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New 2017 pinging?

19K views 72 replies 13 participants last post by  vnbWK2 
#1 ·
So for my 2017 Grand Cherokee I've had for a few weeks I've noticed some engine noise and realized it's pinging noise. It's noticeable on incline's under normal acceleration. It's definitely a pinging sound because I've had this happen before on my older Jeep. I'm using 87 octane which is what is recommended on the 3.6 V6 engine. I've tried Shell, Exxon and Lukoil all 87 reg. How can a brand new engine already ping? This did not happen on my 2014 V6 although the new engine has been refined so it's a bit different. Has anyone experience pinging on the 2017 V6? Can anyone please test this out when you have a chance?
 
#3 ·
Try sport mode and see if it makes a difference. Eco mode may not be up/down shifting at the right points.


If you have the EVIC set to show the gear selector, like the '14 if you look carefully you can see what gear you are in although the indicator is very faint. Make a note when you hear the pinging.


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#4 · (Edited)
ECO mode is off. When I hear the ping I was driving up hill in 4th gear with light to regular throttle 30mph. I don't notice pinging under hard acceleration. Why would a brand new engine ping though?

One other thing, not sure if it is related. Upon starting the engine when cold, during the first 20 seconds or so I hear a crackling sound as if the exhaust or heatsheilds are expanding/heating up. Perhaps that sound I hear is also pinging? I wouldn't think so at idle. I'll try to record it.

Maybe I'll try 89 octane at my next fill up.
 
#5 ·
One other thing, not sure if it is related. Upon starting the engine when cold, during the first 20 seconds or so I hear a crackling sound as if the exhaust or heatsheilds are expanding/heating up.
Now that we do hear, but the other 17 summit we tested in another color did the same so we assumed it was normal. The dealer even started a 17 overland to see and it made the same sound, hard to argue with them when they all did it.
 
#7 ·
So for my 2017 Grand Cherokee I've had for a few weeks I've noticed some engine noise and realized it's pinging noise. It's noticeable on incline's under normal acceleration. It's definitely a pinging sound because I've had this happen before on my older Jeep. I'm using 87 octane which is what is recommended on the 3.6 V6 engine. I've tried Shell, Exxon and Lukoil all 87 reg. How can a brand new engine already ping? This did not happen on my 2014 V6 although the new engine has been refined so it's a bit different.
The easiest thing to try is higher octane. Try filling up with 89 or 91 octane to see if that helps.
 
#8 ·
Q) Upon starting the engine when cold, during the first 20 seconds or so I hear a crackling sound as if the exhaust or heatsheilds are expanding/heating up.
A) It's exhaust gases and nothing to worry about.

Q) Perhaps that sound I hear is also pinging? I wouldn't think so at idle. I'll try to record it.
A) Its not pinging. At idle your load doesn't change, so why would it stop after a set amount of time?

Q) Maybe I'll try 89 octane at my next fill up.
A) Easiest thing to do and good luck.

See ya
Michael Plummer
 
#15 ·
While operating on gasoline with an octane number of
87, hearing a light knocking sound from the engine is not
a cause for concern.


Because you are using 87 it can happen. You already read that. So based on the owners manual you can learn to live with it or use a higher octane. Higher octane is nothing more than better anti knock properties.

Have you tried Sport mode yet?

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#16 ·
I did try sports mode with same results, but not as bad in the higher rpm range. It seems to be more prominent below 2500 rpm. I also agree that it's probably not bad gas since I tried 3 different brands. I'm hoping more 2017 v6 owners chime in. I can't be the only one experiencing this.
 
#17 ·
As you can tell, I wholeheartedly disagree with people telling you to use premium gas. The best thing you can do is try to have your dealer diagnose the problem. They may end up telling you it's normal, or they may actually fix it. Either way, putting premium in your V6 is a terrible idea. I'm not saying they are wrong about higher octane preventing knocking, I'm just saying take it up with your dealer and fix the problem the right way.
 
#22 ·
If not too many others have the pinging then perhaps it's attributed to the 87 octane in different parts of the country? Perhaps one factor being different climate/cooler temp at this time of the year and maybe sea level? I'm in the NE so it's still been 80 degrees during the day. I'm at half full so I will be filling up with 89 when I'm down to less than a 1/4 tank, just to see what happens. If it's still pinging with 89, then there's a problem that I'll need to bring up wih the dealership.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Well I take that back. Driving to work this morning I heard it every single time I stepped on the gas while in 3rd gear going like 20 miles per hour. I'm really getting sick of this already. Down to about a quarter tank so I'm switching to 89 today to see what happens.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I've done about 60k across 3 V6s and towed 4000lbs and I've never heard it knock.

All modern cars adjust the timing based on the octane, temp, humidity.

And I always use 87 usually name brands. Mobile, Shell.

