3 days with my new Wagoneer Series III - Initial Thoughts / Problems

[DocSkip]

Yea - I suspect that $50 gas card/gift card is a lure to get you to do it but unlikely to ever see anything from it.....

I always give the dealer high marks - they must get a helluva perk for those ratings as they hound the hell out customers to fill out and ensure they are all 10's.

The fact this particular dealer - who I have enjoyed working with for over a decade - has "unwinded" two deals and delivered me a third shows their level of commitment!

 

[Back2Jeep]

Yea - I suspect that $50 gas card/gift card is a lure to get you to do it but unlikely to ever see anything from it.....

I always give the dealer high marks - they must get a helluva perk for those ratings as they hound the hell out customers to fill out and ensure they are all 10's.

The fact this particular dealer - who I have enjoyed working with for over a decade - has "unwinded" two deals and delivered me a third shows their level of commitment!

The dealer we have worked with for 15 years sold last year, unbeknownst to us, but the new owner kept the old name. On other threads I detailed how the new owner wanted to charge a 30k addendum on a Rubicon 392 we ordered last November and took delivery of in July (Short story is we didn’t pay it). The salesman was great, but his management team is awful. The salesman said that he would not get a commission on a sold vehicle if the survey didn’t come back with all 10s. He said he had not gotten his commissions on the last 3-4 cars he sold and was getting tired of working for free.

My advice was for him to pound rocks. The dealer customer service called a few days after we got the Jeep and asked how our experience was. Answer. Go talk to the salesman because you don’t want to hear it from us. We never got the survey to fill out and they lost our business forever. I just ordered a Grand Wagoneer from their competitor.

 

[DocSkip]

The dealer we have worked with for 15 years sold last year, unbeknownst to us, but the new owner kept the old name. On other threads I detailed how the new owner wanted to charge a 30k addendum on a Rubicon 392 we ordered last November and took delivery of in July (Short story is we didn’t pay it). The salesman was great, but his management team is awful. The salesman said that he would not get a commission on a sold vehicle if the survey didn’t come back with all 10s. He said he had not gotten his commissions on the last 3-4 cars he sold and was getting tired of working for free.

My advice was for him to pound rocks. The dealer customer service called a few days after we got the Jeep and asked how our experience was. Answer. Go talk to the salesman because you don’t want to hear it from us. We never got the survey to fill out and they lost our business forever. I just ordered a Grand Wagoneer from their competitor.

I'm sorry to hear this type of story. Long gone are days of relationship building I guess...... I am fortunate that the GM at the dealer I prefer to do business with is still there....Despite being over 90 mins away, we continue to purchase from them exclusively and are grateful for the home delivery and paperwork (no fuss/muss). I do feel bad that I use a local (15 mins away) dealer for service and warranty work.

 

[DocSkip]

Update 11.19.21 - Stellantis (Parent Company of FCA) - jumped through some hoops (I might have sent some pretty convincing emails along with my vehicle lineage and frustration to the corporate offices) on our behalf.

1. The UConnect/Apple CarPlay issue in the Grand Wagoneer (delivered as a replacement from the Wagoneer Series III that had a broken seat motor and headliner/sunroof control issues) was resolved. HOW? Glad you asked. Stellantis dispatched a team of engineers to local dealer who personally pulled this system apart and brought some laptops and a solution to fix the issue. RESOLVED..... However......

2. Stellantis helped arrange to find a replacement and had diverted to my dealer for a SECOND replacement. They brought the Series III Wagoneer to me yesterday (GM delivered to my home). They gave me the option to keep the Grand Cherokee Series I (fixed) or take delivery of Wagoneer Series III. I opted for the latter (don't need the 6.4L gas hog and quite happy with the Series III options on the Wagoneer.

