortunately the vehicle surrounding it was awful.

It's a Jeep thing, as they say. My only two true lemons to date were both Jeeps, a '12 Wrangler and a '13 Wrangler. A shame, as I love the Wranglers, and have owned four.

The '12 I swear was possessed, and I owned it for less than a year. It was a manual, and when cold the trans would pop out of first and third gear whenever it felt like it. So much drivetrain backlash that just an expansion joint of sufficient size would kick off the cruise control. Warning chimes would go off at random with no corresponding idiot light. Power windows wouldn't go back up occasionally without stopping and restarting the vehicle like a Windows PC. And so on. My dealer was great and gave me only a couple hundred less than I paid for it on trade, so I decided to give Jeep one more shot and ordered up a '13.

The '13 had casting sludge appear in the cooling system around 10,000 miles. Several trips to the dealer surrounding that, but fortunately I caught it early enough to be flushed and not plug the heater core and radiator. It was golden until just under 50,000 miles when the timing chain cover sprung a substantial leak. At just under 60,000 miles, the left front axle seal started leaking. Jeep stepped up and covered it even though I was out of the warranty period but the mileage was low. Not long after the axle seal was fixed I noticed that the transmission (auto) wasn't shifting into high gear like normal and would sometimes slide into high, despite being full of fluid and the fluid looking and smelling fine.

Those two cured me of Jeeps (a shame since I loved the Wranglers) for good. I went back to a new F-150 last summer and never looked back.

 

[XS]

It's a Jeep thing, as they say. My only two true lemons to date were both Jeeps, a '12 Wrangler and a '13 Wrangler. A shame, as I love the Wranglers, and have owned four.

The '12 I swear was possessed, and I owned it for less than a year. It was a manual, and when cold the trans would pop out of first and third gear whenever it felt like it. So much drivetrain backlash that just an expansion joint of sufficient size would kick off the cruise control. Warning chimes would go off at random with no corresponding idiot light. Power windows wouldn't go back up occasionally without stopping and restarting the vehicle like a Windows PC. And so on. My dealer was great and gave me only a couple hundred less than I paid for it on trade, so I decided to give Jeep one more shot and ordered up a '13.

The '13 had casting sludge appear in the cooling system around 10,000 miles. Several trips to the dealer surrounding that, but fortunately I caught it early enough to be flushed and not plug the heater core and radiator. It was golden until just under 50,000 miles when the timing chain cover sprung a substantial leak. At just under 60,000 miles, the left front axle seal started leaking. Jeep stepped up and covered it even though I was out of the warranty period but the mileage was low. Not long after the axle seal was fixed I noticed that the transmission (auto) wasn't shifting into high gear like normal and would sometimes slide into high, despite being full of fluid and the fluid looking and smelling fine.

Those two cured me of Jeeps (a shame since I loved the Wranglers) for good. I went back to a new F-150 last summer and never looked back.

That's so disappointing. I have a similar experience with my '15 Ram 2500. I didn't include it here because, well, when I bought it FCA had already a dubious reputation but I figured since it was a Cummins I would be fine. Eh, not so much unfortunately. It really turned me off to Chrysler in general, however - I still would buy a 5.9 Cummins again. Problem is the low mileage ones are so valuable I can't afford them.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

Former Cherokee owner here. I had a 97 with the 4.0. No driveline issues, ever.. put 100k on it roughly... however:

Waterpump (twice)
Radiator
Power steering pump
Steering box (twice)
PCM
Crank position sensor
Master cylinder
Rear drum issues
Calipers
Wheel bearings
Throttle position sensor
AC compressor
Clogged cat

Probably a few other things in there. Would I buy one again? Hell yeah.

Let’s move on to round two and three.

2004 Grand Cherokee Columbia Edition 4.7 HO:

Radiator
Shift solenoid
Rear main seal

This was a pretty trouble free ride. I bought it with 74k approx and sold at 130k.

2002 Grand Cherokee Overland 4.7 HO (current beater)

Rear main seal (lesson learned from above, don’t bother replacing it)
Radiator
Passenger window regulator
Clogged cat
Leaky valve stem seals (not replaced)
Steering box is starting to leak
Needs a track bar, tie rod ends and ball joints by the death wobble I’ve gotten twicr
Other misc crap

However, it’s a comfy freaking boat with ICE COLD air and will go damn near anywhere.

 

[XS]

Former Cherokee owner here. I had a 97 with the 4.0. No driveline issues, ever.. put 100k on it roughly... however:

Waterpump (twice)
Radiator
Power steering pump
Steering box (twice)
PCM
Crank position sensor
Master cylinder
Rear drum issues
Calipers
Wheel bearings
Throttle position sensor
AC compressor
Clogged cat

Probably a few other things in there. Would I buy one again? Hell yeah.

Let’s move on to round two and three.

2004 Grand Cherokee Columbia Edition 4.7 HO:

Radiator
Shift solenoid
Rear main seal

This was a pretty trouble free ride. I bought it with 74k approx and sold at 130k.

2002 Grand Cherokee Overland 4.7 HO (current beater)

Rear main seal (lesson learned from above, don’t bother replacing it)
Radiator
Passenger window regulator
Clogged cat
Leaky valve stem seals (not replaced)
Steering box is starting to leak
Needs a track bar, tie rod ends and ball joints by the death wobble I’ve gotten twicr
Other misc crap

However, it’s a comfy freaking boat with ICE COLD air and will go damn near anywhere.

The 4.7s have an infamous reputation, but you sure do see a lot still on the road. There's a RAM 1500 with a 4.7 on the COPAR auction lot in Denver I've been keeping my eye on. When it goes under the hammer I might pick it up.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

The 4.7s have an infamous reputation, but you sure do see a lot still on the road. There's a RAM 1500 with a 4.7 on the COPAR auction lot in Denver I've been keeping my eye on. When it goes under the hammer I might pick it up.

They do, but they really pair well in the WJ chassis. Despite the oil consumption in my Overland due to the stem seals it still has plenty of power and they sound really good.

That Ram might be a good grab for you!

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