2 weeks in....'23 Gladiator manual transmission- what should I expect?

[23mojavegladiator]

You'll get used to the clutch, it's weird at first. Power on the engine is at higher revs. It's there. Mileage sux and if you want it to get better you're driving really slow. Auto stop with the manual is finicky. Warm it up, wheels straight, clutch out in neutral, it should stall. At least you didn't pay stupid money for it. What was the sticker?

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't had it auto stop, but then again I always take my foot off the clutch at lights! Will try it.

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[23mojavegladiator]

You'll get used to the clutch, it's weird at first. Power on the engine is at higher revs. It's there. Mileage sux and if you want it to get better you're driving really slow. Auto stop with the manual is finicky. Warm it up, wheels straight, clutch out in neutral, it should stall. At least you didn't pay stupid money for it. What was the sticker?

Thx. Sticker was $53,285. Basically a soft top Mojave, manual with no additional options. Jeep is discounting the 2023s now and the promo was 15% off MSRP. I was hoping for $40k flat but couldn't get them there. There was a sport model (white) that I was a day late on and I was in the low 30s with the salesperson texting/phone back and forth.

 

[23mojavegladiator]

I have the auto, new vehicle I got 12-14 up til about 1500 miles(I changed oil at 500) now I’m seeing 16-17 average. Mixed city and highway. Now at 2000 I’m seeing the same numbers in town and occasionally see 20 highway. HOWEVER: I also watch the current numbers and on different parts of the highway I travel I see 25-28 in current (not average) depending on hills, flat spots etc…

that said, your mileage will depend on where and how you drive. If you have lots of hills, or even mountains it will dip. Driving to my sisters I go up a very steep hill and see 3-5 mpg in current.

What I’ve learned in 30 years of driving:
2,000-2,200 rpm is key to nearly ideal mileage.
Take it with a grain of salt, I have noted slight increases in my older cars with mileage over 20-30k using Lucas every other few tanks helps with mpg.

bottom line: it’s a jeep you can not or should not expect to see 24+ ever. You may never see 20. The smiles per gallon could be 100+ though.

Thx, I'll focus on RPMs and see.

 

[23mojavegladiator]

I purchased my 2022 3.6-L standard transmission, Gladatir, in January 2022. I use a Google Play app to track mileage, fuel usage, and MPG. I was monitoring for the last 12 months, from May 23 to April 24. The average MPG was 19.39. The minimum MPG was 11.44, and the maximum MPG was 46.11. Miles traveled 5932 total miles, and the fuel used 305.86 Gl.

The longest trip was to Colorado Springs, CO, from our home in Augusta, GA. On the return, I noted that fuel economy was the highest crossing from Denver to St Louis, MO. Of course, it was downhill to St. Louis. The total trip was a little over 2300 miles. We are retired and don't travel much. The Gladiator is my driving toy, but I still wish I had my dad's old WWII Army Jeep.

Thx. Hoping I can get there....

 

[Throwback]

Thx. Sticker was $53,285. Basically a soft top Mojave, manual with no additional options. Jeep is discounting the 2023s now and the promo was 15% off MSRP. I was hoping for $40k flat but couldn't get them there. There was a sport model (white) that I was a day late on and I was in the low 30s with the salesperson texting/phone back and forth.

I got a similar deal, but on a Sport base model, soft top. I paid 34 and change. But it has crank windows and manual locks. I do miss the power locks but other than that I'm fine. At first I was stalling quite a bit trying to manage the friction point but I did get used to the clutch and now it's all very smooth -- most of the time! A fair number of manual users go with aftermarket clutch kits.

 

[23mojavegladiator]

2022 with a manual here. I was getting 19-20ish with a good mix of city/hwy driving with my stock Willys after my first oil change at 3k miles. I didn't pay much attention it until then. Now, with 35s, I get around 16-17 give or take depending on how aggressive I am. I'll agree, there's not much pep and first gear is pretty short unless you ring it out.

