I finally figured out how to control ESS at will, WITHOUT having to turn it off...

[WambliSka]

I've always had a very light touch with my brakes and my factory brakes usually last me for many years. With every vehicle I've owned when I bring them in for factory services I'm always asking the shop when I will need new brakes and they keep saying "not yet". I've run many new cars to 6 digit readings on the odometer and finally sold them with the original brakes still on them.

When I bought my '22 Gladiator in May of last year for months the ESS almost never kicked in so I never considered the "problem" many seem to have with it... But then a month ago I started wondering "why" isn't it kicking in? So as the child my wife says I am I started playing with it...

It almost never kicks in because I almost never depress the brake pedal all the way! My dad, when I started learning how to drive at 9 years old (yes I had one of THOSE cool dads!) always told me that the second the brake lights go on the vehicle in front of me my foot comes OFF the accelerator. Also when I see a red light pop off in the distance I normally just coast until it turns green again or I end up coming to a very soft stop and the break never gets depressed more than it needs to be to keep the vehicle form not rolling forward anymore.

Well it seems that the mechanism that triggers ESS on the brake pedal is only triggered by a completely bottomed out pedal (I guess that's why the car starts before your foot is completely off the brake) and mine does not trip unless I do THAT on purpose. So I started playing with it until I found I can make it do what I want just by the way I stop the vehicle. My wife was not buying this until this weekend, so I showed her that I could drive all around town without the ESS kicking in, and then I made it stop on purpose 3 times in a row, once after I fully stopped the car then released the brake and let it roll forward a few feet and then I bottomed the pedal out..

Anyway, I don't believe this is unique to my Jeep and I really don't have the time to search the site to see if anyone else has experienced this. So if this is useful information, use it as you will and if not, then ignore it. I also wonder if this is an adjustable thing that someone can play with...

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[SIG551-A1]

Yeah I noticed that too. If you only lightly depress the brake, it will not turn the car off. But if you come to a light and stop with the pedal down with a lot of pressure, that triggers the ESS.

 

[Gladiator832]

I've always had a very light touch with my brakes and my factory brakes usually last me for many years. With every vehicle I've owned when I bring them in for factory services I'm always asking the shop when I will need new brakes and they keep saying "not yet". I've run many new cars to 6 digit readings on the odometer and finally sold them with the original brakes still on them.

When I bought my '22 Gladiator in May of last year for months the ESS almost never kicked in so I never considered the "problem" many seem to have with it... But then a month ago I started wondering "why" isn't it kicking in? So as the child my wife says I am I started playing with it...

It almost never kicks in because I almost never depress the brake pedal all the way! My dad, when I started learning how to drive at 9 years old (yes I had one of THOSE cool dads!) always told me that the second the brake lights go on the vehicle in front of me my foot comes OFF the accelerator. Also when I see a red light pop off in the distance I normally just coast until it turns green again or I end up coming to a very soft stop and the break never gets depressed more than it needs to be to keep the vehicle form not rolling forward anymore.

Well it seems that the mechanism that triggers ESS on the brake pedal is only triggered by a completely bottomed out pedal (I guess that's why the car starts before your foot is completely off the brake) and mine does not trip unless I do THAT on purpose. So I started playing with it until I found I can make it do what I want just by the way I stop the vehicle. My wife was not buying this until this weekend, so I showed her that I could drive all around town without the ESS kicking in, and then I made it stop on purpose 3 times in a row, once after I fully stopped the car then released the brake and let it roll forward a few feet and then I bottomed the pedal out..

Anyway, I don't believe this is unique to my Jeep and I really don't have the time to search the site to see if anyone else has experienced this. So if this is useful information, use it as you will and if not, then ignore it. I also wonder if this is an adjustable thing that someone can play with...

Forwarded to my wife in hopes that she will understand the way you put it. I got nowhere with her!

 

[WambliSka]

Yeah I noticed that too. If you only lightly depress the brake, it will not turn the car off. But if you come to a light and stop with the pedal down with a lot of pressure, that triggers the ESS.

