Warning!! Dangerous design flaw in the 2006 Jeep Wranglers!!

There was a skit on Saturday Night Live a few years ago, with a Sylvester Stallone look alike, called "Die Foreigner Die". They didn't reload at all, and the spent cartridges were up to their knees.

Earle

Interesting post. A clutch that dies isn't what I'd call 'dangerous' though; I drive a semi, and rarely use the clutch at all.

I do know about the plastic clip problem. I discovered it while in the process of ripping out that silly starter-lock device, something I think every Jeep owner should do. If nothing else, you could have easily moved it by cranking the engine with the transmission in first gear. Hell, you could have easily driven it home that way for that matter.

I carry some extra utility wire in the toolbox for something like this. If it clip dies, I can temporarily wrap some wire around the rod and pedal assembly to get it down the road. And now that you've mentioned all of this, I may poke around the local hardware store and see if I can find something more durable to replace this.

Hang in there. Embarassing as it was (we've all been there and done that), Jeeps are machines, and machines sometimes break. I don't think DC wants their products to break that easily, but I will be the first to flame Dealerships for being snotty to customers without cause. Unless you have cash in hand, they don't want to know you exist.

As far as I know, you can defeat the clutch-starter interlock on TJ's. There is a certain fuse position on the fuse box behind the glovebox door that defeats the interlock when a fuse is inserted. (normally there is no fuse)

The first TJ's had a fuse slot labeled 'auto', (maybe 14?) you could stick the fuse in and go. I hear they took out this feature on the later ones.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

Matt: I took a look at this one (2005) and other than the fuse block under the hood, I didn't see a fuse position without something inserted. Wish it would have been that easy.

Mke: Mine did have a 'clutch interlocking ignition system' fuse position under the hood in slot #28; inserting a fuse here does disable it, however it also turns on the '4WD' lamp on the dash which is annoying. It was pretty easy to remove the switch from the clutch actuation rod, then solder and tape up the remaining 2 wires. I doubt that the next owner will lose any sleep over that missing hardware either.

Being able to start a vehicle in gear has saved my bacon a couple of times. Lawsuits trump common sense these days I guess.

My '00 has it. It's even described in the owner's manual.

My 1998 has the same plastic clip arrangement.

It is not the fact the plastic push rod broke and he was unable top drive the vehicle. I'm in the same boat with a 2006 Jeep Wrangler X. The rod connecting the master cylinder to the clutch pedal is made of hard plastic. Mine broke while backing out of a parking lot. I put the jeep in gear, checked behind me, and let off the brake. All the sudden the jeep jumped back. The plastic rod had snapped and the jeep stalled.

The clutch safety switch would not allow me to restart the engine. Having the jeep for less than a month I did not want to void the warranty by-passing the switch. Besides, being a new vehicle I believe it was jeep's problem at that point. I had it towed to the shop to have it fixed. It was the ROD that broke not the attaching clip. The dealership tried to tell me the rod didn't break. I had to take them out to the jeep to prove them wrong.

My first car\truck was a 1952 GMC with 3 on the tree and a starter button on the floor. I learn how to double clutch in the army driving 2

1/2 ton a 5 ton trucks. I even spend a few years as an OTR driver. I can float gears with the best. If it had not been covered by warranty I would have drove it home and replaced it myself.

The major cause of his, mine, and a few other 2006 jeep owners is that DC decided to save a few bucks by buying an inferior part. (See NHTSA website for recent complaints). My jeep as been in the shop for over 2 weeks waiting for a replacement part. Seeing the part is made of plastic I thought of using a small diameter PVC pipe to splice the parts together. Only I was told I would then have to sign a waiver to release the dealership of responsibility. I'm not willing to do that.

The sad truth about owing a new vehicle and it breaking down is that there are several restrictions involved in order to have it repaired and stay under warranty. A replacement part is unavailable and I still must make payments. On top of this I must rent a car to get to work. Like the man said, DC couldn't care less.

If anyone else has the problem with the plastic (or "nylon" as the dealer called it) breaking, please file a complaint on the NHSTA website. This part needs to be made from metal and should be recalled. I was teaching my sons to drive this jeep. I could image them or any other novice teenager driver having an accident if this broke on them while they were driving.

I have issues with your statement "The clutch safety switch would not allow me to restart the engine".

Either Jeep has radically changed the design or you just don't know how the clutch works.

The clutch switch is on the pedal. Push the pedal down and no matter what shape the linkage is in, the engine 'Will' try to turn over.

If you want to complain about the cheap part, then at least do the homework so you aren't giving out bad or totally wrong information.

It is very possible to drive a Jeep with broken clutch linkage. You would have people believe they are screwed if this happens. They aren't. The Jeep can be put into gear, the clutch pedal depressed and the engine will start the Jeep in gear.

No disagreement about DC going cheap....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

They have changed the design, Miike. On my '05 TJL, the interlocking device is barrel-shaped, and slides back and forth along the master cylinder actuator rod. The circuit is completed when the clutch pedal is depressed all the way to the floor, squeezing the contacts inside the switch between the firewall and the pedal/rod pivot point.

It's a strange looking setup and it is much more complex than the old style that resembles a vintage brake light switch.

If the clutch actuator rod is broken, the engine can still be cranked by inserting a fuse in cavity #28 inside the underhood box as outlined in the Owner's Manual, or by manually bridging the 2-wire circuit under the dash.

Note: the manual indicates that bypassing this 'feature' using a fuse in cavity #28 will only work if the transfer case is in 4L range. This is incorrect. It will work with the transfer case in any selected range.

I do not believe that removing this 'feature' voids the warranty. I've removed mine altogether *in the interest of safety and reliability* and have since taken the vehicle in for warranty service. I told the service writer about it and asked if it was a problem. He said it was not a problem at all from a warranty standpoint.

-JD

Thanks for the info. Any idea when they changed it?

Mike

JD Adams wrote:

The rod itself was made of plastic? Interesting. I have an '05 TJL. The clutch master cylinder actuator rod in this model is made of steel, with a nylon swivel fitting swedged to the end where it hooks up to the pedal pivot pin. IMO, the pivot fitting should be redesigned using all metal parts that would include lubricated ball-bearings and seals, just like Semi's use.

Inquirie about the new part they plan to use. Insist that they use the metal-rod design --it may be a mid-year spec update. I can't see a plastic actuator rod being reliable enough for anyone, and I doubt they want to see you come back with the same problem.

-JD

My error, There are some circumstances where you have to add the fuse to the panel to bypass the clutch switch on the new Jeeps. If the rod to the MC breaks.

You still can bypass the switch using the factory bypass in the fuse panel. The older TJ's had a slot marked 'auto' for this, the new ones use fuse hole 28. It is in the owners manual.

Mike

Mike Roma>

The sealed ball-bearing spherical bearing design's only advantage would be to eliminate regular lubrication, (as does nylon) but with a very long service life. It would be expensive, overbuilt and probably overkill for such a simple application like this, but that's what I like about Jeeps: simplicity, ruggedness, and ultimate reliability.

If the plastic doo-dad ever croaks on mine, I'll probably weld on a spherical bearing end just for the novelty. I'd probably opt to weld the bearing directly to the pedal stud, then cut the actuator rod just short enough to slip into the hollow spherical bearing rod, bottoming out to allow just enough freeplay. (Could shim the master cylinder to accomplish this as well.) The result would outlast the rest of the Jeep.

I have to wonder if the '07 redesign will also include this part.

-JD