Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

How Stellantis Destroyed Jeep (YouTube Video)

TJMexico

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This video just came up in my feed. Late model Wranglers are populating used car lots here. Nobody wants to keep them. Several mechanics have told me that they are garbage. Sad thing...

 
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I think there is a lot of truth here becuase I hear about it in conversations with random people. They’ll mention that they used to have a JK or JL and that it was just riddled with problems and always in the shop but the shop never knew for sure what was going on.
 
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This video just came up in my feed. Late model Wranglers are populating used car lots here. Nobody wants to keep them. Several mechanics have told me that they are garbage. Sad thing...

In other words, the elites are lining their pockets, and the "little people" get the shaft. As always.

That Wagoneer is an illustration of what's wrong with "modern" cars all around.
 
I think there is a lot of truth here becuase I hear about it in conversations with random people. They’ll mention that they used to have a JK or JL and that it was just riddled with problems and always in the shop but the shop never knew for sure what was going on.

When I started shopping for an XJ a friend recommended that I look at a JK or a JL. He said to go check out the used car lots. Every used car lot was full of them. No other single vehicle was so over-represented in the used car market. That said a lot to me. People were not keeping them.

I have heard some down-right frightening stories from owners of late model Jeep products.
 
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When I started shopping for an XJ a friend recommended that I look at a JK or a JL. He said to go check out the used car lots. Every used car lot was full of them. No other single vehicle was so over-represented in the used car market. That said a lot to me. People were not keeping them.

I have heard some down-right frightening stories from owners of late model Jeep products.

Yep, even here in rural Wyoming there’s plenty of them on the car lots around town. You could make one a lot more reliable by swapping in an LS.
 
In other words, the elites are lining their pockets, and the "little people" get the shaft. As always.

That Wagoneer is an illustration of what's wrong with "modern" cars all around.

My good friend went out and spent 90k on a Wagoneer. I had to bite my tongue to refrain from telling him how stupid of a decision that was.

He uses it to tow his lightweight 4000lb travel trailer from Arizona to North Carolina for their move. When they were traveling through Texas the back axle completely came off the vehicle and caused them to slide and almost wreck.

This was a brand new vehicle with a 13,000 lb tow capacity.
 
My good friend went out and spent 90k on a Wagoneer. I had to bite my tongue to refrain from telling him how stupid of a decision that was.

He uses it to tow his lightweight 4000lb travel trailer from Arizona to North Carolina for their move. When they were traveling through Texas the back axle completely came off the vehicle and caused them to slide and almost wreck.

This was a brand new vehicle with a 13,000 lb tow capacity.

HOLY-CRAP!

One of my dance sisters has one - are all of them white? I don't think I've ever seen one in any other color!
 
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I can never get over the fact that people paid upwards of 90k for these things fully loaded. What a waste of money.
I can't understand why people who aren't filthy rich would spend more that $20,000 on a car. Maybe a work truck that is used to make money, but other than it just doesn't make sense.

$20,000 will buy an excellent condition used car. Even $10,000 will get you a really nice vehicle.

I guess they want to enslave themselves to a bank so they can one up their neighbors.
 
My good friend went out and spent 90k on a Wagoneer. I had to bite my tongue to refrain from telling him how stupid of a decision that was.

He uses it to tow his lightweight 4000lb travel trailer from Arizona to North Carolina for their move. When they were traveling through Texas the back axle completely came off the vehicle and caused them to slide and almost wreck.

This was a brand new vehicle with a 13,000 lb tow capacity.

I have read several accounts of people driving new Jeep vehicles (mostly Cherokee) that just shut down in the middle of a highway and flash a message on the screen that they need to pull over and put it in park. One woman had this happen on the interstate in Houston, TX and was rear-ended. She said that if her kids had been in the back seat they would have been dead.

I guess the vehicles eventually start back up. People take them to the dealer to report the problem and get a fix. Dealer mechanics put them on a scanner, say that there is no error recorded and send them on their way. No explanation. No fix. No resolution. The problem does not exist if it does not happen in the dealership shop.

I'll walk before I ever purchase a vehicle made after 2010, and even 2010 is late for most models. My latest model I have ever owned (have it now) is a 2009 Ford Sport Trac. Have not had any major issues with it, but some of the bells and whistles are a PITA.
 
