Did I make a BIG mistake?

My Full Build Video • Jeep Wrangler 4XE on 3...
I have had my Jeep Wrangler 4XE now for almost a year. How has it performed for me and would I buy it again? (4XE Jeep Wrangler long term review)
The Battery weighs 280 pounds. However the entire electrified powertrain is over 600 points. Its heavy.
I fixed the Video size with the upload. Thank you to anyone who pointed it out.

[@cubitfilms]

Enjoyed the vid. Looking to get a 4xe soon so appreciate the perspective you gave. My use will be about the same as yours. On FORM mode my understanding is it’s not about the battery being cold or electrical mode not ready, but rather the vehicle is trying to keep the oil warm and moving. When it’s cold the oil can start to have problems if it’s too cold and not being used. From what I’ve read FORM mode (Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode) is forcing use of the combustion engine in cold weather rather than letting you use electrical mode so it can warm up and circulate the oil and fuel.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Yeah your absolutely right. I kind of mixed FORM up with the fact that all electric is less likely to be available in the cold weather. Making the case for all electric tougher for a lot of people.

[@jayjohnson4352]

Thanks for the great video and honest feedback. I am planning to start saving my pennies this year for my first jeep. Videos like yours are very helpful in deciding which model to work toward.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Thanks for watching!

[@Zaclira31]

I live in Az and have a stock 2024 Rubicon 4XE. I live 51 miles from work and charge it fully at home and work each day. For the 102 miles a day I drive I average about 56 miles electric and 46 gas miles per trip. Hand calculated MPGs for me have range for a low of 42mpg to a high of 53mpg. I love this thing! Planning on lifting in and getting 35s at a minimum so definitely going to suffer a little in terms of efficiency but the added capability will be worth it

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Woah you're putting some miles on! Id love to hear how your Jeep holds up over the years. Maintenance wise

[@robertdelvecchio7438]

im new to the 4xe world...i'm guessing the high mpg you're getting is because you keep it charged...running in hybrid mode ? my apologies for asking the seemingly obvious question, but getting used to the hybrid world is a challenge for some of us :)

[@Zaclira31]

@@BLUEDUCKOFFROADyeah I have a long commute so it’s my only option at the moment. I did get a 7 year 130k mile bumper to bumper warranty when I bought the jeep just in case. Let’s hope I don’t need to use it

[@Zaclira31]

@@robertdelvecchio7438​​⁠I do keep it charged but with my 51 mile one way commute the I’m getting about a 50/50 split between gas/electric each trip. I have a level 2 charger in my garage and charge the jeep every night and I charge it at work as well which really helps out. On a single tank (15.5 gallons is the most I’ve had to put in from E) of fuel and I’m able to get between 660 and 800 miles of range.

[@williambracken1447]

This is good info! I live in Maricopa and work in downtown Scottsdale 2 days a week and I want a 4XE Rubi. Thank you for sharing!

[@Indianolanative]

After 3 years I've had it with my 2021 4xe. Warranty issues and recalls have been a nightmare. This is my first Jeep. It is also my last. Trading it in on a 2024 GMC Canyon AT4X AEV Edition in two weeks.

[@PumpUptheJam81]

So a jeep to a GM product? Isn’t that more of a lateral move?

[@blakemarchand6650]

Wow that’s a pretty boring change. You sound like a boring ass dude. Get a stock 3 series bmw maybe that’s more you

[@cowboygeologist7772]

Great video. I got the 2023 20th anniversary Rubicon 4Xe last October. I love it so far. Mine weighs 6,100 lbs. The 375 hp was shocking the first time I had to tear out to get on the highway.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Yeah I’m not sure I could go back to a gas model other than the 392 after driving this Jeep. For what it is it’s fast!

