Defect Alert – Jeep Wrangler Manual Transmission Problems
The message boards are buzzing over manual transmission troubles in 2009 and 2010 Jeep Wranglers. The cars can pop out of gear and it can be quite brutal, leaving the driver feeling as if they have been rear ended. We have been getting quite a few calls on the LEMON LAW hotline from frustrated and distressed drivers. Being that this is an intermittent problem, many are being faced with the popular “can not duplicate” conundrum, where service managers are claiming they cannot verify the concern so they cannot address it.
Residents of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey can find information on our PA lemon law, NY lemon law, and NJ lemon law pages.
The good news is that our ASE-certified expert team has been thoroughly researching this issue and if you have been back in the shop repeated times to address the matter, we can help. Please call us at 1-800 LEMON LAW (1-800-536-6652) or drop us an e-mail and we will contact you to discuss your situation.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:35 am
I have taken my Jeep into the dealer regarding the “popping gear” syndrome….they said “it didn’t happen for us”…..what can i do? It stopped happening briefly — but has started up again. I do not know if this is coincidence or not — but it seems when the weather is damp or rainy – it happens! It is happening again!
April 26th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Unfortunately with intermittent problems, it is sometimes difficult to get a service advisor to properly diagnose the situation. Try to provide the service advisor with as many clues as possible as to when this is taking place-and ertainly mention the rainy situation. If possible, go on a test drive with on a rainy day. Even if they still cannot diagnose the problem, make sure you get a repair invoice for the visit. Another option would be to go to another dealership and have a fresh pair of eyes diagnose the problem.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:00 am
My 2009 Wrangler 6 speed manual trans was popping out of 1st gear since the week I bought it, Dec 2009. It was new with less than 100 miles on it.
My experience was the same as many others on these discussion sites. The dealership could not replicate the problem so would take no action. Owned 1-1/2 years and rarely drove it due to this issue.
I tried again 3 weeks ago to get some resolution.
Chrysler now acknowledges it is a problem and will fix it under warranty.
They claim 2 possible causes.
1) Shift boot interference with the shift lever.
2) Synchro / solenoid problem.
Usually the trans popped out of 1st violently and unexpectedly. It was difficult to tell exactly what had happened. If there was anything different about the shift to 1st leading to the event.
In 6,000 miles of driving I only specifically caught the sequence of events one time. Shift neutral into first to what feels like a hard metal stop (not rubber boot) but shift lever is not quite fully forward, maybe 1/4″ short of home. Then on acceleration, BANG, the lever is thrown into neutral. The repair was made at Zero cost to me. I thought they would try to charge me for “wear items” like clutch disk or pressure plate but did not. Thank you service man Dan for restoring my faith in Chrysler.
December 11th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
I have a 2009 Jeep Sahara with 6 speed manual with the same 1st & 2nd gear issues. both have popped out & both do not Sync up smooth at all. When cold. 2nd gear does not shift smooth, gear messing/clunking feel, like the teeth are not going the same speed during transision. I have taken it in at least 3 times and basicly recieved the “it’s normal, service Tech did not find any problem”. They said they changed the synchro in these last time, but it’s as bad now as ever. Starting noticing problem about 25,000 miles and now I;n at 45,000 still with issue. I want to buy new one, but maybe not with this support!!
March 15th, 2012 at 11:48 am
I have a 2010 Wrangler sport unlimited with 6 speed manual transmission. I also had the ongoing issue of 1st gear popping out into neutral. It did not start for me until about 15,000 miles. I didn’t really think anything of it until I looked at several reviews. A fair warning to everyone, I went in to get an inspection, tires rotated, tire plugged (from hole) and an oil change. I picked up my jeep and went onto the interstate and the clutch dropped on me. I had to try and jam the stick into any gear I could and within minutes the clutch dropped and I couldn’t shift into any gear and the car was useless. Got it towed to the dealership and they told me that the clutch needed to be replaced. Totaling $1,115. Be warned that this may be in your future.
April 10th, 2012 at 10:54 pm
My 2009 Jeep 4 door wrangler rubicon first popped out of first gear about 6 months ago and nearly ripped my right hand off. In the past 6 months, it has happened at least a dozen times, just as described, when taking off from a dead stop, in first, it will occasionally pop out of gear with tremendous force to the hand, feeling as though someone rear ended you. I have not taken it to jeep yet as it clearly appears they do not have a fix. Please notify me when a fix is truley identified.
April 21st, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I had two 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with 6 speed manual transmissions – first was for my wife and next was mine. My wife’s started having the problem of jumping out of 1st gear immediately after we bought it. At first I thought I may have accidentally pulled it out cause I tend to leave my hand on the shifter waiting to shift to 2nd. After having my thumb bruised from it jumping out so violently we began taking it back to get fixed. We got multiple excuses “We didn’t know how to drive manuals” (NOT – we have had them for over 30 years), “they couldn’t repeat it” and lots of other reasons. They told us that we had to replace a clutch – a non-warranty item at $1300. Then when that didn’t work we tried multiple other things – replace the boot, remove the boot altogether (boy that makes ’em noisy). All to no avail. Finally after numerous trips and my wife really getting after them they replaced the whole transmission. Problem went away for about 1 year. But then we had to replace the 2nd clutch at 25K miles. After having them say it was the way we drove it, they finally gave in and replaced the 2nd clutch at no charge. It once again ran ok for a while but started jumping out of 1st on a few occasions. After a few more months, it started showing signs of having clutch issues again. We threw in the towel and traded it for a Chevy.
Jeep 2 continued to be fine until about 40K miles. Now it is jumping out of 1st gear regularly. I believe it has to do with when I shift into 1st while still rolling. If I come to a complete stop before shifting or repeatedily shift into 1st while waiting at a light, I never have the problem. But pre-shifting into 1st while approaching the light is risky and it will pop out often enough. I’m taking it the dealer next week so we will see if they have improved their diagnostic and resolution of the problem. Otherwise, a new Chevy is in my future- even though I still love my Jeep. Unfortunately, it is a Love-Hate relationship now. Will update this later.
May 4th, 2012 at 10:27 am
I’m going to add my story to this thread – maybe if more people complain, Chrysler will do something!! I have a 2010 Wrangler Sport 6 speed manual. Around 2,000 miles it popped out of 1st so hard, I thought someone hit me – it really scared me to death! I thought I did something wrong while shifting. Then, about every couple hundred miles, it would just slam out of gear, grind into second, or “pop” violently. I have had it pop out of 1st so hard it goes into 2nd!! Since it is so intermitent – my dealer can not replicate the problem. There are no “service calls” about the problem…. I had one dealer tell me I wasn’t driving it correctly (excuse me). I’m almost scared to shift into first – not knowing when its going to pop out… I love my Jeep!! But I can’t live with it.
May 8th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
@ Dewey: Please contact a lemon law attorney to discuss your situation. You can find one in your state by visiting https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html
May 30th, 2012 at 10:44 am
To add to this thread, I have a 2012 Wrangler Sport Unlimited with a six-speed manual transmission that pops out of any gear when on washboard dirt roads. The gearshift wobbles slightly on the highway, but when on gravelly or washboard dirt roads, the gearshift shakes violently and frequently pops out of gear into neutral. The dealer told me it is a problem with the tires, which, of course, if baloney. I have no confidence in my dealer’s ability to diagnose or fix the problem. I worry about having it out in the back country, as I don’t know if sometime, it will pop out and break, leaving me stuck.
June 4th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Thought I’d add to this – I have a 2008 Jk 4-door with 6-speed manual. Mine was doing this from about 15k miles until recently the issue has reversed and now it gets stuck in gear and I have to press the clutch in multiple times to get it to release!
