New Jeep Renegade yay/nay?

[Kaido]

Holy crap that sounds like a horrible new car experience. Only cements my opinion of Jeep products which I lament, because I really want to like them.

Same. I didn't go in blind, i.e. not expecting problems, but the car feels overly-electronic and the electronic stuff lags, from transmission shifting to the backup camera. Sometimes it works good all day, sometimes it glitches out intermittently, sometimes it's one thing after another. And before getting it, not a single one of my Jeep buddies (Wranglers etc.) said their electronic systems functioned perfectly, but the tradeoff was that they got a fun off-road machine, so to them it was worth it.

I've been on the Jeep Renegade forums & I'm definitely not alone, although it sounds like the majority of the vehicles don't have any issues whatsoever. I don't know if I can legally push the lemon/return issue for glitches vs. stuff that actually makes the car break or quit working, so I may just have to live with it until it depreciates to the point where it makes financial sense & I can trade it in evenly for KBB. It's a pity, because it fits me well, I like the size, it has all the features I want, it's rugged, does great off-road, just is kind of glitchy.

 

[Kaido]

Car sounds like a total piece of crap from your review. What would cause you not to love it?

 

[Kaido]

A first-year Fiat based Jeep, what could go wrong? ;-)

ftfy

 

[NutBucket]

Think about cars like the Corvette...they rattle, they scrape the ground on inclined entrances & exits, they're a hassle to get into, but owners generally love them because they're awesome.

That's hardly a fair comparison. You buy a Vette knowing those traits. They don't suddenly appear out of nowhere. You can't have a performance car that has great approach angles and easy ingress/egress. Come on Kaido, even you know that's beyond a stretch!

 

[Kaido]

That's hardly a fair comparison. You buy a Vette knowing those traits. They don't suddenly appear out of nowhere. You can't have a performance car that has great approach angles and easy ingress/egress. Come on Kaido, even you know that's beyond a stretch!

Nah, I don't agree - everyone I know with a Jeep has issues with them, so I knew going in that it might not be smooth sailing

 

[NutBucket]

LOL Fair enough!

 

[Kaido]

Ran into a 500x owner & compared issues. Pretty much 1:1 on the glitches listed on the other page...power loss from 2nd to 3rd gear, electronic lag, etc. As a car, it's solid, but the electronics are finicky & the 9-speed transmission blows chunks. I don't think I'm going to bother taking it into the shop...I don't think there's anything they can do for most of the minor issues. Again it's not horrible, and they are intermittent, just annoying when they happen. I violated my own technology rule of "never buy first-generation hardware" so I knew I stood a chance of getting bit by gremlins with this

Aside from the quirks, I'm really enjoying it. It snowed about half a foot yesterday & I plowed through it no problem. Really glad I didn't have to try driving in that in the Mustang I was looking at. Oh yeah, and comparing the 500x side-by-side, definitely glad I went with the Jeep - tons more room inside. The 500x is more like the new stretched Beetle, more of a sloped hatchback design. The Jeep feels a lot roomier inside thanks to the boxy design. I'm doing some house projects & was able to fit a whole load of crap inside from Home Depot, which was nice because I didn't have to rent a truck. I do wish the back window popped up (my friend's older CRV has that feature, so nice when you need to transport long pieces of wood & pipe), but I don't know if any cars are still sold with that feature anymore.

I did poke around at some alternatives, in case I do swap it out in the future (we'll see how the reliability goes!). As much as I hate minivans, an AWD Sienna is pretty attractive...pop the seats down & out and you have a huge transport area. Ground clearance & MPG are about the same as my Renegade, only downside is the much higher price for the base model. And the fact that it's a minivan But dual sliding doors & optional remote doors & trunk is pretty nice too. #swaggerwagon?

 

[NutBucket]

Keep taking it in. Might as well document the crap out of it. I guess you have a high threshold because I'd be pissed if it was my car doing this stuff.

 

[Kaido]

Keep taking it in. Might as well document the crap out of it. I guess you have a high threshold because I'd be pissed if it was my car doing this stuff.

