The 2007 Jeep Wrangler completely change the game for Jeep. It brought the brand’s halo car — the vehicle every Jeep Compass and Patriot and Liberty owner wanted to drive — into the mainstream. Now instead of dreaming about a Wrangler while driving 2.5 kids around in a Liberty, people could daily one. What this did for Jeep as a brand, and for the off-road world, is almost immeasurable.
The year was 2015 and it was my very first trip to Moab, Utah. I had just moved from the city of Detroit to Troy, Michigan to have a garage for my first Jeep build. I was in Michigan in the first place after basically spending my entire life trying to get a job on the Jeep Wrangler engineering team; with that life’s goal achieved, I was now checking off another bucketlist item: attend t he Easter Jeep Safari.
I spent that whole trip riding shotgun with a fellow engineer’s friends, all of whom were driving built-up Jeep Wrangler JKs. What I remember most from that trip was just the sheer volume of JKs on the trails, driven by people from all walks of life, and what I also remember was how obvious it was that the JK had pumped insane amounts of money into the off-road world.
I recall hanging out with other Fiat-Chrysler employees being led on trail rides by suppliers who had become millionaires off just the Jeep Wrangler JK. Dozens and dozens of companies sprung up from the aftermarket demand created by the four-door, and the number of filthy-rich business owners (many from rural parts of the country) was insane.
I talked about what the JK meant to the off-road world and to Jeep in my Jalopnik article Say Farewell To The Jeep Wrangler JK: The Most Important Jeep Of A Generation, interviewing the JL Wrangler’s product planner, as well as two business owners whose work was almost entirely centered around the JK platform. From Tony Carvallo, the product planner of the JK’s succesor:
“The reason why it got so big is because it introduced another segment of people, and that is people with families,” he said. He told me that, for the longest time, the Wrangler was a small, specialized vehicle, but when Jeep released a four-door for 2007, that changed.
Tony described why he thinks the Jeep has done so well, even during the recession. “When the economy was going down, people were scrounging and trying to figure out ways to still have their fun vehicles,” he said, “and what a great way to still have your fun vehicle, and still have your vehicle to drive your kids to school.”
[…]
Another key attribute that Tony says made the JK so popular is its adaptability. “One of the most important factors of the success of the Wrangler [JK],” he told me “is that I can just modify it just a little and now it’s mine.”
From Arlin Sitler, owner of Jeep shop Red Rock Customs and of the Jeep you see above:
Considering I pretty much ONLY work on JK’s…yes [the JK is important]. It’s the core of my business.”\
…”Anything you want to do to make it yours, is possible…The combinations of parts available make every single Jeep out there unique in some way or another.”
“I’ve met so many cool people with this Jeep. Truly best experience of my life and it continues to be so.”
And from Mel Wade, owner of well-known Jeep supplier Off-Road Evolution:
Wade told me that the JK has been a huge player in keeping the industry healthy. “The JK really carried the whole off-road industry for the last seven years,” he said. “In my opinion, [the JK] really turned the Jeep market into a big, big market,” he said. “It became an every-family’s Jeep,” appealing to everyone from “grocery getters, high school kids, to CEOs.”
“It wasn’t just an extra vehicle; it was now a daily driver,” Wade told me over the phone a few months ago. And part of that, he said, had to do with the vehicle’s comfort. Things like navigation, power windows, and the Jeep’s extra room were a huge draw to consumers.
You get the idea. The JK was larger than life.
This Particular Trade-In, Though? Needs Some Love
I’m talking about the JK because I recently drove a 2010 Jeep Wrangler that had just been traded in to The Autopian’s sister-company, Galpin, for a 2025 Ford Bronco. This particular machine was the big-dog of the lineup: The Rubicon. That meant locking Dana 44 axles front and rear with 4.10:1 gearing, plus a 4:1 “Rock Track” transfer case, a sway bar disconnect switch, skid plates, rock rails — the works.
It’s been over a decade since I’ve driven in a JK, and I totally get why it completely changed the game and sold in annual volumes of a quarter-million. It’s big inside — not just long, but wide.
There’s tons of room for five people and their stuff, and because the tires are so big compared to the old Rubicon TJ’s stock tires, the capability is still there despite the giant belly.
The interior quality isn’t great, as this is a Daimler-era Jeep — so it’s all ugly gray hard plastics. But at least it’s held up quite well other than the torn seats.
