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SAND driving - Have you had a problem with your GC?

21K views 53 replies 31 participants last post by  Hutch801 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all,

Most of you would know that quite a few members have had a SERV 4WD error appear while driving on sand. But there are also quite a few that havent had any problem.

So I thought it would be useful to have a thread where those that have taken their GC on sand, can provide some info and then see if there is a pattern to those that do have the SERV 4WD issue and those that don't.

I know there's a TSB for the Quadralift error (08-034-12), but I dont think that actually addresses the 4WD error. It wouldnt do anything for owners with standard suspension GC's.

If you have driven on sand with your GC, please add a reply to this thread with the following info and share your experience with other members.

  1. Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem?
  2. What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc)
  3. What month and year was your GC built?
  4. Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD)
  5. Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2)
  6. Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem)
  7. Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard)
  8. How many times have you taken your GC on sand?
  9. On average how long did you stay on the sand?

I havent taken mine on sand yet, but I am planning to when the weather starts warming up here in Australia.

Thanks all!
 
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#3 ·
I got a MY11 CRD Limited, no issues, coils non QL, done 3 off road trips using Sand mode all the way, 90% in Hi, 10% in Low, 2 x on Stockton beach, once up muddy tracks in the Barrington Tops, total of about 20 hours in sand mode, never put a foot wrong, great car so far.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem?

Yes


What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc)

Laredo X

What month and year was your GC built?

August 2011

Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD)

V6

Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2)

Quadra Trac 2

Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem)

4 wheel high, sand mode. tires aired down to 20psi.

Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard)

Standard, tow package

How many times have you taken your GC on sand?

Once. got the 4WD SERV message, got towed off, never went back. This was in March 2012, issue still not resolved my dealer.

On average how long did you stay on the sand?

About 1 1/2 miles on soft sand at Ft. Fisher, NC.

Spent many trips out there with my '98 Wrangler and my '02 Ford Escape and no problems in either vehicle. Hard to believe the Ford outperformed the JGC on the beach isn't it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
[*]Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? No
[*]What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc) Laredo
[*]What month and year was your GC built? Oct 2012
[*]Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD) CRD
[*]Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2) QT2
[*]Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - both sand and auto Moderate dry and hard wet sand all in high
[*]Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard) quadralift
[*]How many times have you taken your GC on sand? Once
[*]On average how long did you stay on the sand? 1 week on Fraser Is.
[*]level of experience? Experienced - 10 trips to Fraser
[*]tyre pressure - 22psi

Performed flawlessly. Went to low for any deep soft sand. The only fault (if you could call it that) was the traction control warning light (in addition to ESC off) was illuminated. I wonder if user error plays a part? Anyone who has had a problem please also indicate your level of sand driving experience and also whether you aired down your tyres.
 
#6 ·
[*]Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? - YES

[*]What level of GC do you have? - Overland


[*]What month and year was your GC built - 2012

[*]Which engine? - CRD

[*]Which 4WD system - Quadra-drive 2

[*]Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? SAND 4wd high

[*]Which suspension? Quadralift

[*]How many times have you taken your GC on sand? - Once

[*]On average how long did you stay on the sand? - 2 hrs
 
#7 · (Edited)
Never had a problem. Over 50 miles on sand, some very soft and deep. I use sand mode and have never had to put it in low range. Tires at normal inflation. Have done figure eights in deep sand and had no problem exiting beech where a big Chevy Suburban got stuck. Build date 4/11, other info below including pictures.
 
#11 ·
UPDATE...Went out last weekend in sand again, accidentally went through large hole someone had dug and vehicle handled it with ease. Had I not had the cooler tie strapped in ice and drinks would have been everywhere. Never had a problem at now more than 60 miles on sand. High range only and when entering beech I usually veer off beaten path and hit the deeper stuff. My wife's Toyota Tacoma TRD Offroad also handles these tasks with no problem.
 
