2.0L Engine Knock at 16,400 Miles

[JP28]

Over the years, I have had a few cars, new and used. I have had Ford, Chevy, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. So, in September of 2022, I decided to join the Jeep community and order a 2023 Jeep Wrangler, JLU Willys. It also happened to be the first time I have ordered a vehicle from the factory. My Jeep ended up arriving in November 2022. I was very excited to take delivery and experience what it is like to own and drive a Jeep Wrangler. It was a blast for the first 10,000 miles. Unfortunately my 2.0L turbo engine developed a very loud knocking/ticking sound every time it started and was driven after sitting for a while. This knocking was not present when I took delivery. Recently, I test drove a 2025 Jeep Wrangler, equipped with the same engine. It did not come close to sounding anything like what my engine sounds like now.

Since the knocking started around the 10,000 mile mark, I have taken the Jeep to two different dealerships, multiple times each, to have it diagnosed. First it was "everything sounds normal," and then it was "we are going to replace the timing chain tensioner. " After that, I was told the knocking sound was gone. Did I mention, that at 14,000 miles, it left me stranded at a stop light when the engine just died and would not restart? It turned out I had a failed/defective EGR valve. Anyway, it has now been 6,400 miles since the knocking began, and I have another appointment on Friday to have it investigated again. My question to the Jeep community is, does anyone think a 2023 Jeep Wrangler, that costs about $58,000 and has only 16,400 miles on it, should sound like what is in the video below?

Personally, I think some loose change being shaken in an empty soda can sounds better then my engine. What exactly is Jeep's policy on customer satisfaction? Help! Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. I will update this after the Friday appointment.

UPDATE: Well, We didn't make it to Fridays appointment. Got up and went to McDonalds around 6am, came home and ate breakfast. Went to go back out around 8:30am ish and................

JEEP, There's Only One..... and its broken. This sucks.

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[Maverick909]

god that sounds like the 3.6 knock

 

[Tim_JLU]

There is something wrong. My 2019 is kind of loud but not like that!

 

[Dusty Dude]

Last weekend my BIL rented a 4xe. What a clatter box! So glad I didn’t get the 2.0L. That said, yours is even worse. There is definitely a problem in there somewhere….

 

[hamiamham69]

Here is my (slightly) out of the box thinking. Otherwise you might go nuts…

I would take your Jeep to a non-dealer for diagnosis and see what they have to say. Yes the diagnosis will be on your dime but at least you will know. Then take the diagnosis and estimate into a dealer and use it for some leverage?

Take Jeep into the same dealer(s) and have the used car manager give you an appraisal on the Jeep. If he knocks down the value given the engine noise use that as leverage in the service dept

Look up the lemon laws in your state. It’s my understanding FCA and is very opposed to buy-backs so again this might help your cause. Depending on how liberal your state is as few as 3 times for the same problem will trigger the lemon laws

get Jeep cares and / or corporate involved.

I’m assuming your power train warranty expires in November so there is some urgency here.

if their dealer isn’t making money on warranty repairs and/Oor is making more on non-warranty repairs they maybe lacking the proper motovation to help you

 

[JP28]

Here is my (slightly) out of the box thinking. Otherwise you might go nuts…

I would take your Jeep to a non-dealer for diagnosis and see what they have to say. Yes the diagnosis will be on your dime but at least you will know. Then take the diagnosis and estimate into a dealer and use it for some leverage?

Take Jeep into the same dealer(s) and have the used car manager give you an appraisal on the Jeep. If he knocks down the value given the engine noise use that as leverage in the service dept

Look up the lemon laws in your state. It’s my understanding FCA and is very opposed to buy-backs so again this might help your cause. Depending on how liberal your state is as few as 3 times for the same problem will trigger the lemon laws

get Jeep cares and / or corporate involved.

I’m assuming your power train warranty expires in November so there is some urgency here.

if their dealer isn’t making money on warranty repairs and/Oor is making more on non-warranty repairs they maybe lacking the proper motovation to help you

Thank you very much for the suggestions and info. I will investigate those option. Yes, the bumper to bumper coverage runs out in November, but the power train is supposed to be covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. So there is that small bit of light. As for the lemon laws in VA, beyond 18 months from delivery, it's a no go.

 

[hamiamham69]

It’s not going o fix anything but you can try to go with a heavier y weight oil ;go from 0W- to 5W and also goto higher octane and higher quality gas. It’s a marginal cost increase but might help save your ear drums

 

[NWJeepr]

I'm considering parting ways with my 2023 over this exact issue.