June 26th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
Acquired my jeep as the 2nd owner last week. 2008 JKU-Rubicon. When test driving it, the sales guy, who was not into jeeps at all, asked me about “that 1st gear thing”. When I pressed him on it, he said that they had called down to the local dealer, who told them that this jumping issue was a “failsafe” for the transmission (WTH?) It behaved normally for the first day or two, and now jumps out quite often, and very violently. When I was going thru the previous owners papers that he had left in the vehicle, I found an invoice where he had taken it in for this issue, but the dealer was unable to reproduce it. This is my 6th, (all manual trannies) and likely final jeep, if I can’t find a permanent solution to this issue. Pretty terrifying to pull out into traffic and have the transmission feel like it just exploded under the jeep as it jumps out of first gear.
August 3rd, 2012 at 10:37 am
Just bought a used 09 jeep wrangler with a 6 speed manual transmission. we had the vehicle for two weeks and only put alittle over 100 miles on it. The first time it poped out of first gear I though I had applied some pressure since my hand was riding on the shifter. The other 7 times my hand was not on the shifter. It happen 2 time when my wife was drive it. The vehicle is at the dealership and of course they can not replicate problem. From what I have read the dealership does not have a fix.
Very disapointed. I wanted a Jeep wrangler for a long time. Now my wife is afraid to drive it and its going to be hard for me to enjoy it not knowing when it will pop out of gear. I have an extended warranty, but it may not cover the problem. If not the delaership may get this jeep back.
August 19th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Yep, same here. I thought i had been rear ended the first time it happened. Now it has been maybe 6 times since. Now im always. Ervous when starting out in first. If anyone ever gets a dealer to figure this problem out please post it!
August 22nd, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Sean: I would fill out our Get Rid of Your Lemon form at https://www.lemonlaw.com/rid.html to see if we can provide assistance.
September 6th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I also have an ’09 Jeep Wrangler X model. Around 25K miles it started popping out of first, like everyone else is saying, so violently, I thought I got hit! At first I thought I just wasn’t putting into 1st all the way, so started actually holding shifter forward with some force when accelerating from a dead stop. It kept doing it. So, I finally got fed up, and brought it back to dealer, since it was still under warranty. Only difference is I had no problem with the service dept. at the dealership. The mechanic said he researched it, found that its on record with Chrysler as an ongoing problem with ’09-’10 standard tranny models. The fix is to just replace the entire gear. It took the dept about 3 days,(because they had to get the parts), and it hasn’t done it since. Up to 70K miles now.
September 20th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
2008 jk jeep wranlger 6 speed. happening repeatedly. i thought i was doing something wrong. it just pops out and is very scary. calling the dealer tomorrow
September 24th, 2012 at 6:41 am
I have a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the same issue. I have not taken it in to a dealership, I bought it used. It is a great vehicle except for the gear popping issue. Is there any hope of getting this fixed in an out of warranty situation?
October 1st, 2012 at 12:36 pm
I have a 2007 4th jeep wrangler. I have JUST started having my manual transmission pop out of gear but it has done it 5 times in the last two weeks. I am still covered under warranty. Will this be covered or is this a desert storm illness? Forever denied by the powers that be that it exists and never fixed?
October 10th, 2012 at 11:20 am
Ramona: Check with the dealer.
October 17th, 2012 at 11:08 am
I have same problem with my 2007 wrangler. I am currently contacting corporate to try and figure out what they will do for me. I just got an estimate to fix it for 2500-3500.
November 28th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
I had the problem with my 2009 X popping violently out of first gear. The dealership has been very cooperative though. The entire transmission was replaced. However, now the jeep pops out of 4th gear, so there is clearly still a problem. I have not yet had it addressed.
December 2nd, 2012 at 4:53 pm
My jeep is a 2005 wrangler. I started having problems with my six speed transmission shortly after purchase. (Bought new) I took it to Daimler jeep in phoenix and they advised me several times there was nothing wrong with it. (Paperwork to prove it) I still have the jeep and it still does the same thing. I have filed several complaints and have not even had the courtesy of receiving a phone call back. I am frustrated that I paid my jeep off and still nothing is done to fix the problem. So on that note good luck to all of you that are having problems. If you think the dealership will help you think again. They are very aware of the problem.
December 11th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
I got rid of my 2012 Wrangler Sport 3 1/2 months ago, due to the “brake assist” grabbing while backing up on level ground into my driveway. Took it to the dealer 3 or 4 times for this matter. They could not find the problem. Finally, the district manager for Jeep came down to Kent Ohio to meet me. After driving it he told me that Jeep had thousands of complaints about the same thing. He said that since the 2013’s were coming out and it would take too long to make the modifications, that Jeep wasn’t going to do anything about it. On 12/7/12 I bought a 2010 Wrangler Sport with 8,500 miles on it. The following 3 days, it would also pop out of gear, probably 25 times. Took it to the dealer yesterday and they already know about the problems so I dropped it off this morning. They said it would take 2 days to repair. Sure hope so. This will be my 8th Wrangler. 6 new and this is the 2nd used. Never had a problem with any of them until 06. Had problems with the new 06, new 08, the new 2011 Liberty, the new 12 Wrangler and now the used 10 Wrangler (still under warranty). Sure hope Jeep cleans things up, since I’m a “die hard Wrangler fan”
December 17th, 2012 at 8:36 am
My 2007 JK Wrangler occasionally pops out of gear “violently” – feels like a missed or incomplete shift and makes a loud “bang” type sound. It has done this since I purchased it. It now now has almost 110K miles on it. I’ve never addressed it, and now pretty much just ignore it when this occasionally happens. Frequency is about once every 8K miles or so. It’s one of those things that feels worse that it really is. I’ll have it checked out when I hit 200K miles if it hasn’t stopped on its own by then.
February 4th, 2013 at 7:03 am
I own a 2007 4 door unlimited extreme. My gear shaft has been popping out of gear for over a year. It has been very scary. My husband told me it was because I was not putting the shaft into complete gear. I have been driving manual transmissions all my life and never encountered this problem. At the beginning it was only occurring during first gear, now it does it in first and third. I am taking to the dealer after reading these post. What should I tell them so they will know what to address so this problem is resolved?
February 5th, 2013 at 11:57 am
i have a 2005 wrangler x and its been kickin out of first and 3rd gear almost since i bought it, no matter where i go i keep gettin s bunch of crap, n try to replace the detent spring they wanna sell you the entire shift kit for 850.00, i love my jeep but damn, cmon chrysler, man up n stand behind your product
February 5th, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Kathy: Offer to take the service adviser on a test drive to illustrate the problem.
February 11th, 2013 at 8:11 pm
I have the same problem with my 2008 Wrangler JKU. I have only had it a little over a month. It popped out last week and wasn’t sure way. Scared the shit out of me. Happened two more times with my girl in the passenger seat. I dropped it off at the dealer today with a print out of the service bulletin. Hope they find out what it is and fix it.
February 12th, 2013 at 3:22 pm
I wrote back on 12/11/12 about my 2010 Wrangler popping out of 1st gear. Called Jeep right after my post. They said they knew about the problem, but they were not going to issue a recall. But they will repair it for nothing, as a individual problem per incident. They replaced the “teeth” in 1st gear and reverse and synchronized it. I have not had a single problem since they repaired it. Take it to the dealer and have them drive it.
February 12th, 2013 at 5:08 pm
The dealer said they can’t replicate the problem so they won’t fix it. Not sure what to do.
February 12th, 2013 at 5:35 pm
The dealer could not replicate the problem so they won’t fix it. Not sure what I should do now. I guess I’ll just bring it back when it happens again.
