[McDeelite]

2014 Diesel Grand Cherokee, 36k miles. Sequence of events:

A couple weeks ago, I got the oil change warning, oil change needed soon.

A few days and less than 100 miles later, I got a warning that the oil change was needed immediately, and that the oil life was at zero. 3800 miles since last oil change - the fastest I’ve ever needed one by a couple thousand miles.

Called the dealer, they said the soonest they could get me in was 2.5 weeks, don’t worry about 0% warning, keep driving.

Next day, the check engine light went on. Called dealer back, said they said not to worry, still wait for the appointment.

Then I got a warning that the exhaust filter was almost full, to drive at highway speed to remedy. It was rush hour, couldn’t get to those speeds. Next start up, it tells me filter is full, service immediately.

Then, that afternoon the throttle control light started flashing red, which the manual says needs to be handled immediately.

This was all in less than a week.

Dealer finally says, ok, bring it now. They changed the oil and the filter and reset all the warning lights and say it’s fine, and that I shouldn’t have let it go that long for an oil change. It was still under 4k since the last change! And less than a week since the warning. I questioned that, and he said oil life in a diesel engine is determined by run time, including idle time, not mileage. I used to idle all the time when my little was a sleeping baby and still never had all these issues in a domino effect with no time to handle it before it was so severe.

Anyone experience similar or think it sounds problematic?

Should I be scheduling oil changes at 3500 miles instead of waiting for the sensor as previously advised by the dealer?

 

[McDeelite]

Just left the dealership. So, my old rep told me to always wait for the “change oil soon” warning and then schedule. Couldn’t use express lane for Diesel, had to be an appt.

The guy I have now told me today, never wait that long, bring it in around 3500 miles like clockwork, and always use the express lane, they’re trained now.

So I guess, problem solved? I don’t have to worry about waiting 2+ weeks for an appointment when it goes from “soon” to “immediately” in just a few days... but that still seems strange to me.

Who knows. Curious if anyone else has had issues.

 

[CaseyGV]

I have a 2014 also with almost 49000 miles. I've never had that sequence of events occur. 8 quarts of synthetic oil every 3500 miles would get very pricey.

 

[McDeelite]

Thanks Casey. I agree, that would get pricey. This oil change and DEF top off was $220.

Side note - how many gallons of DEF does it actually hold? I put in a gallon just before all this started, and they said it was almost empty when they checked, maybe 10 days later. They claimed they filled it with 2 gallons (at double the price of Autozone), but it’s still only about 60% full.

I’m starting to question the dealership’s honesty. Again.

I’ve been a Jeep owner for almost 20 years. I wish they’d treat my like a valued customer instead of a nuisance.

 

[CaseyGV]

The DEF tank holds 8 gallons. I generally fill it when it is at 1/4 full. The last time I filled it, I just went to a truck stop out on the highway and filled it from the semi island. It was about $2.50/gallon and I haven’t had any issues with it.

 

[McDeelite]

Just realized I misspoke - I put in a container if DEF, but that’s 2.5 gallons. That math makes more sense, with the dealerships added 2 gallons, to get me close to 60%. They charged me $44 for those 2 gallons, without asking me. Rip off.
I’m going to try to keep it above half full and see if it helps.
With all this going on, my average mpg is down to 19, too, and Diesel is up to $4.15/gallon here. Thus vehicle is getting more and more expensive!

 

[McDeelite]

Still feeling like something is wrong. With 155 miles since the oil change and the reset of the oil life monitor, I’m already down 7% of the oil life. By that math, at this rate I’ll be at 0% oil life in just 2,214 miles.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on it.

 

[hrider]

Still feeling like something is wrong. With 155 miles since the oil change and the reset of the oil life monitor, I’m already down 7% of the oil life. By that math, at this rate I’ll be at 0% oil life in just 2,214 miles.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on it.

First of all...I think your dealer service department is completely full of shit. Second...my oil life monitor is set for every 10K miles....just like the manual says. I have no idea what is going on with your oil monitor but perhaps you need to re-set the oil life again yourself. I don't know why your '14 would be any different than mine. I have ~80K miles and have never had any problems with oil changes, but I do them myself. Third...start filling up your DEF tank at truck stops, its cheaper and likely newer DEF than something sitting on a store shelf. You will need a magnet to slip over the DEF nozzle for it to flow into your tank but most places should have one at the counter for your use. Did your dealer do any updates to your ECM while it was there? Something sounds fishy here.

