Cobblecrazy
Active Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2021
- Threads
- 9
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 22
- Location
- Northern Nevada
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
- Thread starter
- #1
First, I want to say that I love this truck. From the first test drive I was hooked. I had a 2007 JK with an Ursa Minor J30 pop up camper that I loved, but we moved on to a truck and camper that fit our needs more at the time. I test drove the new EcoDiesel JL, but I didn't like it as much as the Gladiator. As with many others the fuel mileage and torque of the EcoDiesel was very appealing.
Now to the issue(s). First off, my Gladiator is a 2021 Rubicon with the 3.0L Turbo EcoDiesel. I do not have a lift. I have added Black Rhino wheels with a 0 offset, a winch, a stubby front bumper, and a Redarc brake controller that is plug and play into the factory tow harness. The mileage when this started was around 1300 miles, with us having it for about 2 1/2 trouble free weeks.
We have a 2000lb. (wet/loaded) 15' trailer the Gladiator pulled with no issues (and with fuel efficiency of about 22-23 mpg over rolling terrain). Our first true outing was a 60 mile trip that was 80% flat freeway speed, 10% small rolling hills, and one last 7-8 mile stretch at 5-6% that went from in the 6000's to the low 7000's in elevation (the last part of the climb up the canyon is only about 3 miles long). About 10 miles from the climb, I stopped and topped off with fuel (yes I confirmed I put diesel in) as we were going to be in the mountains for the next few days with no services available. As I started across the meadowlands leading to the last climb I noticed the rpm's had risen from a consistent 1400-1500 to about 1600-1700. There is an initial short climb before you start into the canyon for the last little push, and I really didn't see any issues. As soon as I got to the canyon, the accelerator felt spongy, and I experienced a total loss of power. There were a couple messages that lit up about throttle, but due to traffic and trying to look for a safe place to pull to the side, I wasn't able to read everything. As soon as I got over to the side of the road I noticed the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) warning light was on, as well as the check engine light. Turned off the motor and got out to inspect the ground to make sure nothing was "flowing out". After I found nothing, I went to the engine bay, and, again, nothing. I checked the fuel cap and it felt a little loose so I made sure it clicked. Once back inside the truck, I turned it on, and the ETC warning light was now off, but the check engine light remained on (solid, not flashing). I went to the Off-Road page that displays all the engine pressures/temps, and nothing appeared to be of concern. I checked the "messages" page, and there were none (although the handbook says it should give you some information when there is an error). Ambient temp was in the 60's
As I was only a couple miles from out campsite, I decided to continue if I could and drop the trailer as I planned to drive back to the nearest Jeep dealer which was about 30 miles away.
The ride to the campsite, then to the dealership went by without further incident.
Once at the dealership, they put the diagnostic tool on, and it came up with a turbo issue warning along with the accompanying loss of power warnings I believe flashed on my dashboard. They didn't have any tech's around due to the holiday weekend so the best they could do was offer a Tuesday appt. (it was Thursday) saying as long as the light was solid I should be fine until it could be looked into further. As I was 30 miles from home, and I have a Jeep dealership about 5 miles from my home, I decided to go there.
I dropped off the Gladiator at the dealership, and they had it over the next few days. They found some carbon build up, but could not confirm, or deny, this had anything to do with what happened, but they did some testing and a 20 mile road test without the check engine light coming back on. They keys and truck were returned to me the next day.
When I had been talking with the guys at Jeep, I mentioned the fuel cap possibly being loose, and the issue happening only a short time after getting fuel. I had an issue years ago where our gas cap had a crack, and it caused some performance issue that were solved by replacing the cap. I was assured that could not be the case (again, the Gladiator's book says a bad, or loose, fuel cap can cause a variety of issues to include loss of power, but it also says there should be a cap warning light).
I stopped and topped off with fuel before returning to our campsite. The return 60 mile trip was without incident. The next day was spent driving around in the mountains (paved) with a jaunt up to around 8500 ft. The only thing I noticed was an increase of about 200 rpms, but no spikes, or severe drops. No issues. The next day took us up and down a few short climes over about a 20 mile stretch. Again, no issues. Once again I stopped to top off - about a 1/3 of a tank - and back for a quick stop at camp about 15 miles from the station. After a 10 minute stop we were off again. We were about 4 miles from camp starting a 3-4% grade of paved road when the check engine light came on again, but this time no additional information came up on the dashboard, no loss of power and no other lights came on. Ambient temp at the time was in the high 60's to low 70's.
Again, went to the off-road page and checked the gauges. All seemed fine. No additional lights came on and we eventually made it back to camp. Again, no fluids on the ground and no obvious issues inside the engine bay. I specifically checked the battery terminal connection as that is the only thing I've loosened during the winch install, and it was tight. I checked the relays and fuses, but they all seemed fine. I also checked the Redarc controller and wiring, and no issues were obvious. As I didn't have a diagnostic tool, I could not find out what the warning light was cautioning about.
I kept to the slower backroads on the way home. I had a short stint on the freeway, and I noticed there didn't seem to be additional power for pulling one of the short hills, but the truck remained at 65 with 1600-1800 rpms. I should also say the rpms over much of the drive stayed at 1400-1600, and our fuel economy was between 22-24mpg.
Once we got home and I had access to internet and my Mopar owners "dashboard" it shows under "Health Report" it shows: Charging system, but with no further explanation.
