New 2022 Trailhawk Owner
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Joined: Apr 2022
Posts: 1
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From: Oregon Coast
Year: 2022
Model: Cherokee (KL)
Engine: 3.2 Pentastar
New 2022 Trailhawk Owner
Hello folks! First, let me thank you for your time. This is a really long post. Please feel free to answer only one question or all of them, I am excited to hear any and all input you can provide.
A couple weeks ago my wife and I purchased a brand new 2022 Cherokee Trailhawk. It is bright white and has the Sun & Sound package (Commandview sunroof, of course!) and the towing package. It took several months of considering, searching and driving to decide which vehicle to purchase. Right now, we are clearly in the honeymoon phase as we love everything about our new KL.
We are moving on from our last new car - a 2007 Kia Sportage. Yes, these vehicles may be kind of similar in very superficial ways but they are really not at all alike. As a result of my milking the most mileage I could out of the Sportage (almost 250,000 miles on its 2 liter 4 banger!), I am a bit baffled by all of this "technology" and capability in our new Cherokee.
Ultimately, I have a laundry list of questions for getting the most from our new Cherokee (honestly, one of my dream vehicles as a teen was the old XJ model, with posters on my wall. Oh, for the enthusiasm of youth!). I would appreciate hearing any/all thoughts you might have on our new ownership questions. Your wisdom about things other than our questions below would also be welcome, of course! I am not intentionally inviting a flame war here, so all wisdom is going to be weighed and I hope I don't create a forum meltdown on any of these questions. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you knew what you were talking about and cared to share your wisdom.
Onto the questions:
1) We have the "premium vinyl" seating inside. We love the feel of the seats and our passengers rave about how comfortable they are. I purchased MOPAR Total Clean and use it with a spray bottle and a microfiber cloth to clean the dust off. However, shoould we be using a protectant? If so, what should it be? Our salesman at the dealership says he (he owns a KL with the same vinyl interior) just wipes it down every couple of weeks with Total Clean and a terry rag, he doesn't use a protectant. I want to know what the best course of action is to assure 15 years+ of decent interior.
2) The bottle of Total Clean tells me I can use it on just about everything, everywhere. Inside and out, just spray it with Total Clean. Is this really wise? I am a stickler for "the right tool for the right job". Should I really be using this stuff as a quick exterior detailing mist?
3) I traditionally use a quick mist on, dry off waxing product - about once a month. I have long used Lucas and/or Meguiars products in these realms. Do you guys think these are wise with this Jeep paint? How should I treat this Jeep paint work? I want to keep it going strong for years to come.
4) Is it somewhat normal for the OffRoad pages to crash and tell me to try again later in UConnect? We have had it happen about 20% of the time we have tried to use them in the last couple of weeks.
5) How do we get map updates in the UConnect nav screen? A local road was rebuilt in 2020 and the old road data is still present, prior to the rebuild. It took until last October (2021) for our Garmin dash unit to update with the road changes. Will it update automatically? If not, how do I go about that process?
6) I have looked right, left and center (including the manuals) to see if I can connect the UConnect system with our WiFi. I do not see any settings to input the SSID and password. My assumption is that there is no WiFi connectivity. Is that true?
7) I have read online that there is no breaking in process for the engine that is not handled entirely by the car itself. I just want to verify that I do not need to do anything "special". The dealer told me not to worry about a breaking in period.
8) I have done hundreds of oil/fluid changes in my 3 decades of automobile ownership. I see, by looking at the owners manual, that there is no transmission fluid checking/changing accommodations. This is something I am having to get used to. I also do not believe I will need to replace headlamp bulbs or fog lamp bulbs. Is this the case? I am accustomed to changing headlamp bulbs a couple times a year in the Sportage. I am not totally comfortable with the concept of "trusting" a shop on all repairs and maintenance. Do any of you maintain the vehicle yourselves? If so, do you need any kind of special equipment and what can you really do, what should be handed over to the shop?
9) Are there any big surprises coming down the road with maintenance? Are we going to get a shocker from the dealer on one of these scheduled maintenance visits? If so, at what mileage should we expect this painful bill? For example, I see that they suggest a Commandview service every 20,000 miles. Is that expensive or troublesome?
10) Is there anything mechanically I need to be aware of? I mean, are there any trends of best practice not listed in the owners manual? Are there any subsystems that should be treated with more care than the manual may indicate necessary?
11) What about wipers... We have tried to use PIAA silicone on all of our vehicles. Anybody want to second their quality in the beam style installs on these newer vehicles? We get at least 50 inches of rain a year here and at times over 90, so we need a good blade.
12) Is there a concensus on a replacement tire for the Firestone Destinations or should I just try to get those from the dealer (is that possible?) when it is time? How long can I expect from the first set on the car? I called a tire local tire shop and they have no idea what the Destinations are, cannot get them and have no idea long long they might last.
13) Isn't the beach a big no-no, really? We live on the Oregon coast. I am staunchly against getting it down on the beach. Isn't this truly wise in the long run? Wheel bearings, transfer cases, CV axles, metal parts and the like all scream NO BEACHES to me.
14) Is it unreasonable to assume this is one tough SUV? Youtube channels like "Fearless Trailhawk" helped to convince me that the KL Trailhawk was the way to go. Is there a weak link on these things? A "coffin corner" so-to-speak?
15) I am an amateur radio operator. I will be installing an antenna and radio (either a single band 2 meter rig or a dual bander) in the near future. I found this website for ips on this: Ham Radio VHF & UHF Antenna Install : VA7GUR's Blog. Anybody else with anything to add in this realm?
16) Are the MOPAR supplied crossbars the best choice for our roof rack rails?
17) Anything else you think I really ought to know?
