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2014 GC "EcoDiesel" OWNERS!!! Review..

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2014
124K views 468 replies 137 participants last post by  Chivvalry 
#1 · (Edited)
Same as my last thread, just looking for owner's reviews their new NAFTA EcoDiesel GC so far. I won't bother adding the poll to this one bc I'd like to see the ratings in you guys' posts. Keeps the responses legit, and cuts down on voter fraud. ;)

So as you all take delivery, drive it around for a lil bit (few days maybe), then let me know what you think.. 1-to-10 format.

Ex. This JEEP is a 'HEEP' of sh!t....... 1-10, I give it a 0. Oh wait, it cost me $50k! Make that a -5. :mad:

or..

This thing is awesome!!! I couldn't be happier....... 1-10, I give it a 10! :D

Or something in between.. You get the point. Thx guys and gals. I can't do TOO much about what you guys' concerns are, but some of the ppl up the ladder who browse these threads can, so let em hear it. And again, thx for your purchases and hanging in there despite all the setbacks. :thumbsup:
 
#391 ·
Thanks for the comments. I ordered running boards and splash guards today. I hope it helps the wife to get it and out and help keep it clean. Jimbo
Those make sense to me on a 2wd. I think I'd rip them off of my 4wd. My old Nissan went through a few splash guards.
 
#393 ·
Same as my last thread, just looking for owner's reviews their new NAFTA EcoDiesel GC so far. I won't bother adding the poll to this one bc I'd like to see the ratings in you guys' posts. Keeps the responses legit, and cuts down on voter fraud. ;)

So as you all take delivery, drive it around for a lil bit (few days maybe), then let me know what you think.. 1-to-10 format.

Ex. This JEEP is a 'HEEP' of sh!t....... 1-10, I give it a 0. Oh wait, it cost me $50k! Make that a -5. :mad:

or..

This thing is awesome!!! I couldn't be happier....... 1-10, I give it a 10! :D

Just hit 1,500 miles on mine today. It has been in the snow, mountains and to the coast. I would give it a 9 or 10. Lots of gagets to figure out and the oil life gauge at 1500 miles says 69% oil life left. That would mean at this rate I will need an oil change at 4,500 miles. that's a log way from that 10K mile oil change the manual states. We'll see.
 
#394 ·
Quick update. 10,000 miles on my OR II Overland now. Very happy with my SFU. No issues to date. Averaging 25-27 mpg on the highway, 20-22 around town. One oil change so far at 8,000 miles. Had to add def at 6,000. Wish diesel was less expensive here. Paying $4.19 per gallon and have seen as high as $4.40. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything continues as good as so far.
 
#395 ·
Well in Australia w are paying on average about $6.05 Per US gallon
Its about $1.60 a liter here which is about 3.785411784 litres = 1 US gallon

Don't see what it is you are complaining about
 
#397 ·
The 320 miles I was able to drive mine before the transmission cooler line failed due to improper assembly were great. 28mpg average at 74MPH, great diesel torque, the ACC worked perfectly and no climate control issues like some have reported.

But now it's at the dealer awaiting disposition. Chrysler "special cases" case manager is supposed to call me Monday.
 
#400 ·
This really sums up my experience to date with my Black Forest Green chamelion like GC Ecodiesel. I have long owned Mercedes diesels and this motor is great, tranny great. Have not had it out baja-ing yet but plan to put into a few river bottoms with my canoe this summer with the help of the GC . Agree with all of the assessments of Mazter43 , thanks for writing them up so clearly so that I can just thumbs up them. The engine is a little louder at idle than my MB GL320 BlueTec diesel but on the road the same. have not gotten to 30mpg on the road yet at 1000 miles on speedo. great ride compared to my old jeep cherokees, i love this new car.
 
#401 ·
Many thousands have been sold, and I have heard of only a handful of issues, and those have been very isolated. Most of us with SFU's have had no problems. I love my Jeep.
 
