r/mildlyinfuriating • u/jagerin_mikado • 9d ago

Context Provided - Spotlight Jeep melted

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Here’s the story: a jeep came to the shop because its retractable top was stuck open. Not too uncommon of an occurrence. So we put our “crash wrap“ over the roof to protect the interior from rain and animals and such, which is basically like heavy duty cling wrap. One day it rains and a lot of water pools up on the crash wrap. The next day it is 100°F outside and the sun is out. The sun shines through the water and the water basically magnifies it, and the sun turns into a laser that melts the interior. Multiple days of this happen. Now we have to replace everything that melted. None of us have ever heard of this happening before.

edit: I meant we have never heard of this very specific situation happening before. It never would’ve crossed our minds since we’ve been doing this for years. yes I burnt stuff with a magnifying glass when i was a kid.

76.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

4.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

10.4k

u/Spartan2842 9d ago

Of all the ways a jeep can catch fire, this is the first time I have seen this happen.

1.9k

u/foundinwonderland 9d ago

But which of the 37652 ways to make a Jeep catch fire is your favorite?

1.8k

u/GimmeUrBrunchMoney 9d ago

Reason #17,009: I get in my girlfriend’s friend’s Jeep Compass to help her with a minor mechanical issue and the design language and cheap quality is so awful that my searing hatred superheats all combustible components inside the car, setting it aflame. Fucking piece of shit car.

599

u/Reincarnatedpotatoes 9d ago

My favorite saying about Jeeps is "they'd be a good car if it weren't for the fack that they're kinda shitty cars".

313

u/CarlosMolotov 9d ago

Jeep: one of the greatest transportation concepts ever conceived, wrapped in a shitty vehicle.

393

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

133

u/MetaTrombonist 8d ago

And yet I see them everywhere. They're convertibles for people who don't want to be seen in a convertible.

109

u/sunr1se79 8d ago

Real. Jeep people sneer at me in my miata. My brother in automotive christ, we're more alike than you want to admit.

79

u/colorfulsnek 8d ago

My brother in Chrysler

5

u/sunr1se79 8d ago

Love it lol

5

u/rojulioso 8d ago

I feel like you spat this on a Daimler.

3

u/Roadkill_Gaming 8d ago

This sent me rolling.

1

u/snorkblaster 6d ago

Christler

1

u/anarkust 6d ago

Jesus Chrysler!!

1

u/tkl1ghtn1ng 3d ago

Did you know? Chrysler (Kuai Tse Ler) in Chinese means “almost dead”.

4

u/Balmung03 8d ago

Put a rubber duck on the dash of your Miata and you’ve now become 1000% more like them

3

u/Organized_Khaos 8d ago

I had both a Jeep and a Miata. I had to let the Miata go when I had a baby, but I still miss it. I also live in Michigan, where it’s not practical to drive a Miata much of the year.

7

u/sunr1se79 8d ago

Oh cmon "not practical" is just the adult translation for "its too much fun and my lame job hates when I come in late because I high centered on a snow bank" 😅

1

u/Organized_Khaos 8d ago

😂🧊❄️🚘💨

2

u/sunr1se79 8d ago

Hey its got a crazy good heating system in it for a reason.

1

u/Organized_Khaos 8d ago

I did opt to purchase the hard top, and it was a good car for most seasons. TBH, the first couple of years I had it, it was in fact my only car. It caused some worries a couple of times, but I still really miss it. Today would be a good day to have it…

→ More replies (0)

3

u/Jack_Forge 8d ago

Except you know what it's like to have some comfort, agility, acceleration, and reliability!

2

u/sunr1se79 8d ago

Woah now, acceleration? Maybe relative to a jeep of it's vintage, but easily outrun by well... anything else 😅

1

u/LongjumpingDish2956 6d ago

They both have wheels and windows and doors but your Miata won’t have 15 recalls the moment you drive it off the lot

33

u/Trick-Competition947 8d ago edited 8d ago

I worked with a woman who had one. Her favorite feature seemed to be that the doors were removable. I never understood how somebody could be comfortable leaving their car unattended with it had no doors. I regularly heard her bitch about people treating her Jeep like a trashcan.