Getting the engine started was tough; upon turning the key, the motor would just crank and crank and crank, but it wouldn’t fire, leaving a bit of a gas smell underhood. Eventually, with the right throttle-key application, I got the 3.8-liter “minivan motor” that so many say is underpowered for the four-door to run quite smoothly. Is it the original engine? I’m not sure; these 3.8s are known to be reasonably reliable, with some tending to burn oil towards the ends of their lives; this one both looked and sounded great after 200,000 miles:
Sadly, I never got to experience that allegedly-underpowered motor or the overheat-prone four-speed automatic it was bolted to, because this particular trade-in had a serious suspension/brake problem, which became apparent as soon as I touched the left pedal. “CLINK!” I heard when tapping the brake. “Uh? What?” I thought. I rolled forward and tried it again. “CLINK!”
Whatever it was did not sound good. I had Griffin, The Autopian’s video manager, step out. “Yo, the brake caliper is literally turning with the wheel!” he said. I had him jump in and stomp the brake. Sure enough! When he tapped the brake, the caliper traveled the arc of the rotor, and when he let go, the caliper fell down! CLINK!
I suspect the entire axle is being pulled by the rotor because the control arm bushings are completely toast, but I’m not entirely sure. What I am sure of is: I’m not driving this thing on public roads.
I’m assuming this Jeep is going to wholesale, which means it’d probably be cheap for me to buy… With over 200,000 miles on its odometer, I was impressed at the vehicle’s overall condition. Obviously, it needs a seat repair, it needs suspension work, the headlights are hazy, and the Rubicon stickers on the hood are peeling, but the body looks great, the paint looks really good, the black plastic trim has clearly been conditioned but looks nice (aside from the pushed-in endcap, which was a common problem on JKs), and even the cabin looks as good as an early JK can. If it weren’t for that four-speed auto, I might have put in an offer.
The JK was the first Wrangler to pass IIHS’s Small Overlap Crash Test; my Jeep YJ is a bit of a deathtrap, and though I love it, I have kids now, so I’m starting to eye four-door Wranglers. Younger-me would be disgusted, as he thought four-door Wranglers were blasphemous. But younger me also owned 14 cars and hadn’t had a date in a decade, so what does he know?
I have a 185K mile 2012 JKU, Jeeps are often beaten like rented mules and put away wet. Toyotas are supposed to last forever so people take care of them, Jeeps never die they just keep getting worse (joke) so people do not bother. I live in the upper mid west road salt zone and rust is a struggle. I still use the lifetime bumper to bumper warranty 1-2 times a year and am waiting for it to be canceled one day. The 3.6L has been a very good motor.
“Yo, the brake caliper is literally turning with the wheel!”
That’s a new one for me.
“I suspect the entire axle is being pulled by the rotor because the control arm bushings are completely toast, but I’m not entirely sure.”
Sounds more like someone didn’t put the bolts back on the caliper.
How is it doing a 360 with the line still attached?
I have no idea. I don’t see how a caliper moving with the rotor could be caused by the entire axle being pulled by the rotor because the control arm bushings are completely toast. But that is more likely a failing on my part to understand what David means by this. But what I can understand is the caliper coming off because someone forgot to bolt it back on after checking the pads.
On one hand, you’re one of the few people who sees that as a repairable vehicle.
On the other hand, there’s the JL. 🙂
It’s the top control arm bushings.
I know, because mine needs them in the worst way. I stop at 550 mailboxes a day, 6 days a week, and every single time, she goes “CLUNK”
The Jk wrangler is one of the most abused (and tolerant of abuse) modern vehicles that exist. I have a theory of why that would take way too long to type, but I promise I’m right.
A list of things currently wrong with my 2015 JK (keep in mind folks, it does the same job as a Grumman LLV for 7 hour a day, 6 days a week)
Clock spring is out (ABS, stability,traction control lights on)
Randomly goes into limp mode due to a broken wire somewhere in the harness
Upper control arm bushings shot
Both rear wheel bearings loose and leaking oil
Currently has 3 different size tires
Leak somewhere in the coolant system that requires me to bleed air from the radiator cap once every couple of months or it shows that it’s overheating
Transmission shudders violently in 4th and 5th gear under converter lockup (has been doing this for a over a year and 40,000 miles)
Oil plug threads are worn out, must be tightened by my hand only or it will leak)
Driver window inop due to broken wires in door harness
Blower motor only works on the middle setting
Limited slip doesn’t limit, it just slips
4wd shift lever bushing has left the chat, instead of fixing I removed the console and just slip the pawl onto the lever by hand when 4wd needed
Rear gate is opened and closed by operating a ratchet strap
Front sway bar bushings gone, swaybar sounds like an 1850s locomotive going down rough tracks
Rear wiper no longer works, wires ripped out of motor by a wayward Amazon package
Both front fenders gone (one from a tree off-roading, one from a deer strike)
Whew. I think that’s it.