#404 ·
Just picked up my JGC Overland last week and took it on a long road trip this weekend. Really love the ride and the diesel power - everything performed flawlessly. I had no issues with anything. I was very pleased with the Adaptive Cruise Control (much better system than in my Lexus) and the Uconnect system. I have never owned a diesel before and I have to say I love the torque and the feel of the engine. Power is in the right place for normal driving and navigating through hilly terrain is effortless with very little downshifting or big increases in the RPM of the engine. Really a great highway car. As long as everything continues to work as it is now I a more than pleased.
 
#406 ·
G'day from Brisbane, Australia.
Picked up my new White Laredo 3 litre diesel on Friday morning.
It was built in January 2014, Australian compliance plate March 2014.

Condition at delivery was perfect. Panel fit and everything else, flawless!
Dealer fitted towbar package, and aluminium 'roo bar.

With a family wedding to attend, we did over 400 kilometres over the three days, in everything from heavy stop start traffic, to freeway driving at 115 kph (70 mph), and a winding country road with long sweeping bends, and some much tighter bends, in dry weather, then drizzle, and some heavy rain yesterday. (Auto wipers got a good workout, and worked a treat! I couldn't fault them.)
About half of the mileage was with five adults in the car.

Result: I am in love with this car. From first pairing my iPhone at the dealers, to parking in our garage back at home late last night, everything worked flawlessly, a total delight to drive.
Engine is superb, and the ZF 8 speed gearbox absolutely bloody brilliant.

Fuel economy over the 400 klms of varied driving was 7.85 litres per hundred klms (about 30 miles per US Gallon), excellent given the conditions, and I know it will get better as the engine is run in. I was NOT driving for economy, varying the speed and gears to get a good run in.
(I did notice the fuel consumption rise for a little while by about 30%, whilst freeway driving. I'm pretty sure it was doing a DPF clean, though there were no messages.)
I can honestly rate this car as 10/10 at this point! :thumbsup:
I could not possibly be happier!
We will be clocking up more kilometres before towing our 2.8 Tonne caravan next month. That will be the next test, though given the performance thus far, I'm expecting it to go equally well.
 
#407 ·
Hope all goes well
Great vehicle thats for sure


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#408 ·
2014 Grand Cherokee, 3 litre diesel, very happy with engine , done 5000 kms so far. On highway get down to 7.2 litres fuel to 100km, same as my 3.5 litre Toyota car.
Overall impression- excellent vehicle, comfortable, easy to drive only gripe is knocking/rattle noise from rear shocks which the dealer says will be fixed.
 
#409 ·
I've never owned a car where I didn't have some issue with something and there is always something not to like and this one is no different. An interesting point is that I have no complaint whatsoever about the drivetrain on the GC, they would all have to do with some other facet of the car.

In my mind the more I drive this thing the more I feel they nailed it dead on with this diesel trans combo. I love how it lets me hear it but is also impressively quiet at most times. The gearing is spot on for a vehicle of this weight and mission and one of the shifting modes is likely to please just about anyone. Combine that with the ability to rev higher than old school diesels along with the 8 speed and you don't have to rev out to get good performance. In other words it drives without the feeling of having to pull longer and higher in the rpm range before shifting to avoid a gearing gap. This was common not too long ago and part of what made (some) older diesels feel a little buzzy, like they were working harder than expected when compared to gas. This setup makes it all effortless all the time. IMO the boys knocked the drive train out of the park. If you want to have fun a certain 470 hp beast awaits but if you've got getting stuff done in mind its hard to imagine beating this drivetrain. Knowing what I know now even if I didn't need to tow I would have chosen this over the other two offerings cost be damned, this engine makes the car.
 
#410 · (Edited)
1908 miles on mine so far. It is a White 2wd Limited with black leather, tow package, chrome appearance group and nav.

Probably not fair to review mine with so little driving experience but here we go:

1. Appearance: 9.
I really like the way it looks. I was driving through traffic the other day and saw a white Mercedes of similar size and exterior features. I know that German beast cost a ton more than mine which I paid about $41500 plus tt&l. Glad I am driving the Jeep no matter the cost.

