alpineovernappa
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- Joined
- May 28, 2021
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- 2021 JTSS 3.0 & 2006 LJ 6mt
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This post is specifically for anybody considering an ecodiesel and is looking for real world feedback
I special ordered my Sport S 3.0 in June of 2021, took delivery with 5 miles on it. For 75k miles it was the most enjoyable Jeep I've ever owned. It lived just about the best life that a modern diesel can- EDT with every tank, only high volume fuel stations, only fresh & quality DEF, never any idle time, almost exclusively driven more than 50 miles at a time on interstates, driven regularly, never used to tow. It only ever had MS spec oil, factory filters (bought from reputable sources, beware of very convincing counterfeits) and early maintenance intervals (all done by me). Only mechanical modifications were a leveling kit and Mojave takeoff wheels/tires, only ever driven on pavement and mild FS roads.
For all 75k miles, the MPG were excellent (speedo calibrated by GPS). With a tonneau cover, I would routinely see 31-34mpg at ~55mph, 28-31mpg at ~65, 26-28 ~75 and 22-26 at ~85mph. With a hardshell RTT above cab heigh you can deduct about 15% from those numbers. I never once averaged below 21mpg, even at 85mph headed into a strong headwind in west Texas. Typical range per tank was 350-450 miles, filling up when the range estimator would get to around 100 miles or around 1/8 on the fuel gauge (well before the low fuel light which comes on around 40 miles til empty)
The power is finicky. When you have full use of your boost, it almost never shifts out of 8th gear above 40mph- it simply doesn't need to with the torque. It really pulls quite hard all the way through 90+mph. That being said, I suspect that it routinely electronically limits your peak boost via the waste gate actuator to help control engine and turbo temps (such as long, gradual climbs).
With the base sport cloth seats, the ride was always very comfortable- even with a dozen or so 950 mile days. I'd say its equally as comfortable as my XLT cloth trimmed f150. I found that adding airlift 1000 bags to the rear, SumoSpring front progressive jounces in place of the factory bumpstops, and Rancho RS9000XL shocks set to the stiffest setting made a world of difference. IMO, the factory front suspension is dangerously under-dampened in stock form. Before I made the modifications, it nose dived and bottomed out in just about every turn (stock front bumper).
Functional issues:
At ~1500 miles I had to have the rear axle shaft replaced due to a heavy leak from the seal (common problem with these, bad batch from a supplier)
at ~29k miles I had an intermittent CEL while 1200 miles from home. As it would go away and come back on its own, I opted to drive it home and have my local dealer work on it (down time can be significant on the diesels if parts aren't available). The culprit was a failed EGR that had caused the intake manifold swirl valves to completely seize. I spoke directly to the tech that did the work and he indicated that even with a pry bar he couldn't get them to budge. New EGR, intake manifold and ancillary parts to do the work.
at 62k and 64k miles respectively, I had issues with severe engine derating while in the desert (AZ, NV). In these instances, the jeep felt like the waste gate was stuck wide open, with no ability to go above 30-40mph, and often dropping to 15-20 on hills. I had to drive 3 hours like this to the nearest dealership the first time, 2 hours the second time, only for the problem to not present again when restarted (Had I known this, I would have turned the Jeep off, but my concern was that it wouldn't restart, so I opted to only shut it off in a dealership parking lot). Ambient temps were ~90, oil and coolant temps never exceeded 230 (I watch these closely due to the cooling issues related to the 3.0 in the JL/JT). Even still, I received warning messages to service electronic throttle and service traction control, CEL for P00AF. These issues happened when pulling long, gradual climbs. From what I can gather, there's an issue with the waste gate actuator on the turbo that causes this to happen to some. While the actuator can technically be replaced without replacing the turbo (turbo replacement requires removal of the whole cab at the dealership), the actuator is not currently sold separately from the turbo. This problem only persisted in the desert on longer grades, but was easily replicable at 65mph and above on the highway. (note: I have no restrictions to airflow in the front, such as a winch or modified grill)
at ~72k miles I started getting an intermittent low oil pressure warning light on cold starts. It was ~4500 miles into my oil change, so it was unrelated to an improperly torqued filter like some have experienced. I did an early oil change just to be sure it wasn't fluid or filter related, but the filter looked good with no material in it and ~8.5qts came out, which is to be expected at 4500mi. I did notice a fair amount of tiny carbon deposits in the oil that came out. What I believe was happening was the oil pickup was beginning to become clogged from soot deposits like in this video. I never pulled the oil pan to confirm, so this is just an assumption (note, the video is of a Gen2 3.0 and the JT has a Gen3).
At ~74k miles I again started getting an intermittent CEL. This time with two codes that I couldn't read with my generic OBD. I never had any functional issues related to these codes and they would come and go.
Except for these issues, I never had any other issues with the Jeep (aside from the occasional CarPlay connection issues that plague uConnect). No problems with the aux battery, no leaks, no odd sounds or smells. Never once did it leave me stranded.
Being a mechanic and being accustomed to the fickle nature of post-DEF diesels, I opted to buy the Mopar Maximum Care warranty for 8yrs 125k miles from new (~$2700 in 2021). I planned to keep this JT at least through that warranty period, but ultimately I no longer trusted it to get me where I needed to go and back.
If your use case can accommodate the inconsistent reliability of the 3.0, it's a wonderful vehicle to drive. I thoroughly enjoyed the 75k miles with mine, aside from the nagging consideration of what the next issue might be. Since nearly all of my JT issues were specific to the ecodiesel, I opted to replace it with a 3.6 JT (which is quite underwhelming in comparison). The 3.6 has its own set of issues, but I enjoy the JT and that's the only other OEM option as of now.
