Jeep Nine-Speed Automatic Needs Another Reboot
The nine-speed automatic transmission that Jeep uses in its new Cherokee compact crossover is still having problems.
Jeep delayed launching the Cherokee by roughly two months last year to recalibrate its heavily geared automatic transmission, but harsh shifts in some of the units are spurring the company install a software revision to all Cherokees built before May 5 that it hopes will solve the problem. Automotive News reports that the software fix covers roughly 100,000 Cherokees.
Chrysler also issued a technical service bulletin related to the transmission control module in which it directs Jeep technicians – in some cases – to spend 100 minutes driving the Cherokee to ensure that it properly performs the shifts.
The company says that the issue doesn’t necessarily affect all of the Cherokees sold so far, but it will offer the re-flash to any customer complaining about hard shifts. According to Automotive News dealers are ordering an average of 12 replacement transmissions per week under warranty for the Cherokee.
Jeep’s Cherokee is the first Chrysler vehicle to be sold with the new nine-speed, but the same unit is being used in the 2015 Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan. The upcoming Jeep Renegade will also use the nine-speed and Chrysler eventually plans to implement it in all front-wheel drive based vehicles.
GALLERY: 2014 Jeep Cherokee
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[Source: Automotive News]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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