I am, but I'm stuck. I mean, what are your options in this situation? If it keeps crapping out, I can do the lemon law on it, but what else can I really do? Complaining to the dealership & Jeep HQ has gotten me nowhere. The loaner I got didn't have any issues, but enough people have reported similar issues online that there's at least a segment of the cars that have these glitches. I don't know any other Renegade owners personally, so I can't confirm, and my Jeep buddies constantly complain about electrical issues in theirs, so...yeah. Either they release fixes for the bugs or they don't, in which case I'm still stuck with it.

It's kind of crazy to me that I never had any problems with either of my Kia's, but my Jeep has constantly bugged out on me. You'd think Jeep would have better reliability than Kia, you know? Best I think I can do is once it depreciates enough to trade it in at KBB, do a swap to something more reliable, because otherwise I'm losing money on it if I trade it in early.

 

[NutBucket]

I don't. The Koreans have really stepped up their game. I have no qualms about purchasing one.

And yes, if I were you I would definitely be looking to lemon law the thing. Why should you take a financial hit when they sold you a POS?

 

[Leyawiin]

Don't know why they went with a nine speed auto. An uncomplicated six speed has more than enough gears to keep the power band where it should be.

 

[Kaido]

Don't know why they went with a nine speed auto. An uncomplicated six speed has more than enough gears to keep the power band where it should be.

I would even be happy with a five speed

 

[jlee]

I am, but I'm stuck. I mean, what are your options in this situation? If it keeps crapping out, I can do the lemon law on it, but what else can I really do? Complaining to the dealership & Jeep HQ has gotten me nowhere. The loaner I got didn't have any issues, but enough people have reported similar issues online that there's at least a segment of the cars that have these glitches. I don't know any other Renegade owners personally, so I can't confirm, and my Jeep buddies constantly complain about electrical issues in theirs, so...yeah. Either they release fixes for the bugs or they don't, in which case I'm still stuck with it.

It's kind of crazy to me that I never had any problems with either of my Kia's, but my Jeep has constantly bugged out on me. You'd think Jeep would have better reliability than Kia, you know? Best I think I can do is once it depreciates enough to trade it in at KBB, do a swap to something more reliable, because otherwise I'm losing money on it if I trade it in early.

I'd go for a lemon law claim and just get out of it. You'll likely lose the least amount of money that way as well.

 

[Kaido]

I don't. The Koreans have really stepped up their game. I have no qualms about purchasing one.

And yes, if I were you I would definitely be looking to lemon law the thing. Why should you take a financial hit when they sold you a POS?

Seriously...that redesigned Sportage with AWD looks awfully nice haha. Wish they offered the Soul or Sedona in AWD! It makes driving in New England snow way too easy to ever go without it again

I'm in contact with a service rep from the dealership I got it from, hopefully they can give me something better than a shrug. I work a lot, so it is a pain having to drop it off at the dealership. Bah!

 

[Kaido]

I'd go for a lemon law claim and just get out of it. You'll likely lose the least amount of money that way as well.

In CT, it's four times for the same issue. I think I've been in 2 or 3 times already. First time was the brakes, which they fixed (TSB). Second time was when it died on me & I had to get it towed in. May have been another one between that, can't remember. Per NutBucket's point, I'll keep taking it in so I have documentation. In other news, a Dawn of Justice Renegade is now available:

http://www.jeep.com/en/limited-editions/renegade/justice/

Maybe they'll let me swap out for a Batman version

 

[jlee]

In CT, it's four times for the same issue. I think I've been in 2 or 3 times already. First time was the brakes, which they fixed (TSB). Second time was when it died on me & I had to get it towed in. May have been another one between that, can't remember. Per NutBucket's point, I'll keep taking it in so I have documentation. In other news, a Dawn of Justice Renegade is now available:

http://www.jeep.com/en/limited-editions/renegade/justice/

Maybe they'll let me swap out for a Batman version

If they're slow to repair, you may have another avenue. I'm not familiar with CT's lemon law so I found this:

For a car to qualify, the same problem has to be subjected to a reasonable number of repair attempts and continue to exist after these attempts at repair. The law presumes that a “reasonable number” of repair attempts is four. However, your car may be eligible if you have less than four repair attempts for the same problem and can justify this is a reasonable number of repair attempts, and repairs have been performed within the eligibility period.

- OR -

When the vehicle has been out of service for repair at the dealership for a cumulative total of thirty days or more for any number of unrelated problems. These problems must occur within the eligibility period.
- OR -

In the case of a safety defect which is likely to cause death or serious injury if the vehicle is driven, the defect continues to exist after two or more attempts during the first year of operation or the term of the express warranty, whichever period end first.

