Jeep 9 speed auto transmission issues. Are they all bad? Alternatives SUVs?

[LeeH]

Been looking for an off road capable vehicle in the mid teens. There's not really a lot that falls into that category. Lots of cute-utes with awd taped to the back, very high mileage 4Runners, but very little that will be good for around town driving AND be able to free itself from a hole in a rutted AZ back road.

I thought I'd found the answer... the 2014 and up Jeep Cherokee. The look has grown on me. I briefly checked one out at a dealer and was surprised how much I liked the interior. Infotainment system was a little busy, but reasonably intuitive. Had some nice touches... heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, pano sunroof. Hmm... I could drive this.

But, as I started reading, I found that the 9 speed transmission has a huge number of complaints. I took a Cherokee out for a test drive and sure enough, shifts were clunky at low speeds. On the highway, I put my foot on the floor and nothing. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and finally! It downshifted and began to accelerate.

Curious, does anyone here have any experience with this vehicle? Sounds like the programming is just not right and they can't seem to get it right. They've been recalled and reflashed, but people still complain. I'm bummed. I thought this was going to be my next vehicle, but the reports have scared me off.

What used SUV would you buy for mostly around town, but reasonably capable off road when needed for $12-18K? The Jeep gets 28mpg highway on regular fuel. MPG on premium gas is one of my main issues with a Peppervagon.

[GothingNC]

There are a couple pending lawsuits regarding the 9 speed automatic.

2 of my neighbors with Jeeps have gotten rid off them after 2 years of ownership that had the automatic.

[Seahawk]

FJ Cruiser.

We have two - I gave my son the 2013 I bought a few years ago and we now have my daughters 2007 we bought in 2009.

She lives in NYC and I get to drive it!

Hers has 199K trouble free miles on the odometer.

Lots of pros: roomy for big people. I am 6'4" and fit very comfortably in it. Jeeps are a problem for me. Great reliability, everything works; good to excellent off-road depending on the packages. Arden spent a lot of time off road in Arizona camping in hers...nothing severe.

Cons: 16mpg, no convertible option and a windshield that attracts rocks, every rock.

We will not sell either one we enjoy them that much. When my daughters FJ needs an engine, there is a diesel option that is amazing.

[GothingNC]

FJ Cruisers seem to hold their values too.

Only issue I had driving one was the blind spot on the passenger rear side, especially trying to back out in public parking garages.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by GothingNC

FJ Cruisers seem to hold their values too.

Only issue I had driving one was the blind spot on the passenger rear side, especially trying to back out in public parking garages.

x2 on the blindspot. I hope/guess you work through it. Really nice trucks otherwise, I talked myself into one but didnt like the visibility. I only drove it for ~20min. Not quite as manly but if you dont need a lot of ground clearance its hard to beat a subby.

[Arizona_928]

Get a wrangler with the standard.
I heard the newer ones have a better v6 engine compared when they first switched from the 4.0 tower of power...

My 3/4 ton ram does surprising well off-road. Won't take it on jeep trails (don't feel like desert pinstriping a newish truck just yet) but it'll go head to head with my hmmwv up in the mountains

[T77911S]

i don't think jeeps are what they use to be

[flipper35]

My MiL has one, a 2015. Drives and rides decent and no issues with the transmission and they bought it new. I know three people with newer ones with the 4 pot and 9 speed and they drive them for hire and they really like them. No issues with any of the three and one is over 200k miles already. They are learning transmissions and that might be part of your issue. They learn how you drive and adapt to you. Early ones had some major issues but I don't know anyone with an early model. That same 9 speed is in a lot of FCA vehicles and the hardware is in a ton of different brands.

One of the for hire Cherokees I rode in through some trails during deer season and it seemed pretty capable there. Everything else has been on the paved surfaces.

I would drive a couple others and see if the one you drove hadn't been recently reflashed at the dealer and not learned anything yet.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by flipper35

My MiL has one, a 2015. Drives and rides decent and no issues with the transmission and they bought it new. I know three people with newer ones with the 4 pot and 9 speed and they drive them for hire and they really like them. No issues with any of the three and one is over 200k miles already. They are learning transmissions and that might be part of your issue. They learn how you drive and adapt to you. Early ones had some major issues but I don't know anyone with an early model. That same 9 speed is in a lot of FCA vehicles and the hardware is in a ton of different brands.

One of the for hire Cherokees I rode in through some trails during deer season and it seemed pretty capable there. Everything else has been on the paved surfaces.

I would drive a couple others and see if the one you drove hadn't been recently reflashed at the dealer and not learned anything yet.

I decided to take it out on an extended test drive just to see how it feels in real life. Would having a tame driver cause it to be more gingerly about kickdowns? I'll put some miles on in a variety of situations and see what happens. The one that scares me a bit is the reports of stepping on the gas to cut across traffic and having it not respond for a couple of seconds. I've read a couple of reports of this, but that may be with the old shift program.

[LeeH]

Had the car for most of a day. I liked it a lot. I drove it all over, around town, highway... It never missed a beat. Probably put 50 miles on it. It felt tight all the way around.

Dealer had it priced at $15K on their website. By the time they got done adding taxes and fees (aka additional hidden markup that lets a dealer advertise a really reasonable price, but ultimately charge you a much higher price) they wanted $18,500 otd.

Should be more like $16,500 if you just add ttt. Going to go see them in person to see if walking in with a checkbook will make a difference.

[legion]

I'd rather have a nine-speed than a CVT.

[carambola]

Anecdotal but I purchased a Grand Cherokee ecodiesel after having to turn in my Jetta TDI.
As a soccer dad I often have to travel 400 miles for a game and let me tell you this thing has been rock solid.
30 MPG at a consistent 80mph is a good thing.
As much as I'd like to, I can't complain about a thing.
Something to think about.

[Alansglide]

I'm on my 4th Grand Cherokee. Drove each one well over 200k with nothing but normal upkeep. On most weekends 4 wheel drive was in use Now that I'm retired my driving habits have changed but there's still a Cherokee in the driveway

[RSBob]

[LeeH]

On my way to the dealership I got a call on my Craigslist ad for my Mazda. Hmmm... couple wanted to come see it. I explained that it might be traded in before they could get there. They said they were eating dinner and would be on their way asap. They showed up at the dealership, took the Mazda for a test drive and came back very happy about my car. They asked for a $250 discount off my price and said they'd pick it up Monday. I told them I was making my buying decision based on the car being sold and really didn't want to have any issues. My gut feeling is that all will be fine there based on their reaction.

Meanwhile, the used car manager got a lot more reasonable about the Jeep and came way off of their "we can't go any lower price." In the end, I sold my car for mid kbb private party retail and wrote an out the door check for the Jeep at high private party retail.

I'll net about $1000 more on my car than had I traded it. We'll see how it goes. I've read about a lot of high mileage zero problem Jeeps, and some nightmare cases. Time will tell how this one goes.