general problems of the 2008 Jeep Wrangler - part 1

I was driving down the road in my 2008 Wrangler and all of the sudden every light flashed on my dash board then it felt like I could not shift gears then smoke came pouring out of my air vents. I pulled over and got out realizing it was on fire. Climbed in to save my dog just before the fire got huge. My entire Jeep is gone.

Vehicle while driving, wipers start, horn blows, washer fluid sprays, abs light goes on, engine dies making braking and steering impossible.

This has happened on more than 1 occasion. Driving on the highway and I lose power, the Jeep slows way down, the accelerator pedal is dead, and the electronic throttle control (etc) light comes on. It does the same thing driving in town. Sometimes you can turn the vehicle off, wait a couple minutes, start it back up and it will be ok for a little bit. Sometimes it won’t. I have replaced some parts, read forums, communicated with a dealer service department and it doesn’t sound like there is a “fix” for this. This is very dangerous and someone could get seriously injured or killed.

On 07/16/2021 at approximately 1600 hundred the smoke detectors in the house began alarming. I immediately noticed smoke coming from the garage. After getting my 6 year old son safely out of the house I immediately called 911. The fire department arrived and took care of the situation. The entire engine compartment was burnt. Before all of this we arrived at the house and parked in the garage. Only 5 minutes went by between parking the Jeep and calling 911. During operation of the vehicle that day there was no indication of any issues. The fire inspector preformed his investigation. As of now I have not received the incident report. Once I do I will supply it. I am waiting to hear from the insurance company regarding when an adjuster will view the Jeep. Thank you.

The dashblights started acting possessed while driving and winshield whipera came on without being activated by switch. Now the guages are stuck straight up and it wont shift out of park. . The radio and windows still work and the lights cone on without being turned on.

Hot oil warning started flashing and dinging. Was diagnosed with a transmission issue. Some online searches indicated that sometimes its just a bad sensor but looks like there may be a transmission problem. I was driving on the highway when it occurred but the temperature gauge never went above half way.

Driving down the road at 40 mph when all of a sudden complete power loss including brakes, steering, almost causing an accident. Horn started constantly going, front and rear wipers going. Turned key off and removed, but everything was still going like a possessed car. Had to disconnect the battery to get everything to shut off. Mechanic has told me it is likely a failure of the car's tipm, which seems to be a persistent problem with Jeeps and other Chrysler vehicles. Called fca and they won't stsand behind their product, saying it's not asn issue.

The lights intermittently turn on and off either stationary or while driving. The blower motor, flashers, interior lights, horn, and the wipers come on and off intermittently either stationary or while driving. Either the battery needs to be disconnected or the fuse box under the hood needs to be jiggled before it would stop. Scheduled to go in the shop Friday for the repair. Oddly enough the dealership has never heard of this problem. This will cause a serious accident or worse if this issue is not resolved.

Our 2008 Jeep Wrangler, while parked, with no outstanding issues, having come from the Chrysler Jeep dealership in freehold NJ just 3 days prior, burst into flames while parked. No fumes, overheating or other problems occurred during the 1 hr trip to the parking spot. Car was engulfed in flames, all down to metal. Completely lost due to fire/heat. Firemen were on the scene to put out flames but all was lost. Fire is a mystery to us. Always serviced at Jeep dealers, so all recalls should have been addressed when VIN input for servicing.

Jan 24 2018. I am driving my Jeep jk 2008. 103,000 miles. Stock everything. Was driving it all day in the everglades. All of a sudden as we were exiting the park my brakes stopped working and lights on the dash came on. We were going no faster than 35 mph. All of a sudden there was smoke coming from around the car. We ope the hood there is a fire in the engine area by all of the wiring. We attempted to put it out but it quickly engulfed the entire truck and I had to stand back and watch my entire Jeep burn to the ground!!!!! there was nothing to tell me this was going to happen or to warn me! Jeep needs to be responsible for this. We have burns on our arms. The car burned all the way to the ground. All of my belongings are gone from the fire.

08 Wrangler has heat issues with driver side blowing cold air and passenger hot. With recently the blower hardly working. Researched this quite a bit online and seems is a very common and costly issue with the Wranglers. Poor craftsmanship within heater core and other heat components seem to be the culprit. Unfortunate Jeep does not stand by their vehicles as this appears to be a large issue and not covered under any kind of voluntary repairs.

The Jeep just died in the middle of traffic while I was driving in escondido CA. This was very dangerous as it happened in rush hour traffic. The horn, wipers, wiper fluids all came on all of a sudden. I was stuck in the middle of traffic and was not able to turn it off. Then it randomly turned off so I took it to the dealership. They said my tipm was bad. There are recalls of the Jeep tipm but not for my model year. Wtf.

My vehicle begins to act as if it is possessed. When driving all dash lights will flash, windshield wipers will turn on, washer fluid will shoot out. Also while driving everything will lock up making it impossible to control the vehicle. When parked, the vehicle will struggle to start and all of the other symptoms listed above occur.

