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Compass owner review

16K views 86 replies 19 participants last post by  Gramps 
#1 ·
Highlights from the Motor Trend article and my 2 cents worth: Wranglers are priced firmly in FJ Cruiser Territory (I had an FJ40, fixed it up, had some fun and doubled my money in 2 years). The Patriot will have the Freedom II with Trail Rated low range and the Compass only has high that's recommended for deep snow ( like when I have to go to work before the snow plows do and sometime leave for home long after they've quit for the day), the FWD is for daily use, including snow and rain. 60% of Compass buyers will be female. "On (Oregon's) twisty mountain roads, the Compass shines. It's not a sports car of any kind, but it's a well-tuned, tall hatchback - about the size and height of the old Cherokee." It rides taller than a conventional car (Caliber/Vibe/Matrix) and provides enough confidence for carrying speed in fast corners, with moderate body roll. (I lived in S. Oregon for 12 years, believe me they are mountains with some very fast corners and with the rain it's white knuckle driving!) . For an entry level…SUV…comfortable ride, right amount of firmness, precise steering, good weight and feedback. (The line I LOVED) If these are "girl car attributes", it's time to get in touch with out feminine side. Road noise on rough roads is not excessive for a small car, but not as good as some of the small cars that have reached a premium feel. The drivers seat is 2" higher than the Calibers (both front seats actually and the rear is kind of stadium seating). The 5 speed is precise and positive, perhaps the best stick shift in the sport/utility area. The taller (higher) front seats also allow better rear seat foot room and the rear has good head room, but tight knee room (daughter and her 6'1'' boyfriend fit just fine). The 5 spd makes better use of the engine, sprightly and fun and the CVT is a normal CVT (I like it, but some may think that I drive like an old man, well, I'm practicing). Towing capacity is 2000 according to them (and my owners manual) when equipped with the DC towing package, otherwise 1000. Jeep is being careful of having it called a "Cute Ute". Buyers looking for a sport/utility with good road manners and exception fuel economy will find most everything they need in the Compass.

Dimensional Differences: (Keep in mind that the Compass front sears are 2' higher that the Caliber. This information is a comparison between the Compass Limited 4X4/Caliber R/T (if known).

Cargo Area: 38.5" wide X 28" Tall, all seats up: 30" deep; rear seats down 64"; front seat down 97".
Cargo volume: seats up 22.7/19.5; rear seats down 53.6/?; Front Passenger and rear seats folded 61.8/?.
Head Room front: 40.9/40.0; Rear: 39.9/38.9; Leg Room front: 40.6/41.8; Rear: 39.3/35.6.
Overall height: 64.2/60.4; Ground Clearance: 8.5/7.0.

Pluses in Compass's favor: ESP, ERM, Fold-away mirrors, Side Curtain Air Bags Front AND Rear, 1.5" more Ground Clearance, 2" extra Seating Height, Interior Volume, 4X hi range lock, 7 cargo hooks in cargo area and pre-cut holes in the roof rails for cross bars.

Pluses in Caliber's favor: Front Passenger Storage, Chill Zone (if it worked better), Illuminated Cup holders. Better TV commercials.

Improvements that Compass could use: Flex Fuel, Voltage and Oil Pressure Gage, Raise the front cup holders (like they did the seats) and illuminate them, padded arm rests all around including the console) to lose some of the plastic feel, don't bother with a dash pad, some one will make an after market and another set of 12V and 115V outlets in the rear cargo area. Maybe add the Freedom II as an option. Get rid of the "Urban" bobble head advertising. This fits rural and bedroom community people far better. Good mileage and enough room to haul your crap back from in town. Also great for camping excursions and "treasure" hunts for us old farts.

Friends and others at work like it and have been asking questions and appear to be impressed. One friend, a Vibe owner, said it had a lot more room than hers.

