From Wrangler to Bronco

[AZ_Craig]

Yeah, my first thought was that they didnt look at it today. We'll see what they feed me tomorrow. If its the same thing I'm walking in there and asking them to show me nothing is stored in history. At a minimum I need it running good to trade.

Just need it running without a check engine light on.

Go to the Ford. Stellantis is a mess.

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[Nc211]

Yeah, my first thought was that they didnt look at it today. We'll see what they feed me tomorrow. If its the same thing I'm walking in there and asking them to show me nothing is stored in history. At a minimum I need it running good to trade.

Not to mention, you're up in Philly which is not exactly winter friendly (road salt). Have you looked at the underside of a 10 year old jeep in a road salt environment before? My son wanted a Jeep as his first car. I entertained the idea of a used one (say 2015-17-ish) for about a minute. Man. The ones from up north, while looked good at first, really had some notable rust forming underneath. Really surprised me. If you do keep your Wrangler, being a tech, I hope you pull some connections to have it treated under there before it gets away from you.

 

[thebladerunnr]

I have a 2.7 auto with 64k and aside from the recalls haven’t had any mechanical or electrical issues (*knocks on wood *)

 

[AJKitebrder40]

Yeah, my first thought was that they didnt look at it today. We'll see what they feed me tomorrow. If its the same thing I'm walking in there and asking them to show me nothing is stored in history. At a minimum I need it running good to trade.

My friend has a '21 JLU, 6sp Manual. It's a sport and he bumped up to Rubicon tires. He had the clutch recall done because.......why not get a new clutch after 4 years. It's constantly throwing Service Transmission and going into a semi-limp mode. Takes it to the dealer and same issue, no codes.

He will have to get a Tazer to fix it himself I'm guessing, but.....that would be really aggravating. My JL was going to have the same recall done, now I had stock tires, so probably no issue, but who knows.

 

[AtomicKoalaJelly]

Not to mention, you're up in Philly which is not exactly winter friendly (road salt). Have you looked at the underside of a 10 year old jeep in a road salt environment before? My son wanted a Jeep as his first car. I entertained the idea of a used one (say 2015-17-ish) for about a minute. Man. The ones from up north, while looked good at first, really had some notable rust forming underneath. Really surprised me. If you do keep your Wrangler, being a tech, I hope you pull some connections to have it treated under there before it gets away from you.

Yeah, I was going to last year after I go it, but never got around to it. It'll happen this year if I keep it. I got rid of a 2001 Durango that had been in the family since new just before getting the wrangler because of rust. Body was near immaculate outside of the rockers, interior immaculate, engine ran amazing, trans was so so, but the frame? I had to sweep up after the damn thing every time I drove it out of the yard lmao.

 

[Catatonic]

How are the high mileage 2.3 7 speed Broncos holding up?

I have 2021 , 2.3 with 7MT about to hit 60K. Other than oil changes I've had it in the shop for warranty work on the soft top, and the known transfer case gravel noise when cold. My Bronco sat the entire summer on the lot while they figured out how to rebuild the transfer case. It didn't go in with problems, I just didn't want long term issues due to the rotational scraping. Dealer gave me a loaner and I learned that summer that the base Ford Escape does an incredible job of replicating the driving experience of a 1990 Ford Tempo, right down to the wheezing it makes when flooring.

Current conditions, I've just started getting a faint oil seepage on the front of the block.

Fuel pump recall, I personally haven't experienced any symptoms. I keep the tank over half full all the time and never run ethanol so maybe my pump stays cooler.

I haven't checked the frame rails for cracks in awhile. No crawling rocks and turning under load so no broken tie rods.

Very occasionally, I've experienced a bucking under acceleration in first gear but I attribute that to condensation in the inter-cooler, or maybe it's after I was previously in Sport mode and it's defaulted to Normal. I haven't quite identified as it's maybe 3 times a year. Let off the gas and coast a few seconds and it resolves. It's a wild horse so I excuse the occasional bucking.

