“Service Axle Locker System” Light On

[plex]

So almost 3 years later, we still can't purchase the sensor alone, and if claiming warranty the dealer will just swap the whole axle?

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[plex]

Sadly, if they made this $2 part available, they could replace it for you and have a very happy customer rather than leave you with a bad taste in your mouth over the voiding of warranty like that.

It's just not smart business on several levels.

Instead it becomes a lose - lose situation. Customer lose money to fix by himself, Jeep lose money on an entirely new axle even at cost, dealership has to swap the axle which probably takes 3-4 hours at minimum while FCA pays half rates.

 

[overboosted]

My 2021 Rubi had the flashing light and service axle lockers message (I think it said rear?) last week when I used 4WD. I checked and the plug in the rear end is plugged in tight so it's not a loose plug as it was for someone else here. I hadn't used 4WD for 6+ months, but back then everything was fine.

 

[BadA$$Rubi]

My 2021 Rubi had the flashing light and service axle lockers message (I think it said rear?) last week when I used 4WD. I checked and the plug in the rear end is plugged in tight so it's not a loose plug as it was for someone else here. I hadn't used 4WD for 6+ months, but back then everything was fine.

Pot your locker sensors gentlemen before it’s too late. Just did mine yesterday and as I read your posts, I’m glad I did.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/locker-position-sensor-potting-dana-44.59581/

 

[falcon241073]

Well I can tell you mine is doing it. Haven't gotten the service axle locker message yet but I have the dreaded flashing rear locker light

Guess I’ll order some potting solution.

 

[DanW]

I stopped today to check on the progress of my ring/pinion swap and had a chance to look at the locker position sensors, front and rear. No evidence of oil in them at all. I'm still going to pot them at some point, but I'm feeling pretty good about them since they appear to be fine after 3.7 years and 48k miles.

I still can't understand, for the life of me, why they can't offer this simple little thing as a replacement part.

@JeepCares, there have been multiple threads on this over 3 years on both this and the Gladiator forum. I'm not understanding why Stellantis can't identify this issue and realize their warranty coverage costs can be significantly reduced by offering this as a replacement part. Has this been pushed up the chain so they can stop replacing entire axle assemblies? They could do like they do with plastic fasteners and mark them up to a ridiculous price and people would happily pay for them when needed.

When my father was an engineer for GM, he was in cost reduction for awhile. He led several programs for employee suggestions to reduce costs and increase efficiency and when someone came up with something that actually worked (which happened often), that employee would get a cash bonus sized in relation to the amount it saved the company over a given time period. I'm offering this one up for free. No cash required. Free as the air we breathe.

Please let us know how this can be forwarded to the right people. I think it would literally save Jeep hundreds of thousands of dollars, or maybe more, depending on how widespread the problem is.

 

[Stefano5777]

Well 14 month and 15k miles and my rear locker shows always locked even in 2wd. I was on the highway driving at 75ish mph in 2wd when the light came on. Made for a long much slower drive home but made it with no issues other than the light. Took it to the dealership the other day and they replaced transfer case switch and it did not fix problem so they said they needed to replace rear axle as it is a nonserviceable part. When I inquired about me 5.13 gears the dealer stated they were unaware I had changed the gears and my warranty was voided. So when I questioned them, I was given jeep customer care number. When I spoke with jeep customer care they stated it was something that needed to be addressed with dealership and regional manager. So I have a broken Jeep apparently without warranty and no answer if repairs will be completed. Any help from forum attorneys will be appreciated

 

[DanW]

Well 14 month and 15k miles and my rear locker shows always locked even in 2wd. I was on the highway driving at 75ish mph in 2wd when the light came on. Made for a long much slower drive home but made it with no issues other than the light. Took it to the dealership the other day and they replaced transfer case switch and it did not fix problem so they said they needed to replace rear axle as it is a nonserviceable part. When I inquired about me 5.13 gears the dealer stated they were unaware I had changed the gears and my warranty was voided. So when I questioned them, I was given jeep customer care number. When I spoke with jeep customer care they stated it was something that needed to be addressed with dealership and regional manager. So I have a broken Jeep apparently without warranty and no answer if repairs will be completed. Any help from forum attorneys will be appreciated

Buy the ZAutomotive bypass cable for $170 and it will hopefully solve the issue and you can avoid the mess

 

[Stefano5777]

Well 14 month and 15k miles and my rear locker shows always locked even in 2wd. I was on the highway driving at 75ish mph in 2wd when the light came on. Made for a long much slower drive home but made it with no issues other than the light. Took it to the dealership the other day and they replaced transfer case switch and it did not fix problem so they said they needed to replace rear axle as it is a nonserviceable part. When I inquired about me 5.13 gears the dealer stated they were unaware I had changed the gears and my warranty was voided. So when I questioned them, I was given jeep customer care number. When I spoke with jeep customer care they stated it was something that needed to be addressed with dealership and regional manager. So I have a broken Jeep apparently without warranty and no answer if repairs will be completed. Any help from forum attorneys will be appreciated

So I installed the Zautomotive elocker bypass and it appears to have resolved my issue!

