Looking for REAL WORLD person experience with 4xe

[Camaroboi13]

Don't they all?
Doesn't matter, fuel is fuel, heat is heat. And they all have electrical systems and who the heck knows who the last person to work on them was.

Ain’t that the truth. My 74 Camaro burned down while doing 75 on the freeway, I lucked out when a fire truck going the opposite direction saw the smoke and helped me out. The paint was dripping of the side of the fender and the lead clamps that held the cables to operate the heater and air conditioning melted off and went through the carpet. If I had a passenger they would be mobility impaired to this day.

Fuel filter vibrated loose while running open headers and dumped 3 1/2 gallons of race gas on the engine. It can happen to anyone.

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[Geoarch]

We only did 20 mile round trips. I will again use the word hate.

So what PHEV do you now have Dan? We have a 2023 Rav4 Prime XSE on the boat from Japan right now. It will partly make up for my JTRs terrible mileage, but I need it for field work and fun. Best of both worlds.

 

[Geoarch]

My wife doesn't ever park outside at home except to unload her stuff.
Then it's in the garage. Her Jeeps don't see a lot of sun.
Charging - my generator outlet is right next to where the charging port would be on a Wrangler. I'd likely tie into that since it's good enough to back-feed my generator into the house through. I've also got other heavy circuits in the garage. Power isn't a problem - 60 amp box out there.

Electricity in Iowa is some of the cheapest in the country. (and it's over 50% wind generated).
When we went all-electric about 10 years ago, and added my shop it put us over the usage threshold where every kilowatt hour over that is a lot cheaper.

I believe you get 30% credit for the cost of the charger installation if I recall - but I'd do that myself.

We have 6.23 kW rooftop solar in 310 days of sun New Mexico. We’re shifting over to all electric as well. The heat pump is the big expense. Want to take advantage of the new tax rebates while we can. We have a PHEV coming too as I said above.

 

[WILDHOBO]

It will use the electric drive train, but not exclusively if it's in FORM. You still get the hybrid benefit which is why I say it's not an ev with a range extender, it's a hybrid with a big battery. You won't have worse fuel economy than a 2.0 only because it still runs hybrid.

And yet, that’s exactly how they run. Real world experience.

 

[WILDHOBO]

So what PHEV do you now have Dan? We have a 2023 Rav4 Prime XSE on the boat from Japan right now. It will partly make up for my JTRs terrible mileage, but I need it for field work and fun. Best of both worlds.

We looked at the RAV4 prime, but I refuse to pay a 10k surcharge. We have a Volvo xc60 recharge. It’s fantastic. Definitely the best of both worlds.

 

[DC3]

We've have a '22 Sahara 4xe for a year and it's been trouble free. Mileage in the winter is 15 -17 and mostly runs on gas with the MN cold. In the summer it's 28 -35 mpg (24-30 mpg with 35s). Most of the driving is short range -10 miles. It's charged at home on 110v and sometimes on a level 2.

its takes a little getting used to but it's a great setup.

 

[ZoMojave]

A friend of mine just let his 2021 go after his two-year lease expired. He works in a high position for a Jeep dealership and was not impressed with the 4XE. I won't mention the dealer due to the obvious conflict of interest.

In his words "years of additional development and real-world miles are badly needed with this design". Also stated were the many, many winter weather days where no electric usage was available due to the temperatures.

Now it sits on the lot for sale, haunted by an open recall that has no fix yet.

Manufacturer Safety recall issued NHTSA #22V-865 Recall #ZB7 2021-2023 JL 4XE LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER Status: Remedy not yet available

 

[legacy_etu]

I can, but will likely get raked over the coals. If you’re attempting to get a wrangler that gets better gas mileage, and you live anywhere with temps under 40 consistently in the winter, it’s garbage. The hybrid drivetrain puts more load on the ICE than it gets without it. The fuel and oil refresh prevents you from using electric at all if it’s even mildly cold. By the time you get 20 miles, which is the approximate warm weather range of pure electric, the oil isn’t warm enough to have allowed you to use the option. This is not true of all PHEV’s as we have another one that’s the same price, and allows pure electric all day in less than 10 degree temps. Your gas mileage on the 4xE will be worse than just paying 20k less for a wrangler with the 4cyl turbo alone. She should keep her grand Cherokee, or get another one. I’m excited to see the Jeep Recon pure electric, but until the 4xE drivetrain is completely rethought out, run as fast as you can.

