2022 Gladiator Eco Diesel needs transmission work

[Ktsimon253]

Had random shutoffs after hitting rumble strips, expansion joints and railroad crossings.
Almost got tboned twiced. Happened 5 times in 2 days out of nowhere. Wife said it died on her and we attributed it to the auto start stop, when it happened after the first week of purchase.
Didnt have a repeatable issue until last week. Tech as usual, said issue couldnt be duplicated. Had him drive my exact commute route and after he almost got hit he confirmed it.
After a week, I just received a call that that the valve body in the trans is to blame. Ive had the truck 2 months and now it will be down for a month. Unacceptable! Lemon law is knocking!

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[CerOf]

Very sorry to hear that. The transmission in these seem to actually have very few problems.

I believe they are used in other Jeep branded vehicles with V8 engines; thus, they can take the hp and tq of the diesel.

that definitely stinks though!

 

[Ktsimon253]

Picked the JT up from the dealer. They replaced the valve body in the transmission and called it good. Headed to work this morning and I get the smell of fresh tranny fluid through the air vents. Go to get on the freeway and hit an expansion joint and it dies again and check engine light. Back to dealer next Tuesday. This is getting old.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I would have likely asked them to explain how a transmission valve body would cause an engine to die - especially if it happened only on bumps - something that jounces the vehicle.
Sounds electric to me.........

A bump would have no impact on a valve body. The valves and shuttles operate with springs and hydraulic pressure. A bump won't move them.
If it's an electrical connection issue, I'd still wonder how a bump would effect the electrical portions of a transmission. External connectors, wiring bouncing around, yeah.
Perhaps there's a wire hitting hot exhaust when you hit a bump. Or a bad ground.

 

[rharr]

there is a noted TSB about checking the wiring harness on the passenger side that run just past the EGR flange. There is a stainless steel gasket tab that projects from the flange and gets very close if not touching the wiring harness at the point. People have observed chafed and raw wires at the contact point.

It has been discussed in this forum a lot, do a search for "EGR flange"

 

[Ktsimon253]

I would have likely asked them to explain how a transmission valve body would cause an engine to die - especially if it happened only on bumps - something that jounces the vehicle.
Sounds electric to me.........

A bump would have no impact on a valve body. The valves and shuttles operate with springs and hydraulic pressure. A bump won't move them.
If it's an electrical connection issue, I'd still wonder how a bump would effect the electrical portions of a transmission. External connectors, wiring bouncing around, yeah.
Perhaps there's a wire hitting hot exhaust when you hit a bump. Or a bad ground.

That was exactly my concern! The check engine code comes back as a TCM issue. Lets see what they come with this time. I reseated every fuse and relay so Its got to be something underneath the truck or a ground. Ill wait for a break in the rain this weekend and slide under it before the service appointment.

 

[Rahkmalla]

Very sorry to hear that. The transmission in these seem to actually have very few problems.

I believe they are used in other Jeep branded vehicles with V8 engines; thus, they can take the hp and tq of the diesel.

that definitely stinks though!

The ZF8HP75 (the variant in the ecodiesel) is used in the following list of vehicles:
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Aston Martin DB11, Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2019), Alpina B5 (G30/31), BMW 5 series (G30/G31/F90), BMW X5 M (F85), BMW X6 M (F86), BMW 7 Series (G11/12),[19] BMW X5 (F15),[20] BMW X3 30D (G01), RAM 1500 (2019-), RAM 2500 (2019-), Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel (2017-), Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel (2020-), Jeep Gladiator Ecodiesel (2021-)

It's got the muscle for plenty of high torque applications, and it's rated for up to 553lbft. I'm sure if Jeep thought the ecodiesel needed the ZF8HP95 (what they put in their Durango SRT, TRX, and SRT Trackhawk) i'm sure they would have.

ZF is building some of the most reliable transmissions in the world right now, and the number of luxury and exclusive brands using different variants of the ZF8HP is massive. I'm not saying they are perfectly manufactured every time or bulletproof... but they are probably the most reliable component with moving pieces in a Jeep today.

