[Spank]

Originally Posted by Sandlapper3396

Not to be a total dick but in every Jeep commercial there are small white words on the bottom of the screen. Same with any sportscar, motorcycle, or any vehicle for that matter. Professional driver on closed course. Do not attempt.. I find it extremely hard to believe that the OP or anyone who has had the misfortune of their vehicle burning collected that much debris on any paved road. If you're going to offroad take the extra minute to look over your rig before and after for your own safety.

You're absolutely right, but if you've ever seen a Jeep commercial, everybody knows the yuppie trails they film and travel on could be easily traversed by a Honda Civic. Granted, in the scenes where you see a Wrangler dip into a pool of mud, the aforementioned Civic is totally going to get stuck, but at least you can sit there and wait for rescue without the worry that the damn thing is going to catch on fire.

I agree you should always check your vehicle before and after an offroad trip, but I'm talking about typical driving, not offroading. Most of the rare occasions you're hearing about the JK's going ablaze is when they're on the street. Many of the infamous photos of crispy JK's take place ON pavement.

And of course the consumer needs to take responsibility in maintenence and safety checks of their vehicle. Nobody is debating that. But it shouldn't be necessary to thoroughly examine your Jeep prior to driving it on the road each and every time so you can be sure it doesn't become engulfed in a searing inferno before dropping the kids off to school.

[WT101]

This attitude bothers me:

To get a little extra cash you can mention you installed an aftermarket exhaust or header, atleast I know AAA gives a little bonus for "engine modification", they dont even check.

Advocating for insurance fraud. Kills me. People complain about high insurance rates and then turn around and defraud the insurance company of money they aren't entitled to, thereby causing the insurance company to raise rates, causing more fraud, etc.

It's just outright dishonest. End of discussion.

[ronjenx]

Originally Posted by Spank

You're absolutely right, but if you've ever seen a Jeep commercial, everybody knows the yuppie trails they film and travel on could be easily traversed by a Honda Civic. Granted, in the scenes where you see a Wrangler dip into a pool of mud, the aforementioned Civic is totally going to get stuck, but at least you can sit there and wait for rescue without the worry that the damn thing is going to catch on fire.

I agree you should always check your vehicle before and after an offroad trip, but I'm talking about typical driving, not offroading. Most of the rare occasions you're hearing about the JK's going ablaze is when they're on the street. Many of the infamous photos of crispy JK's take place ON pavement.

And of course the consumer needs to take responsibility in maintenence and safety checks of their vehicle. Nobody is debating that. But it shouldn't be necessary to thoroughly examine your Jeep prior to driving it on the road each and every time so you can be sure it doesn't become engulfed in a searing inferno before dropping the kids off to school.

It is completely possible the debris picked while wheeling won't catch fire until the vehicle is back on the paved street or highway.

[Dronac]

Hopefully insurance will cover the cost of a new JK! Leaves or no, this is more motivation for me to install a transmission cooler this week.

Also, since the JK's are so high up, even at stock height you can easily crawl completely underneath it. I try to do a inspection underneath every other week. I crawl under it on my back and check everything I can see.

[jm16]

Originally Posted by nam1

For leaves and debris? I'd say it's your own responsibility to check. It seems well documented enough that they collect debris. If you aren't checking then the issue isn't a Chrysler problem but your own. If it was something to do with a brake line rupture then I would tend to agree.

So how often is adequate? Pull over every half mile to check? I live in upstate NY and in the fall there are leaves EVERYWHERE. I could see getting some stuck up there while driving on pavement.

[nam1]

Originally Posted by skivviss

please go ahead and get a class action law suit going then if you truly believe that its a safety issue that foreign objects can become lodged/attached to a jeep.

in reality, warning label or not, you should be inspecting your jeep before and after wheeling. even on road cars, you should always be checking things.

a month or so ago, i ran into a guy that hadn't popped his jk's hood in who knows how long, but he had a packrat nest right above his battery. damn chrysler for not preventing pack rats from building a nest. or even warning this guy it could happen.

It worked for McDonalds. Now every single cup of coffee has "Extremely Hot" written on the side and well I guess they did lower the temperature as well.

[nwbronco]

Maintenance should follow any routine that takes the vehicle to task. If you are running through debris filled streets, then you should take a look underneath after every excursion. Take into account:
Leaves everywhere are not a sure sign you will collect them. Especially doing road speeds. Too much interfeernece from wind. It's the low speed, trail crawling, debris strewn trail that will cause the trouble. Transmission coolers are a good thing, but, have absolutely nothing to do with debris being caught between a skid plate and an exhaust system. Most off roaders have incurred a warning from a forest ranger or DNR official about running with a spark arrestor (muffler) and will on occasion look under your rig to make sure you have one.

