Let’s talk about eSave

Had some recent questions about eSave that I wanted to talk about. Apologies to those that have been around a while, this might be a little bit of a repeat for you. But with all of those that are new to the Wrangler 4XE and Grand Cherokee 4XE, I figured it was worth talking about again.

[@adrianpadilla2155]

Don’t forget it also determines when it goes into Recirculation mode automatically and it detects humidity. When it’s very humid, the heater core is started to dry out the air along with the Air Conditioner!

[@aaronterveen8121]

You've helped me out a TON with making this decision, so TYVVVM!!! 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe ❤❤❤

[@Goodbrod]

As a new GC 4xe owner, I think Jeep should be sending you a check for all of the customer service/service calls that you save them.

[@jedrich728]

Just got my GC4xe and this helped me understand it so much better. I just drove 660 miles in hybrid mode and had 27ish mpg, but could have used e save and had battery charge on 🙃

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

You could try a longer trip some time in eSave. If you top off your tank and drive a couple hundred miles and fill up again, you could see what your real world MPG would be versus hybrid mode. It would be interesting to see how different it is in the GC 4XE.

[@larrybauerle4689]

I had no idea about the difference in charging with esave as far as the speed you are going. Good to know, thanks Chris!

[@mjdegans]

Charging with e-save is pretty inefficient. I only do it if I absolutely need to arrive at a destination with some reserve, and that's only when I plan to deplete the 12v battery with aux powered stuff and need the 400v battery to maintain the 12v. The charge controller will apparently do so if certain conditions are met. You will charge a *lot* heading down a mountain with cruise control locked, FYI. E-save regular will keep that for later. Just set it to 55 and ignore the screaming from behind you. Coming down the Rockies in Canadia I charged like 25%.

[@cdw916]

When the Jeep is in Hybrid Mode

[@ScooDucks]

We just got a wrangler high altitude and this is a huge help

[@chinothedreamgiver1629]

Just got my first one .. upgraded from a JK .. hope to learn this new wave of electric vehicles.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

There’s going to be a lot of them, that’s for sure.

[@brnscofrnld]

Only difference I can see is that the Grand Cherokee allows you to pick a charge level in Esave Charge mode. 80,60,40,20. You can select one of those levels and it will either run hybrid down to that point and hold or charge up to that point and hold.

[@mjdegans]

That sounds like a software upgrade that could easily find it's way to the Wrangler.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

Glad you mentioned that. That’s good to know.

[@RipleyBukta]

A good experiment would be to see mpg in hybrid mode when the battery is

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

I have a video from early in 2021 where I did that. The only way I’ve been able to drive the MPGs down to the EPA rating is by using eSave and charge.

[@Monty4xe]

Hi Chris.. have you seen the new safety recall ZB8 ? Greetings Monty

[@javascript3ds698]

For myself I found when I'm driving e-save with the shifter "shifting myself" between 40 km/h (25 mph) and 70 km/h (45 mph) I gain more on the battery. On the highway tho like is useless. Most or 95% of the time if I know I will need gas to reach my destination I am switching to shifting mode 😂 and stay parked until the motor is warm and drive at my destination driving shifter mode, to make sure the motor is running all the time.. I hope I make sense 🤣😂🤣

[@Failleje]

Hi There, Ilike your flashlight and holder on your rollcage, what make/model is that and does it interfere with your soft top

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

Fishbone off road.

[@sharoylalani]

I think jeep is trying to be as efficiently charge not aggressively

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

@@sharoylalani Exactly

[@markglenn8318]

You are Spot On!!

[@Goodbrod]

And I wish there was a brake light monitor built in when I see yours.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

Yeah, I really like mine. I actually use it a lot.

[@Goodbrod]

It would be great to see exactly when we signal for the people behind us. You made a great video about it. @@Wrangler4XEFans

[@Ali-yh9qi]

Can the motor still run if out of charge? I woukd assume yes but i dont wanna make any assumptions. Thanks!!

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

There are two motor/generators in the 4XE. There is one on the front of the engine and one in the transmission. They are both high voltage. The 4XE doesn't have an alternator or starter because the P1 motor/generator on the front of the engine (in combination with the IDCM) does the functions of both. So any time the engine is running, there is always a change source to keep the high voltage battery charged enough for hybrid function. Now if you were climbing straight up hill for a long time while towing a 3500 pound trailer, I have to wonder if the system can maintain the battery enough to maintain full power. I don't know the answer to that. But I've never had a scenario where it didn't have full power.

[@Ali-yh9qi]

@Wrangler4XEFans I just bot the 4 door 2024 wrangler sport s and picking it up Friday. Thank u so much for that information. I'm actually really happy there's no more alternator.....when the thing died, my whole lite panel lit up. I have a long list of questions for the dealership when I pick up. But may I ask 1 more if u would be so kind please? Will regenerative break power ALWAYS be sent to the battery or does it always need to be in " e-save" mode to do so? Furthermore.....will either" battery save" or "battery charge" do it? I think from what u said we should probably avoid battery charge altogether. My apologies for taking up ur time but u really are extremely helpful to us novices. I just subscribed!! Thank u and happy holiday season. Ja

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

@@Ali-yh9qi Regen is a separate thing from eSave. When you regen, it’s always charging. Now, that only happens when you decelerate either via Max Regen or by putting your foot on the brake pedal. It’s not always regening. Esave can either hold the battery where it is or charge the battery. But Esave uses more gas. There’s a trade off to using Esave.