February 15th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
I just purchased a used 2010 Wrangler Unlimited (manual) last night (42k miles). This is my first Jeep. I’ve wanted one for years and finally did it. I test drove it several nights ago. It popped out of 3rd gear during the test drive. I thought perhaps I hadn’t seated the shifter properly. I’m a longtime manual driver and have never had issues with other cars. I drove it off the lot last night and after 20 minutes of driving, parked it for 5 minutes at a store, then got in and put it in reverse. All went fine until around 30 seconds later. I stopped and then turn right on red. It popped out of 1st gear. Felt like I ran over something or was rear-ended. Then today, at lunch, I drove it for 20 minutes, stopped at a store for 10 minutes, got in, reversed it, then after stopping at the lot’s end, turned right on the road and it popped out of 1st gear. After reading this site, I’m now leery of driving it. I emailed Jeep.com and am awaiting a response. Has anyone else, aside from #30 Dan Taylor, gotten a fix or response? Thanks. Steph
February 19th, 2013 at 10:36 am
Just took my Jeep back to the dealership for the first gear POP and their gonna fix it now. Drop it off next Monday.
March 8th, 2013 at 7:18 pm
I own a 2011 Wrangler Sport Unlimited with a 6 speed manual transmission. The very first night that we brought it home with only 24 miles on the odometer it started popping out of 2nd and 4th gear. I’ve only driven manuals so I knew that it wasn’t something I was doing. Besides, I would push it back into gear with force and as soon as I remove my hand from the shifter, it would pop right back out. I told the dealer and they looked at me like I just didn’t know how to drive it. Rather than get arrested for jacking him in the jaw, I decided to wait until it happened more frequently. Tuesday, 3/8/13, with only 9040 miles on the car, I shifted to second, it popped out of gear and stopped. Wouldn’t drive. Not forward or backward. Had it towed to the dealer. The next day they called and said that the clutch was burned out. WTH!!! I burned my clutch out when I was 16 and learned a very expensive lesson. I have never burned out another clutch since nor has any of the people I have taught to drive a stick. NO WAY did I burn that clutch out. ESPECIALLY with only 9000 miles on it. I immediately started investigating the cause. When I told them what I found, they said they weren’t responsible for the repairs. When I went to the cashier to pay for it today and complained about paying for it, she whispered to me that “this is a manufacturing problem. I see it all the time with manual transmission Jeeps”. REALLY???? This thread helped assist me in proving it wasn’t my fault. Even though my fight to get my $1500 back has only just begun, I appreciate everyone taking the time to post their issues and wanted to take a minute to do my part. Will post again and let everyone know if Chrysler does the right thing.
March 14th, 2013 at 7:02 am
This sounds so familiar to me! Thank goodness I’m not going crazy!!! I have a 2005 Jeep wrangler but is an automatic and it keeps slipping into neutral and then clicking into gear. The garage I’ve taken keeps telling me, it’s not happening to them so they can’t fix it too. I just paid $1500 for a supposed fix, a valve in the transmition, and it’s happening again. I’ve called the dealership also and they told me they have had no records of such a problem, but it sounds like there is. Now begins the fight to get the $1500 back.
May 18th, 2013 at 7:02 pm
I just bought a used 2009 Unlimited Rubicon with 75k that has started popping out of 1st gear. This is my 3rd Jeep equipped with 6 speed. My 2005 Unlimited never had any issues popping out of gear. I had 2007 Unlimited that popped out of gear and cost me 1500.00 at the dealer to fix. I never had issue;s after that but we sold it not to long after the repair. I have been in contact with the dealer that sold me that Jeep and will hopefully get a fix on this without too much out of pocket since Im still in the 1 month / 1000 mi. warrenty. The down side is the dealership I bought it at is 2 1/2 hours away from me.
May 22nd, 2013 at 5:15 pm
service bulletin
TSB: 21-001-10 REV. A
link: (link to cda.extra.chrysler.com/icon/sqwrp/files/2100110A.pdf no longer valid, link removed – admin)
July 2nd, 2013 at 12:16 pm
I have an 08 Wrangler unlimited. It has explosively popped out of first gear repeatedly since bought new. At first it was intermittent and rare – now it slips out of gear quite predictably – especially when trying to pull out into traffic! There is a service bulletin on this very problem (21-001-10), so Chrysler >KNOWS< about it but have never recalled on it! This is certainly a safety issue – no doubt! My little 36K mile warranty is up, so short of a recall, I'm stuck with it.
July 2nd, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Well, I got rid of my 2010 Wrangler Sport and got a 2013 Flame Red Wrangler. Love it but I am certainly waiting for something to go wrong. This time I will keep all the receipts and keep the vehicle instead of trading it in when the ashtray gets full. This is my 9th Wrangler and I love the Penstar engine.
Keep pressuring the dealer to fix it Matt. They will fix it. No recall though. They will fix it as a “per incident”. Good luck.
July 4th, 2013 at 10:10 pm
I have a 2007 manueal transmission Rubican. I’ve had it going on 2 years now and over the past 6-9 months I have had the “popping out of gear” problem. It not only pops out of 1st but also 3rd at times. I have not noticed any correlation with weather, but the problem has become more frequent. This Jeep also is using oil like crazy. I am adding oil about every 2 weeks and it only has 85000 miles. This also has been going on over the past year. Any answers?
July 11th, 2013 at 3:41 pm
It’s been 5 months and my Jeeps movin great, not a problem since they fixed it. Hope everyone gets theirs done right. It’s now sitting on 35’s with a 3.5″ AEV lift.
July 29th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Same as many other posts here. Pops out of first and every once in a while 3’d. Video taped it and finally they replaced my tranny. New one does the same thing.
August 1st, 2013 at 3:12 pm
Save the receipts from when you take it in. They are supposed to give you one for every problem, even if they can’t duplicate it. That’s what the Ohio Attorney General told me. Video tape it again and show them. Good luck. My new 2013 now has 2000 miles on it and it’s been problem free. This new Penstar engine is great. At 55 mph on the highway I’m getting 31 mpg, at 65 it drops to 27. In town still has a bit to be desired, but it’s about 23 mpg city and highway. Alot better than it used to be.
August 3rd, 2013 at 9:45 am
just bought a 2008 jeep wrangler last night pops out of 1st gear worried bought as is. Dealership said to bring it in and they would check it out very worried paid a lot of money for a used vehicle
August 10th, 2013 at 8:39 am
I posted several months ago regarding this condition. I recently took it to the dealership to get repaired and they replaced the boots on the shifter, stating that “the first step recommend from the manufacturer to resolve this problem was to replace the boots first.” I paid $242 for this repair and it popped out of gear the first day. I am going back to get the repair I asked for the first time at a cost of $1400. It is a 2007 Rubicon Xtreme 4 door. It has 72,000 miles and does not fall under warranty. I have taken it to the dealership when it first happen and at the time it was under warranty, but the alert had not been issued. Now, that my warranty has expired, they have the alert and refuse to cover the cost of the defect. Will let you know if replacing the synchronizer in the transmission fixes the defect.
August 12th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
My 2010 is in the shop for this problem as we speak. They already broke something in the tranny and have to order parts… Hmmm not to confident. The fix was replacing the syncros on first gear. If it pops again after the fix… shes getting traded in. Love the jeep…manual tranny is junk..
November 25th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
Having same issues with first gear jumping out… First time it happened it scared my wife so bad she started to cry… Its in the shop as we speak but now I don’t know if I should even have it fixed if it will just come back again…
November 27th, 2013 at 4:07 pm
@Robert: You need to have it addressed each time. And if the problem continues after three or more times, you need to look into your lemon law rights.
December 18th, 2013 at 7:15 am
Same problem for us guy in Canada!
1st gear popping out… I love my Jeep but Chrysler don’t give a shit…
Very frustrated. I bought it used from Chrysler, I tought it was me doing something wrong cause I haven’t driven a standard transmission for many years, but after 2 months went to the dealer and said never heard about it! C’mon! We’re fan of you’re Jeep but seems that Chrysler is more fan of our MONEY than to take care of that issue that so many of us have…
I find that completely irrespectful of their own Jeep fan.
