[Judy]

I’ve had my 2023 Jeep Sahara 4Xe for less than a month. I have about 251 miles on it of which about 150 are electric miles. The Electric Mode Temporarily Unavailable Fuel Oil Refresh in Progress message came on two days ago and it’s still on. How long can I expect this message to be on and is there something I can do as the driver to help this along? Is this going to be a common issue? Seems like I’ve hardly driven my Jeep and I’m already getting this message which leaves electric unavailable.

 

[Shanepa]

I’ve a 22 Sahara and am about 3800 miles. I have yet to see an Oil Refresh Mode. Do you live in the cold? I’m in Texas where it hardly gets cold.

 

[Judy]

Yes, I live in Wisconsin. Brrr!

 

[4xeveryday]

Short easy answer is it will go away once it is satisfied that either the oil is free of dilution or you have enough fresh fuel in the tank.
You can read more about what is going on with that here and hopefully it helps you understand why this is happening and what you can do to prevent it in colder climates

What is Fuel oil refresh mode (FORM) and why is my...

What is Fuel oil refresh mode (FORM) and why wont my car allow me to run full electric? Fuel oil refresh mode as described in the owners manual is a feature that serves two purposes by running your gas engine (ice or internal combustion engine) continuously. For the fuel side, this is to make...

www.4xeforums.com

 

[hddman]

I'm like Shanepa... live in Okla and haven't seen a FORM message yet and I've put 2000 miles and owned mine since early Oct '22. I guess FORM isn't an issue when the weather usually stays above 40F.

 

[41AH24]

Usually by the fourth of July!! Electric costs in Massachusetts are so high right now I don't even care about being in FORM all of the time. I stopped plugging it in at my house.

 

[Russell S.]

I also live in Wisconsin, and I picked up my 4xe in December. I hit F.O.R.M. at 43 miles. Communication with the dealer led me to a guess on why F.O.R.M. hit so soon. In the factory, twords the end of assembly, they perform a series of short engine runs for testing. Another short engine run to move off the assembly line and park in a parking spot, waiting for shipping. A short engine run to load Jeep onto truck. And who knows how many transfers (and short runs) during shipping. A short run to unload the Jeep at the dealership. Once at the dealership there is more short runs. My dealer estimates 8-12 short runs moving around the dealership when completing setup, inspection, charging (notice all the short runs before charging. I dont know the batterylevel from the factory) , fuel, washing and detailing, any other dealer installed stuff.

In short you need to make a long drive, get the oil above 178F for 20-120 min. ( hard to do when it's 10F out...)

If you want to run in electric only mode, try to prevent the engine from starting. Heater (seems to) max out at 7Kw. The battery heater will use 7Kw, the cabin heater will use 7Kw, total for both is 14Kw. The heater cannot do both at max output. If you (in Wisconsin you will) run both, the engine will turn on.

For me, if the engine turns on, I switch to eSave and finish my trip using gas.

 

[Mllcb42]

The battery heater will use 7Kw, the cabin heater will use 7Kw, total for both is 14Kw.

The actual battery coolant heater is 5 kW.

What most people refer to as the battery heater is actually the electric coolant heater, which is 7 kW. The electric coolant heater is what handles cabin heating. The battery heater rarely comes on.

 

[hddman]

I also wonder if FORM can be minimized by using 100% gas? I only put 100% gas in my 4xe. Costs about .40 cents more per gallon than E10 (since we are all subsidizing the corn industry), but if it helps keep me out of FORM, well worth it.

 

[Mllcb42]

I also wonder if FORM can be minimized by using 100% gas? I only put 100% gas in my 4xe. Costs about .40 cents more per gallon than E10 (since we are all subsidizing the corn industry), but if it helps keep me out of FORM, well worth it.

Shouldn't make a bit of difference. It's not testing the gas.

We could probably debate about how E10 effects the actual level of oil dilution to come up with some theories about the effect it may or may not have on what FORM is trying to combat, but I wouldn't expect it to change the actual algorithm behavior.

I'm all for using real gas though.

 

[Russell S.]

I don't know the exact details of the equipment, but I do know that when I have the heat off, and start the Jeep, the hybrid page shows 7Kw being used for climate for a bit. (No heat, no defrost, no heated seats or steering wheel) And I do hear coolant gurgle through the back seat battery.

Once the climate shows 1Kw or less I turn on the heat and it jumps back to 7Kw.

I don't know if they are separate units, but if they are both on, the engine starts.

 

[Mllcb42]

I don't know the exact details of the equipment, but I do know that when I have the heat off, and start the Jeep, the hybrid page shows 7Kw being used for climate for a bit.

yes, it'll run the ech at times, even if you don't have the heat on.

To the best that I can determine, the only time the battery coolant heater will come on is when the battery needs conditioning, so like sub -20c type conditions. It'll still circulate the coolant though.

 

[Russell S.]

I get the battery condition, plug in alerts at 15F (-10c)

 

[Mllcb42]

I get the battery condition, plug in alerts at 15F (-10c)

yah, it doesn't actually condition the battery until colder though. It starts giving those alerts in case temps drop while you're not around.


I would check the coolant levels though. Hearing bubbling rushing around suggests air caught in the coolant loop.