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Problems in cold weather

43K views 43 replies 27 participants last post by  mpooh 
#1 ·
First of all, I like my Renegade a lot. With studded winter tires the grip and traction is incredible. I have never driven anything that can compare. The comfort is also very good. And it's a fun car to drive.

Now over to the not so good. Jeep must have done a really bad job testing the car in cold climate. When the outside temperature went down to around -15 °C (5 °F) and lower, the car started to show all kinds of fault/alerts like Serv 4WD, Check parking or electronic brake, Stop/start unavailable and Check Engine. In addition, after driving for 40 minutes at moderate speeds and then leaving the car for 24 hours in -25 °C (-13 °F) , the battery didn’t have enough charge to start the car. I checked the battery and it is only 72 Ah which in my opinion is insufficient for climates where the temperature can get down to -30 °C. After a night of charging the battery and a couple of hours with the block heater on, the car started. When the outside temperature went up warmer than -15 °C (5 °F), the messages disappeared. When Check Engine is showing, the car is only front wheel drive.

The most stupid or laughable effect of these faults was the following: The car said Stop/start unavailable and the system could not be turned on with the button. When I came to work I drove slowly into my parking space and braked the car to a stop half way into the space. Then the car decided to activate the stop/start system and automatically stopped the engine. The problem was that the system was apparently still unavailable so when I released the brake pedal the car wouldn’t start automatically. I had to switch off the ignition and then on again to start the car and drive it the last meter into the parking space.

I really hope that Jeep has software-updates to fix these issues, but I fear that these low temperature problems are unknown to Jeep and that my car will not be fixed this winter…

Anyone else experiencing problems in cold temperatures?
 
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#34 ·
Quick question from a diesel rookie. I like to take my jeep to ski resorts or to places with snow in general. Living in Greece and with the renegade being my first diesel i don't know if i have to preheat the engine or if i just turn the ingition on and wait for the engine to warm itself up. I'm talking about temperatures arround 0 to -10 oC, so any tips would be really healpfull.
 
#35 ·
Quick question from a diesel rookie. I like to take my jeep to ski resorts or to places with snow in general. Living in Greece and with the renegade being my first diesel i don't know if i have to preheat the engine or if i just turn the ignition on and wait for the engine to warm itself up. I'm talking about temperatures around 0 to -10 oC, so any tips would be really helpful.
I'm thinking your Renegade diesel would be much like my GC 3.0.....when very cold I turn the key to 'run' and NOT start it......wait a minute.....turn key 'off'.....then turn key to 'run' again....wait a minute....then start. That way I have double cycled the glow plugs.......my 3.0 has started at -40*c.....sounded like rocks in a pop can though.

Does your renegade have the glow plug indicator on the dash?

Also....if you have remote start...it should delay starting until the glow plug cycle is complete.
 
#37 ·
Hello Arild,

To solve your problems I recommend you to do two things:
(1) Go to a Jeep dealership and ask them to install you all the new Jeep software updates issued by Jeep on the "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION NOTIFICATION R74". I did it, and I noticed that the "warning lights" disappeared and that the battery charging management also was reprogrammed (I have the "Jeep skils" app on the Uconnect that shows me the battery Voltage, Amperage being charged/drawn and the Batt % off charge).
"CUSTOMER SATISFACTION NOTIFICATION R74" states:
We are recommending the following improvements be performed on certain 2015 and 2016 model year Jeep Renegade vehicles.
The problem is...
The modules listed below on your vehicle may require updated software.
 Engine Control Module (ECM)Automatic Climate Module (ACM)
 Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC)
 Radio Frequency Hub Module (RFHM)
 Heating and Climate Control System (HVAC)
 Driver Assistant System Module (DASM)
 Drivetrain Control Module (DTCM)
 VP2 Infotainment Devise

(2) For extreme weather conditions (cold) I also recomend to replace the battery by a VARTA Silver Dynamic AGM570901076. It has exactly the same size as the original, but 760A cold start. It also charges faster (important if you drive short trips.

Finally, the stop&start system is (and shall be) automatically disengaged if some conditions are met like low battery charge, engine cooling fluid below 60ºC, Cabin temperature much different from the one selected on the Air conditioning, etc. This is the same to other cars with Stop&start.

Best regards,

Bruno
 
#41 ·
I have a 2017 jeep renegade latitude. Today it was -26 when i went to leave for work and pushed the button to start my car and everything lit up but wouldnt even try to turn over. I spent hours testing the battery to trying to warm the starter. I finally noticed on my dash a small light on that was regular and it looks like a small lightning bolt. I looked it up and found out its the ecm electronic control module i believe. Which states if the pedals arent lined up properly it stops the car from turning over. So i started to apply heat and pb blaster to the mechanical connections and kept wiggling and moving following through the firewall. After about 30 minutes it finally tried to turn over but didnt make it. So i kept repeating the processing moving the gas pedal and brake pedal and eventually it must have worked and the car turned over and slowlllly started but it did work. So hopefully anyone else has this problem and the battery test good around 12.5ish starter is ok this can help you solve an annoying problem i see that a "cold weather" reneage seems to have and if you see the 4wd service light come on just ignore it, it is a know glitch with these renegades that goes away and nothing is wrong.
 
#42 ·
We are having this same issue in our 2021 renegade its crazy its -15 feels like -39 and went out to start it and was flashing all the lights saying high coolant levels and locked the jeep thinking there was break in attempt and cut off fuel kept telling me to put in park to start the damn thing and flashing every warning sign there was so dumb I swear old school is the way to go with any vehicle if you get electric just don't sad day for jeep
 
#44 ·
I have a 2016 jeep renegade latitude. It was -30F at night and I tried starting it and wouldn’t even let me push the brake pedal down. Every single service light came on. It got warmer during the day so I tried again and it started, but my service engine message was still there. I checked my antifreeze levels, battery, everything. I drive it to work the next day and the check engine light went off. A similar issue happened last winter where I was stopped at a red light in freezing temperatures and as I started to turn my service 4WD message popped up and then randomly went away. I don’t know. I think it’s a computer issue in cold weather
 
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