Just rolled over 2000 miles on my brand new 2021 Wrangler 2 door sport S model with the turbo 4 cylinder and all of the sudden there began to be a thumping noise from the rear end going forward or backwards at around 1 to 5 mph.

I did some googling and found forums that confirmed that this is a very common problem in these Wranglers and that most people have to have serous work done to fix it. I took it to the dealer today and still have not been told what they are going to do yet but I will update once I know. I am making this post because carcomplaints.com has helped me every time I bought a new vehicle except this one. It needs to be addressed on this website. This problem is very serious and needs to be more well-known because it is very common and unacceptable for a brand new vehicle especially for one as popular as the Wrangler.

My 2021 Wrangler Sport s 2.0L 2 door started thumping in the rear end when moving slowly forward or in reverse at around 2-6 mph. Sounds like a military helicopter in the distance. I looked into it online and found multiple forums about it one being 89 pages long and growing by the day.

The problem is the Dana 44 rear differential destroys itself from the inside. From what I understand things get misaligned somehow and the play inside the differential wears down the internal parts. People have reported shavings inside the differentials when opening them. This is very dangerous and potentially deadly when the differential finally does completely fail.

Apparently this is a common problem on all JL Wranglers with the Dana 44 rear differential and has been happening since 2018. Mine has the anti spin rear differential and all terrain tires $595 option which is factory installed which gives it the Dana 44. My advice if you are going to buy a wrangler DO NOT buy one with the Dana 44. All rubicon’s have them and lots of other trims do as well.

My brand new Jeep is currently at the dealer and has been there for 15 days. I drive by daily and they haven’t even moved it since I dropped it off but they keep saying they’re still working on it when it call. I honestly don’t think my dealerships technicians are capable of doing the job judging by the horrible service I have received over the years on my Ram. I will make an update when I have the Jeep back. Or if they end up keeping it for 30 days I plan on having Jeep buy it back under the lemon law. Either way I will keep you all updated.

My 2021 wrangler sport s 2.0L 2 door started thumping in the rear end when moving slowly forward or in reverse at around 2-6 mph. Sounds like a military helicopter in the distance. I always check car complaints website before I buy a vehicle and this time I feel very let down and failed so I am making this post. I looked into it online and found multiple forums about it, one being 89 pages long and growing by the day.

Took it to the dealer and they said it was the purge solenoid so they ordered that and replaced it even after I told them about the hundreds of other people having the exact same issue. They said “no, there is no noise from your rear end, it’s the purge solenoid”. Well, that wasn’t it and after keeping my jeep for 3 days now they said it’s the rear end. Imagine that. Glad they could get that extra warranty repair money for replacing that solenoid. (Sarcasm)

Anyway, the problem is the rear end/rear differential/rear axle - whatever you wanna call it. They are totally poorly engineered garbage and judging by what I am reading in the forums it seems that they fail continuously even after the dealership fixes them. Some folks are on their 4th repair saying it happens every 20k miles or so sometimes less. The forum folks seem to think it is only the Dana 44 equipped Jeep’s but I do not have the 44 I have the Dana 35, and here we are thumping away. The repair according to the forum is either an entire new rear end or entirely new guts for it.

I am still waiting on the dealership to tell me what they are going to do. I just wanted to get this post out here on car complaints as soon as possible to hopefully save someone like myself from buying one of these Lemons. Just don’t do it. They are so cool and fun to drive but they have serious issues with the rear ends. I traded a 2019 4Runner on this and I regret it whole heartedly. I will keep you all updated on my experience.

Update from May 25, 2021: Dealership ended up keeping the Jeep for 60 days. They finally told me there was nothing wrong and that it was normal. Even though they knew it wasn't normal which is why they kept it for two full months trying to fix it. They wouldn't accept the fact that it was the rear end and they wouldn't open it up to find out. All they did was check the diff fluid and said they didn't see any metal shavings which means nothing. It only has 2000 miles on it.

I opened a case for a buyback through FCA and they just stopped communicating with me. They literally will not put you through to a case worker who can help. The main operators say they will call you back within a few days and they never do. Finally I complained on the phone for over an hour until they put me through to one of the supposed people who can help and she stopped responding to emails and taking calls. At that point the only option was a lawyer. Spoke with a lemon law specialist and he said that it would most likely take at least a year with the pandemic and that I would be paying for all the legal fees until we win.

I decided to trade the pos on a subaru and just take the depreciation loss before the jeep rear diff decided to lock up and kill me on the interstate. I just don't have anymore time to deal with it and be without a vehicle. Thankfully jeeps hold their value so it wasn't as bad as it could have been (about a 5K loss) but it's still an unnecessary slap in the face from Jeep. I will never buy another Jeep. This is my 4th FCA vehicle I have purchased brand new in the last 5 years. I have always loved and purchased mopar vehicles but this has shown me that they absolutely will not stand behind their products. They are losing a very loyal customer. Buy them at your own risk.