1998 Jeep Wrangler

I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY JEEP WRANGLER 1998. THIS IS A PARTIAL LIST I SENT TO CHRYSLER: I BOUGHT MY JEEP WITH JUST 3600 MILES ON IT FROM A DEALER IN 1999. FROM DAY ONE I STARTED EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS. MANY OF THEM I RETURNED TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. SOME THEY WERE ABLE TO FIX, OTHERS, AFTER MANY RETURN TRIPS, THEY WERE 'UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM'. 1. GAUGES WOULD STOP WORKING WHILE DRIVING - I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN 5 TIMES BEFORE THEY WERE ABLE TO DUPLICATE AND FINALLY FIX THE PROBLEM. 2. THIS WAS ALSO TRUE OF THE BLINKERS THAT NOT ALWAYS WORKED - OR WORKED ALL AT THE SAME TIME. 3. MY HAZARDS STILL DO NOT WORK EVERY TIME. 4. THE AIR CONDITIONER GOES OUT WHEN DRIVING,VERY UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN IT IS HOT AND RAINING. 5. THE SOUND BAR HAS NEVER WORKED PROPERLY - FIRST IT WOULD ONLY COME IN SOME TIMES - NOW NEVER. 6. HEADERS ARE CRACKED - BAD. THEY HAVE BEEN WELDED SEVERAL TIMES. WHEN I WENT TO HAVE THEM WELDED IT WAS FOUND THEY WERE WELDED BEFORE MY PURCHASE - AT 3600 MIL! THEY ARE STILL CRACKED, WELDING DOES NOT HOLD. I CAN NOT GET ANYONE TO REPLACE THEM BECAUSE EVEN EXHAUST SPECIALISTS SAY IT IS TOO CUMBERSOME. THE DEALER CHARGES WAY MORE THAN I HAVE CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF REPAIRS AND THE PRICE OF GAS - AT 12 MPG. 7. DRIVERS SEAT BELT LOCKS TIGHTLY WITH ANY AMOUNT OF PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES - IT HAS NOW GOTTEN TO THE POINT IT LOCKS JUST WHILE DRIVING. 8. WINDOWS - THE ZIPPERS BROKE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY - I PAID ALOT TO HAVE THESE REPLACED. THE BACK WINDOW NOW HAS A CUT IN IT AND IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE THROUGH. 9. THE TOP HAS NEVER QUITE FIT RIGHT; IT HAS ALWAYS LEAKED AND BEEN EXTREMELY NOISY - MORE SO THAN ANYONE ELSE'S THAT I KNOW. IT HAS ALSO COME APART AT THE SEAMS. THE DEALERSHIP HAS NOT BEEN OF ANY HELP. THEY WANTED TO CHARGE OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNTS JUST FOR DIAGNOSTICS, EVEN WHEN I HAD THE BEST WARRANTY. I'VE ALSO HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE DOOR MOLDING COMING OUT IMMEDIATELY, GRINDING IN THE STEERING WHEEL, GRINDING WHILE TRYING TO PUT IT IN REVERSE AND MORE. *NLM

WIRING HARNESS FOR DASH, BOTH HAZARD-BLINKER-HEADLIGHTS, BURNING PLASTIC SMELL, COULD NOT LOCATE, ENDED WITH SMOKE ROLLING OUT OF STEERING COLUMN WHEN WHEN WE STARTED THE ENGINE, LUCKILY, WE PULLED THE FUSE THAT POWERED IT OUT OF FUSE BOX TO ENABLE US TO RETURN HOME--70 MILES AWAY, WITH NO LIGHTS, BLINKERS, ETC. CALLED DEALER, WANTED $400.00+ TO LOOK AT IT, AND ASKED ABOUT THE ERRATIC DASH ODOMETER ACTIVITY. WE TOOK IT TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP, AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD HAVE DAMAGED THE COMPLETE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN DASH HAD WE NOT REMOVED THE POWER TO THE HARNESS. MELTED HARNESS NEARLY COMPLETELY. ERRATIC GAUGE OPERATION STILL A PROBLEM, IF YOU HIT A BUMP THEY COME BACK ON. THEY STILL WANT 400+ DOLLARS TO LOOK AT IT AT THE DEALER. THIS IS ONLY ONE OF MANY PROBLEMS (CONVERTER REPLACED BY DEALER 2 TIMES ALREADY IN 1 AND HALF YEAR, BRAKES DON'T ENGAGE PROPERLY-HAD BRAKE LINES CHECKED REPEATEDLY, ETC). TS

AS I HAVE READ MENTIONED BY OTHERS AT THIS WEBSITE, ABOUT A YEAR AFTER I BOUGHT THE JEEP, MY DASH GAUGES WOULD GO DOWN TO ZERO AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT WOULD GO ON. THIS PROBLEM IS A WINTER AND WET-WHETHER RELATED PROBLEM. IF I POUND ON THE DASHBOARD WITH MY FIST, SOMETIMES THE GAUGES WILL RECOVER TEMPORARILY. IF THEY DO RECOVER, THEY ALMOST IMMEDIATELY GO BACK DOWN TO ZERO. I SPOKE WITH A DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE PROBLEM. THEY ACTED SURPRISED. I SEE FROM OTHER PEOPLES COMMENTS THAT THEIR ARE NUMEROUS OTHER OCCASIONS OF THIS PROBLEM. I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE WITH THIS PROBLEM UNTIL EARLIER TODAY WHEN A MECHANIC FRIEND OF A FRIEND MENTIONED SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE 1998 JEEP WRANGLER HAS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I NEED A RESPONSE FROM THE GOVERNMENT. HAS THERE BEEN A RECALL ISSUED ON THIS? I HAVE ALSO HAD MY CATALYTIC CONVERTER "CRUMBLE TO PIECES" ACCORDING TO A LOCAL GARAGE. HE SEEMD TO THINK THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS. I AM AT A LOSS AS TO HOW TO FIND OUT IF THERE INDEED HAS BEEN A RECALL. PLEASE CONTACT ME.*AK

FAILURE OF INSTRUMENT CLUSTER (DEALER SAYS DUE TO FAULTY DESIGN OF HARNESS. MANUFACTURER HAS NOTICED AND REDESIGNED FOR NEW VEHICLES, SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED BY MANUFACTURER. HOWEVER, SINCE MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRENTY (>3YRS OWNERSHIP) I WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR REPLACEMENT OF WIRING HARNESS (DESPITE FACT THAT MANUFACTURER HAS ADMITTED HARNESS FAILURE WAS DUE TO IMPROPER DESIGN) - I AM NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS AND INTEND TO FOLLOW-UP.*AK