2020 Cherokee Trailhawk Grinding Noise Acceleration Uphill - 4 dealer visits - PTU?
 

Noise is worst while turning while going uphill.

But present everytime the car accelerates from a stop.

Dealer says "can not duplicate".

Listen to the video at 16 seconds. Sounds like Jiffy Pop popcorn.

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is it feel resisting? I would look at wheels for brakes, and cv axles, and wheel bearings if 4wd, anythign between the two drive axles

After Dealer Visit #2
 

The dealer said I need a new drive shaft, then said this problem likely came from corrosion on a door switch. Hmmmm. Lets road test it after the "fix".

Listen to the video at 7 seconds.

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Seems you can duplicate the noise easily. Have you taken a tech or the service manager on a test drive with you?

Third dealer visit - "could not duplicate"

"Inspected the exhaust, engine mounts, and transmision mounts. Checked for TSBS or star cases."

I had never heard of a "Star Case" - this seems to be a dealer/manufacturer escalation process.

PTU problem? -4th dealer visit
 

4th Dealer visit

Service manager lisened to my videos, took a road test with me, heard the sound and still marked the repair order "could not duplicate the sound".

Jeep Wave people are nice on the phone but ineffective at getting this problem solved.

Possible PTU problem? I guess many of the 2020s 4wds have or will develop this problem.

Noise is not present when car is switched to SNOW mode.

Which is interesting because snow mode keeps the rear drive shaft and diff engaged instead of disengaging once you get going. Snow mode also reduces the power and makes it take off in 2nd gear. Does it do it in sport mode too, which changes some of the engagement speeds, ABS and antislip? Putting it in snow mode is one of the ways to diagnose the common failed driveshaft carrier bearings on the 2014 as it forces the driveshaft to stay engaged. You might try pulling the fuse for the PTU (Fuse 10 in the underhood fuse box next to the battery. https://fuse-box.info/jeep/jeep-cher...ses-and-relays) and see if that effects anything, as the prevents the driveshaft and PTU from engaging at all. You'll get a 4wd not available error which will go away once you reinstall the fuse and restart the vehicle - tell the next dealer if you do this since they will see the stored code so it doesn't confuse them.

To me this sounds like the exhaust is banging on something, and I think they were correct to look at the exhaust and all the mounts. It sounds exactly like the older XJ Cherokees when the trans mount is sagging and letting the exhaust rattle against the cross member.

code now showing C14A8-97

Any ideas?

I had exactly the same problem here in New Zealand in my 2020 Cherokee Trailhawk 3.2 V6 . Grinding rattle like something loose clattering on the floor under acceleration. I took the service manager on a test drive and he agreed it was a problem. They said it was the sealed front driveshaft unit - worth about $10K - but still haven't given me a full written detail of the fix. It took JeepNZ nearly 4 months to get the parts, including losing the first shipment! Whatever they replaced worked.

It had made the noise on and off from new, but I didn't press for action until it went in for the 12 month service, as I was sidelined with my partners' health problems.
I can't understand how it got out of the factory like that. This appears to have been a fault with a number of this model.

I just wish they would come out and admit they had a problem.