The Jeep's horn, wiper blades, wiper fluid and headlights go off by themselves even when the key is not in the ignition. Then the Jeep began cutting off while driving in the middle of rush hour traffic.

My 2008 Jeep Wrangler unlimited has begun exhibiting very strange behavior: 1) the front windshield wiper spray does not work. The rear wiper spray works fine. Very unusual since both front and rear spray uses the same pump. Thus poses a safety issue. 2) the door locks no longer lock when the lock button is pressed on the key fob. This is true for either fob, and yes, I have changed the batteries. 3) the car sometimes does not start. The engine does not crank. This happens at random, and can sometimes be resolved by removing the keys from the ignition, re-inserting them and trying again. Sometimes 5 or more attempts are required to get the car to start. In my research, all of these symptoms point to a faulty tipm module.

The contact owned a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. While driving on the freeway, flames could be seen under the front of the vehicle. After stopping the vehicle, it was discovered that the engine was on fire. The fire department extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries and a report was not filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 140,000.

Vehicle caught fire while driving. Complete loss.

It happens randomly but the wipers, washer fluid, lights including reverse lights and horn came on and would not turn off. Engine would not shut off. After doing a little bit of research it seems like there are lots of people affected by this and they all concluded that it was the tipm. It usually happens when the vehicle is in motion and I would say it happens every other week.

Jeep will start honking horn, wipers on , washer fluid shooting out, door locks won't work. Then it all clears up, there are time when the battery has to be disconnected . But one day while driving to work. All bells and lights went on, wipers on high, horn was stuck on, and then engine just dies! luckily I had enough speed to get it to the shoulder. Jumped out to pull the horn wire, I was in a residential area at 5 a. M. When all of a sudden engine started back up, with the keys in my pocket! everything finally stop running and I went on to my job reluctantly. Now sporadically the wipers go on, doors won't unlock, engine won't start, horn blares, washer fluid goes on all by there self. This is my only car to drive, I'm going to an independent dealer to get it hooked up to scan the computer, and hopefully find the problem.

The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle began to shake violently. The contact coasted over to the side of the road, turned off and restarted the vehicle, and resumed driving. The failure recurred four times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering damper needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

Car parked and stationary at home. Opened the rear door (with keys in hand, not in ignition) and the front windshield wipers started going and the running lights came on. After 1-2 minutes the horn started blowing and the heater blower motor came on. Putting the key in ignition or not made no difference. Pulled the positive terminal off of the battery and everything stopped. Reconnected the positive terminal and nothing unusual happened. Tried starting the car to test and the key activated the dash but would not start the engine but normal dash lights came on. While trying different things (shift to neutral, park, on, off, etc) the wipers (front and rear), blower, running lights and horn all came back on and the engine started without turning the key from run to start. Wipers and blower speed changed without touching any controls. Blower speed could be changed through switch, but when blower switch turned to off, blower went to high speed. Pulled positive terminal and negative terminals from battery with no change ¿ everything still running. Had to pull wires off the alternator to stop everything. The heater blower had stopped on this vehicle a year or so ago and after testing and replacing all blower parts with new parts it was determined that the tipm was at fault. Tipm has not yet been replaced (but will be). If this had happened while the vehicle had been in motion, it would have (at the very least) panicked the driver. I am going to reconnect the battery and attempt to video the results.

After many long road trips the engine always seems to smell slightly hot. I was assured it was just because of long distances. This past weekend after a long road trip, I parked my car in the garage, and later the engine burst into flames wrecking not only the Jeep but also the house it was parked in.

While driving my 2008 Jeep Wrangler to work one sunny morning doing approximately 80mph on the highway I drive daily, I lost all engine pressure and smoke began to pour out from under the hood. I pulled off the road and saw oil draining from my engine. I had it towed to the nearest automotive shop and upon futher inspection they said that I blew a head gasket. Both of the mechanics said that they have never seen a gasket completely blow out of the motor and said that they felt that there was a faulty gasket to begin with which cause the mechanical failure of the engine. Now of course there is no warrenty coverage due to the fact that the 5 yrs inspection was not completed, which is required according to somewhere in the owners manual. I am the original owner and it has never even left the pavement, no trails or water, 58k miles. Chrysler/Jeep refuses to do anything about it, basically said that this my fault. I will never buy another Chrysler product again. Almost makes this girl want to buy a foriegn car.

The car was in motion at n wharton maint st NJ 07885 the car did got in fire.

I just recently bought a new battery and the Jeep hadn't have had any issues and the Jeep just randomly didn't start. I finally got it to start just to find out it was a key module and program wireless module. After further research this is a regular problem in (07-08 models).

