Service Shifter

[Mitoni]

I had a 4xe Rubicon on order while we were going through this experience. I made it very clear with Jeep that if it wasn't resolved when my Rubi came in that I wouldn't accept delivery. Guess what I don't have? It took 6 months for the Jeep that we ordered to come in and longer to get our service shifter issue resolved. The service advisor at the dealership we ordered from actually told me that he wouldn't buy a Jeep right now based on the issues that he sees with the new deliveries. I think he said that he sees the Service Shifter issue on about 1/20 brand new deliveries. The dealership didn't even blink an eye or have any care when I told them that I couldn't take delivery due to our ongoing problem. The response was - we have several other buyers lined up to purchase your Jeep so we just need for you to release it so that we can sell it. This all goes to show that Jeep is aware of this issue and isn't proactively managing the failure. I am so hopeful that they do fix the issue before it causes a serious crash. So sorry to read about your experience - good luck to you. Also, I suggest that you demand they go straight to opening a star case with Jeep. Or use your lemon law protection.

I'm currently starting the warranty arbitration process on this, because they claim that I removed a bolt that connects the Motor Generator Unit for the mild hybrid system to the power distribution center, even though the install of my winch doesn't involve those parts at all.

So far the estimate for the parts is about $6000, and I've those are replaced, if the 48V battery is also shot, then that'll be another $15000+.

Dealer wants me to go through my insurance. I'm not claiming responsibility for anything on my insurance, I'm going through this 3rd party arbitration and hoping they see the common sense in this situation, since the manufacturer is definitely not.

Meanwhile, 2 weeks with no Jeep and counting, for one I only had in my possession for a week...

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[Tiffany0320]

I brought my jeep into 2 jeep dealerships to get checked out because it locks up and wont let me drive when i turn it on. For a good month this has been happening. The traction control, ABS, Engine light is all on. Then it says Service shifter, service 4wd, service electronic stability control, stop/start unavailable service stop/start, and my shifter is locked. Both dealerships said there was stored codes (46) that they cleared, but cant figure out why this is happening. After the first dealership cleared the codes, 3 days later it happened again. Yesterday I picked up my Jeep from the second dealership and this morning I went to use the auto start and it shut right off a second later. Now my jeep wont turn on at all. I asked if they checked the wiring harnesses and they said yes that they are fine. Im reaching out to see if anyone can help because I cant keep paying hundreds of dollars to dealerships. Its very frustrating because I love my jeep and don't want to get rid of it. Its only a 2019 unlimited JL with 51k miles.

 

[RMK7871]

It is very frustrating as I have been having the exact same issue with my 2018 JL. Look at the length of this thread!! You would think the manufacturer would be able to figure out the cause and put dealers on notice.

 

[zeroquanta]

Alright everyone, 38000 miles on the clock and I got the dreaded "Service Shifter". Of course it would strike now.

I have over the last several weeks been compiling the various threads and any relatable resource on the subject. Obviously most all of us are not fully willing to take apart our jeeps... But to those that are I will share my findings.

All of my failures, and honestly most of what I have read in this and similar threads have been the following:

• Service Shifter
• Sway bar Unavailable
• ABS error(or the like)
• loss of power steering(not every time, but this happened more frequently as the problem got worse)
• Near the end I had just about full failure of the main cluster as well

Originally I had just returned at around 37000 miles from a trip out west, Moab, Sand Hollow being among the "dumb" offroad things I did with my Jeep. One consequence of that trip(and likely always setting the parking brake to protect the transmission) was that I needed to adjust the parking brake. After adjusting the brake I handed the jeep back off to my wife who is more likely to move this thing on a daily basis. So after a week or two I hopped back in for a quick trip and 5 miles in I get a service shifter. Apparently this was the first time... But honestly who knows, wifey might have missed.

