Episode 801 – 2024 Wrangler Power Seats?
2024 Wrangler Gets Power Seats
The Jeep Wrangler is unusual to design parts for because of its unique emphasis on off-road performance. It can wade through up to 34 inches of water or enough to submerge the base of the front seats. That means its seat adjustment mechanism had to work after a dunk, which other passenger vehicles haven’t ever really been designed for.
“We knew that we had to execute it properly,” a Jeep spokesperson told The Autopian. “Wrangler owners, they’re gonna take their Wranglers out, they’re gonna go ford through streams, ford through rivers, they’re inadvertently gonna leave ’em outside with the top off and it’s gonna get rained on. So, we had to make sure that all of the mechanisms, all of the equipment was fully waterproof and could handle that sort of environment.”
By mechanism, they mean everything from the motors and switches to connectors, sliders, and brackets. They’re a much more complicated system to waterproof than, say, heated seats, which amount to an insulated resistive element with controls elsewhere.
Of course, the Wrangler hasn’t offered the feature until recently. As The Autopian pointed out, cultural shifts toward trucks and off-roading have increased people’s willingness to spend big on what were formerly barebones, raw off-roaders.
But whether it’s a good idea to spec your Wrangler with additional electronics is up for debate. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid has had significant electrical problems, from an electric mode that doesn’t activate in the winter to unexpected power loss on the highway. Electrical issues aren’t exclusive to Wranglers, either: Grand Cherokee Ls were subject to a stop-sale last year due to key fob connectivity problems that could immobilize the vehicles. Jeep has also been sued over electronic sway bar disconnects that can allegedly fail in normal use, though the lawsuit has been partially dismissed according to Car Complaints.
Submersible or not, power seats are another part that can go wrong. We all know what Murphy’s Law has to say about that.
After 49 Years the Cherokee is dead?
The Cherokee started production in 1974 as a two-door SUV based on the Wagoneer, before switching to a unibody platform in 1984 as one of the last vehicles AMC would introduce. It was a smash hit; some 3 million were built, and the SUV remained in production in the U.S. until 2001. License-built versions were made in China up until 2014. It served as the template for the modern unibody SUV, helping popularize a body style that is now a bestseller around the world. It’s hard to overstate just how significant the original Cherokee was.
But all dynasties end, and after multiple generations that failed to capture the success of the original (including some sold as the Liberty), the Jeep Cherokee’s time has come to an end. Jeep pared back the 2023 Cherokee’s trim range after sales fell off a cliff with the SUV approaching a decade on the market. On March 1, Stellantis idled Belvidere Assembly in Illinois where the Cherokee is made, and that production freeze may become permanent as Stellantis draws nearer to negotiations with United Auto Workers later this year over the plant’s future. A spokesperson for Stellantis said the automaker is committed to the segment going forward, but it’s unclear whether its next midsize SUV will bear the Cherokee label, or when it might arrive.
The Cherokee’s larger progeny, the Grand Cherokee, was renewed for 2022 and carries on the name—if not the direct vehicle lineage. With its plug-in hybrid drivetrain, it also better fits with Jeep’s increasing emphasis on hybrids and EVs. It’s unclear whether the Grand Cherokee nameplate may too be on the chopping block in a few years, as the SUV’s namesake the Cherokee Nation asked Jeep to “retire” the name in 2021.
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
Trails Offroad
When I was on Metal Masher in Moab, and trying to find my way down the mountain alone I would have loved to have had a map for the trail. I recently interviewed Todd with TrailsOffroad and their product would have made my trip down the trail about back to waiting friends in Moab much easier! No cell service is needed as you can download all the trails for the state beforehand!
Don’t do like me and get something AFTER you need it. Check out trailsoffroad.com now and keep listening for the Interview with Todd, the founder of TrailsOffroad.
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/