Where am I going here? As @jeseay indicated, I am impressed, that Stellantis and my Dealer worked collaboratively to sleuth issues. While a headache, (third Wagoneer in 10 days), I am wholly impressed with the outcome. I could have easily been told to "wait for parts and repair on the first unit and surely didn't expect engineers to be flown here to Virginia to sleuth/correct the second unit" - I was cordial yet very deliberate in my expectations. As mentioned, for this price point, there is little patience for lack of Quality Control and ignorance.

I am awaiting to see how the Client Services improves too. I have been quite vocal with Stellantis that dealers are NOT prepared for this level of buyer and their expectations. Lux market is quite different than someone buying a $35K Compass. Browns CJD of Sterling have risen to the occasion - giving me a brand new "L" off the lot for a loaner while waiting for repairs. I've read on here others have had atrocious experiences with same. The Client Teams phone support - worthless. Ontario, Canada has called me a few times and ended each call with - "we need to escalate your issue and someone will call you back." No patience for this.

BLUF: here's new whip.

 

[hoggy25]

I've had all these same problems with my 2018 Escalade (yes that's correct, Escalade) that you have descibed with your Wagoneer. Also my 2021 Jeep Grand Cherekee L does similar. I think it's more of a Apple thing, plus picking up the signal that connects them. Just my point of view and I'm guessing at the causes. Still waiting for my Grand Wagoneer series III. Not giving up yet.

 

[Ajsonnick]

Some follow up observations:

- The auto stop/start does not generally activate with my normal brake pressure to stop the vehicle and keep it stopped. If I push my foot down a little harder, it will engage. I don't think there is a sensitivity setting for that from my recollection in the manual but I haven't gone back and looked explicitly for it yet.
- Twice now, on different days, the vehicle has played 3 chimes, followed by 3 slightly higher pitched chimes a few seconds later and then some other chime(s) a couple times intermittently after that. Usually within a minute, I don't hear anything else again for the whole ride. I've looked everywhere on the dash for any kind of indicator as to what it is signaling but have not seen any message or icon so I have no idea what it's for. I'm going to search back through the owner's manual to see if I can figure it out.

i had the same issue today with the chimes. Any idea what it is? It happened while driving several times today and I cannot figure it out for the life of me. Please let me know!

 

[ttutko]

i had the same issue today with the chimes. Any idea what it is? It happened while driving several times today and I cannot figure it out for the life of me. Please let me know!

It was the red light camera warning. I don't have the system in front of me to tell you the exact setting but it's somewhere in the navigation settings I think. You can set it to be something like visual, visual + chime, or off. I set it to the visual only option. The key to me figuring out that it was that (I don't use the in-car navigation when Waze is available off my phone) is that it only happened when I went a certain way to work and in the same spot so I watched the navigation screen when driving through the area.

 

[Ajsonnick]

It was the red light camera warning. I don't have the system in front of me to tell you the exact setting but it's somewhere in the navigation settings I think. You can set it to be something like visual, visual + chime, or off. I set it to the visual only option. The key to me figuring out that it was that (I don't use the in-car navigation when Waze is available off my phone) is that it only happened when I went a certain way to work and in the same spot so I watched the navigation screen when driving through the area.

Thank you so much for that! I had no idea what it was. Thank you!

 

[Gwagon]

Today, my wife was driving our Wagoneer series III and on top of all our issues, a black line showed up on the uconnect screen and the system went black (I assume powered down). A few minutes later it powered back up. Actually a hazard since she was using the maps. Additionally, she is now randomly losing connection with Apple Carplay. Previously this was only happening with Android Auto. I am getting increasingly frustrated with this vehicle. Unfortunately in my state, a buyback exchange can't happen until 3 strikes of attempting to repair the same issue fail. Will keep you posted. Good luck Thursday.

Having the exact same issue. ☹️

 

[DocSkip]

How do you disable that feature? I couldn't find it. Scared this living shit out of me the first time it went off (of course I was speeding too)!

