Normal Driving Habits - Longevity - Diesel

[ajkaz]

Many of the posts I read from different groups state that this truck should be driven hard for long miles. That's what it was designed for. They state that it shouldn't be used for short trips to get groceries or turned off and on multiple times as if running errands.

I read the owners manual, nothing alludes to this, are these facts or old school mentality opinions?

I work from home a few days a week, so it may see a 90 second warmup, 10 minute trip to the gym, then 10 mins home a couple days a week. Other times I'm taking hour long drives or more at 80+ freeway speeds. I downsized from a SUV, A JKU & a JK to just the Gladiator as it seemed to be able to handle all of the tasks needed from the 3 vehicles I had, so its definitely my daily driver and will continue to be.

Just went through my first tank of DEF at 2400 miles, seemed low, but maybe it was not full to begin with or the break in required more fluid than normal.

Stock 2022 Diesel Rubicon. Knock on wood, no bad experiences with the truck at all yet. It even came from the factory already updated with the new shocks and bumps from the bottoming out TSB.

Thoughts or experiences?

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[Wageslave]

I think the main concern is your DPF getting clogged up from not having enough time to get up to temperature and clean itself out. If it cant clean itself out naturally, it will go into a regen state where it will put some extra diesel into the exhaust stream (i think) to help burn the carbon and soot out. If you don't allow the regens to complete when the dash prompts you to keep the engine running, you can potentially plug it up bad enough where the dealer has to fix it, which can get expensive quickly.

A periodic long drive at interstate speeds or a little bit of towing that brings the exhaust temps up should be enough to keep all that from becoming a problem, hence why everyone says it is best to work them hard or at least avoid exclusively in-town driving.

I live 15 miles from anywhere and tow frequently so I live in the best use case for this engine, but I haven't had any serious problems other than a wire for the DEF sensor getting onto the exhaust manifold and melting.

 

[@californiajeeping]

You will have no issues until high mileage when the EGR causes soot build up in the intake manifold and heads.

That said around 80% dpf soot loading will cause passive regen. If you never hit the highway then passive wont lower the soot load and youll go into active regen which cannot be interrupted.

If you are constantly in active regen this can be harder on the motor as more fuel is burned and if it doesnt lower the soot load it will not restart and throw CEL's.

Thats kinda all you have to worry about most of the time it will passive regen and mine for example goes from 80 to 10% in about 30 minutes of cruising.

 

[staying_tuned]

With diesel, and this being my first, I lean hard on gleaning as much old school input as possible. Been in FI cars since I could cut a decent 60’ and even with gas, I wouldn’t take 10 min trips with a blower or turbo based car if I could help it. Pushing 25k in my 21’ EcoD, much in extremes (live in Poconos, trip to TX, trip to FL, headed to WY in two weeks) and zero issues outside of a rear axle leak that seems to plague the entire lineup. I run just the minimum dose of hotshots EDT and flip-flop between premium DEF and regular. Oil doesn’t go past 6k miles and I changed my fuel filter right at 20k.

 

[Jefe1018]

I am expecting to have very few issues in the first 100,000 miles. Why? That's how long the powertrain warranty lasts. I'm at 10,000+ trouble free miles.

I drive similar to you on the day to day basis - a lot of stop and go traffic, I'm only 2 miles from work and 2 miles from the gym (places I frequent the most I suppose during the week).

On weekends however, I drive out to trails. I've driven to Texas and back from Las Vegas with a boat in tow. This past weekend I just loaded 5,000lbs worth of sand onto my trailer and drove it 30 miles on the freeway (60 miles round trip but half of it was empty)... no issues!

The truck doesn't need to be driven hard, just long enough that the DPF can heat up enough to burn up the soot. As long as you don't just go to work and the gym and never let it open up, you should be fine. Even then, you'll just get the truck to go into a regen at which point you'll have to take it onto the freeway and let the soot burn off.

 

[ajkaz]

You will have no issues until high mileage when the EGR causes soot build up in the intake manifold and heads.

That said around 80% dpf soot loading will cause passive regen. If you never hit the highway then passive wont lower the soot load and youll go into active regen which cannot be interrupted.

If you are constantly in active regen this can be harder on the motor as more fuel is burned and if it doesnt lower the soot load it will not restart and throw CEL's.

Thats kinda all you have to worry about most of the time it will passive regen and mine for example goes from 80 to 10% in about 30 minutes of cruising.

Interesting, how do you know the percentage of buildup? Mine has never stated its in a regen process as of yet. Definitely getting some highway miles and Ill have some miles with a few dirt bikes in the back up some long grades, excited to see how it pulls up those hills.

 

[Synctheship]

Interesting, how do you know the percentage of buildup? Mine has never stated its in a regen process as of yet. Definitely getting some highway miles and Ill have some miles with a few dirt bikes in the back up some long grades, excited to see how it pulls up those hills.

Any OBD2 scanner will tell you soot %, they will also tell you if you are in a passive or active regen along with whether you are dosing def or not.

The dash warnings start at 80% soot, it will ask you to maintain speed and keep driving. Typically this means it's attempting to do an active regen. Depending on speed and load these can finish within 10mins, but I've been stuck in stop and go traffic during one and it finished just fine(took longer probably closer to 25-30mins and likely used more diesel & def).

I dislike all the FUD around short trips and the 3L JT, it almost scared me away when ordering. But it's really not much to be afraid of, just follow what the truck asks you to do and you should be fine. Are longer trips better? Sure, but highway miles are better in general than city/stop & go miles. It's not like you are going to grenade the motor by driving it around town like some diesel naysayers claim.

 

[@californiajeeping]

Interesting, how do you know the percentage of buildup? Mine has never stated its in a regen process as of yet. Definitely getting some highway miles and Ill have some miles with a few dirt bikes in the back up some long grades, excited to see how it pulls up those hills.

I have a banks derringer to monitor. It can also force a regen in an emergency if needed.

Ive been monitoring the DPF soot load and how the system works for fun.

 

[bl1ndman]

Short trips where engine never gets upto operating temps is not good for any engine gas or diesel. When an engine is cold it runs rich, some of the fuel makes it past the piston rings and into the oil. All engines need regular trips into operating temps to evaporate that fuel. Modern diesels just need a little longer at temp to for the regen.

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