Review of my 2019 Auto.

[Upnorthbacon]

Got a deal on a 2019 Roxor with the auto transmission. It wasn't my first choice but I couldn't pass up the deal. Since there's a ton of reviews on them I'll just stick to the auto portion and a couple things I'll be changing. The auto works well, mostly, and I'm happier than I initially thought I would be. The auto likes to shift early, sometimes too early and lugs like crazy if your just putting around under 30mph. Every once and a while it starts to chatter the tires a bit but then back shifts, not often but happened a couple times. I found some good sand climbs and wasn't sure how it was going to go as they are very steep and long. I was pleasantly surprised how well the motor and trans worked though! I started some of the climbs in 4 high with it in "L1" which basically limited it to first gear. It worked great and the only limiting factor will be traction and I don't see it stalling out. It turned my tires, the 29" stock Goodyears, no problem. I decided to try 4 low and in L1 it's basically a slow creeper, probably great for rocks but I don't do any of that. The trans also has "L2" but I'm not sure what it does. It didn't seem to limit to 2nd gear so I'm thinking it's more of a non-overdrive setting for towing. Maybe doesn't shift into 6th or something? In 4 low if you hammer the gas is shifts good and backshifts great and I had no issues. In 4 high when your on the gas hard it does a decent job of backshifting too it's only when your idling around slow that I had an issue with early shifting, which honestly as long as it's not hurting the trans, it super quiet and no vibration.

So things I would like to upgrade:

I purchased a rugged ridge rear bench seat and some seat belts. Install was easy and I can fit my 6'4" son behind me and still have lots of room up front and behind the rear seat for a decent cooler. I'll also be purchasing the autometer bluetooth OBD2 reader so I can read the engine and trans temps and see the boost and rpms just for fun.

Next I need a windshield, probably go glass just so I don't ever have to worry about scratching and can put some wipers on it.

Winch is next on the list and I'll likely go cheap. I've purchased a few Viper winches off Amazon and they worked great and you can score them for around $350 with synthetic rope and for the small amount of winching I do, I've never had an issue. I'll be buying the rough country winch plate for it.

I'm trying to decide on a shackle lift for the front, add a leaf, or just pony up and buy a front leveling kit. I don't think I need much more travel for what I want to do but I'd like the looks much more if she was level front to back. Plus those front springs already look pretty light. I've been browsing and right now I'm leaning on just buying the pro comp add a leaf and some new u-bolts and calling it good.

Then I want to go 31-32" tires and I'll have our local guys at Diesel Freak program stage one. I've owned jeeps in the past and I want to keep this smaller so I can still fit down tight SxS trails and I don't want a bunch of body roll. I think with the tune and those size tires I should have all the power I need.

Lastly I'll likely go with a light weight lunchbox style locker for the rear and maybe some warn unlocking hubs for the front. There's a lot of other things I may do eventually but once the modding sickness begins it's hard to stop!

I want to keep this jeep as low as possible with just enough ground clearance to run most of the side by side trails with my buddies. I don't want to worry about breaking axles with bigger tires, having to regear, and having a tall center of gravity with a bunch of body roll. I'd like to stick to the old school setup which should still get me around where I need to go.

I've got 11 hours and 175 miles on her so far and I couldn't be happier. I'm getting 30 mpg right now and that little diesel motor sounds so great!

 

[Upnorthbacon]

A few more things I thought I'd mention about my automatic. Looks like the engine is limited to 3500 rpms but doesn't feel like it's hitting a rev limiter. I'm thinking that's part of the conservative programming from the factory. I also found that "L2" only allows second and first gears. Deep sand hills I ran 4 low in L2 and could keep the wheels spinning. In “drive” it likes to upshift and almost stall off road when your trying to climb or mud. I’ve read the 5.38 gears in the 2020’s eliminates any auto trans issues. I’m still happy with my auto and I think 4low in drive is perfect for most trails. In high it feels like it really wants to stay above 35.

 

[Upnorthbacon]

So have about 500 miles on now. Still liking the auto for everything but sand. It’s pretty much useless in sand. Any kind of hill and you start climbing and it upshifts too soon then won’t back shift until it just about stops completely. Im crossing my fingers someone will come out with a better transmission program for it. It needs like a trailer mode so it holds gears longer and downshifts faster. Since it’s the same tranny in other vehicles it seems like it would be easy enough for someone to be able to program new shift points that would work in L2 or something?

 

[PineCreek]

So have about 500 miles on now. Still liking the auto for everything but sand. It’s pretty much useless in sand. Any kind of hill and you start climbing and it upshifts too soon then won’t back shift until it just about stops completely. Im crossing my fingers someone will come out with a better transmission program for it. It needs like a trailer mode so it holds gears longer and downshifts faster. Since it’s the same tranny in other vehicles it seems like it would be easy enough for someone to be able to program new shift points that would work in L2 or something?

I appreciate all the time you took to write this up.
I have a 2019 Auto also, feel very much the same.
Hoping to do a ECM Tune soon. Curious the difference.

 

[Upnorthbacon]

I just talked with Wade and Diesel Freak and he suggested the same thing. A tune might help power through the shift points and run better. I'm hoping for a tune before too long and I'll update then. I'm planning 32x11.5 on 15x10" rims and I believe I should clear those fine with just my front 1.5 shackle lift. For what I do, I really don't need any more power and it runs fine but I'd like to see how it runs with the tune and that size tires. Then I'll look at a regear for the axles at that point if I need more. Anyone in Michigan want to swap my 3.73 for their 5.38's