Jeep Problems

FCA spokeswoman Lucy McLellan says the company does its recall work in "waves" to ensure there are parts across the country. But she promises you a special call to get priority service.

I'm a fan of the XC60, which still gets The Tick, but you should also consider the Skoda wagon lineup and test drive both the Octavia and Superb as they are from the Volkswagen family but better value.

No, you can't. If it was 25 years old you could drive it on historical registration, but as it's not 25 years old you can't do that. You could have it converted to right-hand drive and then approved by a recognised engineer for Australian registration, but that would seem to be an expensive exercise for the purpose.

Getting the Jeep would be overkill if you don't go off-road and it seems you've answered your own question in favour of the Nissan. I give the Pathfinder The Tick and it tops the Kluger for me.

The V8 in the SRT8 sounds great but the core quality is no match for a Mercedes. If you like driving, the new GLE 63 would be my pick.

A cold-start rattle is not unusual while oil gets to the top of an engine but you should push Jeep for a serious investigation. A better-quality oil might also help.

There's no reason to be putting oil in the gearbox, so the oil should still be the original factory fill. If you want you could drain a sample of the oil and have it analysed to identify what it is. I suspect the problem is related to its heavy off-road use rather than the wrong oil being used.

Jeep is overhauling its customer support systems in Australia and I'm much more confident in recommending the Grand Cherokee. It will also be fine for your towing and any off-road work.

It's something worth checking for anyone who is having the warning light come on without explanation. Could be a simple fix.