If I think of things to add to this list, I'll simply add them here instead of doing a new post so you may want to revue this from time to time. If someone from DC ever reads it they can get all of the should of's in one post. If any of you think of something, I can go back into this and edit some more if you like.

1st fill up @338 miles 23.26 mpg; 2nd @ 532 miles 21.78, 3rd @ 782 miles 24.0, 4th @1050 miles 24.22, 5th@1297 miles 23.14, 6th@1510 miles 22.37.

Update 8/26: Frankly I was getting the feel for the handling etc. this last tankful before the big trip and wasn't caring about "good" mileage at all. Oil change scheduled in Albuquerque. So far, the Compass has been really great. It's comfortable to drive, visibility is good, road noise is not bad at all, instruments are easy to read, controls easy to reach. Nothing unexpected, very smooth and pretty agile. I'm only able to get the radio to play about 50 or so mp3's on each disk so far. I'm pretty sure it's the way I've got Music Match configured on my computer. My Alpine had some problems, too.

10/6/2006
Here is a more "friendly" link to a Compass review by The Car Connection. Nothing really new, just all in one article and not full of negatives. I think that it's worth reading.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehicle_Reviews/Sedans_and_Coupes/2007_Jeep_Compass.S180.A10590.html
 
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#77 ·
I've put some more information about "Trail Rated" package, in particular pertaining to the Patriot, over here where others may find it.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3323096#post3323096

All that I am really interested in is another 2" ground clearance max, skid plates and an engine oil cooler. I personally don't need the rest of the package for what I intend to do with mine.

In talking with the dealer today they said that they would sell me the Badge! They felt too that it is just hype. :laugh:

Other stuff about my 12 K mile review;

The filter for the A/C, that is part of the security package, is under the right side of the dash, cost $35 and $9 to change it and they didn't have it in stock.:rolleyes:

Tire pressure sensors: The older Jeeps you can reset the sensors with a large round magnet that fits over the valve stem and then from the dash display set it to "recalibrate" for each wheel. The Compass is a different system that is supposed to recalibrate itself after driving it for a while. I told them that my right front was reading as my right rear and visa-versa and they didn't have an explanation for it. So, just check your tires manually and only use the TPMS as a general indicator that something isn't right.
 
#79 · (Edited)
ttarbox said:
I've got the tps on my 06 Liberty; it resets on its own, with just a few revolutions..after a tire rotation. I wonder if they are the same system?..regardless..just use it to tell if something is wrong isn't the correct response from the dealership....
Oh, that's MY recommendation until I can find a resolve for the issue, not theirs. They don't know why it reads in reverse. Further explanation: the sensor did reset and no longer showed a fault but it still read in reverse for which tire had what pressure. Maybe I'll find an answer in the Service Manual, IF IT EVER GETS HERE!:rantscream: Still waiting....
 
#80 ·
Another warranty repair

I got about 5 miles from work this morning (12,105 total on the Compass) and the engine light (malfunction indicator light) came on steadily accompanied by a "ding". I got to work and all of the normal stuff checked out fine as far as I could tell: oil and coolant levels, the belt was intact and the gas cap seemed OK and the GASCAP message was never displayed (yah, it tells you that too). I called the Dodge dealer that's close to where I work and owned by the same people that have the Jeep dealership that sold it to me and they said to bring it in. They gave me a ride back to work and then called me about noon. They said that they had heard of this problem before. It seems that the throttle actuator, in some cases, rubs against the intake manifold and a wiring harness and after a while does not let the fuel completely close down causing the light to come on. They had to order the manifold, actuator and harness and said that they would have it in about a week and that they would give me a call. They also said that it would be fine to drive in the meantime. The Compass runs fine, idles in Park at about 750 rpm and very slightly less in Drive and the throttle doesn't hang up. I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE 2/22/07:

Bad Gas? When the engine light came on I was down to 1/2 a tank of gas and I know that I refitted the gas cap twice as a check to make sure that it was on correctly. When I filled up last night the engine light went out. :confused: I don't know how the dealer determined that it may be the problem stated above, I'll need to check with them. Maybe I panicked a bit on this, even though the manual says to go ahead and drive it as long as the light is steady, right! That's something that I like to do on a new car!:dunno: Another possibility is that the gas cap, or "something" in the fuel system lost pressure when it got down to 1/2 a tank? Again, I'll keep you posted.

