Stalled M/T, would not restart

[drogers]

Are you talking about a push-start, bump-start, crash-start, etc? I’ve not heard it called a drift start before, so we may be talking about different things, but reading the posts here, it sounds like that’s exactly how the OP got theirs going.

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[dwoodwo1]

Yes, it does work with a push button. That was how I was able to get it started when the issue occurred. I popped the clutch in reverse while rolling back down my driveway. Started with no issues that way.

*edited - called it a car... what was i thinking!?

 

[Ruby Jack]

Just picked up my manual Rubi yesterday from the dealership and was tasked with driving away from their highly-visible designated delivery area. I put away some of the paperwork, adjusted the mirrors and proceeded to try to start the Jeep - unsuccessfully at first.

Attempt 1: Clutch in; tap Start-button.... no dice
Attempt 2: Clutch in, other foot on brake pedal; tap start button.... no dice
Attempt 3: Cycle button to off, open and close door to start fresh; Repeat Step 2 and get a "Grr"
Last attempt: HOLD the Start button down until it starts

I presume HOLDING the button is a manual-only thing??? All of the push-button cars I've had were a simple tap on the START button - even my Manual trans 2015 Golf TDI cranks itself with just a tap???

A Jeep thing?

YES!

I had the EXACT same issue. I have a push start WRX where I just have to step on clutch and push button for it to start. On the Sport manual I test drove, I had same problem. Just pressing the button didn't work, I had to hold it down.

 

[Ruby Jack]

For clarity here, I had this happen to me once but have also had it NOT happen many times (so no problem). I am up to 1,000 miles so far, and you do have to hold the start button in on the m/t model until it is running. -Usually I never stall, my clutch skills were rusty!

Even pros can stall a manual until they figure out the clutch's sweet spot. I had the M/T I was testing not stall once on the drive, but then stall TWICE as I was backing up to park it.

 

[ThirtyOne]

Myself and another guy were berated on another thread a few months back when we mentioned we preferred the traditional key to the push button start. Reason being it was proven technology that was reliable. Everyone said the traditional turn key still activates electronics to the starter so the push button was no different. While that might be true, maybe I am just old school I still like the turn key. Hope this is just something that takes a short adjustment period and that the push button works as dependably however not off to a great start.

No I’m not a hater, an no JK, TJ, YJ, whatever was not the last great Jeep ever made. I love 99% of the improvements in the JL. I do however wish for the turn key back.

I just had to spend over $400 replacing keyed ignition on my car. Neither is fully reliable.

 

[NavyVet1959]

I have nothing against *some* push button start systems. In fact, my aircraft has one. The key is for turning the power on or off and the big mechanical button is for sending power to the starter motor. But, if the battery is too low on it, I can just get out and hand-prop the engine instead.

 

[intentsrig]

Base sports have it. At least mine does. In case anyone is wondering

 

[NavyVet1959]

I just had to spend over $400 replacing keyed ignition on my car. Neither is fully reliable.

That probably has to do with them putting the ignition key on the steering column. Back in the old days when the key went into a switch on the dash and there was a separate starter button also on the dash, it would have been easier to replace. Of course, they were probably also a bit easier to hotwire.

 

[McCloude]

Even pros can stall a manual until they figure out the clutch's sweet spot. I had the M/T I was testing not stall once on the drive, but then stall TWICE as I was backing up to park it.

Honestly, I have only stalled (a few times) in Reverse. And ran into the same issue in the OP only once.

 

[NavyVet1959]

Honestly, I have only stalled (a few times) in Reverse. And ran into the same issue in the OP only once.

That's interesting... I don't think I've *ever* stalled it in reverse. Usually, it's in first gear right after buying the vehicle because it has a different "sweet spot" with respect to engaging the gears and the throttle that you need at that point.

I had read that the JL had changed things so that if you let off on the clutch without giving it gas, it would start moving and not stall out. Supposedly, the JK was not that way (and in fact most manual transmission cars that I've had over the years have not been that way). I was mentioning this to the sales guy when I was test driving a 2-door JK the other day and he didn't understand what I was talking about, so I pulled into an empty parking lot along the way and tried to show him. It turned out that the JK did not stall out like I was expecting it to do.

