Armando G

Thanks for the reviews all. One thing I don't see mentioned is the value you get with the DJ with the price. This was one of the more expensive cars I have personally purchased (about $17000 3 years ago), and haven't had to do anything other than really basic maintenance. I don't have the rear view camera (I'm still pretty flexible to turn my head), I don't have BT (I do have a short commute to work, they can wait), I don't have the NAV system (I pay a lot for cell service, and the phone clip was cheap), and I hate all those warning systems because it makes a lot of people lazy drivers (no accidents in 30 years of driving for me). I personally like the amount of HP I get, it's just enough to pass whoever I want, but still keep me from getting tickets, and I enjoy the long trips of 10-12 hours as far as comfort and control. A couple of little creeks in the front suspension, but nothing to drive me crazy. Anyway, I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts on their DJ's, and I too plan on keeping it as long as I can and passing it on to my kid (passed two vehicles on so far). I did recently look at a Tahoe for the size and power, but Damn that price on those things is incredible. Knock on wood, hopefully my DJ stays as reliable as it's been, but so far it's outperformed my Explorer, Windstar, and 528i as far as issues.

How much weight is the carrier and scooter adding to the hitch? If you have too much, your problem will not get resolved and you will continue to have suspension issues, which will lead to tire issues. I know most of the carriers have a 500 lb max weight, but the whole tongue weight comes into play when adding a carrier, which I am not too familiar with. I know it makes a difference when pulling a trailer, so I would assume it comes into play when adding a carrier as well (mostly considering you can't really distribute the weight on a carrier). That would be my suspicion.

Why not repair it under the warranty and just pay the $100? If it needs an alignment due to the repair, it should also fall under the warranty. Or take it back to the tire shop after the work is done.

Agreed with 2late4u, plus the fact that these are pretty important parts of your vehicle. If you are looking for a mod part or basic replacement part, ebay is great, but for these type of parts, for assurance and warranty reasons, you may want to pay the extra for quality, local parts. Cheap price sometimes mean cheap quality. And not meaning to put ebay down, I have ordered name brand parts from ebay, which are usually at a lower cost.

That's what those things do!!! You learn something new all the time.

You got it done, and probably felt great afterwards. I wouldn't think the techs doing recalls disconnect it at the battery end. I believe they disconnect it in the engine bay (?). Good job.

There aren't always signs before a transmission goes out. I was on a trip in my Ford and half way back home, in the snow, I had no power. Going up and down some roads, no power was really bad. I traveled 100 miles rev'ing the engine and hitting a top speed of 35-40 mph (it was horrible). I got into the first big city and limped into a transmission shop. They gave me a price of $7000, but I would have to leave it for 5 days. I ended up towing it home ($230 - no way I was going to pay that price). Anyway, long story short, I took it a local trusted transmission shop and they told me it was an $11 part in the transmission that controlled the vacuum, but the labor was huge. In came YouTube and a bunch of videos, a day of removing the seats and center panel to get to the part, and repair the $11 part. No transmission issues for the next 4 years I owned the car. Take it to a couple of transmission shops you trust and good luck.

I am a little confused. Are you referring to the bad service at the dealers, or an issue with these cars? Your post is a little vague as to what the subject is about. I've had great experiences with the dealers (currently Dodge and Ford), and they have gone out of their way to answer all of my questions. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones.

I would change the alternator...huh, anyone agree? JK...I am curious as to if you figured out how to get the key out of the ignition? You mentioned you jumped it, so I am guessing it dislodged?

So in the big picture of things, this was a good ending type of situation minus the bus fare. I would guess the roof cargo had nothing to do with it, just something that needed to be done for the transmission.

Like OhareFred mentioned, these are single units with all of these controls integrated into the radio unit. If you replace it with an OEM radio, those controls go away. Was this installed at a store, or by yourself?

Welcome, good looking DJ...could the twin of mine. Enjoy.

My bet is a worn bushing, but could also be the transmission. But jkeaton could be right.

What type of radio did you get installed? I thought the radio and climate control were all tied in together.

Welcome to the group. What model do you have?

Try this. They are very helpful... https://www.driveuconnect.com/contact-us.html

Could also be the neutral safety switch if it starting in neutral. Not too expensive and you can Google how to do it.

I just want to get this clear in my head...are you trying to replace your stock antenna with an after-market antenna (maybe your antenna broke)? Now that after-market antenna does not fit the base on the roof of your DJ? Did you just buy the new antenna and did they claim it will fit your car? It seems like you are doing a lot of extra work for something that should not be that hard. And if you just bought it, it would seem like you should be able to go back to where you bought it to get it all straightened out. If no, I believe a new antenna that will fit is not that expensive. Or am I way off?

That would be my vote/suggestion.

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the group.

Welcome to the group.

I've always picked up a couple of AGS single packs when working on my battery. They're silicone based and have made a huge difference.

I would first ask you, what have you done so far to try to fix the problem, if anything. I don't think this is just a DJ issue, I truly believe this is a 'newer' car type of issue. I've dealt with three cars now that had the same type of issue and with all three cars we have completely cleaned out the ground wire where attached (remove any corrosion, wire brush the paint at the connection, and added anti-oxidation gel/stuff), and the issues have gone away on all three cars. With all the systems on these newer cars, making sure the ground is securely connected to a clean metal surface is necessary. Adding an extra ground is just avoiding fixing the issue itself. And if I look really closely at the car on the video, it looks like they cleaned the original surface itself (see pic). That was probably the fix without having to take the extra step. Anyway, that's where I would start, then go to the fuse box and relays to see if there is some corrosion in those areas as well. Moisture will create that little bit of corrosion that will effect the electrical.

I won't jump in and try to pull any teeth. You guys can play 100 questions and maybe come up with the answer.

Congrats and as a fellow 4 kid parent, it is truly going to be easier to get into a van. We switched to a van from our Explorer when we had our third, and it was a huge help when our fourth came. Easier for them to get in and out, fit car seats in multiple locations, and we had a full size Ford Windstar that fit a double stroller plus more in the back. As they got older, multiple sports and any trip further than the grocery store, demanded a ton of space for all the stuff we needed to carry. Newer vans even have the additional pit type storage under the floors making it easy to hide stuff. Anyway, that's my advise from actual experience. Good luck...not just with the vehicle.