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Electric Mode Currently Unavailable

64K views 165 replies 50 participants last post by  Thedonkerslayer 
#1 ·
I was driving home today in electric mode through side streets followed by a bit of stop and go on the freeway in electric mode. Temperature was 80 degrees Fahrenheit and my Jeep switched from electric mode to hybrid mode and a message popped up on my dash saying electric mode currently unavailable and switched to hybrid. Is this working as normal or something I should be concerned about? It appeared to be temperature related the electric motor was still operating in hybrid but I was unable to switch back to electric only mode
 
#2 ·
I got this same message driving the other day, it was pretty warm out and I was driving with Max Regen on in electric mode and suddenly the gas engine fired up and it said electric unavailable. I didn’t notice any temp warnings or anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes of driving the next time I let off the gas to coast it shut down and went back to electric mode. It was about 15 degrees hotter today and it didn’t do it. Strange.
 
#3 ·
I did notice the power on electric mode was starting not as responsive as normal before the “electric mode currently unavailable” message popped up. Then the gas engine turned on and flipped to hybrid mode… any thoughts from the group? It was a bit hotter outside than previous days
 
#64 ·
Hey guys, my jeep has done the same thing the last two days in a row so I thought I would comment. In electric mode the jeep drives (normally) with full responsiveness and at any speed I desire in the morning. When I take the same route home in the afternoon the jeep won’t go over 50 mph after some highway driving (3 miles roughly) and eventually switches over to hybrid mode as it becomes unresponsive in electric mode. It has been in the 90’s here and parked in the sun all day. Though, I believe this shouldn’t matter as it is a trail rated wrangler. I keep thinking to myself, do I really trust this thing to take me to and from Moab safely? It’s been one problem after another unfortunately. The dealerships have told me with past problems that they won’t diagnose and/or fix my jeep if it’s not throwing a check engine code, so I’m very skeptical they will be willing to look into this even if I bring it in. I’ll keep looking into it though. Best of luck
 
#4 ·
I got this same message driving the other day, it was pretty warm out and I was driving with Max Regen on in electric mode and suddenly the gas engine fired up and it said electric unavailable. I didn’t notice any temp warnings or anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes of driving the next time I let off the gas to coast it shut down and went back to electric mode. It was about 15 degrees hotter today and it didn’t do it. Strange.
I did notice the power on electric mode was starting not as responsive as normal before the “electric mode currently unavailable” message popped up. Then the gas engine turned on and flipped to hybrid mode… any thoughts from the group? It was a bit hotter outside than previous days
Hey, all. Although I cannot speculate on the normalcy of what you all have described, if you choose to visit the dealer for information, we are happy to help. Send us a private message with more details to get started.

Kate
Jeep Cares
 
#6 ·
from the text book wrangler 4xe:

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR INSTRUMENT PANEL 37
FUEL AND OIL REFRESH MODE
Since it is possible to operate this vehicle for extended periods of time without running the gas engine, the fuel within the vehicle’s fuel tank can become stale or the engine oil’s lubricating properties can be reduced. To prevent engine and/or fuel system damage due to stale fuel, as well as maintaining internal engine lubrication, this vehicle is equipped with a Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode.The vehicle will automatically enter into the Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode to minimize potential for stale fuel, and to ensure lubrication of internal engine components. When operating in this mode, the gas engine will run to provide vehicle propulsion (electric only operation is inhibited). A message will be displayed in the instrument cluster whenever Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode is active.The vehicle will automatically exit the Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode when conditions have been satisfied. If the vehicle enters Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode, due to fuel which has been in the fuel tank for a long period of time (becoming stale fuel), the engine will run whenever the vehicle is operational (no electric only operation) until the low fuel level warning is activated. It is also possible to exit the Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode sooner by adding a minimum of four gallons of new fuel to the vehicle’s fuel tank.