We make those guys keep their job and this is the way they treat us! Awesome, you know those guy on the side of the street who seel stolen watch… Seem a bit alike to me now… I’m not impress about Chrysler, we are thousan of people coming to see them and they have no idea of whats wrong and we all have the same issue…. 🙁
Ya like when you try to return the watch, hey man I don’t know what you have done to it it was working perfectly well, come back if it does it again and pay again our mechanic… for nothing…
January 30th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
I am way late to the game but have been repeatedly frustrated by this issue. I had spoken with Jeep several times as my situation is significantly worse than what I am seeing reported. Mine is a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. I am now at 150k miles and placing it in the shop for a FOURTH clutch. The answer is always “we don’t know your driving style” and “the clutch is a wear item”. VERY frustrated.
January 31st, 2014 at 5:43 pm
I am reading about all the horror stories above with the vehicle popping out of 1st gear while driving. We bought a 2008 Jeep Liberty 6 speed in Dec. of 2012, by Jan. 2013 the syncros had to be changed. The fix lasted about 6 months, and 10,000 miles. We brought to another Jeep dealership, closer to our home in Aug. and they said they “could not duplicate the problem.” It as at 98,000 miles, and our son was about to take it to college out of state. We sent him with the vehilce and low and behold the problem continued to happen. When he came back from college the vehilce was now over 100,000 miles and the dealer we brought it to in Aug. said it was no longer under factory warranty because it was over 100,000 miles.
We than brought it to another Jeep Dealership in mid December (after my son got back from college), by now it was really violently popping out of 1st gear. They had the car for over a month, and could “not duplicate the problem.” They drove the car a total of 13 miles in that month!! We pick it up and get less the 3 miles from the dealership and; again, it violently pops out of 1st gear.
It gets better, before we could even get it back to the dealership the clutch completely blows up! It will not engage into gear, and is dead in the water. Not to mention, on a busy highway in Denver during rush hour.
My question, could driving with bad syncros have damaged the clutch? Any input would be great. Thank you.
March 7th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Hi Kathy,
Did the sycncro replacement fix it? What was the cost?
Thank you,
Jeff
March 17th, 2014 at 5:56 pm
The cost was nothing. They repaired 1st and reverse and syncronized it under warranty. I would think they would have to repair any of them as a warranty item, since they have known about the problem.
Just turned over 10,000 in my 2013 Wrangler. No problems at all yet. Good luck everyone.
March 17th, 2014 at 6:08 pm
It seems that everyone or alot of people are getting the trannys replaced. When you go in tell the mechanics to check the teeth in the gears and syncronize it. Mine was done properly the 1st time. I complained to Jeep about all the problems I have had since 2006 and they gave me 16 free oil changes. I thought they should do more but that’s better than nothing.
April 5th, 2014 at 11:35 am
I am glad I found this forum. I have been expieriencing the popping out of first for a couple of years now but it has only happened a couple dozen times. Now I just hold it in first gear and it doesn’t seem to happen. And Now my manual transmission won’t go into any gear and i hear something loose in the transmission. I have a 2007 Jeep wrangler X. Seems stuck in neutral and I can shift into any gear without pushing in the clutch and it wont kill the engine OR go into gear. Seems whatever is connected to the shifter in the tranny has come apart. I have contacted a dealership on the issue and am awaiting a reply. I just broke 51,000 miles. I am now wondering if the 2 problems are related.
June 5th, 2014 at 7:49 am
I have a 2007 Rubicon that has had this problem ever since I bought it. I told the dealership about it and recieved the same blank look. “we have never heard about this problem before”. with this many people having the problem one would think Chrysler would address the issue. The only reason I’m adding my post is because I almost got rear ended this mornng in traffic. I’m going to call the dealer again and see if they have received other complaints. But you all know what I’m expecting to come out of it.
June 12th, 2014 at 4:53 pm
I don’t have any warranty but here is what I did which has almost entirely fixed the problem. I was having my truck pop out of gear multiple times a day, now it rarely occurs.
-Replaced the inner boot for the shifter as the clips were cracked and the boot wasn’t staying in place. This helped a bit.
-Cut the outer boot in between the flaps on the drivers front side. I actually cut holes in a few of the flaps. Helped quite a bit. Another option would be a new leather boot which I might end up getting.
-New transmission fluid used: Redline MTL 70w80 GL4. Was the final step that I took and definitely made a big difference.
September 4th, 2014 at 8:16 am
i bought a 2012 wrangler unlimited sport with manual tranny. after about 15 – 20,00 miles it would pop into neutral if un bumpy high way or railroad tracks. the dealership replaced a part once. about 3 months later the popping out started again. i went back to the dealership, and was told that although this was not a recall it was a noticed problem on this vehicle.
they wrote it up and ordered the problematic part. that was 3 months ago, and after repeated calls to them as to when??? i was told it was on backorder, possibly til october until it is in.
i have called corporate headquarters, and was told someone would get back to me in a couple of days. that was 2 weeks ago!!!
what’s up! wait for it to cause an accident???
September 4th, 2014 at 6:07 pm
Just bought a 07′ jeep wrangler six speed manual, and like everyone else on here, mines jumping out of gear(first gear) took it back to the dealership and of course it was fine and wouldn’t do it with the guy in the jeep (not calling it my jeep because it’s a POS). The “transmission specialist” told me if it bogs down it will kick it out, not true. I told him to look at this thread because it mentions the shift boot blah blah blah, and he said there is no way it would be that. calling again tomorrow and if it doesn’t get fixed I will be on to a new vehicle. Best of luck to everyone else!
September 10th, 2014 at 4:01 pm
Reading through these posts worries me! I just dropped off my 2014 Jeep Patriot at the dealership for this exact problem (popping out of first pretty hard). Hope they can get it fixed. I’m definitely under warranty still.
September 12th, 2014 at 6:53 am
I have the same problem in My new to me 07 jk Unlimited X, 70,000 miles & I’ve had it a week. I took the outer boot & inner boot completely off. The inner Boot is a little stiff although I don’t have a newer one to compare it too. Someone prior to me has had the Boots off before No doubt looking for a fix to this same problem. I am hoping the old inner Boot is the cause, I will drive for a few days with no boots & see what happens, I’ll write back here my results. I’d hate to see an inexperienced driver, starting on an incline, Have this thing pop into neutral & roll back over pedestrians, Just think of a college campus in the mountains like Clemson, Colorado, or anywhere there is a hill & a pedestrian cross walk & a frightened, inexperienced driver….
September 18th, 2014 at 5:38 pm
I have 2013 jk sport 6 speed and dropped off to the dealership just today as I can shift out of 3rd and into 4th w/out clutch at any rpm and speed. Picked it up an hr ago and was told they couldn’t duplicate. I’ll be going back on my next day off to personally take the service liar for a ride.
September 22nd, 2014 at 6:00 am
I have the same problem with Wrangler Sahara 2009 automatic on a 57,000 mileage. The gear stick stuck while I was doing a reverse. It stuck to Park while the monitor in Neutral. Good it never happened in the middle of a highway. Have it towed back to the dealer. Sadly, it’s already out of warranty. Now waiting for the parts to come from Dubai. The guys at service center are helpful though.
October 31st, 2014 at 8:17 pm
I have an 08 Rubicon and it has popped out of first gear since I got it used at 18,000 miles. Paid for an extended warranty and Jeep dealers would not honor it since they stated the vehicle had been modified (new tires and shocks). They all say they can’t replicate any issues..hmmmm. Love the Jeep but will never go to a Jeep service center again. Stays in first as long as I keep my hand on the shifter.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:20 pm
2009 Jeep Wrangler Sahara — violently pops out of 1st gear, took it to the local dealer several times and got what looks to be a standard answer from all of these posts “We couldn’t replicate the issue”.. After bringing it in enough times they finally rebuilt the transmission (thank god for the lifetime warranty). One year later and it is doing the same thing again, waiting on the dealer to call now with the new diagnosis. This sure does sound like a defect, come on Jeep give us some love on this issue — I love my Wrangler but warranty or not cant keep rebuilding the tranny every year..
