[Vishnuk]

Been reading this thread since the time I bought the Jeep Compass; however I have hardly contributed much to this thread. Having taken so much info from it, I thought it’s apt to give something back at least now, given that I have sold my Jeep recently. So here is my ownership experience of the Jeep Compass.

Mine was a Jeep Compass Longitude model (Manual version) manufactured in July’17, invoiced in August’17 & registered in September’17. This was part of the first batch of Jeeps manufactured in India and they started deliveries in August’17 and mine was part of the first set of Longitude models to be invoiced in Bangalore by KHT Prime, the sole Jeep dealer at that time in Bangalore. Had it with me for about 7 years and when I sold it the odo reading was about 1.10 lakhs, would have done much more than this, had it not been for Covid. It was great fun to drive on the highways, since it was a 2017 vehicle, mine didn’t have the 80 /120kmph speed alerts, so it was even better. Here are some snippets from my 7 years of ownership.

General:
- My compass never let me down on the road, not even once during the whole 7 years. No accidents / no breakdowns / no punctures (just one which was also identified at Madhu’s during wheel alignment) so there were absolutely no interruptions to my journeys by the Compass. It was a lucky car and I gave it the attention it deserved. It was regularly serviced at KHT Prime, Yeshwantpur on time as per the service schedule. Wheel alignment & balancing was done at regular intervals at Madhu’s / KHT. It never had a repaint / any dents, small scratches which will be picked up if you drive in a city like Bangalore were there, but nothing noticeable from a distance.
- I did have some niggles/ issues initially during the first few years, with the instrument cluster throwing up all sorts of warnings (like service ESC system etc) which took about a year and half (started in Nov’17 and resolved in May’19) to be finally resolved by FCA (at that time). These alerts would show up and disappear on their own, but it never stopped running. Though it would show in the error logs, it could never be replicated in the service center / during their test drives, even the frequency was different sometimes once in every 100/ 1000 kms & sometimes nothing at all for more than 5,000 /10,000 kms. Multiple sensors were replaced, but it would keep coming back. But from the time it was finally resolved in 2019 by changing the ECU & Wiring harness (FOC by FCA), it never came back again.
- Had a Chevrolet Cruze LTZ (Manual version) before I bought the Jeep Compass, coming from the Cruze, in my opinion the Compass handled way better, could maintain much higher speeds for longer, not much turbo lag & clutch wasn’t that heavy (when compared to the Cruz), great power delivery, was much more fuel efficient than the Cruze ( 9-11kmpl in Bangalore city traffic & 15 -20 kmpl on highways depending on the speed), it was a damn good car overall.

Parts changed apart from regular service:

- Tyres: (Size: 225/60 R17) The first set of Firestone’s which came along with the Compass, lasted for about 65,000kms, it was a bit hard, made a bit of noise on highways as it got older, but never had a puncture on it. The guy at the tyre shop was amazed that it had lasted for so long and yet had so much tread left in it. But it was getting too hard, the road noise had increased significantly & it started developing some very minor cracks on the treads, so replaced it with Bridgestone Turanza T001in October’21, it was a bit softer during the initial period, didn’t notice any major difference in grip, had one puncture on it which was sorted during wheel alignment. However, one of the tyres developed a very small cut on the sidewall, didn’t want to repair it/ replace just one tyre with a new one, as it would hurt the balance of the vehicle as the other three tyres had run about 35,000 kms, so replaced all four tyres at an Odo reading of around 1 lakh kms in May’24. Replaced it with Conti Cross Contact Ax6, this was the best of the three tyres in my opinion, was much more softer, ride comfort had increased quite a bit, the treads looked better suited to the Compass aesthetically & it was pretty grippy, had it for less than 10k kilometers, but liked the Conti’s better than the other two.

- Battery: The Exide battery which came along with the Compass lasted for about 3 n half years, it never died down. Was advised to replace it, when I noticed that it was taking a bit longer to crank up. Did the replacement at a local Amaron reseller, as the service center didn’t have Amaron and had only Exide batteries. Had no issues with the Amaron battery from the time I changed it, till I sold it recently.

- Clutch & Timing belt: Was replaced during the 75k kms annual service (Odo reading was around 70,000 kms), this was done along with the timing belt replacement in 2021. The total cost of service which included, annual oil change service, clutch replacement & timing belt replacement was around INR 60K, details below.


