Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2007 Jeep Wrangler 4-Dr 4X4 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 86 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 86, in the owner's own words
THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE VALVE LIFTERS THAT CAUSE A TICKING OR KNOCKING SOUND WHILE STATIONARY & IN MOTION. WORSE WHILE IN MOTION, WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS THAT TO REPAIR THE ISSUE THE ENGINE HAS TO BE DISASSEMBLED.
FIRE STARTED UNDER THE CAR SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. GLOW OF THE FLAME WAS TOWARDS THE BACK OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE CAR. FIRE WORKED ITS WAY FORWARD AND ENGULFED THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. CAR WAS IN MOTION EXITING FROM THE HIGHWAY ONTO AN OFF RAMP WHEN ISSUE WAS NOTICED.
HAD TO ADD OIL AT NEARILY EVERY FILLUP. THE DEALER SAID THAT WAS NORMAL TO ADD OIL EVERY 1000 MILES!!! ENDED UP SHORT ON OIL, OIL LIGHT NEVER WENT ON AND TRASHED ENGINE. IT MADE A HORRIBLE KNOCKING NOISE. I REPLACED IT AT A COST OF $6118 AS THE CAR ONLY HAD 49560 MILES ON IT.
3.8L V6 ENGINE BURNS EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL OVER 1 QUART EVERY 1000 MILES. THE OIL ALSO DESTROYS THE FOUR OXYGEN SENSORS WHICH HAVE TO REPLACED EVERY 75K MILES AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER $500. MY REAR EXHAUST DRIPS OIL AND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT REEKS OF BURN OIL. THIS ISSUE HAS DEVALUED MY VEHICLE WORSE THAN THE VW DIESEL SOFTWARE SCANDAL. ALSO THE OIL LIGHT IT SET TO COME ON WHEN THE OIL PRESSURE REACHES 0 PSI OF PRESSURE, WHATS THE POINT TO LET YOU KNOW YOU JUST DAMAGED YOUR ENGINE? SO STUPID. THE DEALER TOLD ME THIS EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION IS NORMAL AND PRINTED OUT A STATEMENT FROM CHRYSLER'S ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT STATING MOTORS OVER 50K MILES WILL BURN 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 750 MILES. HOW DOES THIS JEEP PASS POLLUTION SMOG TESTS? ON THE PLUS SIDE THERE ARE LESS MOSQUITOES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT WHO WILL PAY FOR MY LUNG CANCER WHEN I'M 50 YEARS OLD?
2007 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED SAHARA WILL STALL WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT ANY GIVEN TIME/SPEED. WIPERS WILL START GOING OFF WITHOUT TURNING THEM ON, FOLLOWED BY ENGINE STALLING, LEAVING ME UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. MEANWHILE, MY WHEELS LOCK UP LEAVING ME UNABLE TO STEER. VERY DANGEROUS. ALREADY HAD THE TIPM REPROGRAMMED IN 2010, AND THEN AGAIN 2 DAYS AGO. (OCTOBER 16TH, 2015). ON THE WAY HOME FROM GETTING IT "FIXED", WIPERS GO OFF AGAIN AND ENGINE STALLS. PAID $825 FOR NOTHING. THIS NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH.
MY 2007 JEEP JKU SAHARA WILL COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN AND STALL AT ANY GIVEN TIME WHILE I AM DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. THE WIPERS AND HORN WILL GO OFF EVEN WHEN IN THE "OFF" POSITION, FOLLOWED BY THE ENGINE STALLING. MY WHEELS WILL LOCK UP AND I CANNOT GIVE THE VEHICLE GAS. I CAN ONLY BRAKE AND SLIGHTLY TURN OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BECAUSE THERE IS NO TELLING WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN. RECALL FOR TIPM HAS ALREADY BEEN "REPROGRAMMED" AND APPARENTLY THERE ARE NO POWER MODULES AVAILABLE. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT IF A CERTAIN CODE DOES NOT POP UP, THAT I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE EVERYTHING ON MY OWN. WELL, HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO DO THAT WHEN THERE ARE NO POWER MODULES AVAILABLE? THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE FIXED ASAP.