NOTE:If the vehicle enters Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode to maintain engine lubrication, adding fuel will not exit the mode sooner.If the vehicle enters Fuel and Oil Refresh Mode to maintain engine lubrication properties, the engine may run for a period of up to 20 minutes when fully warm whenever the vehicle is operational (no electric only operation). If the vehicle is shut down before conditions to exit the refresh mode have been satisfied, the engine may run for additional time on subsequent trips.

NOTE:Frequent short trips at low ambient temperature conditions are more likely to trigger the lubrication based mode.

https://msmownerassets.z13.web.core...ler_4xe/P125757_21_JL_H_SU_EN_USC_DIGITAL.pdf
 
#59 ·
Absolut Right !
.... it's only the full electric mode that is disabled in refresh mode. We still get the full combined hp and torque from the whole system in hybrid mode while its “refreshing”!
My 4xe is only 9 months old and I have gotten that message 4x now. When I get that message, the electric mode completely turns off. I never use just electric mode by itself. I always have it on Hybrid mode and that stops working and only goes on gas. The electric mode shuts off completely and will not use the battery at all. I spoke to the service department at the dealership and they have no idea what I am talking about. It is very frustrating.
 
#9 ·
I’m starting to think my issue is not fuel refresh mode. To clarify does the dash actually say fuel refresh mode when triggered?
My issue is specifically when driving at highway speeds up a slight grade/hill in full electric. I begin to lose throttle and speed but the ICE doesn’t turn on. Even if I pedal down the car just loses speed then I get a signal “electric mode unavailable” it flips to hybrid and the ICE kicks on

appears to be a limitation in the “electric only mode”
 
#11 ·
@Mattslocy
The issue with your 4xe is not the fuel or oil refresh mode that others have suggested, as that has a specific message stating such.
The issue is the batteries and the P2 motor are overheating because the cooling system can keep the system cool enough.
My P2 motor has reached 369F and my batteries have gotten up to 122F driving it 5.5 miles to the grocery store and the ICE constantly kicks in with that same message.
The Stellantis field advisor that test drove it says I should only drive it around town at slow speeds like an old grandpa and it should be just fine.
The window sticker said 21 miles at highway speeds. 🤷‍♂️
More info here:
 
#12 ·
Purchased my 4xe last weekend and tried driving to work in electric mode yesterday. Was on the highway going 75 and six miles into the drive I lost all power. Gas pedal did nothing, no warnings on the dash I just couldn't accelerate. I switched into hybrid mode and it went back to normal but I got a message that electric mode was unavailable.
 
#13 ·
my car just started doing this today, it hasn’t been warm out at all (probably 40’s this morning). My car says “Hybrid”, but I know very well from the horsepower/responsiveness and sound/feel that my car is actually in all-motor mode. It probably says Hybrid because it uses the motor as well. I’m guessing there’s an aussie with the battery or it’s connections.

I’ll be contacting the dealership soon. 😔
 
#17 · (Edited)
The Jeep only has 134 HP in all electric mode. Highway speeds will be pushing the battery system quite hard in pure electric mode considering the weight of the vehicle.

I mean it should handle things more smoothly, but it’s not that powerful on only electric.
 
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#24 ·
I tried many combinations of this. Back in early Dec when the ext temps were moderate is when I got the cabin message. I tried fully off and various other temps at that point. Drove for a couple days with climate system off and then the CEL came on and sent her to the dealer. I documented this here.
 
#27 ·
@Dave1822

Below 10°F, the engine will always run until various systems are up to operating temperature. Electric mode will be unavailable during warmup. At these temperatures, the electric heater really isn’t an efficient way to heat the cabin, and your EV range would be greatly reduced by that anyway. The same is true of BEV’s, but they don’t have an ICE to help.
 
#31 ·
does your experience generally align with this?

Cold Weather Operation of the Wrangler 4xe

Remote start and regular button start will both work, with an EVSE plugged in. That’s a great way to warm the battery and the cabin using energy from the wall. The Jeep will not shift out of Park until you remove the charge handle, to prevent accidentally driving off while plugged in. The plug icon in the cluster gives you a heads up.