But you know what?
After all the things wrong with it, and the estimated 18,000 hours currently on the factory powertrain, she fires up and runs every single day. It literally has never stopped me from doing my job once, despite currently being mechanically totalled.
They’re still too new for anyone to admit it, but in 20 years, there are going to be a lot more of these things still out there on the roads than most people realize today.
Did they move the rubber ducks that once covered the dashboard to the new Bronco? Is that even allowed?
Uh, “kids”? Plural? Something you’re not telling us here, David?
I thought the same thing when I read that.
I also clocked that plural!
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket.
RIP to “Death Wish David”.
“But younger me also owned 14 cars and hadn’t had a date in a decade…”
I’m guessing that when you called Elise (NHRN) to ask if you could buy this, she reminded you of that. 🙂
This Jeep has clearly seen some stuff, and presumably dragged itself onto the Galpin lot to be traded in. Of the list of vehicles that I would expect to still be drivable at 200k, an abused Jeep Wrangler would be near the bottom of that list.
I positively hate 4-door Wranglers, always will and this one quote from above tells why:
“Things like navigation, power windows, and the Jeep’s extra room were a huge draw to consumers.”
There it is, that damning word: consumers. Previously, Wrangler and CJ owners were not consumers. If anything we were contrarians, happily plodding along in our thoroughly unrefined runabouts that leaked weather through every seam and hole, returned awful fuel mileage and drove on roads like a giraffe on roller skates. We were content putting up with these idiosyncrasies because we knew where the roads end, Jeeping begins. Also, these antisocial qualities kept the “consumers” from buying in.
The 4-door Wrangler put paid to contrarian notions. “Consumers” were free to sit in carpools all week with their Wranglers and not feel like they were endangering their descendants. It stole the cool from Jeeping, but worse, it emboldened a lot of these posers to head to woods and try their hands at off-roading, rock crawling and mudding. Soon enough, the popular trail sites began to look like a German autobahn on Easter Weekend: All parking lot.
If still a bit crude, the 4-door Wrangler was civilized. Legacy Jeepers began to feel like Chief Lone Watie in “The Outlaw Josie Wales” when he joked that his people were called a “civilized tribe” simply “because we’re easy to sneak up on. White men have been sneaking up on us for years.” Consumers were white men! Figuratively speaking, anyway.
No, we protested, to no avail. Wranglers are prehistoric, we cried. They belong on the outside of the fence in Jurassic Park. But we were outvoted by annual sales. Alas, the consumers prevailed.
Now, 2-door Wranglers are seldom seen and for that I will alway hate the 4-door Wrangler.
Except, of course, for the fact that without the popularity of the 4-door Wrangler, it’s likely the 2-door would’ve gone the way of the dodo.
So for that, and that alone, I say thanks to all the folks that bought their 4-door Wranglers. Country’s big enough for all of us.
This is a beautiful take in its self-reflection and honesty.
Bravo, well written take. I’ve never been been an off-road fan, but I get this.
What’s it now 90/10 split for sales? Jeep hasn’t helped either – the 2 door looks like a chopped down Jeep now as opposed to the balanced beauty when they were making TJs still.
Yes, the extra width and height of current Wranglers looks awkward on a short wheelbase.
This one is likely too rust-free for David even if he is intrigued by the potential for lots of deferred maintenance surprises.
This is kind of the archetype for the average Jeep Wrangler 4-door trade-in, though. Boring coloring scheme, tons of highway miles, traded in for a replacement from a competing brand, probably in the vain hopes of looking cool while also not being miserable from the on-road driving experience. Crucially, no visual undercarriage evidence of ever having been off road, despite the owner opting for the specific set of features that would be optimal for that purpose.
I’d like to know what it was traded on, a Bronco or something completely different (and more suited to current CA gas prices).
The story states it was traded in for a Bronco.
On me for posting before reading the print article, because I found the video at the top of my Youtube feed before it went live on the main site.
Ford is absolutely killing it getting the 4 door wrangler people to buy a 4 door bronco. They feel a lot better on road where most of them live all the time.
Maybe a good body donor for another that is completely rusted out.
