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#22 ·
NHPATRIOT said:
I am not going too far away. ;)

One other quick note. Took a ride last night to do a shake down and decided to set up/pair my phone and try out the hands free. Man does it work AWESOME! The phone paired super easy and the call sound quality( for me and the person on the other end )is excellent. The voice command worked very well too. I read about some people having issues with it but it must be their phone. Works GREAT for me. :D
Click to expand...
NHPatriot....that's SWEET! It's exactly the setup, including color my wife's been oggling at!:wow: SHE IS NOT GOING TO SEE THIS JEEP! LOL!:p
 
#23 ·
You will love the Cherokee.

My wife bought an ADII limted loaded right to the nuts only thing it doesn't have is the wireless charging pad.

Compared to my compass it's light years ahead and the 4x4 system is awesome. If I hadn't bought my compass recently (within 2 years) I would be all over getting the trailhawk version.

Enjoy your new jeep.
 
#24 ·
Congrats NH! That is a beautiful looking Jeep. My girlfriend and I have been looking at the cherokees as well. Thank you for making such a huge contribution to the forum. You always have thurough responses and are very helpful. Definately not afraid to speak your mind :) keep us posted and all the best to you!
 
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#27 ·
NHPATRIOT said:
Looks like I am joining the ranks of members who have sold their Patriot's. Mine isn't gone yet but I have an appointment tomorrow at 2PM to trade it and take delivery of a 2014 Cherokee. Barring some kind of problem like an accident( god forbid )my Patriot is gone tomorrow.

I have really enjoyed my time here for the most part. I have to say this is the most civil internet forum I have ever belonged to. Had a few run ins but overall I have really enjoyed my time here. I hope I contributed to the forum and helped out when and where I could. I tried to anyway.

I am not going to be gone for good but probably won't be here as much as time goes on. I wish you all well and hope you enjoy your Patriot's. Mine served me very well and I have no complaints. It was just time for me to move on to something else. I seldom keep a vehicle longer than 3 years so this is no indictment of the Patriot.

I wasn't going to buy a Cherokee in this 1st model year but got a deal I couldn't pass up. My dealer has been after me to trade my Patriot ever since I started looking at the Cherokees. I got a President's Day sale letter from them with great offers that sealed the deal so to speak. I have been following the Cherokee forums and the problems are minimal and have been taken care of so I will give a 1st year model another shot( 1st time I tried was a DISASTER :doh: ).

So wish me luck. I didn't get exactly what I wanted but am happy with the one I got. I will add stuff to it to get it where I want as time goes on. I will post pictures after I pick it up.

Again, my best wishes to you all.
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NH...sorry to hear you settled for a "half-baked" vehicle :D
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/11/us-autos-cherokee-review-idUSBREA1A25F20140211
 
#29 ·
I always rely on "Consumer Reports" in a negative way. I would never buy a POS foreign make of car that they highly recommend but I will take interest in a Jeep that they don't like. I remember many years ago when they made some brilliant statement like their 5'2" driver didn't like the seats therefore the whole car was no good. They didn't like XJ Cherokees when they came out either and I bought 4 of them over a 20 year period.
 
#30 ·
Heheh, I think I like reuters now, and Consumer Reports. Nothing personal against those who like the Cherokars, but to me it's a Fiat with a Jeep badge and 4x4 system. And, as I recall, Consumer Reports doesn't take sponsoring from anybody, so they aren't bashed for brand disloyalty if they don't like a product. One of my CrimJ professors mentioned that once.
 
#31 ·
I found this on Truck Yeah, one of the sub-domains of Jalopnik.



"The deal is that there is no adjustment on the front suspension beyond 'toe'. If you need to fine tune the alignment, the only method is to loosen the bolts of the "cradle" which hold the lower control arms. Shifting the cradle can provide a very small amount of alignment adjustment. Absolutely not enough to accommodate alignment after a lift.
-
And the strut system, the way they have designed it, doesn't allow for modification to introduce alignment into the system. It might be possible then to build a new lower control arm which some alignment adjustment built in. BUT, in order to remove the lower control arm, you must remove the front frame section of the Jeep.
-
Its an aluminum frame which supports the front of the engine, the radiator, bumper, basically everything in front of the axles. So you'd be looking at hours of labor to just change out a control arms.
-
No one (or VERY few) are gong to want to spend $1000 in labor to install a small lift on this Jeep. So it may not be entirely accurate to say it is impossible to lift the Cherokee... but it is definitely not feasible.
-
We were surprised and disappointed when we finally had to make the call that it was a no go. On the bright side, we have been able to design some other accessories like rock sliders, rack system, bumper kits and winch mount."

That is apparently a quote from Glenn Wakefield, who is identified as "the company's boss".

Here is the link:
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/dont-...ont-believe-rumors-that-the-2014-jeep-cherokee-is-un-1522058978/+andrewpcollins
 
#33 ·
the_jeep_now said:
I believe it's from RRO. They got a new TH to make some goodies for and have complained about suspension design on FB.

Sent from my Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Yes it is, I thought that info was contained in the quoted part...sorry.

Trouble is folks will buy the new Cherokee thinking they can do stuff to it like the old Cherokee...and not be able to. Doesn't bother me, if I give myself one for a retirement gift I will be in knowing the deal. But I can see the complaints now...