February 19th, 2015 at 12:49 am
We bought a pre-owned 2009 Jeep Wrangler in November 2013 from a dealership that sells other brand vehicles. We are not the original owners. It came with a 1 year warranty that stated it covered all lubricated parts. A few months later we started experiencing the JOG with 1st gear and it jumps out of gear violently and is intermittent. Took it back to the dealer we bought it from and they ‘could not replicate’ the problem. Discussed it with the dealer a couple of times with the same result. The warranty has expired a few months ago and we still have the same problem. Will JOG suddenly and sometimes even when holding the shifter in 1st gear. This is our third Jeep (CJ, Wrangler Sahara, Wrangler X) and the second one with manual transmission and never had this issue before. Any help would be appreciated.
February 20th, 2015 at 3:40 pm
I have a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 6 speed manual transmission. It pops out of gear in 1st and 3rd gear without warning. I have noticed if just the weight of your hand is on the gear shift knob it will pop out hurting my wrist. Very dangerous, dealer said nothing was wrong, contacted Chrysler and they said no complaints which I thought was BS and with that no recall. They told me to take it back to the dealer and let them check out the transmission. Looks to me like a good way to charge me $1,000+ and tell me nothing is wrong. I told my wife if I am T-Boned crossing a road and killed check to see if the Jeep is out of gear and if so sue Chrysler.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:50 am
I have a 2008 Jeep Liberty Sport 6-speed manual transmission. first gear it pops out have to use second gear because you can’t use first gear. This really needs to be addressed and fixed there should be a recall on this
March 20th, 2015 at 7:50 am
I have 2008 Jeep Wrangler. Same issues. 1st gear pops out at very random times. I heard of a service bulletin on this problem. Does anyone know the number of that bulletin and what it entails? Will replacing the 1st gear syncro fix the problem? Does the gear need replaced too?
April 3rd, 2015 at 6:41 am
I have a 2009 Jeep Patriot and, like most of the posters here, I have experienced the same popping out of gear problem with my vehicle (along with other issues). The service advisory at Hickman Motors made comments like “this is fairly normal, there’s nothing wrong with the transmission”. The gear would pop so bad that the know actually popped off the gear shift. After taking it back to the dealer, the only repair they made was to replace the know, itself – and saying there was nothing wrong with the transmission.
Fast-forward- Ironically, after the warranty expired, the service manager and technician from Hickman Motors advised me that the the synchro rings were faulty and the clutch assembly needed to be replaced and it will not be covered. Neither Chrysler nor Hickman Motors would cover the cost of this repair. I eventually had the repair done at a more reputable transmission shop.
The transmission issue was one of several issues I had with my Patriot. Other include chronic leaks in the sunroof, premature rusting in the front and rear cross members and faulty electronics in the drivers side air bags.
Today’s Jeep products pale in comparison to those of yesteryear, especially since the manufacturing of the vehicle was taken over and bastardized by Chrysler.
One can only hope that since Fiat Motors now owned Chrysler that improvement will follow. (My first vehicle was a Fiat 124. I ran it for years and finally sold it after putting almost 300K on the engine and manual transmission.)
Chrysler should be held accountable for the transmission and cross member defects. If anyone wishes to proceed in making them accountable send me an email at heath50@gmail.com.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:49 pm
I just sent the CEO of jeep a message and of course haven’t heard anything back. Over the last five years I have tried getting my clutch fixed (shutters and pops out of gear), my ebrake fixed( does not hold my vehicle on inclines) and jeep each time tells me nothing is wrong or says they fixed and in fact don’t. There are countless other problems like not filling my oil back up after changing it and then charging me money to tell me nothing is wrong with my defective Jeep.
June 7th, 2015 at 7:30 pm
I bought my 2007 jeep in 2008 (brand new)…it violently kicked out of 1st gear…I went to jeep and complained. They said they couldn’t duplicate and therefore could do nothing! Now my jeep is paid off and worse than ever!!! No warranty left! I’m stuck! My teenagers refuse to drive it because it scares them so bad.
July 12th, 2015 at 5:58 am
Bought my wrangler new in 2008 with 6 speed manual transmission and it’s been the biggest POS I ever bought! Nothing but transmission problems since day 1.
July 16th, 2015 at 5:02 pm
Mine started out with 1st now its 3rd that pops out. The early model JK had unlimited powertrain warranty. I bought mine in late 2007 (2008 model) and powertrain warranty was unlimited.
August 25th, 2015 at 8:54 pm
Similar experience, but the thing that infuriates me is that JEEP is aware of the problem and has their dealers play stupid. First and foremost to me is that this is a safety issue. Our 2010 purchased new began early on to pop out of first. Initially I figured that it was simply a problem of not having it properly engaged, but in the last few weeks it has gotten to be a severe and dangerous annoyance. I wish that I had taken to the forums earlier! Long story short, today it was taken to the local dealer. They kept it until quitting time and then called with the fabulous news that it could be fixed for $6,000! Replaced or taken apart either would be the same cost! Ridiculous! This clearly should be a recall matter on the safety issue alone.
September 2nd, 2015 at 11:58 pm
2008 wrangler Rubicon. loud squeaky clutch after 1 year (just went away recently 2015), gas pump sprays all over the place (something about a float not letting the gas pump know it’s full) started happening around 3rd year. sound system went bad after 4th year. 1st gear jumps out of gear (JOG), started happening randomly in the 3rd year. all the light bulbs keep burning out every 1 1/2 years, almost like clock work, not sure if it’s a jeep thing or cheaply made bulbs sold as premium product from sulvania. my low tire pressure indicator keeps going off, i check my tires and they are at the required pressure. my factory set of tires wore out at 20,000 miles. The replacement Toyo’s are still going strong after 60k +. my factory brakes wore out at 15,000 and no it’s not my driving. my first set of after market brakes lasted over 60k. Hand brake broke just recently. i have owned 5 cars over 25 years, all of them except this jeep had many miles on them and i have never had a hand brake BREAK. this jeep was the 1st vehicle i purchased brand new and what a nightmare. BTW, this jeep burns 1 quart of oil a month brand new…..never had that happen either. i’m actually a slow driver on the highway and do moderate off roading ….meaning mudding and desert driving. no rock climbing yet. i love the look and capabilities of the jeep 4×4’s but i’m really upset by the low quality parts Chrysler puts on their jeeps and they don’t care about customer service. because of past xperience with several dealerships (Toyota, Chevy, etc.), i dont trust any dealership to fix a car properly so i will never take a vehicle to get repaired by them. just to let everyone know, dealerships are franchises. they are only in it for the money and don’t really care about representing the manufacturer properly. Even on a recall i wont let a dealership touch my vehicle….not that they actually recall anything unless a few hundred people have died from it already. i just want to tell my experiences and hopefully let others know that a jeep will cost you money because of the high price to buy one and the really low quality parts they actually put on it. if you plan to upgrade it with after market parts, no problem, but if you don’t, you’re in for dropping $$ because Chrysler sells vehicles with cheap parts at a premium price.
September 3rd, 2015 at 12:25 am
last thing, i haven’t hit 100k yet on the jeep.
November 8th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
I have a 2008 Wrangler Unlimited and since I bought it it has done it. You can’t drive with both hands on the wheel because of the problem. I’ve driven manual transmission my whole life and never saw this problem. When going thru an intersection you need to keep one hand on the shifter. I saw in 2010 Jeep recognized the problem and thru a service bulletin told dealers what parts need upgraded. Something has to be done!
November 30th, 2015 at 12:42 pm
I have had my 2016 Wrangler Sport for 2 months. It has shifted to 1st 3 times. I called Jeep and asked was this a known issue and they stated that NO they never have problems with Wrangler. I had them look at it and they found no problem. I had my car back 3 days and it happened again.
December 18th, 2015 at 1:06 pm
My 2007 Jeep does the same and I filed a complaint. It is a shame.
