Engine studder and thottle lag anyone else having this issue

[jeepthang]

I’ve been ranting about this for months. No fix from FCA, so I put my Jeep up for sale because of it. For me, it takes away the pleasure of driving my wrangler.

I agree. I suppose we are some of the unlucky few that is dealing with this. Of coarse the issue could "not be replicated" at my previous three appointments...

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[Jeepcity]

At operating temp ,in neutral, i can slowly press on throttle peddle and it will jump from 600 to 1200 rpm . I cannot get it to stay at any rpm between those two numbers. The same on the way down .Curious what other people find.

 

[Litfuse]

I agree. I suppose we are some of the unlucky few that is dealing with this. Of coarse the issue could "not be replicated" at my previous three appointments...

I don’t think we are the unlucky few. I think we are the ones that notice it. The dealer can’t replicate anything because it is operating as designed. The problem is, the design sucks.

 

[LunchBoxFab]

At operating temp ,in neutral, i can slowly press on throttle peddle and it will jump from 600 to 1200 rpm . I cannot get it to stay at any rpm between those two numbers. The same on the way down .Curious what other people find.

this is exactly my problem as well. I have not been able to re-produce in neutral, but under load, it will most definitely lug and jump, lug and jump back up. like a very poorly tuned PID loop.

not quite sure what to do here

id like to add here that i added an iDrive pedal tuner module, and it did not help this situation. it makes the jeep more responsive, so youre out of that dead band earlier and easier, but the weird lugging is definitely still there.

 

[Litfuse]

this is exactly my problem as well. I have not been able to re-produce in neutral, but under load, it will most definitely lug and jump, lug and jump back up. like a very poorly tuned PID loop.

not quite sure what to do here

id like to add here that i added an iDrive pedal tuner module, and it did not help this situation. it makes the jeep more responsive, so youre out of that dead band earlier and easier, but the weird lugging is definitely still there.

I appreciate you sharing your experience. The oem tune upsets me as well and I was thinking about getting a pedal commander. I knew it would not correct the situation with the hesitation, but at least mask it. If you were to do it all over again, would you still by the idrive? I’m on the fence about getting a throttle calibration device. Don’t want to waste the money.

 

[LunchBoxFab]

I appreciate you sharing your experience. The oem tune upsets me as well and I was thinking about getting a pedal commander. I knew it would not correct the situation with the hesitation, but at least mask it. If you were to do it all over again, would you still by the idrive? I’m on the fence about getting a throttle calibration device. Don’t want to waste the money.

I only have 20 miles on it, so I can’t tell you it’s worthless yet, but it definitely didn’t fix the surging/lugging I bought it to attempt to fix. It does even out the acceleration well. I’ll try to report back if I keep it.

 

[Ronnie S]

I only have 20 miles on it, so I can’t tell you it’s worthless yet, but it definitely didn’t fix the surging/lugging I bought it to attempt to fix. It does even out the acceleration well. I’ll try to report back if I keep it.

Any updates on the pedal commander fixing the surging / lugging?

 

[LunchBoxFab]

Any updates on the pedal commander fixing the surging / lugging?

it doesnt. it does a good job masking the issue with much better pedal response.

but if you put it under load, you can hear the engine hunt for RPM like a cammed out LSX. it will hunt up and down, 900-500RPM and if you try to engage the clutch during one of the low points, it will stall.

this motor has not sub1000 RPM ass, and that aint helping either. i really need to capture the lugging on film, then have a discussion with my not-so-friendly dealership.

 

[MadDog27]

My jeep didnt studder or whatnot when i bought it but it seemed to start after i did the superchips tire size change. I also left the gateway plugged in instead of putting it back. So, im going to start by plugging in those 2 plugs to see if it gets better. Then i may put it back to stock to see if it again, gets better. Will hopefully narrow this down to see why it is doing this when it wasnt when new.

 

[LunchBoxFab]

My jeep didnt studder or whatnot when i bought it but it seemed to start after i did the superchips tire size change. I also left the gateway plugged in instead of putting it back. So, im going to start by plugging in those 2 plugs to see if it gets better. Then i may put it back to stock to see if it again, gets better. Will hopefully narrow this down to see why it is doing this when it wasnt when new.

wait, that gateway was supposed to be pulled back off? i'm still running mine in there too. man i hope this issue is that easy

 

[MadDog27]

I believe you can leave it there but Im just curious if its causing the issue. I guess cause I really have no idea what the plugs actually do. I just wonder if it would solve my issues since I loved the way it pulled and drove before I did the tire size update with my superchips.

Mainly curious if itll drive dfferent. Ill put it back to stock too, and see if that does anything to the studder thing it does.

 

[Ronnie S]

At what speeds are you guys noticing your stutter? Mines always at 42-43 mph. Almost like it's on ice for a second. Just something weird with it holding steady speed at that speed. It's def wierd and irritating.

 

[Ronnie S]

My jeep didnt studder or whatnot when i bought it but it seemed to start after i did the superchips tire size change. I also left the gateway plugged in instead of putting it back. So, im going to start by plugging in those 2 plugs to see if it gets better. Then i may put it back to stock to see if it again, gets better. Will hopefully narrow this down to see why it is doing this when it wasnt when new.

Any updates?

 

[InvertedLogic]

I decided to day to fill up with Premium gas. The stutter seems to always come during and upshift. Sometimes it happens to quickly and almost skips a gear...other times it just stutters not knowing what to do. Mostly under 2000 rpm and usually 2nd and 3rd gear for me.

What I found interesting was with this tank of Premium (Chevron is what I use) all my shift points changed. Its normally difficult for me to get into 8th gear on certain parts of the 10 freeway where there is a slight incline and my RPMS might be under 2000. Well, with Premium, the stutter was reduced drastically and my shift points changed so that it managed to get into 8th gear with ease. Because of that, my mpg went up drastically. The typical stutter between 2nd and 3rd for the most part vanished.

The only thing I can think of at the moment is that the regular gas might have been causing knocking and the computer sensed and modified the shifting or even got confused when to shift. I certainly don't want to be putting Premium in so I am hoping tuning will solve this.

I noticed something similar. Here in CO our "Regular" is 85oct, "Midgrade" is 87oct, and "Premium" is 91oct. When I first got my Jeep I was putting in 85 and noticed some of the lugging and it felt like the motor was pulling timing constantly. I went on a road trip to NM and barely saw 8th gear, but I assumed it was just wind resistance at 80mph. I then filled it with 87oct and noticed smoother power, different shift points (seems to shift sooner), and cruising in 8th unless I am going up a hill.

I can't speak with certainty about the mpg change since it's conflated with the break-in period. But I did see a jump from mid-teens average to 19mpg combined.

Everyone says that at altitude you don't need as high of octane. I bet that was true with carbed engines without active fuel control. Modern PCMs shoot for a specific AFR and will adjust accordingly and assume that they have a certain fuel. When it detects knock, it will pull timing, then try to add it back in. If it continues to detect knock, it will permanently adjust the fuel table to have less timing in that spot.

All that to say, I'm putting in the user manual recommended 87oct whenever I can, regardless of altitude

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