- Front Brake Disc & Pads: The front brake disc had developed slight undulations and had run its life. The brake disc was replaced along with the brake pads (this was my second set of front brake pads) during the 90k service in 2022(Odo reading 83,500 kms). (Details below)


- Engine & Gearbox mount: The Compass was vibrating a little more than usual during start-up & in general, it was identified that the Engine & gear box mounts had to be replaced, did this during the 90k kms service in 2022 (Odo reading 83,500 kms). The total cost of this service, which included annual oil change service, Front brake disc & pads, Engine & gearbox mount came to around 43k.

- A/C Compressor: The A/C became ineffective and had asked them to check it during the 120k kms service in 2024 (Odo reading was 105,000 kms, gave it a bit earlier due to the A/C issue as I didn’t want to go again separately for normal servicing), A/C compressor had conked off and this was replaced during the service. The total cost of this service, which included annual oil change service, clutch pedal spring & A/c compressor came to around 45k. (Details below).


The normal annual oil service cost was at around INR 10 -20k. The three services which went way above this range came, in the following service intervals
1) 2021 -75k km service – INR 60K (Clutch & Timing Belt)
2) 2022 - 90K km service – INR 43k (Brake Disc & Mounts)
3) 2024 - 120k km service – INR 45k (A/C Compressor)
Pretty much in line with what I had predicted way back in 2018 in one of my earlier posts.

Originally Posted by Vishnuk

This is the maintenance plan recommended by Jeep, so I expect the regular scheduled service cost to hover around INR 10- 20K as all the parts / consumables which were replaced in this service are expected to be replaced at every service after this. Probably the 75k service will be a bit more expensive, as the timing belt kit will have to be replaced.

Service Experience:
Except for two services which were done in Coimbatore, rest all the services were done at KHT Prime- Yeswanthpur (Bangalore) service center. They had a pretty good service advisor there who knew me well & wouldn’t put any unnecessary stuff in the bill apart from what was required. Unfortunately, he left a couple of years back and it was a mixed bag after that for the last two services. But some of their old service staff are still there & have known me for a long time. And my Compass was pretty popular in workshop, as it was the first vehicle from their dealership for which people from FCA had come down to check on the instrument cluster errors. Was never overbilled for anything and had no major complaints after any service with KHT Yeswanthpur, had a pretty positive experience with them.

So overall it was a pretty pleasant experience to own the Jeep Compass & I have had some very personal, long drive experiences on it. To conclude:

Would I recommend the Jeep Compass to anyone looking at a vehicle in this segment – In one word – Yes. In my opinion, if you are looking at sheer driving pleasure & sorted handling, there is no other comparable option in this segment as of today, the competitions still got a long way to catch up with it. To understand what I am saying, I would suggest you test drive the Compass, after test driving all the other SUV’s in this segment. But and big one at that, don’t buy the Jeep Compass, expecting Maruti like service bills or Toyota like reliability, be prepared for a bit more & take the additional warranty which is offered.

Did I look at replacing the Jeep compass with another Compass – My current need was for an automatic, I did test drive the SUV’s in this segment but nothing came close to the Compass in terms of Handling / Driving pleasure. So went back to the Jeep Compass, took a test drive of the automatic version but wasn’t very impressed with the Compass automatic version and I felt that the power delivery had mellowed down a little bit when compared to the earlier versions. So yes, I did look at replacing it with another Compass, but didn’t go ahead with it.

Happy Motoring to all those who still have the Jeep Compass with them, am already missing it. Parting picture of my lovely Jeep Compass, taken when the sun was setting down

[AW1972]

Very hearting to read a very satisfied Jeep compass ownership review. I had always been eyeing the jeep since it's launch in 2017. Managed to get one in 2022. Two and half years and 60k kms, I have thoroughly enjoyed my jeep and have had no issues till date.

[m_proper]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had recently bought Jeep Meridian Overland and did not find many ownership experiences. So was always curious on reliability. Reading your one statement on Jeeps reliability, gave me a lot of confidence.

[Stellantis]

Originally Posted by Vishnuk

So went back to the Jeep Compass, took a test drive of the automatic version but wasn’t very impressed with the Compass automatic version and I felt that the power delivery had mellowed down a little bit when compared to the earlier versions. So yes, I did look at replacing it with another Compass, but didn’t go ahead with it.

Interesting read, as there aren't many threads capturing the complete life cycle (at least from an individual's perspective) of FCAs products & the driving pleasure they are capable of making you experience.

Now please close the loop and let us know which vehicle you finally replaced it with?

[Vishnuk]

Originally Posted by Stellantis

Now please close the loop and let us know which vehicle you finally replaced it with?

Thank you.
The whole point of posting this, was to help others in making a decision on the Jeep Compass. Given that I had learned so much from this thread & enjoyed driving the Compass while it was with me, wanted to give something back.

