Jeep Renegade SERVICE ENGINE Light ON = NO 4WD

wayoflife

wayoflife

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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.

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Wow good thing you weren't somewhere where you needed 4Lo to get unstuck. I realize jeep is probably just trying to prevent anything from breaking but if this were to happen when you're stranded somewhere then it wouldn't turn out so good.
 
FLKEYSJK said:
Wow good thing you weren't somewhere where you needed 4Lo to get unstuck. I realize jeep is probably just trying to prevent anything from breaking but if this were to happen when you're stranded somewhere then it wouldn't turn out so good.
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Agreed. The whole push button electronic 4WD thing is nice in that it's convenient but I have to say, this incident reminded me why I prefer mechanical systems.
 
Glad you weren't into any hairy situation because of the 4WD not working and hope it will be an quick/easy fix at the stealership. That is exactly the first thing that comes to my mind everytime I see the electronic 4wd systems and why I also prefer manuals.
 
So I see a friend run into trouble with their vehicle, especially a newer vehicle and I feel bad. I did a little bit of checking, for what it's worth, and it might be the instrument cluster. I guess with the heavy integration of the computer systems and the transmission, this is happening a bit with the Renegades.

I hope everything works out with the dealer.
 
10frank9 said:
So the service engine disabled the 4LO? That's a bunch of malarkey.
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Well, to be fair, the Renegade doesn't have a transfer case and therefore, it doesn't have a true 4LO or "low range". What it does have is a nifty electronic system that will lock in the front and rear drive shafts and that will give you significantly better traction and almost to the point where it can feel like you have lockers. With the check engine light on, this options is NOT available. And yes, it is totally LAME.

cjmenma said:
Glad you weren't into any hairy situation because of the 4WD not working and hope it will be an quick/easy fix at the stealership. That is exactly the first thing that comes to my mind everytime I see the electronic 4wd systems and why I also prefer manuals.
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I'm with you 100%. The more plumbing you have, the easier it is to stop up the drain.
 
NevadaZielmeister said:
So I see a friend run into trouble with their vehicle, especially a newer vehicle and I feel bad. I did a little bit of checking, for what it's worth, and it might be the instrument cluster. I guess with the heavy integration of the computer systems and the transmission, this is happening a bit with the Renegades.

I hope everything works out with the dealer.
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I'll have to get our Renegade to the dealership to get this looked at but for now, it seems to drive fine. Cindy did a bit of looking and our problem may have been caused by a low battery. We were running our ARB fridge freezer and it could have been pulling enough of a draw to cause the computer to think there was a problem.
 
Damn, at least for the most part it is still driving normally. I'm interested in hearing the final out come and hope they get it resolved quickly.
 
wayoflife said:
I'll have to get our Renegade to the dealership to get this looked at but for now, it seems to drive fine. Cindy did a bit of looking and our problem may have been caused by a low battery. We were running our ARB fridge freezer and it could have been pulling enough of a draw to cause the computer to think there was a problem.
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Are we smelling dual battery set up for Renny now!
 
For a Jeep this is unaceptable

Hi , Lou here.
2016 Renegade Trail Hawk
So we have also discover that when the CEL light is on the 4WD is disabled and the remote start as well. I have called and written Jeep Chrysler about this programming issue and that seems to be a waste of time. As i was reading some folks were on an off road trip and discovered this when they tried to use their 4WD.
What I fail to understand is how Jeep has allowed this programming into the ECM of the vehicle and then calls it a ( Trail Rated Vehicle)
In my opinion this is a safety issue.
On the beach CEL comes on, 4WD is disable. Call for a tow truck or hopefully you have friend.
Driving in the snow CEL light comes on. Hope you have have some warm clothes or even worse you loose control and skid off the road.
On a mountain trail CEL light comes on. Hopefully you at the top of the mountain heading down and there are no mud trails you have to use.
I feel this is a simple reprogramming repair in the ECM programming to never allow the 4WD to be disabled.
Lets see if Jeep Chrysler gets back to me.

Anybody care to share their opinion?
 
