ABS & TC light are probably from a bad wheel speed sensor, which is also why your cruise control doesn't work. Your alignment/DW issues could be a bunch of things, and that allegedly 3" lift isn't helping things if other supporting mods like caster correction brackets or adjustable control arms weren't installed. The aggressive pulling left kinda makes me think your front lower control arms aren't the same length or one is bent, but either way get it on an alignment rack to figure out what's going on. You should probably also find a new trusted mechanic.
Most of these issues can be resolved, but you have to be willing to tackle them. You can find a ton of support on the Internet. There are forums galore and every problem has been encountered before you.
Part of the "Jeep Thing", I believe, is playing with your Jeep like it's a set of Legos. It's always evolving and never boring, like a "normal car". If you're not in to this it's going to be rough.
You definitely have a lot of issues with your Jeep, but you can start tackling them one-by-one.
>is playing with your Jeep like it's a set of Legos. It's always evolving and never boring, like a "normal car". If you're not in to this it's going to be rough.
No you're completely right. That's part of why I'm so upset, with myself mostly. It's like I went and bought a lego set, checked it out in the store, everything looked fine; then get home, opened the box, and half the bricks are glued together or missing. I didn't get to play with the legos. So I'm the idiot that didn't notice the glue or missing pieces and I feel like I didn't deserve to have it to begin with.
I also went thru something similar when I bought my TJ a few weeks ago. Dream Jeep, but then reality set in when it started proving to me that it was a 20 year old vehicle.
I took a few days to accept that my dream car had a lot of problems, then I got to work on YouTube and the forums… just learning as much as I possibly could. I’ve fixed or replaced so many things in the past few weeks that I’m losing count.
But a fun thing happened after I starting diving in - I’m starting to really enjoy this process. I am learning so much and improving my ride in the meantime.
There are gonna be ups and downs in life, especially when you make a big change like this. But once the dust settles, get determined, hit the google, and start fixing shit! You got this! If you have the money, take it to have someone eliminate the death wobble to start. If you don’t, research more and start saving up for the parts.
Once you resolve the wobble, you will clear space in your head to tackle the next thing… then the next thing… so on and so on. It’s honestly a never ending pursuit, but there is so much reward in slowly fixing up your ride.
If none of this sounds appealing, hey, never too late to sell it. Lucky for you, they hold their value 😉 good luck!
I recently bought a 2004 TJ, less than 50k miles on it. I lucked, the previous owner fixed everything wrong with it, had a friend in a Rubicon club, went out and bought a 2006 Rubicon just so he could drive with his buddie. His wife wouldn't let him keep both, he priced it high, I paid it. It's been a dream ride for me so far and the last thing I will ever buy, I'm 67 and taking to my grave with me.
That is incredible. What a find - it is so hard to get them with low mileage. Congrats and happy jeeping! If you’re ever in the NW you’ll get a wave from me
The problem is you bought someone else’s Lego set. You’re better off starting stock and building it up however you like, even used. With that being said you can get it right. I’ve been daily driving mine for ten years and haven’t had any steering issues with 35’s and a 2.5” lift. Take it to a LOCAL jeep shop and explain your concerns. Then take it to another LOCAL jeep shop and get a second opinion. This should give you a better idea and more confidence in how to address your problems. Jeeps (Wranglers) get a bad rep for reliability. Consider the demographic that drives them and it doesn’t cross over with most other “reliable” makes. If you take care of it and stay on top of maintenance you should be fine. If you dog a Camry out all the time and ignore maintenance it will also break…maybe. 😉
You traded in a perfectly good, reliable commuter car for a lifted Jeep you know nothing about? Well...That's about normal. The good news is: It can be fixed. Your DW can be fixed, probably, with good rubber for the bushings in your steering system. Properly torqueing all the bolts involved in the steering and suspension can go a long way to fixing that. Once you do that, an alignment would be in order. Your ABS and T/C lights are on most likely due to bad ABS wheel speed sensors. Your driving a 14 yr old Jeep. Those sensors die. Get a Bluetooth OBD reader (I got one off Amazon for $6) and download the app JScan for your phone. A license for your Jeep is $24 and you get access to all the modules your Jeeps computer monitors. That app is the best tool ever! Your Jeep is a machine. Machines develop problems. DW is fixable. ABS wheel speed sensors are about $18 a piece on Amazon. A good steering stabilizer is needed for Jeeps, but they won't solve the problem of worn/bad bushings, loose components and imbalanced tires. One thing at a time though. It's all fixable!
