ESS Failure... 2nd Occurrence

[Dkretden]

I hate ESS..... so, I have a “fix”

I start my Jeep and I push the silly “turn the effin piece of technocrap off“ (At least that’s what I call it) button. ESS disabled. Done.

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[Archie PJ]

Seems like a bit of hardball with FCA would be good. For me, leaving the vehicle for who knows how long just wouldn't be acceptable. The situation is a safety hazard for potential accidents and injuries; I would emphasize that. Surely they have more than 1 event recorder and they ought to make haste to get that installed for the OP. I might also hint if they balk that the OP hasn't...at least YET...looked to see if this dire safety issue has already been reported to the National Transportation Safety Board. I doubt FCA wants another large recall to deal with.

 

[degmd]

Dan,

Like you, I waited a long time for my first Jeep Wrangler. I have been a German car and motorcycle enthusiast for over 30 years. My last American car was a 1986 Corvette. My Jeep is a 2020 red JLUR EcoDiesel fully loaded including the sky top roof.

The car ran flawlessly (including some time at Hollister Hills SVRA) until at 2800 miles, the check engine light came on following several episodes of complete loss of engine power when trying accelerate at stop signs or traffic lights. It seemed that the problem was manifested soon after starting the engine (i.e. cold) and that acceleration and power seemed to normalize once the engine was warmed up.

My car was at the dealership for 4 weeks, initially being told it was a faulty EGR valve. I was then informed that there was also a leaking EGR coolant system and a leaking high-pressure injector fuel return line. That little return line had to come from the FCA engine factory in Italy...

I finally picked up the car this past Thursday and drove it back to my office, ~ 25 miles. No problems. When I went to pick up lunch at a local restaurant, the acceleration failure issue happened again. This time, I saw a new indicator light, the ESS fault indicator. When I went home last night, the check engine light came after the engine started sputtering on ignition start. Acceleration from a stop was highly abnormal until the car warmed up, after which engine response and power seemed to normalize.

Here is what I am observing:

1. It happens when the engine is cold or not fully warmed up
2. Applying the gas pedal results in complete or near complete lack of response by the engine. It feels like the engine is either not firing at all or firing on only 1 or 2 cylinders. I don’t hear, feel or smell signs of misfiring. When idling, the engine sputters (abnormal timing) until the engine is warm.
3. From a dead cold start, turning off the ESS switch did not seem to help.
4. Once the engine warms up, the car responds normally

If the problem occurs when the car is cold, perhaps that implies a mechanical issue somewhere like a stuck valve or a partially clogged or kinked fluid line that clears when it heats up and expands. In my case, maybe the EGR issues were the result of, rather than the cause of, some other problem, like in one of the systems that control combustion. Given that the problem occurred despite replacing the EGR valve and cooling system, it would add strength to that argument. Alternatively, perhaps there is a software bug that is causing the ESS to get confused because of abnormal combustion…

First and foremost, I would like to be able to enjoy my car and have confidence that it is safe to drive and reliable enough to be able to enjoy it for what the car is made for, exploring off-road. At this time, I am not confident about taking this car to the mall, never mind up the Rubicon Trail. If this issue drags on, by the time I get the Jeep back, this summer season will be over. If there was ever a summer to go off road and off the grid camping, this was it due to COVID-19.

I was going to bring the car immediately back to the dealer but I decided to hold on to it for a while. I think it might be helpful if I spend time behind the wheel to better understand the range of behaviors with the car cold vs warm, ESS turned off vs left on, etc. Although the service advisor said that the technician took my car out for a spin and found that everything was working well before releasing it, the problem came back after some time on the road.

So far, I have been satisfied with the responsiveness of the dealer and FCA but they are running out of time to get it right before I start thinking about the “L” word…

David

 

[aldo98229]

Geez. Sorry to hear about your issues.

The more I hear about that EcoDiesel, the less I want to know.

EcoDiesel has been a troublesome motor. In its first incarnation, it showed deficient engineering, particularly in Ram 1500 applications, where camshafts were blowing up, and other catastrophic failures. These were happening around the 60,000 mile mark, so many of those owners were SOL.

Then FCA got caught cheating on EcoDiesel’s emissions. In addition to having to pay $1B in fines, lawsuits and recalls, FCA had to improvise and retrofit a number of “fixes” to allow those motors in circulation to meet regulations. Most of these fixes amounted to little more than detuning the motor, leaving many owners seriously unhappy.

This third iteration was supposed to have addressed all prior issues. At least that’s what FCA claimed. But perhaps it simply slapped new fixes on top of old fixes.

Hope you get things resolved.

 

[GtX]

Unfortunately that is not what one of the lead engine designers at FCA says. Rather the ESS is very hard on engines especially the 3.6.

Reference or link? I'd like to read up on the specifics.

 

[Fsttanks]

Reference or link? I'd like to read up on the specifics.

He’s quoted in another thread somewhere on this forum. I will have to find the thread again but it was rather recent.

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