2021 JLUR (manual, 3.6L ESS) Won't Start

[Larry2020JL]

Simple fix for me. I just bought a used 2020. Drove it home (35 miles) from dealer and everything was fine. Made two short trips and again everything was fine. Two days later no turnover/start using either fob or remote start. Several unusual messages. It ended up being loose fuses and/or relays. I opened the fuse box and pressed each fuse and relay down and everything has been fine since. I was surprised how many fuses were loose. I found this fix on one of the Jeep forums.

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[demisx]

Simple fix for me. I just bought a used 2020. Drove it home (35 miles) from dealer and everything was fine. Made two short trips and again everything was fine. Two days later no turnover/start using either fob or remote start. Several unusual messages. It ended up being loose fuses and/or relays. I opened the fuse box and pressed each fuse and relay down and everything has been fine since. I was surprised how many fuses were loose. I found this fix on one of the Jeep forums.

Yes, this is a known infamous issue with the new JLs. Something I've also done during very early diagnostic stage. Unfortunately, this didn't fix it for me.

 

[carpendj]

Hello fellas. A couple of days ago I got into my 2021 4-dr. JLUR (manual, dual 12V batteries with ESS), pressed the clutch, pushed the start button, and … my almost brand new “since 1941”’ icon will not start. And, of course, this had to happen right before our planned weekend trip.

Here is what happens when I try to start:

1. I push the start button to switch to the ACC mode. Everything powers up and loads as normal.
2. I then press the clutch and push start button to start the engine. I hear a click and then Uconnect 8.4” screen goes black. There is no attempt from the starter to turn over.
3. I let the start button go and the Uconnect screen come back on again.
4. I try this two more times and the same thing happens each time.
5. Here is the video that shows this process (3 start attempts total)

I’ve spent two days going through our forum and trying different things, but no luck. The first thing was to check both batteries. I’ve tested them in isolation and both shown 12.xV voltage. I left the battery tender overnight and brought the charge in both to green. I’ve tried to jump start with a battery pack - still no luck.

Any idea what maybe wrong? Thank you all.

This is very similar to a problem I had two weeks ago on my 2020 Wrangler JL Unlimited 3.6 Auto. Climbed into the vehicle, put my foot on the brake pedal ready to start it and noted that the pedal was very hard. It was so hard that I could hardly move it. Pushed the start button and it responded just like yours. I could not get it to fire. I tried charging battery overnight and that did not fix the issue. My Jeep sits in the garage and is not my primary vehicle and so I figured I had just run the battery down even though I was seeing about 12.6V if I recall. I was working on getting it towed to the dealer but was seriously pizzed because I had the doors and roof off and Texas weather was about to take a turn for the worst. I'd only done 1400 miles and could not believe it had failed. Put all my doors back on and decided one more time to try before I put the roof back on. Pushed on the brake pedal as hard as possible and then it fired!!!!! I am not completely clear I understand what the hell happened. The only thing that I can think of is that when I drive into my garage, I shift it into Reverse so that I could use the rear camera to make sure I am in enough. Then I shift it back into park. Maybe I did it too fast or something got screwed up. Just thought I would share this. I have also had the darn auto park stop me driving up my driveway one time. I was wondering what the hell was going on and why it would not drive even though I was in D.

 

[demisx]

This is very similar to a problem I had two weeks ago on my 2020 Wrangler JL Unlimited 3.6 Auto. Climbed into the vehicle, put my foot on the brake pedal ready to start it and noted that the pedal was very hard. It was so hard that I could hardly move it. Pushed the start button and it responded just like yours. I could not get it to fire. I tried charging battery overnight and that did not fix the issue. My Jeep sits in the garage and is not my primary vehicle and so I figured I had just run the battery down even though I was seeing about 12.6V if I recall. I was working on getting it towed to the dealer but was seriously pizzed because I had the doors and roof off and Texas weather was about to take a turn for the worst. I'd only done 1400 miles and could not believe it had failed. Put all my doors back on and decided one more time to try before I put the roof back on. Pushed on the brake pedal as hard as possible and then it fired!!!!! I am not completely clear I understand what the hell happened. The only thing that I can think of is that when I drive into my garage, I shift it into Reverse so that I could use the rear camera to make sure I am in enough. Then I shift it back into park. Maybe I did it too fast or something got screwed up. Just thought I would share this. I have also had the darn auto park stop me driving up my driveway one time. I was wondering what the hell was going on and why it would not drive even though I was in D.