[@coachjasonl]

Great video - my experience with the 4Xe has been similar to yours. I live in a colder climate, so FORM has been a bit frustrating. But I knew that going in and all ev's have limitations in cold weather. Otherwise happy with the 4Xe.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Same and I did get a little mixed up on form in this video. See the pinned comment on this vid. But the cold weather is going to be a concern for all electric. One of the main reasons I’m convinced we need hybrids

[@jasonrichard6286]

I got a 24 Rubicon X 4xe and I love it so much so far.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I’m glad. The 24s are pretty slick! Enjoy

[@cowelk]

I just found your channel after watching Matt's Off Road Recovery. I am glad I did. You gave a really good review. I have a 2021 JLU Sport Wrangler EcoDiesel. I love it. I now have 55,000 miles on it and it has been trouble free. I did lift it after 2 years and put 33" tires on it. I have tons of torque and I average 22 mpg since the lift. Before it was 25 mpg. So fairly close to your mileage if I would put bigger tires on it. Since you only have 6500 miles on it and you went to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. Did you trailer it there? I was curious about mpg on a long trip like that. I subscribe and look forward to a future review of your Wrangler.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Hey! Thanks for watching. I did trailer it there. I was lucky enough to have a friend with a trailer heading out there so I hitched a ride.

[@blakemarchand6650]

That is one seriously good lookin 4xe

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Thank you!

[@blakemarchand6650]

@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD my sister just picked up a new 2023 Sahara 4xe we all love it. Thing drives like a Cadillac

[@arodic]

Keep in mind that mpg info on the trip computer is completely off. It actually makes no sense in electric mode.

[@flyzfw]

I basically have the exact same stock rubicon Jeep, a couple things. The battery never depletes, the gauge says

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Interesting take on the regen mode. Hadn’t thought of it like that. Do the lift you won’t regret it!

[@BigSil57]

Great video bro. I'm trying to build a bug out rig, that can still get me to work for cheap (free chargers). This 4xe might be the one.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Right on

[@jimkerns9842]

Just picked up a 2024 4xe Rubicon. Took it to Southington last weekend and ran great!! Hard to find mods for it though.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Congrats on the 24. They’re sweet. If you’re looking to mod it you should check out Leemen Upfit. He does a good job out of Salem OH. Cool guy and he knows his stuff.

[@jimkerns9842]

Another good trails in OH? Out of Cuyahoga Falls. Had a hard time finding spots for my Maverick X3.

[@pizaliasta8369]

Thanks for the video. i am considering ordering a rubicon x 4xe.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

The new 24s are sweet. I hope you enjoy it!

[@orarinnolafsson9012]

Great video and good points. I have a 4xe here in Iceland and have had a few issues with the charging system and the FORM. Love driving it and traveling, and it works well when overlanding in the cold. I have one question: could you share what type of LED bar you have and where you got it? Searched around to find a good bar for the 4xe but came up short.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Iceland!? That's awesome, its a dream of mine to go some day. The Lightbar is the KC Gravity Light bar. I made a video on it a while back kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnfOqaCOnMSmjrc

[@volvo09]

The all electric mode sounds awesome for cruising trails off road.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Yes I like that for sure

[@henrikhkarpynskyi8712]

5:00 - When jeep shows 1% - it means you have about 3KWh left, which are used for "hybrid" activity. That's why it is still able to use electric motor as additional power

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I didn’t realize it was as high as 3 kWh. That’s interesting considering the full size is around 17 kWh. I’m glad they leave plenty in there after full electric runs out.

[@henrikhkarpynskyi8712]

@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD They actually dont say it anywhere, but you can see that if you charge from 1% - battery will take only 14-15 kwh, which means there was 2-3 left “on the bottom”

[@Griffindor21]

Great video👍. If its your daily driver, what do you think of the steering, is it still sloppy?

