Owners Are Furious About The Jeep JL Wrangler’s Corrosion Issues

Rust was once the bugaboo of every car owner in the land. Eventually, technology improved, and now it’s largely a solved problem for those in drier communities, at least. For modern Jeep Wrangler owners, though, corrosion in another form is rearing its ugly head. It’s all about aluminum.

The issue concerns bubbling and flaking paint and corrosion, most commonly seen on the door hinges and door panels of affected vehicles. The blight affects both the JT Jeep Gladiator and the JL Jeep Wrangler, and can seemingly affect any of these vehicles built from 2018 onwards. In turn, this common pain point has become a topic of much discussion on forums and beyond.

Corrosion is one problem, but for many owners, the response from Jeep has only compounded the issue. Scores of customers have reported their issues to dealers, and many have been left frustrated and unsatisfied in turn. So what’s going on?

Corrosion, But How?

The modern Wrangler (and Gladiator in turn) picked up a number of aluminum components in the latest generation. The aim was to cut weight and improve efficiency in turn. The JL model hit the market with an aluminum hood, tailgate, and doors, while the main chassis still relied on steel.

By eliminating the use of steel in these components, there’s no risk of rust, but that doesn’t mean there’s no risk of corrosion. Typically, it naturally forms a hardy aluminum oxide barrier on its surface. Unlike iron oxide, this layer is tough and remains bonded to the base material. However, under the right conditions, aluminum can still suffer deleterious corrosion. Still, if properly painted and prepared, an aluminum panel should hold up to regular environmental conditions with little to no corrosion for many years.

 

In the case of the Wrangler, though, corrosion is popping up in vehicles just a few years, or even months, after delivery. This corrosion is most typically seen as bubbling on the door hinges, or on the door panel in the surrounding area. Other common areas include the lower part of the door panel itself. In mild cases, small bubbles under the paint aren’t particularly noticeable, but the problem can easily progress to the point where large chunks of paint are flaking off entirely.

One of the prime ways that aluminum can corrode is when it comes into contact with a different type of metal. This is referred to as “galvanic corrosion” or “dissimilar metal corrosion.” This has led to a widespread belief in the Jeep community that the hinges themselves are the problem. Endless videos and forum posts claim that Jeep’s combination of steel hinges with aluminum doors is the root cause of the corrosion issue.

However, a reality check suggests that’s not entirely accurate. The simple fact is that the JL Wrangler’s door hinges are made of aluminum, not steel. Furthermore, if that were the source of the issue, Jeep’s engineers could have solved the issue years ago with a simple part substitution. Some have suggested that the steel door bolts are the cause, but it’s not a likely explanation. Particularly given many owners are seeing corrosion and bubbling occur in areas like the lower door panel, where there are no fasteners or steel parts at all.

And yet, a move from Jeep to rectify the issue has added fuel to this common theory. In February this year, Stellantis issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) regarding the matter. It instructs technicians to replace any corroded hinges with a new part that comes with a zinc shim. Zinc is often used as a “sacrificial anode” on submerged metal parts on ships. Thanks to Zinc’s greater potential for oxidation than metals like steel, it preferentially corrodes while leaving the structure intact. It hints at a galvanic corrosion issue at play here.

Jeep Blames The Aluminum Door And The Manufacturing Process

Here’s what a Stellantis spokesperson told us:

Model-year 2018 migration to an aluminum door design – a weight-saving measure – inadvertently coincided with, initially, occasional variation in the manufacturing process.

The issue described may occur in a fraction of these vehicles. Accordingly, we are providing affected customers with a solution.

It’s true that zinc will typically preferentially corrode over aluminum or steel. However, in this situation, having the shim corrode between the door and door hinge would be undesirable. It would lead to the hinge/door interface becoming loose over time, and there would still be unsightly corrosion byproducts, to boot. It could simply be a method to delay corrosion of the hinge/door area, rather than to stop it entirely.

Stellantis essentially confirmed this, saying: “The shim helps mitigate material properties that may induce corrosion.”

