over 1000 mi on my 3 week old gladiator: pros and cons

[taliv]

sting grey rubicon, stock so far.

i'll start with the cons:
- very disappointed in the auto start system. last night i took the family to see a drive-through christmas light show at bristol motor speedway. the line to enter was probably over a mile long and took 2.5 hours of sitting for a minute, idling forward a car length, then sitting for another minute. pretty much like a cali daily commute lol. Once in, the show was at least 2-3 more miles long and an additional hour+. 630-1030, 4 hours total to drive 4 miles. in that entire time, the engine shut itself off THREE TIMES. No, AC was off, windows down, radio off.

however, i guarantee that when i pull in my driveway it will shut itself off, then when i shift to park, it turns itself on again, just so i can kill it when i hit the off button.

i'll refrain from sharing my suggestions for career changes to the engineers responsible for that system.

- of the roughly 1050 miles, 400 have been interstate/highway and prob 30 have been steep mountain logging roads, and the remainder small town and rural roads. avg mph currently 16.4. again, stock everything. Given how slow I typically drive and easy on the accel/decel, I'm a little disappointed.

- seems impossible to keep clean, outside and in. any mud/rain and the sides (doors) are covered.

now the pros:
- everything else is pretty much awesome. very happy overall. very impressive offroad. our German shepherd is a huge fan too.

Sponsored

 

[ShadowsPapa]

ESS (start/stop system) relies on the vehicle moving more than a few inches or a few feet. It assumes you are in traffic and like any other I've had with that system, what you experienced was by design, normal. To constantly stop, start, stop, start, stop, after moving only a car length is detrimental to the thing -batteries can't keep that up for long.
It must be that way. You'd destroy batteries and fry things doing it as you THINK is right.
Sorry, your gripe on that one is unfounded and to do it as you think it should be done shows you'd never survive as an automotive engineer ;-)

You bought a truck. A brick. Not sure how you drive on the interstate/highway, but if you know science, then you know that going over about 60 totally destroys fuel economy because of how wind speed - wind resistance, impacts exponentially as speed increases.
So if you drive over 65 no matter how slowly you get there - mpg will go down.
Again, it's a TRUCK with flat front, flat sides.
I'm averaging about 19.4 on my current tank, with about 1/4 or so left to go. Been doing around 20 or so unless towing or driving all interstates because interstate driving takes mpg down.
My chevy dropped mpg like a rock when I drove it over 60-65.

Anyway, sounds like you have a properly operating truck, getting expected mpg (and keep in mind, MPG will increase as things wear in and the PCM LEARNS. Most of us saw a gain in mpg once we got to over 7,000 miles on the odometer) and the ESS is designed to operate as you see. (unless you like repair bills and battery replacements)

 

[staying_tuned]

“the line to enter was probably over a mile long and took 2.5 hours of sitting for a minute, idling forward a car length, then sitting for another minute”


Not to be a delusional Jeep fanboy but it sounds like the engineers nailed it. At 2.5 hours, you’re telling me that 150 successive hard starts sounds like sensible logic? Have you considered why your truck didn’t attempt to shut down and restart 150 times every minute over the course of 2.5 hours?

You’d have had a spectacularly horrid night with your family had the truck behaved the way you think it should have.

 

[AMAGladiator]

I've got about 2300 miles on mine after 4 weeks and I have to say it has lived up to my expectations. Here is the mod list so far:

• Mopar 2.5" lift
• 37x12.50x17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T's
• Synergy adjustable front lower control arms
• Steersmart adjustable front track bar
• Tazer lite

With all of this, it rides actually better than stock lifted. I take the top off every chance I get. Yes. the material used inside does show a lot of dirt but its a jeep, not a luxury vehicle.
As far as fuel mileage, well that was never a high expectation of mine since it is, like every one says, a brick. Then when you add a lift and larger tires, its going to go down. I get about 14 in city and the only long trip on the hwy I have taken, the wind was blowing 25-30 cross. So I got about 16. That was before the tires too. So, I don't expect much on that front.
If you get a tazer, you can solve your AS/S feature.

 

[Gvsukids]

seems impossible to keep clean, outside and in. any mud/rain and the sides (doors) are covered.

Mud flaps, or side steps. Why would you want to hide the results of your adventures? I'll drive mine muddy to church.

 

[RustySeatbelt]

That gas mileage sounds pretty good to me. I'm on 2.5" lift, with 37's and 5.13's. I avg. 14.2 normal driving, and on my recent trip to Big Bend, driving 75-80, averaged less than 12. These things are about as aerodynamic as a parachute. I wouldn't hope for decent milage unless you have a diesel.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Here's what I was referring to in my prior post - I put it as not moving far enough. Technically that's correct, but the real thing is it hasn't reached the SPEED needed to reset it to stop again. So moving a few feet you never exceed the minimum ESS reset speed. Creeping 2 car lengths won't do it. I bet it needs at least 7-10 mph- here's the list - (DIRECT from the owner manual, go figure........)


Other Factors Which Can Inhibit Autostop
Include:
 Accelerator pedal input
 Vehicle speed threshold not achieved from
previous auto-stop
 Steering angle beyond threshold
 ACC is on and speed is set
 Vehicle is at high altitude
 System fault present

 

[FloridaJT6MT]

Mud flaps, or side steps. Why would you want to hide the results of your adventures? I'll drive mine muddy to church.

I always let mine stay dirty for a few days before I wash it. I smile looking at it as much when it’s caked with mud/dirt/sand/dust as when it’s all shined up.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I always let mine stay dirty for a few days before I wash it. I smile looking at it as much when it’s caked with mud/dirt/sand/dust as when it’s all shined up.