Oh, and BigBend model, so I've worn the stock trail/street tires down to the 'change me' indicators (getting my money out of them!). Brake pads are going to be complaining soon. Commute 50 miles a day with both city/highway and consistently average 19.1 mpg.

While my problems with this vehicle have been relatively minimal compared to others, I'm not happy with Ford reliability post 2020. If I was rethinking vehicles and wanting reliable and fun I'd consider an older 6.2 raptor.

 

[Audiomate]

My entire crew drives JL/JT jeeps, I’m the black sheep that switched sides for the winning team

We noticed that after the four/five year mark, most of these newer JL/JT models all start to have weird problems. Radio bricking, 4xe battery completely dead, MT transmission issues, transfer case problems, dead small battery, paint bubbling and corrosion, spontaneous check engine light, engine overheating, dead engine, etc. there are so many cases it’s not worth writing a book here. But all theses issues are not the owner’s fault and it’s not for lack of service and maintenance. These jeeps are pristine and well maintained! One of them is even a mall crawler. It’s just how Stallantis have been manufacturing and assembling these things.

I was lucky to sell mine before more serious problems. But the corrosion and radio bricking for me was a PIA.

Let’s see how my Bronco will hold in the next year or so. It’s almost at the Jeep’s curse mark. Haha

 

[cmtaz]

We noticed that after the four/five year mark, most of these newer JL/JT models all start to have weird problems. Radio bricking, dead small battery... ,

Before I got my 2024 RUBI X I purchased a 2019 RUBI (this is in 2023). Went thru a large and small battery, and 9 days after I had purchased it the radio bricked. Fortunately, it was certified so the dealer wound up replacing the radio (and the batteries).

The jeep is a fun vehicle, as is the Bronco. That said I WOULD NEVER RECCOMEND OWNING ONE WITHOUT A MOPAR EXTENDED WARRANTY.

 

[KDWright5407]

The last Jeeps that I liked were the CJ-5, Cherokee Chief and J-10/J-20.
My Broncos exceed my expectations in every way.

The return of the Bronco was a big deal, stoking a frenzy because it offers an alternative to the Jeep Wrangler while looking like a modern interpretation of the classic original Bronco. Ford did it right and resisted slapping the venerated nameplate on some characterless, blob-shaped crossover.

Ford did it right and resisted slapping the venerated nameplate on some characterless, blob-shaped crossover.....Except they did that with the Sport

 

[Alpha]

Wonder what the Jeep sub would say outside of the few outliers there.

I own a 2019 2 Door Rubicon I had built (2.0L eTorque), fully loaded and a 2024 2 Door Badlands (2.7 w/ Pro Cal and Corsa dual tip performance exhaust) I had built and fully loaded. Happy to answer any questions unbiased.

 

[Imaginary Friend]

I own a 2019 2 Door Rubicon I had built (2.0L eTorque), fully loaded and a 2024 2 Door Badlands (2.7 w/ Pro Cal and Corsa dual tip performance exhaust) I had built and fully loaded. Happy to answer any questions unbiased.

And the verdict is?

My '23 2-door Rubicon 2.0 (no eTorque) that I ordered in lieu of a Bronco (for many reasons) has been fantastic, with no issues. I love the thing. While I still think I want a Bronco, I'm not sure I'm missing a thing other than better on-road manners and a bigger hole in the savings account.

 

[Alpha]

And the verdict is?

My '23 2-door Rubicon 2.0 (no eTorque) that I ordered in lieu of a Bronco (for many reasons) has been fantastic, with no issues. I love the thing. While I still think I want a Bronco, I'm not sure I'm missing a thing other than better on-road manners and a bigger hole in the savings account.

Absolutely no question the Jeep is more fun.

Absolutely no question the Bronco drives better if someone didn't want to really "drive" if that makes sense.

Quality has to have a slight edge to the Bronco, and its slight. My Jeep I have driven like I stole it and have a HEAVY foot. Man its nimble and the way it turns is such a blast. Bronco definitely more SUV feeling which is also really nice. Jeep interior fits me better with short doors for example which is nice when exiting the vehicle in a parking lot. Heck even the way you can rest your elbows on the door just fits my body frame though the Bronco kind of puts me in a comfortable position the Jeep has a lot of variation with both hands depending on how you hold the wheel. Should add that there is no comparison to sound. Bronco has this hands down.

