Opinion: Jeep Made A Massive Mistake By Giving Up On The Gladiator 4xe

[Cansberry]

I'm in the same boat. But I made the jump to a JL 4xe because it made more sense for my situation, and I could get it with ~$22k knocked off the price. And thinking on it, unless they were able to preserve towing and hauling capability of the JT (the main reason I'm missing mine) while increasing range, it wouldn't have been good. Hopefully this means they're taking the time to engineer a 2nd generation 4xe system that's more robust with greater ranges. Right around 75 would be golden, and an EREV vice PHEV would be perfect

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[Splenda]

Usually, the low MPG is due to the owner, not the truck.
A stock Overland could do 22-23, with A/T tires, 19-21
Not bad for a brick.
But add a lift, bigger tires, more weight, and it goes down from there.
A very heavy Mojave X still does in the 17s, not bad for a very capable but brick-shaped truck. I've seen mid 17s on mine when I get out of our hills and drive the speed limits.
If I left it 100% stock, I bet that would climb a bit, but I needed the power steps and use it for snow plowing in the winter, so it's hard to leave it stock. Still, not bad for a really heavy small truck that has fenders that act like sails as you drive down the highway. Those are huge air scoops sticking up there, don't fool yourself. You want articulation and fenders to clear the tires - you lose mpg.

Now for the rest of it - I was hoping for the 4xe to be a real thing. Yes, I would have taken a serious look, but only if it could have kept the towing and payload numbers I'm used to.
Love our JLU 4xe, but my wife hates the range of only up to 25 miles on battery.

I bought my 2024 Mojave brand new in September 2024. It managed to remain "stock" for a couple months. The best fuel mileage I saw while stock was 15.4 MPG, and I drive like an old man. I take off slow and when I am coming to a stop, I let off the gas very early and try to never use the brakes. Since then, I have done everything in my power to decrease the fuel mileage. Steel front bumper with winch, 3.5" lift, 37x13.5x17 tires with beadlock wheels, and half-height bed rack with full enclosure. With all of those changes, I consistently run 13.8 MPG. The fact that I have lost about 1.6 MPG or 30 miles per tank doesn't bother me at all. If the Gladiator had been available as a 4xe when I bought mine, I probably would not have bought one. My commute is 7 miles each way every day, and even with two trips to the mountains and two trips to Florida, I still only managed to put 9k miles on mine in a year. I'm sure the time will come when hybrids will make sense for me, but for now, the added complexity and potential for maintenance costs outweigh the small sacrifice in fuel economy.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I bought my 2024 Mojave brand new in September 2024. It managed to remain "stock" for a couple months. The best fuel mileage I saw while stock was 15.4 MPG, and I drive like an old man. I take off slow and when I am coming to a stop, I let off the gas very early and try to never use the brakes. Since then, I have done everything in my power to decrease the fuel mileage. Steel front bumper with winch, 3.5" lift, 37x13.5x17 tires with beadlock wheels, and half-height bed rack with full enclosure. With all of those changes, I consistently run 13.8 MPG. The fact that I have lost about 1.6 MPG or 30 miles per tank doesn't bother me at all. If the Gladiator had been available as a 4xe when I bought mine, I probably would not have bought one. My commute is 7 miles each way every day, and even with two trips to the mountains and two trips to Florida, I still only managed to put 9k miles on mine in a year. I'm sure the time will come when hybrids will make sense for me, but for now, the added complexity and potential for maintenance costs outweigh the small sacrifice in fuel economy.

Our 4xe was purchased in January 2023. So far, no maintenance costs and only 2 warranty issues. One could have been totally ignored (the blue lights in the dash that indicate charging progress -who cares!)

You will have battery issues with your JT with such short drives, and it's incredibly hard on the engine. Only 7 miles is almost abusive to a gas engine and won't keep batteries even close to charged - so run a battery tender, keep the batteries charged.
Actually, your situation is ideal for a PHEV - the ICE would rarely ever run.

