[Rednroll]

Hi folks. I purchased a Rene for my wife this past March, I own a Wrangler JKU so we're a Jeep family. The Rene is coming up on the 4K mile mark and we are headed to the dealership for our 1st oil change. Overall, we love the Rene but we do have a few items we've identified that we think might need some warranty work.

The wife's biggest complaint is with the A/C and how cold the air gets. In warm weather >85F it hardly gets cold. Above 90F and it hardly feels colder than if a fan was blowing. When the outside temp outside gets in the mid 70's then it blows cold air out the vents pretty well, except that's when we really don't need it to blow cold air. Compared to my Wrangler, the A/C really sucks and my Wrangler is a 2009 where I'm expecting some deteriorated performance there.

So I'm wondering what has been everyone else's experience with the coldness of the A/C in warmer outside temps? Is what we're experiencing normal? Our only reference point is with my Wrangler in that with the same outside temp, the brand new Renegade is hardly pushing out any cold air, where my Wrangler will freeze your face off.

We have an appointment set up for this Friday to have it looked at. What we're worried about is that the weather Friday is forecasted to be in the mid 70's and the dealership is going to tell us, "It seems fine."

 

[Rex]

not normal. get that fixed. I will say that mine takes a few min to really cool down, so I usually remote start my car 10 min or so beforehand if its been sitting in the sun

 

[twigaman]

I have a 2016 Trailhawk and AC works great. I am coming up on 18000 miles since mid Dec. No problems so far. OIL changed every five thousand miles and purrs like a kitten.

 

[Rednroll]

Thanks for the response. I just read another thread as well, where they described the same problem where it was diagnosed to the factory not filling it with refrigerant.

Seems like FCA needs to put a QC in place at the factory to make sure the A/C gets filled with refrigerant. At least it's good to know the A/C shouldn't suck like this forever.

 

[txjeeper35]

TX heat, just rolled 10k miles. Cools down fairly fast, if it's too hot I pop the vent on my MySky. I remote start for a couple minutes maybe most days I go to lunch. Hovering between 88-94 the last few weeks, no issues. I keep it around 63• and notch 4-5. No sweat and that's with black leather ?

 

[Rednroll]

Thanks. Mine is definitely not working right. It can be running for an hour in 90F weather and it is hardly blowing out cold air at the Max cool setting and the fan fully cranked.

I'm just hoping there's not a coolant system leak somewhere and this turns into something we're dealing with repetitively over time. My wife gets very B****y when it's hot and sticky out and the A/C doesn't work.

 

[jjp735i]

I would say you have a problem, been in the 90's here and mine is ice cold.

Hope it's something simple.

As for wife getting B****y, can't help with that. Get her drunk maybe.

 

[JeepCares]

Hi folks. I purchased a Rene for my wife this past March, I own a Wrangler JKU so we're a Jeep family. The Rene is coming up on the 4K mile mark and we are headed to the dealership for our 1st oil change. Overall, we love the Rene but we do have a few items we've identified that we think might need some warranty work.

The wife's biggest complaint is with the A/C and how cold the air gets. In warm weather >85F it hardly gets cold. Above 90F and it hardly feels colder than if a fan was blowing. When the outside temp outside gets in the mid 70's then it blows cold air out the vents pretty well, except that's when we really don't need it to blow cold air. Compared to my Wrangler, the A/C really sucks and my Wrangler is a 2009 where I'm expecting some deteriorated performance there.

So I'm wondering what has been everyone else's experience with the coldness of the A/C in warmer outside temps? Is what we're experiencing normal? Our only reference point is with my Wrangler in that with the same outside temp, the brand new Renegade is hardly pushing out any cold air, where my Wrangler will freeze your face off.

We have an appointment set up for this Friday to have it looked at. What we're worried about is that the weather Friday is forecasted to be in the mid 70's and the dealership is going to tell us, "It seems fine."

If you need further assistance after visiting the dealer, let me know. Thanks - Kevin T, Social Connect Team

 

[raz-0]

I can say that I went from a 2005 legacy GT to my 2015 TH. The AC was a huge improvement over that, and it isn't just mine was old, my friend got a 2015 forester and it too isn't that impressive.

However, I can say that it pales in comparison to the 2013 avenger I had as a loaner while my renny was in for service. The AC in that was insane. Like the big refrigerated produce/dairy room at a costco or sam's club insane.

OP's experience seems off, and I'd get it checked.

 

[yuwan63755]

I am in lower California desert and temps are above 110 degrees daily. I would say you need to have your a/c checked as my 2015 latitude / automatic works great. No problems at all and even blows good at idle. Best a/c I have had in any of my past 4 vehicles. Hope you get it fixed.

 

[The Drifter]

This past week in North Carolina, temps have ranged between 90 and 105 degrees F. It takes a few minutes to get going of course, but My A/C in my Renegade will freeze my face off, it is awesome. I have a 2016 Renegade Latitude with the 1.4L. Bring your renegade to the dealer and have them check it out.

 

[MelBri]

When our AC works it works great even on the hot 95+ days. Unfortunately, it rarely works properly and the dealership has been unable to fix it thus far.

 

[Panzerkampfwagen]

Mine cools down fine. Just a quirky fan motor blowing air inconsistently at a selected power-up notch. Like a wind breeze that varies with MPH gusts. No biggie but will be addressed at my first oil change.

 

[Rednroll]

If you need further assistance after visiting the dealer, let me know. Thanks - Kevin T, Social Connect Team

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to need some further assistance. I've brought my vehicle into the dealer twice since I posted and I'm really starting to get frustrated with this dealership since it seems NONE of the problems I brought the vehicle in for seem to have been corrected including the A/C. I just picked up the Rene after the dealer had it for 4 days. The 1st time I brought it in, they said they were too busy to get to all the items and performed my 1st oil change instead. Here's the list of items I handed to the dealer to be looked at, in the order of priority.

1. A/C does not blow cold air even when set to Max cool, when the outside temperature is above 85F. When temp is 75F and below then cold air can be felt coming from the A/C vents.

2.MySky front panel rattle. There is an annoying rattle coming from the
front panel of the MySky roof. The rattle tends to be louder and more frequent on days when the outside temperature is above 85F.

3. Brake squeal
Brakes tend to squeal every morning When 1st backing up out of the drive way.
There is a TSB for this problem.
TSB 05-010-15

4. When dropping off the Rene at the dealer, the dealership noticed my odometer was flashing. I explained to them, it's been doing that ever since I had the radio upgraded from the 5in Display audio to the 6.5in Navi radio. Dealer says, no problem we'll look at that and take care of that for you as well. Ok, sounds good.

Here's the dealers pre-service write up:

 

[Rednroll]

Ok, picked up the Rene after the dealer having it for 4 days. They were kind enough to provide me a Chysler 200C rental while they worked on it.

Here were the results.

1. A/C:
Dealer Diagnosis: The outside temp was 87F, dealer measured the temp blowing from the vents and stated it was measured to be 47F. At 87F outside temp A/C air is within specification limit which is 48F when outside temp is at 87F. Nothing repaired because is within spec.

So the dealer is indicating there is nothing wrong with my A/C. They stated they performed the HVAC flash update, so maybe that will fix my A/C problem???.....let us know. I ask them, was the temp measurement performed before or after the HVAC update. They stated before. I then ask, did you check the Freon level or if there were any leaks? They said "Yes", although I don't believe them because that's not what they initially stated as being part of their diagnosis and it sure wasn't written in their diagnosis notes they had shown to me. Ok, I'll drive it home and see how it's working.

It's a 45min drive home on the E-way from the dealership, Rene indicated outside temp was 92F. Good day for a confirmation test. Barely blowing any cold air for the entire drive home, A/C temp set at min temp setting of 60F, fan at max. I just drove the 200C for 4 days, the A/C in the 200C froze my face off even on the same day with the outside temp being 92F with the temp set at 60F and the blower on the lowest setting. Apparently, there's nothing wrong with my Rene's A/C according to the dealership although a Chrysler 200C froze my face off and my JKU Wrangler A/C freezes my face off as well when the A/C is set at the same settings as the Rene. No change from when I brought it into the dealer, A/C is still working poorly in the Rene.

2. MySky rattle:
Dealer Diagnosis: Confirmed rattle noise from front panel MySky. Replaced front weather stripping. Dealer confirmed weather stripping replacement stopped rattle noise.

While I'm driving out of the dealer, while still in the dealership parking lot, the 1st little bump I hit, the MySky front panel rattles. During entire drive home, MySky panel is continuously rattling from every little bump in the road. Same annoying rattle noise from the MySky is still present, this is not fixed.

3. Brake Squeal
Diagnosis: Unable to reproduce. Dealership says they "de-glazed" the front brake pads. I ask about the TSB fix. Their response was since there wasn't any diagnostic codes read, they didn't perform any TSB fixes.

I will monitor, but I have my doubts.

4. Flashing odometer:
Odometer is still flashing, dealership didn't seem to do anything as they indicated they would.

After 2 trips to the dealership service department, the last one being in for service for 4 days, I seem to still have all the same problems present and the only thing I got was an oil change and maybe some program flash updates. I'm not happy. I'm done with this dealership, if they don't have the common sense ability to be able to tell the A/C is not blowing cold air like it should be, just by letting the Rene run for 15 minutes and putting their hand up by the A/C vents and noticing it's not blowing cold like it should as every other Jeep vehicle on their lot, then I have no faith they could properly diagnose or fix anything.

 

[rhafe123]

My 2016 seems to be working right now. It was around 100 degrees yesterday and it did okay. They replaced a few things including the compressor. It was in the shop for 34 straight days. Still have less than 175 miles on the odometer.

 

[JeepCares]

Ok, picked up the Rene after the dealer having it for 4 days. They were kind enough to provide me a Chysler 200C rental while they worked on it.

Here were the results.

1. A/C:
Dealer Diagnosis: The outside temp was 87F, dealer measured the temp blowing from the vents and stated it was measured to be 47F. At 87F outside temp A/C air is within specification limit which is 48F when outside temp is at 87F. Nothing repaired because is within spec.

So the dealer is indicating there is nothing wrong with my A/C. They stated they performed the HVAC flash update, so maybe that will fix my A/C problem???.....let us know. I ask them, was the temp measurement performed before or after the HVAC update. They stated before. I then ask, did you check the Freon level or if there were any leaks? They said "Yes", although I don't believe them because that's not what they initially stated as being part of their diagnosis and it sure wasn't written in their diagnosis notes they had shown to me. Ok, I'll drive it home and see how it's working.

It's a 45min drive home on the E-way from the dealership, Rene indicated outside temp was 92F. Good day for a confirmation test. Barely blowing any cold air for the entire drive home, A/C temp set at min temp setting of 60F, fan at max. I just drove the 200C for 4 days, the A/C in the 200C froze my face off even on the same day with the outside temp being 92F with the temp set at 60F and the blower on the lowest setting. Apparently, there's nothing wrong with my Rene's A/C according to the dealership although a Chrysler 200C froze my face off and my JKU Wrangler A/C freezes my face off as well when the A/C is set at the same settings as the Rene. No change from when I brought it into the dealer, A/C is still working poorly in the Rene.

2. MySky rattle:
Dealer Diagnosis: Confirmed rattle noise from front panel MySky. Replaced front weather stripping. Dealer confirmed weather stripping replacement stopped rattle noise.

While I'm driving out of the dealer, while still in the dealership parking lot, the 1st little bump I hit, the MySky front panel rattles. During entire drive home, MySky panel is continuously rattling from every little bump in the road. Same annoying rattle noise from the MySky is still present, this is not fixed.

3. Brake Squeal
Diagnosis: Unable to reproduce. Dealership says they "de-glazed" the front brake pads. I ask about the TSB fix. Their response was since there wasn't any diagnostic codes read, they didn't perform any TSB fixes.

I will monitor, but I have my doubts.

4. Flashing odometer:
Odometer is still flashing, dealership didn't seem to do anything as they indicated they would.

After 2 trips to the dealership service department, the last one being in for service for 4 days, I seem to still have all the same problems present and the only thing I got was an oil change and maybe some program flash updates. I'm not happy. I'm done with this dealership, if they don't have the common sense ability to be able to tell the A/C is not blowing cold air like it should be, just by letting the Rene run for 15 minutes and putting their hand up by the A/C vents and noticing it's not blowing cold like it should as every other Jeep vehicle on their lot, then I have no faith they could properly diagnose or fix anything.

Thanks for the follow-up. I apologize about the inconvenience. Do you have another dealership in mind? Please DM me your VIN and contact number for further assistance. Thanks - Kevin T, Social Connect Team

 

[Rednroll]

Thanks for the follow-up. I apologize about the inconvenience. Do you have another dealership in mind? Please DM me your VIN and contact number for further assistance. Thanks - Kevin T, Social Connect Team

Thanks for the response, I definitely have another dealership in mind. It's closer to my house and the same one I purchased my JKU Wrangler from and wanted to purchase the Rene from them as well but they didn't have one with the options I was looking for in their inventory at the time.

This current Southfield dealership, I've had problems with every step of the way which included problems with the initial sale, which seemed a lot like a bait and switch to get me into the dealership, then with their finance dept where I went with Chrysler financing and the finance dept messed up on the title paperwork filing, then they sent me a nasty gram threatening me with legal actions, to get their paperwork mistake corrected, they didn't provide me registration papers while delivering the plate, then problems at delivery, and now service follow up doesn't seem to be moving in a positive direction as well. Too much to go into all the details. I'm just done with them at this point. Lessons learned.

I'll be headed to Jim Riehl's Friendly in Warren, MI this Saturday since their service dept. is open where I won't have to take additional time off of work and I've had nothing but good experiences with them with my Wrangler every step of the way and previous purchases with them.
http://www.jimriehlsfriendlychryslerjeep.com/

 

[Rednroll]

Thanks for your assistance, DM headed your way shortly.

 

[Panzerkampfwagen]

Can anybody explain to me why some Jeep dealerships just don't "get it"?