 

[JParsonss]

I purchased a velvet red/sea salt Wagoneer Series III 4x4 with the premium package, the 2nd row seating group, rear seat entertainment group, and the front passenger interactive display 3 days ago (Saturday). I had to drive 3 hours to a location where I had some family just to get it at MSRP because most places in the Northern Virginia area are adding some ridiculous "Market Demand" amounts above MSRP. This is going to be a post of my initial impressions, initial experiences pros/cons, etc. Sorry if it gets too long. I'm coming from a 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 that now has 163,000 miles on it.

Initial Impressions:
- This vehicle looks AMAZING
- Did I really just spend this much money?!

One of the first things that happened at the dealership (I had purchased remotely so most of the process was already done when I got there to pick it up) was I got a text message and an email inviting me to the Wagoneer app for the Wagoneer connected services. I clicked the link, got the Android Wagoneer app, and tried to complete my registration. After choosing a password and then checking the boxes to accept the terms of the agreement I would get an "Error loading info" red error message every time I would click to proceed. We were not able to resolve this issue at the dealership before I left and I figured I would call the support number provided in the app when I got back to my aunt's house. Eventually I did leave the dealership with the vehicle, drove 5-10 miles to my aunt's house and put the Wagoneer in the driveway then began playing with getting all of the tech setup. I did call the support number for the Wagoneer connected services and was immediately told the wait was "less than 20 minutes" which sucked for having just bought the vehicle. In addition to that, when I would go into the wifi hotspot screen, I could not get the hotspot activated and it was stuck on the screen that gives instructions on how to activate it which mentioned buttons that I didn't see. The screen was acting very laggy and I was pretty disappointed. I stayed on the line and eventually spoke to a tech about the Wagoneer app/connected services issue and spent probably another 20 minutes going through steps with the woman on the phone which was basically repeating everything I did over and over and getting the same result. Eventually she escalated me to tier 2 tech support but that is a separate call that she said can take up to a couple days for them to reach out. (I'm still waiting for them to contact me.)

I called my salesman and told him I wasn't super happy at the moment and he asked if I could drive back over for them to see what they can do. When I went to do that, the vehicle wouldn't start. I called the dealership and the salesman drover over with a tech who brought a portable jump starter and jump started the vehicle. He then said they would replace the battery and they took it back to the dealership to do so and to also talk to their Wagoneer rep about the technology issues.

When the brought the vehicle back about an hour or so later, I can say that all of the technology stuff was no longer laggy and the wifi hotspot was working. I am guessing the bad battery was causing issues with all of the screens. Later that night, I randomly tried registering in the Wagoneer app again and to my amazement it worked! The activation "app" within the vehicle still errors out though so my problems aren't fully resolved yet. Hopefully tier 2 tech support contacts me soon and we get it resolved.

First 3 days of ownershp Pros:
- Looks great, the style really can't be understated how well they did with it albeit style is subjective
- The ride is smooth and feels great
- When the technology is working, it's great
- There are pretty much none of these on the road. I have been trying hard to see another one over the past few days and haven't.
- I've had 2-3 people randomly ask me "Who makes Wagoneer?" and then following that up with very nice compliments on it. One couple in a Hummer and one guy in an Escalade.
- Visibility is really good.
- Usb ports everywhere you would want them
- Excellent sound system
- The power running boards are perfectly engineered to hide into the trim of the vehicle to remain completely disguised until needed.

