Hello,

Just purchased a 2005 CRD Limitted for my Fiance'. Bought it for 20,600 with 19,000 miles and it's a Jeep Certified pre-owned vehicle with an 8/80,000 warranty. I think we did ok on the purchase trading a 2000 Grand Cherokee for it in hopes of reducing our fuel costs. I hope the vehicle is reliable because it was only after we made the purchase that I started to see all these negative posts. Is anybody satisfied with the CRD? Reading some of the posts make you feel like the CRD is a ticking time bomb with everything from fuel issues to tranny problems and it's really making me second guess our purchase. Although the motor runs great and the gas mileage seem excellent in just the few short days we've owned it. Anyway I've been doing some research on the vehicle and looking at the fuel filter service posts. People have mentioned priming the filter with a pump. Where is this pump located? Is it on board or is this something that should have been included? Excuse the ignorance but this is our first diesel of any kind.

Thanks.

Don't pay much attention to the "doom and gloom" posts on here. Some are valid, but most are anal retentive folks (I'm an admitted memeber of this club) trying to perfect every tiny flaw in the vehicle.

I'd say if you just drive it and don't worry about it, then you'll be fine. Just do the maintenance according to the schedule and know that the warranty has your back for anything else.

I've made a few mods to my CRD such as a Provent, and the ORM (off road mod). You can read about them in the FAQ post, or do a search for them. You'll find more information than you can read in a months time.

I've done some towing with my CRD up steep mountain grades pulling a 2000lb load and the thing pulls like a freight train. Fuel mileage has been excellent for a 4x4 SUV. I've only seen below 20mpg once, and that was when I was towing the trailer throught the mountains. Got 19mpg then. Best I've seen was 30mpg on a long interstate trip. Mostly I see between 21 and 24 in mixed driving.

I've experienced a few rough shifts from the tranny, but nothing consistant. There is a post on some aftermarket transmission parts that are supposed to make the CRD one stout pulling machine. If my tranny grenades after the warranty period ends, I know how to fix it, so I'm not real concerned with it.

I've not seen a single post regarding any issues with the engine itself. The fuel filter thing hasn't reared it's head on my CRD. I am running the stock filter/seperator with good luck. The filter has "Made in Italy" stamped on it, so I have a feeling it may be a filter specified by VM Motori, the maker of the engine. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. I may upgrade to the CAT filter when the time comes to replace the filter just for the extra filtering capicity.

I purchased my 2005 CRD with 9600 miles on it and I've put about 5000 miles on it so far. Not enough to comment on the longevity of the vehicle, but so far, I'm really happy with it.

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Chad Hargis
Nashville, TN
2008 Grand Cherokee CRD
2005 Liberty CRD *SOLD*

The pump is built into the filter head...so no worries there.

Ours has been trouble free for the 34,000 miles that we have had it. I would drive it on a trip to Alaska without hesitation.

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It may be that your only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

06 CRD Sport
Built 5/11/06
Jeep Green
Rocklizard diff cover
V6 Airbox

I love my CRD, This is my first diesel, I bought it new, and I've put about 34K on it so far. the CRD has its quirks, but I this little community seems to be dedicated to working out the issues which seem mostly due to DC's inexperience with diesels and changes to the little diesel DC made to accomodate EPA requirements.

Most of the modifications you will find on this forum have been debated and peer tested and were proposed to correct design errors or in general, strengthen the CRD and make it last longer. Most are non-destructive and easily reversable.

Check out the EHM or Elephant Hose Mod to correct a design flaw that not only recirculates crank case fumes but Oil as well. Many forum members have gone a step further and installed a oil seperator called Provent.

Check out the ORM or Off Road Mod to see how much better this little Jeep runs when not saddled with a destructive and dubiously ineffective Exhaust Gas Recirculation design.

Check out the CAT filter mod, which brings significantly better fuel filtering than DC designed. Diesel fuel quality can be an issue depending on where you live and travel. I personnally didn't have any trouble with the stock unit, just changed it out since it was and easy and cheap fix.