[@Ali-yh9qi]

@Wrangler4XEFans got it thank u for ur help!👍

[@christianlopez4926]

Another great video! Now that you mentioned the oil dilution issue, are we supposed to change the oil every 5k miles? My system says I’m only at 31% of the oil life, but the dealer recommends every 5k miles. Is that them creating business to keep me paying for oil changes, or is this important because of our type of engine?

[@mjdegans]

It's because it's a fuel injection engine and that's kinda a poor choice for a hybrid. The oil will end up smelling strongly like gas if your engine is starting and stopping frequently. If you can keep it to electric, you can probably avoid that, but e-save will still shut off the engine heading downhill. I am fine with it personally. I just have it done after long road trips (typically 4k miles). Otherwise as the Jeep recommends.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

The manual says to not go over 10,000 or the oil clock in the dash, which ever one you hit first.

[@RipleyBukta]

Knowing dealers, i'm very surprised they haven't started recommending kombucha radiator rinses as yet, less time you go to dealers gives them less chance of messing up your vehicle.

[@jamieeisenhower1560]

I think Jen breaking is worse on Range So what do you think about putting on charge mode on a steady highway driving don't you get better range and better gas mileage when you use the electric at times and also charging on long distance utilizing both

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

Regen is really no better or worse when used well. If we vary the regen with the part of accelerator pedal that gets remapped rather than just completely lifting our foot, it’s really effective. That said, I don’t use max regen on the highway. It’s just a tad too grabby for my taste. What you described at the end is exactly how the system works in hybrid mode. It maintains about a 15% total state of charge even though the screen says

[@jamieeisenhower1560]

@@Wrangler4XEFans I think Regina is only good from coming down Mountain sides

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

@@jamieeisenhower1560 It’s fine for every day. The brake system on the 4XE uses regen to slow the vehicle before blending over to the friction brakes. So turning on or off max regen makes no difference.

[@cdw916]

​@@Wrangler4XEFansKeeping in mind that the spirit of a wrangler resides in its off-road capabilities, max regen really shines when you are out on a trail that has a fair amount of elevation changes. You can get a lot of power back while saving your brakes from the extra wear and tear. Also, the amount of engine braking power that the regen provides when going down hill really helps in keeping brakes from overheating. In that sense, Max Regen is damn near a safety feature. On the flip side, I tend to not use max regen for regular driving. Coasting without max regen doesn't give a lot of power back but at the same time you can coast significantly farther as you are approaching a red light. This.translates to not expelling the extra energy that would be required before you would let off of the accelerator with max Regen on.

[@michaleneyanda7737]

I'm getting my GC 4xe tomorrow!! Thank you for this information! A big stretch of my hour long commute to work (one way) is 45-50 mph. So this should be good for eSave, I'm thinking!?

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

Hybrid mode gets better gas mileage.

[@jpmcnown1]

So is there a sweet spot for mph where we can maximize the recharge?

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

I haven't tested it but I feel like it's around 45-50 MPH. Any faster and the charge just isn't there.

[@uwepemberton3768]

Just curious about the interior brake light i see coming on when you brake?

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

It's a brake light indicator I installed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o526Ymx4nMaAors

[@uwepemberton3768]

Thanks love your videos, keeps me thinking positive about my 4xe purchase. the FB groups seem to only talk about how bad they are. again thank you

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

@@uwepemberton3768 Trying to find some solutions to that.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

@@uwepemberton3768 Yeah, we have a bit of that in the Jeep 4XE Fans group. We're trying to figure out some solutions to things not being so predominantly negative.

[@DarkSithLord420]

I just keep it in hybrid when its cold. Let the jeep make the call.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

The potential issue with keeping it in Hybrid mode is that it lowers the demand threshold to start the gas engine. If we have a lot of short engine runs while in hybrid mode, it can trigger the oil dilution algorithm and cause it to go in to FORM.

[@brettburris8390]

Can you do a video on an experiment involving Esave mode charging overnight? I’d like to know how much gas it uses, how much mileage range it depletes, how much it actually charges the battery. I’d do this if I was camping so I’d really like to know

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

I did that for a real short time once just to see if it would charge when parked. If I made more money off individual videos, I would do a full test.

[@niallk9336]

It's going to be very inefficient, and I'm not sure what you gain ? You can just drive it normally and it will still charge the battery some. I don't have a 4xe, but on my Q50h I could also charge the shit out of battery by transmission braking in EV mode. That battery was only 1.3 kWh, and I could get a full charge off one highway exit. The Jeep has a 17kWh battery -- so you may not notice it, but it will. The only question is how to facilitate that ebraking on the 4xe without knowing all the buttons etc.

[@cliffordcommanda6105]

Hi Chris! So, let's take that a step further. Why is it that 10HP is all that is needed to charge at level 2, (7000 watts). I understand that cruising at 70mph might take 100hp. Adding a 10hp load to charge at 7kwh would deminish the efficiency by... 11%?!? That's the equivalent to 18mpg vs 20 mpg. Now, I also understand that they were told how the EPA would evaluate mpg, so yeah, they made it as efficient as possible, because people shop by numbers. 18 doesn't sound as good as 20. However, how hard could it have been to implement a function, or an update, for "agressive esave"? Better yet, have ESave behave more agressive if vehicle is in park. As discussed previously, there are real word scenarios where electric energy is required, no matter the efficiency hit. I am honestly quite surprised the built-in 110v inverter wasn't upgraded to something bigger, and an agressive battery recharge option wasn't figured I to this, considering it's the go anywhere, do anything vehicle first and foremost.

[@Wrangler4XEFans]

I’d say a lot of that comes down to the fleet CAFE requirements come in to play.