December 25th, 2015 at 11:11 am
I have a 2009 Wrangler X and I have had issues with it BANGING out of 1st gear. In March while on vacation it really started to get bad. Had it in a Chrysler dealer and they did experience it but could not find anything on it, in other words, call Scotty. My brother told me about a transmission shop and the owner was one of those very knowledgeable fellows. I called him and briefly told him of my problem. He said it was a Getag 370 transmission and it was a common problem. This transmission was designed for small vehicles like a Dodge Neon and wasn’t heavy enough for the Jeep. There is NO replacement for this issue, just repair. At 60002 Km he changed the 1st and 2nd gear and so far, no sign of the issue. There is no guarantee that it wont come back because of the design. He found the problem in a lot of Jeeps that people use when off roading. Anyway, my very last Chrysler product.
March 15th, 2016 at 3:58 pm
I have a 2010 Jeep Wrangler manual 6 speed that is popping out of 1st gear at random times. Like others have said, it scares the crap out if you! I called the dealership and they said there was a service bulletin about it, but that’s it. My jeep is out of warranty (past the 5 yrs) even tho I only have 19k miles on it! Idk what I’m going to do. Shame on Chrysler/jeep for ignoring this problem
March 15th, 2016 at 8:48 pm
I have a 1988 jeep wrangler customized with a 6.2 liter Detroit diesel but it still has original 5 speed manual transmission. It just started popping out of 1st. gear It actually won’t even stay in 1st. all other gears are fine. Any ideas?
March 17th, 2016 at 1:03 pm
Update to my problem, Chrysler has agreed to absorb the cost of repairs! Thank you Chrysler! My faith has been restored
June 9th, 2016 at 6:38 pm
My husband and I bought a 2008 jeep wrangler unlimited Rubicon, and we have had the same on going issues with first gear popping out of gear, right from the beginning less than 10,000 km on it. So many times we have mentioned the problem to the dealership, and got weird looks , like they had no idea what we were talking about. Yeah right! And insulting comments , like my husband and I didn’t know how to drive a shift correctly, He has been driving standard his whole like and so have I. We were repeatedly told the same thing , that when taken for a drive it did not do it to them so they can do nothing to help, Now all these years later, we still have the same issue, we still drive it and have learned to live with it, like you would a bad leg or something. Not fun, and can not let out kids drive it because of safety issues, I would love to get rid of it, but I can not knowingly pass this problem on to anyone else. And if you tell anyone the problem they walk away from the sale, and I can’t blame them. I feel the need to warn people about the issue, Too bad the dealerships didn’t feel the same way, they keep selling them year after year with the same issues to unsuspecting buyers. Something should be done.
June 10th, 2016 at 2:50 pm
I have a jeep wrangler sahara crd year 2010 with a manual transmission and 137000 kilometres on the clock. My gear box whines loudly in 4 and 6 gear and the other gears also whine but not very much. I am taking the jeep in tomorrow what may be the cause.
June 21st, 2016 at 2:32 pm
I have a 2007 Dodge Nitro with the same 6-speed manual transmission from Chrysler, and have had the exact same problem. The first time it started happening was in 2012 with about 50000 miles on it, and it would violently pop out of first gear when accelerating from a stop. The problem progressively got worse, and I filed a complaint with Chrysler. Of course, the dealership couldn’t get it to happen. I found the service bulletin and used that as my evidence that Chrysler knew there was a problem. After many rounds of my insisting to Chrysler and my dealership that this must be fixed (under an extended warranty), they finally agreed and it was repaired. The Nitro had about 70000 miles on it then and the problem was gone … for about two years. Now,. the problem has returned and I’m really not looking forward to another fight with Chrysler.
August 26th, 2016 at 6:19 pm
2010 Wrangler Sport, 6 speed manual kicks out of 1st violently EVERY TIME as soon as you begin to release the clutch. Vehicle has 80,000 miles. Jeep dealer wants “$500 – $600” just to diagnose issue. Said could be as simple as shifter boot clearance, or could cost thousands to rebuild transmission…Seriously? Sounds like they learned a thing or two from P.T. Barnum “There’s a sucker born every minute…” or something like that.
Biggest piece of sh*t I’ve ever had the privelige of driving. I’ll be trading it in, and go back to Fords and Chevys.
September 8th, 2016 at 9:32 am
I have a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4-dr… It has been jumping out of gear for a while. Like others, I thought that it had to be me pulling it out of 1st just before I pressed the clutch; however, I am not the only driver of this vehicle that has had this happen to me… I have pulled out into traffic, it jumped out of gear & I was sitting there revving the engine – going nowhere. The dealership says that the inner boot needs to be replaced; however, the last service manager that I talked with said that I would need a new transmission, which would be covered under the lifetime power train warranty. The inner boot replacement or removal would not be covered under the lifetime powertrain warranty. Has anyone had any luck with a resolution to this problem?
November 19th, 2016 at 5:56 pm
This may be a long thread…
Ok, I have a 2008 JKU that I bought toward the beginning of this year. It’ a 6 speed manual.. It started jumping out of first gear (which will simply be JOG for the remainder of the thread)shortly after I bought it, and I took it to a dealer for diagnostics. It was violently jumping out of first, which I have found is a VERY common problem, almost so common that it SHOULD have a recall initiated. I brought it to Gresham Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler and they immediately told me that they would have to tear into it and probably rebuild it. Simple enough… cost about $3,500 when it was all said and done. They replaced first gear synchro. Well, on my way home from picking it up after they rebuilt it, it started jumping out of gear almost immediately… (did they even test their work?) Of course, their ‘#5 transmission guy’ had never seen one back after being repaired…
So I set up another appointment, and went in to see my service advisor (who I had called out after the first rebuild for trying to sell me parts that THEY broke, but thats another story all together…), who at that point, pretended not to know who I was (he knew for sure) and then proceeded to tell me I needed to come back in a few days, so I told him that I had an appointment and he basically told me to pound sand. So I got into sort of a yelling match with him because I had an appointment that he didn’t want to honor for some reason, and he immediately just started threatening to call the police on me. (wtf?)
Needless to say, there were more words exchanged than there are words in a dictionary… and after that point, I ended up getting the Service Manager and General Manager involved…
Miraculously, they ‘checked it out’ and ‘found nothing’ and couldn’t replicate the problem, and told me to come pick up the Jeep. It was still having the problem, so a few days later I brought it back to them and insisted that it was still having the problem. They ‘checked’ out the Jeep and said now that it could be the inner shift boot causing the violent JOG. They aid this was the first step to diagnosing the problem…AFTER telling me the first time that the trans needed rebuilding for $3000+, now the first thing they want to check is a less than hundred dollar part? Why wasn’t that checked BEFORE REBUILDING it? Probably because making 3k sounds better than only making a hundred bucks or so… I will never know.
So with the inner boot off, (and having had my jeep now for weeks) they tell me the trans seems fine now, and can’t replicate the problem with the boot off, and they want me to come get it.
Upon arriving, I had barely even left the dealers parking lot before it was JOG again, o I turned right around and went back.
While dealing with the previous service ‘advisor’ that tried ripping me off, he had told me that if I could capture it on video, that would be sufficient evidence for them to proceed with trying to re-fix it.
I did capture it on video. I showed it to him, as well as the service manager, and ALL OF A SUDDEN it wasn’t good enough evidence and they still have to replicate the problem before tearing back into it.
I ended up going for a drive with the service manager himself, who insisted that they have the ‘#5 transmission guy in the US’, and lo and behold, it JOG 2x while I am driving it. We then switch seats, I let him drive, and it JOG on him as well.
After much more unnecessary arguing between myself and the Service Manager about replicating the issue, they finally said they would crack the trans back open. Guess what? The same parts that had just been replaced by their #5 transmission guy were jacked up and needed rebuilding AGAIN… (less than a month after the first rebuild)
Days turn into weeks, and they finally have it rebuilt again, and all seemed normal now… 1 week after picking it up.
