Questions for the EcoDiesel experts

[aldo98229]

A couple weeks ago I test drove a 2024 Sahara 4Xe and really liked it.

I started a thread on the 4Xe section of the forum and got lots of responses, but was surprised that while one half loved their 4Xe, the other half HATED it. Common problems were never-ending electrical issues, sometimes catastrophic; incompetent dealers, etc. So I decided to move on.

But I just can't help myself. I found a 2021 High Altitude EcoDiesel with low miles priced well.

The CarFax shows a clean record other than an open Fuel Pump Recall.

Questions for those who own an EcoDiesel:

1. What has been your ownership experience like? Have you had issues? Would you do it all over again?
2. How difficult/critical is the Fuel Pump recall? https://www.chrysler.com/universal/webselfservice/pdf/Z96.pdf
3. The CarFax shows a number of unspecified dealer visits after 3,000 miles (oil change): at 3,500 miles and 4,728 miles. The vehicle now has 13,600 miles. Are these red flags that something is amiss the vehicle...?
4. Anything else you guys think I should know about?

Thanks in advance!

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[gsbrockman]

@Tredsdert can chime in, and perhaps @Scott.B after he gets out of The Penalty Box…..

In any event…..I read about others with the RAM 1500’s and the VM 3.0 diesels.

Essentially…..the HPFP should be knocked out as soon as possible, as if it grenades, it basically will contaminate everything downstream with fine metal debris.

Have you ran the VIN on Jeep’s website to verify if it has not been done? Carfax may not always be correct.


**EDIT** if the HPFP recall has not been done, would you be taking it to Rairdon’s in Bellingham?

 

[U EEDIOT]

I'm sure you'll hate it.

 

[DewHawk]

I'm surprised you're considering the 3.0 at all given what you've stated your intended use case would primarily be. It literally doesn't match what you want.

I work from home and live in a small city of 90,000 people; most of my runs are 5 miles or less. Which means I should be able to go without fueling up for weeks.

Given the short distances you plan to drive on a regular basis, the 3.0 is gonna hate you and want to go into Regen quite a lot more frequently than it would with regular highway use. If you're just looking at it for the torque output and or fuel economy, you're much better off sticking with the 2.0 Turbo like I suggested when you inquired about the 4xe. Running 5 miles one way, living in Washington up by Vancouver, right near the water, in the cold half the year with a 3.0 sounds like a great way to kill an EcoDiesel rather than enjoy it.

 

[Lager]

If you are at all interested in the diesel you found I would say pick it up. I believe the 3.0TD is best engine a Wrangler has ever had. The effortless low end torque is amazing!
My 3.0 is a 21 and has less than 8K on it. I haven't had the HPFP recall done yet so can't comment on that but I'm gonna call my dealer next month to get it scheduled. Until then (and probably after) I add Hotshot's EDT every fill up to keep the fuel pump happy.
I pretty much use it for short runs of 2 or 3 miles round trip and a 20 mile trip once a week. I haven't had any regen problems however a couple times I have got a message that a regen is happening so keep driving normally. No big deal.

I'm not gonna say it's fast by anyone's standards but it's not slow. I added the Banks Pedal Monster and it really adds as much zip as you want (it's adjustable with a app).

Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Aonar]

My comments to another poster asking a similar question:

Need 3.0 opinions from potential newbie | Jeep Wrangler Forums (JL / JLU) -- Rubicon, 4xe, 392, Sahara, Sport - JLwranglerforums.com

 

[aldo98229]

Have you ran the VIN on Jeep’s website to verify if it has not been done? Carfax may not always be correct.

Yes, I have checked: it has NOT been done.

The Jeep is sitting at a Cadillac-GMC dealership as we speak.

**EDIT** if the HPFP recall has not been done, would you be taking it to Rairdon’s in Bellingham?

Ha! No! I wouldn’t even take my ex mother in law there...

 

[Tredsdert]

A couple weeks ago I test drove a 2024 Sahara 4Xe and really liked it.

I started a thread on the 4Xe section of the forum and got lots of responses, but was surprised that while one half loved their 4Xe, the other half HATED it. Common problems were never-ending electrical issues, sometimes catastrophic; incompetent dealers, etc. So I decided to move on.

But I just can't help myself. I found a 2021 High Altitude EcoDiesel with low miles priced well.

The CarFax shows a clean record other than an open Fuel Pump Recall.