I was on 75 south bound going 70 mph. I had just gotten on the interstate from the bruce b downs entrance. After the right lane ended I switched to the middle lane. Coming up to fletcher exit, the gears changed. Almost like the car gave out. I looked down, I didn't change anything. On my way to look back up I see smoke from the hood and smoke through the rare view mirror. Grey smoke in the front and black in the back. I looked down at the gages and it was over heating. Looked to my left, no cars, pulled over to the left emergency lane. As I opened my door, the fire was already spitting out from the front left tire. I grabbed my phone. As I'm walking away, the fire was growing engulfing the whole front of the vehicle. Within minutes, law enforcement arrived on scene and we watched the whole vehicle go up in flames. At first 2 fire trucks put out the fire. Once they left and we were waiting for the tow truck to arrive, it caught fire again. The state trooper had to call the fire department to come back out. Before the fire started, there wasn't a noise or a light blinking to indicate a problem. The vehicle felt the same as it always did. Everything just happened fast and all at once. I never got any recall notices. I had the Jeep for 2 months. Insurance company never did an investigation because there was nothing left to investigate. I never called Chrysler because I didn't have proof who was at fault. I have never heard of this being an issue with Jeeps until I bought my new car and the sales rep looked me in the eyes told me it was manufacturer defect. It happened to 2 of his former clients. Told me Chrysler won't do anything because it can't be proven.

The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. While driving approximately 5 mph, the vehicle felt extremely hot through the console. The vehicle caught fire and became engulfed in flames. The fire department extinguished the fire. It was unknown if a police and a fire report were filed. The condition of the vehicle was unknown. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.

As I was stopping at local arby's restaurant for lunch, my 2008 Jeep Wrangler sahara unlimited started smoking from under the hood. It smelled like electrical wires burning. It ignited before I could exit the vehicle and within a couple of minutes it was totally engulfed in flames. There were several witnesses who saw the fire. I immediately called 911 and within minutes the fire department arrived and put out the fire. The Jeep is a total loss.

Driving up a long grade on the two lane road just sight seeing. We stopped to turn left onto another road and smelled something. Thought it was just something else until there was smoke in the car. Got out of the vehicle and looked under to see flames and yelled for my girlfriend and dog to get out. My friend had a fire extinguisher and put out the fire just as the plastic fuel line burst and sprayed fuel all over. . Lucky no one was injured.

I was driving on the interstate, enroute home, and my 2008 Jeep Wrangler unlimited just lost power which I steered it onto the shoulder. No warning lights, nor equipment failure indicator was on my dashboard. My vehicle started smoking heavily underneath the engine compartment. I had to tow my vehicle to a Jeep dealership, for further investigation on the cause. I'm awaiting for their findings on the cause.

This happened on 76th st north, between whirlpool dr and lakewood Ave. Owasso, ok. I was driving to work, at t 5:45 am, I smelled smoke, looked out my drivers side door and saw a orange glow. I opened the door and saw flames coming out from the engine. I stopped, got out and called 911.

My Jeep's electrical systems started operating while the car was off. The hazard lights, windshield wipers, horn, locks, and windshield wiper fluid all started activating. I took it to the dealership; however, they had no idea what was wrong and returned the vehicle. The issue presented a few times over three months but stopped. In September 2014 the issue presented after a reached my destination; however, this time, after I removed the key, the Jeep continued to run. I returned the Jeep to the fred frederick dealership and I was told that it is the tipm but the part is on back order. After I received the information, I did some research on line and found this to be a common problem but not just for the Wranglers but for a host of Chrysler vehicles. I have elevated a complaint to Chrysler to no avail. It is obvious that this issue is widespread and the expense to Chrysler to service so many vehicles has to be astronomical. Still, someone will get hurt or worse if the matter isn¿t resolved.

Driving home after work at night on the interstate,approx. 75mph, the windshield washer and wipers come on and the horn starts blowing continuously and wont stop, I pulled off on the closest freeway exit and pulled off the road and shut off the engine,but even with removing the key from the ignition switch it continued to run with the washers,wipers and horn going. . . . After several attempts turning the ignition switch on and off the motor finally stopped running but the washers,wipers and horn continued until I disconnected the battery. . . After reconnecting the battery everything went back to normal and functioned normally for several months, but recently has started acting like its possessed again. . . Took it to the local dealer(chapmen Dodge and they were unable to find any issue even after I told them it sounds like the tipm ,and from what I have researched this is an ongoing issue with Chrysler,they said they would replace it for $1000 but it may not be the problem. . . . .

I had a lifetime warranty package on my 2008 Jeep Wrangler. I also keep great records of my maintained and did most of it at the dealership. I was driving 65mph on the highway and the transmition / engine area started smoking. When I pulled over group llc and lames were dripping from the transmition / engine area. Smoke quickly filled the vehicle and with-in 2 minutes the Jeep Wrangler was up in flames. I contact Chrysler group llc and they sent an inspector out. They were very hard to work with and mailed me letter saying, "the inspector found no indication of a manufacturing defect that caused or contributed to the incident on 1 Jul 14. No help at all! I want to look into this more. It seems the transmition / engine defect cost me a one Jeep Wrangler and they accepted no responsibility.

My son was driving his Jeep back to university when gauges started to flicker then go out. He then saw smoke from engine compartment and pulled to side of road. Looking under Jeep around motor area he saw flames and backed away from vehicle. The fire spread quickly and engulfed the vehicle completely and it is a total loss. The Jeep had no major issues, just something electrical happened and it was over in about 30 minutes.