After this first incident I began to think back to my adjustment of the parking brake, which had me in and around the wiring related to the shifter. So I took it back apart, looked at all these wires, reseated connectors in and around the center console and put it back together.
This did not fix anything. So now I dive down the rabbit hole of the various threads related to this issue and I am not liking what I find. At the best of times I don't trust a dealer tech... And from what I hear/read they are barely if ever able to actually track down these issues. I digress.

What I have noticed is that we are all seeing a failure of the can-c-bus. This bus when damaged is presenting similar symptoms to most of us. The real problem however is that the damage that causes this can be almost anywhere along this bus. The bus wiring is spread across the jeep and in fact is of course sensitive to damage, especially a short to ground somewhere along the chassis or along a heatshield or the like. Several posts have listed where damaged was evidently found to their wiring harness. I looked, and looked and looked for the damage and I could find NOTHING. So I decided to go nuclear and look up the wiring diagrams for my jeep. Best I could find was on this very forum for a 2018, close enough for a rough outlook. Looking at the wiring diagrams, and then the connector locations I looked to the Green block of Star connectors behind the glovebox. There I took loose (after mapping/taking a photo) one connector off the block at a time. Originally I was looking for any significant short to ground, which I believe would be causing the issue, but I wasn't really hitting gold with that...

So plan B it was, with the jeep off I would disconnect one connector at a time, from the green block, ignoring the 3 wire connector which I believe to be the input for the whole block. ONLY REMOVE ONE AT A TIME. Once one is removed I started the jeep, looked for what was in error(if obvious, sometimes it wasn't) and I noted that down on the map I was creating. Then I drove the jeep and tested for the various failures, ignoring of course the one that I legitimately created. Eventually I found the bus connection that was causing the bus to fail, with that connector removed I was able to isolate what system I have damage with. This damage could be a wire shorting to ground, shorting together or a failure of the actual device that that particular wire leads to. This will get you into the ballpark, with that follow the wire back from the device and look for damage, my personal choice would be to disconnect from the device itself(both the star connector on the block at the glovebox and from for instance the connection to the sway bar disconnect). If with no devices connected to that particular bus output you meter the wire for resistance between the conductors(theoretically should be fully open) and meter for any measurable resistance to ground(also theoretically should be fully open). It helps to have sharp points on your meter and know how to use it. If you have to ask... Best not to try any of this honestly.

I found my problem to be originating from the sway bar disconnect in my case... With the canbus removed going out to that I have been able to drive without issue for 50+ miles, I have consistently failed withing a mile for the last several weeks. Given this I believe I am good. I am going to take the opportunity to scrap the factory electric unit for an air actuated unit, either a Swayloc or evo mfg unit. Probably the Swayloc. I will use my tazer mini to get rid of the factory swaybar option and move on with life. I do wish someone had a good way of still utilizing the factory sway bar button.

The point I make with this post is that it is possible to localize and track down the general location or wire path in your jeep for this issue. It will not work for everyone, and even if you presented this information to a dealer they would likely ignore. Hopefully this helps atleast one person get their jeep back to working order. As always, use your own judgement and discretion on your property. I take no responsibility for damage.

I would make sure you turn the jeep back off(open door to really turn it off) before plugging the removed star connectors back in and testing the next output.

 

[leeshuming]

Mine just came on literally 2 hrs ago.
I pulled over, turned the engine off, and restarted the jeep and the message was gone.
I went off roading yesterday and was wondering if I had damaged anything, especially I was actively crossing streams and stuff.

Also recently took my jeep to the dealer and had 3 recalls completed. I love my jeep but all these little issues are making me very unhappy.

Anyway, I checked all the fuses and connections behind the glove box and in the engine bay, nothing was lose.

i am guessing it is some wiring harness somewhere that is causing this... i will probably follow @zeroquanta 's plan B method some time later.. but first i need to make sure this service comes up again consistently.

 

[zeroquanta]

Mine just came on literally 2 hrs ago.
I pulled over, turned the engine off, and restarted the jeep and the message was gone.
I went off roading yesterday and was wondering if I had damaged anything, especially I was actively crossing streams and stuff.