Anyone had similar issues, or maybe suggestions. We had a family member with us who has about 40 years of dealership mechanic work experience, and he also suggested the fuel cap, or oxygen sensor, as being possible a possible culprit for the first issue (he was not with us when I found the latest information on my owners dashboard).
Thanks.
Now to the issue(s). First off, my Gladiator is a 2021 Rubicon with the 3.0L Turbo EcoDiesel. I do not have a lift. I have added Black Rhino wheels with a 0 offset, a winch, a stubby front bumper, and a Redarc brake controller that is plug and play into the factory tow harness. The mileage when this started was around 1300 miles, with us having it for about 2 1/2 trouble free weeks.
We have a 2000lb. (wet/loaded) 15' trailer the Gladiator pulled with no issues (and with fuel efficiency of about 22-23 mpg over rolling terrain). Our first true outing was a 60 mile trip that was 80% flat freeway speed, 10% small rolling hills, and one last 7-8 mile stretch at 5-6% that went from in the 6000's to the low 7000's in elevation (the last part of the climb up the canyon is only about 3 miles long). About 10 miles from the climb, I stopped and topped off with fuel (yes I confirmed I put diesel in) as we were going to be in the mountains for the next few days with no services available. As I started across the meadowlands leading to the last climb I noticed the rpm's had risen from a consistent 1400-1500 to about 1600-1700. There is an initial short climb before you start into the canyon for the last little push, and I really didn't see any issues. As soon as I got to the canyon, the accelerator felt spongy, and I experienced a total loss of power. There were a couple messages that lit up about throttle, but due to traffic and trying to look for a safe place to pull to the side, I wasn't able to read everything. As soon as I got over to the side of the road I noticed the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) warning light was on, as well as the check engine light. Turned off the motor and got out to inspect the ground to make sure nothing was "flowing out". After I found nothing, I went to the engine bay, and, again, nothing. I checked the fuel cap and it felt a little loose so I made sure it clicked. Once back inside the truck, I turned it on, and the ETC warning light was now off, but the check engine light remained on (solid, not flashing). I went to the Off-Road page that displays all the engine pressures/temps, and nothing appeared to be of concern. I checked the "messages" page, and there were none (although the handbook says it should give you some information when there is an error). Ambient temp was in the 60's
As I was only a couple miles from out campsite, I decided to continue if I could and drop the trailer as I planned to drive back to the nearest Jeep dealer which was about 30 miles away.
The ride to the campsite, then to the dealership went by without further incident.
Once at the dealership, they put the diagnostic tool on, and it came up with a turbo issue warning along with the accompanying loss of power warnings I believe flashed on my dashboard. They didn't have any tech's around due to the holiday weekend so the best they could do was offer a Tuesday appt. (it was Thursday) saying as long as the light was solid I should be fine until it could be looked into further. As I was 30 miles from home, and I have a Jeep dealership about 5 miles from my home, I decided to go there.
I dropped off the Gladiator at the dealership, and they had it over the next few days. They found some carbon build up, but could not confirm, or deny, this had anything to do with what happened, but they did some testing and a 20 mile road test without the check engine light coming back on. They keys and truck were returned to me the next day.
When I had been talking with the guys at Jeep, I mentioned the fuel cap possibly being loose, and the issue happening only a short time after getting fuel. I had an issue years ago where our gas cap had a crack, and it caused some performance issue that were solved by replacing the cap. I was assured that could not be the case (again, the Gladiator's book says a bad, or loose, fuel cap can cause a variety of issues to include loss of power, but it also says there should be a cap warning light).
I stopped and topped off with fuel before returning to our campsite. The return 60 mile trip was without incident. The next day was spent driving around in the mountains (paved) with a jaunt up to around 8500 ft. The only thing I noticed was an increase of about 200 rpms, but no spikes, or severe drops. No issues. The next day took us up and down a few short climes over about a 20 mile stretch. Again, no issues. Once again I stopped to top off - about a 1/3 of a tank - and back for a quick stop at camp about 15 miles from the station. After a 10 minute stop we were off again. We were about 4 miles from camp starting a 3-4% grade of paved road when the check engine light came on again, but this time no additional information came up on the dashboard, no loss of power and no other lights came on. Ambient temp at the time was in the high 60's to low 70's.
Again, went to the off-road page and checked the gauges. All seemed fine. No additional lights came on and we eventually made it back to camp. Again, no fluids on the ground and no obvious issues inside the engine bay. I specifically checked the battery terminal connection as that is the only thing I've loosened during the winch install, and it was tight. I checked the relays and fuses, but they all seemed fine. I also checked the Redarc controller and wiring, and no issues were obvious. As I didn't have a diagnostic tool, I could not find out what the warning light was cautioning about.
I kept to the slower backroads on the way home. I had a short stint on the freeway, and I noticed there didn't seem to be additional power for pulling one of the short hills, but the truck remained at 65 with 1600-1800 rpms. I should also say the rpms over much of the drive stayed at 1400-1600, and our fuel economy was between 22-24mpg.
Once we got home and I had access to internet and my Mopar owners "dashboard" it shows under "Health Report" it shows: Charging system, but with no further explanation.
Anyone had similar issues, or maybe suggestions. We had a family member with us who has about 40 years of dealership mechanic work experience, and he also suggested the fuel cap, or oxygen sensor, as being possible a possible culprit for the first issue (he was not with us when I found the latest information on my owners dashboard).
Thanks.
Sponsored
I saw them say that on the 1500 EcoDiesel forum too.