My basic & no compromise criteria, for any vehicle has always been good driving experience, handling & safety; automatic just got added to the list recently. Given this, there is not much to choose from currently in the price bracket of 20-30 lakhs (if you are not looking at the Jeep). Always wanted to own a BMW, but my budget didn't allow me that luxury, so it's pretty easy to guess what I would have bought in this budget .

Will probably start a separate thread / post for it, so that it doesn't digress from this thread's topic.

Originally Posted by m_proper

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you, Happy Motoring !!

Originally Posted by AW1972

Very hearting to read a very satisfied Jeep compass ownership review.

Thank you, Happy Motoring !!

If automatic wasn't a criteria, I would have probably still bought the Compass again. It's just that, I didn't like the current automatic version, but that's just my opinion & it may be biased, as I was used to the manual gearbox's power delivery & a different experience of the same engine. The engine is probably slightly differently mapped now, to meet emissions norms & comes with all these additional things like DPF, AdBlue, Speed alerts etc which I didn't have to worry about in my old Compass

[AniChaudhuri]

Thanks a ton for the balanced feedback. Being a Compass manual Diesel Longitude (O) owner for almost 5 yrs, I can completely relate to your experiences. The car seems to get vilified a lot for issues at FCA's end (which I've not experienced, luckily), even though as a product it is head and shoulders above cars selling a lot more. As I said earlier, to me driving pleasure, build quality and mechanicals matter more than air purifiers or cooling seats (no offence to people who prefer those).
I've never kept any car for more than 5 yrs till now, but am planning to hold on to this gem for a couple of years more, fingers crossed.

[sudeepg]

The compass, no doubt, is a great car even today I love its looks, stance and power and transmissions options. But it is no longer a value for money car. It is grossly overpriced today for what it offers. I think it was a good deal when it was launched. I was looking to upgrade to it since it was a no brainer but is way outside of my consideration today.

[mack.mehul]

These days i have rarely heard of A/C compressor of the car going bust. Th other parts of A/C like coil, radiator or the A/C gas sometimes need to be repaired in old cars or changed but never the A/C compressor. Is it a one off or its a known problem with compass ?

[micky]

Originally Posted by mack.mehul

These days i have rarely heard of A/C compressor of the car going bust. Is it a one off or its a known problem with compass ?

I have also replaced my Compressor at 80k kms. This happened on the highway on the way from Delhi to Bangalore. Had to drive from Indore in Heat. Compressor had to be ordered at the service centre and they took two weeks to get it from the factory

[Night Raven]

Originally Posted by Vishnuk

- Tyres: (Size: 225/60 R17) The first set of Firestone’s which came along with the Compass, lasted for about 65,000kms, it was a bit hard, made a bit of noise on highways as it got older, but never had a puncture on it. The guy at the tyre shop was amazed that it had lasted for so long and yet had so much tread left in it. But it was getting too hard, the road noise had increased significantly & it started developing some very minor cracks on the treads, so replaced it with Bridgestone Turanza T001in October’21, it was a bit softer during the initial period, didn’t notice any major difference in grip, had one puncture on it which was sorted during wheel alignment. However, one of the tyres developed a very small cut on the sidewall, didn’t want to repair it/ replace just one tyre with a new one, as it would hurt the balance of the vehicle as the other three tyres had run about 35,000 kms, so replaced all four tyres at an Odo reading of around 1 lakh kms in May’24. Replaced it with Conti Cross Contact Ax6, this was the best of the three tyres in my opinion, was much more softer, ride comfort had increased quite a bit, the treads looked better suited to the Compass aesthetically & it was pretty grippy, had it for less than 10k kilometers, but liked the Conti’s better than the other two.

-

Would I recommend the Jeep Compass to anyone looking at a vehicle in this segment – In one word – Yes. In my opinion, if you are looking at sheer driving pleasure & sorted handling, there is no other comparable option in this segment as of today, the competitions still got a long way to catch up with it. To understand what I am saying, I would suggest you test drive the Compass, after test driving all the other SUV’s in this segment. But and big one at that, don’t buy the Jeep Compass, expecting Maruti like service bills or Toyota like reliability, be prepared for a bit more & take the additional warranty which is offered.

I have a similar experience with the Firestone tyres. They have become hard and noisy at 41500kms, but they still have tread for another 10000kms is what my tyre shops guys say. I was confused between Turanza, Yokohama earth 1 and cross contact Ax6 for their replacement. I liked the AX6 but the turanza’s 5 year unconditional warranty is very tempting. Your experience has given me more confidence to go with the AX6.