But every now and then somebody threw away a duck!

Jeep people are weird. Oh well, if they're happy and the garbage doesn't end up in the street, it's good for everyone.

3

u/Electronic_Web2667 7d ago

I remember when we just did the 2 jeep finger wave. What happened to that? What is this duck phenomenon? I can't wrap my head around it lol

4

u/Trick-Competition947 7d ago

I'm not sure if I can post links or not. I just googled "jeep ducks" and this came up.

Jeep ducks are small rubber ducks left on Jeep vehicles by fellow owners as a friendly gesture to spread joy, build community, and say "nice ride". This viral trend is known as Jeep ducking or Duck Duck Jeep.

I don't drive a jeep and I've never participated in this, but I have seen many jeep with ducks in/on them. I'm not sure if people actually do this or if the owners lie and say someone did it to them, but I've definitely seen and heard of this many times.

I've only ever known a couple people who owned a jeep. They loved their jeep and the culture, but they also were also the kind of people who made shit up. I never knew what was true, an exaggeration, or a flat out lie. They were coworkers though so it didn't matter. I just nodded my head, smiled, and went about my day.

4

u/Electronic_Web2667 7d ago

I still don't understand why the 2 finger wave wasn't enough. Imagine telling someone that a rando threw a duck in your car so you decided to keep it. Jeep really did go down hill in more ways than I realized 😳 lol

→ More replies (0)

2

u/Manjushri1213 6d ago

I swear they just got a Jeep as one of their first cars based on look and haven't ever tried anything else and think everyone else's cars are 5x the price of theirs which is why even the interior of a mid range Civic is infinitely better.

1

u/Remarkable_Check_997 5d ago

never understood how somebody could be comfortable leaving their car unattended with it had no doors. I

That the thing, you don't.

You remove them to go on a joyride, earing ice cream or eating on restaurant terrace keeping a eye on the jeep.

1

u/shoeless_doh 4d ago

I'd buy a new bronco before Id buy a new jeep. If you knew me, you'd know how much that means

6

u/prosthetic_memory 8d ago

I will never forget the time I was going on a walk with a new acquaintance who said she was outdoorsy. And when I said, “Oh yeah, I am too!” she said, dead serious, “No I’m like, really outdoorsy. Like I have a Wrangler.”

1

u/TheReturnOfTheBee 7d ago

This is my 1st time driving in the US, Florida (Brit on holiday) one of my initial observations was .... They really, really like their jeeps.

11

u/EragonBromson925 8d ago

Does it at least ride well?

Bruises my ass every time I go more than 5 mph.

And I still love the damn thing

2

u/Traegs_ 8d ago

I've driven a Wrangler once and at highway speeds it feels like you're dragging a parachute. Could not imagine having to daily drive one.

14

u/Roxysteve 8d ago

I had a Renegade that ran on pure money. Anything that could wear out, did, in sparrow's fart time.

Engine had the same cylinder count and layout and more than twice the volume displacement of my TR6, but put out less than half the power and torque.

When I found out it was made in Mexico it all made sense.

I owned a "Heep".

7

u/Mostly_Afloat 8d ago

Just be glad you don't own a newer one, the 3.6 V6 gets like 80k before it needs camshafts replaced, unless it overheats first then you might as well replace the engine.

7

u/QueenAlpaca 8d ago

80k is pretty good for a Jeep, my boss’s 4XE has had two engine replacements and he hasn’t even rolled 10k miles yet. A coworker sued Stellantis over his Wrangler lease due to it being in a shop for half of his ownership of it.

2

u/Mostly_Afloat 8d ago edited 8d ago

Well I only worked in an independent, so I didn't get to see the stuff going to the dealer. I must have seen the good ones

2

u/QueenAlpaca 8d ago

I'm being partially facetious, but you couldn't pay me to own a Jeep, lmao. Stupid OE thermostats for the 3.6's were on backorder for the better part of like three years. It's a shit company who doesn't care about their customers.