If I'm not mistaken engines can be set for specific altitudes, might check into that.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Just filled up with 89 octane at my local Sunoco station. Receipt says 16.6 gallons.I had one quarter tank left when I filled up which means that I probably have still 8 gallons of 87 octane mixed in with the 89 octane. As I was driving home I definitely noticed a difference, probably 80% pinging is gone. I drove up an incline that would normally ping and while in 3rd gear going 20 miles per hour as I stepped on the gas to test it I heard a very slight hint of pingingg, not nearly as bad as before. Is it reasonable to attribute this to the fact that I do still have some regular 87 octane in the tank and that it takes a little longer to adjust? I only drove 1 mile from the gas station to my house. Should I notice an immediate difference or should I give it a few more miles?
 
#31 · (Edited)
So I drove to work this morning and back home all of 20 miles and it seems like the pinging is definitely much improved, probably 80 - 90% gone. When I went to Sunoco yesterday I filled up with 89 at the pump.....Sunoco had 87, 89, 91 and 93 octane. As there probably aren't 4 separate tanks for each of the four octane levels, I'm wondering if Sunoco 89 octane is a blend of 87/91 and if 91 is a blend of 89/93? Of course 87 and 93 would not be blended. If so, that probably means that shell 89 octane is a blend of 87 and 93, since Shell has 87, 89 and 93..... 91.

I'm hoping that my pinging will be 100% gone at my next 89 fill up, as most of the tank would then be 89....no trace of 87 left.
 
#32 ·
So I drove to work this morning and back home all of 20 miles and it seems like the pinging is definitely much improved, probably 80 - 90% gone. When I went to Sunoco yesterday I filled up with 89 at the pump.....Sunoco had 87, 89, 91 and 93 octane. As there probably aren't 4 separate tanks for each of the four octane levels, I'm wondering if Sunoco 89 octane is a blend of 87/91 and if 91 is a blend of 89/93? Of course 87 and 93 would not be blended. If so, that probably means that shell 89 octane is a blend of 87 and 93, since Shell has 87, 89 and 93..... 91.

I'm hoping that my pinging will be 100% gone at my next 89 fill up, as most of the tank would then be 89....no trace of 87 left.
Next time you go count how many caps they have. There will be one for each tank.

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#44 · (Edited)
I was definitely planning on bringing this up to my dealership at my first free oil change visit. I only have 1200 miles so it may not be until a few more weeks.

Just to update: My pinging is 99% gone. It's not 100% because I did still barely noitced a hint of a slight ping on a couple of occassions. Probably due to the fact that my octane level is still barely at 89 (due to the mix of 87/89/93 in my tank right now in order to bring up the octane level). I can't duplicate it, so that's good.

Fill up history: (Note - tank has a 24.6 gallon capacity)
Topped off with 16 gallons of Sunoco 89 when I had 1/4 tank left of Shell 87 (66/33 ratio equates to 87.45 octane). Still pinging.
Drove a couple of days then topped off with 6.6 gallons of Sunoco 93 (75/25 ratio equates to 88.8375 octane). Pinging mostly gone.

My plan is refill as much as I can (at less than 1/4 left) with Sunoco 89 at my next fill up in hopes that this would do the trick. If all goes well and no pinging on 89, I will then refill with Sunoco 87 again as much as I can to see if the pinging returns. If no pinging on 87 this time around then I'm thinking the pinging I had experienced before on the 87 octane was bad gas (i.e., from either some water in the gas or octane rating was below 87). If it does return then I have something to bring up with the dealership which may be a faulty knock sensor. Question: Would a faulty knock sensor throw a warning light or code?
 
#48 ·
I was definitely planning on bringing this up to my dealership at my first free oil change visit. I only have 1200 miles so it may not be until a few more weeks.
Our dealer has us getting oil changes every 5000 miles, is that what your's does or is it 3000?

I had to go check our paperwork, definitely says 5000 first oil change.
 
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#45 ·
One other thing OP might check is the oil.

I highly doubt it, but if it had insufficient oil in there or the wrong oil it *might* have some odd side effects. Or for that matter too much oil might cause issues.

Sometimes it is worth digging into things a little before running to the dealer because sometimes a dealer can make a problem worse. Or they might possibly mask it and not get to the root of it.

However 89 Octane probably would not have improved it if oil was an issue. But that could be placebo at work.
 
#46 ·
One other thing OP might check is the oil.

I highly doubt it, but if it had insufficient oil in there or the wrong oil it *might* have some odd side effects. Or for that matter too much oil might cause issues.

Sometimes it is worth digging into things a little before running to the dealer because sometimes a dealer can make a problem worse. Or they might possibly mask it and not get to the root of it.

