Will the 4xe be unusable in hot weather?!

[aug0211]

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...
Will the 4xe be unusable in hot weather?!

Any real life reports or tests yet that anyone has found (or conducted) on this?

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[Faresalsal]

I live in Phoenix and was thinking about buying a 4xe this fall. But in reading the Hybrid Supplement (https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/downloads/2021-Wrangler-4xe-Hybrid-Supplement.pdf) it looks like the 4xe will refuse to start if the batteries are over 131 F and it's not plugged in. The batteries are in the passenger compartment, and that temperature is reached in an hour or less parked in the summer sun here. Am I missing something? I could understand if the batteries can't be used or charged when they're that hot, but to prevent the Jeep from starting at all is nuts. I thought I was misreading the manual but it's listed multiple times. Why can't it just run on the gas engine? This totally kills the 4xe for me.

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Damn, and i thought it would be nice to have this over the 392.. here in Kuwait 131°F (55°C) is average temps during 6 months of the year. i guess jeep is not gonna send the 4xe to the middle east.

 

[Geesmill]

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...
Will the 4xe be unusable in hot weather?!

Sorry for the diversion. Jaime's set up is quite impressive and I just had many questions. In the future I will DM things like that.

 

[DHW]

You'll be fine. If the batteries suffer heatstroke, just have new ones sent to your Arizona mailbox...

Just make sure it's wood or metal...

 

[Roverhi]

I'm sure Jeep tested the hybrid arrangement in the worst possible conditions. If the batteries are too hot to use at startup, the 2.0 liter will take over and run the A/C coolant through the batteries and they'll soon be cool enough to get back on line. Battery use may be somewhat limited by the ambient temperature but the truck will still run on gasoline if necessary.

 

[Gazelle]

...Battery use may be somewhat limited by the ambient temperature but the truck will still run on gasoline if necessary.

I truly hope you are right, but that is NOT what the manual says. I asked my salesman, @PaulwithJeep, for clarification, but nothing useful has come back from JEEP.

 

[nowandthen]

Sorry for the diversion. Jaime's set up is quite impressive and I just had many questions. In the future I will DM things like that.

No big deal. We all get off-track, myself included.

 

[Majestic]

Now that it’s been a year, any updates on this?
If battery is inside the Jeep and the interior can get to 140 degrees on a hot day, and you’re in a parking lot with no plug, has anybody had a problem with it starting?
Does anybody who lives in a hot area notice any battery degradation from the batteries being cooked all day?

 

[JLSmitty]

Now that it’s been a year, any updates on this?
If battery is inside the Jeep and the interior can get to 140 degrees on a hot day, and you’re in a parking lot with no plug, has anybody had a problem with it starting?
Does anybody who lives in a hot area notice any battery degradation from the batteries being cooked all day?

I’m over 18,000 miles, use mine as my daily driver, and am on my 2nd Texas summer. I haven’t had any problems with the heat affecting mine after sitting unplugged in the hot sun. Also have no noticeable battery degradation. When I’m driving in the mornings when it’s cooler with no AC, I get the same range as I did when it was brand new.

 

[DewHawk]

This photo is taken straight from Barlow Adventures website. For those that don't know, Nena Barlow (owner and operator) is also the current defending champion of the Rebelle Rally from last year which she and her co-driver Teralin Petereit competed in and won with a 4xe. Barlow Adventures runs 4xe's in Sedona and is continuing to expand their fleet with them.

If the 4xe can stand up to an 8 day, 1550+ mile off road rally event in the burning deserts of Nevada and California and serve as rentals in Arizona, I'm pretty sure they'll be just fine for everyday use.

 

[Majestic]

I’m over 18,000 miles, use mine as my daily driver, and am on my 2nd Texas summer. I haven’t had any problems with the heat affecting mine after sitting unplugged in the hot sun. Also have no noticeable battery degradation. When I’m driving in the mornings when it’s cooler with no AC, I get the same range as I did when it was brand new.

Good to hear.
If you don’t mind me asking what range did you get brand new? What range do you get with AC on?
I know some degradation is normal on EV’s but Jeep only starts with 21 miles so I’m hoping owning for 6 years or so doesn’t leave me with 15 miles or less.

 

[Bleda2002]

The

Good to hear.
If you don’t mind me asking what range did you get brand new? What range do you get with AC on?
I know some degradation is normal on EV’s but Jeep only starts with 21 miles so I’m hoping owning for 6 years or so doesn’t leave me with 15 miles or less.

We're at 13000 miles, no noticeable loss of range.

 

[Majestic]

This photo is taken straight from Barlow Adventures website. For those that don't know, Nena Barlow (owner and operator) is also the current defending champion of the Rebelle Rally from last year which she and her co-driver Teralin Petereit competed in and won with a 4xe. Barlow Adventures runs 4xe's in Sedona and is continuing to expand their fleet with them.

If the 4xe can stand up to an 8 day, 1550+ mile off road rally event in the burning deserts of Nevada and California and serve as rentals in Arizona, I'm pretty sure they'll be just fine for everyday use.

This seems good proof of real world endurance, but I can’t wrap my head around how these batteries stay cool in a hot car. Once it’s running the coolant system should help, but off it’s just soaking up heat. Maybe the seats help insulate it?
Good to see these seem to be holding up in abusive conditions.

 

[DewHawk]

Good to hear.
If you don’t mind me asking what range did you get brand new? What range do you get with AC on?
I know some degradation is normal on EV’s but Jeep only starts with 21 miles so I’m hoping owning for 6 years or so doesn’t leave me with 15 miles or less.

Depends. Stock I was averaging about 26-28 miles to the charge even on KO2’s with the AC off and on. Now on 37’s I average between 21-26 and it mostly depends on how many hills I climb.

The battery has its own connection to the AC circuit and can regulate its own temperature to maintain peak efficiency under normal operation. It struggles when temperatures reach extremes and requires a plug in high voltage source to adapt to the conditions. Once it has, it’s essentially recalibrated to handle whatever extreme you’re throwing at it.

TL;DR : I’ve never personally had an instance with it struggling to survive in below 0 weather in Colorado or above 100 weather in Moab.

 

[JLSmitty]

Good to hear.
If you don’t mind me asking what range did you get brand new? What range do you get with AC on?
I know some degradation is normal on EV’s but Jeep only starts with 21 miles so I’m hoping owning for 6 years or so doesn’t leave me with 15 miles or less.

I’ve always got between 26-29 all electric miles on my daily route, which is mostly at 35-45mph and about 3 miles doing 60ish mph. Running my AC takes about 10% more battery charge on my 21 mile one way trip, so figure about 3 miles less range overall. I am one of the lucky ones that can charge at work before going home, so I rarely if ever use gas to and from work

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