[nate320]

Originally Posted by Sandlapper3396

Unfortunately this is well documented for every JK that has caught fire. It is a manufacturing flaw. If you look underneath the vehicle the stock skid plate is a friggin shovel. It will scoop anything and everything and hold it there until it ignites if you're not careful.

Not to be a total dick but in every Jeep commercial there are small white words on the bottom of the screen. Same with any sportscar, motorcycle, or any vehicle for that matter. Professional driver on closed course. Do not attempt.. I find it extremely hard to believe that the OP or anyone who has had the misfortune of their vehicle burning collected that much debris on any paved road. If you're going to offroad take the extra minute to look over your rig before and after for your own safety.

In the manual, there are about 6 pages that cover the "proper ways" to drive in certain types of terrain such as mud, water, logs and other things. I don't think they would put those things in the manual if they didn't think people would do it. I guess thats my opinion but I'm also positive Chrysler also put a page in the manual to cover their arses as well


All the best to the OP, though!

[McKBrew]

We are talking about two distinct issues here.

One is the possibility of fires from overheating/dripping transmission. The dealer solution is a warning light. For well less than a hundred bucks you can install an aftermarket cooler and add that piece of mind. You can argue all day long about whether or not Chrysler should install the coolers, but until they change their policies it's your choice if you are willing to accept the risk.

Another is a less common risk of fire from overheating vegetation on the bottom of a skid plate. The chances of this happening to the average guy, rare. Possible scenario, a bunch of dried leaves ended up under there. Then some water/mud mixed in and instead of being a lightweight pile that blows off, you have a hardened mess that doesn't move. There are a couple options here. Remove the skid plates or check them at regular intervals and clean them off. For the street driver, pulling the skid plates might make sense.

You can't say that this is a SERIOUS safety defect or anything like that, UNLESS there is a documented pattern of JK's catching on fire specifically from burning debris. This is the first case of this sort of fire I have heard of.

[ronjenx]

I have heard of a few others catching fire from trapped debris. And there is mention of that possibility in the owners manual.

[GXP20T]

Sadly, you're not the only one to have a Jeep fire. If you check the other forums, several have lots their Jeep's to fires.

[ctgretzky99]

Hi all, Im the OP

Just some info...

I had not taken this off road yet...in any meaningful way. And the last time was months ago. I cannot possibly tell you how leaves got up there, although it is crazy fall here and leaves are everywhere.

It is VERY silly to think people are going to visually inspect under a typical car for trapped debris. If you say you do it a lot, great for you, but in my entire life of street driving, I nor anyone else I know has ever looked under the car for trapped debris unless there was cause for it.

I am at a complete loss how they got trapped: they did. Not much retrospect changes that. I can't tell you if it is a design flaw, probably just bad luck. Things happen sometimes freakishly. It sucks, but things happen.

In the meantime, working with insurance, and looking at a 2011 rubicon But I wont get hopes up yet...

[LostJeeper]

little off subject but since one guy mention gap if you put any thing on you jeep you need to pay for it as well when I wrecked my 03 rubi they only gave me 12000 for it but I had over 15 grand in parts in it guy USAA told me I had pay for a 30 grand Jeep if I wanted to get paid for extra stuff on Jeep

[Mol]

Originally Posted by LostJeeper

little off subject but since one guy mention gap if you put any thing on you jeep you need to pay for it as well when I wrecked my 03 rubi they only gave me 12000 for it but I had over 15 grand in parts in it guy USAA told me I had pay for a 30 grand Jeep if I wanted to get paid for extra stuff on Jeep

You need to document everything installed (keep receipts), and buy adequate insurance...not all companies cover modifications, so call around and ask questions. As you well know, it worth paying a few bucks more to have your investment properly protected.


To the OP, sorry to hear, hope you get everything worked out, and glad nobody was injured!

Mike

[nwbronco]

Originally Posted by ctgretzky99

Hi all, Im the OP

Just some info...

I had not taken this off road yet...in any meaningful way. And the last time was months ago. I cannot possibly tell you how leaves got up there, although it is crazy fall here and leaves are everywhere.

It is VERY silly to think people are going to visually inspect under a typical car for trapped debris. If you say you do it a lot, great for you, but in my entire life of street driving, I nor anyone else I know has ever looked under the car for trapped debris unless there was cause for it.

I am at a complete loss how they got trapped: they did. Not much retrospect changes that. I can't tell you if it is a design flaw, probably just bad luck. Things happen sometimes freakishly. It sucks, but things happen.

In the meantime, working with insurance, and looking at a 2011 rubicon But I wont get hopes up yet...

You are right, things happen that don't make sense. And I know what you are saying. Folks who don't do much off roading don't look under their rigs very much. One of the reasons I carry a fire extinguisher. I've put out a few cars that managed to get debris lodged up against the exhaust.

Murphy is a relative of mine.

Good luck on the Rubicon.

Bob K.