#8 ·
Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? Yes. 2 times
What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc). Overland
What month and year was your GC built? 08/11
Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD). CRD
Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2). QD2
Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem). 1st time Sand. 2nd time Auto.
Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard). Quadralift
How many times have you taken your GC on sand? 2 times
On average how long did you stay on the sand? First time 8km. 2nd time 1km
 
#10 ·
Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? Yes. 1st time out on sand. :mad:
What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc). Overland, Off Road Package
What month and year was your GC built? 09/11
Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD). Hemi
Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2). QD2
Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? Sand
Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard). Quadralift
How many times have you taken your GC on sand? 2 Days back to back. Got stuck on the 1st day, got towed out and 4WD error went away. Went back 2nd day and did not experience error but only drove about 2 miles total because I didn't want to get stuck again!
On average how long did you stay on the sand? Day 1- 1 to 2 miles then error followed by getting stuck. Day 2 - 2 miles then got scared and went home!
 
#12 · (Edited)
  1. Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? No [Edit YES]
  2. What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc). Overland
  3. What month and year was your GC built? December 2011
  4. Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD). Hemi
  5. Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2). QD2
  6. Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc). Always Sand mode with both Lo and Hi range at various times
  7. Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard). QL
  8. How many times have you taken your GC on sand? 3
  9. On average how long did you stay on the sand? 2 days at Double Island Point, 6 days at Moreton Island, 6 days at Fraser.
I had no problems with 20inch rims aired down to 20 psi. I did over 250km over 6 days in really harsh conditions on the sand tracks behind Kingfisher bay on Fraser, also on other trips we covered every inch of Moreton and Cooloolah/Double Island Point. The Jeep was really just fantastic and I feel really confident in it... I did have the traction control light come on a couple of times (same as Mendo), but always went out after a while (I assumed some sensors were loaded with sand).


Does anyone else think the plastic guard that curves down from under the front bumper to the sump to be insufficent? I split mine in half on my first day in the deep sand tracks?
 
#13 ·
Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? - YES
[*]What level of GC do you have? - Overland
[*]What month and year was your GC built - march 21 2012
[*]Which engine? - CRD
[*]Which 4WD system - Quadra-drive 2
[*]Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? SAND 4wd high
[*]Which suspension? Quadralift
[*]How many times have you taken your GC on sand? - Once
[*]On average how long did you stay on the sand? - 1h on sand till in happend. Lucky i was on top of a sand hill and near a road at the time.

Dealer said there aware of this issue and contacted chrysler usa. Said there working on a fix and should be out in a few weeks
 
#14 · (Edited)
  1. Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? No
  2. What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc) Laredo X
  3. What month and year was your GC built? Aug 2010
  4. Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD) V6
  5. Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2) QT2
  6. Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem) Sand the first time and then sand in low every other time
  7. Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard) standard
  8. How many times have you taken your GC on sand? Many
  9. On average how long did you stay on the sand? All day

I've had my Laredo X out on the sand many times. The first time I used sand mode in 4-hi and then after hearing about everyone's problems I started using sand mode in 4-lo. I've never had the 4wd system fail but my ESC light would come on and remain on until I aired the tires back up. I now have a 2012 Limited and I'm heading out to the beach this weekend so I'll report back on how it performs.

Update - Spent all day on the beach today without any problems.
 
#15 ·
There are a couple of different stuck in sand posts so I am posting this on all of them to hopefully help others out.

Wesnesday I returned to the dealership to have the "fix" applied to mine. The repair was a Dynamic ABS Sensor and is located/accessed through the center console. Took about 2 hours to install. I will not be able to get to any sand for several months so I won't know for sure if this "fix" is the real deal or not. I sure hope it is!!!

According to the service writer, this was the repair that Jeep Engineers came up with and this is the first time this particular dealership performed this repair. In theory, I can buy into this as being the root cause. Time will tell I guess.

Can someone else who has had this problem and drives on sand frequently try to get the same repair so we can see if it works?
 