2. Comfort and ride quality: 9.
It is super smooth and quiet in town or on the road. I have had my aarp card for a few years and have owned a lot of different cars. I owned several suv’s including a Yukon Denali, Suburbans and a couple of Expeditions. The Jeep is smoother to me than all the others.

3. Engine and power train performance: 9.
little bit of turbo lag, it is new to me and I am getting used to that. Abundant torque especially once it gets going. Mostly city driving- overall mileage is great at 25.9 which is about the same as the much smaller Honda CRV that we have. No comparison between this diesel engine and the v8’s that were in my GM and Ford suv’s - the Jeep blows them away with mileage, towing and overall performance. 8 speeds has it doing a lot of shifting but it is needed to keep the little motor in the power and efficiency zones. I take some back roads on the 20 minute ride to work and look forward to putting the cruise on 40 or 50 mph depending on which road I am on. Only the stop signs, red lights and traffic prevent the fuel mileage from going off the chart when I do this. 52% oil life left and 30% diesel exhaust fluid life left. Come on epa does this clean little motor really need this exhaust fluid crxp?

4. features - 8
As I get used to it all I like the Nav, the backup camera and the radio. If the dealer had properly showed me how to use it all I may have given it a 10. The camera gives me confidence when backing up. Backed up perfectly to load up a boat trailer the first time - how perfect is that? The a/c and heated seats all work well and overall seat features are great. Lots of cargo room with the rear seats folded down. Down here in Texas I don’t think the steering wheel heater will come in handy much but some of you will try to wear it out where you live I am sure.

Dislikes-ok I hope I am not too picky here, but Jeep if you are paying attention you may be able to improve here:

5. Feels a little heavy at times wish they had tried to lighten things up more like Ford is doing with the F150 and Range Rover is doing.

6. Radio does not easily turn off and the dealer had no clue about it. The best I can figure you can mute it which if you do it comes back on when you start the vehicle back up. You can turn the volume all the way down and it will stay like that when you turn the vehicle back on. Also you can use some of the steering wheel buttons to turn it off but would it be such a big deal to have an on off switch for the radio on the dash?

7. The Nav gave me some bad advice early on trying to put me on some toll roads before I had the proper toll road tag used in Texas. (you cannot pay cash to drive on several of these and will get a ticket)

8. The electronic/virtual bottoms. I guess I am old fashioned but sometimes these are a hassle. That said as many buttons as there are on this thing they would not fit on the dash if many of them were not electronic. I cannot imagine how complex all this may be on the better equipped Summit and Overland. I had the salesman spend about an hour with me going over the electronics but really that was not enough and he was not knowledgeable with all of the features. Note to dealers have an expert do this and the buyers will really appreciate it. We bought a Honda from a dealer a few years ago and they had a specialist ( not the salesman)walk us through every feature in detail taking as much time as we needed-That was awesome! I wish I would have received that level of training on this more complex Jeep, I would have given a better rating here I am sure because I would know how to use everything.

Overall opinion 8.5.
So far (very early on) I prefer this vehicle over any that I have owned before.
 
#411 ·
I have had my EcoDiesel for 3 weeks and have put 800+ miles on it.

I would rate the vehicle a solid 9 out of 10.

Engine - Yes it sounds like a diesel form the outside, but that does not bother me. When it is really quite and you are at a standstill you can hear the diesel ping on the inside too, but it is not that noticeable. I have driven the vehicle 400 City and 400 highway miles. Got about 28 mpg on highway and am getting 21 in city.

Fit and Finish - High marks. I had one issue where when I folded down the second row of seats, one of the seatbelt receptacles did not track correctly into the slot and bent. I took to dealer and they order me a new part - I was very happy with service.

Paint - Granite. Deep color and has a little sparkle to the paint depending on light.

Interior - Saddle Brown. I have gotten a dozen compliments about the interior color and rich look.

Exterior - I was not thrilled with all the chrome. Would have rather had it grayed or blacked out. But I feel in love with the Canyon Brown interior and only the Summit offered that.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Summit
Granite exterior
Canyon Brown interior
800 miles, 3 weeks old.
 
