My experience with FORM and FAQ

[Patthe]

Are you trying to get it to run pure electric at that temperature?

If I remember correctly from last year, battery doesn't last that long at -12c, that was the coldest I was able to run pure electric.

I don't have a home charger, so if I cannot get decent range when it's cold, I'll just run the blended hybrid mode it goes into.

I only got the 4xe late November, so I wasn't too sure what to expect, and I didn't really document anything, I'll do that this winter.

I try not to be in FORM all winter. But more I drive the car, it is impossible here in canada lol.

Winter in Alberta goes down all the way to -40c/-50c. This is my second Winter.

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[Eddies]

hi,

Thanks for your post. I'm also in Alberta and waiting delivery of my 4xe (hopefully by end of November).

I'm planning on ordering the grill cover soon, just wondering if you have any other advice for me ?

Also curious to know if you run the car in hybrid mode or battery save/charge mode in the very cold days ? Say if you're going to work and leave the car outside at -20C or below, do you care to have a minimum battery charge so it can warm itself to avoid the extreme cold, or is that not an issue ?

 

[Patthe]

hi,

Thanks for your post. I'm also in Alberta and waiting delivery of my 4xe (hopefully by end of November).

I'm planning on ordering the grill cover soon, just wondering if you have any other advice for me ?

Also curious to know if you run the car in hybrid mode or battery save/charge mode in the very cold days ? Say if you're going to work and leave the car outside at -20C or below, do you care to have a minimum battery charge so it can warm itself to avoid the extreme cold, or is that not an issue ?

Hi,
I do have the cover and still got FORM. The cover will not prevents form, but my oil when up from 85c to 100c. This should help me out of it. New issue I just got, Is my oil change indicator when from 60% life left to 0. So now i need to change the oil now.

So I drove ev most of the summer and somehow oil need to be change with only 4000 km 'mostly EV km'. We did get a pretty fast change in temperature, 16c last week, -30c today, so maybe this cause moisture in the engine that contaminated my oil, but no idea.

On the other subject, I park outside no garage, so mine if it is -5c in the mornings, the engine will start. Once the temperature reach 50, the engine will stop. This probably make my form worst. The problem is that is is so cold and I only drive 10 km to get to work. So no matter what I do, eventualy I will get form. I'm getting an oil change next week, but I'm pretty sure will be back in form within a week after that. Moral of the story, I have great gas milage in the summer, not so great in the winter lol. You cannot avoid FORM, but having a cover will help you out of it if you travel longer distance then me.
I attach a screwnshot of my gas mileage between April to last day October. My average was 3.81 L/100 km un the summer lol. So if i use fuel in the winters, im ok with it. I just accept FORM for my driving habit to be normal.

Just keep it plug all the time Aldo. If battery get to -30c, vehicle wont start.

 

[Evansaunders]

Hi,
I do have the cover and still got FORM. The cover will not prevents form, but my oil when up from 85c to 100c. This should help me out of it. New issue I just got, Is my oil change indicator when from 60% life left to 0. So now i need to change the oil now.

So I drove ev most of the summer and somehow oil need to be change with only 4000 km 'mostly EV km'. We did get a pretty fast change in temperature, 16c last week, -30c today, so maybe this cause moisture in the engine that contaminated my oil, but no idea.

On the other subject, I park outside no garage, so mine if it is -5c in the mornings, the engine will start. Once the temperature reach 50, the engine will stop. This probably make my form worst. The problem is that is is so cold and I only drive 10 km to get to work. So no matter what I do, eventualy I will get form. I'm getting an oil change next week, but I'm pretty sure will be back in form within a week after that. Moral of the story, I have great gas milage in the summer, not so great in the winter lol. You cannot avoid FORM, but having a cover will help you out of it if you travel longer distance then me.
I attach a screwnshot of my gas mileage between April to last day October. My average was 3.81 L/100 km un the summer lol. So if i use fuel in the winters, im ok with it. I just accept FORM for my driving habit to be normal.

Just keep it plug all the time Aldo. If battery get to -30c, vehicle wont start.

Following along as I had this exact same issue occur this weekend. Went from 45% to 0% oil life at 4300km

 

[sentience]

Just changed my oil last month. FORM still automatically kicks in when temperature is <50F. (10C)

Nearest trusted dealer notes it as standard operation, and I’ve already put up with it last winter. Only annoyance for me is that it covers up CHOC (cabin heating and cooling) stuck on prior to FORM. Since CHOC leave no codes, there’s nothing for the dealership to diagnose.

Terrible system. Do not recommend. Get a regular gas one.

