27th Apr 2004, 11:33
I have a 99 Wrangler Sahara with an automatic transmission that went at about 46,000 miles. I bought it with 32,000 miles and was told that it was "indestructable". So much for that. Fortunately my warranty was still in effect, so I didn't pay a dime for the tranny. The day I got it out of the shop, I noticed a vibration coming from the transmission. It was a bushing that needed replaced that was conveniently not covered by the warranty. $160 down the drain. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my "smart" key died on me about 8 months after buying the Jeep. Not covered by the warranty of course, more money spent. And recently my exhaust manifold cracked. I have 54,000 miles. That will be a small fortune to fix, I'm sure. Other than those problems, it's not a bad vehicle, just not the most reliable.
2nd May 2004, 11:16
Not a bad car if you don't mind fading and peeling paint and ratty vinyl seats. My formerly black hood became a whitish gray after 4 years and the vinyl seats cracked and ripped in less than 3 years. The dealer's response: "Well that happens because of the California sun". My 5 year old Jeep, washed and waxed regularly- looks like it's 20. What a joke. I'll never buy another.
19th Jul 2004, 12:21
I just recently bought a 99 Wrangler Sahara and absolutely love it, had the same problem with the dash instruments falling to zero, but that takes about 20 minutes to fix with two household tools. One has to realize when buying a wrangler it is not a luxury car and they have to be willing to deal with it, anyway the positives by far out way the negatives. There are not many other vehicles that out of the box can handle the things a wrangler can, but if you are not in to that kind of thing, I guess you can go buy a sports car.
4th Aug 2004, 14:42
Hello,
I purchased a 2000 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, and I love it. I feel very safe in this Jeep. I do have one question for someone though. I have a rattling sound when I put it in Natural, (sorry it is a five speed on the floor, 4.0 HO engine),and let the clutch out. Does anybody have any suggestions? I told the dealer and they put a new clutch and pin in, but it still makes the same noise. Other than that I really enjoy my Jeep. I came to this web page when I was thinking of buying this jeep and it help encouraged me to do so. Jeeps are fun. Off road and on road.
It's a Jeep thing.
11th Aug 2004, 18:51
I bought a 99 gold sahara new. I now have 90000 miles on it. it has been a great vehicle. as for the cracked exhaust manifold, i bought a new one from napa designed not to crack. it cost 300.00 and my wife and I installed it in about 4 hours. "we love our jeep"
15th Sep 2004, 20:06
I just experienced the "airbag light comes on and speedo and tach went to zero" problem. I noticed a couple of comments about fixing it. One said you could fix it easily with a couple of household tools and the other talked about a connector that came loose. Could someone give me a little more detail about this problem? Thanks!
28th Sep 2004, 13:06
I bought a 99 Sahara new. I now have 73000 miles on it. it has been a great vehicle.
Airbag light comes on, and the speedometer and tachometer both fall to zero. What can this be? Can any body help? Thanks.
5th Nov 2004, 16:44
The gauges falling to zero is a recall item. The dealer will fix this for free. It is due to a ground wire that was screwed behind the dashboard in the wrong place. You could probably do the same thing they will by putting it somewhere else, but the dealer will do it for free.
There was a similar problem with the defroster quitting for the same reason.
5th Nov 2004, 19:50
Just bought a 2004 Wrangler sport completely loaded with the new automatic transmission and I only have one complaint. Some weird rattling on the highway when the trans is in 4th with OD on at about 55. It only happens when I'm between about 1100 and 1350 rpm. Sounds like something may be loose? Anybody know what it might be related to, need to know before I have to talk to the dealer. Other than that I've had it 5 months and its the most fun car I've ever had!! Jeep rules!!
6th Jan 2005, 21:54
I agree that the Sahara model should not have been replaced. I love everything about the Sahara's. Owning a '99 Sahara with 116,000 miles I have had several problems too, but nothing too serious. The exhaust manifold is cracked and needs replaced and I have had multiple problems with the heater box, which is mostly due to a poor installation on the innitial repair. I love the green two-toned seats and color coded fender flares that don't FADE like the Sports. I love my Jeep and dispite the problems I will always have one!
26th Mar 2004, 21:19
Bought my 99 Wranger Sahara brand new. Haven't had much problems with it so far. (Cross fingers) Though I've bought it primarily as my "fun" car and off road vehicle. So in 5 years, it only has 27k miles on it.
Since I offroad, I really don't mind all the dings especially up front. But I did spend the extra cash and got a direct match touchup paint from my dealer. Yes, the paint doesn't seem to want to stay on the Jeep. : (
As to the doors, you should notice the warning saying the doors and top are not designed to hold people and objects inside. Rather only to keep the elements "mostly" at bay. So in other words, don't think of the top or the doors as real car doors! and remember the doors are designed to be manually removed, not swish nicely like a Jaguar, or BMW.
Just had my Transfer Case flushed, but it seems my Front Crank Seal and Rear Crank Seal are developing a little leak. I've been told the jobs will cost 225 and 520 respectively!
From what I've been told, these are common problems in Jeeps.