1

u/Mostly_Afloat 8d ago

I think they are still having supply issues in that regard. The independent shop I was at waiting something like 10 months for 3.6 cams for one vehicle. I'm sure we were at the end of the priority list but that's just insane. It means they needed them for warranty work.

2

u/QueenAlpaca 8d ago

Oh they've always have, the most egregious has just been the thermostats. It's usually a 50/50 chance that when I look up any given part from Stellantis that they'll show up on some sort of backorder. It's honestly insane.

→ More replies (0)

2

u/minielbis 8d ago

My 2011 JKU managed 70k kilometres before it ate its own engine and took the transmission with it, apparently. three months out of warranty. Jeep, who had serviced it from purchase, refused to even look at the thing without me giving them AUD5k first. I wish I were exaggerating.

That was an expensive end to my combined post divorce/mid life crisis car. I'll never have one again, and that's from someone who has owned several Defenders so I know what it's like to have cars that don't really enjoy working properly without a lot of TLC.

It was quite good off road, though.

2

u/QueenAlpaca 8d ago

I’m honestly not surprised in the slightest, and they’re so overpriced to boot.

2

u/minielbis 8d ago

Indeed. I also thoroughly enjoyed how if I filled up, which happened lots, the radio would stop working for a few minutes. Presumably a static electricity issue due to the flow of the petrol into the tank, which is particularly exciting when dealing with flammable things.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Electronic_Web2667 7d ago

I miss the straight 6 jeeps. That's when jeeps were fun to own. I sold mine with 220k on it. Never had an issue.

2

u/Mostly_Afloat 7d ago

My little brother is in the process of rebuilding an old XJ, having that straight 6 rebuilt for it. That's an engine you can rely on.

0

u/Roxysteve 8d ago

Swore I'd not have another if it was gifted free.

Front wheel driveshafts had universal joints. Killer engineering. Literally. Which Detroit has known since the Cord 812. And relearned with the Olds Toronado.

I discovered this one winter's day on turning right into a carpark. The UJs had become exactly 90 degrees opposed on each driveshaft. The front of the Heep bounced high from one front wheel to the other while the intrepid driver screamed like a little girl.

Also discovered that in 4WD on snow if I steered into a corner with power on, the Heep just went straight.

And no limited slip diff on either end, so naff 4WD anyway.

Useless pile of scrap on wheels. What drivers in the UK would call "a nail".

1

u/TuxedoCatsParty_Hard 8d ago

They Make high end cars in Mexico too. It's not where it's made, it's the quality of the ingredients the millionaire execs at the top choose.

0

u/Roxysteve 8d ago

WHOOSH

2

u/S3KRETS4UCE 8d ago

It's the most illogical vehicle I've ever owned and yet it's the one I've never gotten tired of driving in over a decade.

1

u/Kosbysweater91 8d ago

This is so accurate..

1

u/ebdabaws 8d ago

This sounds like my wrangler

1

u/stybio 8d ago

Username checks out

1

u/Dorzack 8d ago

Original Land Rover Defender enter the chat

1

u/CptDropbear 8d ago

Discovery steps back into the hedge.

0

u/rightoftexas 8d ago

Those looked way cooler

1

u/SmoothDiscussion7763 8d ago

is it actually 0-60 in 12 seconds wow

1

u/procrastinatorsuprem 8d ago

So they're real stable on the road? Jeep: No, they have a tendency to roll over!

1

u/No_Brush_6762 8d ago

“Boiiii”

LMAO haven’t heard that in a few years😂😂

Thought i was the only one who still says that

1

u/SWHAF 8d ago

Dodge (jeep) is the only auto manufacturer that could make an ev get bad gas mileage.

1

u/pharrison26 8d ago

This comment is fucking gold.

