When Jeep presented the all-new 2014 Cherokee in February, it received tons of attention in a love-it or loathe-it, but you can’t ignore it, kind of way. Chrysler Group CEO even named it a make-or-break vehicle for the company. It was originally scheduled to go on sale in spring, but then, due to “a wide range of issues”, Jeep pushed the launch date back to June, then to September, and he were are in October, still waiting…
It’s not that Jeep hasn’t produced cars, as the automaker has more than 12,000 new Cherokees sitting around at its manufacturing plant, but not one has been shipped to a dealer. The reason? Chrysler is looking for a way to fix the software of the SUV’s new adaptive nine-speed transmission.
“Chrysler Group is in the final stages of validating the updated powertrain calibrations,” Gualberto Ranieri, vice president of communications for Chrysler, told The Detroit News in an email. “The company will not ship vehicles until we are fully satisfied the Cherokee meets customer expectations for performance, refinement and quality.”
It has been rumored, but not verified from Chrysler, that the software issue with the nine-speed transmission’s adaptive program causes abrupt gear changes.
“Once the latest powertrain calibration is validated, the company will be able to quickly update the powertrain software on Cherokees already built and ship vehicles to dealerships around the country in quantity,” said Ranieri.
Many industry analysts like Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics LLP, believe that even though it could hurt its quarterly financial targets, Chrysler’s decision to delay the launch of the new Cherokee until its solves these problems is a wise one.
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