Dealership refusing to really fix start/stop issue

[KAT]

Hi- like most people, we are having the start/stop issue as well. We have a 2020 Gladiator. We brought it to our dealership in June and they replaced the aux battery. Since June it has only worked once and it was 2 weeks ago for no reason (short trip and no different driving habits during the drive). I brought it in this past Friday and they said that they charged both batteries and that fixes the issue. We don't believe it as it's a new battery so why was it needing to be charged anyway? We suspect it's the ESS system not charging and our dealership refuses to look any further. When I asked them to explain how a 3 month old battery needs charging again, they don't give me an answer. They just want to get you in and out real fast without actually figuring out what is causing the issue.

I reached to Jeep Cares and opened a case on Friday. When I called today to check on the status the representative called the dealership and spoke with the GM (who supposedly is out of the office today and the rep didn't get the name of who he spoke with). The Jeep Cares rep told me there is nothing he can do and closed my case without telling me. I found out later when I called back again asking to speak with someone else and the new rep told me the prior rep closed our case.

I can't keep bringing it back in when it doesn't work. Our dealership is scheduling 2 months out so it's hard to get in. To top it off, our radio got fried when the tech did an update on Friday and a part for another issue that was ordered the last time is the wrong part and has to be ordered all over again. I love our Jeep but I feel like it is at the dealership more than we have had it.

Anyone have any help or suggestions? I am trying to get the dealership to check out the charging system as well as replace BOTH batteries and they told me they wouldn't. The next closest dealership is 1.5 hours away which is too far for us. Any help or suggestions is welcomed. Thank you!

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[dcmdon]

I know it sucks. And I like the ESS. But I'd just roll with it.

Its not a big deal and it saves you very little on fuel.

Shoot, people pay extra to buy things to turn it off. It sounds like they are treating you "like a girl". That really really sucks.

The reality is that your battery is in a certain state of charge because of how the truck maintains it.

A battery that is recharged only maintains that freshly charged voltage for a half hour of driving. After that, what voltage the alternator chooses to charge it to is what matters.

Think of the battery like a tub full of water. The drain represents everything that uses electricity. The fill spigot represents the alternator.

If your tub starts out full and you drive the car even for 30 minutes, then there will be less water in the tub until the spigot continually refills it. What matters most as far as battery voltage (assuming a good battery) is what voltage the truck charges it to.

 

[Rahkmalla]

Do you have a lawyer friend willing to write a threatening letter?

If the dealer doesn't want to fix it, they don't have to. The whole dealership model is shitty

 

[dcmdon]

Do you have a lawyer friend willing to write a threatening letter?

If the dealer doesn't want to fix it, they don't have to. The whole dealership model is shitty

Its made worse by the flat rate system. Techs are paid to change parts "R and R them". They aren't paid to diagnose problems.

Diagnostics is a lost art. Actually its funny. Some of these horrible mechanics are actually decent mechanics who are decent at diagnostics when they are home on the weekends doing side jobs. But at work, they can't be bothered to break out a multimeter and actually use their brain.

Just plug it in and see what the machine says.

 

[KAT]

I know it sucks. And I like the ESS. But I'd just roll with it.

Its not a big deal and it saves you very little on fuel.

Shoot, people pay extra to buy things to turn it off. It sounds like they are treating you "like a girl". That really really sucks.

The reality is that your battery is in a certain state of charge because of how the truck maintains it.

A battery that is recharged only maintains that freshly charged voltage for a half hour of driving. After that, what voltage the alternator chooses to charge it to is what matters.

Think of the battery like a tub full of water. The drain represents everything that uses electricity. The fill spigot represents the alternator.

If your tub starts out full and you drive the car even for 30 minutes, then there will be less water in the tub until the spigot continually refills it. What matters most as far as battery voltage (assuming a good battery) is what voltage the truck charges it to.

Thank you for the explanation. So any suggestions on where to go from here? My husband is involved too so I am not sure it's that they are trying to pull one over on me. He is active duty and just doesn't have the time to deal with them- he's getting his ship and sailors ready for a homeport shift and then a deployment working 15 hour days. I really think the dealership wants to do the bare minimum- seems to be their MO with all the work we've had done there.

 

[RJinPV]

Every dealer is different. If you don't want to live with it then you might want to take on of these steps.

• Go to the other dealer. They're not all the same. My dealer is expensive but I have never felt swindled or stiff-armed.
• You could open another JeepCares case and try that, or call the Jeep 1-800 number to complain (i'm not sure if that is the same as Jeep cares). Try the Jeep Cares contact here in the forum? They might be more responsive if everyone sees the posts.
• Or you could try to troubleshoot it yourself. You can buy a battery tester and test the batteries or pay to have the batteries & charging system checked out with a mechanic you trust.
• My preference: Get an OBDII code reader and see what codes are set, if any. My wife's Grand Cherokee is having intermittent ESS issues and it has some codes set for the hood sensors. The ESS needs 2 hood ajar sensors to show it is closed before it will shut the engine down (among other things)

Off course there are a bunch of other causes for ESS problems but having a code reader is minimum step I would take because it can arm you with information to use with the dealer in this case. It can also help you down the road if any other problems start up. I was 500 miles from home when my check engine came on, and with a code reader I knew what the problem was and whether or not it could wait until I got home.

 

[Carlo_d3]

Your situation happened to me. The aux battery was changed and only work 5 or less times. Decided to change the main battery to H7 size agm battery. It is now working all the time.

 

[21Moja]

Not the best answer but since they wont help you at all...Just kill the aux battery.

