Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel Summit Series ----- Seized Engine

[Eric Popper]

So the car that I bragged about earlier this year on this forum made it exactly 17,248 miles before the engine ate itself and seized.

I was driving on the highway yesterday and noticed a clicking noise that sounded like a rock in the tire. The noise frequency varied with the speed of the car. This lasted about 2 or 3 minutes before I reached my exit. As I approached the stop light at the top of the exit ramp, the engine bogged down, made some nasty noises, and then stopped. Two attempts two restart it told me all I needed to know as the grinding and clanging was significant.

There was no other warning of impending failure. All temps normal before and after event and never got any OBC warnings.

The car is currently at a dealer. I looks like it will need a new engine. My preference would just be to get a replacement new car.....

Eric

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Diesel with 17,248 miles......

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Omg! I hope the dealer treats you well.

 

[Higgy]

That's a real drag, man. At least it's under warranty, right?

A wise old man I used to work with... owned a jeep cherokee... and he once said to me...
"They say there is only one Jeep. They must be right, because it's the only one I'll ever @$!#in own!"

 

[Scottintexas]

that stinks, I've really been thinking about either a ram 1500 or GC summit with the ecodiesel I really want to trust that it will work and that every mfg has failures and you hear more horror stories on the internet (just like with jet boats) but I just can't get myself to buy it. I've been reading the ram1500diesel forum and it seems the latest issue is the oil coolers but they have had their share of internal failures also, I hope it's a quick turn around but I've heard the blocks/engines are in short supply so be ready for 2-3 month ordeal,

I have a customer that I just met last month that has one with 30k miles and loves it, no problems at all, so far,

 

[Eric Popper]

So far, no problems from dealership. They have already committed to a long term loaner and a new engine. The only battle so far has been how I am supposed to get 25 miles from my house to the dealership to get the loaner. My wife is driving me tomorrow after morning swim team meet.

I have notified Jeep of North America of the situation. My position is that I paid a premium for their top end car (bought it used with 5K miles from dealer) and now I am not confident driving it with my family on board. While I am still in shock from the surprise failure, I am not sure what they can do to make me happy at this point.

This Jeep is my second one. The first was a diesel Liberty that I drove to 130K miles and sold to the neighborhood landscaper. It was still going strong...

Eric

 

[Eric Popper]

that stinks, I've really been thinking about either a ram 1500 or GC summit with the ecodiesel I really want to trust that it will work and that every mfg has failures and you hear more horror stories on the internet (just like with jet boats) but I just can't get myself to buy it. I've been reading the ram1500diesel forum and it seems the latest issue is the oil coolers but they have had their share of internal failures also, I hope it's a quick turn around but I've heard the blocks/engines are in short supply so be ready for 2-3 month ordeal,

I have a customer that I just met last month that has one with 30k miles and loves it, no problems at all, so far,

Up until the exit ramp in Rosemont, IL yesterday, I was in love with the car. I've owned several cars and aside from the first car I owned in high school (Mazda 626) I haven't loved any of them like this one....

Eric

 

[Eric Popper]

And it does (did) a great job towing the Yamaha!

Eric

 

[Bruce]

Sorry to hear this.

I had my sights set on an eco diesel 1500 until the terrible payload and tow numbers were released.

Now that fuel prices are down I am perfectly happy to keep feeding the 6.2 liter beast under my current hood.

 

[veedubtek]

I had a bunch of dumb check engine light problems with mine the first 1,000 miles. The last 6,000 have been problem free. Until another manufacturer produces a 1/2 ton truck getting anywhere near this mileage, I'm not sure I could ever have something else. I'm actually planning on a new one next month. (Ram Ecodiesel - which I will also never likely own outside of warranty)

Edit - of course, I say that now, but if I get the cat I want I'll have to go 3/4 ton as the towing capacity is limited, especially when you have the 4 door. I can get 33mpg's out of this truck now though...it's just silly sometimes.

 

[subysti]

I've had 2 jeep grands Cherokees , a 2005 limited 5.7 hemi and 2007 overland 5.7 hemi. Nothing but problems with both of them and jeep didn't give a crap about it. We bought the 2nd jeep hoping the first one was just fluke but more of the same problems. Tons of engine issues,transmission and electrical problems. Just bought a 2015 Silverado high country and it gets a real 23 mpg on the highway. Best the jeep ever saw was 16.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

i own a 2004 Rubicon lifted 6.5" (i built it to handle like a stocker - not even the faintest wobble) with 80,000 miles that i bought in early 2012 and a 2005 Grand Cherokee Limited 5.7 with 111,000 miles that i bought in late 2013 and i love them both. i fully expect the TJ to outlive me and to run the WK for quite a few years before upgrading to a newer one. for Jeeps, the I6 and the 5.7 HEMI are the safe choices.
they're not without their issues, though, especially the WK: i've replaced the EGR Valve twice and just did an alternator swap on that 5.7 yesterday - the thermostat seal got brittle and leaked out coolant that eventually killed it. this may have attributed to it getting too hot, because i had to replace the plastic wire looms near there that got brittle and fell apart, leaving parts of the wire harness exposed to the heat. i still haven't bothered to take it in for the ignition recall - i'm not sure how people are banging these with their knee!? the axle lock will fritz-out a couple times a year, but that just requires a quick fuse pull to reset it. it's still a legendary American-made luxury off-road vehicle that i honestly enjoy owning.

unfortunately, both the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee are projected to make the Top 20 for the Car Complaint Index of 2015.
yeah, the most disappointing thing about Jeep: dropping the I-6 and turning the Wrangler into a soccer team hauling grocery-getter.

