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BigMaCro

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Hi, thought I'd share my experiences driving the 4xe in Alaska winter conditions.

I commute 50 miles to work from Wasilla to Anchorage. I start out charged in my heated garage, and arrive at work about 50 minutes later, where I park outside but can plug in and L2 charge at 16 amps again (about 4 hours).

1. Electric mode unavailable under 5 degrees F air temperature. This isn't dependent on the battery temperature, as it came straight out of the garage. If the outside air warms up a degree, EV mode will work.

2. Remote start will always start the engine, even while plugged in, under about 30 degrees F. That gas engine is the best heater, and it'll start up to warm the cabin the most quickly. I wish we could adjust a preference to use the just electric heater when plugged in instead, like it will if it's just a few degrees warmer.

3. No 4xe/hybrid related driving/handling problems. The Jeep's hybrid system isn't causing issues with traction or handling in icy conditions. I still drive around in max regen, and don't lose traction decelerating. I think the stability control/abs systems are doing a good job monitoring for lost traction and adjusting as needed. Obviously electric torque could easily spin tires on acceleration, but it's pretty hard to get it to do that with traction control on.

4. 4-Auto is great for winter driving! I don't feel it engage or disengage, it's always stable accelerating around corners, etc. I've just left it in auto for months now, without any need to lock it in 4Hi for traction or 2 for maneuverability.

5. BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's are great winter tires! Ok, so not true winter compound siped tires, but with 15,000 miles on them, my KO2's still have plenty of sharp edges biting the ice & snow. If I won the lottery I might put dedicated snow tires on, but so far have felt no need to. And yes, our roads now have a permanent glaze of ice on them, and it often builds up to inches thick.

6. Jeep LED headlights rock! I really don't even need to put high-beams on, because the low beams are so good with lots of distance.
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sconrad24

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I’ll second no. 3. Max regen seems the best for traction in snow as long as you don’t take your foot completely off to brake. If I am nice and easy speeding up or slowing down, I feel like I have more control then using both pedals.
 

JAKE.JEEPER

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Hi, thought I'd share my experiences driving the 4xe in Alaska winter conditions.

I commute 50 miles to work from Wasilla to Anchorage. I start out charged in my heated garage, and arrive at work about 50 minutes later, where I park outside but can plug in and L2 charge at 16 amps again (about 4 hours).

1. Electric mode unavailable under 5 degrees F air temperature. This isn't dependent on the battery temperature, as it came straight out of the garage. If the outside air warms up a degree, EV mode will work.

2. Remote start will always start the engine, even while plugged in, under about 30 degrees F. That gas engine is the best heater, and it'll start up to warm the cabin the most quickly. I wish we could adjust a preference to use the just electric heater when plugged in instead, like it will if it's just a few degrees warmer.

3. No 4xe/hybrid related driving/handling problems. The Jeep's hybrid system isn't causing issues with traction or handling in icy conditions. I still drive around in max regen, and don't lose traction decelerating. I think the stability control/abs systems are doing a good job monitoring for lost traction and adjusting as needed. Obviously electric torque could easily spin tires on acceleration, but it's pretty hard to get it to do that with traction control on.

4. 4-Auto is great for winter driving! I don't feel it engage or disengage, it's always stable accelerating around corners, etc. I've just left it in auto for months now, without any need to lock it in 4Hi for traction or 2 for maneuverability.

5. BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's are great winter tires! Ok, so not true winter compound siped tires, but with 15,000 miles on them, my KO2's still have plenty of sharp edges biting the ice & snow. If I won the lottery I might put dedicated snow tires on, but so far have felt no need to. And yes, our roads now have a permanent glaze of ice on them, and it often builds up to inches thick.

6. Jeep LED headlights rock! I really don't even need to put high-beams on, because the low beams are so good with lots of distance.
Glad to know your K02's are great in the snow, as mine have the same amount of mileage on them.
 

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BXFXJeep

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I’ll second no. 3. Max regen seems the best for traction in snow as long as you don’t take your foot completely off to brake. If I am nice and easy speeding up or slowing down, I feel like I have more control then using both pedals.
I think this is correct, I turned on Max Regen this morning after months of not using it, I saw it was icy on the roads, and I hit that button.

I try not to use the brake on the icy roads.
 

Blueyes23

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Hi, thought I'd share my experiences driving the 4xe in Alaska winter conditions.

I commute 50 miles to work from Wasilla to Anchorage. I start out charged in my heated garage, and arrive at work about 50 minutes later, where I park outside but can plug in and L2 charge at 16 amps again (about 4 hours).

1. Electric mode unavailable under 5 degrees F air temperature. This isn't dependent on the battery temperature, as it came straight out of the garage. If the outside air warms up a degree, EV mode will work.

2. Remote start will always start the engine, even while plugged in, under about 30 degrees F. That gas engine is the best heater, and it'll start up to warm the cabin the most quickly. I wish we could adjust a preference to use the just electric heater when plugged in instead, like it will if it's just a few degrees warmer.

3. No 4xe/hybrid related driving/handling problems. The Jeep's hybrid system isn't causing issues with traction or handling in icy conditions. I still drive around in max regen, and don't lose traction decelerating. I think the stability control/abs systems are doing a good job monitoring for lost traction and adjusting as needed. Obviously electric torque could easily spin tires on acceleration, but it's pretty hard to get it to do that with traction control on.

4. 4-Auto is great for winter driving! I don't feel it engage or disengage, it's always stable accelerating around corners, etc. I've just left it in auto for months now, without any need to lock it in 4Hi for traction or 2 for maneuverability.

5. BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's are great winter tires! Ok, so not true winter compound siped tires, but with 15,000 miles on them, my KO2's still have plenty of sharp edges biting the ice & snow. If I won the lottery I might put dedicated snow tires on, but so far have felt no need to. And yes, our roads now have a permanent glaze of ice on them, and it often builds up to inches thick.

6. Jeep LED headlights rock! I really don't even need to put high-beams on, because the low beams are so good with lots of distance.
Thanks for all the good info!!
 
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BigMaCro

BigMaCro

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Also, I've left it unplugged for several days at around 0 degrees F and it started no problem. According to the manual -22 is the cutoff that won't start unless it has been plugged in to warm the battery.
 

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sconrad24

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I think this is correct, I turned on Max Regen this morning after months of not using it, I saw it was icy on the roads, and I hit that button.

I try not to use the brake on the icy roads.
i know you have had your 4xe for awhile. I’d advise any new owners to get used to max regen first before trying it out in winter weather.
 

BDinTX

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I thought I had seen on here that folks had problems with snow sticking to the headlights and eventually covering them since the LEDs don't produce enough heat to melt it. No issues with that?
 
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BigMaCro

BigMaCro

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I thought I had seen on here that folks had problems with snow sticking to the headlights and eventually covering them since the LEDs don't produce enough heat to melt it. No issues with that?
I can see how that could happen in specific conditions, but it's not something that has been a problem for me yet. Usually it's dirty road spray that will darken the headlights, and I'll sometimes pull over to clean them off. I'll often pull over in my semi truck to clean the lights from snow, ice, or dirt, too. My truck has LED low-beam bulbs and ice does build up on them, but I'm still glad to have them versus halogen.
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