What do you think? Guy drives new Jeep Wrangler though water, motor takes a crap… but how much water is too much? See video below.
So here’s my story. I was out playing around in puddles…really nothing big at all. On my way out I made one final run, a little water splashed on the hook and the engine died. I still have the dealer plates on her and they towed me, after my friends got me out of the water, to the dealership. I’ve read some of the threads and seen some people say that it was covered by Jeep for the repairs. I have a video of my final death run and it shows I was not exceeding the limits of “the most capable offroad vehicle”. She’s a stock JK Rubi and can climb anything I point her at…water seems to be an issue.
To answer a few questions the water was probably not deeper than 19 inches, I didn’t stop to measure after it happened. A 2wd F-150 went through just before I did and had no issues. As far as the dealer, they are sticking with the “It’s not our fault” line. Yes, I did take a trail rated vehicle through a reasonable puddle at a reasonable speed, it is my fault for using an off-road vehicle…forgive me…off-road! I went all the way to the general manager showing the video and even they said it should be covered. But water in the engine, no matter what…is apparently a user error. I called my insurance company and without a blink they said they’d take care of me. They asked me to hold onto the video because it seems like something they would go after Jeep for and get me my deductible back. It’s only a $100 out of pocket engine so I can’t complain too much. Thank god for insurance. JK owners…buy a snorkel…even for splashes. That is going to be my first purchase as soon as I get her back. Any ideas on the “best” snorkel kit?
I think he flew through it like a schoolbuy retard. I have been with plenty of friends who off-road frequently, and I never see any of them go blasting through a puddle, their manuevers are always relatively slow and calculated…he blasted it in such a way that he engulfed the whole front end with the splash at pretty heavy throttle… I kinda think it’s his fault.
I’ve gone through deeper than that, and about the same speed in my Cherokee Sport. Something isn’t right…
EDIT - But I don’t know the differences between the two as far as intake layout, etc. It may honestly be a 1 in a million chance of that happening where enough water got around the intake for it to start sucking too much in.
the problem is that if the dealer covered it, every retard that owned a rubicon would wait until like 500 miles before warranty is up and hydrolock the motor and say this is what they did and demand a brand new motor.
IMO, they should stand behind it due to the circumstances that he has some decent proof that he did not go overboard. I do realize though, that even though it is “trail-rated” that they cannot warranty every idiot that thinks they can toss it around like a toy anywhere they want. If they cover this, where does it end? Same argument as the guy who blew the motor in his corvette racing it on a track. At some point, drivers need to realize that they are taking part in something that requires the vehicle to go above and beyond street driving, and that it highly increases the chances of mechanical failures, even if it is “trail-rated”.
I actually work at Chrysler in engine design and they come down on us very hard to make sure we pass their “trail rated” tests. The Jeep department is all about pushing their vehicles to the limit and they usually stand by it. Unfortunately there has to be a clear line drawn where the warranty will and will not cover it and water in the engine sounds like a reasonable line. I know there is a validation test for driving “trail rated" vehicles through water that is close to that depth. However it is probably slower than this guy drove through it. IMO the truck should be able to handle that kind of that level of water at that speed but clearly it isn’t. I guess there is some room for improvement for the next model
I’ve gone through much deeper in my cherokee as well and never had a problem, I don’t necessarily think he went to fast, I just think it was that 1 in a million chance that something happened like that. IMHO, they stopped making “jeeps” a long time ago
Fine print for Grand Cherokee add “Do not attempt water fording unless depth is known to be less than 20 inches. Traversing water can cause damage not covered by the new vehicle warranty. Always off-road responsible in approved areas” (0:12) There’s your legal disclaimer for you.
Besides that Cherokee is the post bailout model, now that Chrysler is borrowing your money they cancars capable. Guess this guy should have held out for the next model.
He may have been closer to having them cover it if he actually did get out and measure it. It doesnt appear to be higher than 20", but there is no way to tell.
everything you get now is an actual chrysler product POS. i drive a 2010 jeep patriot for work everyday, it has 15k miles on it and the tranny is already slipping
the Gladiator was towed to the nearest dealership, which told the owner that replacing the alternator, radiator and both batteries will cost at least $3,000 and won’t be covered by the factory warranty.
Another few days later, the rear axle locked up when slowing down on the highway. This caused the Gladiator to fishtail two times, which could have caused an accident.
What a pile of shit. I took my 1st gen Xterra supercharged version through like 2 feet of shit and mud behind my buddies horse farm. We had a bet I couldn’t make it. Made it out just fine and power washed the truck later. No issues. I think I had 130k on it at the time. Jeep makes outright garbage now.