I've driven the 3.0 JT in just about every on-road scenario imaginable, so if you have any questions about owning one feel free to ask below. Happy Jeepin!
I special ordered my Sport S 3.0 in June of 2021, took delivery with 5 miles on it. For 75k miles it was the most enjoyable Jeep I've ever owned. It lived just about the best life that a modern diesel can- EDT with every tank, only high volume fuel stations, only fresh & quality DEF, never any idle time, almost exclusively driven more than 50 miles at a time on interstates, driven regularly, never used to tow. It only ever had MS spec oil, factory filters (bought from reputable sources, beware of very convincing counterfeits) and early maintenance intervals (all done by me). Only mechanical modifications were a leveling kit and Mojave takeoff wheels/tires, only ever driven on pavement and mild FS roads.
For all 75k miles, the MPG were excellent (speedo calibrated by GPS). With a tonneau cover, I would routinely see 31-34mpg at ~55mph, 28-31mpg at ~65, 26-28 ~75 and 22-26 at ~85mph. With a hardshell RTT above cab heigh you can deduct about 15% from those numbers. I never once averaged below 21mpg, even at 85mph headed into a strong headwind in west Texas. Typical range per tank was 350-450 miles, filling up when the range estimator would get to around 100 miles or around 1/8 on the fuel gauge (well before the low fuel light which comes on around 40 miles til empty)
The power is finicky. When you have full use of your boost, it almost never shifts out of 8th gear above 40mph- it simply doesn't need to with the torque. It really pulls quite hard all the way through 90+mph. That being said, I suspect that it routinely electronically limits your peak boost via the waste gate actuator to help control engine and turbo temps (such as long, gradual climbs).
With the base sport cloth seats, the ride was always very comfortable- even with a dozen or so 950 mile days. I'd say its equally as comfortable as my XLT cloth trimmed f150. I found that adding airlift 1000 bags to the rear, SumoSpring front progressive jounces in place of the factory bumpstops, and Rancho RS9000XL shocks set to the stiffest setting made a world of difference. IMO, the factory front suspension is dangerously under-dampened in stock form. Before I made the modifications, it nose dived and bottomed out in just about every turn (stock front bumper).
Functional issues:
At ~1500 miles I had to have the rear axle shaft replaced due to a heavy leak from the seal (common problem with these, bad batch from a supplier)
at ~29k miles I had an intermittent CEL while 1200 miles from home. As it would go away and come back on its own, I opted to drive it home and have my local dealer work on it (down time can be significant on the diesels if parts aren't available). The culprit was a failed EGR that had caused the intake manifold swirl valves to completely seize. I spoke directly to the tech that did the work and he indicated that even with a pry bar he couldn't get them to budge. New EGR, intake manifold and ancillary parts to do the work.
at 62k and 64k miles respectively, I had issues with severe engine derating while in the desert (AZ, NV). In these instances, the jeep felt like the waste gate was stuck wide open, with no ability to go above 30-40mph, and often dropping to 15-20 on hills. I had to drive 3 hours like this to the nearest dealership the first time, 2 hours the second time, only for the problem to not present again when restarted (Had I known this, I would have turned the Jeep off, but my concern was that it wouldn't restart, so I opted to only shut it off in a dealership parking lot). Ambient temps were ~90, oil and coolant temps never exceeded 230 (I watch these closely due to the cooling issues related to the 3.0 in the JL/JT). Even still, I received warning messages to service electronic throttle and service traction control, CEL for P00AF. These issues happened when pulling long, gradual climbs. From what I can gather, there's an issue with the waste gate actuator on the turbo that causes this to happen to some. While the actuator can technically be replaced without replacing the turbo (turbo replacement requires removal of the whole cab at the dealership), the actuator is not currently sold separately from the turbo. This problem only persisted in the desert on longer grades, but was easily replicable at 65mph and above on the highway. (note: I have no restrictions to airflow in the front, such as a winch or modified grill)
at ~72k miles I started getting an intermittent low oil pressure warning light on cold starts. It was ~4500 miles into my oil change, so it was unrelated to an improperly torqued filter like some have experienced. I did an early oil change just to be sure it wasn't fluid or filter related, but the filter looked good with no material in it and ~8.5qts came out, which is to be expected at 4500mi. I did notice a fair amount of tiny carbon deposits in the oil that came out. What I believe was happening was the oil pickup was beginning to become clogged from soot deposits like in this video. I never pulled the oil pan to confirm, so this is just an assumption (note, the video is of a Gen2 3.0 and the JT has a Gen3).
At ~74k miles I again started getting an intermittent CEL. This time with two codes that I couldn't read with my generic OBD. I never had any functional issues related to these codes and they would come and go.
Except for these issues, I never had any other issues with the Jeep (aside from the occasional CarPlay connection issues that plague uConnect). No problems with the aux battery, no leaks, no odd sounds or smells. Never once did it leave me stranded.
Being a mechanic and being accustomed to the fickle nature of post-DEF diesels, I opted to buy the Mopar Maximum Care warranty for 8yrs 125k miles from new (~$2700 in 2021). I planned to keep this JT at least through that warranty period, but ultimately I no longer trusted it to get me where I needed to go and back.
If your use case can accommodate the inconsistent reliability of the 3.0, it's a wonderful vehicle to drive. I thoroughly enjoyed the 75k miles with mine, aside from the nagging consideration of what the next issue might be. Since nearly all of my JT issues were specific to the ecodiesel, I opted to replace it with a 3.6 JT (which is quite underwhelming in comparison). The 3.6 has its own set of issues, but I enjoy the JT and that's the only other OEM option as of now.
I've driven the 3.0 JT in just about every on-road scenario imaginable, so if you have any questions about owning one feel free to ask below. Happy Jeepin!
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