The Grand Cherokee with the 3.6 L Pentastar engine is rated for a towing capacity of 5000 lbs. We are towing 3100 lbs. and when towing uphill at a 6.5% grade the temperature rises to the 3rd mark as it should (not the 4th mark red zone), and the engine then suddenly drops all power and goes down to about 3000 RPM. Until the engine temperature backs down, there is no power above 3000 RPM regardless of what gear you are in. Chrysler has installed a 300 watt fan in all the vehicles with the pentastar engine and states that they should perform properly. Chrysler also stated that people should try turning off the air-conditioning to solve the problem. Turning off the switch to the air-conditioning did not turn off the air-conditioning on any of the new Grand Cherokee's that were at the dealership including mine. The dealership was able to fix the air-conditioning problem after Chrysler said "they had never heard of it" by getting new parts from Chrysler. They still have not issued a recall for it!!! Once the air-conditioning was able to be turned off, this made no difference with the towing RPM restriction problem. Chrysler also said they have never heard of the RPM restriction problem and yet a number of people have reported it to them. The dealership is working on the problem, but needs Chrysler to own up to it and possibly make a recall. This problem appears to happen to anyone that is towing with enough load to cause the engine temperature to rise to the 3rd line. The fan should be able to kick into high speed and cool the engine down a little, but it does not appear that the design will allow this to happen. Note, that on the larger engine a much larger 850 watt fan is used to cool the radiator and in turn cool the engine.
People need to test their vehicles and confirm this is a problem, then report it to chrysler before they have no warranty to get Chrysler to do anything about it!!!
This towing loading test is certainly well within the specification published by Chrysler and running the engine temperature up to the 3rd line (not the 4th line) is also not extreme, plus no lights or codes get set when this occurs.
If people do not complain about a design problem with their vehicle, Chrysler will not do anything to correct it and it will hurt the resale value at the end.
The Grand Cherokee with the 3.6 L Pentastar engine is rated for a towing capacity of 5000 lbs. We are towing 3100 lbs. and when towing uphill at a 6.5% grade the temperature rises to the 3rd mark as it should (not the 4th mark red zone), and the engine then suddenly drops all power and goes down to about 3000 RPM. Until the engine temperature backs down, there is no power above 3000 RPM regardless of what gear you are in. Chrysler has installed a 300 watt fan in all the vehicles with the pentastar engine and states that they should perform properly. Chrysler also stated that people should try turning off the air-conditioning to solve the problem. Turning off the switch to the air-conditioning did not turn off the air-conditioning on any of the new Grand Cherokee's that were at the dealership including mine. The dealership was able to fix the air-conditioning problem after Chrysler said "they had never heard of it" by getting new parts from Chrysler. They still have not issued a recall for it!!! Once the air-conditioning was able to be turned off, this made no difference with the towing RPM restriction problem. Chrysler also said they have never heard of the RPM restriction problem and yet a number of people have reported it to them. The dealership is working on the problem, but needs Chrysler to own up to it and possibly make a recall. This problem appears to happen to anyone that is towing with enough load to cause the engine temperature to rise to the 3rd line. The fan should be able to kick into high speed and cool the engine down a little, but it does not appear that the design will allow this to happen. Note, that on the larger engine a much larger 850 watt fan is used to cool the radiator and in turn cool the engine.
People need to test their vehicles and confirm this is a problem, then report it to chrysler before they have no warranty to get Chrysler to do anything about it!!!
This towing loading test is certainly well within the specification published by Chrysler and running the engine temperature up to the 3rd line (not the 4th line) is also not extreme, plus no lights or codes get set when this occurs.
If people do not complain about a design problem with their vehicle, Chrysler will not do anything to correct it and it will hurt the resale value at the end.
- steveu, Hr, CO, US