Remember, people asked for real world experience, not hearsay. That’s what this is. Please refrain from telling me how much you like yours, especially if you live in a warm climate year round. It’s a great vehicle for torque, but sucks huge monkey balls as a PHEV. And it doesn’t have a big battery, is actually a very small kw battery compared to many competitors. Our Volvo xc60 Recharge PHEV costs the same money as a 4xE, and has much better capabilities for someone not going off road. It’s got no issue driving through a foot of unplowed snow, in electric mode. And if your wife likes her grand Cherokee, she’d fall in love with the xc60 in five seconds. 404 combined horsepower. 90 feels like 45.

Thanks for the perspective. I’m not sure why you’ve gotten grief if you’re giving honest feedback.
I wonder if the programming has been tweaked since. I’m not sure I’ve heard many complaints lately like yours about cold weather performance. I can totally uNader stand your frustration given the scenario you described. Basically the electric isn’t available in cold weather for trips less than 20-25 miles which is supposed to be where the electric really should benefit you. Does the system have a preconditioning routine you could use if you’re plugged in to warm things up before you leave?

 

[WILDHOBO]

We've have a '22 Sahara 4xe for a year and it's been trouble free. Mileage in the winter is 15 -17 and mostly runs on gas with the MN cold. In the summer it's 28 -35 mpg (24-30 mpg with 35s). Most of the driving is short range -10 miles. It's charged at home on 110v and sometimes on a level 2.

its takes a little getting used to but it's a great setup.

But that IS the problem. You should be able to use electric in cold weather. That’s not trouble free. You’re experiencing the design flaw first hand. It’s common knowledge that cold weather decreases electric range, but it’s not normal to disable it entirely. Over the course of the year, your average gas mileage is probably worse than a 2.0l without the hybrid drivetrain.

 

[WILDHOBO]

A friend of mine just let his 2021 go after his two-year lease expired. He works in a high position for a Jeep dealership and was not impressed with the 4XE. I won't mention the dealer due to the obvious conflict of interest.

In his words "years of additional development and real-world miles are badly needed with this design". Also stated were the many, many winter weather days where no electric usage was available due to the temperatures.

Now it sits on the lot for sale, haunted by an open recall that has no fix yet.

Manufacturer Safety recall issued NHTSA #22V-865 Recall #ZB7 2021-2023 JL 4XE LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER Status: Remedy not yet available

Exactly. It needs a redesign.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Thanks for the perspective. I’m not sure why you’ve gotten grief if you’re giving honest feedback.
I wonder if the programming has been tweaked since. I’m not sure I’ve heard many complaints lately like yours about cold weather performance. I can totally uNader stand your frustration given the scenario you described. Basically the electric isn’t available in cold weather for trips less than 20-25 miles which is supposed to be where the electric really should benefit you. Does the system have a preconditioning routine you could use if you’re plugged in to warm things up before you leave?

The preconditioning has no effect. We ALWAYS pre start our electrics and PHEV vehicles while they’re plugged in to the 240v charger. That way you acclimate the climate without decreasing range. It’s a game changer for every EV except the 4xE. You’d get into a toasty warm 4xE, and we’re greeted by the refusal to engage the electric drivetrain. Then you run the ICE, which is under more load as it turns the hybrid motors as a 4cyl gas generator. But the point is lost, since the batteries refuse to do their part. We’d drive the full 20 miles and come home with a full charge, since it was never used. And our mileage was in the toilet in the mid teens. Why buy a hybrid for 60k and have it not work? Just because there isn’t a check engine light, does not mean it’s trouble free. When the manual and marketing materials claim it will do a thing, and it doesn’t do that thing, that’s a problem. Hence the class action law suit that’s quickly forming.

 

[DC3]

But that IS the problem. You should be able to use electric in cold weather. That’s not trouble free. You’re experiencing the design flaw firsthand. It’s common knowledge that cold weather decreases electric range, but it’s not normal to disable it entirely. Over the course of the year, your average gas mileage is probably worse than a 2.0l without the hybrid drivetrain.

