thebyus

I don't buy NEW cars, ever, and when I go to buy a car, I NEVER buy a year of a car that was either newly released or had a major redesign. Had a girlfriend in college that leased a brand new Jetta that had been newly redesigned. The thing was a total lemon. Did some research and discovered that this is VERY common issue newly released and newly redesigned cars have. Virtually EVERYONE I know who has purchased such a car has ALWAYS regretted it!

VitaminLee_

I have had numerous xj Cherokees. I've owned a lot of different vehicles also. By far the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. 200k 300k no problems. My family has also been jeep supporters. My mother bought a brand new wj in 99 and put 350k on the jeep and sold it to a friend of mine he drove it for another 100k and he wrecked it. Sold the motor and trans to someone and it's still going. Can't beat them!!

98redjeep

Did the wj have the 4.0?

VitaminLee_

Yes. It was a 99 grand Cherokee with the 4.0 automatic. I changed the oil for my mom every 5k miles. It never gave a problem

salad

1997-2001 are identical electronics-wise

Nah bro. That early XJ GM 2.8L V6 is WAAAAY better than the 4.0L! I mean, it's a carburetor! No electronics! So much more reliable! Man, Henry Ford had it RIGHT back in the '20s, why did we ever change a good thing???

And those old mechanical diesels! They were so reliable that if you let them sit long enough or use the wrong oil, they'd just kind of overspeed and explode! But that's worth it not to have a thermistor telling a microcontroller what the intake air temperature is so that it can meter fuel more efficiently!



Indeed.

People don't understand the difference between electronics and computerization. Hell some people barely understand what electronics even are. The XJ platform is entirely purpose-built hardware to do ONE job, and earlier PCMs/ECUs code was written quite painstakingly in low-level code by engineers. The problem with newer vehicles is that more and more general-purpose things are on a general-purpose network, which could be okay, but off-the-shelf garbage is being integrated. Take for example the infamous Uconnect hack from the summer: (Connect to vulnerable entertainment unit via WiFi, hack car, have remote control of entire vehicle.) That wasn't just a KL problem. That was some ******* connecting things to the CAN bus that shouldn't be there in the first place, and it affected many Chrysler products. But millions of vehicles have been using the CAN bus for over a decade.

chipmaker

Just an inside tip. I do repair work for the company that makes the transmissions for land rover, Chrysler and the KL. Their maintenance planner says the 7 and 9 speed transmissions are some of the worst ever made. The have had numerous reports on them failing before they even leave the assembly plant. When the guy that makes them tells you they are junk, probably a good indication you shouldn't buy one.

Rambler65

I'm not surprised, the mechanical complexity of those things has to be off the charts with lots of light-duty components stuffed into a small space. The whole reason for them is to squeeze out the last fractional miles-per-gallon possible to meet CAFE standards.

I'm afraid the days of reliable 3-speed and 4-speed automatic transmissions are far behind us. (Remember when the Chrysler Torqueflite was the gold standard?)

odgreen

What have I told you about posting ignorant things?
Well put

93_xjcherokee

Did you read what I put? I put I think its because. That was giving my opinion on modern electronics. That post was no way a help post. All the recalls that happen these days, Are they because of bad parts? Not usually. Usually they are because of a bad electronic device such as throttle cables stuck on cars. That was a recall because of a bad sensor. I.e. electric. Could have been avoided if they tested The parts better. Just one example and I could go on and on. That is all. Good day to you

andrewmp6

Salad you forgot about diesels running away if the turbo blows a oil seal in it.93 xjcherokee the problem with that most small stuff like sensors are made by other companies,And the auto makers buy them in huge numbers and let that other company doe its own quality control.If the auto maker did its own quality control in every part you wouldn't see a new design car for 20 years plus.

chipmaker

Absolutely! Inside their lobby they have a 9 speed tranny taken apart kind of like a real life exploded view. Those things a extremely complicated. It's not the manufactures fault, their facility is top of the line, state of the art equipment and processes, extremely immaculate. The problem is the trannys are simply over engineered. You can't put 10 pounds of **** in an 8 pound bag and expect it to hold for long.

salad

CVT anyone?

Lol

Yes, everybody did.

Do you even know what electronics are?

Advice is help...

lol throttle cables are electronic? Did I read that correctly?

I guess it makes sense then that the largest Dodge recalls the last few years have been for their electronic pinion nuts and steering linkage. In your mind, apparently. And the GM ignition switch. Totally electronic.

No dude that can only happen on ELECTRONIC turbos. Haven't you been paying attention?

BlvdKreeper

Every time I go to the junkyard I always bump to newish cars and trucks like 08+ models that have been wrecked in car accidents. You'd be amazed at all the wiring crap they all have. I can't imagine the horror of finding a bad wire once the new cars start getting old.

kgm

My buddy has a twin turbo A4 from the mid 2000s, plenty of wiring in that thing and a 75/25 transfer case of some sort, thing works great. People ditch them because it tosses an O2 sensor and its all "dang ol electronics failed!"

93_xjcherokee

salad.... Ever heard of "drive by wire"? I doubt it due to your post. That is an electronic throttle. No cables. Just sensors I.e. electronics. No more throttle cables in newer vehicles.