Over the weekend, Cindy and I got a chance to take our Jeep Renegade Trailhawk out on an exploration trip, to the middle of Nevada and while we were roaming around, we had our check engine or "SERVICE ENGINE" light come. Of course, being that this was more than likely an emissions related problem, we didn't give it much thought and continued on our way. Certainly, nothing appeared to be wrong and really, there wasn't much we could do until we could get our Renegade to a dealership and have them scan it to see what codes are being thrown. Anyway, the reason why I'm posting this is because there was one point along the way where I really wanted to lock in our 4WD to help get us up a rutted hill and was surprised to see that it wouldn't turn on - or at least, pushing the 4WD lock button wouldn't get it to light up. I tried turning off the engine, waited a bit and then restarted it but still got nothing. Fortunately, the 4WD system on the Renegade is always kind of on anyway and so I was still able to get up the hill in spite of not having it locked in but had I wanted to use the 4LO mode or any of the other traction control options, they would not have been available to me. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed by this.
I have had this happen to me...I really have loved my Reny but as an early adopter I have had a lot of issues. They have all been resolved but it was the time involved that was irritating. My last issue was the DCU module(took 30 days in shop to fix). Not sure how early your build is (mine was early 2105.) and I have 33k on mine now but I am currently awaiting a replacement 2106 Renegade and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Yeah, we've got an early 2015 - one of the first ones available for sale in Nevada. Guess I just need to make some time and pay a visit to the dealership.
Just happened to me over the weekend. Getting out of where I was would have been doable with out the low setting but it wouldn't have been as smooth. Luckily I keep a code reader in my tool kit and I had read this thread last week, so I knew to use it. Thanks all, you made my trip a lot less stressful. Btw, the code it threw is 128 coolant not getting to temperature fast enough. Looks like a trip to the dreaded deal is in order. Could the thermostat have gone bad already? One more thought. I believe the Renegade defaults to AWD. It only goes into FWD under certain conditions, like cruising at the same speed for an amount of time. The "Lock" would be to stop it from going into FWD which probably wouldn't happen on dirt road conditions.
I bought my Renegade in April 2015 and during the summer of 2015 I had the Check Engine light and just about every other light turn on as well. I turned the key and my dash light up like a Christmas tree, it would not even start . My local dealership came and picked it up and in less then 24 hours they had it fixed. All it needed was a software update. 25,000 miles on it now and zero issues since.
No surprise that your Michigan mechanics are better than our So Cal mechanics. (that was a joke. Wait a second. . did it set in? The punch line being that the Renegade is built in Italy not Michagan (OK so more a jab than a punch line. But a jab in jest with a smile on my face ( I would have put one of those pok e mans here if I knew how)) Do the double parenthesis work the same way in blogs as they do in math . . . reset ...I really want to rant to rant about how bad my local dealer has been (6 hrs to do my scheduled wheel alignment after I installed the lift. AAnd it came out worse than it went in. Or, the the 3.5 hr oil change that was a full quart low). But I think I found a Dealer (a few dealers away) that I think might have an actual mechanic. We'll see after next week. (The only reason I think this dealer might work is they're the only one I've contacted that will let me speak to the mechanic!) Is this for real? Four dealers and only one would let me directly talk to the person wrenching on MY car? What kind of people put up with this? How bout I just replace the two possible problems myself. (I'll pay an extra $$ for the private FIAT codes) - I'm not as capable as most on wayalife , but I can do a lot, given the correct info. - My error code means either thermostat or sensor. Both easy replacements. Much more common (after only one year and 7000 miles) is for it to be a sensor. Either way, should be a simple fix. But I can only find the thermostat, not the sensor. My lowest phone quote is $150 just to read the code (I know the code), they won't give me any more than that. I would love to just replace the thermostat and sensor my self (both can't be as much as the $150, considering the thermo is $25(from the dealer)) - double parenthesis again, this can't be good. If I could just find the spec for the sensor... (thats what u get for buying a fascist Jeep) - crap, those parenthesis again - In the mean time - wait, not in the mean time - always - If you want the "Low" setting (or any of the fancy computer traction controls) no matter what, have a code reader in you're tool kit. I bought mine for like $50 a decade ago. Don't know what they go for know, but mine was worth it (had a Saturn before this and the reader was most helpful) and it was able to clear the B.S. coolant code and give me access to the Low setting. If I hadn't been apart of this forum, I'd have been freaked out, put it in 1st and hit the gas. Which isn't the same as putting it in low, at least to me - I have compared "low" to just putting it into 1st. To me the the different computer settings make a huge difference (kudos FIAT). I could be way off but, it seems like (Here's where I need an expert), putting it in 1st gear vs Low isn't the same. Low is way better. Seems like the computer changes the throttle and traction control. Not something you should lose in the middle of nowhere du to a sensor glitch. (well maybe it should be lost du to a sensor failure pertinent to "LOW" but, "the engine isn't hot enough"? WTF? Any time you're going off road you should know both your surroundings and your vehicle. Knowing you're vehicle used to mean knowing mechanics, but it now also means knowing IT, Which I don't, But I know how to clear it, And thanks to y'all I knew when to clear it, and it made a difference to me. Thanks again.
Had mine come on a few times, first time software, 2nd time emissions, 3rd time some wires got melted through and whole harness had to be replaced
Sorry bout that last post, I drank way too much. If the powers that be want to delete it, well I would prefer it, and more importantly the thread would be better for it. ( Please delete it. Seeing it is like a hangover that won't quit) On topic, A wire harness melted? Sounds like I need to bring it in weather I like the mechanic or not.