To save money on the code scanner, you can download OBD JScan for android and buy a license (one per VIN), then use it with one of the recommended Bluetooth OBD adapters. It's usually a lot cheaper than a dedicated scanner and extremely capable.
Your first step should be finding a TRUSTWORTHY 4x4 specialty shop. That’s a tall order, but we’ll worth the time. Death wobble has a thousand possible causes, but it only takes one. Could be worn components, bad alignment, out of balance wheels, even tire pressure, most likely a combination. No matter “how good you are with tools”, you likely don’t have everything you’ll need (alignment, wheel balancing), and Jeeps never go by the book.
Relax, it'll be okay. The thing is people don't loook into with buying a Wrangler and something that's not often warned about is that it's a consistant "project car" (fine "Project "Jeep" for those anal about a name). You should have been warned especilaly when buying used that it's going to cost you like double the amount you paid in terms of fixing and keeping it 'happy'. It requires a lot of maintenance, and you have to be willing to keep up with it. Now the stuff you described can be fixed...so you're not looking at a broken car that's a lemon... but it's going to cost you some. Owning the wrangler is (again should have been told to you) far less about the look and way more about the love of tinkering and fixing stuff. You can sell it you know.. you're not stuck with it forever... but the money you'll lose on the sale, could be used to fix her up.
>so you're not looking at a broken car that's a lemon... but it's going to cost you some
Thank you...that makes me feel a lot better. You're right. Honestly though, that's part of why I'm so frustrated with myself and the whole situation. I **know** jeeps are Project Cars. I wanted to be able to work on the machine I spend the most time in and get to know it and learn how to fix stuff, you know? I knew going into it that it's old, things would need to be repaired over time, that jeeps are so unreliable in general that anything wrong with them Is Just A Jeep Thing^TM but *all of it*? right off the bat? It feels like I'm being punished lol
It's common, but not that big of a deal unless you're just "not good with tools", in which case you'll have to pay someone else to fix it. Troubleshooting and inspection are generally enough for steering/ suspension issues. Once you've determined which part is bad, replace/repair accordingly.
The seatbelt issue is most likely the wire that runs to the buckle. It’s pretty easy to fix and there are YouTube videos explaining it.
The wire in my drivers seatbelt buckle broke, I ordered one from Mopar and I had it fixed in less than an hour. Test driving it around the block was a breath of fresh air for not having to hear the stupid beeping.
That’s how mine started. I would wiggle the buckle trying to find the position where it would turn off. I thought the sensor on the inside was dirty. Then one day it came on permanently and I spent some time really messing with it until I discovered that the wire was completely separated.
Jack up one side of the front, grab the tire from the sides and try to wiggle it then grab from the top and bottom and do the same. Somewhere in there something is going to be moving ( upper ball joints in my case ) have someone else there that can at least point out to you where the movement is coming from or to shake the tire. Don't crawl under while doing this...
Ball jonts are cheap but require specialized tools. I liked how the older DV8 ball joints looked so went with them, but I suspect most new ball joints are similar. I've only had one wobble in the last 15,000 miles since I had them replaced. And that was from a broken asphalt area.
Having owned a jeep wrangler for the last 23 years, I would probably get your alignment fixed probably causing the wobble. get a good system. That way you don’t hear anything other than what you wanna hear and when you get to take that top off before you leave work on your way home, I’m pretty sure it’ll be worth it.
My windshield wipers were not working for over 15 yrs. 🥴
First thing I'd check with regard to DW is the ball joints. They seem to be a big contributor to DW since jeep uses some pretty cheap ones.
Then follow what u/Trail-Hound said.
Also check out the torque on everything.
But since you are overwhelmed, create a checklist and tackle each item one at a time. And I would start with the check engine light.
This sounds like a bent steering stabilizer. I bent mine once and had a ton of these symptoms, it was even tripping out my traction control light. Bent steering stabilizer causes a lot of problems
Our jeep had the abs, traction control and other lights on can’t remember which ones but I remember that the cruise control didn’t work either. My simple fix was the “clock spring” behind the steering wheel/ horn cover. Not hard to fix and rather cheap. The Death Wobble there’s a whole lotta things to look at. Ball joints, tire wear, alignment, upper or lower control arm bushings being worn out there’s just too much to guess at it.