 

[OverVolt]

Just want to chime in that ABS increases stopping distances significantly (like up to 4x) in a couple inches of snow, or in wet mud/gravel.

Without ABS your tires will dig up a mound of snow/mud in front of the tire that helps you stop. Its hit or miss. ABS can actually randomly fail you in the snow.

Me personally, I JUST BOUGHT a 2015 Sentra. "Its the most efficient thing ever" I sais. I'll be doing tons of highway miles its the most practical. Well after the Northeast blizzards I am totally done with FWD and small cars. I'm sick of losing traction on a pebble, I'm sick of all the power slipping to one wheel or the other (Though apparently you can hit the brakes and the gas to gain traction without a LSD in bad conditions -- not sure how well this works with a CVT)

I get 35-40mpg highway. Its great. Its that one day where I might slide into a ditch where saving $80 won't matter. I'm sick of hills, potholes, skinny tires, low ground clearances, snow etc. etc. Jeep Renegade pls.

 

[tortillasoup]

Just want to chime in that ABS increases stopping distances significantly (like up to 4x) in a couple inches of snow, or in wet mud/gravel.

Without ABS your tires will dig up a mound of snow/mud in front of the tire that helps you stop. Its hit or miss. ABS can actually randomly fail you in the snow.

Me personally, I JUST BOUGHT a 2015 Sentra. "Its the most efficient thing ever" I sais. I'll be doing tons of highway miles its the most practical. Well after the Northeast blizzards I am totally done with FWD and small cars. I'm sick of losing traction on a pebble, I'm sick of all the power slipping to one wheel or the other (Though apparently you can hit the brakes and the gas to gain traction without a LSD in bad conditions -- not sure how well this works with a CVT)

I get 35-40mpg highway. Its great. Its that one day where I might slide into a ditch where saving $80 won't matter. I'm sick of hills, potholes, skinny tires, low ground clearances, snow etc. etc. Jeep Renegade pls.

Your complaints have nothing to do with FWD and ABS is a feature that is standard in all vehicles today. Either manually disable the ABS and change the tires or suck it up. Not a whole lot of vehicles have a snow setting for their ABS. I'm sure you're like most dumb f&&ks who used the crappy LRR all season tires to drive around in the ice/snow in instead of getting a proper set of snow tires for the season.

 

[NutBucket]

Just want to chime in that ABS increases stopping distances significantly (like up to 4x) in a couple inches of snow, or in wet mud/gravel.

Without ABS your tires will dig up a mound of snow/mud in front of the tire that helps you stop. Its hit or miss. ABS can actually randomly fail you in the snow.

Me personally, I JUST BOUGHT a 2015 Sentra. "Its the most efficient thing ever" I sais. I'll be doing tons of highway miles its the most practical. Well after the Northeast blizzards I am totally done with FWD and small cars. I'm sick of losing traction on a pebble, I'm sick of all the power slipping to one wheel or the other (Though apparently you can hit the brakes and the gas to gain traction without a LSD in bad conditions -- not sure how well this works with a CVT)

I get 35-40mpg highway. Its great. Its that one day where I might slide into a ditch where saving $80 won't matter. I'm sick of hills, potholes, skinny tires, low ground clearances, snow etc. etc. Jeep Renegade pls.

Well did you put snow tires on your Sentra? If not, AWD will be of zero help.

 

[OverVolt]

Your complaints have nothing to do with FWD and ABS is a feature that is standard in all vehicles today. Either manually disable the ABS and change the tires or suck it up. Not a whole lot of vehicles have a snow setting for their ABS. I'm sure you're like most dumb f&&ks who used the crappy LRR all season tires to drive around in the ice/snow in instead of getting a proper set of snow tires for the season.

Well it wasn't supposed to be a snowy winter, I actually made it through 36" unplowed in the sentra on the stock low rolling resistance highway tires. They have like zero good sipes & tread for snow. It just sucked was all.

When you blow traction in a FWD car that doesn't have a LSD all power goes to one wheel. I was really disappointed in Nissans TCS in that regard. There are virtually zero FWD cars on the market with a locking differential that would help greatly in snow. One of the few that do was the Sentra SER from '04 - '06. Hence why I'm completely done with FWD.