First 3 days of ownership Cons:
- The technology is buggy. Aside from the Wagoneer connect/wifi hotspot issues I initially had and mentioned above, I've had multiple times where Android Auto gets stuck in a disconnect/reconnect loop every few seconds. Rebooting the UConnect system or my phone usually solves this and it's hard to know where the problem actually lies. It can't be entirely blamed on the vehicle.
- The battery was bad
- No power folding mirrors.... extremely disappointing at this price point as my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee has it and I use/used it all the time.
- Despite the window sticker option saying "2nd Row Seating Group" which contains "2nd-row Captains Chairs with Power Tilt/Slide" and "Floor-Console with cupholder", the 2nd-row captains chairs appear to only slide/recline manually. The power tilt/slide either refers to only the folding forward to make more cargo space which is powered or the slide forward tilt for people to get in the 3rd row. This too is pretty disappointing considering that the 3rd row has power recline. How do you put power recline in the 3rd row but not have it for the 2nd row?? I'm also not sure if the floor console that is in mine is what it's supposed to be (Jeep doesn't seem to provide pics of what all the options actually add or should look like) as I was expecting something more like what I've seen in grand wagoneer pictures. This is more like cup holders that are connected to the backside of the center console/armrest between the driver/passenger seats. Is this correct?
- Opening the doors may require a little adjustment as it's more of a two step process in my experience. 1. Grab the handle and wait for the unlock 2. Pull open. If you try to grab and pull, you'll get stuck and it won't open until you release it and slow down the process a bit. (this of course only applies if you didn't unlock with the key fob ahead of time)

That's all I can think of right now. I'll update with any changes. I know this was long but I hope it's useful to someone. Overall I'm still really happy with this vehicle and think Jeep did a fantastic job with it. I just hope they work out some of these early issues and maybe make it feel more like the VIP experience they are marketing it as.

I'm surprised about the power folding mirrors. I just purchased a Series III myself and it came with the power folding mirrors. It's a little awkward in that you have to turn the mirror control all the way backwards but then it folds the mirrors.

 

[Ajsonnick]

I'm surprised about the power folding mirrors. I just purchased a Series III myself and it came with the power folding mirrors. It's a little awkward in that you have to turn the mirror control all the way backwards but then it folds the mirrors.

Wagoneer or Grand wagoner series III ?

 

[Commando]

@Ajsonnick, go to your settings and program them so they automatically fold and close when you lock the vehicle.

 

[JParsonss]

Wagoneer or Grand wagoner series III ?

Grand Wagoneer 3

 

[kfrisella]

How do you disable that feature? I couldn't find it. Scared this living shit out of me the first time it went off (of course I was speeding too)!

Did you find it? It’s a setting in navigation where you can turn on or off alerts for camera. Not in the car at the moment, but go To nav settings and you can disable it.

 

[PBGWs3]

Update 11.19.21 - Stellantis (Parent Company of FCA) - jumped through some hoops (I might have sent some pretty convincing emails along with my vehicle lineage and frustration to the corporate offices) on our behalf.

1. The UConnect/Apple CarPlay issue in the Grand Wagoneer (delivered as a replacement from the Wagoneer Series III that had a broken seat motor and headliner/sunroof control issues) was resolved. HOW? Glad you asked. Stellantis dispatched a team of engineers to local dealer who personally pulled this system apart and brought some laptops and a solution to fix the issue. RESOLVED..... However......

2. Stellantis helped arrange to find a replacement and had diverted to my dealer for a SECOND replacement. They brought the Series III Wagoneer to me yesterday (GM delivered to my home). They gave me the option to keep the Grand Cherokee Series I (fixed) or take delivery of Wagoneer Series III. I opted for the latter (don't need the 6.4L gas hog and quite happy with the Series III options on the Wagoneer.

Where am I going here? As @jeseay indicated, I am impressed, that Stellantis and my Dealer worked collaboratively to sleuth issues. While a headache, (third Wagoneer in 10 days), I am wholly impressed with the outcome. I could have easily been told to "wait for parts and repair on the first unit and surely didn't expect engineers to be flown here to Virginia to sleuth/correct the second unit" - I was cordial yet very deliberate in my expectations. As mentioned, for this price point, there is little patience for lack of Quality Control and ignorance.