There are many related theories that are floating around various forums, some of which are more believable than others. Some suggest that Jeep’s paint process for its aluminum panels is not up to scratch. They suggest airborne contaminants, perhaps even tiny iron particles, are getting under the paint and causing the corrosion problems. That’s plausible, particularly given that it would fall under an “occasional variation in the manufacturing process” and this problem seems to have started for Jeep with the advent of the aluminum panels used in the JL and JT models. Indeed, Jeep’s own TSB for the repainting procedure states that “When sanding and prep is done you must use clean sanding pads and in a separate room from ferrous metals, as cross-contamination will lead to galvanic corrosion.”

Another theory suggests that the problem stems from the fact that Jeep paints the doors with the hinges already installed. Thus, there’s only a minimal primer coat, if that, between the hinge and the door. Thus, when water or other contaminants get into the hinge grooves, the corrosion problem begins. This could be plausible, though it doesn’t explain corrosion in other areas like the lower areas of the doors. It’s also likely that bolting together a fully-painted hinge and door would damage the paint anyway.

Repair And Despair

Naturally, customers are seeking repairs to their affected vehicles. Jeep offers a 5-year, unlimited-mile warranty for corrosion, so a great many owners have pursued a warranty repair on that basis. Repair involves either sanding down the affected panels and repainting them, or replacing them entirely.

Sadly, many have been frustrated by delays and poor repairs. Talk to owners on the JL Corrosion Information group, and they’ll tell you it’s been an unmitigated boondoggle.

Scott Anderson bought his 2019 Jeep Wrangler used in December 2023, picking it up in Tremonton, Utah. Having discovered corrosion on the vehicle, he headed to a local Jeep dealer to get the problem seen to. “They said I needed to go get a quote first from the body shop, as they did not have an in-house shop there,” says Scott. That would turn out to be a mistake.

“Because I got the quote first, it put me 2 days out of warranty,” Scott explains. He was told to contact the Jeep Cares customer assistance line, and he says he was told twice that the issue would be covered. “I had the appointment, and took it in on a Monday,” he says. “At 10 on that Monday they called and said they will not cover the repairs.” He’s followed up multiple times, to no avail. “Now when we call and give them the VIN, they hang-up,” he says. “First time Jeep owner, and last.”

Toddy Spencer is based down in Illinois, and he’s seen the same problems up close. “Mine is a 2018 so I caught right in time,” says Todd. “My corrosion is just on my hinges for now.” He knows he’s not alone, too. “I work for a dealership, and I see corrosion on almost all of them,” he says. As it stands, it’s looking like he’ll get his Jeep sorted by the factory, but there’s a wait involved. “I made a warranty claim back in February and I’m approved for all new door hinges, but parts are so backordered it will be another 6 weeks before they get to mine,” he says.

Complaints of delays abound, along with customers getting the runaround from Jeep Cares and dealerships. Average wait times seem to hover around 6 months to a year for those wanting a solution. Color match issues for repaired vehicles have also hounded some owners.

 

In fact, the more I kept digging, the more stories kept coming out of the woodwork. Ashley Dalton shared the photo above, showing a significant color-matching issue. “Many [body shops] do not blend into adjacent panels to achieve a decent paint match and hope the customer doesn’t notice,” Ashley told me. “Notice they didn’t blend into the adjacent panel so you can clearly see the mismatched paint at the edge of the door.”

Meanwhile, Paula Kay suffered warranty woes with her badly degrading white Wrangler. “My biggest issue with this is that I was told by Jeep Cares that they will not give me one cent due to being out of warranty, yet every day on here I see people out of warranty getting cost share assistance,” she says. After having an inspection appointment set up with a dealer, she says Jeep wasted her time by not even looking at the pictures taken by the service manager. “How do they pick and choose who they assist when out of warranty?” she asked.

As it stands, it appears a significant proportion of JL and JT models are affected. Used buyers would do well to carefully inspect any vehicles of this generation, and new buyers would be well advised to pay close attention to any warning signs on the paint.

It may be only a cosmetic issue, but it’s one that has seriously pissed off a great many Jeep owners. It’s not unreasonable for them to expect a five-year-old car to keep its paint intact. Much like the manual transmission issues Jeep has faced of late, it’s another case of Jeep failing at the very basics, and stumbling on repairs to boot.

(Image credits: Todd Spencer, Scott Anderson, Tristan Ray Geddes, Ashley Dalton, Paula Kay, Jeep)

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