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Yeah it’s sloppy. Never really bothered me like it does some. I did put in a steering stabilizer with the bigger tires

[@grisa12345]

You can't trust the onboard fuel economy rating - your use case is similar to mine, where you mostly use EV mode daily. The only way to know your MPG is to divide miles driven by gallons added at fill up. I've been getting 60+ mpg regularly unless I'm doing long trips to trails, off roading, etc. I've got a 2024 Rubicon 4xe on 37s and it's a great rig. Great discussion on the modes - one thought on e-save: I like to use it to guarantee the engine will reach operating temperature before shutting off. It's so bad for ICE to turn on, not warm up, then turn off. So if ICE is kicking on, I like to make sure it warms up. Here in Colorado, we are seeing super cold temps, so to make ICE last longer it's important to only hit operating temps if it kicks on.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Interesting about operating temp. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Enjoy that 2024, I think they’re a pretty sweet uograde

[@jeepdogjl8687]

I had a 23. Rubicon 4xe. I liked it a lot but I wish I had never bought it. The one thing no 1 ever talks about. Is the 4xe has the absolute worst resale value of any wrangler ever made. Mine costt $67000 brand new. When I traded for a 24 The most I could get for it was $50,000 And it was six months old and only had six thousand miles

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

That 7,500 tax incentive puts a hurting on resale value.

[@jeepdogjl8687]

Even if you deduct the $7500 off the price I paid and make it $60,000, only 6 months old and 6,000 miles I still lost $10,000. I traded my 21 Rubicon in for it. I had it 2 years and 20,000 miles. And I got. $3000 less thanI paid for it for new. Both jeeps were bought at the same dealership.

[@therewasblood]

im so torn to buy one or not. I just don't know. I can pull and replace anything on my current jeep which is a huge advantage (or any gas jeep), but I would love the electric power train with the hybrid base(but I cannot work on some of the things). Did you have to regear to go 37? curious because I know that if I custom order any gas jeep on the website I can opt for 35s and different gearing. I want this to last at least 10 plus years. I get it has warranty, but if I have to pay 2 grand for batteries in 15 years im ok with that but not 20k or somthing ridiculous like some teslas. Wonder if you needed extra gas cans in any of your trips. So few videos on hardcore offroading with the 4xe. :( .

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

These are all things I considered as well. The Xtreme Recon packages with their upgraded gears are certainly a great way to go. I did not regear the 4XE and I haven’t looked in to doing it since I first got the Jeep. Back then you could not re gear yet (on a 4XE). You have a tough choice there! For me I guess it would come down to what am I doing daily? I have virtually no commute and get a lot of value out of the all electric range, and I still love the get up and go I get for the hybrid powertrain. But rhe reliability and out of the box capability of an Extreme recon Wrangler would be tough to pass up. Good luck!

[@nealamesbury7953]

Just consider this thing,on a long trip. ! I guess the upside,is that it might not catch fire. ! Go ahead, get one.

[@tonymartucci7097]

Per others the 4xe models do not count the combined mpg correctly. If you run around in mostly elec mode your actual mileage is prob much higher

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

If you mean my miles per tank of fuel then absolutely.

[@tonymartucci7097]

@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD I would have to refine the video, but they went into how it was calculating the MPG incorrectly. And yes, if you took the total miles driven on a tank, it was way under

[@Ken-qq6gp]

Ya man I looked into it until two jeep mechanic told me to stay away as issues are there. I've already heard from.other mechanics that you better get the extended warranty

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Yeah I’m around mechanics all day every day. By now they should come up with a few reasons to not buy every single vehicle on the market. For now the 4XE has not disappointed. At least not on any part of the “4XE”

[@priestguardian2587]

people do not buy a jeep to be eco friendly. They buy a jeep because they want the best dam offroad vehicle on the market

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I’d argue it’s not all that eco friendly. But it is capable and it is powerful. It’s been a fun Jeep to own.

[@volvo09]

It's not about "being green" or caring about the environment. I'd buy one of these because cruising around a trail in a silent vehicle would be awesome. You don't scare off wildlife from engine sounds, and you can hear the birds and the wind in the trees easier. Some people don't care and would rather a loud exhaust, but for me the silence when you want it is really the main benefit, aside from being able to "fuel" it for 1/2 the cost of gas till the battery runs out.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

@volvo09 I always stress the power too. The thing is so quick even on these 37s. I like it!

[@conradtobias1245]

Nice... keep repping rhe 4xe for all of us!

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Will do!