However 89 Octane probably would not have improved it if oil was an issue. But that could be placebo at work.
The oil level is fine I checked it several times. As far as the oil grade or weight I would have no idea what is in there since it's brand new. But I highly doubt that the noise I was experiencing was anything other than pinging. Since it has now been gone since I have switched to 89. Drove home today from work and the pinging was totally gone I never heard it again. So hopefully that was the issue, 87 octane, and switching to the next grade up fixed it. That does not mean that it should be pinging on 87 unless it really was bad gas or water in their tanks. It is the end of the season where they switch from summer blend to Winter Blend. So perhaps I did get the bottom of the barrel summer blend gas and it may have been less than 87 octane, who knows. But I am glad that switching to 89 fixed it but I do want to make one final test and fill up 100% with 87 octane just to see what happens. Like I said if I do not experience any more pinging with 87 then I would have to take an educated guess right now and say that it was bad gas. If it pings again with 87 then I would think I have a faulty knock sensor, I or some other faulty sensor since I doubt I would run into another tank of bad gas ,what are the odds. Anyway I will report back in a week or so when I fill up with Sunoco 87 and let you guys know. Thank you for all your help it's much appreciated.
 
#57 ·
Update:

So I filled up with Sunoco 93 octane several days ago and it seems the pinging is totally gone. (using 89 still pinged a bit). I would like to do one more test and fill up with 87 octane again to see what effect it has. If it pings again on 87 then there is no way I am going to continue to use a higher octane above 87 just to mask the problem. It's perhaps a bad knock sensor, as some of you suggested earlier. I will be bringing this up to my dealership next month at my complementary oil change (making sure I have a full tank of 87).

General question I always had was:
When refilling with a different octane than what is currently in the tank (93 to 87), starting from the time of fill up, how long does it take for the 93/87 mixture of gas now in the tank to eventually reach the engine? I would assume the gas lines leading to the engine would still contain 93 until the fuel pump pushes the "93/87" mixture up to the engine. I guess we could measure this in miles driven. I'm guessing at least a few miles 3-5?
 
#58 ·
I get it. I'm getting to know my new 2017 too, but don't stress... here is what I pulled straight from the 2017 PDF full manual for the v6 engine:

This engine is designed to meet all emis- sions regulations and provide excellent fuel economy and performance when using high-quality unleaded “Regular” gasoline having an octane rating of 87 as specified by the (R+M)/2 method. The use of higher octane “Premium” gaso-
line will not provide any benefit over “Regular” gasoline in these engines.
While operating on gasoline with an octane number of 87, hearing a light knocking sound from the engine is not a cause for concern. However, if the engine is heard making a heavy knocking sound, see your dealer immediately. Use of gasoline with an octane number lower than 87 can cause engine failure and may void or not be covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Poor quality gasoline can cause problems such as hard starting, stalling, and hesitations. If you experience these symptoms, try another brand of gasoline before consider- ing service for the vehicle.
 
#59 ·
I get it. I'm getting to know my new 2017 too, but don't stress... here is what I pulled straight from the 2017 PDF full manual for the v6 engine:

This engine is designed to meet all emis- sions regulations and provide excellent fuel economy and performance when using high-quality unleaded “Regular” gasoline having an octane rating of 87 as specified by the (R+M)/2 method. The use of higher octane “Premium” gaso-
line will not provide any benefit over “Regular” gasoline in these engines.
While operating on gasoline with an octane number of 87, hearing a light knocking sound from the engine is not a cause for concern. However, if the engine is heard making a heavy knocking sound, see your dealer immediately. Use of gasoline with an octane number lower than 87 can cause engine failure and may void or not be covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Poor quality gasoline can cause problems such as hard starting, stalling, and hesitations. If you experience these symptoms, try another brand of gasoline before consider- ing service for the vehicle.
Thanks for your response. Are you experiencing pinging only using 87 octane? Have you tried 89? Mine pings with 87 and 89. Using 91 or 93 seems fine but I should not have to use 91or higher in the v6. We took a family trip to Hershey PA a few days after I picked up my new Jeep and do not recall ever hearing pinging, I used 87. After I filled up again with 87 at a local Shell, that's when then pinging started. I'm wondering if I have some water in my tank, so I am going to pour a bottle of Iso-Heet in the tank. Then use 87 and see what happens.
 
#61 · (Edited)
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Been busy and have not had the chance to post back.

I have an appt with my dealership Dec 1 to take a look at the pinging issue. I went back to 87 and it's pinging again occasionally. Mostly on inclines as I play with the throttle at low speeds (ex: 25mph). I guess I just want the dealer to make sure everything is working properly...knock sensors, timing is correct, ignition working, no bad spark plug or coil etc. If all is good, I guess I will have no choice but to use at least 91 octane to avoid pinging.

I also hear a faint/fast ticking noise which appears to be coming from the instrument cluster/tachometer area (perhaps could be coming from the engine) as I'm going say 40 mph then pressing the gas pedal. It's either pinging I hear or noise from the cluster area. Will post back with an update.
 
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