How Many Miles Can A Jeep Wrangler Last? Our Investigation

If you are looking at the opportunity to buy a Jeep Wrangler, you should know how many miles you will drive this vehicle. And if we are talking about an average car such as a VW Jetta or a Ford Focus, we usually know quite well that it will go around 150-200 thousand miles and then it will start breaking all the time taking money out of your pockets. But if we are talking about the Wrangler - who knows how durable it is?

And the problem is that the longevity of this vehicle will depend tremendously on the way you use it. If you are a hunter or a fisherman and you need to go through some fields and forests all the time, the vehicle will die much faster. Also, off-roading and sport are the two things that are able to kill your Jeep unpredictably soon after you start using it.

Today, we'll be talking about the following:

1. How many miles can a Jeep Wrangler go if you use it as a family car?
2. How many miles can a Jeep Wrangler go off the road?
3. What are the main problems and risks for a Jeep Wrangler?
4. How can you prolong the life of your Wrangler?

Let's get started!

Potential longevity of a Jeep Wrangler

To estimate the longevity of an off-road vehicle, we need to compare it with the same kind of transport. But we couldn't find many cars that we could take for comparison. So, we just decided to imagine how many miles can a Wrangler go if you just use it as a simple passenger car - take your kids to school, commute to work, and go on family vacations to some beautiful places around your city.

We know well the engines and other important units that are used in Wranglers, so it's not hard for us to estimate their average mileage. But some factors made us hesitate that our figures were correct. So, we decided to apply a more complicated way - we compared our investigation data to the reviews of Wrangler owners.

And here's what we found:

1. If you don't use your Jeep Wrangler for off-roading, it will last approximately 280 000 miles and even up to 320 000 miles if well maintained.
2. An average Wrangler is still bought for off-roading, so it will reduce its longevity. We suppose that an average Wrangler in the US goes around 200 000 miles and gets a lot of rough roads on the way.
3. Poorly maintained Wranglers can start breaking earlier. At 100 000 miles, you will get your first big problems that will be very hard to repair.
4. If you get one of the naturally aspirated engines, you will not have many problems and the longevity will be quite good. But with modern turbocharged units with small-displacement (2 liters or something like that) the longevity will be much worse.
5. Automatic transmissions are much worse in terms of longevity. If you want a really durable Wrangler, buy the one with a manual transmission - it will live forever.

Jeep Wrangler has a lot of trims and modifications, and your choice plays an important role in providing optimal mileage. For example, one of the trims in the modern generation of the Wrangler is equipped with a 2-liter turbocharged engine (270 hp) and also an automatic transmission. We believe the longevity of such equipment is around 150 000 miles even without a lot of off-roading.

On the other hand, the 3.6-liter or the 6.4-liter gasoline engines as well as the 3-liter diesel turbocharged engine are very durable and almost problem-free. They will last longer. Don't forget that longevity depends not only on the type of engine and transmission you choose but also on the way you maintain your Wrangler.

Why does off-roading reduce the longevity of the vehicle?

You may say that we aren't right when we say that the Wrangler will not last long if you go off-roading very often. But the thing is that all units of your car are getting damaged and are wearing much faster when you go off-roading.

It doesn't mean that you shouldn't use your Wrangler for what it's meant, but you should understand what price you will pay for it.

After studying the reviews and some salvage cars on auctions with open mileage information and engine or transmission damage, we came to the conclusion that the Wrangler may last twice less when you go off-roading than when you just use it as a daily driver.

The problem is that the engine starts working at higher RPMs and it's revving up every time you get into trouble. Also, the breaks work like crazy when off-roading. Transmission gets extensive wear when the wheels slip in the mud. And all these factors altogether lead to sooner breakdowns and problems.

Can you drive your Wrangler 500 000 miles?

We haven't seen any Jeep Wrangler with that high mileage. But we know it's possible if you have enough money to spare. At some point, you will have to replace the transmission and repair the engine by replacing pistons, valves, and probably even the crankshaft. But it will allow you to drive your vehicle further.

It isn't economically correct and it can be OK in that case only if you love your car and don't want to sell it. Engine swap or transmission replacement is an extremely expensive task for you. That's why you should always think about your budget before making such decisions. But we recommend selling a Wrangle once it hits the 200 000-mile mark.

How to make your Wrangler live longer?

1. Don't take part in off-road competitions. The excitement of competition will lead to some bad actions and your vehicle will get extensive wear.
2. Maintain your Wrangler very carefully and regularly. Oil change and filter replacement are not the only two actions you will need to take. Make sure you follow the manufacturer's requirements.
3. Avoid tuning. Unfortunately, a lot of Wrangler die early because of engine tuning. Jeep offers very powerful and relatively low-displacement engines. If you tune them to get even more power, the engine block will wear faster.
4. Avoid mods. We know guys who put huge wheels on their Jeep Wranglers or equip their cars with a ton of additional off-roading equipment. All mods will shorten the lifespan of your vehicle.
5. Be careful on the road. Accidents are something that will ruin the stock body protection on your vehicle. This will lead to problems with the metal body parts - some rust will get on your nerves.

What are the most problematic units in your Wrangler?

It's hard to say if a Wrangler has a lot of problems because usually these vehicles are thought to be very reliable. But we know some cases when Jeep owners had to use the warranty coverage to repair crazy things in their Wranglers. And we wouldn't say that these cases are very rare.

Again, the majority of Jeeps are OK and they can go thousands of miles with no problems at all. But you have to be ready that your Wrangler will show some of the common problems.

For example, we can think of the following ones:

1. Steering problems. A lot of owners of the new generation of Wranglers say that they have problems with steering and they needed to replace the steering rack and other parts to get rid of the trouble.
2. Body problems are very popular. Water leaks are usual for Wranglers. It can leak from windows or from a retractable roof. As a result, water starts ruining the stock paint protection of the metal in the bottom of your vehicle. Rust can be visible after two years of driving.
3. Differentials are problematic. Nearly all Wranglers will have some minor problems with differentials. But if you don't pay attention to these problems and don't deal with them, you will have to replace the whole unit soon.
4. Sensor problems. In older Wranglers, engine sensors keep failing all the time. For example, the throttle position sensor may fail just because it's faulty and it needs to be replaced. As a result, the engine RPM will be always high.

You can also make things worse by towing some big weights with your Wrangler. It's not a very good towing car. The engines will mostly withstand these loads, but the transmissions aren't made for towing and getting big payloads. That's why you need to know how to use your Wrangler so that you could drive it for years without any problems.

We've written the article about start-stop problems in the Jeep Wrangler - you may want to have a look at it, too.

Final words

Even though there are some problems with a Jeep Wrangler, it's still a very popular and actually a very good car. If you need a daily driver, you should just choose a different vehicle. The Wrangler will be the best choice for those who sometimes go off the road and loves freedom. But it's very hard to say how many miles a Wrangler can go because everyone uses this vehicle in different conditions.