"Winter" has neutered the 4xe

[mla575]

Did you have the heat on? Theres detailed lines in the manual supplement that state when the ICE will kick on. Ambient temperature and heater load are one of those conditions. When it does it best just to let the 4xe do its thing. The engine will run until everything is warmed and then the 4xe will operate as usual.

I must have missed these lines in the supplement. I did not have the heat on as the temperature was fairly comfortable but I did have the heated seat on.
I just find it odd that the car was fairly warm 57 degrees.. then drove for about 5 miles in 41 degrees but the electric only won’t work. I’ll try electric only right out the garage next time and see what happens

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[sconrad24]

I must have missed these lines in the supplement. I did not have the heat on as the temperature was fairly comfortable but I did have the heated seat on.
I just find it odd that the car was fairly warm 57 degrees.. then drove for about 5 miles in 41 degrees but the electric only won’t work. I’ll try electric only right out the garage next time and see what happens

Try it a few more times and see. For what whatever reason during your drive the ICE was triggered. The first time it comes on during a drive, it has to complete it's warm up. I am sure thats why it locked you out of electric. We found out the hard way, a couple weeks ago. We were up at my in laws a couple blocks away and after being there a couple hours we drove home and as soon as we hit the driveway the ICE came on. Temps were in the 30s. My wife was driving and shut it off though as we were in the garage. It bugged me so I took it back out later that night. Even though my garage is warm, the engine started as soon as I hit the button. I drove it around for 5 minutes or so and the ICE shut off on its own.

 

[sconrad24]

I encountered this a couple of days ago, and it did specifically state that it couldn't be on electric because of climate control. Your spot on about letting it do it's thing.

We've had a fair bit of snow this week and I'm quite pleased with how it's handled it. I will add the Baja Boss A/Ts have been rock solid in the snow and ice.

Im still on the stock duellers. I am waiting to see how they handle the snow. My old JKU on Duratracs was great even in 2wd but the ride was disappointing. This rides almost like a cuv.

 

[KarlN]

Let me preface this by saying I am very much a fan of the 4xe, and I have loved mine for damn near every mile we've driven together. That being said, ever since it started getting colder (<50) the electric performance has become quite degraded. I know range will drop with colder temps, it's just a fact of life, but what I'm referring to is the actual power production. I live on and around a bunch of small hills, in the warmer months they weren't a bother and I was able to cruise along without a thought. What I have noticed now is that in electric mode it struggles and in some cases is unable to maintain speed. This is most prevalent when I am in 3rd gear doing ~40mph, what I am experiencing is a loss of power, almost like a manual with a slipping clutch. There is no throttle response and it starts to lose momentum. Obviously this is an electric only issue and running on the ICE cures it, but that's not really the point of the 4xe, especially on local <20 mile trips. If this is what I should expect, so be it, but I'm curious if anyone has experienced similar behavior, and if there is a remedy. Frankly I'm a little concerned as 45 degrees is not really "cold" when compared to sub 30's and snow.

I would say you are having an issue... Mine has been operated on hills at and below freezing down to 17 recently. It is parked in a climate controlled garage before leaving at 50 DEG. While range seems a bit less in the cold, I see no change in actual performance during the battery depletion cycle.

 

[runningshoes]

Not related to the OP's issue, but doesn't the 12v on the 4XE run most of the normal stuff like heated seats, AC and heat, etc., or is some of this off the high voltage battery pack?

 

[mla575]

Try it a few more times and see. For what whatever reason during your drive the ICE was triggered. The first time it comes on during a drive, it has to complete it's warm up. I am sure thats why it locked you out of electric. We found out the hard way, a couple weeks ago. We were up at my in laws a couple blocks away and after being there a couple hours we drove home and as soon as we hit the driveway the ICE came on. Temps were in the 30s. My wife was driving and shut it off though as we were in the garage. It bugged me so I took it back out later that night. Even though my garage is warm, the engine started as soon as I hit the button. I drove it around for 5 minutes or so and the ICE shut off on its own.

Still not working. I have tried it several different scenarios and no electric only. Doing more research it looks like there may be an issue with the heater.

 

[Low_Spark]

So no clue what happened or changed, I haven't had a chance to take it in to the dealer yet, but last night in electric mode with an external temp of 44 degrees I made it up the hill mentioned above with a speed of 48 mph. Just last week I was lucky to crest it doing 35 and it felt like I was losing momentum. Last night I had power and felt like I was accelerating the whole climb, it reminded me of how it drove before "winter". I am thoroughly stumped as to why the power output feels so varrying and why all of a sudden it has returned to normal. Anyway I know this is far from objective analysis and should only be viewed as anecdotal but the 4xe is uncharted territory and any bit of information could be helpful to someone down the road.

 

[sconrad24]

Still not working. I have tried it several different scenarios and no electric only. Doing more research it looks like there may be an issue with the heater.

