[elguapo543]

As soon as I leave town, my wife calls to tell me the Jeep just warned there was a DEF problem and that it needed immediate servicing. She drove it home from work that day, and the next morning she drove it to the dealership. Estimate fewer than 30-40 miles, safely, were driven.

Today I get a text from the dealership explaining that "[we] had run over something and it has broken the hose to the injector on the DEF system. It's been causing it to dump large amounts of DEF into the filter which has ruined the catalytic converter for the DEF system. You will be looking at $4559.95 plus tax."

We've complained of a rattle that they swore they couldn't hear or replicate. We took it in about 5 months ago before we were dismissed out of hand.

I've become very educated on how vulnerable the DEF lines are on this model. I THINK I recall getting the wire harness fix they'd recommended. I know little about the mechanic side, but I am a natural skeptic. Would anyone care to help me understand two things:

1) How does a broken hose dump excessive amounts of DEF into the converter? Those were the mechanics words, not mine.

and 2) What is a fair price to have the catalytic converter replaced and associated repairs for the DEF system? Looking online, I'm seeing cat converters for 900 or so. I found one OEM part at 550 on another website.

I'll be honest... the fact he then immediately suggested we submit it to our insurance company (comprehensive policy) also stoked my cynicism.

Am I being sold a bill of goods, or am I just being overly skeptical?

Thanks to you guys who know way more than me about this. I appreciate any help you can offer in advance.

(also, yes... having read a bit, I'm going to get them to itemize the parts they intend to replace/repair and estimate their expense)

 

[elguapo543]

Update on this... I was able to get the dealer on the phone and get a bit more info on this. He's telling me the injector, DEF lines, and the DPF need to be replaced. 2500 in parts plus labor to bring it to the 4600 range.

He told me that something struck the underside of the car. The tech I spoke to said it was not DEF fluid going into the DPF, but sediment/dirt being dumped in there when the injector came off. They also told me the DPF is cracked, presumably due to the impact of whatever hit.

My wife doesn't remember anything hitting the car, but it is what it is there.

Does any of this make sense to anyone else? Can a DPF get cracked as a result of something coming up from underneath the vehicle? If so, I'm assuming there must be some pretty visible damage on the exterior of the housing, right?

 

[Allsport99]

You are being taken advantage of by the dealership, this is not your (wife's) fault. Did you get the AEM recall installed?

 

[elguapo543]

You are being taken advantage of by the dealership, this is not your (wife's) fault. Did you get the AEM recall installed?

We did, somewhere in the middle of 2019.

I just stopped by the dealership, where they put it up on the rack for me. I'm uploading photos to see if this makes any more sense to you guys than it does to me. The damage is both with the wiring/injector but also there's a crack in an exterior metal piece. If you guys wouldn't mind taking a look, tell me if this looks consistent with what I'm being told. Their theory is something bounced up underneath, wrecked the wires, and caused the crack in the first photo.

I seriously appreciate any help you guys can offer. This is greek to me, but I can't help but shake the feeling that's being used against us.

 

[Allsport99]

I'm not a mechanic but I've done a ton of research on the EcoDiesel since I've been running into issues. My synopsis from what I've read, the AEM recall is putting too much stress on the Jeep. This is what I think led to your current situation.

I've also read where the catalytic converter has been replaced and Jeep owners stated this helped. However, most blogs I read about this, occurred before the recall was installed as there was a "bad batch" of converters originally installed in the Jeeps.

 

[hrider]

I cannot say for sure what is going on under your Jeep (sounds like a ripoff), but in my opinion your money would be far better spent removing/bypassing the entire SCR system which will fix this issue and provide you with a more drivable and efficient vehicle. I've been chatting with the HD Diesel guys up in Canada and they offer a package that eliminates all this nonsense (DPF, EGR, DEF system) for about $1200 USD. It's currently on backorder because we are all catching onto them since the Government shut down GDE from selling the re-mapped ECM, but that is my plan this spring/summer when I have time to deal with this. Someone should be locked up for designing the AEM that ruined all these vehicles, which as Allsport noted may be contributing to your problem. FCA replaced emitting to many toxins (according to the EPA) with reduced fuel mileage and poor performance….so in essence they swapped one "bad" thing for another. Idiots....

Bottom line...I would not spend a dime to fix anything related with the Selective Catalytic Reduction system on these vehicle. Just remove it and enjoy the sweet sweet notes of burnt oil...

2014-2018 Grand Cherokee 3.0L EcoDiesel DPF, EGR Delete Kit

 

[CaseyGV]

I'm not a mechanic but I've done a ton of research on the EcoDiesel since I've been running into issues. My synopsis from what I've read, the AEM recall is putting too much stress on the Jeep. This is what I think led to your current situation.

