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‘This is just the pinnacle of why you guys are going bankrupt’: Expert warns against buying a Jeep Wrangler—over this one feature

‘I would love to meet the person that engineered a Jeep.’

Photo of P.J. West

P.J. West

Jeep Wrangler Steering Wheel(l) Jeep Wrangler in rough terrain(c) Jeep Wrangler Buttons(r)

A car reviewer had some criticisms of the Jeep Wrangler, going as far as to declare, “This is just the pinnacle of why you guys are going bankrupt” in his assessment of window and mirror controls.

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The video comes from Thomas (@carsrme), a TikToker specializing in content about cars, previously featured in the Daily Dot for a takedown of the Chevy Trailblazer. This video, which went up Oct. 30, now has close to 510,000 views as of Sunday.

“I would love to meet the person that engineered a Jeep, especially the Jeep Wrangler,” he begins. “I’d love to meet you.”

He then gets to his thesis: “I just want to know one thing: Why do you have your window switches right here in the middle?”

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From there, he faults Jeep for having the mirror control on a different part of the center console and the power locks low on the doors themselves.

“Because you think about like, oh, well, they’re there. So when the doors are off, you can … you can what? Roll down the window?” he says, pretending to be a befuddled Jeep owner. “Wait. The window is not … Wait. But let’s put the power locks on the door, because obviously, right?”

After making the bankrupt comment, he observes, “It’s thoughts like this,” before demonstrating more intuitive placement of the controls. “That could just be right there, that could just be right there, like any normal car. It doesn’t have to be any special …”

He then anticipates a possible argument about wire placement but notes that there’s already wiring in the doors for the power locks, and doesn’t think the extra wires and controls for the windows and mirrors would be an engineering obstacle.

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Is Jeep really going bankrupt?

While Jeep and its parent company Stellantis are not going bankrupt, a 2022 article from TheStreet noted that Jeep left the Chinese market, and its joint venture formed with the Chinese company Guandgzhou to make Jeeps in China, GAC-FCA, filed for bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Jeep Wrangler caught Car and Driver’s attention in a review, scoring 7.5 out of 10 and landing 21st in the rankings for best mid-sized SUVs. “You’ll have to get past the vague steering, bumpy ride, and tight interior if you want to make one your daily driver, so we suggest a test drive before signing on the dotted line,” the review assessed. “Buy a Wrangler and you’ll then be inducted into a not-so-rare group of enthusiasts who wave to each other with a knowing glance that says, ‘we’re all in this together.’”

The review of the interior observed, “Seated close to the upright windshield, the driver and front-seat passenger face a narrow, squared-off dashboard punctuated by round air vents and chunky switchgear for the climate-control system, power windows, and infotainment. As an errand runner, the Wrangler offers enough room for groceries and gear, but be aware that its rear seats don’t fold flush with the cargo floor like most other SUVs do.”

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Viewers weigh in

Indeed, commenters pointed to wiring as the reason for the control placement.

“Less wiring to the door,” one said.

“Smaller wiring harness to unplug when taking doors off,” someone else chimed in.

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That got a retort: “Wires aren’t that big,” one argued.

@carsrme Its a jeep thing 👋 #jeep #jeeplife #jeepwrangler ♬ original sound – Thomas

But then another joined with, “You ever seen how many wires go to a window switch, especially something with 4 doors, thing probably got 20 less wires in it now.”

Someone else weighed in, “Land Rover does the same thing and they do it for export reasons so there can be a left and a right hand drive and there be less manufacturing for each part.” That person added, “The more you look, the more it makes sense.”

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The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message and to Jeep via email.


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