You might see Fuel/Oil Refresh more frequently in cold weather. That’s because short engine runtimes in cold temperatures are most conducive to fuel dilution into the engine oil. If this happens, the solution is to get the engine warm and keep it running for up to an hour and a half to evaporate the fuel out of the oil… or change the engine oil.

Here’s what to expect as mornings get colder. All of this logic is true, whether an EVSE is plugged in or not:

Above ~32°F, and with sufficient battery and fuel, the vehicle will usually power up silently (ICE not running). The exception is if you have a very high HVAC demand.

Below 32°F but above 10°F, the ICE engine will also run at startup. You can select Electric mode to shut it off, relying instead on the electric heaters. There will be a range penalty. If you use remote start in a cold garage, take note exhaust will be emitted.

Below 10°F, the engine will always run until various systems are up to operating temperature. Electric mode will be unavailable during warmup. At these temperatures, the electric heater really isn’t an efficient way to heat the cabin, and your EV range would be greatly reduced by that anyway. The same is true of BEV’s, but they don’t have an ICE to help.

If it’s below ~5°F outside when you shut down, the instrument cluster will advise you to plug in an EVSE to maintain battery temperature. This is only strictly necessary in case the battery temp falls below -20°F overnight. Level 1 or Level 2 are suitable.

All the way down to -20°F, the Jeep can start unassisted (without an EVSE connected). This is the same capability as other Wranglers and most ICE vehicles.

If outside temperature is likely to fall below -20°F, you definitely want to connect an EVSE overnight. The Jeep will wake up periodically and warm and circulate coolant to facilitate a restart. It’s not necessary to also connect a block heater.

With an EVSE connected, the Jeep can start as low as -40°F. This is the same performance a other Wranglers and the best production ICE vehicles - they require block heaters in these temperatures.
 
#30 ·
I’ve had a similar problem. My Rubicon 4xe worked exactly as advertised for the first six months, then began displaying a message “electric mode unavailable cabin heating/cooling” on startup and engine at high rev. Weather was 50-60s F. Later it stopped that and now provides no message but “electric mode temporarily unavailable” when I try to select. It will do this for the first 15-20 minutes at startup, then begin operating normally. It does not draw down plug-in battery at all during this time, and appears to be combustion only. We drive around Tahoe in medium to long trips, longer highway trips to San Francisco, and numerous small trips within the city. The vehicle was ideal for this as in the city it was almost 100% electric (it’s 7 miles square and our house is in the center) and PHEV in Tahoe. It is now almost entirely combustion, which defeats the point of buying this model, of course. It’s at the dealership and they did software updates then offered to return it to us without fixing this issue. Their diagnostic tool doesn’t have a code for it, so they didn’t know what to do and just printed out some documents about the fuel refresh state. The problem is not that, as it’s been happening for several months and we’ve refreshed the fuel multiple times. The oil life was down to 16%, so they refreshed that and I’ve asked them to keep troubleshooting - I don’t want to pickup the vehicle unless it iss working properly. Still scanning these pages for ideas 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
#34 ·
I don’t want to pickup the vehicle unless it iss working properly.
Keep taking it back. If they don't fix it, Lemon Law it. Eventually Jeep will get the idea. This is a fixable problem. Just possibly not cheap.

I am sure there is a major bug in their software.
Being a software person, that was my first guess. Now I'm not 100% sure but am still leaning towards it. Software is certainly part of it but there may also be a faulty oil quality sensor or possibly the fuel injection system has major issues. Does your oil smell like gas? I was able to get, and stay out of, FORM with an oil change. Almost back up to 30MPG.
 
#33 ·
I was driving on the highway in gas mode (preserve electric) for about 100 miles, then when leaving the highway at 50 degrees outside, "electric mode temporarily unavailable". No other message. Switching to electric only has been a problem since. The car has 3000 miles on it and oil life is at 60% or so....

I am sure there is a major bug in their software.
 
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