new wk2 grand cherokee overland jeeps have sand driving problem
Submitted: Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 17:36
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member - mazcan
just been reading 4x4 australia,s October edition and was surprised after reading 2 letters to the "4x4forum "(bogged down 1 and 2) with-in the owners are trying to drive on the beach and the 4x4 terrain response systems are shutting down power to the front axles causing the overland jeeps to bog down and have to be towed back to hard ground
one owner called a tow truck for $350 cost and half way back the system rebooted apparently jeep USA have known about the problem for several months but according to the articles have done nothing about reprograming the software
my point of this thread is not to bag and bad mouth jeeps
but to WARN
any new jeep owners if they are off on a beach and/or
simpson desert trip or the like they may get into trouble in an isolated area
and have trouble getting back should this problem occur while in a sand driving situation
despite the jeep ads saying dont hold back it seems that owners may-
well have to do just that
until a remedy comes through from chrysler
the 4x4 editor has sent the letters to chrysler hoping for a reply
cheers
Reply By: Axle - Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 19:05
Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 19:05
Hi Mazcan, It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes manufactures to rectify a known problem, and its not only Jeep, that fall into this category.
Cheers Axle
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Follow Up By: Axle - Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 19:06
Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 19:06
LOL! x 2
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Reply By: graham B9 - Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 19:35
Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 at 19:35
Hi Mazcan,
I am not surprised at all. Not being critical of you post or 4x4 artical. Their job is to evaluate vehicles.
The Australian market in jeeps must be SO small compared to the world wide market and how many 4WD /SUV's are ever taken off road in the first place.
I live in New Jersey and Jeep is the most common single vehicle here because they are cheap and can drive them in the snow. Their market here must be thousands of times bigger than Australia and this is where they will be concentrating. Any manufacturer would do that.
If you are getting a jeep, I imagine that you would certainly appreciate knowing about this fault however.
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Reply By: Member - PJR (NSW) - Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 07:51
Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 07:51
This is type of thing that would worry me if I had ANY newish car with a similar computer based control system. Even our 2005 100 series could stop dead in the desert because a sensor stuffed up. And not because there was anything wrong with the car as a whole.
Oh for the simplicity of the old Kingswood. But then again it did not have 4WD. So we maintain the 100 as best we can and hope that we have enough beer to last until help arives.
Phil
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Follow Up By: Mudripper - Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 11:16
Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 11:16
"Oh for the simplicity of the old Kingswood."
That's why I'm sticking to my old 40 series...lol
Tim.
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Follow Up By: Member - Shane D (QLD) - Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 11:59
Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 11:59
Thats why i got a 105 slug and turbo-ed it, still simple, will sort of keep up but use more fuel, but basic AS
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Reply By: mikehzz - Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 07:53
Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 07:53
Normally with new fancy pants 4wd's you HAVE to turn the DSC (dynamic stability control) off on sand or it will cut power all the time when you most need it. Not just in Jeeps. The Jeep terrain response is a copy of the Land Rover one and even in sand mode it's DSC off for Land Rovers. It's not in the manual anywhere either, you learn from experience. I reckon the magazine dudes weren't aware of it.
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Follow Up By: member - mazcan - Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 11:17
Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 11:17
hi mike
i hear what your saying and maybe its as simple as that
but one owners on dash electronic imformation center gave a message that the vehicle needed servicing and within 5 seconds shut down the power drive system to the front wheels and the rear bogged down 3 or 4 other owners related the same problem while sand driving
why would'nt it just telll the driver to turn off the dsc and continue
if thats all it is
and why dont jeep america send this imfo through to the dealerships in aus instead of ignoring it as the report says the problem has existed for several months ????
i personelly dont know
my previous 1979 jeep 360 cu inch 5.9l rambler v8 quadra-trak was full time 4wd -low range was manually activated and could'nt be faulted
all these lazyman electronic systems might be great when they work
but your stuffed if they shut down
i dont own a jeep at the moment and i am only quoting from what was written in the letters to the october edition of 4x4 aust mag editor
by the owners
i'm not trying to second guess the situation just basing facts on the article imfo
chrysler isnt communicating with the owners that this problem exists or that they should'nt drive on sand or should turn off the dsc
after all these jeeps are suppose to be a go anywhere "dont hold back" 4x4 it will be interesting to see what comes from the probe by 4x4's editor to jeep
cheers barry
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Follow Up By: mikehzz - Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 20:30
Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 20:30
Couldn't agree more. I have a Land Rover (newer style all electrics and fluids) and a Jeep Grand (older style no electrics). They couldn't be more different off road and you have to learn how to drive each to get the best of them off the tar. I like both of them for different reasons and neither has let me down so far. :-) Not bad for the two most unreliable brands on the market. I prefer driving them than any of the Jap competitors though.
My bet is that the software upgrade for the WK2 will just turn the DSC off when sand is selected.
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