Don't even try to tell me you bought the silly thing to USE IT? Really? How odd.

 

[Mac]

sting grey rubicon, stock so far.

i'll start with the cons:
- very disappointed in the auto start system. last night i took the family to see a drive-through christmas light show at bristol motor speedway. the line to enter was probably over a mile long and took 2.5 hours of sitting for a minute, idling forward a car length, then sitting for another minute. pretty much like a cali daily commute lol. Once in, the show was at least 2-3 more miles long and an additional hour+. 630-1030, 4 hours total to drive 4 miles. in that entire time, the engine shut itself off THREE TIMES. No, AC was off, windows down, radio off.

however, i guarantee that when i pull in my driveway it will shut itself off, then when i shift to park, it turns itself on again, just so i can kill it when i hit the off button.

i'll refrain from sharing my suggestions for career changes to the engineers responsible for that system.

- of the roughly 1050 miles, 400 have been interstate/highway and prob 30 have been steep mountain logging roads, and the remainder small town and rural roads. avg mph currently 16.4. again, stock everything. Given how slow I typically drive and easy on the accel/decel, I'm a little disappointed.

- seems impossible to keep clean, outside and in. any mud/rain and the sides (doors) are covered.

now the pros:
- everything else is pretty much awesome. very happy overall. very impressive offroad. our German shepherd is a huge fan too.

How hard were pressing the brake pedal? If you press it just enough to hold the JT the engine often won’t shut off, I drive in heavy traffic frequently and can control when the engine shuts off by how hard I press the brakes.
Mileage sounds about normal.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

How hard were pressing the brake pedal? If you press it just enough to hold the JT the engine often won’t shut off, I drive in heavy traffic frequently and can control when the engine shuts off by how hard I press the brakes.
Mileage sounds about normal.

Yup - I can control mine with the brake pedal pressure as well. Learned that trick years ago with my wife's Grand Cherokee.
But in his case - he's moving maybe a car length, and there's a minimum speed you must reach after the last ESS event in order to reset it and have it operate again. Creeping forward 60 feet at 3 or 4 mph like in a line of traffic won't cut it.
And if he's feathering the brake pedal to just hold it as you mentioned - same thing, it won't shut down.

 

[taliv]

ESS (start/stop system) relies on the vehicle moving more than a few inches or a few feet. It assumes you are in traffic and like any other I've had with that system, what you experienced was by design, normal. To constantly stop, start, stop, start, stop, after moving only a car length is detrimental to the thing -batteries can't keep that up for long.
It must be that way. You'd destroy batteries and fry things doing it as you THINK is right.
Sorry, your gripe on that one is unfounded and to do it as you think it should be done shows you'd never survive as an automotive engineer ;-)

Nonsense. My expectation is that if I’m going to sit for a minute the engine can shut off. If it can’t figure that out it needs to improve.

You bought a truck. A brick. Not sure how you drive on the interstate/highway, but if you know science, then you know that going over about 60 totally destroys fuel economy because of how wind speed - wind resistance, impacts exponentially as speed increases.
So if you drive over 65 no matter how slowly you get there - mpg will go down.
Again, it's a TRUCK with flat front, flat sides.
I'm averaging about 19.4 on my current tank, with about 1/4 or so left to go. Been doing around 20 or so unless towing or driving all interstates because interstate driving takes mpg down.
My chevy dropped mpg like a rock when I drove it over 60-65.

Speed limit on interstate around here is 65. I rarely exceed it. And hwy is usually around 45-55 mph.
I get it’s a brick. That’s why I don’t expect 20+. But 16? Lots of people report well over that here.

Not to be a delusional Jeep fanboy but it sounds like the engineers nailed it. At 2.5 hours, you’re telling me that 150 successive hard starts sounds like sensible logic? Have you considered why your truck didn’t attempt to shut down and restart 150 times every minute over the course of 2.5 hours?

If it can’t handle 150 fine. I get that. What about 50? Or 20? Or even 10? 3 is pretty weak.

How hard were pressing the brake pedal? If you press it just enough to hold the JT the engine often won’t shut off, I drive in heavy traffic frequently and can control when the engine shuts off by how hard I press the brakes.
Mileage sounds about normal.

I’ll try playing with the pedal. I wouldn’t say I feather it but I’m pretty soft and definitely not stomping.

 

[jay21mojave]

Nonsense. My expectation is that if I’m going to sit for a minute the engine can shut off. If it can’t figure that out it needs to improve.


Speed limit on interstate around here is 65. I rarely exceed it. And hwy is usually around 45-55 mph.
I get it’s a brick. That’s why I don’t expect 20+. But 16? Lots of people report well over that here.


If it can’t handle 150 fine. I get that. What about 50? Or 20? Or even 10? 3 is pretty weak.


I’ll try playing with the pedal. I wouldn’t say I feather it but I’m pretty soft and definitely not stomping.

To the MPG.. the Rubicon has 2 axle options .. 4.10 and 3.73.. My Mojave comes with 4.10s and guess what .. If lucky I get 17 on cruise at 70mph on hwy.. around town 15 provided I don't light them up from stops. Have friend with a JT and 3.45s and "babying it" gets 22 on the hwy. BTW.. my 13 JKU with 4.10s is about the same and it's a 6 spd.

 

[Rockside]

Does the Jeep not have a button to disable the auto shutoff every time you get in?

 

[syreeves]

Mud flaps, or side steps. Why would you want to hide the results of your adventures? I'll drive mine muddy to church.

God's earth on your jeep. Who's going to complain?

Sponsored