Jeep just gave us a new Jeep

We bought a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel in JAN2014. Absolutely loved the car. Off the road in Moab, Quartzite and south east AZ. We had no trouble keeping up with the Wranglers and Rubicons. The ride was great and we were consistently getting 25-28 mpg. However from new, the check engine light would come on which would mean a trip to the dealer. Turns out that the DEF feed system for the exhaust was always the cause. Jeep was good about attempting to correct the problem-they essentially replaced the entire DEF and exhaust system. This required 10 visits to the dealer over 14,000 miles. After#7 we got a nasty notice on the dash that we had 100 miles to get to the dealer or the engine would shut down. At this point, we asked for a replacement vehicle as the interval between Check Engine occurrences dropped to 200 miles. After visit #8 they called me and said they would allow us the full MSRP of our present vehicle toward a new one.

We really liked the vehicle we had, except for the trips to the dealer. We couldn't find a comparable one in stock around the Tucson area that a dealer would let us have as the exchange. During all this, the Jeep was driven 16,734 miles and towed behind our motor home from CA to AZ to Vancouver BC to PA to AZ and back to PA again. Thank goodness the majority of the dealer visits were with one dealer in Tucson.

Yesterday we dropped off the 2014 Grand Cherokee and picked up a new 2015 Grand Cherokee diesel. We could write a book on the details and dealer run arounds we had before settling and ordering and exact duplicate from the PA dealer where we had purchased 4 vehicles in the past. The Chrysler (Impartial Services Group) customer service lady who handled the paper work and co-ordination of the replacement was absolutely fabulous. She always sent emails and returned calls in a timely manner to keep us informed each step of the process.

Jeep may have finally got the problem fixed after 10 visits to the dealer. The old vehicle now has gone almost 2000 miles (not towed) since we left AZ without a Check Engine light coming on. It's going to auction and someone will probably get a good deal.

Will we buy another Jeep or Chrysler vehicle in the future? Yes we will!!

Congratulations Chet. Glad you got resolution to your satisfaction. I can't imagine all those dealer visits though.

Patience and perseverance...pays off, congratulations.

Great to see Jeep was willing to step up and do the right thing.

Well, Chet, that is just amazing!

My results on my 2014 GC diesel are almost identical to yours, including the trips to the dealer. We have 20,000 on ours, plus around 8,000 towed and have had the light on quite a few times. We just went into the dealer here in Petoskey for another pass.

The only time anything has been replaced on ours is the NoX sensor about 500 miles ago. We will be watching closely.

We were told when we were trying to get ours ordered last spring that there were some emission issues holding up production, but other than the check engine lights we have had zero complaints.

If they make me have another one, I bet I will!

Kim

I too had the problem with the check engine light on, with our 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel. It first came on last year for about two months and then mysteriously went out on its own. After a couple of months with the engine light not coming on, it mysteriously came on again, only this time it would not go out. When we got San Jose in January, we took it in to the dealer for service. They determined that it was a part related to the DEF and that it was on back order.  The only thing that wouldn't work with the light coming on, is that it wouldn't let me start the car remotely. As a person who loves gadgets this was really annoying.


Over three months later the part came in, and last month they replaced that part (not sure exactly what it was) and we have not had the problem since.  It appears they finally figured out how to fix this problem, at least for us. It's also a good thing we have been sitting in one place for a while, otherwise as RV full-timers I don't know how we would have been able to handle this.

We have sought out and used six different dealers in six states over the last year of ownership and have had excellent luck with them being responsive. They were all very sensitive to the customer service experience questionnaire and getting good grades.

They have all been considerate of the fact we were traveling through and expedited their service where needed, although we were not rushed in any of the stops.

I cannot speak to the experience of others, but I have very high regard for the Jeep dealers we have used. The fact that they all have a different view on the oil change interval (10,000 miles according to the book) makes me a bit nutty, however. That engine not having a long service experience, though, and unique to the Grand Cherokee would be part of that problem.

The only thing I'd trade mine for would be another one!

Kim

You know me Kim, so not surprised when I say I LOVE the gadgets. Especially coming from a 2001 Durango which had nice amenities for the time, but boy have they gotten better over the years. It is very comfortable to drive and has all the safety gadgets, sensors, adaptive cruise control, etc. etc. And being the sole vehicle, having two seat memories is a nice plus, even though it mysteriously loses the settings every so often. What's not to love?


The back-order of course was not the dealer's fault, but squarely with Chrysler, so I'm not exactly sure how it would have played out if we had to leave before the three month period was up for the part to come in the door. Would I get another Jeep despite my experiences? Yes!

We've got all of 500+ miles on the new Jeep. The dealer prep was perfect and the GC is preforming flawlessly. There is not a single thing that is out of order and everything is working exactly as it should. We leave PA this coming Friday for Glacier National Park and then WA and OR. We're looking forward to some off road miles and putting the Jeep through some rough roads in WY, MT and SD as we go west.

When I had the base plate (for towing behind our motorhome) installed, I noticed that there appears to be a lot more heat shield and sound deading material under the 2015 vs the 2014. Wife and I both agree that this vehicle is much quieter that the 2014. MPG for the first tank of fuel has been 21.8.

I'll comment again when we get more miles and some off road experiences with this 2015 GC diesel.

Chet,

Don't take too long as we will be moving in mid to late July.  Sold the house this weekend!  WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!