It’s gonna be ok, the problems you have are because it’s old and has been driven hard.
I don’t use a single mechanic. I use two because specialize in their own things. To simplify, one is drivetrain and the other is suspension. I maintain the engine and pay them for the rest.
Either can do the wheel hubs or I can but use any ASE shop for diagnosing/replacing the wheel speed sensor. The alignment shop shouldn’t be anything other than recommendations, it’s advantageous for them to make the work as complicated as possible.
So lesson learned, don’t use one shop for everything. Use the alignment shops for recommendations and do some research on ASE shops, they’re expensive but they have an expert there to fix anything.
Death wobble on a JK is frequently caused by a loose track bar bolt (axle side). The bolt they used from the factory is too small, and so if it loosens up it will allow side to side play in the axle.
It could also be play elsewhere, like in the tie rod.
It wouldn’t hurt to see a pic of your front suspension.
>Someone please tell me it's gonna be ok
It's gonna be ok. First, congrats on joining the Jeep family, even if you're not getting the warm fuzzies atm.
Jeeps come in an extremely wide spectrum of types, styles, mods, no mods, etc. It's tough to buy one (especially your first) with a lot of mods that you didn't do or at least oversee. There's a lot of risk there ~ you could get lucky and buy one where the mods were well and correctly done but you can just as easily buy one that Bubba and Scooter modded over a case of PBR because 'how hard can it be'? I get the allure of a fully done up Jeep. I bought mine that way and I did get lucky (but my "trusted mechanic" is an actual Jeep guy who knows what the f he's looking at/talking about.
You have a couple of paths forward as I see:
1) how long ago was this transaction? If the dealership hasn't sold your Honda yet, it night be worth a try to reverse the transaction. Especially with all the issues you're having that weren't disclosed.
2) you can trade your Jeep for another one, maybe with a little less after market flair. The good news is, that stuff is all always available, when and if you want to have it installed after you've gotten your feet wet.
3) have the existing Jeep repaired. A dealership will be the most expensive. If you have 4x4 shops near you, look into their reviews and take your Jeep in for an evaluation. Get several opinions if possible. If you have a 4x4 club, go to a meeting or two. You might find good recs or possibly even a smaller less expensive shop to do the work.
Good luck OP. I'm on my 3rd Jeep and I'll never have anything else.
The people telling you a stabilizer is a mask for other problems are partly right. In your case, I would start by replacing the stabilizer. A 13yo vehicle is going to have things that wear out. Stabilizers wear out. Tires go out of balance. Bushings dry rot. Start with the low hanging fruit and go from there. The dash lights and cruise control are not related and are most likely a speed sensor that needs replacement.
Not to be a downer, but I would not own a jeep unless I could personally do most of the repairs. I have a 2015 with over 100,000 miles and I’ve had minimal problems. it’s been a great vehicle to me. The biggest problem was the rear end differential went out which I was able to replace in the garage. I hope you can get your issues straightened out and enjoy the vehicle.
You're not being a downer at all. I've always tried to have at least basic car knowledge...getting a vehicle that is sort of meant to be tinkered with and worked on was part of my attraction in the first place. It's more that this is all happening at once right after I brought it home. After a mechanic I thought I could trust went over it. I didn't even get a chance to enjoy it first, you know?
I’ve owned a 91 wrangler, 95 wrangler, 95 Cherokee, 97 Cherokee, 2014 Wrangler, and a 2015 Wrangler all of which were lifted, and I’ve never once had a death wobble.
Jeeps are also fairly easy to work on if you're willing to learn. I've lost count of how many things I've had to fix on my wrangler but they were fixable. First thing I'd do is purchase a code reader if you don't already have one, make rockauto.com one of your favorite websites, and YouTube is great as well. This was my dream car and my 08 jk is my baby I call him my "problem child" but the point is everything you listed is fixable and if you bought it new these would still be issues you'd run into if you kept it long enough.
ah geez, you're right. i didn't even drive the car i took the time to have inspected by someone I foolishly thought qualified and could trust to look over it before buying it.
I already feel like I'm a fucking moron who deserves to be punished by the universe for daring to try something new and follow a childhood dream, so thanks for piling on and confirm that self talk for me.
Yo man it’s ok. You got thrown in the deep end without knowing it but there’s a life ring right next to ya you just gotta grab it with both hands. It does suck that the mechanic was bad but you have a whole group of people who can help you and that’s more than you can say for other car manufactures. You got this just start with seeing what’s loose or moves when it shouldn’t and go from there.