I am awaiting to see how the Client Services improves too. I have been quite vocal with Stellantis that dealers are NOT prepared for this level of buyer and their expectations. Lux market is quite different than someone buying a $35K Compass. Browns CJD of Sterling have risen to the occasion - giving me a brand new "L" off the lot for a loaner while waiting for repairs. I've read on here others have had atrocious experiences with same. The Client Teams phone support - worthless. Ontario, Canada has called me a few times and ended each call with - "we need to escalate your issue and someone will call you back." No patience for this.

BLUF: here's new whip.

Hi DocSkip. Thanks for all the info on your experience with your purchase(s)! As early adopters get to have all the fun! LOL! I have a 2019 Dodge Challenger Redeye, and my wife has a 2020 Ram 2500 Diesel (don't ask me about the CP-4 Fuel Pump going out and taking down the fuel system with it leaving us stranded while pulling a car hauler 1000 miles from home...Her truck is still in NM! But that is another story for a different forum), and we had issues in both of those vehicles with UConnect and Car Play/Android. Both work great now without any bugs. The beauty of being able to update wirelessly allows the manufacturer to send out updates to fix many of these bugs. Also I wanted to mention there are hundreds of phones, each with different configurations and personal settings, so connecting to Car Play or Android Auto can be a big challenge for a feature ridden unit like the Wagoneer's and Grand Wagoneer's, especially at first. My guess is the bugs will get worked out fairly quickly. I had a 2018 Lincoln Navigator that was awful. Sometimes the screens would stay on all night, and would lock up all the time while driving. They eventually replaced a couple of modules, which made things less buggy, but it was never right. CDJR seems to have a pretty stable platform with uconnect. I have faith enough in them to have a GWSIII on order and I cant wait to get my hands on it. I will share on here as well. It is supposed to ship December 15th...Fingers crossed.

 

[Publius]

Update 11.19.21 - Stellantis (Parent Company of FCA) - jumped through some hoops (I might have sent some pretty convincing emails along with my vehicle lineage and frustration to the corporate offices) on our behalf.

1. The UConnect/Apple CarPlay issue in the Grand Wagoneer (delivered as a replacement from the Wagoneer Series III that had a broken seat motor and headliner/sunroof control issues) was resolved. HOW? Glad you asked. Stellantis dispatched a team of engineers to local dealer who personally pulled this system apart and brought some laptops and a solution to fix the issue. RESOLVED..... However......

2. Stellantis helped arrange to find a replacement and had diverted to my dealer for a SECOND replacement. They brought the Series III Wagoneer to me yesterday (GM delivered to my home). They gave me the option to keep the Grand Cherokee Series I (fixed) or take delivery of Wagoneer Series III. I opted for the latter (don't need the 6.4L gas hog and quite happy with the Series III options on the Wagoneer.

Where am I going here? As @jeseay indicated, I am impressed, that Stellantis and my Dealer worked collaboratively to sleuth issues. While a headache, (third Wagoneer in 10 days), I am wholly impressed with the outcome. I could have easily been told to "wait for parts and repair on the first unit and surely didn't expect engineers to be flown here to Virginia to sleuth/correct the second unit" - I was cordial yet very deliberate in my expectations. As mentioned, for this price point, there is little patience for lack of Quality Control and ignorance.

I am awaiting to see how the Client Services improves too. I have been quite vocal with Stellantis that dealers are NOT prepared for this level of buyer and their expectations. Lux market is quite different than someone buying a $35K Compass. Browns CJD of Sterling have risen to the occasion - giving me a brand new "L" off the lot for a loaner while waiting for repairs. I've read on here others have had atrocious experiences with same. The Client Teams phone support - worthless. Ontario, Canada has called me a few times and ended each call with - "we need to escalate your issue and someone will call you back." No patience for this.