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This is what I sent to Jeep Chrysler

Jeep safety concern
2016 Jeep Renegade Trail Hawk 4WD
Mileage: 35.000
Our vehicle displayed check engine code (P0440). Took the vehicle to the dealer and they replaced a front vacuum valve. I took the vehicle home. Three days later the check engine light was back on. Brought the vehicle back to the dealer. The dealer stated a pressure switch in the gas tank was the problem but the part had to be ordered. While this check engine light was on I discovered that when the Electronic Computer Module (ECM) sees an emission code the ECM will disable the vehicles 4WD and the remote start. The remote start is not a safety concern but the 4WD is.
There was a snow storm that hit the eastern seaboard and effected our area. Since my wife uses this vehicle, I feel this is a safety concern. For several days my wife was without a vehicle during this storm. Thankfully I discovered the issue before the storm hit. This may have been devastating if this code was set while she was driving in the snow with my 3-year-old granddaughter in the vehicle.
This vehicle is advertised as 4WD” Trail Rated” off road vehicle. This is the reason we bought it. I have had nine jeeps in the past and have been a loyal jeep owner since 1987. I never have had any 4WD issue with any of these vehicles.
If you’re driving your vehicle inclement in weather such as snow and the ECM sees an emission issue, you lose your 4WD. Losing your 4WD on a snow-covered road can become a real safety issue.
If you’re on the beach and a ECM issue pops up, you lose your 4WD and will have to be towed off the beach. If your off road on a slippery trail and you lose your 4WD you may get stuck or slide into a large tree or worse, slide off the trail.
This is not a dealer issue but a design fault from the factory. My dealer was not aware of the issue or so they stated. Chrysler Jeep never tells the customer this can occur but they advertise the vehicle as a “Trail Rated” off road vehicle. People that purchase Jeeps are under the impression that “Trail Rated” stamp means this vehicle is certified for use during inclement weather or for recreational use. The last thing a customer wants to find out is that the vehicle they purchased for the stated uses will lose the 4WD if there is a ECM code set.
I have tried to reach out to Corporate a few times and they have failed to respond. It seems that safety is not a big concern to them. This is a simple command line in the ECM programming. This command line should be removed from the programming. A “Trail Rated” Jeep should never have the 4WD disabled due to a ECM issue. I placed the highest trust in Jeep vehicles for years. This is very disappointing.
Lou from NY
 
We had a severe cold snap here in Florida panhandle, down to the teens. Was driving to work and got the service engine light, I suspect the plastic gas cap caused it. Manual says to give it 6 or so driving sessions and it should go off. Nowhere in the manual does it say 4wd inoperable. If I had been in ks where I'm from it could have been disastrous since I usually plowed my own roads thru the snow. The renegade is gone and we got back into a JK, would rather have linkage 4wd to depend on.

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PatyWagon said:
We had a severe cold snap here in Florida panhandle, down to the teens. Was driving to work and got the service engine light, I suspect the plastic gas cap caused it. Manual says to give it 6 or so driving sessions and it should go off. Nowhere in the manual does it say 4wd inoperable. If I had been in ks where I'm from it could have been disastrous since I usually plowed my own roads thru the snow. The renegade is gone and we got back into a JK, would rather have linkage 4wd to depend on.

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That's how I discovered the issue was during the cold snap we had here in NY
I am not letting this go. Owning a jeep is a way of life. I have file a complaint with the NHTSA and will push this as far as i can go. Lucky for me I have two Wranglers. A TJ and a JK.
What kills me this is a simple reprogramming of the ECM to correct this issue.
 
Lou12 said:
That's how I discovered the issue was during the cold snap we had here in NY
I am not letting this go. Owning a jeep is a way of life. I have file a complaint with the NHTSA and will push this as far as i can go. Lucky for me I have two Wranglers. A TJ and a JK.
What kills me this is a simple reprogramming of the ECM to correct this issue.
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Especially since it has a "trail rated" badge, it should be always be trail rated. Would love to hear if you get anywhere with this. We presently keep only one 4wd in the fleet, so the renegade had to go. OH btw we had an appt later in week to get light and 4wd checked when lo and behold on the 6th day the "service light" went off and the 4wd came back, that's just not acceptable, even though we now live in Florida, we paid a pretty penny to have 4wd and expect to be able to use it when we want to. Who knows when it will come in handy, family still in Kansas and may need to get to them, snow and ice known to fly as late as mid April.

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OverlanderJK said:
4wd is not needed for driving in snow on the road. How do you think people with cars do it all across the country?


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True enough, as a teenager I drove a rear wheel drive Ford falcon with studded snow tires, then moved to front wheel drive to finally four wheel drive. Now I would drive nothing but 4wd in snow unless I'm forced to and if I'm paying for it I expect to have it. It's the principle of the argument imho.

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This happened to a friend with a 2016 renegade trailhawk while we were at the trails last weekend. We checked the temperature and it seems like when the transmission temperature gets to a certain point the 4x4 turns off.
 
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