Don’t go JK (no offense to JKs). LJs had a big bump in value over the past few years but have surprisingly come down recently. Find yourself an LJ (you know you want another 4.0), then buy yourself a BullDawg hardtop with the gullwing windows so you can load Delmar into the back seat through the window (he’ll love it).
The LJs are getting rare and hard to find. Not many sold and many have rusted away. They are awesome.
I’d love to hear some educated guesses on what the buy-here/pay-here lot who buys this thing wholesale will do to cover up the problems. Be creative. It’ll start with an air freshener.
Tire shine and armor-all is all it needs.
Grease the rear brakes. Throw some snake oil in the engine and instant clutch in the trans. Engine dressing and a seat cover. Bathe in the interior in protectant name brand like armor all cuts into the margins.
How about the straps that guy used the other day?
Why do I get the feeling that ratchet straps are going to be a new Autopian meme comment.
I support this message as strap guy was utterly stupid.
Park it with the radio cranked up so nobody’ll hear the brakes clunk on the test drive.
They could be like the guy at a BHPH lot who got pissed at me for trying to talk him down on the price of an old Galant. Had the codes read at an auto parts store, pointed out the end links that were just hanging down under the car and…
He started shouting obscenities and threats at us and literally chased us out of the parking lot, trying to grab the car and banging on the windows as we left. That shit doesn’t fly with me, so he got to have a nice chat with the police that day.
Just remove the loose brake caliper entirely and pinch the line off, that’s the brake issue sorted. It still has 3 other ones, you’ll be fine.
Secure the brake caliper with a couple good strong zip ties.
This is a very educated guess:
Customer: “I heard a clunk on the test drive.”
Dealer: “That’s strange. I didn’t hear anything when I drove it, but we’ll have a mechanic look at it for you no problem.”
“Great news! Our mechanic checked it out and he says it’s not a problem, just cosmetic.
We checked it against all of our new Jeeps and they all do the same thing.
As a preventative measure, we replaced all of the lug nuts on that corner free of charge. It’ll just cost you $85.76 for the parts.”
“I can see that you’re a lady that takes care of her vehicles, so I can even throw in an aftermarket warranty. Any future repairs would be free of charge.
Premiums start at $2845.98 per year plus taxes, so you’ll have the piece of mind that you deserve.”
Knowing some Compass, Patriot and Liberty owners – nope. Is this what Wrangler owners tell themselves while putting up with a Wrangler’s absolutely horrible on-pavement driving dynamics?
As a Compass owner, I’ve driven plenty of JK & JL Wranglers: I’d rather have the Compass. Unless I’m fortunate enough to move to the countryside and have to drive on unpaved roads more frequently, there’s zero good reasons to owning a Wrangler.
You must buy this.
I think Griffin runs these by Elise(nhrn) first so he’d never show David a Jeep he might be tempted to buy.
“So…it’s a Jeep Wrangler. But…I found one Dave absolutely WILL NOT want at all!”
bingo
The one and only time I drove a more modern Jeep was when we rented one in Hawaii. Now I know loads of people love these things. But it was amongst the worst things I’ve driven. The experience was akin to driving a steel box with narrow slits for windows. It had a god-awful delay in pressing the gas pedal and waiting for the response. Totally made for an almost disconnected experience. The interior was either small or felt small. Again probably because the pillbox-like experience made it feel claustrophobic. It like they squeezed every bit of the charm and guttural mechanical experience from the older jeeps and replaced it with… meh.
I few years back I rented a modern Jeep to drive waaaay out in the middle of no-where Death Valley (but don’t worry, Mr. Rental Car Company, it was all on official California number-designated roads!). I couldn’t be sure that the rental company would give me an actual off-road capable vehicle or a soft-roader, so I went with the Wrangler.
It was terrible. Cramped, crowded and claustrophobic, hard to get in and out of…it was not a great rental. It did what it was supposed to do (but shortly after Jeep started the recall about the 4xe fire risk…).
My ZJ is leagues better.
Ok… so I have a rental wrangler reserved and now I’m second guessing. We are headed to Canmore in January and really want to go climb in the ghost. I know if conditions are bad, nothing gets back there, but I’m trying to give myself the best chance. Is it so awful that I should consider just giving up on something high-ish clearance?
They really aren’t THAT bad anymore, you will be fine. I’ve had a few for rentals the past few years, from a 2.0T 4dr to a Gladiator. They drive like a truck, they are heavy and inefficient, but they won’t rattle your brains out or anything. The 2drs are MUCH worse than the 4drs, but rental 2drs seem fairly rare. But they are not cars nor do they drive like a car. They are definitely not particularly spacious vehicles.