DRIVING ON I-40 APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH. VEHICLE BEGAN TO EMIT DARK SMOKE FROM REAR OF VEHICLE. WHEN SLOWING THE VEHICLE DOWN TO SAFELY EXIT HIGHWAY, DASH LIGHTS FLASHED AND ENGINE STOPPED RESULTING IN LOSS OF ALL POWER AND STEERING. WAS FORCED TO STEER VEHICLE TO SIDE OF OFF RAMP AND WHEN COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT BY THE FRONT WINDOW BURST INTO FLAMES. FORTUNATELY A TOW TRUCK COMPANY WAS VERY CLOSE BY, WITNESSED THE INCIDENT, AND ATTEMPTED TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE ALONG WITH A DRIVER FROM A LOCAL CABLE COMPANY. BLAZE WAS EVENTUALLY CONTROLLED ONCE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED ON SCENE. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS INCIDENT, I AM VERY THANKFUL NO ONE WAS PHYSICALLY INJURED. GIVEN THE NUMBER OF SIMILAR REPORTS, IT WOULD SEEM THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE NOTIFIED OF THE REAL RISK WITH THESE VEHICLES BEFORE ANYONE ELSE IS INJURED OR KILLED. *TR
THE 3.8 ENGINE USED IN THE JEEP WRANGLER LINE USES AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL. IT CAN USE UP TO 1 QUART EVERY 700-800 MILES. CHRYSLER HAS SAID ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THIS IS "NORMAL". THERE IS NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON VARIOUS BOARDS REGARDING THIS ISSUE AS IT SEEMS TO AFFECT ALMOST ALL WRANGLERS. CHRYSLER REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THERE IS A PROBLEM AND DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SPENDING 35,000+ ON A VEHICLE THEY SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN 70K MILES. *TR
DRIVING AT 35MPH DASH ILLUMINATES RANDOM LIGHTS, SPEED ODOMETER FLUCTUATES BACK AND FORTH 0 TO CURRENT SPEED, DASH BOARD DINGS AND CAR SLOWS AND SPONTANEOUSLY STALLS. RESTARTS IMMEDIATELY. THIS FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED AGES MONTHS BACK WITHOUT STALLING NOW IS HAPPENING FREQUENTLY . WILL NOT BE DRIVING THIS CAR AGAIN UNTIL PROBLEM IS IDENTIFIED AND FIXED, TOO RISKY. *TR
REPETITIVE OIL LEAK, I AM TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE GASKETS ARE BAD, THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACED 4 TIMES. OIL LEAKS ABOUT 1 QTR PER WEEK AND HAS TO BE ADDED IN ORDER FOR ENGINE NOT TO MALFUNCTION. *TT
DEALER WORKING ON REPLACEMENT OF EXHAUST MANIFOLDS, BROKE BOLT GOING INTO HEAD, HAVE TO REMOVE ENTIRE HEAD, TO REMOVE BROKEN BOLT, AS WELL AS REINSTALL WITH NEW GASKET, THEN PROCEEDS TO SHOCK THE JEEP AND NOW A NEW POWER CONTROL MODULE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED , THIS DEALER IS INADEQUATE TO SAY THE LEAST, NEMER, SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY. *TR
I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON THE FREEWAY GOING AROUND 60MPH, HIT A SMALL BUMP AND THE JEEP STARTED TO SHAKE SO VIOLENTLY MY HEART WENT OUT OF MY CHEST. I FLIPPED ON MY HAZARDS AND MADE MY WAY OVER TO THE SLOW LANE, BUT THE SHAKING STOPPED. WHEN I ARRIVED TO WORK, I RESEARCHED THE "SHAKING" AND FOUND ANOTHER NAME FOR IT, "DEATH WOBBLE." I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ON THE PARTS THAT CAUSE THIS, IT HASN'T CAUSED ANY FATALITIES YET; BUT IT WILL. *TR