Thank you for sharing. Hope your issue has been resolved and the Jeep works perfectly now. Since you say you had to push the brake pedal really hard to make it start it could be a faulty brake pedal sensor. I believe I’ve read about it in one of the other posts.

 

[Mtpockets]

My brake pedal is hard at start-up on my 2021 auto 6cyl.
went to the dealer to compare, all 3 had the same stiff pedal. Must be normal.

 

[intentsrig]

Following this

 

[Doug Huse]

Did you take it in today?

 

[demisx]

Did you take it in today?

Yes, turned it in yesterday. Just waiting for the call from the dealership. I'll update once I hear back.

 

[ScoobyBlue]

Whatever happened to your Jeep?

 

[FLjeeper]

 

[demisx]

Whatever happened to your Jeep?

Don’t know yet. Still waiting on the update from my dealership.

 

[demisx]

Just heard back from the dealership. They said they think a whole circuit leading to the pedal sensor was missing and that the sensor connector was not original and was rewired by someone else. Therefore, this would not be covered by the warranty and they would want $900 just to restore that "missing" circuit. And, of course, there is no guarantee that this would fix the problem and the additional charges may apply. I know this is BS, because a) the rig is only 3 months old and it's never been to a service and b) I've never rewired/touched any of the connectors, and c) it's always been garaged or parked on a private property behind a gate. How the heck could an entire circuit go missing? I've asked them if this could be, perhaps, a bad connection or a simply a broken wire, but they, for some reason, insisted on a wire physically missing. Does not make sense to me.

The service rep recommended I'd take it to the dealership I've purchased it from and have them deal with it. That dealership is 1 hour away and the earliest appointment is 2 weeks away. To those who've asked earlier - this is exactly why taking to a dealership is always my last option.

I count on you guys. Please share your thoughts and what you think could be checked/done here. I am picking up the Jeep from the dealership tomorrow. I've asked them to document what they think the problem is in detail. I'll share what they give me as soon as I get it. Back to square one.

 

[ScoobyBlue]

Just heard back from the dealership. They said they think a whole circuit leading to the pedal sensor was missing and that the sensor connector was not original and was rewired by someone else. Therefore, this would not be covered by the warranty and they would want $900 just to restore that "missing" circuit. And, of course, there is no guarantee that this would fix the problem and the additional charges may apply. I know this is BS, because a) the rig is only 3 months old and it's never been to a service and b) I've never rewired/touched any of the connectors, and c) it's always been garaged or parked on a private property behind a gate. How the heck could an entire circuit go missing? I've asked them if this could be, perhaps, a bad connection or a simply a broken wire, but they, for some reason, insisted on a wire physically missing. Does not make sense to me.

The service rep recommended I'd take it to the dealership I've purchased it from and have them deal with it. That dealership is 1 hour away and the earliest appointment is 2 weeks away. To those who've asked earlier - this is exactly why taking to a dealership is always my last option.

I count on you guys. Please share your thoughts and what you think could be checked/done here. I am picking up the Jeep from the dealership tomorrow. I've asked them to document what they think the problem is in detail. I'll share what they give me as soon as I get it. Back to square one.

I’m far from mechanically inclined - even after sleeping at a Holiday Inn Express - but do you think that the Jeep cares people would do anything? I mean at 3 months old....

 

[MaineBumpkin]

So you bought this brand new? That’s a pretty substantial claim for them to make. I’d ask for pictures showing exactly why they think it was some hack replacement job.

 

[demisx]

So you bought this brand new? That’s a pretty substantial claim for them to make. I’d ask for pictures showing exactly why they think it was some hack replacement job.

Yes, bought it brand new from the factory back in October 2020. I’ve asked for the pics, but the rep said the mechanic was already gone for the day and the car is prepared to be picked up. I’ll ask for the pics again when I am there tomorrow morning.

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