#412 ·
The only way I can find out of the exterior fit and finish are good is to hand wash the rig.
I did this the other day and found 3 areas that need attention.
1. Right rear tail light out of alignment. (sticks out towards the rear hatch too far).
2. Lower right side rear cowling has popped loose at the seam.
3. fuel door not in alignment when closed.
That's all I have found so far.
Dealer taking care of the above items no questions asked
Still a nice ride.
 
#413 ·
Just returned from 3958 mile road trip from Texas to California and back.
Kerrville Texas to Roswell, NM then Flagstaff AZ. Visited Sedona and the East entrance to Grand Canyon NP.

Then Flagstaff to Springdale, UT (Zion NP) from Springdale to Death Valley (Furnace Creek Ranch) then DVNP to Yosemite NP, using Tioga Pass.
Then Yosemite to Monterey, CA then Monterey to Palm Springs, CA then took I-10 all the way back to Kerrville.

All done AT the limit, which in most places was 75 and 80mph and we drove 900 miles at 80MPH on the way home. Ran like a champ....on the flat on Interstates in CA we saw 33mpg at 65mph. Unfortunately, heading out we hit 35/40mph headwinds all the way to Flagstaff and on the way back on I-10 from Deming NM to Kerrville, 25mph headwinds.

Our JGC Overland Diesel ran flawlessly throughout and used no oil and returned total trip mileage of 22.8MPG. I believe if we hadn't had the above mentioned headwinds, we would have easily seen 25mpg average. It appeared that the diesel motor will return best highway MPG at 60/65MPH but 75/80MPH cruise is effortless.

We now have 5800 miles on the motor and the oil life shows exactly 42 percent.

Only issue we had was the USB port stopped working on the way home and we couldn't listen to our music files!

We REALLY love our JGC Overland Diesel. :) !
 
#415 · (Edited)
Sounds like a great trip. I took my first trip in my Summit diesel back in the 1st week and a half of February this year to Monterey California.
Went from St. George Utah to Monterey; it was a great trip did a lot of photography up and down the coast and the vehicle ran flawlessly and got great gas mileage even with the Nitto Tera Grapplers. My Summit I must say was just a joy to drive and just as smooth as can be. I now have 5,546 miles (mostly highway). I've had no electrical or mechanical issues as of yet; other than the Summit wheel well arches which was corrected. It has just been nothing but a joy to drive. My 2006 GC 5.7 Hemi, with 70,000 miles has been just sitting in the garage just begging to be driven. I'll take it out for a few miles soon just to keep it lubricated and nimble. This is by no means my first Jeep; but it is my best so far. I think Consumer Reports needs to do a reevaluation of the 2014. Enjoy The Ride!
 
#414 ·
philbytx, thanks for the good info. I look forward to my first multi-day, multi-thousand miles road trip.

21eugene, my fuel filler door also was not aligned nicely. Dealer will fix it, no problem.

I have 3,500 miles on mine. The only trip so far was a 725-mile day last Saturday. Climbing up and over the mountains, The Grapevine & Tejon Pass (4,160'), the JGC effortlessly and comfortably cruised at 80mph, easily passing cars and trucks.

We love our JGC Overland EcoDiesel — it is one amazing vehicle on road, and surprisingly capable offroad as well (her's my write-up of a 4x4 safety clinic I attended a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.jeepgarage.org/f117/hollister-hills-esprit-de-four-safety-clinic-73629.html#post1026323).

This JGC Overland, so far, is the ideal do-it-all Expedition Rig for us!
 
#416 ·
After a lot of thought, three weeks ago I traded my 2013 JGC Overland 5.7 Hemi 4x4 with about 12K miles for the new 2014 JGC Overland Diesel 4x4 and let me tell you... I do not regret it at all!

Eventhough the models are very similar there is a huge difference at the pump. Based on my calculations and my driving habits, I will save about $1,300 in gas per year, my down payment will be recovered in 2 years and I will be driving a newer model.