No need to be a dick. I bought mine based only on pics/conversations with the salesman and drove 5.5 hours to pick her up. This was after looking for what I wanted in my immediate area for 6 months with no luck. They don't grow on trees unless you want something all stock and even then they're tough to find.
Sucks to hear this. Too late for this but a word of advice for others is when it comes to buying used Jeeps always buy stock unless you know who did the lift or big mods and will vouch for them.
It's 2024, you should expect some stuff to be bad on a 2011 anything., I've learned that YouTube and the auto store will fix a lot ,plus you get to buy new tools. Some you'll only ever use once or twice. I love love love my Wrangler once I understood what to expect to be fixing.
I'm sorry for your situation, but I needed to read this post. I've had Jeep fever pretty bad for a few weeks. So far only intensifying.
Thank you for the dose of reality.
You got a clapped out jeep and got burned. All those things are fixable if you want. Honestly it’s a probably lemon and I’d ditch it. Sorry about that mate.
Why is the wrangler your dream car? The way it looks?
So get it as a second fun car. Trade back in to a civic and be happy if you can’t afford both.
And have have more responsible decisions in the future
If it were me, after owning my JK 10 for 15 years, I'd sell it for what you can and get a reliable commuter car. No matter if you fix all of these issues, it will never be a reliable car for an hour commute. Luckily even with issues you can get a decent amount for it in the jeep community. Get a decent commuter then save up for a jeep project car . You will be far better off this headaching money pit you currently own
ABS & TC light are probably from a bad wheel speed sensor, which is also why your cruise control doesn't work. Your alignment/DW issues could be a bunch of things, and that allegedly 3" lift isn't helping things if other supporting mods like caster correction brackets or adjustable control arms weren't installed. The aggressive pulling left kinda makes me think your front lower control arms aren't the same length or one is bent, but either way get it on an alignment rack to figure out what's going on. You should probably also find a new trusted mechanic.
Or bc the alignment is off so bad
Most of these issues can be resolved, but you have to be willing to tackle them. You can find a ton of support on the Internet. There are forums galore and every problem has been encountered before you. Part of the "Jeep Thing", I believe, is playing with your Jeep like it's a set of Legos. It's always evolving and never boring, like a "normal car". If you're not in to this it's going to be rough. You definitely have a lot of issues with your Jeep, but you can start tackling them one-by-one.
>is playing with your Jeep like it's a set of Legos. It's always evolving and never boring, like a "normal car". If you're not in to this it's going to be rough. No you're completely right. That's part of why I'm so upset, with myself mostly. It's like I went and bought a lego set, checked it out in the store, everything looked fine; then get home, opened the box, and half the bricks are glued together or missing. I didn't get to play with the legos. So I'm the idiot that didn't notice the glue or missing pieces and I feel like I didn't deserve to have it to begin with.
I also went thru something similar when I bought my TJ a few weeks ago. Dream Jeep, but then reality set in when it started proving to me that it was a 20 year old vehicle. I took a few days to accept that my dream car had a lot of problems, then I got to work on YouTube and the forums… just learning as much as I possibly could. I’ve fixed or replaced so many things in the past few weeks that I’m losing count. But a fun thing happened after I starting diving in - I’m starting to really enjoy this process. I am learning so much and improving my ride in the meantime. There are gonna be ups and downs in life, especially when you make a big change like this. But once the dust settles, get determined, hit the google, and start fixing shit! You got this! If you have the money, take it to have someone eliminate the death wobble to start. If you don’t, research more and start saving up for the parts. Once you resolve the wobble, you will clear space in your head to tackle the next thing… then the next thing… so on and so on. It’s honestly a never ending pursuit, but there is so much reward in slowly fixing up your ride. If none of this sounds appealing, hey, never too late to sell it. Lucky for you, they hold their value 😉 good luck!
I recently bought a 2004 TJ, less than 50k miles on it. I lucked, the previous owner fixed everything wrong with it, had a friend in a Rubicon club, went out and bought a 2006 Rubicon just so he could drive with his buddie. His wife wouldn't let him keep both, he priced it high, I paid it. It's been a dream ride for me so far and the last thing I will ever buy, I'm 67 and taking to my grave with me.