 

[PolarXJ]

I've been reading a lot about the Eco diesels as I have been considering one in a Ram. The oil cooler as mentioned above is a problem but not one that causes fast engine failures without showing signs during routine maintenance.

An issue that is becoming more common is one of the cam gears that is pressed onto the cam shaft is somehow coming loose from the cam and spinning freely leaving the cam itself no longer spinning, which obviously then leads to valves contacting pistons and all hell breaking loose.

There is theoretically a fix in the works for this problem but I haven't seen what it is yet. I hope it gets taken care of.

Keep us informed about what the cause was.

 

[Eric Popper]

The dealership called me on Friday and told me what I already knew. The car needs a new engine. Luckily, they are going to replace the whole engine assembly (not a build up). I still am not satisfied even though the warranty will cover all of this.

Apparently there is a defect with the main bearings on these things which is causing premature failures. The main bearing is lying in a pile of debris on the bottom of my oil pan.

The car is going to lose substantial value because of this and frankly, I don't know if I can trust it. These engines are not made to be replaced in the field and the complexity of this operation is enormous. I imagine that a torque value on step 103 of 2,000 will be overlooked and the car will be placed with intermittent problems for the rest of the time that I own it. Or maybe a wiring harness will get pinched causing some sort of electrical glitch?

I am working with the Jeep resolution team to see if there is an alternate solution but short of a new or similar condition car, I don't see reaching an agreement.

Eric

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Imho you are better off with a new engine or moving away from the brand.

 

[Big Shasta]

Junkyard engine from a wreck or a new crate engine?

 

[Eric Popper]

New engine but it sounds like there may not be much difference between that and a salvage one in quality....

E

 

[txav8r]

Sorry to hear of your engine issue @Eric Popper . I understand your lack of trust at this point. I think maybe we are all used to having vehicles that run trouble free for years and hundreds of thousands of miles. My motorhome, new to us last March, was dependable on three trips and then the big lake Powell trip it totally hosed us. My new to me diesel tow vehicle thread or my Lake Powell thread describe the ordeal, so I won't bore you with it here. But as a motorhome, the service facilities that work on them, are either RV centers and dealers, engine manufacturers representatives, or frame representatives. And all of them are much more expensive per hour than the car/truck dealers. Ironically, the Ram has the same engine I have in the coach, the Cummins ISB 6.7L 350HP Turbo Diesel. Now in the truck, the HP is different as is the ECM and the way the engine is set up, but it is the same basic engine. Mine is strapped to an Allison M3000 6 speed automatic however. On that trip, I had a check engine light that ended up needing a turbocharger speed sensor replaced, water pump replaced, EGR Valve replaced, EGR Cooler replaced, and about 5 other non engine items, for a total cost of around $7000. I had an expensive extended warranty that only paid about $3500 of that. I said I wouldn't bore you with my saga...sorry. But to justify doing it, I have come to the conclusion that diesel engine vehicles are amazing for what they can do. But my fear is that they are expensive, complicated beasts. And that they are good for trucking or those that start them and keep them going for thousands of miles without much rest. I think most of my problem is that it has sat too much in its 7 to 8 years of life. Right now, another glitch, literally on the way home from a 2 month stint at the dealer, to replace the second a/c unit and repair tow truck damage to my front lower shroud. It didn't take two months to do this work, hardly a week actually...but these RV dealers are at times worse than boat dealers...they work at their own speed and don't make reservations.

We decided against the JK that we were considering as a towed vehicle behind the coach and went with a V-6 AWD Chevy Equinox. I will hope that it holds up and makes my wife a good daily driver as well as a great vehicle to see the country on our motorhome excursions...if we keep it. Good luck on the engine swap, and hoping this new engine will give you hundreds of thousands of miles of trouble free service!

 

[Eric Popper]

I hope that the engine swap does the trick too! We shouldn't be having this conversation and the dealer's comments about systemic problems doesn't give me comfort.

That being said, Jeep has been courteous and stand-up so far about the warranty and not questioned any blame (there is none on my end). I just hope we can reach an agreement on how they can go above and beyond to make the story have a happy ending...

Eric

 

[Scottintexas]

I don't quite understand it, reading on the ram1500diesel forum they are having problems with the internals on '14's but that seems to have gone away with the '15 models, not that it's a year specific issue but at some point somebody noticed Luigi was drunk on the assembly line half the time and they have finally fixed it.

I would certainly understand if this was a new engine but it seems it's been used in Europe for quite a while now without these internal issues.

Maybe you can ask to trade it in right now on a new model. I understand it's taking the truck guys at least a month to get an engine to replace it.

 

[Eric Popper]

I'm told that the engine assembly is available within a few days but it's the ancillary parts that are delayed. Apparently, there are many one-time use parts that must be changed with the engine including bolts, hoses, and other sub-assemblies. Some of these are delayed indefinitely.

The service manager is giving me updates every few days so I should know more tomorrow....

Eric