 

[Ktsimon253]

The ZF8HP75 (the variant in the ecodiesel) is used in the following list of vehicles:
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Aston Martin DB11, Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2019), Alpina B5 (G30/31), BMW 5 series (G30/G31/F90), BMW X5 M (F85), BMW X6 M (F86), BMW 7 Series (G11/12),[19] BMW X5 (F15),[20] BMW X3 30D (G01), RAM 1500 (2019-), RAM 2500 (2019-), Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel (2017-), Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel (2020-), Jeep Gladiator Ecodiesel (2021-)

It's got the muscle for plenty of high torque applications, and it's rated for up to 553lbft. I'm sure if Jeep thought the ecodiesel needed the ZF8HP95 (what they put in their Durango SRT, TRX, and SRT Trackhawk) i'm sure they would have.

ZF is building some of the most reliable transmissions in the world right now, and the number of luxury and exclusive brands using different variants of the ZF8HP is massive. I'm not saying they are perfectly manufactured every time or bulletproof... but they are probably the most reliable component with moving pieces in a Jeep today.

Thats why Im hoping its a defective TCM and not the tranny.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Thats why Im hoping its a defective TCM and not the tranny.

I don't know the specific code, but a TCM can also mean communication issues with the TCM. Sometimes a module is mentioned if there is trouble communicating with it, or it is having trouble communicating with something else.
And like said earlier, can't hurt to check those areas of known concern. I think @rharr mentioned it. If there is any communication between the TCM and other components that move through that bundle, it could trigger a TCM-related code.

 

[Ktsimon253]

Update.
Truck still at the dealer. Had to go down and take the shop foreman for a test drive yesterday. They waited almost 2 weeks to tell me they couldnt replicate the issue again. Pretty hilarious that I got it die within a few minutes and we almost got rear ended.
Now they are saying its the transmission harness and ordered another one.
They basically are ignoring the transmission fluid smell as a fluke. I have a new air quality meter waiting at home for them.
If it doesn't get fixed this time, its out of here!

 

[Akgladiator]

Jeep should not be your primary vehicle. It's a toy, don't expect reliability like real work trucks

 

[PJZ]

Not exact issue to compare to, but on my JK for years had a weird issue with UC101 TCM code, hot oil and ABS lights coming on. It got to the point it was going into limp mode on a few occasions. Could not find out what was wrong - new TCM installed and no change.

Turned out it was a $10 relay that was bad causing all the issues. Since yours is cutting out on bumps maybe check that all the relays are pushed in tight. Also read that some PCM connectors have been loose on new gladiators and need to be firmly connected. Worth a try.

This is the guy that figure out the JK issue

 

[Ktsimon253]

Not exact issue to compare to, but on my JK for years had a weird issue with UC101 TCM code, hot oil and ABS lights coming on. It got to the point it was going into limp mode on a few occasions. Could not find out what was wrong - new TCM installed and no change.

Turned out it was a $10 relay that was bad causing all the issues. Since yours is cutting out on bumps maybe check that all the relays are pushed in tight. Also read that some PCM connectors have been loose on new gladiators and need to be firmly connected. Worth a try.

This is the guy that figure out the JK issue

Thanks for the info and link. They just called and said the transmission harness was sitting on the EGR. I think they are just throwing parts at it, but we will see next week. When I get it back ill go through and push in all the connections again.

 

[PJZ]

Good luck! Imagine that is frustrating as hell with a new truck.

 

[Ktsimon253]

30 more days and I still don't have my truck back. I keep getting the run around by the service center and @JeepCares.
I was told someone from jeep cares would contact me and not one person has. Service department said it would be done June 30th. Here it is July 7th and I had to call them to get a status.
Uconnect vehicle locator showed no movement of truck until Tuesday. Im done with this crap. Filing the lemon law suit tomorrow.
2 months is beyond ridiculous. At this point Its been down longer than I was able to drive it.

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