Oh good, not just me... It was actually fun getting the "touch" to do it on command.

 

[WambliSka]

Forwarded to my wife in hopes that she will understand the way you put it. I got nowhere with her!

Yeah I kind'a struggled on how to write it up. It's not the kind of thing one explains very often. my wife only really got it after I showed her.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

Yep, I do the same all the time. The only issue I have with it, is it will restart my dash cam if the ESS has the engine off for a long light.

 

[cafecito]

Mine definitely doesn't do this. I've driven other vehicles that have the pressure-sensitive brake pedals, but my Gladiator didn't get that unfortunately. Doesn't matter how gingerly I press the brake pedal.

 

[Steelglad]

Likewise! My brakes last forever because I brake very softly and smoothly. I will say that ESS is NOT well engineered in any case. When you come to a 2 way stop in a neighborhood, your car shout not shut down. It is just too pedal sensitive if you ask me. It should be based on time at full stop. I drive just like the OP, but ocassionaly, for safety, one may have to press em a bit. Personally, I think any and all features should be owner disablable(not every friggin start ffs). I guess that`s why they call them idiot features. I have gotten it down to a habitual checklist(I used to be a pilot). it gets turned off, but I still drive like I always do. If it looks like Imma be sittin there a bit(train, traffic, wreck) I have found that with lots of practice I am capable of shutting my own vehicle down! Go figure! I hate my vehicles making choices for me!!!

 

[Artsifrtsi]

The other caveat with the brake pedal, is if you press it a bit harder right before taking off from a stop(when on a hill), it engages the hill assist.

 

[Glad Jeeper]

Or just engage the override button...

 

[DBravo]

I've always had a very light touch with my brakes and my factory brakes usually last me for many years. With every vehicle I've owned when I bring them in for factory services I'm always asking the shop when I will need new brakes and they keep saying "not yet". I've run many new cars to 6 digit readings on the odometer and finally sold them with the original brakes still on them.

When I bought my '22 Gladiator in May of last year for months the ESS almost never kicked in so I never considered the "problem" many seem to have with it... But then a month ago I started wondering "why" isn't it kicking in? So as the child my wife says I am I started playing with it...

It almost never kicks in because I almost never depress the brake pedal all the way! My dad, when I started learning how to drive at 9 years old (yes I had one of THOSE cool dads!) always told me that the second the brake lights go on the vehicle in front of me my foot comes OFF the accelerator. Also when I see a red light pop off in the distance I normally just coast until it turns green again or I end up coming to a very soft stop and the break never gets depressed more than it needs to be to keep the vehicle form not rolling forward anymore.

Well it seems that the mechanism that triggers ESS on the brake pedal is only triggered by a completely bottomed out pedal (I guess that's why the car starts before your foot is completely off the brake) and mine does not trip unless I do THAT on purpose. So I started playing with it until I found I can make it do what I want just by the way I stop the vehicle. My wife was not buying this until this weekend, so I showed her that I could drive all around town without the ESS kicking in, and then I made it stop on purpose 3 times in a row, once after I fully stopped the car then released the brake and let it roll forward a few feet and then I bottomed the pedal out..

Anyway, I don't believe this is unique to my Jeep and I really don't have the time to search the site to see if anyone else has experienced this. So if this is useful information, use it as you will and if not, then ignore it. I also wonder if this is an adjustable thing that someone can play with...

Same. You can depress the brake hard of you need to, the key is letting off until it is just holding-after- coming to a complete stop. With hill start assist enabled (in the 8.4" unit mopar menu) it won't roll back even on a decent hill.

 

[Fundamental Jeepster]

Or just engage the override button...

 

[Elff]

I've found that if you lightly press the button, you can control it at will

 

[Dartboy]

My Wife's RDX will actually flash a message on the dashboard that basically says " If you want the engine to shut down, you need to step on the brake harder"

 

[dcmdon]

I actually figured this out pretty quickly.

It works well as a way to pre-start the engine if you need to go the second the light turns green.

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