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I can't understand why people who aren't filthy rich would spend more that $20,000 on a car. Maybe a work truck that is used to make money, but other than it just doesn't make sense.

$20,000 will buy an excellent condition used car. Even $10,000 will get you a really nice vehicle.

I guess they want to enslave themselves to a bank so they can one up their neighbors.

Hey, you gotta look good, right? Can't have the neighbors saying your drive an old jalopy. And the toob says we need the latest and most flashy.

Gotta obey the toob.

Gotta keep the false economy chugging along for a s long as possible. If we all stopped buying their new crap, what would all the CEOs do? They might not make enough money. Gotta think of the CEOs!
 
I think there is a lot of truth here becuase I hear about it in conversations with random people. They’ll mention that they used to have a JK or JL and that it was just riddled with problems and always in the shop but the shop never knew for sure what was going on.

Not to put too fine a point on things and this is no defense of anything, but Stellantis didn't get involved until 2021, FCA was 2014, then a brief stint by MB before that. Lest we forget, when the TJ was introduced in early 97, Chrysler was already well on the way to developing the JK and true to most production cycles, the next generation JL and JT were being worked on when the JK came out in 2007.

I don't know what Stellantis is responsible for, but if they get all the way back to the JK, they have a very long reach and a great time machine.

I'd venture that most of what we see is Jeep trying to move to a more mainstream market appeal and basic loss of focus on their core customers and truth be told, we as their core wouldn't buy them anyway and what we would buy, is a niche market so small we may as well do it ourselves cuz we ain't paying that.
 
Not to put too fine a point on things and this is no defense of anything, but Stellantis didn't get involved until 2021, FCA was 2014, then a brief stint by MB before that. Lest we forget, when the TJ was introduced in early 97, Chrysler was already well on the way to developing the JK and true to most production cycles, the next generation JL and JT were being worked on when the JK came out in 2007.

I don't know what Stellantis is responsible for, but if they get all the way back to the JK, they have a very long reach and a great time machine.

I'd venture that most of what we see is Jeep trying to move to a more mainstream market appeal and basic loss of focus on their core customers and truth be told, we as their core wouldn't buy them anyway and what we would buy, is a niche market so small we may as well do it ourselves cuz we ain't paying that.

HOLY-CRAP!

One of my dance sisters has one - are all of them white? I don't think I've ever seen one in any other color!

The website has seven boring colors to choose from. All of them but white cost an extra $700.
 
Not to put too fine a point on things and this is no defense of anything, but Stellantis didn't get involved until 2021, FCA was 2014, then a brief stint by MB before that. Lest we forget, when the TJ was introduced in early 97, Chrysler was already well on the way to developing the JK and true to most production cycles, the next generation JL and JT were being worked on when the JK came out in 2007.

I don't know what Stellantis is responsible for, but if they get all the way back to the JK, they have a very long reach and a great time machine.

I'd venture that most of what we see is Jeep trying to move to a more mainstream market appeal and basic loss of focus on their core customers and truth be told, we as their core wouldn't buy them anyway and what we would buy, is a niche market so small we may as well do it ourselves cuz we ain't paying that.

Everything automotive has been on a steep downhill slide for years. In this instance, Stellantis is holding the bag for now. They way things seem to go, I guess they'll pass the steaming bag of crap on to somebody else eventually.
 
This video just came up in my feed. Late model Wranglers are populating used car lots here. Nobody wants to keep them. Several mechanics have told me that they are garbage. Sad thing...

They're one of the most traded in vehicles, if not the number 1 most traded in vehicle. Just scrolling on CarFax, looking at used Wranglers from 2018 to 2025, about half of them weren't traded in by the original owner. Many of them were on their 3rd or 4th owner at the time the dealer took it in. Vehicles that are from barely used to almost 7 years old. A lot of it is people just don't get used to the ride quality, but I also have a couple coworkers with JL's that have had their fair share of dealership service time.

My good friend went out and spent 90k on a Wagoneer. I had to bite my tongue to refrain from telling him how stupid of a decision that was.

He uses it to tow his lightweight 4000lb travel trailer from Arizona to North Carolina for their move. When they were traveling through Texas the back axle completely came off the vehicle and caused them to slide and almost wreck.

This was a brand new vehicle with a 13,000 lb tow capacity.

