When is it time to move on? XK with 180K and JKUR with 145K.

[AbleGuy]

He told me and showed me that the soft metal case that encloses the airbag assembly can surface rust and it is those rust particles that accumulate on the metal case that cause the problem when the airbag explodes and those rust particles become small projectiles. The more the rust the on the airbag case bigger the potential problem. That's why vehicles in humid or coastal climates were far more susceptible to this problem than those from dryer climates and why vehicles in those humid or coastal areas of the USA received priority when it came to Federal airbag recall replacement plan. He says there is no issues with the form or function of the Takata airbag with no metal inside the airbag itself just the issue that the exterior soft metal case into which the airbag is enclosed within can surface rust causing the problem of metal rust particles becoming projectiles/shrapnel when the airbag explodes during an accident.

Well written, good explanation of the problem, thx.

In case folks aren’t convinced...here’s an exploding airbag vid>

In slow mo:

Watch Takata's Defective Airbags Explode in Slow Motion

To figure out why airbags are sending dangerous shards into passengers, researchers are blowing them up over and over again.

www.wired.com

 

[DesertJK]

Update:

I drove the Gladiator. I am keeping my 146K JKUR. Not worth the money to upgrade. I can spend half of the difference I would have to spend to buy the JT and do a 5.7 and Getrag manual in my existing Jeep. After talking about it with my wife, we think the better option for us is to keep what we have for now, sell of some that we don't use as much (MJ, XJ, and maybe XK) she will keep dirving the 2010 Outback we recently inherited from her dad (only 60K on it) and I will daily drive the Mini Cooper S and my KTM when I can. The JK would be fine for trips around the NW if I didn't always have to catch up on maintenance from all the daily driving. We are buying an airplane this year, after looking at 5 in the last 2 months, we decided we need to spend more on it, so out goes some cars.
The airplane suits us better for the time we have to travel and what we like doing when we travel. I spend most of off road trips driving to somewhere I haven't been before, that has gotten to be pretty far away now. With the airplane I am buying, we can get most anywhere in a day, 2 days to the SE, and carry 2 bicycles, and also not be limited to having to land at airports (at least not the paved ones)
If I were to buy/build a new Expo rig, it will be a 4x4 Sprinter, short wheelbase, low roof, poptop, light on the camping equipment inside. I would build it somewhat convertible so I can haul stuff like building materials and moto's. Low roof because I would want to be able to mount Kayaks on top and not be 13' tall. Pop top because that is the best option for sleeping without unloading cargo.