‘The check engine light came on’: Driver rents brand-new Jeep Cherokee that dies within 10 minutes of driving. Then he opens the hood

If you’re in a situation where you’re using a rental car there’s already some disruption going on in your world. Might be because of an accident, or some lengthy repair work, or a spouse who’s out of town.

The last thing anyone needs at that point is trouble with the rental car. But that’s exactly what appears to have happened recently to online creator Automotive In The Field (@automotivenfield). We’re going to refer to him as Walt because reasons.

In a TikTok clip with more than 80,000 views, Walt walks to the driver’s side of a Jeep Cherokee 4xe. He’d just rented from an undisclosed rental company.

Suffice it to say he’s not going to be driving anywhere in the near term.

“Drive it home and on the way home, oh look, the ‘check engine’ light came on,” he said. “What could be wrong in this brand new Jeep Cherokee extra junkie?”

Quite a bit, as it turns out.

Why was wrong with the rental Jeep Cherokee?

Walt, who appears to be a mechanic in western New York, pops open hood on the Cherokee planning to investigate the oil inside. It doesn’t take him long to sniff out the problem since there’s oil splashed everywhere including all over the motor mount. When he pulls out the dipstick it shows no trace of oil.

“It's dry. Motor sounds like it's going to blow up... a little three-cylinder turbo thing. Yeah. Thanks, rental car company.”

The small bit of good news is that Walt appears to have gotten the Cherokee home safely and didn’t have to pull over to the side of the road, waiting for road service to come and help.

Why was the Jeep Cherokee leaking?

As a mechanic he'll want to find the cause of the leak, which based on some research in Jeep Cherokee forums could be coming from the PCV valve.

The major rental companies appear to be pretty universal in stating that they’ll work to remedy any rental transaction that’s been disrupted by mechanical problems. So if Walt can handle the hour or two it’ll take to get the bum vehicle picked up and exchanged, he’ll be back on the road soon.

Commenters were quick to throw in insults at the Jeep/Stellantis line of auto brands, and poke fun at the hybrid vehicle.

“plug it in and you will get 30 miles back to rental on battery,” one of them offered.

Another speculated that there could be a problem with the rental company’s maintenance program, but since the Cherokee only had about 3,000 miles on it that seems unlikely: “Those new Jeeps aren’t known to make it very far but it looks like this may have been the rental companies like of maintenance.”

@automotivenfield Nothing like a rental blowing up within ten minutes of driving. Don't think I will buy one of these anytime soon. #rental #shitbox #jeep ♬ original sound - Automotive In The Field

The incident does offer some caution against buying former rentals, as one commenter noted.

“That's the reason you don't purchase a rental car, ladies and gentlemen.”

The Daily Dot reached out to the clip creator via direct message and to Jeep/Stellantis via email.

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The post ‘The check engine light came on’: Driver rents brand-new Jeep Cherokee that dies within 10 minutes of driving. Then he opens the hood appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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