It's not just Stellantis either. GM's doing a good job at destroying their full-size SUV and truck reputation. My family thought, "Meh, it'll never be us. We change our oil on time." GM's AFM destroys torque converters (slips the lockup clutch to mellow out the 4 cylinder misfire) and regularly collapses lifters. My dad had a 2021 Silverado with 11,000 miles on it in late 2022 when 2 or 3 lifters collapsed at once. GM replaced all lifters on that bank. He ended up trading that truck in for something else. That probably wasn't a terrible idea, as it's not uncommon for the lock up clutches to give out at around 70,000-80,000 miles (at least on the 6/8 speeds, his had a 10). When the lifters collapsed, the truck went dormant. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree and everything stopped functioning.

You know those YouTube channels of guys digging out 60's and 70's cars and driving them home from their graves? Lol, I can't wait to see how that goes in 50 years. One mouse is all it takes, and a modern vehicle is crippled.
 
Wow, 3 versions of black, grey, white, silver, and a dark red (only halfway decent color there). Blech. With that said, $700 is chump change when you're spending $100K on the thing.

When the bank spends $100k on it. Auto loan debt has skyrocketed in the last 5 or so years. People making $50,000 a year get approved for $60,000 trucks. I don't get it. There's a welding apprentice I know who makes about as much as I do. $57,000 a year. He's paying $1100 a month on a 72 month term for a Tundra. He lives with his parents. I don't get it.

It's honestly the worst part, tens of thousands of dollars on an 84 month term at a mortgage payment per month. "Drive it till the wheels fall off" used to be the saying. Can't even make the first payment now.
 
When the bank spends $100k on it. Auto loan debt has skyrocketed in the last 5 or so years. People making $50,000 a year get approved for $60,000 trucks. I don't get it. There's a welding apprentice I know who makes about as much as I do. $57,000 a year. He's paying $1100 a month on a 72 month term for a Tundra. He lives with his parents. I don't get it.

It's honestly the worst part, tens of thousands of dollars on an 84 month term at a mortgage payment per month. "Drive it till the wheels fall off" used to be the saying. Can't even make the first payment now.
I don't get it either, but then there's lots of things I don't understand in today's world - the older I get, the less I understand. Smartphones come to mind. But your apprentice can afford it because he's still at home. Still a dumb idea.
 
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Everything automotive has been on a steep downhill slide for years. In this instance, Stellantis is holding the bag for now. They way things seem to go, I guess they'll pass the steaming bag of crap on to somebody else eventually.
My profuse apologies for being unable to clearly illustrate my point well enough for you to understand it.
 
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They're one of the most traded in vehicles, if not the number 1 most traded in vehicle. Just scrolling on CarFax, looking at used Wranglers from 2018 to 2025, about half of them weren't traded in by the original owner. Many of them were on their 3rd or 4th owner at the time the dealer took it in. Vehicles that are from barely used to almost 7 years old. A lot of it is people just don't get used to the ride quality, but I also have a couple coworkers with JL's that have had their fair share of dealership service time.



It's not just Stellantis either. GM's doing a good job at destroying their full-size SUV and truck reputation. My family thought, "Meh, it'll never be us. We change our oil on time." GM's AFM destroys torque converters (slips the lockup clutch to mellow out the 4 cylinder misfire) and regularly collapses lifters. My dad had a 2021 Silverado with 11,000 miles on it in late 2022 when 2 or 3 lifters collapsed at once. GM replaced all lifters on that bank. He ended up trading that truck in for something else. That probably wasn't a terrible idea, as it's not uncommon for the lock up clutches to give out at around 70,000-80,000 miles (at least on the 6/8 speeds, his had a 10). When the lifters collapsed, the truck went dormant. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree and everything stopped functioning.

You know those YouTube channels of guys digging out 60's and 70's cars and driving them home from their graves? Lol, I can't wait to see how that goes in 50 years. One mouse is all it takes, and a modern vehicle is crippled.

I watched a video from a mechanic who took in a late model (it was either current or previous year) Dodge Ram that would run 30 miles and shut off, then restart after a rest. Dealer and several mechanics had been unable to find the issue.

He located a short in the wires going to the rear right tail light. The short had messed up the ECU (or whatever the hell they call them now days). By the time he had it all fixed, the cost (including new ECU, fixing the short, parts, labor) came to over $5,000. And that's not including what the owner had paid other shops to look for the issue.

$5,000 damned dollars for a short in the tail light. I guess that's what they call progress now.
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator