You do realize that checking the oil level (and adding if low) is different than an oil change, right?
My jeep horror story: 2018 Renegade excessive oil burning and radio issues
I bought my Jeep from carmax in August 2019 with 22k miles on it. I was told that the oil was changed recently, and that the vehicle would let me know when it was time for an oil change. Around 26k miles, the engine stalled in a busy intersection (no lights or codes were thrown). After a few seconds, the jeep restarted itself and I was able to safely exit the intersection. I took the vehicle to my local mechanic, and he stated the engine was very low on oil. I assumed that carmax had given me incorrect information about the oil change, so i didn't think much of it and had the mechanic perform an oil change.
Less than a month later, I started having intermittent issues with the radio. Sometimes the backup camera would stay on when I was driving. Other times, the radio would become stuck on a station (whether xm, am, or fm)at whatever volume you were listening to. Even if you turned off the vehicle and opened the doors, the radio would stay on. Restarting the vehicle would not solve the issue. 10-15 minutes later, the issue would correct itself.
No more than a couple weeks later, the jeep stalled in an intersection again. Slightly more than 4k miles had passed since the oil change. In that amount of time, the jeep had burned off close to 3 quarts of oil. The mechanic suggested I contact a jeep dealership and also advised that I google Jeep Renegade oil consumption test, as they had two other clients experiencing the same issue.
After multiple consumption tests, Jeep has stated that the engine does not burn excessive oil. I said that its strange that the owners manual says to not go more than 10k miles between oil changes, and I can barely get to 4k. Of course Jeep tried to pass the blame onto me for not doing the oil changes in time (I guess they want me to ignore the owners manual and just do oil changes every 3500 miles). They were also unable to recreate the radio issues, so they updated the OS for the radio and said that it should solve the issue.
Fast forward to September 1st, 2021. I can barely get 2k miles after an oil change before there is a noticeable loss of power. The vehicle is just outside of the 60k warranty, has thrown the code for cylinder 3 misfire, coils & spark plugs have been replaced (my mechanic kept the old ones to show how bad the issue really is). The engine has a really rough start, especially if it has been sitting for over an hour. After using a boroscope to verify that oil is pooling on top of all the cylinders and performing a leak down test, the mechanics have determined that I need a new engine. Of course, Jeep is denying responsibility since the vehicle is outside of warranty (even though the complaints go back to when the vehicle had less than 30k miles and the vehicle was only a year old).
So now, I have a 3 year old vehicle that needs a new engine. It has died in 7 intersections and at the hetch hetchy reservoir on a 107 degree day. It continues to have intermittent radio issues (the update did reduce the frequency of radio issues). I have to keep a spare 5 quarts of oil in the vehicle at all times just to prevent myself from being stranded. It is a total bummer when you consider that I have 2 toyotas with zero issues (just oil changes, filters, brakes, and regular maintenance) and both have over 200k miles on them ( a 2001 Tundra, and 2015 highlander). In fact, this jeep replaced my 2000 Camry with over 300k miles that was totaled in a hit and run.
It has really left a bad taste in my mouth for modern jeeps. I've only ever had one other jeep (a 79 cj), which was fun but definitely not commuter friendly. I had originally planned to get a gladiator when my tundra finally retires, but I can't bring myself to buy another one. I'm really not sure how this one even passed the oil consumption test. None of the consumption tests seem to show how much oil is being lost. For the record, the only time the oil change light has ever displayed was the time that they forgot to reset it. I've never even gotten close to having it go off on it's own.
Less than a month later, I started having intermittent issues with the radio. Sometimes the backup camera would stay on when I was driving. Other times, the radio would become stuck on a station (whether xm, am, or fm)at whatever volume you were listening to. Even if you turned off the vehicle and opened the doors, the radio would stay on. Restarting the vehicle would not solve the issue. 10-15 minutes later, the issue would correct itself.
No more than a couple weeks later, the jeep stalled in an intersection again. Slightly more than 4k miles had passed since the oil change. In that amount of time, the jeep had burned off close to 3 quarts of oil. The mechanic suggested I contact a jeep dealership and also advised that I google Jeep Renegade oil consumption test, as they had two other clients experiencing the same issue.
After multiple consumption tests, Jeep has stated that the engine does not burn excessive oil. I said that its strange that the owners manual says to not go more than 10k miles between oil changes, and I can barely get to 4k. Of course Jeep tried to pass the blame onto me for not doing the oil changes in time (I guess they want me to ignore the owners manual and just do oil changes every 3500 miles). They were also unable to recreate the radio issues, so they updated the OS for the radio and said that it should solve the issue.
Fast forward to September 1st, 2021. I can barely get 2k miles after an oil change before there is a noticeable loss of power. The vehicle is just outside of the 60k warranty, has thrown the code for cylinder 3 misfire, coils & spark plugs have been replaced (my mechanic kept the old ones to show how bad the issue really is). The engine has a really rough start, especially if it has been sitting for over an hour. After using a boroscope to verify that oil is pooling on top of all the cylinders and performing a leak down test, the mechanics have determined that I need a new engine. Of course, Jeep is denying responsibility since the vehicle is outside of warranty (even though the complaints go back to when the vehicle had less than 30k miles and the vehicle was only a year old).
So now, I have a 3 year old vehicle that needs a new engine. It has died in 7 intersections and at the hetch hetchy reservoir on a 107 degree day. It continues to have intermittent radio issues (the update did reduce the frequency of radio issues). I have to keep a spare 5 quarts of oil in the vehicle at all times just to prevent myself from being stranded. It is a total bummer when you consider that I have 2 toyotas with zero issues (just oil changes, filters, brakes, and regular maintenance) and both have over 200k miles on them ( a 2001 Tundra, and 2015 highlander). In fact, this jeep replaced my 2000 Camry with over 300k miles that was totaled in a hit and run.
It has really left a bad taste in my mouth for modern jeeps. I've only ever had one other jeep (a 79 cj), which was fun but definitely not commuter friendly. I had originally planned to get a gladiator when my tundra finally retires, but I can't bring myself to buy another one. I'm really not sure how this one even passed the oil consumption test. None of the consumption tests seem to show how much oil is being lost. For the record, the only time the oil change light has ever displayed was the time that they forgot to reset it. I've never even gotten close to having it go off on it's own.
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