We rented the one in Hawaii because we were going to some pretty inaccessible places. It was fine. Yes- it can off road really well. And if you have to do that then its not a bad choice. Granted a Subaru Crosstrek will also go off roading really well. But that’s not usually avail as a rental.
Oh it was thoroughly and appropriately a Jeep, it just wasn’t what I expected.
My partner and I often joke that the Wrangler we rented will go on to live a life in SoCal parking lots, it’s second (and third) owners never knowing it actually did some legit off-roading.
The hilarious part is that these are SOOOOOOOO much better than the older ones to drive it isn’t even funny. But they still pretty much suck on pavement, not surprisingly at all. Pretty much every single thing you do to a truck to make it better off-road just makes it worse and worse on one.
Judging by those nearly pristine underbody shots, this one has never tackled anything tougher than a speed bump at the mall, of course. Because you NEED the top-of-the-line Rubicon with those lockers and whatnot for that. I don’t get it either, obviously it’s a Jeep thing and people with actual brain cells don’t understand.
My cousin had an older one. Yeah it was pretty awful to drive. But it felt more…. honest? Like it was obviously more like an agrarian farm implement but that’s part of the charm. The new ones are more like they took something that was acceptably crappy and made it unacceptable doctoring it all up in an attempt to make it seem more modern.
LOL – I can’t disagree.
They ARE a ton more modern underneath though and actually reasonably OK as on-pavement vehicles while still being SERIOUSLY capable off-road. Though I seriously DO NOT GET why anyone would buy one and then never use it for what they are intended for. What’s the point? Just about any other SUV is better on the road, while still being “capable enough” off-road too.
There are a ton of used rubicons out there with sway bar disconnects and lockers that were never activated. I beat the crap out of my jeep off road many days a week and a few weeks a year.
I think the buy but never use is the same as the people with 3/4 ton trucks with nothing in the bed every bigger than a hockey bag.
I ran into a couple with a rubicon and they believed the sales person that the towing capacity was higher. (this was before they upped the towing with the HD D44 rear end). I told them they were fooled.
Next time get an Altima. I loved the one I had.
The first time I drove a new TJ Wrangler waaaay back in 1996, I thought it was like driving a phone booth. It was terrible on-road in every way: noisy, terrible fuel economy (4.0L/3-speed auto), harsh powertain behavior, handled like a garbage dumpster on casters, small inside, etc. The JK was better in some ways, certainly bigger inside than a TJ, but with the minivan 3.8L it was bog slow and still got horrid fuel economy. And both of these were absolutely stock and unmodified vehicles. They must be good off-road because they are so awful on-road!
I rented a 2 door JK Rubi in Moab back in 2017, it was mildly modded. It only took one turn out of the rental parking lot to realize I kind of hated it. The next morning, I took it to Fins N Things and fell in love with it.
I realized I’d never want one (at least a 2 door) as a DD, but I became obsessed with getting one. I ended up going with a 4Runner, even most of the Jeep guys I talked to told me a 4R was better for my use case, but even then, I’d feel a little jealous whenever I saw a nice JLU.
I’m over than now, I’d rather have a Bronco as a DD, but I’d love to have a TJ or LJ for a weekend toy/offroad rig.
Can you reattach the caliper with ratchet straps?
You have to use JK Weld.
I don’t off-road for fun; for me it’s a means to an end. So for those who know, can an unmodified 4 door rubicon actually do the rubicon trail? From what little bit of the trail I know, it seems the crux is more the length and sharp granite than anything else, but I’ve always kind of wondered how aspirational the name was.
It can absolutely do it, with great spotters and maybe a winch-out or two.
“What I am sure of is: I’m not driving this thing on public roads.”
The title of this should be “DT finds a car so sketchy he won’t drive it.”
Only because it’s not actually his. Let’s all chip in to buy it and get him to drive it back to Michigan as-is plus a $200 budget on eBay.
Yo! You’re missing the last sentence of the article!
Y’all clicked this so fast I couldn’t even hit “save” in time. RESPECT!
Bookmark this article, fellow enthusiasts.
It’s Part I of a 53-part series that will eventually be titled “How the city of Los Angeles, the state of California, and the EPA fined me six figures for my Jeep collection.”
Is this like Python and the Castle Arrrrgggghhhh.
David dropping off mid-sentence. The rust monster finally rose and got his revenge!