Is there a way to permanently shut off the ESS on a 2023 Trailhawk?

Nope, unfortunately there's no (easy) permanent way to disable ESS.

There are some YouTube videos around how to disable it on other Jeeps, but the Renegade ain't other Jeeps.

There's apparently a way to disable ESS using AlfaOBD, a sophisticated program that taps into the vehicle's computers. But it needs a specific cable and a way to bypass your Security Gateway -- which is there to keep people from doing just that.

Also, what triggers the ESS to engage?

It engages -- or is supposed to engage -- basically any time you come to a complete stop; assuming a whole raft of conditions are met.

That having been said, there are a lot of conditions where it won't engage. From my 2021 Trailhawk's Owner's Manual:

Other than the annoyance of not being able to disable it permanently, and the bad feeling when the engine suddenly stops when I didn't turn it off, I actually find it a relatively-seamless system.

For me, after about a year, I found that it wasn't engaging at all, even after driving for hours (and the battery therefore being fully-charged). I hate it when features don't work right, even if I dislike them. The dealer replaced the OEM Enhanced Flooded Battery with an aftermarket Advanced Glass Mat (AGM)-type battery under warranty, which helped for a bit. But now it hardly ever engages again. Which is fine with me. I don't even bother manually disengaging it any more...

 

Good Grief! So I guess I'm stuck with wearing out the Off button or else just seeing if it'll rarely work again like it was (wasn't) doing before. I guess that's what I'll do, just wait until it needs turning off.

I have to say, as an old geezerette who prefers manual everything, all the utter garbage on today's cars infuriates me. My 21 year old F250 will always be my main squeeze, so I take care of her to last the rest of my life. I bought this car as a backup vehicle and I do like it, but for the first time in my life, shopping for a new car was no fun. All the insane features just made me mad.

Thanks again for your great info, Marek!

 

I guess I'm stuck with wearing out the Off button

get in, push start, push ess off, throw in rev, put on belt, good to go by the time the screen comes on and you forget your doing it.

as an old geezerette who prefers manual everything, all the utter garbage on today's cars infuriates me. My 21 year old F250

I hear that and this one the most. All my stuff is 70s Dodges. More tech in the 8-track stereo than the whole rest of the car.

There's a lot of ways you can fool it, easiest is let it shut it damn self off, lift off the brake to restart. Won't shut it damn self off again until you clear the parking lot (aka hit 10 mph).

 

In studying your list again, I think I may know why the ESS has only engaged that one time. I've always used my left foot on the brake pedal. This Jeep's brake pedal is so sensitive, I barely touch it, plus I like the challenge of stopping so gently that you can barely feel when I've come to a complete halt. So, I wonder if in addition to possibly not meeting the brake pedal pressure requirement, the car might also detect that I'm simultaneously touching the accelerator. Yup, I'm gonna go with that. It's satisfying to tell myself I'm in control of this COW (computer on wheels) at least a little bit!

 

In studying your list again, I think I may know why the ESS has only engaged that one time. I've always used my left foot on the brake pedal. This Jeep's brake pedal is so sensitive, I barely touch it

Not my list. It should be ahem in your Owner's Manual too.

Does that mean you're "riding" the brake pedal all the time? If so, that's not good... You're likely having your brake lights on all the time while you're driving. Not good...

If you're finding the ESS doesn't engage most of the time, that may be the same "issue" as with my 2021 Traihawk. Almost never engages... And when it does once in a while, it's kind of a surprise...

 

Unplug the hood open switch and shove a jumper wire in the recepticle. Makes the computer think the hood's open but its not. At least it worked on my other ESS cars. Hope there's not a hood open idiot light. Be sure to return it to oem when at dealer for warranty work.

And my JL wrangler's batteries are always in a state of discharge from sitting, no amount of driving charges them. So the ESS never gets enabled. So says my dashboard.

 

Hope there's not a hood open idiot light.

Yes; yes, there is.

The large graphic comes on right away, then goes out. The small red icon on the upper-left stays on.

You tryin' to out-smart a Renegade?

 

NO NO NO, I'm not riding the brake all the time! My left foot rests on the floor when I'm not braking.

But, yeah, maybe my "issue" is the same a yours. Time will tell. I don't believe this foolishness saves gas, anyway.

 

That's great to know, DogsRule. If this becomes a problem, I'll try that. Thanks!

During our cold 6 months of the year, I keep all my vehicles on life support (farm tractors, quad, side-by-side, F250, and next winter the Renegade). I love a good battery tender.

 

Stayed off on my 2016/17 EU 2.0 DERV manual.

Does it deactivate in manual shift mode or if you put it in neutral on the autos?

 

Does it deactivate in manual shift mode

Doubt it -- that's still a "forward gear" (see Post #2).

or if you put it in neutral on the autos?

You mean like if you shift into neutral as you're rolling to a stop? I suppose, since the transmission wouldn't be "in a forward gear." But that would be a PITA, and come with its own risks...

I can't really try either of those, since my ESS hardly ever works anyway...

 

Manual shift and 4WD-Lock overides it on the PHEVs.

 

Here it's only disabled in 4WD Low. Makes sense.

 

I want to say I've had it shut off in N because annoyed about not in a forward gear, never tried reverse because just push the flippin button when you get in.

 

I've been left footing for years, don't drag either pedal. What I was trying to say is slight brake pressure while accelerating will trigger traction control / limp mode. Idiot brake pedal has multiple sets of contacts so it knows how far you're on the brakes. We had one get fouled, gave other symptoms too.

 

I got into the habit of left-footing eons ago when my Dodge Dart had nonstop carburetor problems which stalled the engine whenever it approached idling. I quickly found the technique to be easier and more efficient for driving in general. My right heel never leaves the floor, so my right leg never has to move while my left foot instantly finds the brake.

I'm not actually touching the accelerator when I brake, I'm just hovering over it as I flex my ankle upward, but I was assuming this was enough to alert the stupid sensor. I'm so disgusted with all the garbage on this new car that I'm just training myself to turn off the ESS every time I boot up the vehicle.

The other day, I wanted to turn off the heat and fan, so I hit the Climate button. Nothing. Tried changing the "home" screen to something else in case I hadn't noticed before that when I turned off the Climate, it was in a different mode, like maybe the music screen. Nope. So I turned down the heat and the blower, but it was still pushing air around. All of this was making me take my eyes off the road, of course, so I just gave up and cursed all the way to my destination whereby I finally got the lousy Climate button to say Off.

Do the designers of today's cars have contests to see how many of us old geezers they can kill off as we try to read, drag-and-drop tiny arrows, push digital "buttons" and decipher what umpteen icons mean on these in-our-face screens while we torpedo down the road inches apart in cars that tout their warp-speed Zero-to-60 capabilities among their top attractions to buy? I'm sooo glad I pampered my F250 for all of her 21 years. I gonna need her for 21 more.