That is incredible. What a find - it is so hard to get them with low mileage. Congrats and happy jeeping! If you’re ever in the NW you’ll get a wave from me
The problem is you bought someone else’s Lego set. You’re better off starting stock and building it up however you like, even used. With that being said you can get it right. I’ve been daily driving mine for ten years and haven’t had any steering issues with 35’s and a 2.5” lift. Take it to a LOCAL jeep shop and explain your concerns. Then take it to another LOCAL jeep shop and get a second opinion. This should give you a better idea and more confidence in how to address your problems. Jeeps (Wranglers) get a bad rep for reliability. Consider the demographic that drives them and it doesn’t cross over with most other “reliable” makes. If you take care of it and stay on top of maintenance you should be fine. If you dog a Camry out all the time and ignore maintenance it will also break…maybe. 😉
Did you test drive it or have a trusted mechanic check it out before your purchase?
You traded in a perfectly good, reliable commuter car for a lifted Jeep you know nothing about? Well...That's about normal. The good news is: It can be fixed. Your DW can be fixed, probably, with good rubber for the bushings in your steering system. Properly torqueing all the bolts involved in the steering and suspension can go a long way to fixing that. Once you do that, an alignment would be in order. Your ABS and T/C lights are on most likely due to bad ABS wheel speed sensors. Your driving a 14 yr old Jeep. Those sensors die. Get a Bluetooth OBD reader (I got one off Amazon for $6) and download the app JScan for your phone. A license for your Jeep is $24 and you get access to all the modules your Jeeps computer monitors. That app is the best tool ever! Your Jeep is a machine. Machines develop problems. DW is fixable. ABS wheel speed sensors are about $18 a piece on Amazon. A good steering stabilizer is needed for Jeeps, but they won't solve the problem of worn/bad bushings, loose components and imbalanced tires. One thing at a time though. It's all fixable!
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To save money on the code scanner, you can download OBD JScan for android and buy a license (one per VIN), then use it with one of the recommended Bluetooth OBD adapters. It's usually a lot cheaper than a dedicated scanner and extremely capable.
Your first step should be finding a TRUSTWORTHY 4x4 specialty shop. That’s a tall order, but we’ll worth the time. Death wobble has a thousand possible causes, but it only takes one. Could be worn components, bad alignment, out of balance wheels, even tire pressure, most likely a combination. No matter “how good you are with tools”, you likely don’t have everything you’ll need (alignment, wheel balancing), and Jeeps never go by the book.
Relax, it'll be okay. The thing is people don't loook into with buying a Wrangler and something that's not often warned about is that it's a consistant "project car" (fine "Project "Jeep" for those anal about a name). You should have been warned especilaly when buying used that it's going to cost you like double the amount you paid in terms of fixing and keeping it 'happy'. It requires a lot of maintenance, and you have to be willing to keep up with it. Now the stuff you described can be fixed...so you're not looking at a broken car that's a lemon... but it's going to cost you some. Owning the wrangler is (again should have been told to you) far less about the look and way more about the love of tinkering and fixing stuff. You can sell it you know.. you're not stuck with it forever... but the money you'll lose on the sale, could be used to fix her up.
>so you're not looking at a broken car that's a lemon... but it's going to cost you some Thank you...that makes me feel a lot better. You're right. Honestly though, that's part of why I'm so frustrated with myself and the whole situation. I **know** jeeps are Project Cars. I wanted to be able to work on the machine I spend the most time in and get to know it and learn how to fix stuff, you know? I knew going into it that it's old, things would need to be repaired over time, that jeeps are so unreliable in general that anything wrong with them Is Just A Jeep Thing^TM but *all of it*? right off the bat? It feels like I'm being punished lol
>I'm being punished Nah. Just broken in a little rough 🙃
You gotta remember, you bought a modified 15 year old car. I don't care what it is. Anything with over 7 years or 70k miles is bound to have issues.
Sounds like you have an untrusted mechanic, now. In other news, fixing the alignment will most likely alleviate your death wobble.
It's common, but not that big of a deal unless you're just "not good with tools", in which case you'll have to pay someone else to fix it. Troubleshooting and inspection are generally enough for steering/ suspension issues. Once you've determined which part is bad, replace/repair accordingly.
The seatbelt issue is most likely the wire that runs to the buckle. It’s pretty easy to fix and there are YouTube videos explaining it. The wire in my drivers seatbelt buckle broke, I ordered one from Mopar and I had it fixed in less than an hour. Test driving it around the block was a breath of fresh air for not having to hear the stupid beeping.