Update 2/28/07

Filled up again today. Fuel was low enough that the "Low Fuel" light came on and still no problem. I called the dealer twice to try and find out if the tech had actually observed this problem or if it was speculation and I did not receive a return call either time. I'm closing this issue and put down that it was either bad gas or the gas cap still wasn't on right. Maybe just an :oops: on my part. The wife :kiss: has always said that I had a screw loose somewhere. I :dunno: what she means by that. :confused: :laugh:

Update 5/5/07

15K oil change, absolutely nothing new to report.
 
#81 ·
It's been a while since I really did an update on mine so here is another boring report. Of course when you're looking for defects, drawback and problems, boring is a good thing. One year, 18K miles and no significant problems, that's more than I had hoped for with something that's a new design. :bowdown: Jeep Engineering!

I had another nail in a tire :woot: , the TPMS worked fine but when I went to take it off the lug nuts were really torqued on and I ended up rounding one of them off :oops: . I had it trailered to the dealer, no charge to get the lug nut off, insurance paid for the towing (Chrysler's Roadside Assistance doesn't cover towing for a flat tire even if the real problem is caused by the inability to remove said tire :pout: ). So it was $8 for a lug nut and fix the tire plus the standard Oil Change and service at 18K. It's best to invest in a good 19mm deep, half inch drive socket, breaker bar and maybe even a 2 foot piece of pipe to carry along in the boot.

I had intended on this report being called "half way through my warranty" but on Monday I will pay the $900 for the Lifetime Power train extension that is available until Sept 30. :thumbsup: and $1500 after that. Whatever mods that I do will be primarily with factory available pieces to maintain the warranty as necessary. By being stubborn and not buying in to the original extended warranty has paid off big time, I got lucky! I plan on keeping my MK a looooong time:ballchain: :) and now with the new warranty I have no :fear: of any unexpected expenses for tranny, engine or other power train components. :2thumbsup:
 
#82 ·
Just a note here, if you are using a breaker bar and a pipe to torque your lugnuts on, you are putting WAY too much torque on them. I use just a 2 foot breaker bar, and I don't put all my strength on it. No way these wheels need that much torque. Not only are you over-stressing the lug bolts, you're going to warp your brake rotors because of all the torque.
 
#83 ·
Another note: The cheater bar is to get them OFF after some gorilla has put them on. Thanks for helping to clarify that. :thumbsup: Additionally the lug nut torque spec on both the Steel and Aluminum wheels is 100 Lb Ft (135 N n)
 
#85 ·
Jason31 said:
Probably some tool with a 1/2 or 3/4 impact that doesn't understand torque numbers. *cough dealership morons cough* :D
Is that "tool' or "fool" :rolleyes: . I agree! The dealer is the only place that has touched my wheels and they "said" that their impacts are set to 75 or 85 depending on the application. I've got my doubts on that, that's not even to spec. I'm not a small dude and it took about all that I could do to break 4 of them loose and then I rounded off the 5th. I can just imagine someone smaller, male or female, fighting with these out on a camping trip or some place remote.
 
#86 ·
What typically will happen is the young moron that does the easy stuff for the dealership. He doesn't understand torque specs, and thinks his air gun is running too slow. He adjusts, and BAM, you now are getting 150+ lbs of torque on your lugs. Fools, tools, etc, whatever choice word you like. I don't take my vehicle to a dealership for anything besides recalls and something I refuse to fix under warranty. Everything else I will do myself, I don't trust the idiots.
 
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