 

[Patthe]

Just changed my oil last month. FORM still automatically kicks in when temperature is <50F. (10C)

Nearest trusted dealer notes it as standard operation, and I’ve already put up with it last winter. Only annoyance for me is that it covers up CHOC (cabin heating and cooling) stuck on prior to FORM. Since CHOC leave no codes, there’s nothing for the dealership to diagnose.

Terrible system. Do not recommend. Get a regular gas one.

Yes system is not perfect, but still the 4xe use less gas even in form then the regular wrangler. So to me it is still a win. It is still a hybrid vehicle. More hybird then ev in the winter that all. You still save in fuel when the engine is running.

 

[Evansaunders]

Just changed my oil last month. FORM still automatically kicks in when temperature is <50F. (10C)

Nearest trusted dealer notes it as standard operation, and I’ve already put up with it last winter. Only annoyance for me is that it covers up CHOC (cabin heating and cooling) stuck on prior to FORM. Since CHOC leave no codes, there’s nothing for the dealership to diagnose.

Terrible system. Do not recommend. Get a regular gas one.

I would be okay with it too if it allowed me to use my remote start to warm the cabin (as a normal ICE does) without dumping fuel into the oil, causing the early “oil change required” message mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

[Grimmjpr]

So how do you get rid of it? What are the parameters that need to be met? I went ripping around bouncing it off the limiter and doing a number of full throttle runs to 60 and barely broke 205 or so. Is there a duration thing too? I have it idling in the drive way.

I've found that if you cover the grill with a blanket or cardboard or something similar, after driving a bit to get the engine warmed up....park on a flat surface, parking brake/chock wheels. With engine running put in neutral so it doesn't time out and let it idle. Once the oil temp gets to 205/206 will stay at or above 205/206 and after 20 to about 45 minutes ish it will clear FORM and the engine will shut down. At that point you can put it in park and carry on. I did this at work and it was about 15 degrees F. I'm not sure how low the temperature would need to get to, that just idling wouldn't clear it but I've done this, this morning for the 3 rd time in a little over a year. And the first time it cleared in about 20 minutes in my garage, door open of course....and the last two times this winter it took about 40/45 minutes once the oil temperature met/exceeded 205/206.
To my understanding if the temperature of the oil is lower it will take a lot longer to clear, but I'm not positive about that. HTH

 

[ChadP]

Ok, owned a 4xe for less than a week. However, it is a cold week and may only get to 37 degrees for a high. I got to drive it yesterday for the first time (wife's rig). I went to put it into pure electric and it said no. I'm assuming it was because it was 18 degrees out. That is fine. My question is, does it tell you that you are in FORM? And, what if you pretty much drive around in e save mode most of the winter when it is cold?

 

[martoaj]

Ok, owned a 4xe for less than a week. However, it is a cold week and may only get to 37 degrees for a high. I got to drive it yesterday for the first time (wife's rig). I went to put it into pure electric and it said no. I'm assuming it was because it was 18 degrees out. That is fine. My question is, does it tell you that you are in FORM? And, what if you pretty much drive around in e save mode most of the winter when it is cold?

You will be notified in the gauge cluster if you are in FORM. Being unable to switch to electric mode does not necessarily mean you're in FORM; there are a variety of other factors (like the system simply being too cold) that can prevent you from manually entering electric mode.

Driving around in e-save mode will actually help prevent FORM from happening, since that mode runs the gas engine more than "hybrid" mode does.

 

[ChadP]

You will be notified in the gauge cluster if you are in FORM. Being unable to switch to electric mode does not necessarily mean you're in FORM; there are a variety of other factors (like the system simply being too cold) that can prevent you from manually entering electric mode.

Driving around in e-save mode will actually help prevent FORM from happening, since that mode runs the gas engine more than "hybrid" mode does.

Thanks a lot. I'll have to go hunt a photo of what it looks like so I can inform my wife. Depending on how it shows up, I may or may not ever hear about it.

 

[Canjeeper]

HUMMER get rid of gas , you know you want too .

 

[Patthe]

Ok, owned a 4xe for less than a week. However, it is a cold week and may only get to 37 degrees for a high. I got to drive it yesterday for the first time (wife's rig). I went to put it into pure electric and it said no. I'm assuming it was because it was 18 degrees out. That is fine. My question is, does it tell you that you are in FORM? And, what if you pretty much drive around in e save mode most of the winter when it is cold?

If you are in really cold temperatures, you will be in form most of the winter. Even if you clear it, will come right back within a few day. So no point on trying to prevent it. I have the front cover blocking my entire front, I get my oil from max 85c to 100c. This help me clear form, but come right back.

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