[Tony Bessel]

Hi everyone,

Over the weekend I placed a deposit on my 'ideal build': a Abyss Blue Touring with Pop Package 2. I plan to pick it up early tomorrow morning. I've driven the Ascent and plan to take this car on an extended drive before committing.

I obviously like the car but before I start filling out paperwork I'm wondering if anyone can comment on things I should be looking for? Does the Ascent have any quirks that have shown up in the owners' pool so far?

Some examples of established common problems within respective forums:

• The Chrysler 5.7L "Hemi Tick" - engine ticking/knocking/tapping at startup
• Jeep Renegade: Rough and unpredictable 9-speed transmission
• Toyota Camry: Rough shifting transmission on 2018 models

I'm not seeing any glaring issues searching around this forum but I want to be doubly sure because, let's face it, this is not a cheap car. I can turn back now but in 24 hours it will be much, much more costly to do so.

 

[MAGNUMB]

I've read or experienced these issues:

Steering rack noise on rough pavement
Front Strut knocking noise
Missing bolts for turbo
Rear doors won't open at times caused by heat softening plastic latch mechanism.
Random hard shifting
A-pillar trim falls off
Creaking noise around shifter area when braking or cornering. Mine was lack of anti-rattle tape in-between chrome and black plastic.
Fish eyes in paint
rattling noise rear sun shade and under dash drivers side
Rear view camera turns on randomly when towing
Radio always on on initial start

Even with these issues I still enjoy the car. I've fixed some of these myself with minimal effort. I still need to address my front strut, rear camera and rattle noise behind gauge cluster. I'm hoping they iron out a lot of these problems soon as the overall car is nicely packaged and solid.

 

[Tony Bessel]

I've read or experienced these issues:

Steering rack noise on rough pavement
Front Strut knocking noise
Missing bolts for turbo
Rear doors won't open at times caused by heat softening plastic latch mechanism.
Random hard shifting
A-pillar trim falls off
Creaking noise around shifter area when braking or cornering. Mine was lack of anti-rattle tape in-between chrome and black plastic.
Fish eyes in paint
rattling noise rear sun shade and under dash drivers side
Rear view camera turns on randomly when towing
Radio always on on initial start

Even with these issues I still enjoy the car. I've fixed some of these myself with minimal effort. I still need to address my front strut, rear camera and rattle noise behind gauge cluster. I'm hoping they iron out a lot of these problems soon as the overall car is nicely packaged and solid.

Thanks for the honest feedback. Can you elaborate a little on the "Random hard shifting"? Is this under a heavy acceleration condition?

 

[MAGNUMB]

It does happen when under medium to heavy acceleration and oddly enough not while towing. It's jarring, but don't think it's causing any long term damaged.

 

[MAGNUMB]

Also if i shift from reverse to drive too quickly it makes a grinding type noise. nothing i'm too concerned about now

 

[Jason]

I've read or experienced these issues:

Steering rack noise on rough pavement
Front Strut knocking noise
Missing bolts for turbo
Rear doors won't open at times caused by heat softening plastic latch mechanism.
Random hard shifting
A-pillar trim falls off
Creaking noise around shifter area when braking or cornering. Mine was lack of anti-rattle tape in-between chrome and black plastic.
Fish eyes in paint
rattling noise rear sun shade and under dash drivers side
Rear view camera turns on randomly when towing
Radio always on on initial start

Even with these issues I still enjoy the car. I've fixed some of these myself with minimal effort. I still need to address my front strut, rear camera and rattle noise behind gauge cluster. I'm hoping they iron out a lot of these problems soon as the overall car is nicely packaged and solid.

And then there are other's of us who haven't experienced any of these

 

[Tony Bessel]

And then there are other's of us who haven't experienced any of these

Oh absolutely. The only reason I called out the jarring 'shift' is I felt something similar on the test drive. It wasn't horrible but for a moment it seemed the CVT got a little confused or something. If it's anything like our Outback, I'm guessing a little learning curve might be the solution.