Cannot shift into 4H or 4L on my new 2023 gladiator .

[Lost1wing]

A smooth and gradual pull just wasn't enough, at first. I had to just verbally assault it followed with a quick hard yank. The wife still has trouble with it, but it gets easier with time.

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[Erievon]

I will say, the Selec-Trac is simple to get back into 4H Auto, it's over to 4H part time and 4 lo that are tough and it does help rolling a bit for 4 lo
Even 4H part time I found that if it moved some it helped.

Interesting on SelecTrac. To go to 4H is it just a push to the right, or push to the right and then down a bit? The diagram on the shift lever is a bit vague.

I'm trying to imagine if you need a ton of side force (that would be harawkward from the sitting position in the driver seat) or is it an easy push to the right and then you need some force to go down a bit?

Picking up a new truck Saturday, my first SelecTrac transfer case. Kind of curious since you brought it up.

 

[Zimbu]

I was able to free up the shift cable by applying over 50 lbs of force to shift lever . It seems likely that the factory does not check this before sending it out the door as it should not be so hard . My older Jeep had shift on the fly and it worked great . It seems Jeep is moving backwards on some of their technology's . Another problem i noticed with this transmission is that when slowing down with my foot lightly on the brake at 15 mph it "feels" like the transmission shifts into neutral , the engine rpm drops and the jeep "feels" like it accelerates because there is no engine braking and the momentum makes it feel like it's accelerating . So then i have to apply more force to the brake pedal to slow the vehicle . It does not do it if i just slow down with no brake applied . I find it very disconcerting . Any thoughts ? Also thanks to all the helpful comments on the 4H /4L shift problem .

 

[Terminus33]

Grip it and rip it. Steady, firm pull. They’re quite tight at first but will wear in. Same thing in my JKU and then in my JT.

Just be very careful with the advice of ripping it into gear. I too had this issue the OP had once and I took the advise of some here and ripped it into gear while slowly rolling with Trans in neutral and the linkage of the transfer case isn't positively attached. I ended up ripping the metal linkage off of the plastic "hook" its attached to. The transfer case shifter popped and was just flopping around. I had to rip up the console in the woods and grab it with pliers to re attach it.

And now I apply constant pressure but not massive pressure. Takes about 1-4 seconds of constant pressure to slip into gear.

 

[BearFootSam]

I was able to free up the shift cable by applying over 50 lbs of force to shift lever . It seems likely that the factory does not check this before sending it out the door as it should not be so hard . My older Jeep had shift on the fly and it worked great . It seems Jeep is moving backwards on some of their technology's . Another problem i noticed with this transmission is that when slowing down with my foot lightly on the brake at 15 mph it "feels" like the transmission shifts into neutral , the engine rpm drops and the jeep "feels" like it accelerates because there is no engine braking and the momentum makes it feel like it's accelerating . So then i have to apply more force to the brake pedal to slow the vehicle . It does not do it if i just slow down with no brake applied . I find it very disconcerting . Any thoughts ? Also thanks to all the helpful comments on the 4H /4L shift problem .

This AT is a 'smart' one. When you just lightly brake I suspect the TCM reads it as coasting and so the ECM & TCM allow it to do so to save fuel. What myself and others have noticed is that there is also a 'engine braking' mode that will engage when you apply strong brake pressure then release it without applying throttle.

A good example is when cresting a steep pass, you come over the top then begin to accrue speed on the downhill. If I were to just leave my foot off the throttle the engine braking is minimal and the truck will accelerate. However, should I apply sufficient brake to hold the truck at say 55mph, when I release the brake, if no throttle is applied there will be significant engine braking to the degree you may not need additional brake input.

Of course if the downgrade is steep enough you will overcome the programmed engine brake parameters and accrue speed again, but in those situations, whether in the mountains or pulling a load, it is nearly always best to bump over to manual control and set the desired gear yourself.

The smart AT control is part of what makes this such an exemplary transmission but IMHO jeep dropped the ball not putting a blurb in the owners manual outlining this. When the system activates tow/haul mode, the aforementioned programming seems to be more aggressive, but it is hard to know for certain when there is no indicator.

