The Renegade Rumble is Not a Dance - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

The Renegade Rumble is Not a Dance - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

The rear end of our 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk is making an unexplained rumbling noise on level ground at about 30 mph, so we're off to the dealer.

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ebeaudoin

Huh. I've been leary of some 4WD vehicles I've driven for this reason. RWD, too. I'm just so accustomed to driving FWD vehicles that any time I'm driving rear-or-four-wheel drive (read: not AWD) vehicles that have a rear differential, it throws me off.

Interested to hear what the dealer has to say.

reminder

It seems to me that Dodge Chrysler Jeep have a habit of producing sub-par vehicles particularly from the midsize segment and down. I would like to like their products, but there's always stuff like this being reported that makes me continue to be leery of them.

desmolicious

Excellent analysis Dan. Looking forward to the outcome.

daryleason

reminder said:

It seems to me that Dodge Chrysler Jeep have a habit of producing sub-par vehicles particularly from the midsize segment and down. I would like to like their products, but there's always stuff like this being reported that makes me continue to be leery of them.

My grandfather (around the mid-80s) told me to never buy a Chrysler product because as soon as you drove it off the lot, it'd be worth half its value. That was probably true back then. However, what is still true is their build quality is still poor. Every one of the Chrysler products that Edmunds has they mention a fitment issue, power train issue, etc. Where they do excel at is power and towing capacity, generally.

My wife, who is lucky I don't beat her, talked me into buying a 2006 PT Cruiser. I thought it was odd that it came with a screwdriver. I discovered it was handy for tightening all the trim pieces back together. I hated that car, and because of my experience with it, plus the warnings from family members, I'll never buy another Chrysler product, which is a shame, because I'm always tempted by Jeep Wranglers, Chrysler 300Cs, & Dodge Challengers.

The funny thing is, if you look at classic Chrysler products, such as the original Challenger, 66-70 Charger, GTX, Roadrunners, etc., they sell for so much more than a comparable Ford or Chevy product. The Mopar guys are die-hard fans and really believe they have a better quality product, whether its a 426 Hemi or a 318 LA car.

Chrysler, and whoever owns them this week, managed to do something no other car manufacturer has been able to do. They out-waited expectations. Instead of people expecting a new car to be a certain way, look a certain way, and perform a certain way, they've managed to lower expectations to the point of "It starts and goes in gear....GREAT!". If any of the other cars had the issues the Chrysler products have, Edmunds would be posting long articles about their disappointment with the quality. Chrysler? "Oh, it looks great. And today it ran all the way to work and back with only two recalls."

vvk

> It seems to me that Dodge Chrysler Jeep have a habit of producing sub-par vehicles particularly from the midsize segment and down.

Except the Renegade is built by FIAT in Melfi, Italy.

bankerdanny

vvk said:

> It seems to me that Dodge Chrysler Jeep have a habit of producing sub-par vehicles particularly from the midsize segment and down.

Except the Renegade is built by FIAT in Melfi, Italy.

And Fiat is well known for decades of high quality vehicles. Quality wise the Fiat/Chrysler combo is the blind leading the blind.

gslippy

This rumble should have been designed out a year ago. It's a classic NVH problem all mfrs encounter, but it looks like FCA either didn't notice, didn't care, or have time to fix. What a shame.
The fix may be as simple as adding a counterweight or damper somewhere, or maybe no field fix is possible. How annoying.

chol92594

reminder said:

It seems to me that Dodge Chrysler Jeep have a habit of producing sub-par vehicles particularly from the midsize segment and down. I would like to like their products, but there's always stuff like this being reported that makes me continue to be leery of them.

I agree. Chrysler and co. have been coming out with some great-looking cars in the past few years, but I feel like the questionable long-term build quality and reliability aren't worth the risk. For example, when Edmunds had the LT Dart, I was really disappointed to hear about all of the problems they had. The Dart should've been a great little car, but it just seems like FCA rushed its production and cut way too many corners.

skisurf1

It should be noted, the guy that designed the system that disengages the 4wd shaft to save MPG resigned immediately after it was released. In an interview he mentioned unrealistic time schedule.

renegadedoug

Same problem. Occurs around 30mph. Thanks for bringing this to the manufacturer's attention. I await the outcome.

lance77tour

as i mentioned in previous posts; my renegade goes back in this wed to once again deal with the grring/vibrating sounds; this is what the service dept stated on the 1st attempt weeks ago.

customer: driving between 30 to 34 mph customer heres grinding and vibration through gas pedal.

dealer: couldnt duplicate abnormal vibration at this time. only think noticed is when cruising at this speed vehicle is usually in higher gear which lugs the engine and causes different driveline tones.