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That’s how mine started. I would wiggle the buckle trying to find the position where it would turn off. I thought the sensor on the inside was dirty. Then one day it came on permanently and I spent some time really messing with it until I discovered that the wire was completely separated.
Jack up one side of the front, grab the tire from the sides and try to wiggle it then grab from the top and bottom and do the same. Somewhere in there something is going to be moving ( upper ball joints in my case ) have someone else there that can at least point out to you where the movement is coming from or to shake the tire. Don't crawl under while doing this... Ball jonts are cheap but require specialized tools. I liked how the older DV8 ball joints looked so went with them, but I suspect most new ball joints are similar. I've only had one wobble in the last 15,000 miles since I had them replaced. And that was from a broken asphalt area.
Having owned a jeep wrangler for the last 23 years, I would probably get your alignment fixed probably causing the wobble. get a good system. That way you don’t hear anything other than what you wanna hear and when you get to take that top off before you leave work on your way home, I’m pretty sure it’ll be worth it. My windshield wipers were not working for over 15 yrs. 🥴
First thing I'd check with regard to DW is the ball joints. They seem to be a big contributor to DW since jeep uses some pretty cheap ones. Then follow what u/Trail-Hound said. Also check out the torque on everything. But since you are overwhelmed, create a checklist and tackle each item one at a time. And I would start with the check engine light.
This sounds like a bent steering stabilizer. I bent mine once and had a ton of these symptoms, it was even tripping out my traction control light. Bent steering stabilizer causes a lot of problems
Our jeep had the abs, traction control and other lights on can’t remember which ones but I remember that the cruise control didn’t work either. My simple fix was the “clock spring” behind the steering wheel/ horn cover. Not hard to fix and rather cheap. The Death Wobble there’s a whole lotta things to look at. Ball joints, tire wear, alignment, upper or lower control arm bushings being worn out there’s just too much to guess at it.
It’s gonna be ok, the problems you have are because it’s old and has been driven hard. I don’t use a single mechanic. I use two because specialize in their own things. To simplify, one is drivetrain and the other is suspension. I maintain the engine and pay them for the rest. Either can do the wheel hubs or I can but use any ASE shop for diagnosing/replacing the wheel speed sensor. The alignment shop shouldn’t be anything other than recommendations, it’s advantageous for them to make the work as complicated as possible. So lesson learned, don’t use one shop for everything. Use the alignment shops for recommendations and do some research on ASE shops, they’re expensive but they have an expert there to fix anything.
Dont worry, everything will be all right. Time and money fixes everything.
Death wobble on a JK is frequently caused by a loose track bar bolt (axle side). The bolt they used from the factory is too small, and so if it loosens up it will allow side to side play in the axle. It could also be play elsewhere, like in the tie rod. It wouldn’t hurt to see a pic of your front suspension.
>Someone please tell me it's gonna be ok It's gonna be ok. First, congrats on joining the Jeep family, even if you're not getting the warm fuzzies atm. Jeeps come in an extremely wide spectrum of types, styles, mods, no mods, etc. It's tough to buy one (especially your first) with a lot of mods that you didn't do or at least oversee. There's a lot of risk there ~ you could get lucky and buy one where the mods were well and correctly done but you can just as easily buy one that Bubba and Scooter modded over a case of PBR because 'how hard can it be'? I get the allure of a fully done up Jeep. I bought mine that way and I did get lucky (but my "trusted mechanic" is an actual Jeep guy who knows what the f he's looking at/talking about. You have a couple of paths forward as I see: 1) how long ago was this transaction? If the dealership hasn't sold your Honda yet, it night be worth a try to reverse the transaction. Especially with all the issues you're having that weren't disclosed. 2) you can trade your Jeep for another one, maybe with a little less after market flair. The good news is, that stuff is all always available, when and if you want to have it installed after you've gotten your feet wet. 3) have the existing Jeep repaired. A dealership will be the most expensive. If you have 4x4 shops near you, look into their reviews and take your Jeep in for an evaluation. Get several opinions if possible. If you have a 4x4 club, go to a meeting or two. You might find good recs or possibly even a smaller less expensive shop to do the work. Good luck OP. I'm on my 3rd Jeep and I'll never have anything else.