MY WIFE AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED AT LEAST FIVE (5) INCIDENTS WHERE THE VEHICLE ENGINE STALLS/KILLS AND EITHER RESTARTS ITSELF OR HAS BE MANUALLY RESTARTED VIA IGNITION KEY. THE SYMPTOMS MIRROR EXACTLY THOSE DESCRIBED IN NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE07027. (DRIVING ON HIGHWAY WHEN VEHICLE DASH LIGHTS UP AS IF FRESHLY STARTED, AND SOMETIMES NEEDS TO BE MANUALLY RESTARTED, AND SOMETIMES HAS RESTARTED ITSELF) THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS EXPERIENCED BY MY WIFE IN AUGUST OF 2009, AND THE VEHICLE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY INSPECTED BY JEEP DEALER [XXX] MOTORS OF MINOCQUA, WI, WHO AFTER INSPECTION AND ROAD TEST REPORTED "NO TROUBLE FOUND." (PER MY INVOICE DATED 8/24/09) AT THAT POINT THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER WARRANTY WITH 33,054 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, AND I WAS CHARGED $35.25 FOR THAT SERVICE ITEM. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT OCCURRED OCTOBER 14, 2013, AND WAS WITNESSED BY MY SON. IN THAT CASE I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH ON I-70 APPROACHING I-15 IN UTAH WHEN THE ENGINE STALLED. THE VEHICLE NEEDED TO BE MANUALLY RESTARTED VIA KEY. THAT WAS THE 3RD INCIDENT I'VE EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST 5 MONTHS. *TR
ENGINE OIL NOT REGISTERED ON DIP STICK WHEN CHECKED. HAD TO ADD 3 QUARTS OF OIL TO GET TO REGISTER TO BOTTOM OF DIP STICK. OIL HAS BEEN CHANGED EVERY 3-6K MILES SINCE TOOK OWNERSHIP IN 2007. ENGINE LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON WHEN OIL IS LOW. PROBLEM EXPERIENCED A 2ND TIME 5/26/2012. CHECKED OIL AND NO ENGINE OIL ON DIPSTICK. OIL WAS CHANGED/FILLED ON 1/19/2012 (HAVE RECORDS FROM MECHANIC) AND ONLY APPROXIMATELY 5K MILES DRIVE IN THAT TIME AND AGAIN 3 QUARTS REQUIRED TO EVEN GET OIL TO REGISTER ON DIP STICK AND AGAIN ENGINE OIL LIGHT NEVER CAME ON IN PAST 5 MONTHS SINCE LAST OIL CHANGE. ENGINE APPEARS TO BE "BURNING THROUGH" EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL WITH NO INDICATION OF LOW OIL IN VEHICLE AT ANY TIME. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 JEEP WRANGLER 4-DR 4X4. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, THE CONTACT SMELLED A STRONG ELECTRICAL BURNING ODOR AND NOTICED SMOKE EMITTING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS MANEUVERED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE CONTACT INSPECTED UNDER THE HOOD WHERE THERE WERE LARGE FLAMES FOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE FIRE ORIGINATED WITHIN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SAVAGE FACILITY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE MALFUNCTION. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND VIN WERE UNAVAILABLE.
