It's been awhile since my last post,we've been on the road for 5 weeks now, in a 2012 grand cherokee overland traveling the east coast from Melbourne to Cairns.
Had the car serviced for our first trip away in our new van. First day was Melbourne to Mulwala, every thing went well car pulled the van easy VERY HAPPY CAMPER
1/set the van up,we noticed cupboards and drawers in kitchen we could not open them our first problem managed to get one open ,so ended up pulling all the handles of and fix them myself took me about 2 hours . i put the tv on the outside bracket to watch the footy guess what no aerial, it was broken fixed my self, then no power from the leads.man what else can go wrong As we left to go to canberra noticed flat tyre on the van, Then noticed the mirror door on the microwave peeling. aarhhh.
2/next day we get to about 20klm from yass, big puff of smoke i am talking big, from under bonnet pulled over straight away i saw some oil over the engine bay OH BOY NOT GOOD.checked the gearbox temp it was on 105c So rang racv they organized a flat bed truck to tow me , while i was waiting i rang a jeep dealer in melbourne they said it should be good to drive as there are no flashing warning lights,only the engine light was on.OHHHH OK I HOPE SO , THE NRMA FOLLOWED ME FOR ABOUT 10 KLM till i said you can go now its running fine. Next day i took it to GUISON JEEP DODGE DEALER canberra they said we have to check the codes to see whats wrong , ok whats the damage on that $165 ok do that ,so later in the day went back and they said, not sure we now have to check each fault .HOW much is that $300 (WHAT) but he said a gearbox service may fix it, OK HOW MUCH $599 HMMMMM that will fix it i said, were not sure .OK LETS TRY THAT THEN for $900. Service guy told ME WORST CASE IS TO FIX GEARBOX COST FOR THAT $13000 HOLY CR-- So were standing on the street trying to organize transport back to the caravan, when i said this is all moving to fast i am going to take my car back to the van and think about what i will do ,because it drives as normal with no van.
3/Next day i take to a automatic gear box specialist, he would check all codes and a full service for $540, conclusion was tcc slip a little higher than would be expected. He said he had not had a jeep come in with this problem yet, only the chrysler 300, try it let me know i would like some feed back.
3/ Next day traveling to sydney 75 klm into my journey the gearbox temp went up to 90 c i pull over stop the car, and started it up again straight away, car went good again temp came down to 73 c, within 2 klm sitting on about 90, did that 5 times to caravan park in sydney hhmmm thinking this may be computer problem. the engine light also came on every time the gearbox got hot. But after starting the car 3 or 4 times the light would go of as i unhitched the van it rolled side ways with handbrake on into the bumper bar 2 DENTS IN BUMPER
By this stage i was getting a little depressed i wanted to go home, had enough of all this caravaning bull sh--. after calming down a bit decided to keep going to a mates place in burpengary once there i could relax ,hes on an acre so plenty of room .He also has a jeep grand cherokee overland same as mine, same year . NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES he also tows 21ft van or boat
Next step while at my mates place i went to jeep dealer in Zillmere ZUPPS ASPLEY and explained the story to them, well we have to do another test ok how much, i will look after you next day they were not sure what the problem was, but they down loaded all missing codes, try it now cost me $110 he spent about 2 hours on the car .OK no problem very helpful can recommend them. genuine dealership
So my mate decided to join me as far as yeppoon in hes van, but i had to keep stopping and restarting all the time, Once in CALLIOPE i looked on the internet for solutions not much help there could not find the same problems so i rang melbourne dealer again they told me to drive it in 4th gear, ok i will try that, problem fixed no more overheating every thing going good all happy now if that was the problem. FINALLY SOME RELIEF
From yeppoon to mackay its fairly flat so i try it in drive again only had to stop once
We are now in a c/p in mackay, so i decided to ring jeep australia customer care ,I TOLD THEM THE PROBLEMS I WAS HAVING its going to be an up hill battle iam thinking because my jeep has been out of warranty since last november customer care were nice an courteous and very helpful. she said i will run it past our technical team, and ring you later today they actually rang back that afternoon
hello willy, we looked at your problem and decided we will bring a new automatic gearbox and cooler to mackay for installation (exuse me could you repeat that please)
and we would like to help you with your accommodation and hire car also supply you with a taxi to the hire company at no cost to you. thank you, thankyou, thankyou. A bit of luck at last I didn't jump up and down or get angry just explained what happened in a calm and measured way
just waiting now as its labour day here, probably get it fixed on tues. I know jeep australia have had some bad press of late (BUT HAVE BEEN GREAT FOR ME) and can't speak highly enough for them. Its tuesday today car is is finally fixed. The dealership were friendly enough BUT DON'T RETURN CALLS, HOPELESS
So now hopefully we will finally enjoy our holiday from here on.
On more note, there's a woman in jeep customer care called j--y she was just brilliant , they need to give her a raise or promotion she made my life very easy, 10 out of 10 to her.
regards willy
Bruce and Bev said
09:01 PM May 10, 2016
Hi Willy. God, what a nightmare trip you had - I don't know if I could have survived as well as you did.
I have an Isuzu DMax and find that the service quality and price charged varies wildly from Dealer to Dealer. My vehicle still has 3 years more warranty left on it, but even though the costs are charged through to Isuzu, they still treat you like something with half a brain. But others go out of their way to be helpful and explain exactly what the problem is and how they intend to fix it (only had 2 very minor problems, touch my head lol).
Fantastic to hear how Jeep have looked after you. That certainly is solid gold service - not only replacing a costly gearbox/cooler, but also the nice touches of taxis, hire car and accommodation.
Your favourite lady from Jeep "J--y" needs acknowledgement from her bosses. Why don't you send them an email telling them just how well she looked after and ask that this is brought to the attention of their G.M and also she is told of your email and thanks......
Trevor law said
09:03 PM May 10, 2016
Just a quick question? Is the gearbox auto or manual ,(how many gears if 5 or 6) .
We have a 200 series and when towing we always use 4,because if we use 5-6 gears the auto temperature goes well over 110 on the scangauge.So we always tow in 4th.
Just a thought,safe travels
Aus-Kiwi said
09:06 PM May 10, 2016
Yep trans cooler upgrade . Be carful towing in top . ( Depending on model ? ). Maybe the converter is not locking up due to load of van ? Heating ATF ..
Snail said
09:20 PM May 10, 2016
Hi Willy,
Good to see Jeep come to the party, You were lucky you were on the east coast and not outback.
Snail.
liz795 said
09:21 PM May 10, 2016
yes i will definitely let jeep know
and it is a 5 speed auto
as i said my mate has same car and year drives in overdrive no problems
liz795 said
09:26 PM May 10, 2016
just one thing now, can i tow with a brand new box or do i have to run it in.?????
aussie_paul said
11:26 PM May 10, 2016
Always better when towing to run transmission in the 1 to 1 ratio. Anything else will heat the transmission oil due to the extra friction of more gears and bearings turning.
Aussie Paul.
Aus-Kiwi said
11:34 PM May 10, 2016
It's the converter too . In 4th it will lock up . But in top it posdibly won't as ECU tries to keep engine in peak torque zone . A converter will heat up ATF ( auto trans fluid) very quick . Yes I would fit a trans cooler or better one ., if engine is turbo diesel ? Again it needs to be on purple zone rpm wise or turbo itself will over heat also .
dirvine said
12:23 PM May 11, 2016
It seems JEEP Australia has finallystarted to learn about customer service. Its about time from what I read on other forum sites. I have had a few Automatic cars in recent times and if you read the manual in the glove box regarding towing most say do not tow in 5th/6th gear in a manual and do not allow car to drive in overdrive in Automatics. The reason is simple, if you understand gearboxes. The overdrive gears in a manual are smaller than the main drive gear and as such, cannot take the strain. They are not designed for load up but for general flat cruising. With Autos the TC will often lock up in top but opens up to allow the overdrive to work. As such there is constant slipping which under load will overheat the ATF. In some of the more popular 4WDs, specialist gearbox places have developed stronger gears, and also selectable lock up TC's. I do not think its probably appropriate to advertise them, but 2 places in Victoria stand out for fixing gearbox issues and both advertise on 4WD TV and Your 4X4 show on channel 31.
liz795 said
07:03 PM May 11, 2016
thank you all for the info
I got the car back this morning, clocked up 500 today. will do the same tomorrow , they recommend 1000 lkm before towing to run everything in so thats what i will do
-- Edited by liz795 on Wednesday 11th of May 2016 07:11:59 PM
It's been awhile since my last post,we've been on the road for 5 weeks now, in a 2012 grand cherokee overland traveling the east coast from Melbourne to Cairns.
Had the car serviced for our first trip away in our new van. First day was Melbourne to Mulwala, every thing went well car pulled the van easy VERY HAPPY CAMPER
1/set the van up,we noticed cupboards and drawers in kitchen we could not open them our first problem managed to get one open ,so ended up pulling all the handles of and fix them myself took me about 2 hours . i put the tv on the outside bracket to watch the footy guess what no aerial, it was broken fixed my self, then no power from the leads.man what else can go wrong As we left to go to canberra noticed flat tyre on the van, Then noticed the mirror door on the microwave peeling. aarhhh.
2/next day we get to about 20klm from yass, big puff of smoke i am talking big, from under bonnet pulled over straight away i saw some oil over the engine bay OH BOY NOT GOOD.checked the gearbox temp it was on 105c So rang racv they organized a flat bed truck to tow me , while i was waiting i rang a jeep dealer in melbourne they said it should be good to drive as there are no flashing warning lights,only the engine light was on.OHHHH OK I HOPE SO , THE NRMA FOLLOWED ME FOR ABOUT 10 KLM till i said you can go now its running fine. Next day i took it to GUISON JEEP DODGE DEALER canberra they said we have to check the codes to see whats wrong , ok whats the damage on that $165 ok do that ,so later in the day went back and they said, not sure we now have to check each fault .HOW much is that $300 (WHAT) but he said a gearbox service may fix it, OK HOW MUCH $599 HMMMMM that will fix it i said, were not sure .OK LETS TRY THAT THEN for $900. Service guy told ME WORST CASE IS TO FIX GEARBOX COST FOR THAT $13000 HOLY CR-- So were standing on the street trying to organize transport back to the caravan, when i said this is all moving to fast i am going to take my car back to the van and think about what i will do ,because it drives as normal with no van.