#17 ·
WK2 w 20" wheels and QTl aired down to 18psi and turned off ESC, drove in 1st/2nd gear ='d tons o fun! Light fluffy stuff and compact had no issues.
 
#18 ·
- Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? - YES
- What level of GC do you have? - Limited
- What month and year was your GC built - DEC 2011
- Which engine? - 3.6L Petrol
- Which 4WD system - Quadra-drive 2
- Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? SAND 4wd high. Believe I may have been in AUTO at the time of failure
- Which suspension? Steel Frame, no air suspension
- How many times have you taken your GC on sand? - 6 times. Failed on teh 7th in HEAVY soft sand conditions. Engine and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) working hard
- On average how long did you stay on the sand? - Over on Moreton for days. Failure about an hour into heavy conditions.

Interesting note is that the ESC Malfunction light (yellow car skidding) came on above the ESC OFF image. This leads me to believe the ESC is jumping back and forth along with the Auto shifting of the 4WD light.

SERV4WD came on same time as ESC Malfunction. After towing some time, the SERV4WD went off (Power to front wheels returned), but ESC Malfunction stayed on for some time.
 
#19 ·
Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? - NO (thank god)
- What level of GC do you have? - Limited, 70th Anniversary
- Which engine? - 3.6L Petrol
- Which 4WD system - Quadra-Trac 2
- Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? Sand Low
- Which suspension? Steel
- How many times have you taken your GC on sand? - 5-6
- On average how long did you stay on the sand? - On Straddie for a week which totalled about 2 hours of sand driving

Very happy with how the Jeep went in the sand. I was really worried about the problem occurring but it didn't!
Stayed in low the whole time as i've heard that it doesnt stop the problem but keeps it in 4WD.
Went with 3 other groups (Pajero, 200 series, Cruiser Ute) and they all got stuck in the VERY soft sand, whereas the Jeep didn't!
Granted, they were towing vans and we weren't... still happy though. Jeep handled it with ease at 22 psi
 
#20 ·
Here I sit at Fraser Is where I've been comimg for the last 40 years to scarred to drive anywhere, so far the 4WD serv has failed twice today both time on relatively easy parts of the track I am really Pi&^ed off. The first time I came up here in August it did the same thing, so I took it to the dealer for a software upgrade and they said no problems mow it won't happen again, I hit the beach two days ago and within 10 minites it had failed, and today twice today and had to flog the vehicle to get it to the beach to take it up to the 60k to reset the system. 2012 GC Laredo, with air suspension. Thanks Bob Here.
 
#21 ·
so far the 4WD serv has failed twice today
Ouch.

Thats a worry.

Have you contacted Jeep assist?
 
#22 ·
First time I took mine back to the dealer they said it was all sorted but they never gave me the "fix". Then I contacted Chrysler HQ in Melbourne and another 2 visits to the dealer later I had the elusive fix applied. Granted it really sucks to have to go to these lengths to get the patch applied, but definitely take your story immediately to Chrysler HQ and get the real fix. If I had trusted my dealer I would have thought I had the fix until I ended up in trouble like you.
 
#23 ·
Bob: you may not get this due to the limited coverage on fraser, but chuck it in low range when you don't have the error, and then even if you do get it 4WD will still work normally as it is manually and physically locked.
Hope this helps
 
#24 ·
  1. Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? No
  2. What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc) Laredo
  3. What month and year was your GC built? not sure (2012 model bought in March)
  4. Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD) V6
  5. Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2) QT2
  6. Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem) Sand / Low Range
  7. Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard) Standard
  8. How many times have you taken your GC on sand? 20 or so trips over a 10-12 day period spread out this summer.
  9. On average how long did you stay on the sand? Usually hit fort fisher early in the morning when it opens. Travel 4 miles to my fishing spot right at the end of the 4WD access. Traveling over hard packed sand, heavly rutted soft sand, and some wet sand. Fish til lunch then travel back the 4 miles to civilization and eat lunch. Then go back the 4 miles to my fishin spot and watch sunset then back the 4 miles. Same schedule Fri, Sat, Sun. About 2 weekends a month over the summer. All Beach driving on sand I used Sand and Low range with tire PSI at 15-20 PSI. (One time I wanted to see if I really needed to air down. Big mistake got stuck in the "turn" where 90% of people get stuck before you get on to the water's edge.) No problems with 4x4 system this summer.
My thought is that the transfer case may be overheating trying to constantly change torque ratios between the front and rear axle causing the Service 4x4 error. When in Low range the front and rear axle's torque value are locked.
 
