Service DEF system see dealer warning message

[Gmac03]

Wellll...there goes mine again. It had cleared itself a few weeks ago but it’s back on. Hopefully off to the dealer tonight to see what they can do.

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[Marinertom]

Finally got my truck back. Essentially nothing can be done now. They said check back in before next winter. Hopefully they will have redesigned the DEF system for cold weather.
My plan is to keep truck in garage. If it is below 30°F run for at least 15 min. If below 11°F run for 30min. If below 0°F run for an hour. This should work with how the heating elements are designed to operating. Allowing the system to thaw out. I hitch for me once the DEF system thaws out the CEL can be cleared and system won’t throw CEL while operating.

Best of luck to everyone. Keep an eye out for the update before next winter

 

[stickshifter]

Finally got my truck back. Essentially nothing can be done now. They said check back in before next winter. Hopefully they will have redesigned the DEF system for cold weather.
My plan is to keep truck in garage. If it is below 30°F run for at least 15 min. If below 11°F run for 30min. If below 0°F run for an hour. This should work with how the heating elements are designed to operating. Allowing the system to thaw out. I hitch for me once the DEF system thaws out the CEL can be cleared and system won’t throw CEL while operating.

Best of luck to everyone. Keep an eye out for the update before next winter

Sorry - didn’t review the whole thread - were these service techs who told you this? This is a deal breaker for me, at least for model year 2021. It is below -10 F where I live nearly every morning for three months. Sometimes below -20. Most of my trips are less than an hour. I know DEF freezes below 12 F (give or take a degree), but I didn’t think it would be this much of a problem. I see a ton of ungaraged HD diesel trucks in northern Alaska - do they have a better system?

 

[iadslgladiator]

doesn't a defect like that fall under the lemon law statute or something? i just can't wrap my brain around the dealers and FCA telling you guys "sorry, no fix, just drive it till you have more problems or end up stranded". not totally sure what i would do but i don't think it would be a very pleasant experience for anybody involved.

i feel incredibly fortunate the dealer replaced components and got mine operating properly......at least for now.

 

[iadslgladiator]

i'm sure asking this is probably frowned upon but.........are there any programmers out there that can offer a "simple" DEF bypass or programming patch/solution since FCA doesn't seem capable of creating a solution?

 

[lrtexasman]

i'm sure asking this is probably frowned upon but.........are there any programmers out there that can offer a "simple" DEF bypass or programming patch/solution since FCA doesn't seem capable of creating a solution?

The govt fines for altering the DEF system can be very steep. No one in the US does it commercially for non off-road vehicles.

 

[JeepGuy82]

Does anyone know if this is happening with the Wrangler's too?

 

[iadslgladiator]

Somebody posted a message several days ago saying the JL guys didn't seem to be having as many issues

 

[staying_tuned]

i'm sure asking this is probably frowned upon but.........are there any programmers out there that can offer a "simple" DEF bypass or programming patch/solution since FCA doesn't seem capable of creating a solution?

While on the gas/diesel fence I contacted a few of the popular tuners in CA along with the emissions compliant folks at GDE. GDE’s tune will be ready in the spring. It’s my understanding that theirs is entirely removable and based on their reputation and OCD levels of thoroughness, I doubt they’d let it roll out without throwing a bone for folks in colder climates to get this fixed.

 

[iadslgladiator]

If anybody from jeep actually reads these things,

Why arent the def heaters tied into the block heater, meaning when you plug it in the heaters would warm the def system along with the block/oil/coolant preventing the shit from freezing in the first place?

While I am at it.......another official complaint, not including the cord for the block heater as standard equipment is BS. Per the temp guidelines in the manual every region of the country needed to use it at some point this year.

 

[staying_tuned]

The folks at Tazer seem to have pretty solid control integration with the electrical systems give what the JL mini can do. I bet they could tweak it so that the DEF heater kicks on any time the block heater is on. Or perhaps guide us on how we can tap into it with an auxiliary switch to turn it on manually.

 

[staying_tuned]

Call me a glutton for punishment. I reached out to Daniel at Gupton to see what’s entailed with me swapping back to the Willy’s diesel I had originally specc’d vs the Mojave that I ended up ordering. VIN is less than a week old, got it 48 hours after ordering but we’ll see.

This seems to be the biggest issue so far on Gen 3 and if it boils down to figuring out a clever way to get around this issue, that’s ok.

All your initial reports spooked me but man I want the diesel.

 

[iadslgladiator]

Call me a glutton for punishment. I reached out to Daniel at Gupton to see what’s entailed with me swapping back to the Willy’s diesel I had originally specc’d vs the Mojave that I ended up ordering. VIN is less than a week old, got it 48 hours after ordering but we’ll see.

This seems to be the biggest issue so far on Gen 3 and if it boils down to figuring out a clever way to get around this issue, that’s ok.

All your initial reports spooked me but man I want the diesel.

I have complained a lot on this thread but I can tell you every time I start mine it makes me smile and hitting the go pedal is pure joy!

 

[BEERviper]

if it gives anyone a feeling of solace I have just over 2000 miles on my diesel now, I just got back from four days in Texas during the coldest spell they’ve had in 20 years and my JTD sat outside every night at near zero temperatures. Every morning it started up without an issue, no block heater, no garage, no problem.

I live in Colorado however my JT stays garaged every night where it definitely stays above the DEF freezing point.

For reference my build started November 18 and was delivered on 1/9/21.

I feel like some prospective diesel buyers come into this thread and are scared out of their wits to buy one, so I just want to add in here as a diesel owner that this doesn't happen across every diesel JT.

Sorry the others in this thread are experiencing this issue.

 

[Baggsacker]

With the milder temperatures the past couple days, my 200 mile no start countdown timer has disappeared. I still have a check engine light so my remote start is disabled but at least it can be driven and not parked.