Also recently took my jeep to the dealer and had 3 recalls completed. I love my jeep but all these little issues are making me very unhappy.

Anyway, I checked all the fuses and connections behind the glove box and in the engine bay, nothing was lose.

i am guessing it is some wiring harness somewhere that is causing this... i will probably follow @zeroquanta 's plan B method some time later.. but first i need to make sure this service comes up again consistently.

If it helps I put the jeep fully back together on Sunday and drove another 50+ miles, still solidly clear. This is a terrifying problem when it begins to onset but it doesn't have to be. I just happen to work with Systems that fail similarly for work. So after sitting back and thinking about it for a while I went digging. Even if the jeep dealership is unwilling or unqualified to help there will be a competent mechanic who will use the research found on these various posts to figure it out. Wiring harnesses can be replaced, individual devices on the can bus can be replaced. The problem with the dealership as I see it is that they plug their computer in and it says replace everything on the can bus because there are errors on everything. There are errors because it is a databus that loops to the various devices and checks on their status. But one device failure, short between wires or short to ground will draw down the entire bus. Computer is wrong to assume that everything is bad, but it's just not that smart. At the end of the day we/mechanic have to do the heavy lifting to track down the actual fault on the bus and move from there.

Everyone's jeeps are likely fairly easy to troubleshoot once you get the right tech.

That being said if anyone is in NC with these issues DM me and I might be able to help you out personally. As a consequence of my own jeep doing this I have become fairly educated on the subject and I know how soul crushing it seems as well.

 

[agpthng]

And since I had mine serviced for this whole issue, when I put it in 4h the light blinks on the dash like it's lose. Not sure if it's related but when it was having issues it mention the 4wd also. ugh!

 

[zeroquanta]

I wanted to update everyone, 350 miles with no issues since I tracked down my problem. I could not move 1 mile without issues before this.

These problems are not unsolvable. Do not lose hope.

Common failures/solutions that I have read

• Bus damaged at catalytic converter heat shielding, seems more likely on 2018-19
• Pinch/damage near passenger side front bumper. Bus runs near here to cover swaybar disconnect
• Some people have had actual failures of the can c bus star connections behind the glove box, pretty easy to check this one. Simply wiggle the connections while engine running and see if anything happens
• Failures due to water/corrosion of the sway bar disconnect or front axle disconnect, both modules are on the can c bus and in my opinion are the most sensitive yo damage given their physical location down low on the jeep.
• Also someone was pretty convinced that a host of these problems could be caused by corrosion on the ground that is connected to the transmission housing. Can be removed, sanded down clean and the reinstalled easily enough to check. Based on the harness diagram and what I saw under my jeep, I believe this ground to be near the front of the bell housing on the passenger side of the transmission. Could be wrong though.
• On early models there were plenty of reports of fuses/relays not being fully seated. Sure doesn't hurt to make sure everything is fully seated in the fuse box.

I hope someone benefits from my experiences. Good luck folks. If I have a problem again I will update. If I think of anything to improve the diagnostic process then I will also update.

 

[ProJeep]

I brought my jeep into 2 jeep dealerships to get checked out because it locks up and wont let me drive when i turn it on. For a good month this has been happening. The traction control, ABS, Engine light is all on. Then it says Service shifter, service 4wd, service electronic stability control, stop/start unavailable service stop/start, and my shifter is locked. Both dealerships said there was stored codes (46) that they cleared, but cant figure out why this is happening. After the first dealership cleared the codes, 3 days later it happened again. Yesterday I picked up my Jeep from the second dealership and this morning I went to use the auto start and it shut right off a second later. Now my jeep wont turn on at all. I asked if they checked the wiring harnesses and they said yes that they are fine. Im reaching out to see if anyone can help because I cant keep paying hundreds of dollars to dealerships. Its very frustrating because I love my jeep and don't want to get rid of it. Its only a 2019 unlimited JL with 51k miles.