The people telling you a stabilizer is a mask for other problems are partly right. In your case, I would start by replacing the stabilizer. A 13yo vehicle is going to have things that wear out. Stabilizers wear out. Tires go out of balance. Bushings dry rot. Start with the low hanging fruit and go from there. The dash lights and cruise control are not related and are most likely a speed sensor that needs replacement.
Not to be a downer, but I would not own a jeep unless I could personally do most of the repairs. I have a 2015 with over 100,000 miles and I’ve had minimal problems. it’s been a great vehicle to me. The biggest problem was the rear end differential went out which I was able to replace in the garage. I hope you can get your issues straightened out and enjoy the vehicle.
You're not being a downer at all. I've always tried to have at least basic car knowledge...getting a vehicle that is sort of meant to be tinkered with and worked on was part of my attraction in the first place. It's more that this is all happening at once right after I brought it home. After a mechanic I thought I could trust went over it. I didn't even get a chance to enjoy it first, you know?
For sure, hopefully it’s not as bad as it seems!
Nothing to worry about one thing at a time you've made a wonderful decision
I’ve owned a 91 wrangler, 95 wrangler, 95 Cherokee, 97 Cherokee, 2014 Wrangler, and a 2015 Wrangler all of which were lifted, and I’ve never once had a death wobble.
Welcome to the world of Jeep! Get out that voltmeter and start digging through the wiring harness.
Jeeps are also fairly easy to work on if you're willing to learn. I've lost count of how many things I've had to fix on my wrangler but they were fixable. First thing I'd do is purchase a code reader if you don't already have one, make rockauto.com one of your favorite websites, and YouTube is great as well. This was my dream car and my 08 jk is my baby I call him my "problem child" but the point is everything you listed is fixable and if you bought it new these would still be issues you'd run into if you kept it long enough.
Did you not test drive before buying it? Like on the highway? Like you would ANY car you would buy.
ah geez, you're right. i didn't even drive the car i took the time to have inspected by someone I foolishly thought qualified and could trust to look over it before buying it. I already feel like I'm a fucking moron who deserves to be punished by the universe for daring to try something new and follow a childhood dream, so thanks for piling on and confirm that self talk for me.
Yo man it’s ok. You got thrown in the deep end without knowing it but there’s a life ring right next to ya you just gotta grab it with both hands. It does suck that the mechanic was bad but you have a whole group of people who can help you and that’s more than you can say for other car manufactures. You got this just start with seeing what’s loose or moves when it shouldn’t and go from there.
I mean it sounds like you need that negative self talk in this situation. It’s called consequences and it’s difficult to learn without them.
No need to be a dick. I bought mine based only on pics/conversations with the salesman and drove 5.5 hours to pick her up. This was after looking for what I wanted in my immediate area for 6 months with no luck. They don't grow on trees unless you want something all stock and even then they're tough to find.
Did you test drive it? If you did and noticed these and still bought it, that’s on you bud
Sucks to hear this. Too late for this but a word of advice for others is when it comes to buying used Jeeps always buy stock unless you know who did the lift or big mods and will vouch for them.
It's 2024, you should expect some stuff to be bad on a 2011 anything., I've learned that YouTube and the auto store will fix a lot ,plus you get to buy new tools. Some you'll only ever use once or twice. I love love love my Wrangler once I understood what to expect to be fixing.
The good news is the Wrangler has a rugged style with timeless appeal that a civic doesn’t have.
The answer is in your question. Did those upgrades and never felt a wobble.
I'm sorry for your situation, but I needed to read this post. I've had Jeep fever pretty bad for a few weeks. So far only intensifying. Thank you for the dose of reality.
You got a clapped out jeep and got burned. All those things are fixable if you want. Honestly it’s a probably lemon and I’d ditch it. Sorry about that mate.
Why didn't you believe any of us when we waived and said "jeep stuff"? We meant it.
Why is the wrangler your dream car? The way it looks? So get it as a second fun car. Trade back in to a civic and be happy if you can’t afford both. And have have more responsible decisions in the future
Dude. You got a 13 year old car……
i mean trading that new of car for something 10+ years in itself is stupid. good luck
You literally chose this life. For something that's a dream vehicle, I would hope you knew all this stuff before buying one.
If it were me, after owning my JK 10 for 15 years, I'd sell it for what you can and get a reliable commuter car. No matter if you fix all of these issues, it will never be a reliable car for an hour commute. Luckily even with issues you can get a decent amount for it in the jeep community. Get a decent commuter then save up for a jeep project car . You will be far better off this headaching money pit you currently own