Questions for those who own an EcoDiesel:

1. What has been your ownership experience like? Have you had issues? Would you do it all over again?
2. How difficult/critical is the Fuel Pump recall? https://www.chrysler.com/universal/webselfservice/pdf/Z96.pdf
3. The CarFax shows a number of unspecified dealer visits after 3,000 miles (oil change): at 3,500 miles and 4,728 miles. The vehicle now has 13,600 miles. Are these red flags that something is amiss the vehicle...?
4. Anything else you guys think I should know about?

Thanks in advance!

Honestly anytime I see a low mileage anything for sale, I immediately get sketched out as to why they sold it so soon.

I will say 13,000 mi on a 2-year-old EcoDiesel is definitely not ideal for a diesel engine. That either means the person was having it sitting in their driveway and it was a weekend warrior for 2 years (which is the ideal situation), or they're putting very low miles on it every single day. If it's the ladder, that's not a good thing.

1. What has been your ownership experience like? Have you had issues? Would you do it all over again?

Honestly if I were to buy another EcoDiesel or any used diesel engine for that matter, the math would have to work out to at least 10,000 mi a year minimum. I mean I do it about 15,000 miles a year on average.

Honestly the 3.0 EcoDiesel is an amazing engine. I've had nothing but good experiences with it.

2. How difficult/critical is the Fuel Pump recall? https://www.chrysler.com/universal/webselfservice/pdf/Z96.pdf

It kind of just depends on your usage. The issue with the fuel pump basically comes down to this little moving part that's supposed to slide up and down, and in a vacuum situation it rotates and then it shreds itself and dumps metal shavings all throughout your engine and fuel lines. So realistically speaking as long as you're adding fuel additives every fill up, potentially even in a vacuum situation you would be more protected than if you used no additives.

I, like a couple others on here use a combination of HotShots EDT (2 ounces) and HotShots LX4 (2 ounces), every single time I fill up. I personally purchased a 2.5 gallon jug with a spout on it from McMaster-Carr, and then I purchased a gallon of each of the LX4 and the EDT and mixed it all together and now I just fill up a little 4 oz bottle every single time before I go to the gas station. Most weeks I'll carry the little 4 oz bottle of additives with me for a couple days when I know I'm nearing a fill up.

Realistically speaking as long as you're using fuel additive lubricants, you should be fine on the high pressure fuel pump. The other big thing is no air in the lines, or water for that matter. As long as you keep that in mind realistically your Bosch CP4.2 high pressure fuel pump should be just fine for up to 100,000 miles, though there are plenty of truck forums where you'll see people having way more miles than that on the same fuel pump.

I personally will be upgrading to an aftermarket CP4 fuel pump, the RCD CPX. It's an upgraded CP4, which has pins to stop the cylinder from spinning in the pump. That way it's truly fixed and has no way to shear.

There's still a bit of questions as to whether or not the "upgraded" recall HPFP is actually an improved version. As for right now there's zero information out there about what has been upgraded on it let alone if it actually is an upgrade. That's why I'm going to CPX route, I don't trust FCA enough to actually do the right thing.

3. The CarFax shows a number of unspecified dealer visits after 3,000 miles (oil change): at 3,500 miles and 4,728 miles. The vehicle now has 13,600 miles. Are these red flags that something is amiss the vehicle...?

Yeah that does look a little sketchy. However it could have been a warranty work not engine related. The previous owner could have been one of those special people who worry about paint bubbles. Who knows it might have been sitting on the dealer lot for 3 months waiting for a non-engine related component to come in for warranty work. Or it might have a new engine.

You have the VIN number, and you see what dealer it was at when the in-question work was being done... Call them up, give them the VIN and tell them you just bought this vehicle and you want to know what the service work that was done during that schedule!

4. Anything else you guys think I should know about?

If you're going to put low miles on it, then make sure every third day you take it out for at least a 20 mi drive minimum.

I used to live 500 ft from my job, and I'm huge into driving, so I would drive my Wrangler the 1 minute it took to get to my job from the apartment across the street. That being said every night when I got off of work I would take it for a spin around town. And then every third day I would get it on the highway and get it up to 70 mph and keep it at that for about 10 to 15 mi before I would turn around and go home which I guess would be another 10-15 miles on it.

The best advice for the EcoDiesel engine is drive it like you stole it.

The regens need certain specifications to be met to activate. So driving from 65 to 75 mph on the highway for 15 to 20 minutes straight is important. When you're getting on the highway, stomp that skinny petal as hard as you can get it up to speed quick. I do that everyday when I leave work. There's a stop sign right before the highway entrance, So I go from 0 to 85 by the time I hit the end of the on ramp and then let it go down to 70 where I'll usually hang out for my 20 mile drive home.