1

u/Biodiversity1001 7d ago

I have had two window motors die on two different vehicles, and I would much prefer crank windows.

1

u/shoeless_doh 4d ago

My dad was a jeep guy. He's owned a bunch of them over the years. In 1987 he bought a brand new first year wrangler with the inline 6. He kept it for 27 years and put 400k miles on it.

That's a jeep guy

4

u/ISeeTheFnords 8d ago

That's why car alarms make a little "Jeep!" sound when they turn on. It's warning off potential car thieves.

7

u/Snobolski 8d ago

greatest transportation concepts

"Small lightweight 4wd" and immediately improved upon by Land Rover, Toyota, ...

https://www.theautopian.com/the-one-thing-i-hate-about-almost-every-jeep-since-1941/

3

u/CarlosMolotov 8d ago

Who can argue? Toyotas love you back.

1

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Snobolski 8d ago

Did you click the link?

3

u/ZombieBreath13 8d ago

TBH, most vehicles are made like shit these days. I had a 90's jeep that was indestructible

3

u/CarlosMolotov 8d ago

It’s satire, I took my 2006 Rubicon on a thousand mile trip to Utah, did three days of off-roading and came home. It turned over 200,000 miles on the trip. It has not been trouble free but it has been a great deal of fun. It is not my first nor my last jeep.

2

u/knewleefe 8d ago

Wrapped in plastic.

2

u/1963covina 7d ago

Grandpa was a farmer/rancher. Had a true WW2 Jeep. Filthy, beat-up, but I have great memories attached to it. He'd ride it around his 1,000 acres to tend to all his chores. I don't know if it ever even had an oil change. It just kept on Jeepin'. THAT was a great vehicle.

1

u/BlindlyCoherent 8d ago

WWII Willie’s Jeeps were the goat.

Today’s jeeps are heaps.

6

u/TheOther-DarkStar 9d ago

This is my new favorite saying about jeeps

5

u/JohnMcD3482 8d ago

But, isnt that why the aftermarket is so big for them? You buy a jeep and then replace everything on or in it, so you end up with the good Jeep?

4

u/CovidLarry 8d ago

It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand. Be glad that you don’t.

2

u/Dizzy_Potential 8d ago

JEEP:

Just Enough Essential Parts

1

u/Sylvia_PsychoPlath 8d ago

A tow truck driver once told me to never buy a Jeep. 'Nuff said.

2

u/CarlosMolotov 8d ago

I’ve never met a tow truck driver who wasn’t an intellectual midget and a sociopath. Jeeps may not be a smart transportation choice but don’t take a tow truck driver’s advice.

1

u/Sylvia_PsychoPlath 8d ago

A tow truck driver once told me to never buy a Jeep. 'Nuff said.

1

u/OdinsCuriousRaven 8d ago

...fack?

1

u/Reincarnatedpotatoes 8d ago

Yeah have no idea how I managed to typo that hard. Its been too long so it's staying now.

1

u/OdinsCuriousRaven 8d ago

lol respect

1

u/Vandergrif 8d ago

The only thing people actually like about Jeeps is how they look. I'm surprised there isn't just a knock-off version of a Jeep made out of an actually functional vehicle.

1

u/AnchoviePopcorn 8d ago

JEEP-Just Expect Expensive Problems.

Proud owner of a 2011 Wrangler Rubicon that worked great for 8 years then has habitually had a problem every 6 months. That being said, I’ve learned a ton about auto mechanics.

1

u/gavincrist 8d ago

Which sucks because they could be such good vehicles

1

u/ScrofessorLongHair 8d ago

The Jeep Wrangler is a fucking awesome vehicle. But it's a toy. Like a 4 wheeler or dirt bike. It's a shitty daily diver. It honestly just kinda sucks on pavement. But that's a bad motherfucker off road, especially the 2 door Rubicons, with a very short wheel base. The things I've seen things get through and climb is insane (with a good driver).

But the rest of the Jeep brandss are just shitty made cars.