Again, I thank you all for your time and wisdom. We don't worship our vehicle but are willing to work hard to keep it going 15 years and about 250,000 miles - as inexpensively as possible. Hahahha...
Have a wonderful day and take really good care in your neck of the woods...
Rand
A couple weeks ago my wife and I purchased a brand new 2022 Cherokee Trailhawk. It is bright white and has the Sun & Sound package (Commandview sunroof, of course!) and the towing package. It took several months of considering, searching and driving to decide which vehicle to purchase. Right now, we are clearly in the honeymoon phase as we love everything about our new KL.
We are moving on from our last new car - a 2007 Kia Sportage. Yes, these vehicles may be kind of similar in very superficial ways but they are really not at all alike. As a result of my milking the most mileage I could out of the Sportage (almost 250,000 miles on its 2 liter 4 banger!), I am a bit baffled by all of this "technology" and capability in our new Cherokee.
Ultimately, I have a laundry list of questions for getting the most from our new Cherokee (honestly, one of my dream vehicles as a teen was the old XJ model, with posters on my wall. Oh, for the enthusiasm of youth!). I would appreciate hearing any/all thoughts you might have on our new ownership questions. Your wisdom about things other than our questions below would also be welcome, of course! I am not intentionally inviting a flame war here, so all wisdom is going to be weighed and I hope I don't create a forum meltdown on any of these questions. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you knew what you were talking about and cared to share your wisdom.
Onto the questions:
1) We have the "premium vinyl" seating inside. We love the feel of the seats and our passengers rave about how comfortable they are. I purchased MOPAR Total Clean and use it with a spray bottle and a microfiber cloth to clean the dust off. However, shoould we be using a protectant? If so, what should it be? Our salesman at the dealership says he (he owns a KL with the same vinyl interior) just wipes it down every couple of weeks with Total Clean and a terry rag, he doesn't use a protectant. I want to know what the best course of action is to assure 15 years+ of decent interior.
2) The bottle of Total Clean tells me I can use it on just about everything, everywhere. Inside and out, just spray it with Total Clean. Is this really wise? I am a stickler for "the right tool for the right job". Should I really be using this stuff as a quick exterior detailing mist?
3) I traditionally use a quick mist on, dry off waxing product - about once a month. I have long used Lucas and/or Meguiars products in these realms. Do you guys think these are wise with this Jeep paint? How should I treat this Jeep paint work? I want to keep it going strong for years to come.
4) Is it somewhat normal for the OffRoad pages to crash and tell me to try again later in UConnect? We have had it happen about 20% of the time we have tried to use them in the last couple of weeks.
5) How do we get map updates in the UConnect nav screen? A local road was rebuilt in 2020 and the old road data is still present, prior to the rebuild. It took until last October (2021) for our Garmin dash unit to update with the road changes. Will it update automatically? If not, how do I go about that process?
6) I have looked right, left and center (including the manuals) to see if I can connect the UConnect system with our WiFi. I do not see any settings to input the SSID and password. My assumption is that there is no WiFi connectivity. Is that true?
7) I have read online that there is no breaking in process for the engine that is not handled entirely by the car itself. I just want to verify that I do not need to do anything "special". The dealer told me not to worry about a breaking in period.
8) I have done hundreds of oil/fluid changes in my 3 decades of automobile ownership. I see, by looking at the owners manual, that there is no transmission fluid checking/changing accommodations. This is something I am having to get used to. I also do not believe I will need to replace headlamp bulbs or fog lamp bulbs. Is this the case? I am accustomed to changing headlamp bulbs a couple times a year in the Sportage. I am not totally comfortable with the concept of "trusting" a shop on all repairs and maintenance. Do any of you maintain the vehicle yourselves? If so, do you need any kind of special equipment and what can you really do, what should be handed over to the shop?
9) Are there any big surprises coming down the road with maintenance? Are we going to get a shocker from the dealer on one of these scheduled maintenance visits? If so, at what mileage should we expect this painful bill? For example, I see that they suggest a Commandview service every 20,000 miles. Is that expensive or troublesome?
10) Is there anything mechanically I need to be aware of? I mean, are there any trends of best practice not listed in the owners manual? Are there any subsystems that should be treated with more care than the manual may indicate necessary?
11) What about wipers... We have tried to use PIAA silicone on all of our vehicles. Anybody want to second their quality in the beam style installs on these newer vehicles? We get at least 50 inches of rain a year here and at times over 90, so we need a good blade.
12) Is there a concensus on a replacement tire for the Firestone Destinations or should I just try to get those from the dealer (is that possible?) when it is time? How long can I expect from the first set on the car? I called a tire local tire shop and they have no idea what the Destinations are, cannot get them and have no idea long long they might last.
13) Isn't the beach a big no-no, really? We live on the Oregon coast. I am staunchly against getting it down on the beach. Isn't this truly wise in the long run? Wheel bearings, transfer cases, CV axles, metal parts and the like all scream NO BEACHES to me.
14) Is it unreasonable to assume this is one tough SUV? Youtube channels like "Fearless Trailhawk" helped to convince me that the KL Trailhawk was the way to go. Is there a weak link on these things? A "coffin corner" so-to-speak?
15) I am an amateur radio operator. I will be installing an antenna and radio (either a single band 2 meter rig or a dual bander) in the near future. I found this website for ips on this: Ham Radio VHF & UHF Antenna Install : VA7GUR's Blog. Anybody else with anything to add in this realm?
16) Are the MOPAR supplied crossbars the best choice for our roof rack rails?
17) Anything else you think I really ought to know?
Again, I thank you all for your time and wisdom. We don't worship our vehicle but are willing to work hard to keep it going 15 years and about 250,000 miles - as inexpensively as possible. Hahahha...
Have a wonderful day and take really good care in your neck of the woods...
Rand
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