History: I owned a JK for 10+ years with the 3.6 and one of the heads failed, and it was a fight to get FCA to honor their warranty. A couple years later, after it was fixed, the engine started sounding bad again. That's when I bought my 2023, brand new (so was my JK). I figured I hadn't had good luck with the 3.6, so I'll buy the 2.0. It had the right feel and pep.

I'm getting ready to roll over to 8,000 miles. It sounds exactly like yours--but only when it's cold. It's that tapping noise in the background that grates on me. The 3.6 was ticking, this 2.0 is tapping. Once the 2.0 is truly warm and stretched after a cold start, it goes away.

I haven't found a root cause. Some say it's the 2-stage oil pump and you need some engine speed and sustained "stage 2" oil pressure to fully pump up the lifters. There seems to be some truth to that. If you flog it a bit when it's cold (which I don't like to do), the noise seems to abate more quickly.

But, why, FCA? Is the 2.0 poorly engineered? I'm used to GM engines. Crank those over on a cold start and the gauge hangs itself north of 60psi oil pressure, and they only come down to 20psi or so at idle when fully warm and exercised. IMO that's what an engine should do.

Long story short, I'm just kind of done with FCA/Stellantis/Chrysler and I can't help but feel like I own junk, sometimes. I shouldn't, and don't want to feel that after having popped $60k for one of their nicer Wranglers. I don't want to hear noises like that, I don't want to be left wondering if the engine is failing, and I don't want to deal with, quite honestly, their ghetto and shady dealer network in trying to pursue a fix.

I literally almost dumped the Jeep two weekends ago for a new Chevy pickup. I've owned Jeeps for a long time and I'm hesitant to give up my ability to go play on trails in Moab and do some of the things I've enjoyed doing over the years with Jeeps. But I'm at that point, fuck it..good times were had, I'm not required to own a Jeep my entire life, and clearly somewhere along the way, Stellantis forgot it needs to make well-engineered products to retain customers.

 

[oldcjguy]

Definitely loud. Mine doesn't sound like that and I have almost 60k miles. If it's only when cold try a different or better oil. What kind of oil do you run? The 2.0 is a noisy engine. DI gives it that diesel sound. Mine has a rattle on cold start but doesn't knock like that and goes away pretty quickly.

For the no start... Try using the fob to push the start button. If the battery is dead/bad in the internal chip will still register when held against the button.

 

[shagles]

The no start looks like very typical low/dead battery in the key fob.

 

[randyhub]

I have a 2020 3.6, my friend has 2.0 in her 2019, both sound different, but yours truly sounds way worse for engine noise.

My mechanic suggested I bring in my Jeep for a VERY thorough hoist inspection. He will check the for any engine leaks, noises, do the diffs, transfer case, service as it has 30k on it, and provide a very detailed Licensed Mechanic Report to discuss if needed with the Dealership.

This is due to my powertrain warranty ending Dec 2025. His rationale is the Dealership will not be as thorough and a unbiased 3rd party opinion will far outweigh the 1 to 2 hours labor and material.

I also swapped both FOB batteries (they use a 2450 3V battery) as I too was having odd, FOB not in vehicle, FOB not detected messages, new batteries fixed the issues.

Just my .02.

 

[JP28]

It’s not going o fix anything but you can try to go with a heavier y weight oil ;go from 0W- to 5W and also goto higher octane and higher quality gas. It’s a marginal cost increase but might help save your ear drums

Thank you for your reply and to all the others, As for the oil, I use Pennzoil Ultra Platinum full Synthetic 5w-30 and for gas it gets 93 oct. The choices here are 87, 89, and 93.

 

[JP28]

The no start looks like very typical low/dead battery in the key fob.

I thought the same until I was able to lock and unlock the doors from inside the house. Also, the fob worked fine at 6am.

 

[shagles]

I thought the same until I was able to lock and unlock the doors from inside the house. Also, the fob worked fine at 6am.

I'd check it anyway. I've had that happen before where lock/unlock worked but the battery wouldn't power the security chip enough for the car to pick it up. Led to me replacing a starter and main battery in the work parking lot before i figured it out...

 

[Kanueh]

For the no start, try pushing the start button with one of the corners of the FOB. Some cars when the battery in the FOB gets low, you have to use the fob to push the button so the antenna is right next to it.
Sounds silly but it’s in the owners manuals of many vehicles.

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