I can REALLY dig into this in super detail if you're interested and can only comment on the 2 doors. I have never cared for the 4 doors and I know many won't like this but the 4 doors just lack the personality of the 2 doors from my perspective (excluding the Raptor of course as I have never driven one).

My lifestyle is extremely active. I am outdoors like crazy in my spare time. Hiking, trail running, mountain biking, and so on. Last night for example we have a cold front coming in where the heat index is dropping from 114 to high 80s. Mrs and I jumped in the topless\doorless Jeep just to cruise (we're right next to some beautiful lakes). We do this all of the time. When I commute to work, its in the Bronco which is roughly 45 miles a day. When I am out and about and playing, its in the Jeep. I think if I was more chill with my active lifestyle, I'd lean more into the Bronco.

Both have been problem free with my Jeep around 100k miles and my Bronco @ 20k+.

If I was in OP shoes its tough. Won't lose anything by dumping the Jeep, works for Ford and great discount. No one wants to be stuck with a bad apple per say. How expensive these are you shouldn't be in and out of the shop with a new vehicle it's just unacceptable.

It's such a blessing to own both of these awesome vehicles. They both have a list of Pro's and Con's, both awesome depending on a person's lifestyle, may lean someone more into one than the other but both would work great and it's still a win win. Awesome there is competition which will only benefit all of us.

 

[javelina]

My entire crew drives JL/JT jeeps, I’m the black sheep that switched sides for the winning team

We noticed that after the four/five year mark, most of these newer JL/JT models all start to have weird problems. Radio bricking, 4xe battery completely dead, MT transmission issues, transfer case problems, dead small battery, paint bubbling and corrosion, spontaneous check engine light, engine overheating, dead engine, etc. there are so many cases it’s not worth writing a book here. But all theses issues are not the owner’s fault and it’s not for lack of service and maintenance. These jeeps are pristine and well maintained! One of them is even a mall crawler. It’s just how Stallantis have been manufacturing and assembling these things.

I was lucky to sell mine before more serious problems. But the corrosion and radio bricking for me was a PIA.

Let’s see how my Bronco will hold in the next year or so. It’s almost at the Jeep’s curse mark. Haha

Lucky! we went through 5 of these little battery's while owning our 2019 JL MOAB.

 

[Audiomate]

Lucky! we went through 5 of these little battery's while owning our 2019 JL MOAB.

Damn, thats a lot!! I discovered early on that what was killing the battery was the auto start/stop. I stopped getting dead batteries once I turned it off with my Tazer!

 

[AtomicKoalaJelly]

So, the verdict is in. They drove it 5 miles, couldn't duplicate it and the service advisor completely wiffed on having a tech check anything out in regards to the throw out bearing noise despite multiple reminders to add it to the ticket. Im not even sure I mentioned that in the opening post.

Now, in all fairness, you can't diag something you can't duplicate. Ive been beating the balls off the thing the past two days trying to get it to do it again and its been running like a top for about 60 miles of driving and if I were a tech faced with that I'd be fuming.

A buddy has a scan a tool that could talk to the damn thing, but not run any of the special functions like tests or resets just pids and dtcs. Of which that all looked alright, couldn't see any history codes (which is odd because there are almost always meaningless history codes, unless those are under lock and key too...), just one current BCM code which was irrelevant... so either codes were cleared or this vehicle can misfire like a motherfucker and not set a single dtc.

Any how, with the 60th coming up on the Bronco I'm going to wait and see if any sales events occurr, maybe another Jeep Conquest incentive if I'm lucky. NTM 26's seem set for around October. So the lingering 24s w/manuals around may drop in price... The only decision at this point is, do I want to build it up myself or get the SAS package (which 2 door base with sas seems rare around me). That would be a topic for another thread though.


In other news, got my Ford cert for Electrical and Electronics. Woot! Something good happened this week!

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