What @Chestnut said about shifting faster to smooth it out is right on the money. I have 4 different MT vehicles. My JK, and both 3/4 ton trucks shift more or less the same. It's intuitive and I can roll on the clutch and roll off at jut about any rate with my foot and there's no jerkiness. The Gladiator is a completely different beast. I found that putt putting around parking lots and side streets in 1-2-3 gears is the worst if I'm not careful. If you bring the RPMs up to ~2.5k and depress the clutch QUICKLY (not hard, but quickly), then shift and release clutch deliberately and quickly within a couple-few hundred RPM of the appropriate RPM range for the next gear, it's smooth as butter. But If I get sloppy/lazy and try to drive it like a forgiving truck tranny by taking my time...slow clutch movement , let RPMs drop too far, it's get jerky.

Best advice I can give is drive it and learn it. Play around with different clutch/shift/gas speeds until it feels right. I almost gave up and hated the MT in this truck until I learned it. I still don't love it, but it's definitely not the worst.

Super helpful advice. Thx. Will try

 

[23mojavegladiator]

1. I put 35s on @ 280miles and get 17-18.5 per tank. I do 1/2 of country roads and 1/2 highway with some city per tank. Mileage should get a little better as breaks in.
For the start stop- it has to me lots of parameters if you have it turned on for it to work. Does your display say start stop ready, do you have the hvac on, are you buckled, is the clutch pedal depressed? I’m sure those are only a few….

2. I personally don’t mind the get up and go but these engines make power at higher rpm so this could be your answer.

3. The clutch set up is well crap. Lots of threads on here about that.
Me I ran into my first issue at 4K miles off-roading on the beach and after a long drive out there in thick sand I got clutch overheat(I wasn’t skipping the clutch with the pedal) and then service trans which required a dealer visit to reset.
I now have a ACT clutch on order with pro mass fly wheel. Mixed reviews but it will help with pedal feel, stalling on take off, clutch feedback, and clutch slipping.

love my Mojave just taking a little to make it right I guess.

Thx, man that sucks getting stranded in a jeep that supposed to live in the sand. Hopefully no clutch issues coming for me but I'll definitely be out at the south core banks at somepoint with this jeep.

 

[23mojavegladiator]

I remember the first tank being awful mileage the 2nd tank was only slightly better. After1k miles my mileage was significantly better but varies a lot based on fuel and conditions. Winter fuel sucks. Bucking the wind sucks. I've hit some upper 20s driving 58 mph for 200+ miles. My usual around town is 17-19 in winter and 19-22 in the summer. I have an overland trim with 32" tires. Driving is mix 50/50 freeway and stoplights. More stoplight driving tanks my MPG by about 2, more freeway bumps it up about 1. Driving over 72 tanks it back down to ~20.

The dash mpg gauge on my vehicle is almost always 0.5 mpg higher than measuring based on gas pumped and miles driven. I have 2.5 years of data.

I get much better mileage and smoothness ignoring the mpg gauge and just driving. The 3.6l is much happier above 2k rpm. If you accelerate downshift so your 2.5k or above and it'll make life better all around. Also you can make the ride smoother by going quicker between gears. If i lollygag between gears things get jerky.

Super helpful. Thx!

 

[23mojavegladiator]

my experience, i bought mine with 70miles on the odometer, and 17.5 for the MPG. which i accounted for sitting on the lot idling while being shown prior to me buying it. reset the clocks (MPG) with the first tank of gas i put in, and averaged around 21-22 MPG. mixed driving in Florida (Flat). currently new tires rims (34.7" actual) and now new gears (4.88) I'm averaging 18.5-19.5.

Manual trans mixed city/interstate driving.

Thx. 4.88 may be happy median to improving stop/go without too much drain on mileage. How much does changing out gears cost?

