RE: Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator fire issues…

[Jtphoto]

Imagine being at a coffee meet and all of a sudden buddy’s Gladiator starts smoking. Fortunately for him the smoking was forest debris built up around his exhaust. He dug some of the smoldering material then ran to the local car wash to finish the job. Had we not been around the vehicles when this happened it’s high likely his Jeep would have burned to the ground. He got lucky and learned a valuable lesson.
So, that brings up the next question:
How many people actually hose out their skid plates on a regular basis after trail riding and mudding.?
What percentage of Jeep fires are wrongly diagnosed and were actually caused by lack of maintenance?

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[Reinen]

It's a known issue and something you should absolutely watch out for, especially on 2-track trails with tall dry brush growing in between. They break off, collect in piles on the skid plates which can be heated and ignited by the exhaust system. This is actually the primary reason why it became a custom to have a fire extinguisher in your Jeep. Road vehicles don't have this problem.

I doubt a lot of Jeep fires are wrongly diagnosed. It is well known that fires start this way, at least by anyone who investigates the causes of fires. Either kindling collects in the undercarriage and ignites the vehicle or the vehicle starts a wildfire by igniting tall standing dry grasses.

The masses on the other hand... I'm sure there is a sizable amount of people who have zero clue this could happen.