ESS with 6MT Possible Life Hack

[TwelveGaugeSage]

I know a lot of people find the ESS annoying. It hasn't bothered me at all so far, so I have been playing around with it. I haven't seen this posted anywhere else, but I found you can wait until ESS stops the engine, then slide the shifter into first(no clutch). No feet on the pedals, it shouldn't roll because it is in gear. As soon as you depress the clutch pedal the engine starts and you are ready to roll.

Anyone see any issues with this beyond it can't start itself up for things like HVAC if it wants to? If you are on a slope, you may need to push the brake before clutching of course. It really makes sitting at long lights a lot more tolerable and feels pretty seamless when it is time to go again.

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[Kevin_D]

Sounds like a good way to live with it.
And here I expected another bitch thread…

Kevin

 

[Cripton805]

When I had my Wrangler. I just slipped it into neutral at every red light. I would time it and pay attention to the lights. I would shift to first and take off normally. ESS rarely engaged. I don't hold the clutch in gear while I'm stopped.

 

[johnparjr]

There’s a spot on your brake when you depress it that will not engage the ESS

 

[JTR178]

Sounds like a good way to live with it.
And here I expected another bitch thread…

Kevin

Won't take long to devolve into one.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

If you press the brake, let off and then press again just before you stop it will not engage. It doesn't bother me but that's been the best method for me if I don't won't it to engage, or just press the button to turn it off if you don't like it.

 

[Chestnut]

Anyone see any issues with this beyond it can't start itself up for things like HVAC if it wants to? If you are on a slope, you may need to push the brake before clutching of course. It really makes sitting at long lights a lot more tolerable and feels pretty seamless when it is time to go again.

I always wondered what would happen if I did this and tried it one day to realize exactly what you did. I don't see any issues with it. I have noticed that you need to depress the clutch further to get the engine to restart than if the gear selector is in neutral. Also the truck chimes and puts a message on the console about depressing the clutch or something. Those are the only things I've noticed. I don't see how it could harm anything. My only thought is engine temp dropping, and oil draining creating a high wear situation but that seems unlikely.

 

[CerOf]

Why not press the button to turn it off?

 

[redriderjf87]

I appreciate the creativity and I bet it will help some at least. Will give it a try until I eliminate it.

 

[sharpsicle]

You can just press the "Off" button once and drive normally, rather than doing this "life hack" each and every time you come to a light.

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

You can just press the "Off" button once, rather than doing this "life hack" each and every time you come to a light.

Then you lose the benefits to ESS and you have to hold either the clutch or the brake when on a hill. I'm not out to defeat ESS. If I wanted to do that, I would indeed simply push the off button. As I said, I don't find it annoying or intrusive at all, though I can see how it might be annoying on an automatic.

 

[sharpsicle]

In that case, I wouldn't recommend shifting gears without the clutch. Sure you can do it, but there's a lot that can happen that might cause a problem if you're in traffic. To sit at a light, engine off, and in gear without the clutch OR brake depressed probably isn't a good idea. All it takes is once to cause damage to either your Jeep or to the person in front of you that you might rear-end from an unexpected lurch forward. You aren't parking it.

 

[Montana_Wildcat]

I thought the ESS would bother me more, but with the 6-speed, you can literally control when it works. If you keep the clutch depressed, it doesn't work. I rarely take my foot off the clutch at a stop, so it doesn't affect me at all.

 

[Gvsukids]

?... and here it goes ...

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

In that case, I wouldn't recommend shifting gears without the clutch. Sure you can do it, but there's a lot that can happen that might cause a problem if you're in traffic. To sit at a light, engine off, and in gear without the clutch OR brake depressed probably isn't a good idea. All it takes is once to cause damage to either your Jeep or to the person in front of you that you might rear-end from an unexpected lurch forward. You aren't parking it.

As far as I can tell in my limited testing, you MUST clutch to restart the engine in this scenario. Thus there shouldn't be any unexpected lurch forward. I WOULD however be wary of using this on a steep hill. Of course, if you are super concerned, you could also just keep your foot on the brake as you would with the truck in neutral. Then I guess the advantages here are it doesn't restart until you want it to and you are already in gear, so one less step to get moving again.

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