I started with 16+ mpg on my Mojave X - a heavy JT and am now in the 17+ mpg with under 6,000 miles on it. I expect it to climb a bit more with time like my other two did. I can't complain for a very heavy truck standing up so high in the air.

 

[Splenda]

Our 4xe was purchased in January 2023. So far, no maintenance costs and only 2 warranty issues. One could have been totally ignored (the blue lights in the dash that indicate charging progress -who cares!)

You will have battery issues with your JT with such short drives, and it's incredibly hard on the engine. Only 7 miles is almost abusive to a gas engine and won't keep batteries even close to charged - so run a battery tender, keep the batteries charged.
Actually, your situation is ideal for a PHEV - the ICE would rarely ever run.

I started with 16+ mpg on my Mojave X - a heavy JT and am now in the 17+ mpg with under 6,000 miles on it. I expect it to climb a bit more with time like my other two did. I can't complain for a very heavy truck standing up so high in the air.

I charge my batteries about once a month.

 

[halsjeep]

Jeep made a massive mistake killing off the diesel. The diesel was everything the 4Xe would have been with none of the drawbacks.

Agreed. I love my diesel. I'm running 35s and still getting anywhere from 21-26mpg

 

[Splenda]

Jeep made a massive mistake killing off the diesel. The diesel was everything the 4Xe would have been with none of the drawbacks.

The only people who seem to feel this way are people who own a Jeep with a diesel. I think most truck buyers know that the diesel was a bit silly. The average truck owner who buys a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup with a diesel sees it as a tool. Those vehicles have payload and tow ratings that far exceed the 1/2 ton trucks, so the extra costs and complexity associated with buying a diesel are negated by the benefits of owning a diesel. In the case of the Gladiator, the diesel engine was so much heavier that payload and towing limits were actually less. The consequence was that the type of buyer who bought the diesel Gladiator was the same type of person who buys a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup with a diesel but has nothing to carry or tow. It's just a toy. That coupled with the fact that Stellantis chose an Italian-made diesel with a ton of issues only made matters worse, and the diesel Gladiator was short lived. As someone who has owned diesel trucks and has done countless 4 gallon oil changes and fuel filter changes and encountered many DPF issues, I can say that the average Jeep owner really does not want to deal with all that mess.

 

[AmosMoses]

You will have battery issues with your JT with such short drives, and it's incredibly hard on the engine. Only 7 miles is almost abusive to a gas engine and won't keep batteries even close to charged -

My commute is only 6 miles but my engine gets up to temp in that time and the transmission gets close to operating temp. I do believe its hard on batteries though.

 

[Splenda]

My commute is only 6 miles but my engine gets up to temp in that time and the transmission gets close to operating temp. I do believe its hard on batteries though.

Yeah, I agree with that assessment. Three of the miles are through town, then I get onto a two-lane road with a 55mph speed limit for four miles. I always get up to operating temps in the summer. I live in Southern Tennessee (20 miles from Alabama), so our winters are quite mild. Only on the coldest days do my engine temps not reach operating temps, and only when driving home. When leaving the house, the engine heats upo fast because it's already at 60 degrees or so from being in the garage overnight.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My commute is only 6 miles but my engine gets up to temp in that time

Only your coolant does. The whole engine isn't up to temp.
I can drive 10-15 miles and my transmission isn't up to full temperature, and the oil hasn't been warm very long.

You have to get the oil hot - and keep it there for several minutes to burn out fuel and water contamination. For me, that takes about a 30 minute drive.

Looking at the coolant and saying it's reached 190 isn't going to cut it. You should see how things build up with those short drives. I also have oil pans that rusted through from the inside - from short drives that didn't get the oil hot enough for long enough and acids form (which also etch bearings)

Yeah, I agree with that assessment. Three of the miles are through town, then I get onto a two-lane road with a 55mph speed limit for four miles. I always get up to operating temps in the summer.