Reset Oil Life.....
1) Push Start button to "run", do not engage the brake pedal
2) Depress accelerator 3 times within 10sec. You do not have to wait for the chime to stop
3) Press start button to "lock"
You may have to do this several times and you may also have to hold down the "ok" button on the steering wheel controls while depressing the accelerator. I never used to have to but the last time mine would not reset without doing this. The instructions in the manual to reset oil life have never worked for me.

I would start with questioning the current ECM map that your vehicle is running. FCA has not released anything new lately (that I'm aware of) but downloading the most recent updates to your Jeep's computer might do the trick. A good service department would know to do this anyway. Good Luck!

 

[CaseyGV]

One data point - The first oil change after it was switched to 5W40 the oil life was significantly less than before they changed. After that, however, it went back to what I expected. Not sure if that helps you or not, but it is what I observed.

 

[ckapavik]

Just wondering if you have figured out the issue? I am currently experiencing the exact same issues with the oil life mileage being extremely low. I used to always get 7500 - 10000 miles before the indicator. About 2-3 months ago the light came on after about 5k and then the check engine light also came on. Changed the oil, now about 1-2 months later and only ~2400 miles, oil life is a 0 and check engine light came on once again. I will be taking it to the dealership here in the next couple of days but I am curious what could be happening.

A bit of backstory that might lead to some insight?
We moved to Colorado from Texas about the same time the issues started happening. We have never towed with the vehicle, gone off road or anything crazy. Only change was we started using a snap shot by progressive (I sent it back as I thought it could be the issue) and the daily commute went from 10ish miles one way down to 4 one way. I know this will have an affect but that drastic?

Oil Used Recently: Shell Rotela T6 5-40
Car Mileage: 74000

 

[McDeelite]

Sorry for the long delay in response, was traveling.
No answers, and it’s continuing on the same path.
Today I hit 66% oil life with 550 miles since the oil change. That puts me on track to need an oil change well before 2,000 miles!
Called my dealer service guy, he said, “engines use up oil, that’s what you have a dipstick for.”
Insert choice words for him here, but I’ll be kind and just call him the dipstick.

I don’t idle much, but I really cut back on the little bit I do, and it made zero difference. Tried to get more highway miles in, just to help with clearing the soot, no difference there either. It’s actually getting worse it seems.

Editing to add - my extended warranty runs out in 2 months and I’d like to figure this out before then, but since they won’t even agree there’s a problem, my hopes aren’t high.

Just wondering if you have figured out the issue? I am currently experiencing the exact same issues with the oil life mileage being extremely low. I used to always get 7500 - 10000 miles before the indicator. About 2-3 months ago the light came on after about 5k and then the check engine light also came on. Changed the oil, now about 1-2 months later and only ~2400 miles, oil life is a 0 and check engine light came on once again. I will be taking it to the dealership here in the next couple of days but I am curious what could be happening.

A bit of backstory that might lead to some insight?
We moved to Colorado from Texas about the same time the issues started happening. We have never towed with the vehicle, gone off road or anything crazy. Only change was we started using a snap shot by progressive (I sent it back as I thought it could be the issue) and the daily commute went from 10ish miles one way down to 4 one way. I know this will have an affect but that drastic?

Oil Used Recently: Shell Rotela T6 5-40
Car Mileage: 74000

 

[ckapavik]

Sorry for the long delay in response, was traveling.
No answers, and it’s continuing on the same path.
Today I hit 66% oil life with 550 miles since the oil change. That puts me on track to need an oil change well before 2,000 miles!
Called my dealer service guy, he said, “engines use up oil, that’s what you have a dipstick for.”
Insert choice words for him here, but I’ll be kind and just call him the dipstick.

I don’t idle much, but I really cut back on the little bit I do, and it made zero difference. Tried to get more highway miles in, just to help with clearing the soot, no difference there either. It’s actually getting worse it seems.

Editing to add - my extended warranty runs out in 2 months and I’d like to figure this out before then, but since they won’t even agree there’s a problem, my hopes aren’t high.

Well, not sure how helpful this is, but ours has been throwing various codes (P0420, P1D30 and U0403). After taking it to the dealer twice and a local mechanic, they have no answers as nothing seems off with the various sensors. The odd code is U0403 which refers to transfer case data. Interesting because ours is a 2wd and doesn't have a transfer case...

