2004 JEEP WRANGLER — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

My Jeep's frame is rusted. There are holes and cracks in the frame from the rust. The Jeep will not pass my states safety inspection because of the rust. Parts of the suspension that are attached to the frame are about to fall off.

The frame has been compromised due to rust. The frame rusted from the inside out because the frame was not properly engineered from the factory. There are no weep holes at the lowest point on the frame. This causes water to sit in the frame and rust from the inside out. The rust appears without warning. This is an extremely dangerous because the frame can break without warning and cause loss of control. My vehicle is available to be inspected upon request.

The frame on the Jeep TJ is prone to rot. Mine is so rusted that body shops refuse to repair it, claiming their insurance won't cover them. My Jeep has 123,233 miles and is otherwise in very good condition, but the frame has rust severe enough to make driving the vehicle unsafe. The Jeep Forum on the Internet is full of similar stories, so Chrysler has known about this problem for many years. You should make them recall the Jeeps and repair or replace the frame. A few years ago Toyota did a similar recall on their small pickup trucks.

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.

HIT A REGULAR BUMP IN THE ROAD, AT 35 MILES PER HOUR ON A STRAIT STRETCH OF ROAD AND THE ATTACHMENT POINT FOR THE FRONT SUSPENSION PULLED AWAY FROM THE FRAME AND I LOST CONTROL OF THE JEEP, UPON FURTHER INSPECTION I DISCOVERED THAT THE ENTIRE CENTER SECTION OF THE FRAME IS RUSTED FROM THE INSIDE OUT ON BOTH SIDES, THE FRAME SHOULD BE THE LAST THING TO FAIL ON ANY VEHICLE, THIS JEEP HAS ONLY 65,000 MILES ON IT AND HAS NEVER BEEN OFF ROADED OR ABUSED. FOR A VEHICLE THAT IS KNOWN TO LAST 200K MILES PLUS TO HAVE FRAME FAILURE AT 65K MILES IS NOT ONLY NEGLIGENT ON CHRYSLERS BEHALF BUT IT ALSO POSES A REAL SAFETY HAZARD TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, IMAGINE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE DRIVING THESE JEEPS DOWN THE ROAD AT 70-80 MILES PER HOUR WITH A FRAME THAT COULD FAIL AT ANYTIME. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THESE JEEPS AND CHRYSLER NEEDS TO BE FORCED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT BEFORE MORE LIVES ARE LOST, IN 10 YEARS MANY OF THESE VEHICLES WILL STILL BE ON THE ROAD AND THE PROBLEM WILL ONLY GET WORSE. PLEASE HELP