It's not a problem for me, but it may be for some. I also have an EV, so I experience the range difference in the cold. - 10 to -25F is brutal.

It's a first gen tech, and it's not perfect, but considering it is developed by a dinosaur (FCA) its pretty good. Further, the additional torque from the electric motor is awesome. It's worth it and much preferred over the anemic 3.6 and a standard 2.0l. On average, the 4xe gets better mpg than my Ecodiesel, although it doesn't have quite the torque.

 

[Bulldog4xfour]

My wife has a Sahara 4xe, and we really like it. Torque is great on the street, and it’s nice to drive to my daughters school without using any gas. It’s on 35s, I get an average of 19mpg. When I had a diesel I was getting an average of 18mpg same tires. My gladiator on 37s gets a average of 14mpg.

Ours did have a battery issue, we had to get the whole battery replace. It was taken care of pretty quickly by the dealership. (Within two weeks)

off-road it struggled with the 3.72 gears, and no lsd or lockers. This was at uwharrie, but it did rain the day before and the ground was pretty slick.

you lose a lot of space with the battery as well. It’s noticeable to other wranglers.

 

[IamPro2A]

What’s hilarious is that the grill cover being “required” is a clear sign of bad engineering. Why do other PHEV’s not need them? The 4xE was rushed into production with known problems. The grill cover is a bandaid, not a solution.

The problem isn't so much bad engineering. The problem with the 4xe is essentially the same as with the Gladiator in general, and especially the diesel Gladiator.
It's relatively easy to design a PEV, a diesel, or a truck when you are not constrained by 80yr old aesthetics and the physical limitations imposed by that and it's modern interpretation. Consumers want Wranglers to be things the Wrangler was never meant to be. The gas Gladiator gets off fairly easy with simply larger but visually similar grille openings. But the truth is it's impossible to cool a TD engine to get it's full potential while still working within the confines of the Wrangler/Gladiator nose, and it's impossible to get the TD's towing potential while still working within the confines of slightly stretched out Wrangler. Along those lines, Jeep's engineers could make a much better PEV if it didn't have to be a Wrangler too. The "requirement" for a grille cover for cold climates could probably be mitigated by a different nose/grille design, but besides the added cost, nobody would buy a "Wrangler" with a typical suv nose on it.

Everything I've seen says the 4xe is by FAR the best selling PEV in America. So I guess they are doing something right. Of course, just like with the Gladiators here, it's much more common for people to post complaints. When things are working fine, they don't come here every day to post "Nothing went wrong or broke today, goodnite!". They complain LOUDLY when something goes wrong though, and when you sell more of any widget than to competition, there are probably going to be more online complaints about your widget as well. It's the nature of the beast.

 

[WILDHOBO]

The problem isn't so much bad engineering. The problem with the 4xe is essentially the same as with the Gladiator in general, and especially the diesel Gladiator.
It's relatively easy to design a PEV, a diesel, or a truck when you are not constrained by 80yr old aesthetics and the physical limitations imposed by that and it's modern interpretation. Consumers want Wranglers to be things the Wrangler was never meant to be. The gas Gladiator gets off fairly easy with simply larger but visually similar grille openings. But the truth is it's impossible to cool a TD engine to get it's full potential while still working within the confines of the Wrangler/Gladiator nose, and it's impossible to get the TD's towing potential while still working within the confines of slightly stretched out Wrangler. Along those lines, Jeep's engineers could make a much better PEV if it didn't have to be a Wrangler too. The "requirement" for a grille cover for cold climates could probably be mitigated by a different nose/grille design, but besides the added cost, nobody would buy a "Wrangler" with a typical suv nose on it.

Everything I've seen says the 4xe is by FAR the best selling PEV in America. So I guess they are doing something right. Of course, just like with the Gladiators here, it's much more common for people to post complaints. When things are working fine, they don't come here every day to post "Nothing went wrong or broke today, goodnite!". They complain LOUDLY when something goes wrong though, and when you sell more of any widget than to competition, there are probably going to be more online complaints about your widget as well. It's the nature of the beast.

Per your political screen name, and the fact that you don’t probably own one, I’ll ignore your made up ramblings.

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