 

[23mojavegladiator]

I got a similar deal, but on a Sport base model, soft top. I paid 34 and change. But it has crank windows and manual locks. I do miss the power locks but other than that I'm fine. At first I was stalling quite a bit trying to manage the friction point but I did get used to the clutch and now it's all very smooth -- most of the time! A fair number of manual users go with aftermarket clutch kits.

Yes you got one like I was looking for!! At $34k, you have equity in that gladiator now and could sell and make some money. They don't trade below $30k unless you've put a ton of miles on it or its been wrecked. Good for you.

 

[Alligatorgun]

It seems the most important points have been covered…
I will echo a few. I don‘t think the 3.6 likes to be even close to
”lugging”. I run 500 rpm’s higher than where I think it should be. For instance I use 3rd gear for 40mph, and rpm’s are 2500-2600.
i got used to the clutch pretty easily, and I don’t hate on this set-up like many folks. I really like the manual trans. That being said, I think 4.10s are too tall for this rig. I test drove a Wrangler with factory 4.88s. That was heaven (if you like shifting) and I do.
In warmer temps I average right around 19 mpg in my Mojave manual.

 

[Throwback]

Yes you got one like I was looking for!! At $34k, you have equity in that gladiator now and could sell and make some money. They don't trade below $30k unless you've put a ton of miles on it or its been wrecked. Good for you.

Of course, the Sports with manual were only popping up in December because they'd been waiting months for the clutch recall solution to be finalized and parts made. I'd all but given up and was going to keep my Ranger when a base Sport showed up at a dealer about 200 miles away. That one was already sold in a matter of days, but a dealer near me had a Sport S listed he'd sell for 40-ish. I went to look at that and lo and behold they'd just listed mine for sale as well, pending the repair. I did not hesitate and they were happy to buy my low mile Ranger. Without that recall I bet they'd only have had high dollar models left.

 

[Fly-by]

Got a new '23 mojave gladiator w/ manual transmission 2 weeks ago here in NC. Pricing OTD was $41.8k, FYI.

1) 250 miles in, getting 13.5 MPG mostly city driving. Start/stop cutoff not working which I wouldn't normally care but am looking for relief on this horrible gas mileage. (Not sure why it is not working?--ANY IDEAS?) And is this what I should expect for gas mileage? Sticker is like 15-20, so I want 15 or better. I traded a Ram 1500 with 2" lift and was getting 12 around town with the 5.7 Hemi, so I have higher expectations.

2) the get up and go on the Mojave is pretty pathetic. If I want to be first off the start when the light turns green I'd have to push it. Shifting using the mpg meter leads to some snail like speed and not keeping up with the flow of traffic.

3) clutch is very tight and first to second can be a real jerk if you are not super careful. My kids say they're getting whiplash. My first car was a manual transmission Bronco, so I have driven standards before.

So overall, I would say mixed reviews on what I bought. Definitely like the open air feel, but not sure if I need to address any issues to enhance performance.

Finally, not wanting to put a lot of money in this rn but I would really like some different wheels. The blackout rims on the '23 Mojave not my favorite.

Thoughts much appreciated... -SM

I have the exact same vehicle and immediately regeared. It completely transformed the driving experience. Strongly suggest applying your wheel budget toward regearing.

 

[23mojavegladiator]

I have the exact same vehicle and immediately regeared. It completely transformed the driving experience. Strongly suggest applying your wheel budget toward regearing.

what gearing did you settle on?

 

[Fly-by]

what gearing did you settle on?

I went with 5.38s and am still on 33s. It sounds radical but it works perfectly for my use, which is primarily steep, poorly maintained forest service and logging roads. Little pavement as I don't commute and have other vehicles. Don't care about mpg.

The vehicle no longer falls on its face when shifting 2-3, idle speed in reverse is reasonable, 6th is responsive on the highway (3k at 74mph), and 1st in 4H can handle many situations that previously required 4L.

You will get a bunch of opinions on ratios. I built my own calculator specific to the 6mt and chose based on my use case.

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