Jeep SUV Range

Camshaft problems are, indeed, a known problem with the 3.6-litre V6 Jeep engine. It seems the roller bearings in the rockers can fail, and that, in turn, causes the camshaft lobes to wear very quickly. The first sign is a noisy engine that gets noisier as you rev it.

Jeep made several running changes to the engine to fix this, but even attempts as late as 2018 and 2019 didn’t seem to help much. Perhaps there’s a more robust rocker assembly available on the aftermarket that addresses the root cause of the problem, but for most owners, it’s new camshaft time once the noises start.

This light is properly called the Malfunction Indicator Light, so it’s kind of like a check-engine light. It’s telling you there’s something not right somewhere on the car and that you need to scan the car to get a more focussed idea of what the problem is.

The message is not to try to cancel the light and ignore it, because it could be being triggered by something you need to attend to promptly before further damage is done.

Most workshops will have a code-reader that plugs into the car and talks to the car’s computer to learn exactly what the root cause of this problem is. In many cases on a Jeep, the MIL will be triggered by a problem with the fuel and/or emissions system, typically a dud oxygen sensor, a loose fuel cap or even a tiny leak in the fuel system.

Once the technician has checked what fault codes are present, they can usually use the same code reader to cancel the MIL.

The Jeep Gladiator was unveiled in 2018 before arriving in Australia in the middle of 2020.