[@atombomb6719]

I drive the 2021 jeep wrangler v6 6 speed Very skeptical with the 4Xe. I'm glad you're having a good experience, but i will wait five years until they get all the gremlins addressed. It would be nice if you're able to drive 200 miles solely on electric. Whatever theyre offering now is negligible

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

The thing that really attracted me to the 4XE was the power. Not necessarily the range. But I agree, the range will have to get better before larger adoption. We'll see...

[@enhancedsmoker]

Nice review , my wife and I almost bought a 4xe but decided to say fukk it and bought a 392! Have had it almost two years now and 32k miles were around 18.5 mpg so I feel this electric push on people is not quite there yet

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Nah I don’t either. I like the 4XE as an option next to the v6 and the 2.0 liter. But the 392 is the ultimate choice!

[@dvader3263]

Electric push?😂

[@nealamesbury7953]

Not quite there yet. There is no comparison. ! Congradulations on your 392. !

[@user-xn8vh7ef4p]

F.O.R.M. has nothing to do with the battery not being “ready”. It’s “Fuel, oil refresh”…. gas gets stale over time. Just like leaving gas in your lawn mower…. not good. Plus fuel can get in the oil past the piston rings from the direct injection system on cold starts and if the engine does not reach or stay at operating temp long enough it does not evaporate / get burned off by the PCV system. Gas makes a terrible lubricant so the engineer’s smartly designed the system to run the engine to clear gas from the oil and/or force you to refresh the gas tank with new fuel.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

My confusion with this comes when I have a fresh, or perhaps just a few days old, tank of gas. This must be from oil getting past the piston rings, as you mention?

[@vekrede]

⁠@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD stale gas is one way it can go into FORM. That’s the least detrimental one and easiest to solve. Jeep even says, you can add 4 gallons into the tank and that will dillute the stale gas enough to bring it out of FORM. The second way is more problematic and takes longer, and it’s because that gas (not oil) goes past the piston rings and dilutes the oil. To bring this out of FORM, you need to drive 30-120 minutes on an interstate, according to Jeep, to bring it out of FORM. This is the reason why people are getting wildly low and odd “Oil Life” percentages on their 4XE. I do wish Jeep would tell us which FORM we’re in. Because it’s a PHEV and if used in a way the engine doesn’t heat up, the piston rings don’t seal well and you get some un-combusted fuel that makes it way past the piston rings and dilutes the oil. Also because exhaust gas and water naturally build up in the oil, the composition of gas, oil, and water can form an acid that can eat away at soft metals and rubber seals. This is why, for example, if you’re going to send in an oil analysis on your car, all the companies say you need to drive it, and not idle it, to warm it up before you change the oil and grab a sample. Because you won’t get the sufficient amount of load needed to seal the piston rings and your oil sample will be contaminated with fuel. In a typical use case where you drive an ICE vehicle normally and consistently, the building up of the additional gas and water are burned off naturally in the process. It’s also the reason why you should change your oil before you store a vehicle for a long time because you reduce the acid.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

@@vekrede Great information.

[@AmperageY]

The hate and misinformation is real, the 4xE battery and electric powertrain components are warranted for 10 years 100k miles nationwide & 10 years 150k miles in some CARB states so no it’s not a 3 year disposable Jeep, when the battery is out of full electric range it still has great power output over the pentastar and the 2.0l tt on its own. And the fuel economy improvement over other powertrains in city and off road driving is noticeable after a few loops with a friend with his gladiator people don’t realize how much fuel idling actually consumes

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I agree the real selling point for a lot of people that doesn’t seem to be coming through is the torque and overall power of the 4XE powertrain. It’s just the better option between the available engines other than say the Hemi (but is costs 90 grand). It works for me at least.

[@user-cz1pw6sl6m]

How deep in water can a 4xe go in and for how long?

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Not sure. They're trail rated though. Which requires the same level as the normal Rubicons. Pretty deep right out of the factory.

[@katsitsiaientos1]

will regen mode wear brakes down faster???

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

No I don’t believe so. There’s probably better information out there about this but the Jeep does use the brakes to use regenerative braking.