Well, after thinking for a week or so that the Jeep is good to go, no JOG, nothing… it starts doing it AGAIN today. I am at wits end, and really considering hiring an attorney. This is widespread enough that a class action lawsuit is really a possibility.
It’s Saturday, the service manager isn’t in today, so I will have to wait till Monday to even talk to him about it… I have been more than patient, and am growing impatient at this point as I cannot drive my new-to-me Jeep that I paid $30,000 for and am making payments each month on it, as it remains in undriveable condition…
What should I do? I am seriously considering an LSX swap into it one day, and this may further motivate me, but for the time being, I paid them a lot of money and they can’t make it last for more than a week.
I also noticed that they just strait up BROKE off the trim ring around the shifter…
I know there is a TSB on it, but this is seriously annoying. What should I do? I haven’t spoken to an attorney as of yet, but might have to go that rout, but aside from that, what would you guys do?
Please advise.
November 19th, 2016 at 5:57 pm
This may be a long thread…
Ok, I have a 2008 JKU that I bought toward the beginning of this year. It’ a 6 speed manual.. It started jumping out of first gear (which will simply be JOG for the remainder of the thread)shortly after I bought it, and I took it to a dealer for diagnostics. It was violently jumping out of first, which I have found is a VERY common problem, almost so common that it SHOULD have a recall initiated. I brought it to Gresham Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler and they immediately told me that they would have to tear into it and probably rebuild it. Simple enough… cost about $3,500 when it was all said and done. They replaced first gear synchro. Well, on my way home from picking it up after they rebuilt it, it started jumping out of gear almost immediately… (did they even test their work?) Of course, their ‘#5 transmission guy’ had never seen one back after being repaired…
So I set up another appointment, and went in to see my service advisor (who I had called out after the first rebuild for trying to sell me parts that THEY broke, but thats another story all together…), who at that point, pretended not to know who I was (he knew for sure) and then proceeded to tell me I needed to come back in a few days, so I told him that I had an appointment and he basically told me to pound sand. So I got into sort of a yelling match with him because I had an appointment that he didn’t want to honor for some reason, and he immediately just started threatening to call the police on me. (wtf?)
Needless to say, there were more words exchanged than there are words in a dictionary… and after that point, I ended up getting the Service Manager and General Manager involved…
Miraculously, they ‘checked it out’ and ‘found nothing’ and couldn’t replicate the problem, and told me to come pick up the Jeep. It was still having the problem, so a few days later I brought it back to them and insisted that it was still having the problem. They ‘checked’ out the Jeep and said now that it could be the inner shift boot causing the violent JOG. They aid this was the first step to diagnosing the problem…AFTER telling me the first time that the trans needed rebuilding for $3000+, now the first thing they want to check is a less than hundred dollar part? Why wasn’t that checked BEFORE REBUILDING it? Probably because making 3k sounds better than only making a hundred bucks or so… I will never know.
So with the inner boot off, (and having had my jeep now for weeks) they tell me the trans seems fine now, and can’t replicate the problem with the boot off, and they want me to come get it.
Upon arriving, I had barely even left the dealers parking lot before it was JOG again, o I turned right around and went back.
While dealing with the previous service ‘advisor’ that tried ripping me off, he had told me that if I could capture it on video, that would be sufficient evidence for them to proceed with trying to re-fix it.
I did capture it on video. I showed it to him, as well as the service manager, and ALL OF A SUDDEN it wasn’t good enough evidence and they still have to replicate the problem before tearing back into it.
I ended up going for a drive with the service manager himself, who insisted that they have the ‘#5 transmission guy in the US’, and lo and behold, it JOG 2x while I am driving it. We then switch seats, I let him drive, and it JOG on him as well.
After much more unnecessary arguing between myself and the Service Manager about replicating the issue, they finally said they would crack the trans back open. Guess what? The same parts that had just been replaced by their #5 transmission guy were jacked up and needed rebuilding AGAIN… (less than a month after the first rebuild)
Days turn into weeks, and they finally have it rebuilt again, and all seemed normal now… 1 week after picking it up.
Well, after thinking for a week or so that the Jeep is good to go, no JOG, nothing… it starts doing it AGAIN today. I am at wits end, and really considering hiring an attorney. This is widespread enough that a class action lawsuit is really a possibility.
It’s Saturday, the service manager isn’t in today, so I will have to wait till Monday to even talk to him about it… I have been more than patient, and am growing impatient at this point as I cannot drive my new-to-me Jeep that I paid $30,000 for and am making payments each month on it, as it remains in undriveable condition…
What should I do? I am seriously considering an LSX swap into it one day, and this may further motivate me, but for the time being, I paid them a lot of money and they can’t make it last for more than a week.
I also noticed that they just strait up BROKE off the trim ring around the shifter…
I know there is a TSB on it, but this is seriously annoying. What should I do? I haven’t spoken to an attorney as of yet, but might have to go that rout, but aside from that, what would you guys do?
Please advise. Anyone want to contact me, email James42806@yahoo.com
December 5th, 2016 at 4:25 pm
@James: The age of the car may be a serious obstacle to filing a claim. I would contact your state attorney general’s office if you have not swapped the car out already.
April 12th, 2017 at 4:14 pm
2008 Jeep Rubicon 6 Speed, I purchased brand new from the local Larry H Miller dealership in Utah.
First of all let me say that this Jeep was in the shop so many times that Chrysler made payments on it.
The Two items that I have been unable to resolve with the dealership is the transmission popping out of first gear and the dreaded ‘Death Wobbles’, both of which could not be replicated by the dealership technician so they are not happy to see me when I return. They said, quote, “Its All In My Head”.
About the JOG (jumping out of gear) the dealership made it clear that they were Not going to fix it. I am now stuck with a Jeep and run the risk of being responsible for an accident when it pops out of first gear. They told me that it was an inner shifter boot which I removed and the same problem persists. I returned every time it happened. The Dealership Shop Manager was extremely rude and basically made me feel that it was my fault by the way I drove the Jeep and refused to repair every time.
As far as the Death Wobble, they also refused to fix it and told me that it was ‘normal rebound’. I still do not understand his explanation. Death Wobble had almost killed me on several occasions as I must take the freeway at higher speeds to get to work to pay for this unsafe Jeep. Now, I must be considerate of the other safe vehicles/drivers on the highway by driving in the slower lanes at slower speeds to come to a complete stop in a short amount of time and be able to pull off the highway safely to avoid a potential deadly accident caused by my Jeep. If my insurance company only knew what I’ve been through with this Jeep, they would immediately drop my full coverage insurance.
I finally took it to a local tire store and spent over $4000.00 with replaciement parts that I had to pay for and even they could not isolate and repair the problem. After the final repair, the tech at the tire store decided to drive it and the Death Wobble happened to him while he was driving, between 40- 50 mph. He pulled over, came to a complete stop, got out and refused to drive it again. Needless to say I drove him back to the tire store and they told me they could not do anything more for me and to take it back to the dealership. It’s now 2017 and I refuse to drive it but Chrysler insists that I pay for it, so I drive another car to work. They will not acknowledge either problem until I’m dead and by then I cannot prove what really happened, as it is a potential death trap.
Yes, I am still making PAYMENTS!
July 3rd, 2017 at 12:04 pm
My 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has the same problems as others mentioned here. The Jumping Out of Gear (JOG) thing happened similar to the ways others have stated in this forum. At first it would jump out of gear every once in a while (very violently I might add). The first time it happened I thought someone had rear-ended me and it left me stuck in the middle of a turn with traffic heading right for me. I still wasn’t sure somebody didn’t hit me until I got home and started examining my car. The JOG problem continued periodically and escalated to the point where I was literally afraid to use 1st gear and began using 2nd gear to start. This of course burned out my clutch.
I too had the Death Wobble on the highway, but took it in for service and that problem seems to have been resolved.
