I bought my 2018 Jeep Wrangler Sport S Unlimited with 3.6 V-6 brand new in 2019 with no miles. I have been very happy with the Jeep. I have owned many Jeeps and owned many Chrysler products. I'm in Canada, but I will use miles in this post.
I don't like this engine because I have had random misfires and Cylinder three misfires that started around 68,000 miles, or before the Spark plugs needed replaced. Replacing the plugs, and swapping the coils did not move the misfire to another cylinder. When the valve train ticking started, the dealers I mentioned it to said since I was around 124,000 miles, I would have to pay for any repairs. They also weren't interested in fixing the paint bubbling problem, citing my high mileage disqualifies me. I decided to ride it out, since it didn't use any oil or coolant between changes. I always use full synthetic oil.
A week ago my Jeep shut down on the Highway and I had to get it towed home. It has about 195,000 miles on it. It started blowing oil and coolant out the exhaust a couple of weeks ago, and the coolant had started leaking into the crankcase the day before it died. The cooling system did not leak externally, it maintained pressure after shutdown and overnight.
I looked into getting a kit to put a V-8 in my Jeep, but, I couldn't justify the cost.
I went to the dealer and asked since there was a class action lawsuit in the USA for jeep engines built from 2014 to 2022 because the valve train issues could create catastrophic engine failure, have they replaced any engines for customers as goodwill or otherwise, and they said no. They also said there are no new engines available for me to buy in 2025 for a 2018 Jeep anywhere. There are no four cylinders, and non expected. There are no V-6 engines, but they are supposed to be planning a run of 250 with no promise date.
I have two friends with KIA cars, and they both got engines replaced because there were manufacturing defects.
There were no used 3.6 engines available in the last week.
I found a Jeep Specialist who rebuilds Jeep engines, he says he has one on a shelf. I paid half down and he will start installation next weekend in order to give a one year warranty.
The Jeep specialist laughed when he heard the mileage I had put on, and he said it is not typical for these engines to last as long as mine had. He said the problem is usually one of the odd numbered cylinders will misfire, and the Intake cam on that side will have issues.
I had expected with the eight speed transmission being economical, there would be loads of Jeeps with commuters selling them with high miles.
I went on line, and searched for 2018 and 2019 JL and JLU for sale, and sorted by mileage. There were 181 in Canada, and the highest mileage was 124,000 miles. The rest were clustered around 93,000 miles and less.
Part of the reason I bought the Jeep is it had the highest retained value of all used cars. I had several High mile I-6 4.0 Jeeps and even my minivan went 316,000 miles at which point I drove it to the scrap yard.
I have rebuilt many engines in the past, but, it is difficult for me to get the parts counter to confirm that they can deliver all the parts on my list, and my local dealer has raised their prices compared to other dealers. The cheapest, fastest solution appears to be the one I found in stock aftermarket.
The Jeep Specialist says he is having a hard time getting good engine cores to rebuild. I think it would be useful for people wanting to keep driving their JL, to mention if they know of 3.6 engine, (and 2.0), suppliers, since Jeep isn't stocking new engines. It would be useful to know if other 3.6 V-6 engines, say from a minivan or truck, could be made to work. I also wish I had found a V-8 that would bolt in and had a ECM that played nice with the rest of the Jeep. I seen a Chinese engine supplier of 3.6 engines, but they didn't have a model for the JL. If anyone has made a Chines 3.6 work, or bought a rebuild kit from China, it would be helpful to hear how it worked.
I don't like this engine because I have had random misfires and Cylinder three misfires that started around 68,000 miles, or before the Spark plugs needed replaced. Replacing the plugs, and swapping the coils did not move the misfire to another cylinder. When the valve train ticking started, the dealers I mentioned it to said since I was around 124,000 miles, I would have to pay for any repairs. They also weren't interested in fixing the paint bubbling problem, citing my high mileage disqualifies me. I decided to ride it out, since it didn't use any oil or coolant between changes. I always use full synthetic oil.
A week ago my Jeep shut down on the Highway and I had to get it towed home. It has about 195,000 miles on it. It started blowing oil and coolant out the exhaust a couple of weeks ago, and the coolant had started leaking into the crankcase the day before it died. The cooling system did not leak externally, it maintained pressure after shutdown and overnight.
I looked into getting a kit to put a V-8 in my Jeep, but, I couldn't justify the cost.
I went to the dealer and asked since there was a class action lawsuit in the USA for jeep engines built from 2014 to 2022 because the valve train issues could create catastrophic engine failure, have they replaced any engines for customers as goodwill or otherwise, and they said no. They also said there are no new engines available for me to buy in 2025 for a 2018 Jeep anywhere. There are no four cylinders, and non expected. There are no V-6 engines, but they are supposed to be planning a run of 250 with no promise date.
I have two friends with KIA cars, and they both got engines replaced because there were manufacturing defects.
There were no used 3.6 engines available in the last week.
I found a Jeep Specialist who rebuilds Jeep engines, he says he has one on a shelf. I paid half down and he will start installation next weekend in order to give a one year warranty.
The Jeep specialist laughed when he heard the mileage I had put on, and he said it is not typical for these engines to last as long as mine had. He said the problem is usually one of the odd numbered cylinders will misfire, and the Intake cam on that side will have issues.
I had expected with the eight speed transmission being economical, there would be loads of Jeeps with commuters selling them with high miles.
I went on line, and searched for 2018 and 2019 JL and JLU for sale, and sorted by mileage. There were 181 in Canada, and the highest mileage was 124,000 miles. The rest were clustered around 93,000 miles and less.
Part of the reason I bought the Jeep is it had the highest retained value of all used cars. I had several High mile I-6 4.0 Jeeps and even my minivan went 316,000 miles at which point I drove it to the scrap yard.
I have rebuilt many engines in the past, but, it is difficult for me to get the parts counter to confirm that they can deliver all the parts on my list, and my local dealer has raised their prices compared to other dealers. The cheapest, fastest solution appears to be the one I found in stock aftermarket.
The Jeep Specialist says he is having a hard time getting good engine cores to rebuild. I think it would be useful for people wanting to keep driving their JL, to mention if they know of 3.6 engine, (and 2.0), suppliers, since Jeep isn't stocking new engines. It would be useful to know if other 3.6 V-6 engines, say from a minivan or truck, could be made to work. I also wish I had found a V-8 that would bolt in and had a ECM that played nice with the rest of the Jeep. I seen a Chinese engine supplier of 3.6 engines, but they didn't have a model for the JL. If anyone has made a Chines 3.6 work, or bought a rebuild kit from China, it would be helpful to hear how it worked.