Example: I have a friend, a quite successful and intelligent man. He bought a Mustang a few years ago, one of the ones with the tuned suspension and special matched tires, Michelin's I think.

When he burned them off he was absolutely apoplectic that he couldn't go to Canadian Tire and slap on some rubber, he actually was forced to put the OEMs back on. He moaned about that for months. We finally had to tell him to leave it alone, it really was becoming an obsession.

Like a lot of owners, had enough money to buy one but not quite enough brains to drive it. Mostly seen in big pick up and BMW drivers but it crosses into all aspects. As more and more high end tech stuff starts coming into mass market cars we will see more bellyaching too.

"Waddya mean a headlight lens is $300, my old GMC headlights were $7 each!!!!!!!"
 
Discussion starter · #35 ·
UPDATE: ( I will start a thread in Other Jeeps here shortly but for now I will add this here )

Nav issue definitely has to do with the signal. This morning I came out to go visit my aunt and decided to use the Nav to go there to see how it would take me and just as a general test run. Before trying to run it though I checked the signal. As I feared no signal again. So, I didn't try to use it and just drove off leaving the signal screen up to see how long it took to grab signal. About 2 minutes tops down the road it got signal and kept it the rest of the day. Looks like I just have to check the GPS signal and make sure it has it before trying to use it. As long as it gets it like it did today I am ok with it even if I feel/wish it should be faster. Today was at least borderline acceptable.

Got gas for the 1st time today just to see what it got even though I really didn't need it( 1/2 tank ). 201.4 miles on 9.07 gallons = 22.20 MPG. That was for a 50/50 mix and includes the 15 minutes+ idling at the dealer while they did the Nav activation. Not too bad I guess for the 1st tank. Just about what my Patriot did with similar use on the 1st tank. Hopefully as it breaks in and the weather warms up, and the darn winter fuel goes, MPG will improve.

Interesting note. This is the 1st time I have ever had a Chrysler onboard MPG computer ever tell me I got less than actual. Any Chrysler product I have had with this feature in the past has always been way over the top optimistic. Like 2-3 MPG more than actual. I was scared when I went to fill to be honest thinking I was only getting 17-18 MPG as the EVIC said 21.6 MPG. Turns out it was about a 1/2 MPG less than actual. I will gladly take that.

Finally got it into 8th gear today. Hadn't been able to get past 7th previously. Turns out I wasn't going fast enough to get the RPM's high enough on the highway to get into 8th. 60 MPH in CC results in 1600-1700 RPM's and keeps it in 7th. I bumped speeds today up to 65-70 MPH and finally got it to go into 8th. @ 65 MPH when it would keep 8th was about the same RPM's as 7th @ 60 MPH. I always went 60 MPH because it saved fuel. Maybe I will go 65 now seeing as the RPM's are the same. I have yet to see 9th gear at any time. Guess I just don't go fast enough
 
#36 ·
That's interesting...I would have thought the transmission would have gotten to the highest gear possible (9th) as quickly as possible. So that means 7th, 8th, and 9th gear are all overdrive gears?
 
Discussion starter · #37 · (Edited)
#39 ·
NHPATRIOT said:
I think 5th is too.

Here is a good article about the new ZF 9spd...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...utcars.com/2014/02/zfs-9-speed-9hp-transmission-puts-dog-clutches-on-the-leash/
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link; quite an interesting read. I have to wonder if 9 gears are too many. Seems useless to have gears designated for speeds you normally wouldn't travel! Hope your 9 speed is better than my sister's 6 speed in her Ford Fiesta; that transmission grinds, jerks, and is all around unrefined.
 
#40 ·
Metaxa said:
I found this on Truck Yeah, one of the sub-domains of Jalopnik.

"The deal is that there is no adjustment on the front suspension beyond 'toe'. If you need to fine tune the alignment, the only method is to loosen the bolts of the "cradle" which hold the lower control arms. Shifting the cradle can provide a very small amount of alignment adjustment. Absolutely not enough to accommodate alignment after a lift.
-
And the strut system, the way they have designed it, doesn't allow for modification to introduce alignment into the system. It might be possible then to build a new lower control arm which some alignment adjustment built in. BUT, in order to remove the lower control arm, you must remove the front frame section of the Jeep.
-
Its an aluminum frame which supports the front of the engine, the radiator, bumper, basically everything in front of the axles. So you'd be looking at hours of labor to just change out a control arms.
-
No one (or VERY few) are gong to want to spend $1000 in labor to install a small lift on this Jeep. So it may not be entirely accurate to say it is impossible to lift the Cherokee... but it is definitely not feasible.
-
We were surprised and disappointed when we finally had to make the call that it was a no go. On the bright side, we have been able to design some other accessories like rock sliders, rack system, bumper kits and winch mount."

That is apparently a quote from Glenn Wakefield, who is identified as "the company's boss".

Here is the link:
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/dont-...ont-believe-rumors-that-the-2014-jeep-cherokee-is-un-1522058978/+andrewpcollins
Click to expand...
The automotive aftermarket will eventually come up with some solution. Probably a camber/caster adjustable ball joint or control arm bolts that are cams for adjustment. When Ford first had the twin I-beam, there was no adjustment as well. But the aftermarket came out with adjustable ball joint sleeves for the 4x4 axle, and a axle bending rig for the 2wd ones.

Image
 
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