IT STARTED WITH A SLIGHT KNOCK IN THE ENGINE AT FIRST START UP. IT WOULD GO AWAY AFTER A FEW MINUTES. THAT LASTED ABOUT 3-4 WEEKS. UNTIL ONE START UP THE ENGINE WOULD NOT STOP TICKING, BY THE TIME I ARRIVED HOME THE ENGINE WAS KNOCKING VIOLENTLY. OIL LEVELS WERE FINE. HAD THE JEEP TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE ENGINE INSPECTED, TO SEE IF IT WOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE TECH DID AN INSPECTION AND I WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINE SPUN 2 CONNECTING ROD BEARINGS, BENT 4 RODS, DAMAGED 4 PISTONS, DAMAGE TO CRANK, AND ALMOST ALL OIL PASSAGES IN ENGINE WERE CLOGGED BY METAL DEBRIS. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THE FACTORY SEAL ON THE ENGINE WAS OPENED. THE DEALERSHIP CONTACTED CHRYSLER AND TOLD THEM THE SITUATION. I SPOKE WITH CHRYSLER MANY TIMES OVER THE MONTH SPAN THAT THE JEEP WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP,I ALSO HAD THE DEALERSHIP FAX ALMOST 20 OTHER CASES TO THE CLAIMS DEPT. THAT I HAVE DONE RESEARCH ON THE SAME SITUATION AND PROVIDED THE VEHICLE YEAR, MAKE, AND MILEAGE INCLUDING ALL OF MY SOURCES. CHRYSLER TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT COVER THE ENGINE REPAIR BECAUSE OF THE MILEAGE AND THAT I WAS NOT THE FIRST OWNER OF THE VEHICLE,THE JEEP HAS 53K ON IT. NO ONE AT THE DEALERSHIP COULD TELL ME THE REASON WHY THIS HAPPENED, OR HOW I CAUSED THE ENGINE TO SELF DESTRUCT. I WAS TOLD BY ANOTHER MECHANIC THAT THE OIL PORTS INSIDE THE ENGINE GOING TO THE CRANK WERE DESIGNED TOO SMALL, AND THIS IS WHY THE CRANK BEARINGS WERE FAILING. I HAVE TAKEN THE JEEP TO ANOTHER MECHANIC, HE ADVISED THAT A NEW ENGINE SHOULD BE INSTALLED. HE TRIED TO ORDER A NEW ENGINE FROM HIS SUPPLIER, BUT WAS TOLD THEY ARE ON A NATIONAL BACKORDER AND THAT IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT A WEEK TO RECEIVE A NEW ONE. HE WAS TOLD THAT CHRYSLER IS VERY AWARE OF THE SITUATION AND HAS REFUSED TO TAKE ANY ACTION AS OF NOW. *TR
MY ENGINE IN A 2007 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED HAD FAULTY BEARINGS WHICH CAUSED THE ENGINE TO BLOW. *LN
MY COMPLAINT AND WARNING HAS TO DO WITH OUR 2007 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED,SARAHA, 3.8 LITRE. WE HAD A PRE-MATURE ENGINE FAILURE IN OUR JEEP DUE TO IMPROPER ENGINE ASSEMBLY DURING MANUFACTURE OF THE ENGINE. THE ENGINE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE FOR THE ENGINE OIL BY-PASS VALVE BEING INSTALLED IN THE WRONG ORDER, CAUSING THE ENGINES OIL BEING ONLY PARTIALLY FILTERED. THIS NON-FILTERED OIL CAUSED THE ENGINE TO FAIL DUE TO THE DIRTY OIL PASSING THROUGH THE ENGINE AND CAUSING EXCESSIVE WEAR OF THE ENGINE. OUR ENGINE FAILED AT JUST OVER 43,000 MILES AND THE FAILURE COULD BE SUDDEN AND PUT ANYONE THAT HAS THIS ENGINE CONDITION AT RISK IF THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION WHILE THE FAILURE OCCURS. I WANT TO BE ON RECORD BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO BE INJURED OR WORSE LOSE THERE LIFE OVER SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WARNING THE PUBLIC OF THIS ISSUE FOUND IN OUR ENGINE, AND ALSO TO BE ON RECORD BECAUSE WHO KNOWS HOW MANY ENGINE WERE ASSEMBLED THIS WAY WHICH IN MY MIND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED POOR CRAFTSMANSHIP. TOTAL DETAILS, COST AND THE FULL EXTENT OF DAMAGED CAN BE EXTENDED TO ANYONE WHO NEEDS OR WANTS THIS INFORMATION, IF REQUESTED IN WRITING OR EMAIL. *TR