There are a couple of mods for the transmission, DC has addressed the flaw by recalling the torque converter. Many forum members are not satisfied with DC's solution so they went a little further. Seeing that you have warranty to 80K, does seem like something you would want to do, just make sure that the Recall work was accomplished on your CRD.

Welcome to the club, hope your experience with the CRD is as good as mine.

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2005 CRD "Ol' Blue"
Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.
My build page- RL Komodo Rear and TJM Front Bumper, armored, lifted, JBA Steel D30, 4.10s and ARB air lockers.

Oh by the way, the fuel primer pump is part of the fuel filter assembly on the driverside firewall. The owners manual has a pretty good description on how to prime the system if you were to run out of fuel. same procedure used if you have to replace the fuel filter. Priming is much faster if you try to fill the filter up with diesel of PowerService additive when you change it. prefilling the filter means the difference between a couple of pumps , to wearing out your wrist getting it primed.

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2005 CRD "Ol' Blue"
Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.
My build page- RL Komodo Rear and TJM Front Bumper, armored, lifted, JBA Steel D30, 4.10s and ARB air lockers.

I love my CRD.

I'm not real happy that I have to fix some of the Chrysler bandaids they used to put the Diesel into the Liberty, however they are fixable.

If you just want to drive it as is - it'll probably go 100K before major issues (which would be about the time you have to pull and clean the intercooler)

However if you read some of the posts - make some minor (OHM, provent, ORM) mods. or Major (new TC) - you should be able to double that easily and it'll get better mileage and be more fun to drive.

Welcome to LOST

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2005 CRD
stuff
Skeptic quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur

Even though Mopar may say to do it, pre-filling the fuel filter can be a bad idea. You're potentially bypassing that filtration for the engine at the most critical time (engine startup). Unless you have a debilitating illness that causes you to not be able to pump the plunger, I think most folks would reccomend just being patient and filling the filter with the priming pump.

Oh, and as for general experience, I've had my 2005 CRD since new (16000 mi, currently) and the only problems I've had, other than me being stupid and putting in pure biodiesel in March, were due to stupid designs strapped onto the drivetrain by Chrysler to meet US emissions standards.

Read through the CRD FAQ and you'll see the vast majority of issues people have had summarized. One thing that DC doesn't ever seem to mention is cleaning the manifold pressure sensor (in the FAQ). Cleaning it at the same time as your oil change seems to have absolutely 0 drawbacks and can do wonders for driveability and performace (including fuel mileage) Even if you don't change your own, I can't imagine a decent shop charging you more than a few extra dollars to do it at the same time. If you enjoy tinkering, there's lots more options

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

Hey guys thanks much for the helpful hints. You've made me feel much better about our purchase and I'm sure I'll have many more questions. This has got to be one of the most helpful Jeep forums I've been a part of. Thanks again.

Sweet, it's only taken us 2 days to be more helpful than all the rest!

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

Too bad you didn't do your homework and read the post before you made the swap. Pretty much screwed now. J/K The thing is fine. Pay no attention to the chicken little syndrom folks.

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2006 Sport CRD

Could the Aztecs have known, that in 2012 after a 4 year experiment, our country would cease to exist?

My turn to add to these wonderful voices of reason. When I first purchased my CRD, I searched out this forum and became horrified at my purchase decision. Although there were quite a few negative posts, the voices of reason continued to chime in and reassure me of the good decision that I had made. Thank you all. I have logged over 20,000 miles since then and am convinced that I have made one of the best purchases in my 48 years.

Do not go 12,000 miles between oil changes unless you have the oil analysis to back it up. I'm at 8,000 now(30,000 miles on crd) and I think that will be pushing it with no mods to your egr system. Lots of info here. Since this is your first diesel I suggest you just drive it as is. If you feel you are missing out on something or don't like the vehicle try some mods. Depends on your skills and if your comfortable possibly negating your warranty. Speaking of warranty-finding a competent diesel tech at a dealer is probably the most important thing. 8/80- is that power train only or bumper to bumper? Makes a big difference. The fuel primer pump is something, I feel, should never be touched. I think it has caused a lot of people many problems with their fuel system by over pumping it. You can pre-fill the filter by just plugging the big center hole and slowly filling the filter.

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2005 sport crd-SOLD No regrets