#25 ·
My thought is that the transfer case may be overheating trying to constantly change torque ratios between the front and rear axle causing the Service 4x4 error. When in Low range the front and rear axle's torque value are locked.
Apparently the error can still occur in 4Lo (that is, the serv 4wd error can still appear), but because the centre diff is locked you aren't forced into 2wd.
 
#27 ·
  1. Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? - No
  2. What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc) - Laredo + ORAII
  3. What month and year was your GC built? - 02/2012
  4. Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD) - CRD
  5. Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2) - Quadra-drive 2
  6. Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem) - Sand
  7. Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard) - Quadralift
  8. How many times have you taken your GC on sand? - 3
  9. On average how long did you stay on the sand? - 2hrs
 
#28 ·
Did you experience the SERV 4WD problem? yes
What level of GC do you have? (Laredo, Limited, Overland, etc) Laredo
What month and year was your GC built? dec 11)
Which engine? (Hemi, V6, CRD) V6
Which 4WD system? (Quadra-trak 2, Quadra-drive 2) QT2
Which Select Terrain setting do you use on sand? (Sand, Auto, 4WD Low, etc) - (This one may seem silly, but there may be members that dont use sand mode and dont have a problem) Sand / Low Range
Which suspension? (Quadralift or standard) Standard
How many times have you taken your GC on sand? 2
On average how long did you stay on the sand? couple of hours but problem happened going over first soft rise.
 
#29 ·
I couldn't resist having quick look at the data. There is nowhere near enough data to come up with anything definitive however there are a couple of stand outs. Overlands are overly represented with sand failures by 5:1. This may be nothing more than Overland owners having higher expectations. I say that because QL and QDII are not showing any pattern. All 6 vehicles manufactured in the latter half of 2011 had sand failures, of these only 3 were Overlands. I have to reiterate that with so little data one cannot say there is any significant trend.
 
#30 ·
I had this SERV 4WD message today (18/03/13) while driving along the beach near Dawesville Western Australia. Very scary and annoying loosing 4WD. I was fortunate to get off the beach in 2WD before driving straight to the service centre. They were embarrassed and stated that they were aware of the problem but were not clear as to what was required until they actually get my Jeep in there. It is booked in there Friday for a service and to hopefully rectify this very serious issue.

I took my 2011 JGC diesel for a service today in Bunbury. They advised that they had no definitive fix for the problem prior to the service. After the service they advised that there was an ABS lockup problem when I was on the beach, possibly due to the wheels spinning too much which caused the 4WD system to disable. Last I knew, wheels are going to spin off road with a 4WD! They said they found a stored error message on the computer which they cleared. I asked whether Chrysler will be notified and was told that if the error was active they would but because the error was stored they wouldn't unless it happens again (hopefully I'm not on a boggy beach with the tide coming in). I asked for a guarantee that the issue would not resurface but was told there was no guarantee and that I just had to monitor it. These issues are in my opinion very SERIOUS and need to be addressed by Chrysler as someone could be in serious danger if they get caught out in a remote area. I know all vehicles have mechanical/electrical issues but I haven't heard Landrover having issues with its extensively advanced electronic 4WD system on its late model D3/D4's. When the 4WD is active the JGC is more than capable but it needs both diffs to work for that to be the case.
My Jeep in a late 2011 CRD with Quadra Trac 2, coil sprung suspension. I have done a bit of beach work prior to this with no issues but did fit new larger tyres prior to this problem surfacing.
 
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