I PURCHASED A 2007 4D JEEP WRANGLER ON 3/17/10. I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT AND DROVE IT ONLY ON ROADS (NOT OFF ROAD). IT HAD APPROXIMATELY 34,000 MILES ON IT AND NO DAMAGE HISTORY. IT WAS PRE-OWNED CERTIFIED. ON JUNE 27, 2010 IT STARTED TO HESITATE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS DEPRESSED. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO TAKE IT TO A LOCAL DEALER. ON JUNE 29TH I WAS DRIVING TO THE DEALER PER APPOINTMENT AND IT LOST POWER. IT THEN BURST INTO FLAMES AND IS A TOTAL LOSS. I HAVE CONTACTED CHRYSLER AND THEY ARE CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION BUT HAVE NOT CONTACTED ME WITH A SOLUTION. *TR
MY ENGINE STALLS AND JEEP WANTS TO TURN OFF. I ALSO AM HAVING BRAKE PROBLEMS REAR BRAKES HAVE BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES IN ONLY 26,000 MILES FRONT BRAKES STILL LOOK LIKE NEW. HAVE TAKEN IT TO DEALER MULTIPLE TIME BUT THEY CANT FIND OUT WHY ITS DOING THESE THINGS. *TR
I WAS DRIVING AT 55MPH AND RAN OVER A BADLY MAINTAINED ROAD BUMP (A 3FT SECTION OF PAVEMENT SPANNING BOTH LANES OF A 2 LANE RD. THAT HAD NO STONE IN IT TO LEVEL IT OFF) AND MY 2007 JEEP 4DR WRANGLER UNLIMITED SAHARA LOST ENGINE POWER. ALL POWER OPTIONS IN TURN LOST POWER. I MANAGED TO PULL THE JEEP TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TURNED THE KEY OFF AND ATTEMPTED TO RESTART IT. IT STARTED BACK UP WITH NO FURTHER INCIDENT. THIS SAME POWER LOSS OCCURRED ONCE BEFORE AFTER DRIVING ON A WET ROAD ON A RAINY DAY. THAT 2ND OCCURRENCE LASTED ABOUT 1SECOND AND THEN RE-POWERED. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 JEEP WRANGLER 4X4. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN SHAKING EXCESSIVELY AND CONTINUED TO SHAKE WHILE SHE WAS PARKING. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED FOR OVER A YEAR AND THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE ALSO SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING; HOWEVER, SHE WAS ABLE TO RESTART IT. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THERE ARE NO RELATED RECALLS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500.
2007 JEEP WRANGLER SAHARA WITH 21K MILES. VEHICLE WILL NOT START AT TIMES. INTERMITTENT ISSUE HAPPENS EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS. VEHICLE WILL EVENTUALLY START AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS. TAKEN TO JEEP SERVICE AND NO ERROR CODES COME UP. THEY CAN NOT FIND A PROBLEM. *TR
2007 4 DOOR SAHARA HAS STALLED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE ALREADY TAKEN VEHICLE IN SEVERAL TIMES TO HAVE PROBLEM DEALT WITH FOR RECALL. STILL NOT FIXED. 7/28 AT 7:56 PM,9/25 AT 2:38 P.M, 11/13 AT 7:58 AM,1/12/08 AT 4:07 P.M. HELP VERY UNSAFE!!! *TR
PURCHASED BRAND NEW 2007 4DOOR JEEP WRANGLER. IT HAS STALLED WHILE DRIVING ON 5 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. WE HAVE TAKEN IT BACK TO THE DEALER, AND EACH TIME BEEN TOLD IT WAS FIXED. THIS CAR IS A DEATH TRAP AND WE REFUSE TO DRIVE IT. DEALER WONT TAKE IT BACK SO NOW WE NEED TO GO TO COURT. THE SEVERITY OF THIS IS NOT SHOWING....THIS VEHICLE STALLS AT HIGH RATES OF SPEED ON HIGHWAYS...NO LIGHT ...NO POWER STEERING...NO BRAKES...NOTHING......SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE OR KILL SOME ONE. AND CHRYSLER DOESN'T CARE. HELP. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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