Clueless NJ

My 4 wheel drive says temporary unavailable when I drive on flat beach sand. Local dealer says it is not ment to drive on the sand and the vehicle is all wheel drive. Called jeep they again ask if I have all wheel drive after talking to the dealer. Jeep doesn't make all wheel drive in 2015. Jeep wants me to drive over 300 miles to take the vehicle to the dealer I bought it from

rwp

Wow! That makes no sense. Any Jeep dealer can handle warranty problems. I'm assuming there are many Jeep dealers between you and the selling dealer.

We have a '15 Latitude with the Active Drive II. Is yours AD I or AD II? That would be a pertinent question as far as symptoms. Pardon me if AD II is standard with the Limited.

Clueless NJ

I believe I have the one. It doesn't have the high and low option. Just automatic. Snow sport and sand and mud.
I agree especially since I am vacationing in the outer banks north CarAlonia.
They all say they have never encountered. That problem. I take it on the sand and it stops working

metalwonzero

that is one of the many software glitches, i have seen this on mine also.. but its a trailhawk awd and it was telling me my 4wd was not available.. this was during it breaking down and puking oil everywhere though.. someone else encountered this event also...
of course i got the same response "mechanics had ever encountered this" they will in time..

Clueless NJ

I'm not giving up. I took it to my regular dealer they said they can't do anything since they cannot replicate the problem. The. They said they were call the engineers who said the same thing so I offered to drive it on a local beach if they could have a tech available and I would replicate the problem. So now on Friday my locAl dealer says we could try to replicate the problem by driving it at a construction site near them. Well hopefully the problem will repeat. I also found a report of a 2015 trail hawk with the same problem they discovered it was a wheel sensor

XJPat

Thanks for the update, let us know if I turns out to be a wheel sensor.

Clueless NJ

Now jeep is telling me the 4wheel drive vehicle they sold me is really an all wheel drive vehicle. I told them well that is a problem you sold me a four wheel drive vehicle and now you are telling me it is an all wheel drive vehicle. Well I would not have bought it if it was an all wheel drive vehicle.

94zj318

If you have AD I, it's not meant to drive in "extreme" conditions, just as any other traditional crossover SUV on the road today. If you have AD II, it's more capable and has a low range for crawling and just driving on more "extreme" terrain. If a dealer sells you the wrong vehicle and then admits it, when you told them you wanted FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE, if I were that dealer, I'd accept a trade-in and trade it for one with AD II.

rwp

I think you have the ADII if you have all the options you mention. Logo on the deck lid should specify. If you have ADII then you have a 4w vehicle. The terminology gets a big foggy when dealers talk about "all whee drive." As I understand ADI, it is equivalent to Hondas, Hyundais, etc. in that it is essentially a front wheel drive vehicle with torque transferred to the rear when the front wheels lose traction. It's better than 2wd but not quite 4wd. The ADII works like this in automatic, I think, but goes to 4wd when you shift to one of the other options. Sorry for the long discussion, but I'm also trying to get my head around this new system myself (had 92 Wrangler and have a 96 XJ so this is new).

metalwonzero

no its happening in all models, the computer cant keep up, get in sand, snow or mud, the 4x4 will go out out and say 4 wheel drive not available... which makes no sense to me what so ever, also.. the vehicle becomes un responsive cant even put it in park... no joke.. this does constitute a problem for me, my driveway is about 275 yards long and steep, i live on top of a big mountain on the NC TN border, so, having this go out in the winter on a mountain could make me wipe out , we shall see... when it works, its great... may i add.. no excuses for this jeep knows better.. or should...

rwp

That's good information. I need to pay attention to my '15 Cherokee. I'm in Waynesville NC so have some of the same critical winter issues you do.

lighttoast

I'm going to preface this with my specs first...I have the '14 V6 Trailhawk with ADII. I have driven it in New England snowstorms through the mountains, on the trails at URE in NC, the sand of the Outer Banks, shallow rivers/streams, cornfields, and grass/mud covered hills. I've pulled small trucks up slick muddy hills. I have never lost 4x4 when I had it engaged. Maybe I've been lucky because almost all of the issues people talk about with the KL, I haven't seen. But one thing is for sure. This vehicle was built to be capable and in my experience it has been. If you have the ADII system and you are losing 4x4 capability, either you haven't set something right (I spent a whole day in my driveway going back and forth figuring out all the 4x4 settings when I got it) or there is something wrong that Jeep should fix. If the dealership says no, show them that bumper to bumper and drivetrain warranty they gave you. Don't take no as an answer from the dealerships. They want to spend as little money as possible and if you walk away after the first roadblock they've won. Keep nagging at them until they hold up their end of the bargain!

metalwonzero

im not sure what causes it, but when you get into a real bind, it happens.. its happened to me in mud and snow both... not sure what would be set wrong... 4 lo- rock and locked is when it happened.. since its push button i cant say the shifter was half in half out.. i was pushing mine pretty hard when this happened.. cooling perhaps? maybe something is getting hot and the system shuts down for a second? kinda like the premature airbag detonation they had the recall on.. maybe its similar to that? im guessing..

lighttoast

I can't say I have a solution for you, but part of the problem may be your settings. You had it set for rock crawling with a locked rear in snow and mud? There are literally modes specific for each of those functions. This isn't your typical 2H-4H-4L system, as many people are quick to point out and dismiss the KL for. While I do prefer a system where I can manually change the gearing, you have to use the electronic system as it was intended or you will get unexpected consequences. 4-lo, slow, and locked is a good way to get through anything in an XJ, but in a KL you have to have a different mind set. The settings used for snow or mud are specifically designed to handle the slippage you will get on those surfaces. I know you like to push your vehicles to the edge, which is great, but you have to accept that the 4x4 system doesn't work the same as it used to. Better? Worse? Can't really say (although many will argue both sides). Different, though, that is for sure.

metalwonzero

i tottally understand that concept, however, i dont think it works like its supposed too.. how can an allwheel drive loose 4 wheel drive and say its not available.. ? lol.. in any setting when this happens you can not even put it in park until the warning has gone..
special off-road calibrations is the saying for ROCK mode, but what kind? loose? solid? sandy? a muddy rock or clean rock? it should stop any wheel that's slipping and disperse that power to the others.. ???
may i add it goes better in snow in rock mode, from what i seen last winter... we had a nasty one and that mode helped me go where snow didnt do so well...
i wont lie to ya.. lol.. as im not selling anything.. just my observation...
I want my lil KL to be badass.. and be the Cherokee it should be... we all do.. im searching for something that details how this works exactly and im coming up cold, all i can find is what us jeepers talk about... which kinda bugs me...

stupid google chrome auto correct is kicking my but right now.. so somethings may not make sense... blame google..