I've also read where the catalytic converter has been replaced and Jeep owners stated this helped. However, most blogs I read about this, occurred before the recall was installed as there was a "bad batch" of converters originally installed in the Jeeps.

I had a '14. It had one of the "bad" catalytic converters. There was a recall issued (actually while mine was in the shop with the check engine code) and that was put on in early 2015.

After the AEM was applied in May of 2019, the check engine light came on again 1 week later with the same code (P20EE). In the subsequent aftermath, they first replaced the catalytic converter again (since that is the repair procedure for that code) and because of how the first one was replaced, they ended up replacing the DPF and a sensor that they could not remove from the catalytic converter. They then cleaned the DEF injector when the check engine light came back on, then did a "healing process", and then replaced the DEF injector. That final act seemed to solve it because the check engine light never came on after that. But that's a lot of parts and a lot of time being serviced. Thankfully, I did not have to pay for any of it.

The local dealership in my new town told me that AEM was bad. I ended up trading the vehicle for a new '20 GC with the V8 gas engine. Just too much can go wrong with the diesel.

 

[Allsport99]

I had a '14. It had one of the "bad" catalytic converters. There was a recall issued (actually while mine was in the shop with the check engine code) and that was put on in early 2015.

After the AEM was applied in May of 2019, the check engine light came on again 1 week later with the same code (P20EE). In the subsequent aftermath, they first replaced the catalytic converter again (since that is the repair procedure for that code) and because of how the first one was replaced, they ended up replacing the DPF and a sensor that they could not remove from the catalytic converter. They then cleaned the DEF injector when the check engine light came back on, then did a "healing process", and then replaced the DEF injector. That final act seemed to solve it because the check engine light never came on after that. But that's a lot of parts and a lot of time being serviced. Thankfully, I did not have to pay for any of it.

The local dealership in my new town told me that AEM was bad. I ended up trading the vehicle for a new '20 GC with the V8 gas engine. Just too much can go wrong with the diesel.

I wish I had traded mine in after I got the recall, stupid me for trusting FCA & thinking a diesel could go 300K+ miles. I'm going to post the estimate I just received, comical at this point.

 

[Allsport99]

I have every invoice from the dealership for every visit. Numerous error codes over the years including P20EE, the last error code that would not go away was P1289.
Recall performed 8/22/19 (168,210 miles)
·Serviced for engine light 9/12/19 ( 170,272 miles)
·Serviced for engine light 9/20/19 (170,341 miles)
·Serviced for engine light 11/06/19 (173,014 miles)
·Serviced for engine light 12/21/19 (175,342 miles)
·12/30/19 overheated & had to be towed. I was told this was my fault.
-1/1520 finally get an estimate to fix: $8,500:

• Oil cooler & hose from tube to cooler
• cooling system flush
• Intake manifold
• oil & filter
• water pump
• thermostat & gasket
• recovery bottle & cap
• radiator: upper & lower hose
• All other heater & bypass hoses
• Chad diagnosis repair

If you still own a Jeep w/ a diesel, I would get out ASAP.

 

[BikePilot]

That sure doesn't look like impact damage to me and I would push to have it covered under the emissions warranty. If it is impact damage your collision insurance should cover it.

 

[jutdean]

Just get the tune and delete. You'll have a better, longer lasting engine.

 

[melhanna]

Have you completed this delete yet? I’m thinking of doing the same with mine as well.

I cannot say for sure what is going on under your Jeep (sounds like a ripoff), but in my opinion your money would be far better spent removing/bypassing the entire SCR system which will fix this issue and provide you with a more drivable and efficient vehicle. I've been chatting with the HD Diesel guys up in Canada and they offer a package that eliminates all this nonsense (DPF, EGR, DEF system) for about $1200 USD. It's currently on backorder because we are all catching onto them since the Government shut down GDE from selling the re-mapped ECM, but that is my plan this spring/summer when I have time to deal with this. Someone should be locked up for designing the AEM that ruined all these vehicles, which as Allsport noted may be contributing to your problem. FCA replaced emitting to many toxins (according to the EPA) with reduced fuel mileage and poor performance….so in essence they swapped one "bad" thing for another. Idiots....

Bottom line...I would not spend a dime to fix anything related with the Selective Catalytic Reduction system on these vehicle. Just remove it and enjoy the sweet sweet notes of burnt oil...

2014-2018 Grand Cherokee 3.0L EcoDiesel DPF, EGR Delete Kit