Hello from East Central Iowa
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Joined: Jul 2015
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From: East Central Iowa
Year: 2019
Model: Cherokee (KL)
Engine: 3.2L V6
Hello from East Central Iowa
Hi all,
I'm a 62 y/o Senior Electronics Technician. Long time (over 40 years) Ford guy (please don't hate me), and just turned Jeep guy with a 2015 Cherokee KL Trailhawk.
I left Ford after their District Rep and District Engineer basically screwed me over on my last two new Fords. The last straw was a 2015 Escape Titanium which developed a bad front end clunk in the suspension. Bottom line ... Ford told my dealer not to try to fix my $40K car.
They're telling other dealers the same thing. So with that, I made the switch and won't look back. And I don't like change.
The reasons for my Trailhawk purchase:
1. I love the looks on the Bright White Trailhawk with the wide flat black trim. Yeah, I've read posts on her about how many think it's ugly. But beauty is actually in the eye of the beholder. I even like the sweep of the front end.
2. I like the extra ground clearance, and the Select Drive with the lockable rear. I live in the boonies and after 6"-15" of snow, it's not uncommon for me not to see the county plow for 24-48 hours on my road. As I'm still driving 60 miles round trip a day for work, it's important to me to be able to get to work and back home. I know my Trailhawk will do it better than the Escape would have. And with the Firestone AT tires on it, I won't have to buy a second set of wheels and snow tires like I would have with the Escape.
3. The suspension feels awesome.
4. My Jeep dealer is (was) my Ford dealer. I've been with them for over 30 years and they gave me a deal on my trade much better than anyone else would (I checked).
They felt bad about the Escape, but they were stuck with Ford's insistence that they not put any parts into it ... Ford wouldn't reimburse them. My dealer offered to replace parts on their dime. How awesome is that ! But since they also had four brand new Escapes on the lot that were all making the same noise on gravel roads (just not as bad as mine) they didn't feel it could be fixed ... more likely a design issue.
There's more to like on my Trailhawk than that, but that's enough for now.
I did a lot of research on the car before buying it. I will admit I was more than a bit nervous about the ZF transmission issues, and the wobble caused by the front axles. But ... I have great respect for my dealer (both a Ford and Chrysler dealer). I know they'll take care of me, and the car has a good warranty. So far (about 1000 miles), I haven't had any issues with either problem. I'll admit, the tranny is a bit wonky when I have cruise on and I'm going down a steep hill. When it levels out at the bottom, it seems to have a hard time knowing which gear it wants to be in. But not a big deal to me.
I did notice a slight oil leak on my floor when I first bought it. Just a drop every day or two. A little investigation revealed it was coming from between the oil drain plug's rubber washer and the oil pan. I drained my oil, and checked the pan and the bolt. I couldn't find anything wrong with either. So I put in a new filter, and full synthetic. Whatever it was (piece of grit, etc) must have been wiped away because no more oil drops.
I'm actually excited about winter this year. I can't wait to switch it into SNOW mode and plow through some snow with it. Or lock the rear end and crawl up snow covered hills.
The dealer is putting in the OEM hitch and wiring today so I can pull a trailer for firewood. I found a post for doing it, and probably could have done it myself (I've put other hitches on cars). But at 62, I'm starting to let the younger guys do it. Though I refuse to not change oil myself !
If you're still reading, I've bored you long enough. Thanks for listening.
Robert
I'm a 62 y/o Senior Electronics Technician. Long time (over 40 years) Ford guy (please don't hate me), and just turned Jeep guy with a 2015 Cherokee KL Trailhawk.
I left Ford after their District Rep and District Engineer basically screwed me over on my last two new Fords. The last straw was a 2015 Escape Titanium which developed a bad front end clunk in the suspension. Bottom line ... Ford told my dealer not to try to fix my $40K car.
They're telling other dealers the same thing. So with that, I made the switch and won't look back. And I don't like change. The reasons for my Trailhawk purchase:
1. I love the looks on the Bright White Trailhawk with the wide flat black trim. Yeah, I've read posts on her about how many think it's ugly. But beauty is actually in the eye of the beholder. I even like the sweep of the front end.
2. I like the extra ground clearance, and the Select Drive with the lockable rear. I live in the boonies and after 6"-15" of snow, it's not uncommon for me not to see the county plow for 24-48 hours on my road. As I'm still driving 60 miles round trip a day for work, it's important to me to be able to get to work and back home. I know my Trailhawk will do it better than the Escape would have. And with the Firestone AT tires on it, I won't have to buy a second set of wheels and snow tires like I would have with the Escape.
3. The suspension feels awesome.
4. My Jeep dealer is (was) my Ford dealer. I've been with them for over 30 years and they gave me a deal on my trade much better than anyone else would (I checked).
They felt bad about the Escape, but they were stuck with Ford's insistence that they not put any parts into it ... Ford wouldn't reimburse them. My dealer offered to replace parts on their dime. How awesome is that ! But since they also had four brand new Escapes on the lot that were all making the same noise on gravel roads (just not as bad as mine) they didn't feel it could be fixed ... more likely a design issue.
There's more to like on my Trailhawk than that, but that's enough for now.
I did a lot of research on the car before buying it. I will admit I was more than a bit nervous about the ZF transmission issues, and the wobble caused by the front axles. But ... I have great respect for my dealer (both a Ford and Chrysler dealer). I know they'll take care of me, and the car has a good warranty. So far (about 1000 miles), I haven't had any issues with either problem. I'll admit, the tranny is a bit wonky when I have cruise on and I'm going down a steep hill. When it levels out at the bottom, it seems to have a hard time knowing which gear it wants to be in. But not a big deal to me.
I did notice a slight oil leak on my floor when I first bought it. Just a drop every day or two. A little investigation revealed it was coming from between the oil drain plug's rubber washer and the oil pan. I drained my oil, and checked the pan and the bolt. I couldn't find anything wrong with either. So I put in a new filter, and full synthetic. Whatever it was (piece of grit, etc) must have been wiped away because no more oil drops.
I'm actually excited about winter this year. I can't wait to switch it into SNOW mode and plow through some snow with it. Or lock the rear end and crawl up snow covered hills.
The dealer is putting in the OEM hitch and wiring today so I can pull a trailer for firewood. I found a post for doing it, and probably could have done it myself (I've put other hitches on cars). But at 62, I'm starting to let the younger guys do it. Though I refuse to not change oil myself !
If you're still reading, I've bored you long enough. Thanks for listening.
Robert
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