 

[SargeDiesel]

Grip it and rip it. Steady, firm pull. They’re quite tight at first but will wear in. Same thing in my JKU and then in my JT.

Lets say you never attempt to put in any optional gears and just drive the vehicle for a few thousand miles... would this aftect or make shifting into lower gears easier ?

Or does does it not correlate ? and/or.....

Is the only way to make it easier to shift into low gears... by doing it in repetition ?

Thanks

 

[SargeDiesel]

My 2023 was like butter from the factory. I’d definitely recommend letting them look at it.

?
When I test drove a 22, same.... it went into all gears easily. If I recall I did it using the slow roll method.

 

[Bantam]

Lets say you never attempt to put in any optional gears and just drive the vehicle for a few thousand miles... would this aftect or make shifting into lower gears easily ?

Or does does it not correlate ? and/or.....

Is the only way to make it easier to shift into low gears... by doing it in repetition ?

Thanks

In my last couple of Jeeps it seemed changing the transfer case is what helped it loosen up or break-in.
Randomly engaging 4-hi and back to 2-hi while driving down a straight stretch of road a few times and there was a noticeable difference between the first 6-7 times, after that it seemed to maybe help but any improvement was less noticeable. This wasn’t a daily thing I did, maybe twice a month, then as needed through the winter.
In my limited experience, I think the transfer case lever needed broken in, as opposed to something that would wear in while driving without changing.

Sorry to the other fellow for “grip it and rip it”, it’s kind of like saying “send it”. The second sentence “firm, steady pull” is a safer alternative…if you’re into that kind of thing.

 

[Rocksalt]

shifting in and out if 4HI should not require much force... 4LO can require effort

 

[BallisticJT]

My gladiator was really hard to shift at first, 4Hi or 4Lo. I remember thinking I was going to break the lever the first time trying. It definitely needs to be broken in. I would try to get it in and out of 4Hi at least once a week, and a bonus if you work it into and out of 4Lo..
For me, eventually winter came and I was using 4Hi more frequently and it became smooth to shift in and out. It is something I can do easily now although 4Lo takes a little more effort but I don't use 4Lo as much so it might be breaking in still.

 

[Blade1668]

All of my Jeeps required some effort shifting into 4 low at first my JT definitely required more than my others did at first, heck when I bought my 90XJ used in 99 I was probably the first one to put it into 4 Low. As others have posted take it to the dealer it's got a warranty for a reason, if you think something is wrong. Mine will shift fairly easily now, but I've got a hundreds of miles on it in 4hi and a few miles in 4lo. Most of that was just trying out the off-road mode speed control. Using it can almost make someone who has no experience driving a 4 WD look experienced and then get over their head off-road.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

the off-road mode speed control. Using it can almost make someone who has no experience driving a 4 WD look experienced and then get over their head off-road.

So far, the best uses I have found for this, is rock gardens... using it to descend heats up the brakes a lot, to the point you can smell them... climbing is fine, until you hit any obstacle, then it'll stop before moving to overcome.

 

[Minty JL]

First time on my 23 was really hard to get into 4H and lower.

Yup, my '23 JTM was very rigid the first few times........I could make a pun or joke, but I will refrain from it at this time

 

[Blade1668]

So far, the best uses I have found for this, is rock gardens... using it to descend heats up the brakes a lot, to the point you can smell them... climbing is fine, until you hit any obstacle, then it'll stop before moving to overcome.

Yeah I had to try it out when I first got mine home in driveway first BTW it worked in reverse too. Second was a winding gravel, rocky marked as a road in Bankhead N.F.

 

[troverman]

I have a 2022 and my experience was that you needed a lot of force to go from 2H to 4H. While stopped in neutral, not much effort was needed to get into low range, just make sure you move the lever slightly to the right as you pull back so as to follow the dog-leg pattern. Going from low back to 4H, and also from 4H back to 2H, is pretty easy. These Jeeps have quite a stubby lever without a lot of leverage as compared to a 4x4 truck with a shift on the floor transfer case lever, hence the higher effort. As you use 4x4 more often, it does start to get easier, but it takes awhile.

Also, when you shift to 4L and then back into drive, be aware that the transmission automatically starts in 2nd gear, not first. If you want 4L and 1st gear, use the manual mode to force the downshift.

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