August 2nd, 2017 at 4:11 pm
My JeeP Rolled Over A 75 Foot Bank Into A River .. When They Pulled The Jeep Out It Was Still In Gear … Can Anyone Tell Me How This Happens
August 28th, 2017 at 5:14 pm
I have a 2008 x jeep wangler that jumps out of gear, pulling out of a intersection and popped out of gear and almost got hit by a car, they need to have a recall before someone gets hurt or killed
Maybe I should get a lawyer
December 3rd, 2017 at 1:32 pm
I have a 2008 Jeep Wrangler X. It has the same problem of violently jumping out of first gear. I want to get it fixed, but it does not sound like anyone has had any positive results. If there is a permanent fix or a class action lawsuit, I would love to know. It seems like this is a very common problem and one that could be very dangerous if it happens when crossing traffic.
January 24th, 2018 at 3:20 pm
I also have an 08 jeep wrangler rubicon,keeps popping out of first and even with a new clutch,still does it,it’s very dangerous!
February 5th, 2018 at 12:28 am
2008 Wrangler x, Been driving Manuel transmissions for 25 years and never had to replace a clutch before. I’m on my second clutch, master slave, and now a transmission. My first jeep and will be my last. I’m in on the class action suit. I lost a lot of money and days of work over this. You wanna play Chrysler? Bring it!
February 22nd, 2018 at 6:33 pm
I have a 2007 Wrangler keeps popping out of first gear even with transmission shift boot replaced twice. Sign me up for the class action suit. Someone will get seriously hurt.
March 16th, 2018 at 7:27 pm
I just spent a half hour reading these comments.
I’m a car business consultant. And I am also the original owner of a 2008 Jeep JKU Rubicon 6spd. We had this problem. In fact the service bulliten to make the razor cuts in the shifting boot was actually my engineering to attempt to debunk their idiotic statements about the boot being the problem. The photos in the service bulliten are of my Jeep. The yellow ink on the boot showing the razor cuts and the AM switch pot visible in the photos are mine.
Our 6 speed jumped out of gear repeatedly. We got 2 under warranty clutch jobs in the first 12 months (I used to blame my wife) for the clutch failing. And our gear box has been completely out and disassembled and put back in with some new parts twice.
Yesterday the tranny became jammed in gear. It litteral was like stuck in 2 gears at once. Lifting the rear end off the ground and jerking the tires back and forth got it unstuck and I drove it to a dealer I have never been too before. (I was traveling)
That dealer took less than 3 hours to pull the tranny and order a replacement gear box, and several other parts covered under lifetime Powertrain.
Our Jeep has been our of service checked in on dealership repair orders over 600 days in 10 years and it sat for an additional 270 days in our garage black flagged with an airbag recall.
In addition they have spent over $20,000 on repairs before this tranny job that will cost them $5000+.
Keep on paying you suckers!! I’m not getting rid of this Jeep till I’m dead! They are gonna pay $100,000 out in repairs on a $30,000 JKU Rubicon
March 22nd, 2018 at 2:20 pm
I’ve had the same exact problem and the dealer gave me the same line about not being able to duplicate the problem. Here it is many years in a lot of aggravation and close calls later and I’m dropping thousands of dollars to get it fixed. The transmission shop has been in business essentially “forever” and they commented on the poor design. Disappointing, dangerous in intersections, harmful to your elbow when it pops with your hand on the shifter and should be a be recall. Does anyone know of a good quality aftermarket set of parts.?
May 26th, 2018 at 1:57 pm
I own a 2008 Jeep Wrangler (6 speed) and have had this issue since I bought it. I’ve been told many times it’s not something they can duplicate so they can’t fix it. It’s an intermittent problem and not really something you can duplicate.
August 28th, 2018 at 5:20 pm
I’ve had a 2008 Wrangler Sahara since it was new.
The whole 1st popping out of gear started to happen after a year or so. Never ever took it to a dealer after the first time because of the whole run around they gave.
At first, it happened very rarely, gradually getting worse and worse till i almost killed myself making a left turn in traffic where i had more than enough time, but the explosive popping out of gear just left me sitting there in the intersection like a sitting duck for oncoming traffic.
Ever since then, i just hold it in 1st gear…HARD.
And i never really rev high in first. My only goal is to get it into 2nd gear, and that approach has worked for me as all the other gears are fine.
Every now and then it blows up and busts my shoulder up if i forget to really hold it in tight and everyone else around me is looking at me wondering what just happened but aside from that, i’ve never really had an issue with the car at all as it runs great.
It has over 120k miles on it and i figure to keep driving it for as long as i can.
But i’ll never buy a manual transmission from jeep again.
That much is certain.
October 3rd, 2018 at 10:31 am
I have had my 2007 Wrangler Unlimited since 2010. No problems until last 18 mo, when it really started using oil fast. Like others, intermittent popping violently out of 1st, even on level ground with a granny start. Not temp, humidity, or torque related as it happens under variations in each. Have driven sticks for 40 years, Corvair/VW bus/VW bug/Jeep CJ7/Kia Sephia/Bronco II, so lack of experience is definitely NOT an issue.
Have changed tranny, transfer case, and transaxle fluids IAW manufacturer instructions twice (I have put 220k miles on it).
As most others seem to observe, I don’t have the problem in other gears. I have even started in 2nd on level ground just to test if it is torque related. I have never had this issue in 4WD, either high or low, regardless of the torque applied.
I have begun shifting repeatedly between neutral and 1st as I slow between 20 and 0mph. I have occasionally noticed a distinct additional settling of the gears, which seems to indicate I won’t experience the popping out of 1st.
I have to wonder if the gear teeth are intentionally bevelled or rounded to make shifting easier for inexperienced manual drivers.
Other than this issue, I LOVE my Jeep! And at a $3k fix, I certainly wish I had some confidence that this wasn’t going to continue to be an issue.
November 20th, 2018 at 4:11 pm
I bought my 2008 Jeep Liberty used earlier this year. Within a couple of weeks the 6 speed manual transmission would pop violently out of either 1st or 2nd gear and into Neutral.
I bought it from a local car dealership and did not purchase an extended warranty. Sadly the dealership won’t warranty anything with it.
I love my Liberty. What course of action do I have?
Thank you.
November 28th, 2018 at 10:36 am
I purchased a used 09 Wrangler JK 2dr a couple of months ago with 85000 miles on it. Just within the past couple of weeks it has violently popped out of 3rd gear making a loud pop and then slight grinding noise until I slam in the clutch. It is quite alarming and disconcerting. After researching, this seems an all to common problem. As a lifelong Jeep owner it pains me to see Jeep is not taking responsibility for this potentially expensive repair for their loyal customers.
December 7th, 2018 at 8:41 pm
I bought a used 2007 Rubi with 28k miles and not long after i got it, it started popping out of 1st occasionally from dead stops usually at read lights. My mechanic said don’t bother fixing until you cant stand it anymore. Well now at 80k i have decided to get it fixed but now my mechanic says there is a back order on the parts. Does anyone know anything about this? sometimes i get the feeling he just doesn’t want to do the job.
May 10th, 2019 at 12:02 pm
I too have a Jeep (Wrangler) with a manual transmission that violently pops out of 1st gear about 50% of the time (within about 1 second after starting to roll from a stop). I bought it used last summer and it came with a 90 day power-train warranty. In the past 9 months the service department has attempted to fix it 5 times so far (they are still trying to fix it even though the warranty was only 3 months….because the issue has never been repaired). I’m going to pick it up tonight (their 5th attempt) and can only assume the issue will return in a day or two (like the past 4 repair attempts). The current (5th) attempt actually has the second new (re-manufactured) transmission…even with that it still did it after installing a completely re-manufactured transmission.
So…..through the years…has anybody discovered what the real issue is and how to effectively repair it? It really is dangerous, and Jeep needs to acknowledge the issue and find a solution. On that note….has a class action suit been started or at least contemplated or discussed?
There has to be a solution since it sounds like it’s such a common issue….