NewJeepCherokeeOwner

Hi guys, first car owner here, don't know anything about cars and I apologise in advance if I'm posting in the wrong section of the forums.

So we bought a 'Jeep Cherokee Limited (4X4) KL Transmission 9A with standard trim and 3.2L MPFI V6' about 2 weeks ago and my parents who have driven the car since have been telling me that when changing gears, there would be a 1-2 second delay (gear is slow to engage)

With this being a brand new car, we took it to our dealer and got it checked, and we got back a maintenance report that suggested:

"Customer to keep driving due to vehicle is in learning process. For vehicle to adapt customer driving style, vehicle need to be driven at least 3 to 4K [thousand] kilometers"

Just wanted to know if this is a problem that is known? Is this supposed "learning process" bs? and should I be concerned about this at all? Would someone be able to give me a layman's explanation of what's going on here ?

metalwonzero

if its not shifting correctly they should have flashed it with up to date software.. which should already have been addressed by now. considering that was a big issue earlier this year..
and yes their is about a month/so many miles that it will program its self to the drivers driving style.. mine smoothed out after the reflashing and then got way smoother after about a month...

lighttoast

The "learning period" is a real thing. With the highly computerized engine and transmission it figures out how you drive and adapts over time. Its great if you drive the same way all the time, but does take a little while to smooth out

metalwonzero

i heard, they have like.... 6 computers? 5 and a main..? im not sure how they are daisy chained? or if that was even correct? i have not looked into it..
but yea.. it shifts kinda sloppy at first,
and keep in mind it has DAWG CLUTCHES, so you may hear some metal clanking together, it will also go away once it breaks in.. these things make some crazy noises.. even the E brake zzzrrp lol

SoCalCherokee

The Transmission DOES "learn" how you like to drive and will shift that way.


If you want a quick car drive it that way, if you want a easy, smooth shifting car drive it that way.

metalwonzero

the traction control seems to be effected by said programming...

kuzican

I used to work at a Jeep dealership. Drove these things as soon as they came out. This is true. nothing to be alarmed about.

also, another thing to look into is the transmission itself. 2 of the gear changes are slightly different than then rest. I believe its 3-4 and 6-7. They use dog clutches or something like that. which may also be a little bit of what you're experiencing.

Ratchetstrap

The 9 speeds have a software issue that Chrysler has not fixed yet. There's been one recall for new software but it didn't seem to help.
I've driven about 20k km and find it shifts hard in sport mode but a bit better in snow mode.
I have heard flashing (or whatever Jeep calls it) the ECM is quite the process. I work for a Cat dealer and its a breeze to re-flash an ECM with new software.
Anyone else notice hard shifting on their 9 speed?

SteveMongr

The manual version is difficult from third to fourth.

metalwonzero

what a lovely simplistic layout.. those guys are great!