USE FUEL ADDITIVES!!!

I don't care that the manual states that fuel additives aren't necessary! They are extremely necessary, especially with that shit fuel pump they put in there. Look at it this way, the CP4 fuel pump has been shit for a little more than a decade, FCA still put it in there, and then they sit there and tell you no fuel additives? It's almost like they're trying to brick your engine for you!!

Overall I would say the third gen EcoDiesel is an amazing engine, but for a specific set of people. If you're going to be doing five or less miles on it every single day, and then you're not going to put the effort into it putting the miles on it it needs to regen and clean itself out, it might not be the vehicle for you.

That being said, if you live in a country like Canada where you are allowed to delete the emissions pieces, than something like that would allow your vehicle to function well at lower mileage uses. Stage 1 tune alone would make your vehicle so that you're not dumping soot back into your engine. The stage 2 would make it so that you're killing the environment... Erm I mean not having any DPF SCR DEF issues.

 

[Ratbert]

The regens need certain specifications to be met to activate. So driving from 65 to 75 mph on the highway for 15 to 20 minutes straight is important. When you're getting on the highway, stomp that skinny petal as hard as you can get it up to speed quick. I do that everyday when I leave work. There's a stop sign right before the highway entrance, So I go from 0 to 85 by the time I hit the end of the on ramp and then let it go down to 70 where I'll usually hang out for my 20 mile drive home.

Do you let it warm up before getting onto it?

 

[NicksRuby]

I had one and loved it, and would still have it. I work from home and drop the kids off at school/daycare plus whatever else I run throughout the week. The mileage and power was amazing, I also thought the stock rubicon was the best suspension (never driven the 392) for a wrangler. It was stiff but not too much. I know some people don't monitor their 3.0, I would say that's a bad call. If you like monitoring things like turbo temps and DPF %, it's fun adding a little more work compared to just jumping in and driving. Personally, I would not drive one without monitoring that stuff. Also, adding in additives is needed.

If that sounds good, I say go for it, you will not regret it

 

[Tredsdert]

Do you let it warm up before getting onto it?

I do. I let the oil get up to 80°f before I start driving it. In majority of My driving situations, the highway on ramp is about mile or two from where I'm parked, so usually the engines up to about 120°f when I'm smashing that skinny petal.

In the summertime I usually let it run for 1 minute before I start driving it because the oils usually at 80 or higher from just sitting in the Texas Sun. However this time of year it usually has to idle for about 10 minutes in the morning before I leave for work, and about 1 minute in the afternoon when I leave work. When it gets a little colder in January February here in Texas, I'll let it idle for about 10 minutes whenever I drive it.

Again this is where a good tune is helpful. Though not something you should necessarily do if you're not in a location where it's allowed.

 

[JLeco2022]

Do you let it warm up before getting onto it?

nah he just makes the pedal go to the floor like a unleaded motor, diesels are not ment to be mashed to the floor and driven, but each their own. btw diesel is best jeep all other people are just wrong opinions

 

[aldo98229]

Honestly anytime I see a low mileage anything for sale, I immediately get sketched out as to why they sold it so soon.

I will say 13,000 mi on a 2-year-old EcoDiesel is definitely not ideal for a diesel engine. That either means the person was having it sitting in their driveway and it was a weekend warrior for 2 years (which is the ideal situation), or they're putting very low miles on it every single day. If it's the ladder, that's not a good thing.



Honestly if I were to buy another EcoDiesel or any used diesel engine for that matter, the math would have to work out to at least 10,000 mi a year minimum. I mean I do it about 15,000 miles a year on average.

Honestly the 3.0 EcoDiesel is an amazing engine. I've had nothing but good experiences with it.



It kind of just depends on your usage. The issue with the fuel pump basically comes down to this little moving part that's supposed to slide up and down, and in a vacuum situation it rotates and then it shreds itself and dumps metal shavings all throughout your engine and fuel lines. So realistically speaking as long as you're adding fuel additives every fill up, potentially even in a vacuum situation you would be more protected than if you used no additives.

I, like a couple others on here use a combination of HotShots EDT (2 ounces) and HotShots LX4 (2 ounces), every single time I fill up. I personally purchased a 2.5 gallon jug with a spout on it from McMaster-Carr, and then I purchased a gallon of each of the LX4 and the EDT and mixed it all together and now I just fill up a little 4 oz bottle every single time before I go to the gas station. Most weeks I'll carry the little 4 oz bottle of additives with me for a couple days when I know I'm nearing a fill up.

