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2019 Cherokee Trailhawk 2.0T Dead Battery FYI

12K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  CindyN  
An anomaly. Probably from the voltage not being enough to fire up all the sensors and computer correctly. Been working fine. Just got back last weekend from driving it 700 miles round trip. Actually felt more peppier, but probably a placebo effect lol.
When my battery was near death, I was getting power steering and 4WD errors on startup. Maybe 2019s have evolved and now target coolant level instead ;)

You mentionned starting in 0 degrees in your first post : trust me, these KLs can start at -20F with no block heater, easily, with a good battery. I've started mine at -25F no block heater, but as they say, don't try this at home lol. I have a super capacity battery now, so not a fair comparison with OEM (and OEM-like) group 94R AGMs.
Your 2019 battery likely had a defective cell.

Edit to add : I remember Netscape. Not a search engine, but a browser. Yahoo! had a search engine back then. And there was Lycos, and Alta Vista too. Oh my... not getting any younger :p
 
Yea that's right, it was a browser lol. My Jeep did start last winter when we had the really cold spell of -25F to -30F. It's a tiny motor to crank over.
-30F, no block heater ? Don't think I've ever tried that, hahaha. I usually plug it in when the forecast says -25F or colder. Haven't needed to do it this winter, yet, coldest morning we got was -24F. This morning we had a balmy -23F, second coldest morning of this winter season. Big snow storm just South of us yesterday, we were supplying the cold air, heh.
 
I always turn my start/stop off and my stock battery only lasted 28,000 miles under warranty with my stock 2.0 turbo engine.
That's not supposed to happen, unless you're in Nevada. ESS does have an impact on battery life, though it shouldn't be significant. With these KLs, battery life has more to do with poor battery quality and underhood heat.
We've seen quite a few 2019 owners report having defective batteries replaced early under warranty, which again reflects on battery quality... You'd think FCA would have gotten the wake up call since 2015 (when ESS and AGMs were implemented), but my guess is they are stuck with a long term contract for batteries... and the supplier doesn't seem bothered with product quality.
 
I have a 2019 Limited and it started doing this 2 days ago. We took it in and battery checked out as good - just said it needed a charge. We have 38k on it so warranty is expired
Hey Cindy, welcome to the forum :)

If the problem resurfaces, maybe get a second opinion (other shop) for a battery test. We've seen this countless times, someone tests a Cherokee battery and the testing equipment reports 'good battery' while, in fact, it isn't good anymore. Not good enough for this vehicle. Some members here have even needed 3 tests to confirm the battery was no longer healthy enough. As mentionned above, 'it's a Cherokee thing', chances are high you need a new battery..

Do you live/drive in a hot climate, by any chance ? If so, battery life is even shorter than usual...