The dealer said an update to the PCM should be coming out soonish that should help out with the codes and oil life. I guess time will tell. If an update does indeed come out, once we have it installed and know how it behaves I will give an update.

 

[Rdkingjake]

2014 Diesel Grand Cherokee, 36k miles. Sequence of events:

A couple weeks ago, I got the oil change warning, oil change needed soon.

A few days and less than 100 miles later, I got a warning that the oil change was needed immediately, and that the oil life was at zero. 3800 miles since last oil change - the fastest I’ve ever needed one by a couple thousand miles.

Called the dealer, they said the soonest they could get me in was 2.5 weeks, don’t worry about 0% warning, keep driving.

Next day, the check engine light went on. Called dealer back, said they said not to worry, still wait for the appointment.

Then I got a warning that the exhaust filter was almost full, to drive at highway speed to remedy. It was rush hour, couldn’t get to those speeds. Next start up, it tells me filter is full, service immediately.

Then, that afternoon the throttle control light started flashing red, which the manual says needs to be handled immediately.

This was all in less than a week.

Dealer finally says, ok, bring it now. They changed the oil and the filter and reset all the warning lights and say it’s fine, and that I shouldn’t have let it go that long for an oil change. It was still under 4k since the last change! And less than a week since the warning. I questioned that, and he said oil life in a diesel engine is determined by run time, including idle time, not mileage. I used to idle all the time when my little was a sleeping baby and still never had all these issues in a domino effect with no time to handle it before it was so severe.

Anyone experience similar or think it sounds problematic?

Should I be scheduling oil changes at 3500 miles instead of waiting for the sensor as previously advised by the dealer?

Any solution yet? I have a 2015 Grand Cherokee Overland with the eco diesel, and I am having similar issues. On the very first oil change I got 11,000 kms on it, and I was quite happy with that. After that, I took it to a “warranty approved” oil change place and they did say they had a hard time resetting the oil life indicator but they did eventually get it. EVERY oil change from then on... I maybe get 3000-4000 kms on an oil change! I have spoken with the dealership, and they have done every oil change since then. They tell me there is no way to “adjust” the oil life indicator. But, they tell me to just go by the window sticker they put on the windshield, and just reset the oil life indicator on my own if it bothers me. I’ve told them I am worried about that voiding my warranty, and they said if I go by the window sticker that they put on, it will be fine. So I always get it changed just before which I believe is about 6000 kms. Quite expensive to maintain this little SUV! I do wonder though... because of the EGR... if I do a lot of “in town” driving, is it making my oil even dirtier, and is this why I’m having the issues? I’m tempted to put on an Amsoil diesel oil bypass system to help continually clean the oil to see if it helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[McDeelite]

Any solution yet? I have a 2015 Grand Cherokee Overland with the eco diesel, and I am having similar issues. On the very first oil change I got 11,000 kms on it, and I was quite happy with that. After that, I took it to a “warranty approved” oil change place and they did say they had a hard time resetting the oil life indicator but they did eventually get it. EVERY oil change from then on... I maybe get 3000-4000 kms on an oil change! I have spoken with the dealership, and they have done every oil change since then. They tell me there is no way to “adjust” the oil life indicator. But, they tell me to just go by the window sticker they put on the windshield, and just reset the oil life indicator on my own if it bothers me. I’ve told them I am worried about that voiding my warranty, and they said if I go by the window sticker that they put on, it will be fine. So I always get it changed just before which I believe is about 6000 kms. Quite expensive to maintain this little SUV! I do wonder though... because of the EGR... if I do a lot of “in town” driving, is it making my oil even dirtier, and is this why I’m having the issues? I’m tempted to put on an Amsoil diesel oil bypass system to help continually clean the oil to see if it helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, no solution yet. It has been in the body shop and the dealership most days for the last 4 months, so I’ve not driven it much since November. It’a following the same pattern - oil change when I got it back in February, and I’ve only driven it about 1200 miles since then and it’s at 50% oil life again.

We’re shipping it to the mainland in June (we live in Hawaii), and I’m hoping we get a better service tech there, so I’m just biding my time.

 

[CaseyGV]

Be prepared for your check engine light to come on. After my Jeep had been in the body shop for about 3 months, the check engine light came on the next day related to one of the NOx sensors. Dealership pulled the code and cleared it and it never came back on after that.

 

[McDeelite]

It did! Lol. But then it went back off by itself on the way to the dealer to get it checked, naturally.