3/Next day i take to a automatic gear box specialist, he would check all codes and a full service for $540, conclusion was tcc slip a little higher than would be expected. He said he had not had a jeep come in with this problem yet, only the chrysler 300, try it let me know i would like some feed back.
3/ Next day traveling to sydney 75 klm into my journey the gearbox temp went up to 90 c i pull over stop the car, and started it up again straight away, car went good again temp came down to 73 c, within 2 klm sitting on about 90, did that 5 times to caravan park in sydney hhmmm thinking this may be computer problem. the engine light also came on every time the gearbox got hot. But after starting the car 3 or 4 times the light would go of as i unhitched the van it rolled side ways with handbrake on into the bumper bar
2 DENTS IN BUMPER
By this stage i was getting a little depressed i wanted to go home, had enough of all this caravaning bull sh--. after calming down a bit decided to keep going to a mates place in burpengary once there i could relax ,hes on an acre so plenty of room .He also has a jeep grand cherokee overland same as mine, same year . NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES he also tows 21ft van or boat
Next step while at my mates place i went to jeep dealer in Zillmere ZUPPS ASPLEY and explained the story to them, well we have to do another test ok how much, i will look after you next day they were not sure what the problem was, but they down loaded all missing codes, try it now cost me $110 he spent about 2 hours on the car .OK no problem very helpful can recommend them. genuine dealership
So my mate decided to join me as far as yeppoon in hes van, but i had to keep stopping and restarting all the time, Once in CALLIOPE i looked on the internet for solutions not much help there could not find the same problems so i rang melbourne dealer again they told me to drive it in 4th gear, ok i will try that, problem fixed no more overheating every thing going good all happy now if that was the problem. FINALLY SOME RELIEF
From yeppoon to mackay its fairly flat so i try it in drive again only had to stop once
We are now in a c/p in mackay, so i decided to ring jeep australia customer care ,I TOLD THEM THE PROBLEMS I WAS HAVING its going to be an up hill battle iam thinking because my jeep has been out of warranty since last november
customer care were nice an courteous and very helpful. she said i will run it past our technical team, and ring you later today they actually rang back that afternoon
hello willy, we looked at your problem and decided we will bring a new automatic gearbox and cooler to mackay for installation (exuse me could you repeat that please)
and we would like to help you with your accommodation and hire car also supply you with a taxi to the hire company at no cost to you. thank you, thankyou, thankyou. A bit of luck at last I didn't jump up and down or get angry just explained what happened in a calm and measured way
just waiting now as its labour day here, probably get it fixed on tues. I know jeep australia have had some bad press of late (BUT HAVE BEEN GREAT FOR ME) and can't speak highly enough for them. Its tuesday today car is is finally fixed. The dealership were friendly enough BUT DON'T RETURN CALLS, HOPELESS
So now hopefully we will finally enjoy our holiday from here on.
On more note, there's a woman in jeep customer care called j--y she was just brilliant , they need to give her a raise or promotion she made my life very easy, 10 out of 10 to her.
regards willy
I have an Isuzu DMax and find that the service quality and price charged varies wildly from Dealer to Dealer. My vehicle still has 3 years more warranty left on it, but even though the costs are charged through to Isuzu, they still treat you like something with half a brain. But others go out of their way to be helpful and explain exactly what the problem is and how they intend to fix it (only had 2 very minor problems, touch my head lol).
Fantastic to hear how Jeep have looked after you. That certainly is solid gold service - not only replacing a costly gearbox/cooler, but also the nice touches of taxis, hire car and accommodation.
Your favourite lady from Jeep "J--y" needs acknowledgement from her bosses. Why don't you send them an email telling them just how well she looked after and ask that this is brought to the attention of their G.M and also she is told of your email and thanks......
Just a quick question? Is the gearbox auto or manual ,(how many gears if 5 or 6) .
We have a 200 series and when towing we always use 4,because if we use 5-6 gears the auto temperature goes well over 110 on the scangauge.So we always tow in 4th.
Just a thought,safe travels
Hi Willy,
Good to see Jeep come to the party, You were lucky you were on the east coast and not outback.
Snail.
and it is a 5 speed auto
as i said my mate has same car and year drives in overdrive no problems
Always better when towing to run transmission in the 1 to 1 ratio. Anything else will heat the transmission oil due to the extra friction of more gears and bearings turning.
Aussie Paul.
thank you all for the info
I got the car back this morning, clocked up 500 today. will do the same tomorrow , they recommend 1000 lkm before towing to run everything in so thats what i will do
-- Edited by liz795 on Wednesday 11th of May 2016 07:11:59 PM