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Hey all,
I am graduating high school in a week and am planning a cross-country road trip (NYC -> Los Angeles) for this summer. I own a 2014 Jeep Wrangler so I was wondering if people think that it is wise to drive it as our trip vehicle? It seems like a pretty safe car but I'm not sure about its reliability.
Thanks, everyone!
Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!
Although they come off assembly lines, which has come to mean cookie-cutter sameness, each car starts out with a slight idiosyncrasy or two. Maybe the third bolt-tightener was a little hung over or some such. Those idiosyncrasies just multiply with age as every driver is different, every road is different, cars will have seen different weather and climate, etc., etc., etc. All of which is all just a roundabout way of saying that we have no idea how safe or reliable your Jeep is. For that you'd have to take it to a mechanic you trust and have him/her give your car a thorough inspection with the knowledge that you're going to be putting somewhere around 6,000 to 7,000 miles on it.
The other consideration is not up to us either. How comfortable are you in this vehicle. You're going to be in it many hours a day for a couple of weeks at least. If it's uncomfortable around town, you'll want to seriously consider using 'alternate transportation'.
AZBuck
“Our trip vehicle”?
Are friends going with you? If so, have you discussed what happens if the Jeep breaks down and you’re stranded? If you’re constrained by time and your friend has to fly home, who’s paying for that? These are serious considerations that you hope never happen but must prepare for.
I believe your Jeep has a timing belt. If so, has yours been replaced. They’re good for 60 to 100 thousand miles and will DESTROY your engine if they break. It’s about $600 to replace the belt. Yes, you read that right. In some cars, like my Odyssey, it was over $1000!
Good luck! Have a ball.
The 2014 Wrangler has the 3.6 V6, which has a timing chain, not a belt.
That’s good news.Quote:
Originally Posted by glc
Of course, it would be a good idea to have a mechanic give the car a good look over.
My husband and I regularly travel in a 21+ year old pickup. We feel very comfortable with that, ONLY because we know how it's been maintained over its life. (It was my dad's before it became ours, and he babied it.) We have had an instance or two where we needed to have it repaired while on the road - an alternator on its way out (2014), for instance - or a tire that split (2017). But we get it checked by our regular mechanic before we take it anywhere.
We also carry AAA for the emergency road service. It is for peace-of-mind, and the maps, but it has been needed just once on our trips. We have gone to "Premiere" level which helps if we do get stuck somewhere.
We're about to take our 2014 sedan on the road (moving trip). You can bet that I'm getting it checked before we depart, even though it has a mere 25000 miles on it. (Yes, you read that correctly. Before I got it, it was driven by the proverbial little-old-lady-who-only-drove-it to-the grocery-store once a week: my mom!)
To put it as well as I can: if you take care of your vehicles, your vehicles are more likely to take care of you on a road trip.
Donna
Reliability is a combination of design and maintenance and owner awareness and action to check things and get them fixed.
My 2001 Jeep is reliable because I work at keeping it that way. I just did a 2500 mi trip in it in April.
I have relatives who can turn a perfectly good car into junk in a single week. I wouldn't take one of their cars to the mailbox.
Advice- wear earplugs when driving at speed. Noise is fatiguing and most Jeeps aren't quiet.
Congratulations!Quote:
Originally Posted by cross_country_
You don't mention how many miles on the 2014 Jeep or if it's been well maintained. We had a 2006 Jeep Liberty and while it was the tow vehicle on long trips we put a lot of miles on it in very remote places. It had about 80,000 miles and we just sold it this year and bought for a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. We never had any issues with the Liberty but then my DH has always kept it maintained. Another thing to look into is the miles and age of the tires.
As others have suggested, I'd have a mechanic give it a good once over and do any maintenance suggested by Jeep.
Good luck!
Utahtea