2004 Jeep Wrangler

DRIVING WHILE DARK, HAD SMOKE SMELL FROM INSIDE CAB. DRIVING IN DAYLIGHT LATER, AND SAW SMOKE COMING FROM BEHIND STEERING COLOMN. SMOKE GOT MUCH WORSE, ENDANGERED DRIVING, AND COLUMN STARTED TO GET HOT. PULLED OVER, AND NOTICED THE FOG LIGHTS WERE STILL ON DESPITE THE SWITCH, AND KEY BEING OFF. PULLED THE FUSE, AND RELAY, THEN PROBLEM STOPPED. I REMOVED THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH ASSEMBLY, WHICH ALSO HOUSES THE HEAD LIGHTS AND FOG LIGHT SWITCHES, AND FOUND THE CONNECTOR OVERHEATED, AND SHORTED INTERNALLY. WHILE WAITING FOR A REPLACEMENT SWITCH, THE TURN SIGNALS AND FLASHERS QUIT WORKING. I TRIED A NEW FLASHER RELAY, BUT CAN ONLY ASSUME THE CONNECTOR IS THE MAIN FAULT, AS IT WAS PARTIALLY MELTED AND NOW BRITTLE FROM THE FIRE. AFTER TROUBLE SHOOTING AND MULTIPLE TIMES INSTALLING AND REMOVING THE CONNECTOR, IT HAS BEGUN TO CRACK AND FALL APART, FURTHER DISABLING OTHER SWITCHES. I'M CURRENTLY REPLACING THE CONNECTOR ONCE I AM ABLE TO LOCATE ONE. MY MAIN CONCERN IS THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A MAJOR DISTRACTION AND POSSIBLE CRASH WHILE DRIVING, AND EVEN MORE SO, THAT A FIRE COULD OCCUR WHILE THE VEHICLE IS PARKED, LIKE IN MY GARAGE WHILE I SLEEP! EVERY THING ON THE JEEP IS STOCK, AND THE FOG LIGHTS ARE A OEM OPTION INSTALLED BY THE DEALER WHEN I BOUGHT IT NEW, FROM THE FACTORY. I'VE DONE NO MAINTENANCE EXCEPT TO REPLACE THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH WHEN THE FOG LIGHT SWITCH FAILED 40K MILES AGO. THE CONNECTOR WAS FINE THEN, AND IT WAS ONLY A SWITCH FAILURE AT THAT TIME. THE JEEP HAS 135K MILES ON IT CURRENTLY. THE CURRENT TURN SIGNAL SWITCH WAS NOT AT FAULT SINCE I NOW KNOW THE CONNECTOR WAS WHAT WAS BURNING. I'VE READ OF SEVERAL INCIDENCES ON JEEP FORUMS WHERE SOMETHING SIMILAR HAS HAPPENED, WITH EITHER THE CONNECTOR, OR THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH. I FEEL THIS IS A MULTIPLE SAFETY HAZARD, NOT ONLY WHILE DRIVING, BUT ALSO WHEN PARKED.

VEHICLE SHIFTS HARD FROM GEAR TO GEAR FOR FIRST 5 MINUTES OR SO OF DRIVING. RANDOMLY THROWS 02 OR CPS CODES. HAD ALL PARTS REPLACED MORE THAN ONCE. PCM REPLACED TWICE. TWO MECHANICS CONFIRMED IT WAS A FAULTY PCM. SHIFTING ETC, IS BETTER WHEN NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE DISCONNECTED OVERNIGHT. AFTER A FEW CYCLES, THE ISSUES RETURN. PCMS ARE DEFECTIVE FROM THE FACTORY. MY MECHANIC CURRENTLY HAS TWO 2006 JEEPS WITH THE SAM PROBLEM. LONG INVOLVED POST WITH MULTIPLE EXAMPLES DOCUMENTING ISSUES HERE:HTTP://WWW.WRANGLERFORUM.COM/F210/1ST-TO-2ND-HARD-SHIFTS-WHEN-COLD-2006-LJ-1755777.HTML. VEHICLE IS UNPREDICTABLE UPON INITIAL ACCELERATION AS IT MAY BE IN 2ND GEAR WHILE STOPPED. ALMOST HAD MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 JEEP WRANGLER. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH OVER BUMPS IN THE ROAD, THE VEHICLE BOUNCED ALL OVER THE ROAD, THE FRONT END SHOOK VIOLENTLY, AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL HAD TO BE APPLIED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT STEERING DAMPER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER A COUPLE MORE TIMES AND REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000.

AT 91,500 MILES THE PCM FAILED FOR A SECOND TIME. I AM NOT CERTAIN WHEN THE FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED, BUT IT WAS SHOWN TO HAVE BEEN FLASHED PREVIOUSLY. THIS ISSUE SURFACED IN THE FORM OF A STALL OUT AT A LIGHT. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE FROM AN IDLE POSITION THE ENGINE STALLED. AFTER PARKING THE VEHICLE, TURNING OVER THE ENGINE WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY GIVING IT GAS, THE VEHICLE TURNED OVER. ACCORDING TO THREE DIFFERENT MECHANICS THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE AMONG '04 JEEP WRANGLERS THAT THEY HAVE ENCOUNTERED RECENTLY (12 YEARS AFTER MARKET AND 2 YEARS COMPLETELY OUT OF WARRANTY). NO ONE CAN FIND A REPLACEMENT PCM BECAUSE THEY ARE NO LONGER MANUFACTURED, AND IT WAS CHRYSLER'S RECOMMENDATION THAT CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE GO TO A SCRAP YARD TO FIND A REPLACEMENT (LIKELY TO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE). AS A CUSTOMER I AM APPALLED THAT WE ARE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO RECALLS. DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY MY BATTERY CHARGED TO 20 VOLTS AND COULD HAVE EXPLODED.

THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN DRIVEN FOR ABOUT 35 MINUTES AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH ON THE INTERSTATE. THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY BEGAN TO PRODUCE A THICK WHITE SMOKE. THE VEHICLE WAS IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND PLACED INTO PARK; THE VEHICLE WAS ALREADY ON FIRE UPON EXITING. THE GRASS BENEATH HAD CAUGHT ON FIRE AS WELL. THE HOOD BEGAN TO BLACKEN INDICATING A FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT CLOSE TO THE FIREWALL. THE ENTIRE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE IN ABOUT THIRTY SECONDS; FROM THE TIME IT BEGAN TO SMOKE TO THE TIME IT WAS ON FIRE BEGIN THE ENTIRE INCIDENT. A TRUCK DRIVER WITH A DRY CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHER PUT THE ENGINE FIRE OUT; AFTER LIFTING THE HOOD TO A BALL OF FIRE. THE ONLY INJURY BEGIN LIGHT BURNS FROM LIFTING THE HOOD. ESSENTIALLY, MY JEEP WRANGLER, WITH NO AFTERMARKET PARTS INSTALLED, BURST INTO FLAMES FOR NO APPARENT REASON. *TR

I DROVE MY JEEP FROM HOME TO WORK ABOUT TWENTY MILES WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS NO WARNING LIGHTS OR ANY VISIBLE PROBLEMS. I SHUT IT OFF WENT INTO WORK ONLY TO LEARN IT HAD CAUGHT ON FIRE ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES AFTER BEING SHUT OFF ! THE HEATER MOTOR AND GLOVE BOX AREA IS WHERE THE FIRE STARTED. FIRE DEPARTMENT CALLED IT ELECTRICAL? CONTRACTED JEEP (CHRYSLER) ABOUT ANY RECALL OR TSB BUT WAS TOLD THERE WASN'T ANY! THIS SEEMS TO BE A MAJOR PROBLEM COMMON IN A WIDE YEAR RANGE OF WRANGLERS. *TR

IGNITION LINKAGE ROD (IGNITION TO SWITCH) ON 2004 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED & JEEP LIBERTY IS POORLY MADE OF WEAK POT METAL MATERIAL AND IS EASILY BROKEN. KEY WILL TURN TO ON POSITION (SOMETIMES) BUT CAN NOT ENGAGE SWITCH. LINKAGE ROD NEEDS TO BE MADE OF STRONGER MATERIAL OR BE MADE SLIGHTLY THICKER (WHICH WOULD ALSO REQUIRE A REDESIGN OF THE SWITCH'S RECEIVER HOLE) TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE STRAIN OF TURNING THE IGNITION SWITCH. PART IS ALSO HOUSED BEHIND A REMOVABLE HOUSING AND IS MADE TO BE SERVICED (SHOWING THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXPECTED WARE) BUT PART IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN MUST BE REPLACED AT A DEALERSHIP AT AN EXPECTED COST OF $400-$600. THIS IS ONLY ONE SMALL PART THAT SHOULD COST AT MOST AROUND $20 AND IS MADE TO BE REPLACED WHEN THE INEVITABLE BREAKAGE OCCURS. DESPITE THE FREQUENCY OF THIS PROBLEM THE DEALERS SERVICE CENTER STILL CLAIM THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY HAVE EVER HEARD OF SUCH A PROBLEM WHILE THE MAN IN THE PARTS DEPARTMENT WAS FAMILIAR ENOUGH WITH IT HE IDENTIFIED THE BROKEN PART BEFORE I COULD TELL HIM MYSELF WHAT IT WAS. HE EVEN ASKED IF I WAS THE SAME GUY THAT HAD BEEN IN LAST WEEK WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT, WHICH I AM NOT. FIRST TIME REPORTING A FAULTY PART, MY SITUATION ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF REPORTS I HAVE READ ONLINE HAS CONVINCED ME THIS IS WORTHY OF A RECALL. *TR

I TOOK MY 2004 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE BACK TO THE DEALER BROWN'S JEEP IN MEDFORD NY BECAUSE IT WOULD CONTINUOUSLY STALL AND THE YELLOW DASHBOARD LIGHT WOULD STAY ON. THE PROBLEM BEGAN AT APPROX 50,000 MILES AND THE DEALER NEW EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS; A THROTTLE SENSOR ON A CIRCUIT BOARD. THE SUV WOULD RACE AND BUCK AND WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. IT SEEMED ODD THAT THEY NEW WHAT IT WAS RIGHT AWAY AND HAPPENED TO A RELATIVELY LATE MODEL VEHICLE. AND NOW I SAW AN ARTICLE IN THE NEWSPAPER ABOUT THE NHTSA INVESTIGATING STALLING OF JEEP SUVS. IT COST ME APPROX. $400-$500 OF THE $1150 I PAID FOR THE SERVICE VISIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO FIXING THE STALLING ISSUE. PERHAPS THE JEEPS YOU ARE INVESTIGATING ARE NOT THE ONLY YEARS INVOLVED. *TR