I wasn't in some rough terrain area or anything. Nor should my job have been demanding I be there in such weather so it was just shitty all around. My plan was generally to not go out if it snowed.

In terms of ABS its more like informing you guys to be aware that ABS can fail you in the snow and increase braking distance. I keep it on in the snow but if I was having problems I'd know to turn it off.

 

[jlee]

Well it wasn't supposed to be a snowy winter, I actually made it through 36" unplowed in the sentra on the stock low rolling resistance highway tires. They have like zero good sipes & tread for snow. It just sucked was all.

When you blow traction in a FWD car that doesn't have a LSD all power goes to one wheel. I was really disappointed in Nissans TCS in that regard. There are virtually zero FWD cars on the market with a locking differential that would help greatly in snow. One of the few that do was the Sentra SER from '04 - '06. Hence why I'm completely done with FWD.

I wasn't in some rough terrain area or anything. Nor should my job have been demanding I be there in such weather so it was just shitty all around. My plan was generally to not go out if it snowed.

In terms of ABS its more like informing you guys to be aware that ABS can fail you in the snow and increase braking distance. I keep it on in the snow but if I was having problems I'd know to turn it off.

I don't think you'll find any FWD cars in existence with a locking differential - locking a front diff makes turning incredibly difficult. I'm guessing you're referring to a limited slip differential, though.

 

[Kaido]

I get 35-40mpg highway. Its great. Its that one day where I might slide into a ditch where saving $80 won't matter. I'm sick of hills, potholes, skinny tires, low ground clearances, snow etc. etc. Jeep Renegade pls.

I don't want to lay the blame on ALL Renegades, because the loaner I took out had none of the issues that mine has...the idle was non-vibratey & quiet, no brake squeak, no weird electrical/electronic issues. So I wouldn't completely dismiss it as a viable ride, especially since nothing major physically has broken (aside from the BCM hiccup that left me stranded). I like that it's a Jeep, I like that it's built more like a car than a Jeep but is still a Jeep (AWD/4WD/goes offroad well, but is comfortable & nice inside), I like that it has gotten me through every winter storm to date (without having to shovel out even once!), I just don't like the quirks that mine has.

After doing some research on other vehicles, I will probably trade it in for an AWD Toyota Sienna at some point. Similar ground clearance & MPG, but way more room for hauling stuff around (rear seats fold down & middle ones slide forward). Plus it's not a first-year car, from Jeep/Dodge, made by Fiat, with a weird 9-speed transmission

 

[OverVolt]

I'm switching to wondering if I can get a clunker cherokee from the 2000's to use once a month if it doesn't break down entirely .

I'm thinking Jeeps are too unreliable to DD but maybe as a sunday car you can do work on without having to worry about having it in drive-able condition Monday morning.

 

[OverVolt]

I don't want to lay the blame on ALL Renegades, because the loaner I took out had none of the issues that mine has...the idle was non-vibratey & quiet, no brake squeak, no weird electrical/electronic issues. So I wouldn't completely dismiss it as a viable ride, especially since nothing major physically has broken (aside from the BCM hiccup that left me stranded). I like that it's a Jeep, I like that it's built more like a car than a Jeep but is still a Jeep (AWD/4WD/goes offroad well, but is comfortable & nice inside), I like that it has gotten me through every winter storm to date (without having to shovel out even once!), I just don't like the quirks that mine has.

After doing some research on other vehicles, I will probably trade it in for an AWD Toyota Sienna at some point. Similar ground clearance & MPG, but way more room for hauling stuff around (rear seats fold down & middle ones slide forward). Plus it's not a first-year car, from Jeep/Dodge, made by Fiat, with a weird 9-speed transmission

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Jeep/Renegade/2015/brakes/squealing_brakes.shtml

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Jeep/Renegade/2015/accessories-interior/

I'm so sorry lol, but I really do love that site.

 

[Kaido]

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Jeep/Renegade/2015/brakes/squealing_brakes.shtml

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Jeep/Renegade/2015/accessories-interior/

I'm so sorry lol, but I really do love that site.

Yeah, that's the site I found the brake TSB on. I had to take it in twice - one for the retrofit kit & a second time for anti-squeak. Only squeals now if it's cold, and only for a minute or two, which is a lot better than before.