Realistically speaking as long as you're using fuel additive lubricants, you should be fine on the high pressure fuel pump. The other big thing is no air in the lines, or water for that matter. As long as you keep that in mind realistically your Bosch CP4.2 high pressure fuel pump should be just fine for up to 100,000 miles, though there are plenty of truck forums where you'll see people having way more miles than that on the same fuel pump.

I personally will be upgrading to an aftermarket CP4 fuel pump, the RCD CPX. It's an upgraded CP4, which has pins to stop the cylinder from spinning in the pump. That way it's truly fixed and has no way to shear.

There's still a bit of questions as to whether or not the "upgraded" recall HPFP is actually an improved version. As for right now there's zero information out there about what has been upgraded on it let alone if it actually is an upgrade. That's why I'm going to CPX route, I don't trust FCA enough to actually do the right thing.



Yeah that does look a little sketchy. However it could have been a warranty work not engine related. The previous owner could have been one of those special people who worry about paint bubbles. Who knows it might have been sitting on the dealer lot for 3 months waiting for a non-engine related component to come in for warranty work. Or it might have a new engine.

You have the VIN number, and you see what dealer it was at when the in-question work was being done... Call them up, give them the VIN and tell them you just bought this vehicle and you want to know what the service work that was done during that schedule!



If you're going to put low miles on it, then make sure every third day you take it out for at least a 20 mi drive minimum.

I used to live 500 ft from my job, and I'm huge into driving, so I would drive my Wrangler the 1 minute it took to get to my job from the apartment across the street. That being said every night when I got off of work I would take it for a spin around town. And then every third day I would get it on the highway and get it up to 70 mph and keep it at that for about 10 to 15 mi before I would turn around and go home which I guess would be another 10-15 miles on it.

The best advice for the EcoDiesel engine is drive it like you stole it.

The regens need certain specifications to be met to activate. So driving from 65 to 75 mph on the highway for 15 to 20 minutes straight is important. When you're getting on the highway, stomp that skinny petal as hard as you can get it up to speed quick. I do that everyday when I leave work. There's a stop sign right before the highway entrance, So I go from 0 to 85 by the time I hit the end of the on ramp and then let it go down to 70 where I'll usually hang out for my 20 mile drive home.

USE FUEL ADDITIVES!!!

I don't care that the manual states that fuel additives aren't necessary! They are extremely necessary, especially with that shit fuel pump they put in there. Look at it this way, the CP4 fuel pump has been shit for a little more than a decade, FCA still put it in there, and then they sit there and tell you no fuel additives? It's almost like they're trying to brick your engine for you!!

Overall I would say the third gen EcoDiesel is an amazing engine, but for a specific set of people. If you're going to be doing five or less miles on it every single day, and then you're not going to put the effort into it putting the miles on it it needs to regen and clean itself out, it might not be the vehicle for you.

That being said, if you live in a country like Canada where you are allowed to delete the emissions pieces, than something like that would allow your vehicle to function well at lower mileage uses. Stage 1 tune alone would make your vehicle so that you're not dumping soot back into your engine. The stage 2 would make it so that you're killing the environment... Erm I mean not having any DPF SCR DEF issues.

As usual, excellent write up, @Tredsdert! Your post tells me EVERYTHING I needed to know.

EcoDiesel is evidently NOT the engine for me.

Let’s be real, I wouldn’t drive the thing enough. And the amount of care the engine needs would be overkill for my use.

You are right, the CarFax has too many unanswered questions for a vehicle with such a finicky engine: too many dealer visits in too few miles, for too low a price. Things just don’t add up....

If the Jeep was closer I’d take a look, but it is 250 miles away.

I’ll move on.

THANKS ALL...!

 

[aldo98229]

PS - I own a 2018 Fiat 124 Spider with another Italian engine in it - the Fiat 1.4 Turbo Multiair

I got the car new and I know the engine well; I always let the engine warm up and take excellent care of it. It’s been amazing and totally trouble-free.

I don’t know that’d I’d buy the car used, though. Judging from posts on the Spider forums, these Italian engines are beautiful gems as long as you take perfect care of them. If you don’t...KABOOM!

 

[gsbrockman]

Ha! No! I wouldn’t even take my ex mother in law there...

Just phoccccckkkkkkkking with ya, Aldo!!!!!

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