The new Uconnect system rocks, I found the previous one dated, hard to use and just plain ugly. The new one has a friendly user interface, a much bigger screen and integrated temperature controls that reduces the number of buttons in the dashboard, and I got another free year of SiriusXM.

The screen in the dashboard is much nicer than before, better graphics and it really makes you feel like you're driving a technology advanced car.

I got the adaptive cruise control that works flawless and is very helpful in those long highway rides because once you set your speed and distance, you don't even need to break anymore.

All 2014 engines are far better than the previous models, going with the 8 speeds helped increase the MPG and the Diesel engine, oh my! I went from my best highway mpg of 19 with my Hemi to a 30mpg with the diesel. And from an avg of 15mpg to 25mpg.
Even towing 2tons I'm getting more than 20mpg.
Also, I don't find the Diesel engine any more noisy than the Hemi.

The only thing that I miss is the Wood trim that I had before. I have a Maximum Steel with Black interior and the Wood is nice (Black kinda) but not as nice as the previous model which look like the one used in Bentley's.

One thing that I don't mind but my wife seems to have a big problem with is the seats, she doesn't find the seats comfortable at all, especially for long rides. I am not sure if this is because she's tiny or because she's used to Sedan car seats but she just hates them and the seats are exactly the same in both models.

Overall, I love the 2014 and I'm in love with the Diesel.

Cheers!
-AA


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#417 ·
I have a 2014 GC Limited 4x4 with the lux group, tow pkg, 20" wheels in Max steel with Black interior. My previous vehicles have been several Audi A6 and VW CC 's, all 4x4 models. I decided to get a diesel next and was considering a Q5 or Touareg but with a few of the desirable option packages they were getting pricey. I was driving on the highway one day and saw the EcoDiesel sign on the back of a Jeep. The rest is history. Our other car is a VW Gti.

I have 2000 miles on the GC, avg is 23 mpg with no long trips. The mpg shoots up at steady highway speeds so once we take some longer trips I expect to see upper 20's. I have noticed that wind direction plays a big role in mpg on the highway. It can vary 3-5 mpg into or with the wind.

Love the GC but for a $50k vehicle I would make the following improvements.

1) make the doors close like a high end vehicle. The doorrs on my GTI close much nicer and the doors on a Touareg feel a thousand times better.

2) Lower door plastic areas. The upper areas are acceptable but the lower door areas and pocket areas are kinda cheap. The lighting is nice, but the door pockets could be lined. The plastic already shows some scuff marks after only a few weeks.

3) Under seat areas. Bundles of wires hanging under the sests look like an afterthought. These could be hidden with a simple cover. Again look at a German SUV for comparison.

Otherwise I think Jeep have done a great job and as others have said the engine/transmission package is top notch. The ride is superb and I am really happy with the Diesel. I have not had one issue so far.
 
#418 ·
First fill on my 2014 GC Diesel and when I ran some numbers, averaged 22mpg around the city; no complaints. From what I am reading, I should be getting some good performance when we hit the highway this summer. What I also like is the larger fuel tank; I was at the pump every 10 days with my Tacoma and expect to not be there as frequently with the new rig. Do most of you use the funnel when filling up? I didn't this first time yet did spill a bit of fuel.
 
#420 ·
The funnel is for the large nozzles at the truck stops. If you go to a station with auto diesel, you won't need the nozzle.
 
#419 · (Edited)
I only fill up at auto diesel pumps as most are "pure" diesel with no bio added. Before putting the nozzle in the filler cap, I make sure there is no 'residual' diesel in it . Plus I always carry paper towels with me and put one under the filler cap when I start refueling. Just be careful not to "wave" the nozzle around before and after filling up :thumbsup: !
 
#422 ·
Okay, took the family on a trip to Dollywood 2 weeks ago (first real trip in the GC). It was about 400 miles one way and all interstate. Like a DA, I didn't reset or record the mileage before we left. I guess I was a little excited. Coming home we got 30.6 mpg even with 1-1/2 hours of single digit driving. I am pretty impressed. Gauge Speedometer Auto part Measuring instrument Vehicle



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