BLUF: here's new whip.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m in Virginia and test drove a Wagoneer over the weekend. Having bought new BMWs, Audis and other luxe brands, I was appalled by the dealership. Complete ignorance of the product, couldn’t explain basic things such as the differences between series II and series III. Didn’t have the vehicle on the lot that I scheduled to test drive because “the manager chose to use it that day”. Then wouldn’t provide the estimated value of my trade in because I “hadn’t committed to buy from them.” Plus the salesman was new, and was trying bs sales tactics on me. Fortunately I didn’t take any of it personally, and enjoyed the chance to see a bare bone series II. Really nice vehicle. Now I just have to find a dealer that is worth doing business with. Night and day difference between this experience and my test drive of an Escalade. I haven’t bought a jeep before, I hope their service and warranty issues are better than my first impression - it does have me concerned. I know BMW makes things right when need be - and am encouraged by DocSkips story.

 

[Commando]

Update 11.19.21 - Stellantis (Parent Company of FCA) - jumped through some hoops (I might have sent some pretty convincing emails along with my vehicle lineage and frustration to the corporate offices) on our behalf.

1. The UConnect/Apple CarPlay issue in the Grand Wagoneer (delivered as a replacement from the Wagoneer Series III that had a broken seat motor and headliner/sunroof control issues) was resolved. HOW? Glad you asked. Stellantis dispatched a team of engineers to local dealer who personally pulled this system apart and brought some laptops and a solution to fix the issue. RESOLVED..... However......

2. Stellantis helped arrange to find a replacement and had diverted to my dealer for a SECOND replacement. They brought the Series III Wagoneer to me yesterday (GM delivered to my home). They gave me the option to keep the Grand Cherokee Series I (fixed) or take delivery of Wagoneer Series III. I opted for the latter (don't need the 6.4L gas hog and quite happy with the Series III options on the Wagoneer.

Where am I going here? As @jeseay indicated, I am impressed, that Stellantis and my Dealer worked collaboratively to sleuth issues. While a headache, (third Wagoneer in 10 days), I am wholly impressed with the outcome. I could have easily been told to "wait for parts and repair on the first unit and surely didn't expect engineers to be flown here to Virginia to sleuth/correct the second unit" - I was cordial yet very deliberate in my expectations. As mentioned, for this price point, there is little patience for lack of Quality Control and ignorance.

I am awaiting to see how the Client Services improves too. I have been quite vocal with Stellantis that dealers are NOT prepared for this level of buyer and their expectations. Lux market is quite different than someone buying a $35K Compass. Browns CJD of Sterling have risen to the occasion - giving me a brand new "L" off the lot for a loaner while waiting for repairs. I've read on here others have had atrocious experiences with same. The Client Teams phone support - worthless. Ontario, Canada has called me a few times and ended each call with - "we need to escalate your issue and someone will call you back." No patience for this.

BLUF: here's new whip.

Picked up my GWS3 last week. Absolutely worth the 8 month wait. So far I have not experienced any gremlins.

 

[DocSkip]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m in Virginia and test drove a Wagoneer over the weekend. Having bought new BMWs, Audis and other luxe brands, I was appalled by the dealership. Complete ignorance of the product, couldn’t explain basic things such as the differences between series II and series III. Didn’t have the vehicle on the lot that I scheduled to test drive because “the manager chose to use it that day”. Then wouldn’t provide the estimated value of my trade in because I “hadn’t committed to buy from them.” Plus the salesman was new, and was trying bs sales tactics on me. Fortunately I didn’t take any of it personally, and enjoyed the chance to see a bare bone series II. Really nice vehicle. Now I just have to find a dealer that is worth doing business with. Night and day difference between this experience and my test drive of an Escalade. I haven’t bought a jeep before, I hope their service and warranty issues are better than my first impression - it does have me concerned. I know BMW makes things right when need be - and am encouraged by DocSkips story.

@Publius - if you are looking for a NO BS experience in NOVA - Leo Nerushkin (GM) - Safford JDR in Fredericksburg. I only buy from him (10 years). Lots of W/GW on their lot. Give him a call.

 

[DocSkip]

Picked up GWS3 last week. Absolutely worth the 8 month wait. So far I have not experienced any gremlins.

NICE!