So you see the coolant temp and believe the engine is hot enough to burn out fuel and water contamination?
I wish we had cell phones when I was doing rebuilds and trying to salvage engines that went through sub-10 mile drives almost their whole lives.

I drive 8 miles on backroads to get to the highway and then another 4 or 5 miles and I barely get everything hot enough to be satisfied the water and fuel is burned out of the oil.

 

[Splenda]

I went from a 70 mile each way commute to a 7 mile each way to commute. Something tells me my vehicle will last longer with my current commute. I guess I need to let the vehicle sit and warm up to 180 degrees before starting my drive.

 

[Splenda]

Only your coolant does. The whole engine isn't up to temp.
I can drive 10-15 miles and my transmission isn't up to full temperature, and the oil hasn't been warm very long.

You have to get the oil hot - and keep it there for several minutes to burn out fuel and water contamination. For me, that takes about a 30 minute drive.

Looking at the coolant and saying it's reached 190 isn't going to cut it. You should see how things build up with those short drives. I also have oil pans that rusted through from the inside - from short drives that didn't get the oil hot enough for long enough and acids form (which also etch bearings)



So you see the coolant temp and believe the engine is hot enough to burn out fuel and water contamination?
I wish we had cell phones when I was doing rebuilds and trying to salvage engines that went through sub-10 mile drives almost their whole lives.

I drive 8 miles on backroads to get to the highway and then another 4 or 5 miles and I barely get everything hot enough to be satisfied the water and fuel is burned out of the oil.

Out of curiosity, what oil temp, coolant temp, and transmission temp should I try to accomplish and for how long?

 

[Stan H]

Out of curiosity, what oil temp, coolant temp, and transmission temp should I try to accomplish and for how long?

According to sources who shall remain nameless the minimum is 10 miles the thermostat on these trucks doesn't open till like 210 degrees then will drop down to say 192-195 depending on speed etc. The transmission most operate in the 188-225 degree range . I drive 65 miles to work so I aint got nothing to sweat in that respect but if you're doing say 5 miles to and from work you're actually creating problems. Usually EGR , Map sensors , PCV Valves moisture is always present which must be as Papa said burnt out.

 

[Splenda]

According to sources who shall remain nameless the minimum is 10 miles the thermostat on these trucks doesn't open till like 210 degrees then will drop down to say 192-195 depending on speed etc. The transmission most operate in the 188-225 degree range . I drive 65 miles to work so I aint got nothing to sweat in that respect but if you're doing say 5 miles to and from work you're actually creating problems. Usually EGR , Map sensors , PCV Valves moisture is always present which must be as Papa said burnt out.

I just checked my Google Timeline, and my commute is actually 8 miles, not 7. I estimate that about 8 months out of the year, the thermostat opens during my commute. The other 4 months, I would have to let it warm up for the thermostat to ever open.

 

[Wildtoad]

I drive a good mix of local vs hiway miles and average 18-22 mpg in my ‘21 Gladiator. It’s my daily driver as well as my tow behind with my motorhome.

A 4xe has no value for me. Added weight , added complexity, added cost.

It was common sense for Jeep to stop the ridiculous hybrid pickup. I wonder if they will now discontinue the JL 4xe.

 

[Stan H]

I just checked my Google Timeline, and my commute is actually 8 miles, not 7. I estimate that about 8 months out of the year, the thermostat opens during my commute. The other 4 months, I would have to let it warm up for the thermostat to ever open.

As a General rule and I got 138K+ miles in mine if it is below 45 degrees I remote start my Jeep and let it run for at least 10-15min. I use the Jeep app to just start ut up the Key is in it . I get my coffee, tell my Dog good by snarle at the wife .the other FOB is hanging on my Key rack. I hit the unlock walk out jump in hit the start button aaaaand aaaaaaway we Go !! Yeah baby !!

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