[@katsitsiaientos1]

just picked up 2024 4xe WILLYS, i live in Ontario Canada and yes its still cold here. the battery is giving me almost 50km of travel on a nice day, which is fine if im just going to work and straight back home. due to nature of my work i am travelling quite abit and use esave and batt regen when im on a long ride or the highway. even with these option engaged the motor will still switch to electric when im at a stop (similar to stop/start im guessing and hated in previous 2018 4D sahara) right now my main concern is brake wear when in regen mode. i am the kind of driver where i see a stop coming i kinda coast in.. regen mode doesnt allow this

[@katsitsiaientos1]

lets not get started on charging stations the jeep can use haha the electric vehicles need a universal charger

[@markjoy6860]

Can you tell me your average mpg in Hybrid mode?

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I believe it's around 22 mpg listed on my dash. Ive been told this can be inaccurate though as it doesn't properly account for miles when driven as electric. Not sure how to explain it. There are better videos for that.

[@PhatboyHD88]

Do the back seats still fold down flat so you can sleep in the back ?

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

No unfortunately not

[@PhatboyHD88]

@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD yea that right there is a deal killer for me .. i like having the option of sleeping in my jeep if i want..👍

[@Juanny2023]

Dude how tall are you im a big guy thinking about getting a 4xe

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

6 foot, or really 5 foot 11.5 but who's counting. LOL

[@Juanny2023]

@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD nice im 6’2 do you think its a truck for our height

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

@@Juanny2023 I'm gonna recommend you sit in one for sure. Put the seat all the way back and all the way down. If you are buying a 24 with a power seat, I have some people that say its tighter, i don't agree.

[@88rushrocks]

Hybrid drains the battery way too fast. I’m in e save and electric mode the most

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I'm not sure the goal should be to keep the battery topped off. The vehicle will always retain enough charge in the battery to function as a hybrid. By driving in E Save all the time, the vehicle will be in its most inefficient mode. You'll see better fuel economy in hybrid mode and charging whenever you can.

[@jefflloyd394]

Want one bad, just wish it had 40 plus mile ev range, if Mitsubishi, toyota, BMW, range rover, volvo and even ford can do it, why not Jeep?

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I think it’s because of the battery placement. No where to put a bigger one, on the current platform. ☹️

[@JosephMoore-uv4wv]

Can't readth captions.. To dim. I'm deaf and can't unde stand sound.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Sorry about that I didn’t out captions in that video KZbin must do them automatically.

[@TheFlyingsquirre1]

The 4xe is an abomination.

[@brentandlizscott140]

Isn’t it the best selling PHEV?

[@VideosOffRoad]

Of COURSE you love it. It's still new. Come back in 10-12 years and tell us how those maintenance expenses (including battery replacement) are going.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

I mention that in the video. Who knows what maintenance looks like in several years. Could be insane. Could the costs of batteries foreseeably go down though?What about battery upgrades? Extending range and power. Not too extreme to think about. And I’d say look at any 10 or 12 year old vehicle. A lot of them from a lot of makes don’t do so hot after that long.

[@devlinsemmler8236]

What are you talking about? lol. Modern batteries do not need to be changed, they’ll last the life of the vehicle. Overall maintenance and cost of ownership is WAY lower.

[@robertdelvecchio7438]

come back in 10 to 12 years?? by then you "normally" would have 3 new ones already "just sayin"@@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD

[@jasonh4167]

The material for the battery is scarce so...the cost may even go up. As it is now the batt. Is 90% the cost I believe.

[@northjerseykevin3915]

I don’t know maybe people that own vehicles for 10-12 years anymore. I’d think most peoples needs change by then. Regarding the Jeep itself I think it’s on par with any other modern day vehicle. They’re relatively disposable unfortunately. They all have they’re unique problems.

[@nealamesbury7953]

I don't get it. If you do a trip, charging will be a nightmare.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

Eh, you don’t need to charge vehicle runs great. The range though is limited from the smaller fuel tank. It definitely has its advantages and disadvantages.

[@RichGurska]

I got 3:13 into the video…right where you said “exspecially”. That’s one of my pet peeves, and that’s where I stopped watching.

[@BLUEDUCKOFFROAD]

This is exspecially good feed back. Thanks for watching!