Completely agree with the expectations part too. Every time I get back in to my compass after driving some other car I tell myself the same. Every time someone ask me about the service I tell them the same. This isn’t a car you buy for mileage, this is not for you if you want it cheap.

[crowbrows]

This is my first post on this forum after being a silent beneficiary from this forum for almost 10 years. Thank you all for your time and expertise.

I've recently booked a Jeep Compass 4x4 S - Techno Green variant in Pune and got the PDI done today with the help of Zekardo. The PDI went well barring two issues. One issue is a missing S badge on the rear boot and the other issue is an improper welding on the left frame bar. We scanned the other cars at dealership for the welding issues and found similar welding in other cars. A little more investigation on internet is pointing to similar welding and rusting issues in Wrangler forums and looks like this is a Jeep engineering issue.





Can some one knowledgeable here advise if these 2 issues are ok to live with.

[DivyanshuDiv]

Folks, I need your help!

I am planning to upgrade from a 2-year-old, with just 19K on the odo, a Kia Seltos IVT with a Jeep Compass 4x2 Model S AT. Wanted to know if this upgrade makes sense, and rattling problems heard in 2022 models, if those were resolved/fixed in your car or even in the 2024 line, or I should wait for an update.

[AW1972]

Facelift is expected next month. It may mostly be some cosmetic changes. You could wait and see, and you could also get better discount on the pre Facelift version if it still appeals to you.
I have a 2022 limited diesel manual. No rattling issues till date. Nearing 60k kms.
If you love to drive, then it is a definite upgrade from Seltos. I have extensively driven the petrol Seltos and Toyota hyryder. Jeep compass is miles ahead when it comes to driving pleasure and handling.

[PeteKing75]

GreyHound - my new Jeep Compass Model S Sep 2024

I am happy to join the Jeepers group, having bought a new Jeep Compass Model (S) yesterday! Welcome home, Greyhound.

Why the Compass!

I had a March 2022 Skoda Kushaq 1.0 MT, and I was quite happy with it. Except for minor rattles, the car was a hoot to drive. I enjoyed driving it for the 19,500 Kms that I did on highways, city, etc. Since almost 70% of the driven hours and 50% of the miles covered is in the congested city traffic, driving a manual in Bengaluru was starting to take its toll on me especially. I have the new Hyundai Verna DCT as well and had gotten used to automatic. The DCT is especially so addictive and effortless to drive. I started looking for a SUV, bigger than Kushaq and ventured towards VW Tiguan at first, having owned Skoda Rapid and Fabia earlier. Boy o Boy it is a great engine, and much more comfortable and plush as well, but then the features or lack of features for the $ spend start pulling you back especially when you have to put in close to 42 big ones in Bangalore. It is a great car no doubt, and seems to be built for comfort and performance, but then the lesser features and the lower mileage made me start looking at the Compass. The Jeep Compass was having offers of almost 2.65 Lakhs in August due to the 8th anniversary. I had always liked how it looked and drove over bad roads; When I test drove it, it was more or less settled.

The AT is a bit sluggish and cannot be compared to a DCT, but I think it will be a strong highway beast! I got my Compass from KHT Domlur in Bengaluru and a shout out to Mr. Naveen the SA who was very flexible in terms of color, delivery date, etc.

Hope to munch many a happy mile on the Jeep and be a part of the Jeep community.

[d2krish]

Originally Posted by crowbrows

the other issue is an improper welding on the left frame bar. We scanned the other cars at dealership for the welding issues and found similar welding in other cars. A little more investigation on internet is pointing to similar welding and rusting issues in Wrangler forums and looks like this is a Jeep engineering issue.

Attachment 2650102

Attachment 2650103

Can some one knowledgeable here advise if these 2 issues are ok to live with.

I have owned the same model, same color, for a little over a year and a half by now. And I was not aware of this issue and didn't properly do such an extensive welding check. I would like to know where you checked it through: through the bottom or the bonnet so that I also would have a look into my car.

What I did was, during the first service at the 6th month, I took a paid service (approx. 3-4k) at the service center and did an extensive anti-rust coating, which they said to give a 4-year cover for rust. Though it would have been cheaper to get it done from outside, I wanted the service center to be accountable. You may also do that.

It is a great car. Just a welding should not bar you from owning it. After all, there are people who successfully maintained this car for a long time without any structural issues caused by a welding failure due to rust. Also, there haven't been any major structural changes in this car since it was launched. So effectively, as far as the car's structure is concerned, it is time-tested by now. So, I would recommend going ahead if you liked it. My best wishes would follow.