My impression of the clutch on the JK vs the one on the JL is that the JL's is more linearly progressive along the length of travel whereas the JK's has more of a "sweet spot" that is a good distance from the fully depressed clutch pedal. I'm thinking that the JK's would be even more millennial car thief unfriendly.

I've been driving manual transmission vehicles for 50 years, so it really doesn't bother me what they do since I'll quickly get used to it.

 

[COBill]

If Jeep is going to make manual transmissions as electronics-sensitive as the automatics, maybe I’ll just stick to TJs. I could buy a TJ every year for less than a JL would run me, hmm.

What would you drive the week a month the TJ is in the service garage?

Sorry, still a little annoyed by the at least two days per month my TJ spent in the dealership service garage for its entire warranty period, always for something new so it didn't fall under the lemon law.

It gets memorable the third or fourth time your entire instrument cluster goes dead while driving and when the horn pad doesn't work despite the clock spring having already been replaced three times.

Myself and another guy were berated on another thread a few months back when we mentioned we preferred the traditional key to the push button start. Reason being it was proven technology that was reliable. Everyone said the traditional turn key still activates electronics to the starter so the push button was no different. While that might be true, maybe I am just old school I still like the turn key. Hope this is just something that takes a short adjustment period and that the push button works as dependably however not off to a great start.

Note that with today's vehicles, the circuitry is exactly the same whether the start mechanism is a dash push button or a key switch, they are just "switch closed" inputs to the car computer which handles everything from there; it's no longer a matter of the key switch just supplying power to the starter motor when turned to "start."

You could, in theory replace the start button with any momentary contact switch - button, key switch, maybe even a really cool numeric combination keypad.

Now that I'm thinking about it, that would make a neat anti-theft system:

"To start the vehicle, enter the solution to the mathematical equation displayed above on the adjacent keypad. Solve for x."

 

[NavyVet1959]

It gets memorable the third or fourth time your entire instrument cluster goes dead while driving and when the horn pad doesn't work despite the clock spring having already been replaced three times.

I noticed on my wife's BMW recently that the horn doesn't work if the engine is not turned on. I was sitting in the car at a parking lot outside a restaurant while she and a couple of her friends were eating. This idiot woman pulls up beside me and as she comes around to the back door of her SUV, she opens the door into the passenger side mirror of the BMW. There wasn't even a car on the other side of her since it was at the end of the row and she could have parked all the way to the right. I was pissed, so I tried to honk the horn at her, but it didn't work. It kind of loses the effect when you have to wait for the window to roll down and then yell, "EXCUUUSSSEEEE MEEEEE???? (WTF) IS YOUR PROBLEM???" and then a couple other choice words. It was in NOLA, so you can probably guess the demographics of the offender...

With my XJ, that would not have been a problem since the steel nerf bars that I had on it would dent any door that tried to open into it.

 

[Ruby Jack]

Heh, you're not driving a Jeep unless something goes wrong at least twice a year. My dad called me last week complaining his '12 Grand Cherokee with only 50k miles had an issue with its automatic tranny. It apparently can't shift and the car is stuck on his driveway.

 

[PHteven_72]

Sorry to resurrect this older post, but this just happened to me today. I have about 4K miles on my JL Sahara and embarrassingly stalled it today going through the main gate onto a base. Jeep would not restart. Clutch in, brake in, stick in neutral...no start. Ignition button would cycle out of “run.” After a minute or two (felt like 10) it finally allowed me to cycle to OFF, then able to restart. I do love everything about the Jeep and the M/T, but this could be a huge issue if it keeps happening. I am hoping someone at FCA can explain this and tell me how to solve it (except for the obvious, “don’t stall it!”). My theory is...even though no incline, maybe Hill Assist grabbed the brakes and then couldn’t release them due to engine not running and still being in RUN mode. This may have confused the ignition system until able to rest somehow.

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