Strange. I do not select electric only, I prefer to let the 4xe to its thing, especially with temps this cold. Today I drove 5 miles away for lunch, was in hybrid and it had electric on the whole time. Temps in the low 30s and winds 20 mph. The other night though was 24 degrees and snowing. The ICE kicked on right away for about a minute then shut off the rest of my drive. I had both defrosters going mid range. Drove for about 20 minutes or so and watched the engine temp gauge slowly fall, but the ICE never came back on (snow with just the electric motor is awesome btw). And this past weekend drove about 30 miles away in 18 degrees. The ICE again on for the first 5 minutes atleast then unexpectedly it shut off and went electric mid drive. I guess that im saying is that theres not an always rule for electric driving in winter. If temps are near or below freezing select hybrid and let the 4xe do its thing. Im sure the programming is designed to best protect the battery. Now if in all of your scenarios temps are in the 40s and the ice is always coming on right away then yes best to have the dealer look at it.

 

[BXFXJeep]

Perhaps we should probably be looking at this MPG thing a little differently.

Last night I was helping out a friend do some running around the city, in the snow -5c, we were at it for 4 hours, we made over 50 stops, at the end of it I had 7% and 4km available, I started with 90% 33km, at the end I covered 18km electric, and 2 ICE, I usually run ICE at the beginning when it's frigid, and sometimes during if I jump on the highway.

I am not sure exactly what the gas consumption vs electric would be in this scenario

However 4 hours of stop starting cannot be that great on the ICE, and I only spend $3 to charge up the Wrangler.

$3 at a public charger because I don't have access to a private charger, I don't know how much gas I would have used doing the same, less than $3 in gas, more, I don't know.

 

[mla575]

Strange. I do not select electric only, I prefer to let the 4xe to its thing, especially with temps this cold. Today I drove 5 miles away for lunch, was in hybrid and it had electric on the whole time. Temps in the low 30s and winds 20 mph. The other night though was 24 degrees and snowing. The ICE kicked on right away for about a minute then shut off the rest of my drive. I had both defrosters going mid range. Drove for about 20 minutes or so and watched the engine temp gauge slowly fall, but the ICE never came back on (snow with just the electric motor is awesome btw). And this past weekend drove about 30 miles away in 18 degrees. The ICE again on for the first 5 minutes atleast then unexpectedly it shut off and went electric mid drive. I guess that im saying is that theres not an always rule for electric driving in winter. If temps are near or below freezing select hybrid and let the 4xe do its thing. Im sure the programming is designed to best protect the battery. Now if in all of your scenarios temps are in the 40s and the ice is always coming on right away then yes best to have the dealer look at it.

Definitely not my experience. One of the conditions I had recently (while trying to figure out what is going on) was being in the garage, temperature is at about 55-57, (sometimes 60 if sun hits right) Temperature outside was around 45. I started it up as I usually do and the ICE comes on. It has been doing that since temperature has been below, id say.. 65? I am only selecting electric to try and force it to use the electric because keeping it hybrid, I only get ICE.

My mileage is dismal. The computer is showing 20.4 at best and the electric gets sucked
down real quick.

I found on youtube, wrangler4xefans, posted exactly what I have been experiencing.

"Electric Mode Unavailable + Cabin Heating or Cooling"

Will be contacting service soon.

 

[IdahoJOAT]

I guess I'm just spoiled then. I figure as long as it's 20.0+ I'm happy. It'll go back up during the warmer months.

 

[mla575]

I should have clarified that 20.4 is to be compared with what it was doing. I just believe something is wrong and the mileage should be better to some degree. If its not running properly, I don't want to settle for lower mileage than what it is capable of.

 

[Low_Spark]

I should have clarified that 20.4 is to be compared with what it was doing. I just believe something is wrong and the mileage should be better to some degree. If its not running properly, I don't want to settle for lower mileage than what it is capable of.

While you are getting 20.4 mpg what is your mileage dispersement? How many are electric vs gas? For me I only saw consumption like that when I was running almost exclusively on petrol.

 

[mla575]

While you are getting 20.4 mpg what is your mileage dispersement? How many are electric vs gas? For me I only saw consumption like that when I was running almost exclusively on petrol.

That's exactly the problem. It will not run in electric now. ICE only. When I first start it, it immediately engages the ICE. At first it would start in electric and only kick on ICE occasionally. Now I get that message about electric mode unavailable.

I have tried and tested many variable (within my control) to see what is the problem but it just does not engage electric.

 

[zrickety]

I never use Max Regen, I'm not a fan of how it drives in that mode. I know something is up, since May when I took delivery I've likely driven these hills 200+ times, I'm intimately familiar with each varying incline. For example the main hill I drive up is ~3/4 mile long, with a speed limit of 40mph. It has 2 main sections where the bulk of the elevation is gained with a long middle section that has a more subtle slope. In warmer weather I would start at the bottom in 2nd doing ~15mph (stupid round about) and make the initial climb building speed and going into 3rd, by the time the slope tapered off I would be doing ~40mph and it would shift into 4th. I could drive in fourth and build a bit more speed through this middle section before the final ascent where my speed would bleed off and I would crest the hill still in 4th but doing 37-39 mph (not sure if anyone else has noticed but this thing HATES to downshift in electric mode). Now, just last night in fact, I never made it out of 3rd and had to engage the ICE for the final incline, well below the crest as my speed had dropped to under 35.

You running electric heat?? Heated seats?

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