 

[Lunentucker]

Jumperless aux battery/PCR bypass | Jeep Gladiator Forum - JeepGladiatorForum.com

 

[Mr._Bill]

Hi- like most people, we are having the start/stop issue as well. We have a 2020 Gladiator. We brought it to our dealership in June and they replaced the aux battery. Since June it has only worked once and it was 2 weeks ago for no reason (short trip and no different driving habits during the drive). I brought it in this past Friday and they said that they charged both batteries and that fixes the issue. We don't believe it as it's a new battery so why was it needing to be charged anyway? We suspect it's the ESS system not charging and our dealership refuses to look any further. When I asked them to explain how a 3 month old battery needs charging again, they don't give me an answer. They just want to get you in and out real fast without actually figuring out what is causing the issue.

I reached to Jeep Cares and opened a case on Friday. When I called today to check on the status the representative called the dealership and spoke with the GM (who supposedly is out of the office today and the rep didn't get the name of who he spoke with). The Jeep Cares rep told me there is nothing he can do and closed my case without telling me. I found out later when I called back again asking to speak with someone else and the new rep told me the prior rep closed our case.

I can't keep bringing it back in when it doesn't work. Our dealership is scheduling 2 months out so it's hard to get in. To top it off, our radio got fried when the tech did an update on Friday and a part for another issue that was ordered the last time is the wrong part and has to be ordered all over again. I love our Jeep but I feel like it is at the dealership more than we have had it.

Anyone have any help or suggestions? I am trying to get the dealership to check out the charging system as well as replace BOTH batteries and they told me they wouldn't. The next closest dealership is 1.5 hours away which is too far for us. Any help or suggestions is welcomed. Thank you!

There's only so much that FCA will let the dealer do under warranty. They have already replaced the AUX battery. Unless it fails a load test, all they can do is charge the battery and send you on your way. The charging system is working, or the batteries would be dying and leaving you stranded. The ESS system has no effect on the charging system.

What are the exact problems you are having? Have you turned the center screen to the ESS page and watched for status messages? How often is the truck driven? How long are the trips?

 

[KAT]

There's only so much that FCA will let the dealer do under warranty. They have already replaced the AUX battery. Unless it fails a load test, all they can do is charge the battery and send you on your way. The charging system is working, or the batteries would be dying and leaving you stranded. The ESS system has no effect on the charging system.

What are the exact problems you are having? Have you turned the center screen to the ESS page and watched for status messages? How often is the truck driven? How long are the trips?

The start/stop hasn't worked in almost a year. Last time we brought it in, they said the aux battery was bad and they replaced it. It only worked randomly once since then in the 3 months since we've had the new aux battery. The message always says "start/stop not ready". It's driven almost daily min about 40 miles a day for a commute and then lots of truck time with after school sports and such. The rental we got while it's at the dealership is a new gladiator and start/stop has worked the entire time since we've had it so I don't think it's the temp outside, distance, etc. We also take it on long trips (3+ hours) and it still doesn't work then. We are at a loss as to why it's not working

 

[Mr._Bill]

Did they replace the main battery when the AUX battery was replaced? How old is the main battery? I would replace the primary battery with a new 94R AGM and go from there.

 

[KAT]

Every dealer is different. If you don't want to live with it then you might want to take on of these steps.

• Go to the other dealer. They're not all the same. My dealer is expensive but I have never felt swindled or stiff-armed.
• You could open another JeepCares case and try that, or call the Jeep 1-800 number to complain (i'm not sure if that is the same as Jeep cares). Try the Jeep Cares contact here in the forum? They might be more responsive if everyone sees the posts.
• Or you could try to troubleshoot it yourself. You can buy a battery tester and test the batteries or pay to have the batteries & charging system checked out with a mechanic you trust.
• My preference: Get an OBDII code reader and see what codes are set, if any. My wife's Grand Cherokee is having intermittent ESS issues and it has some codes set for the hood sensors. The ESS needs 2 hood ajar sensors to show it is closed before it will shut the engine down (among other things)

Off course there are a bunch of other causes for ESS problems but having a code reader is minimum step I would take because it can arm you with information to use with the dealer in this case. It can also help you down the road if any other problems start up. I was 500 miles from home when my check engine came on, and with a code reader I knew what the problem was and whether or not it could wait until I got home.

Good suggestions! We have a reader but not sure if we have a battery tester. We will have to look more in to that if they decide to send it home with just recharging it. They tried to send it home with us the same day after I dropped it off. This was right after the infotainment system was fried during an update and now needs replacing as well as it's still waiting on a couple other parts needing replaced. I'm not going another 2 months waiting for an appointment with no infotainment system.

 

[KAT]

Every dealer is different. If you don't want to live with it then you might want to take on of these steps.

• Go to the other dealer. They're not all the same. My dealer is expensive but I have never felt swindled or stiff-armed.
• You could open another JeepCares case and try that, or call the Jeep 1-800 number to complain (i'm not sure if that is the same as Jeep cares). Try the Jeep Cares contact here in the forum? They might be more responsive if everyone sees the posts.
• Or you could try to troubleshoot it yourself. You can buy a battery tester and test the batteries or pay to have the batteries & charging system checked out with a mechanic you trust.
• My preference: Get an OBDII code reader and see what codes are set, if any. My wife's Grand Cherokee is having intermittent ESS issues and it has some codes set for the hood sensors. The ESS needs 2 hood ajar sensors to show it is closed before it will shut the engine down (among other things)

Off course there are a bunch of other causes for ESS problems but having a code reader is minimum step I would take because it can arm you with information to use with the dealer in this case. It can also help you down the road if any other problems start up. I was 500 miles from home when my check engine came on, and with a code reader I knew what the problem was and whether or not it could wait until I got home.

How do I contact Jeep cares here in the forum?

 

[RJinPV]

How do I contact Jeep cares here in the forum?

Try this: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/members/jeepcares.17945/

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