Hey Tiffany! Please refer to my post from October-ish where I break down the steps involved in getting mine fixed. It took a long time and lots of $$$ - as well as a summer without my Jeep as it sat at the dealership deemed "unsafe to operate." Long story long - Get Jeep cares involved and beg and plead with the dealership to replace the star connectors. The person from Jeep cares literally told me that they thought the dealership wasn't taking me seriously because I am a girl. Don't let that happen. I printed these forums and color coded the pages with what worked and what doesn't and carried them into the dealership pleading that they would follow the guidance. They wouldn't listen until Jeep opened a star case (or whatever they call it. )
I also urge everyone experiencing this issue to file a safety complaint with NHTSB as Jeep should be owning and recalling this issue:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safe...686AbsXsrT0aAvTCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#vehicle
We've been problem free since they finally replaced the star connectors.
Good luck to you!

 

[ProJeep]

It is very frustrating as I have been having the exact same issue with my 2018 JL. Look at the length of this thread!! You would think the manufacturer would be able to figure out the cause and put dealers on notice.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safe...686AbsXsrT0aAvTCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#vehicle

 

[agpthng]

Hey Tiffany! Please refer to my post from October-ish where I break down the steps involved in getting mine fixed. It took a long time and lots of $$$ - as well as a summer without my Jeep as it sat at the dealership deemed "unsafe to operate." Long story long - Get Jeep cares involved and beg and plead with the dealership to replace the star connectors. The person from Jeep cares literally told me that they thought the dealership wasn't taking me seriously because I am a girl. Don't let that happen. I printed these forums and color coded the pages with what worked and what doesn't and carried them into the dealership pleading that they would follow the guidance. They wouldn't listen until Jeep opened a star case (or whatever they call it. )
I also urge everyone experiencing this issue to file a safety complaint with NHTSB as Jeep should be owning and recalling this issue:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safe...686AbsXsrT0aAvTCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#vehicle
We've been problem free since they finally replaced the star connectors.
Good luck to you!

This what we had to have done, was under warranty. They replaced the star connector behind the glove box after both my batteries were replaced and it still happened. We had Jeep Cares involved as well but I honestly didn't need them once I started documenting in a journal when it would happen each time. They told me it was helpful for the service department to see the journal.

 

[RMK7871]

This what we had to have done, was under warranty. They replaced the star connector behind the glove box after both my batteries were replaced and it still happened. We had Jeep Cares involved as well but I honestly didn't need them once I started documenting in a journal when it would happen each time. They told me it was helpful for the service department to see the journal.

So what was the common theme of when it would happen? What did you ultimately find to be the cause and how was is resolved?

 

[agpthng]

So what was the common theme of when it would happen? What did you ultimately find to be the cause and how was is resolved?

With batteries being replaced and it still happened, they then checked the fuses to make sure they were seated in there, drove it with the glove box apart, I guess there is maybe some fuses behind there too and they noticed that when the cstar connector moved just a little all the bells and whistles would come on, lose power steering, etc. They moved it back a hair and it stopped. It's like a usb hub I guess. So they replaced it and I haven't had any issues since.

 

[RMK7871]

With batteries being replaced and it still happened, they then checked the fuses to make sure they were seated in there, drove it with the glove box apart, I guess there is maybe some fuses behind there too and they noticed that when the cstar connector moved just a little all the bells and whistles would come on, lose power steering, etc. They moved it back a hair and it stopped. It's like a usb hub I guess. So they replaced it and I haven't had any issues since.

Thank you.

 

[ProJeep]

This what we had to have done, was under warranty. They replaced the star connector behind the glove box after both my batteries were replaced and it still happened. We had Jeep Cares involved as well but I honestly didn't need them once I started documenting in a journal when it would happen each time. They told me it was helpful for the service department to see the journal.

Ours was just out of warranty (2018 with 34k miles. We began experiencing the failure in the beginning of 2022.) We also had a journal and video documentation.

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