 

[MJHuber]

I stopped today to check on the progress of my ring/pinion swap and had a chance to look at the locker position sensors, front and rear. No evidence of oil in them at all. I'm still going to pot them at some point, but I'm feeling pretty good about them since they appear to be fine after 3.7 years and 48k miles.

I still can't understand, for the life of me, why they can't offer this simple little thing as a replacement part.

@JeepCares, there have been multiple threads on this over 3 years on both this and the Gladiator forum. I'm not understanding why Stellantis can't identify this issue and realize their warranty coverage costs can be significantly reduced by offering this as a replacement part. Has this been pushed up the chain so they can stop replacing entire axle assemblies? They could do like they do with plastic fasteners and mark them up to a ridiculous price and people would happily pay for them when needed.

When my father was an engineer for GM, he was in cost reduction for awhile. He led several programs for employee suggestions to reduce costs and increase efficiency and when someone came up with something that actually worked (which happened often), that employee would get a cash bonus sized in relation to the amount it saved the company over a given time period. I'm offering this one up for free. No cash required. Free as the air we breathe.

Please let us know how this can be forwarded to the right people. I think it would literally save Jeep hundreds of thousands of dollars, or maybe more, depending on how widespread the problem is.

Hi DanW, did you ever receive a response from @JeepCares? I wonder when they will do the right thing and fix this issue so it doesn't become our problem once the warranty is expired.

 

[DanW]

Hi DanW, did you ever receive a response from @JeepCares? I wonder when they will do the right thing and fix this issue so it doesn't become our problem once the warranty is expired.

Nope. Honestly, I was not expecting any breakthroughs. What I'm hoping is that they transmit this problem and concern back up the chain. While the published part of their job is to facilitate help with issues, I suspect they also are to listen and pick up on trending customer concerns. If I were in the appropriate position in Stellantis, that is exactly the secondary role @JeepCares would have. It only makes sense, because they hear and see much on these forums. They could pick up on issues before they go viral. But it also just makes sense to hear what customers are saying, which is not easy for a multibillion dollar large manufacturing corporation of any kind to do.

Ford has somehow heard the early Bronco owners about the whistling sound on the highway and are working on a fix. If they haven't already, Jeep could learn from that. Of course, early in production with any vehicle, OEMs generally pay much closer attention than they do a few model years in. Unfortunate, but that's the norm.

In the meantime, I've got my Zauto harness packed in my Jeep with the hope it will do nothing more than collect dust.

 

[DanW]

I just sent a message to a friend who might be able to go around the bureaucracy and get this issue to the right ears at Stellantis. Or, he might be inclined to source the part himself and offer it as an accessory, if he's so inclined. He's an entrepreneur as well as a powertrain engineer. I'll let you know when I hear back from him.

This is just low hanging fruit for Stellantis to save a boat load of money and then turn around and make a bunch at the parts counter. I just can't understand how they have not picked up on this.

 

[mgroeger]

My Jeep has now developed this problem. I have a Zautomotive harness on order but a couple of times on my way home I heard a banging sound in the rear like I had run over a small pothole. Was this the lockers trying to engage, and if I unplug the harness until the Zautomotive clip gets here do I run the risk of getting contaminants into my axle? Should I try to seal the hole? Thanks!

Don't know if that was teh locker trying to engage or not but go ahead and unplug it and simply take a piece of duct tape and seal the plug and cap off.

 

[MJHuber]

I just sent a message to a friend who might be able to go around the bureaucracy and get this issue to the right ears at Stellantis. Or, he might be inclined to source the part himself and offer it as an accessory, if he's so inclined. He's an entrepreneur as well as a powertrain engineer. I'll let you know when I hear back from him.

This is just low hanging fruit for Stellantis to save a boat load of money and then turn around and make a bunch at the parts counter. I just can't understand how they have not picked up on this.

Oh I would imagine they are well aware of the issue. It's pretty disappointing how @JeepCares is clearly ignoring this issue but yet they reply to others.

 

[MojitoJLUR]

Just a FYI in case anyone else runs across this....

I was about to take my jeep into the dealer because I thought the tazer harness didn't work for me. I put my tazer mini into rear only for lockers and still had the error so I was convinced it was the rear. Well, I thought for shits and giggles, I'd try to put it on the front before taking it in. It worked! So having the jeep think it only has a rear locker only with the tazer does NOT remove the service 4wd message if it's the front still. Super excited to have my lockers back!

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