Why does my jk do this?
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 378
Likes: 0
From: Williamsburg, VA
i may be wrong but i thought wheel hop occurred when you are in 4-hi/lo on a hard surface (i.e. pavement) and attempted to turn, which is bad and hard on things. On an offroad surface in 4-hi/lo the wheels are able to slip on the loose surface material thus eliminating the issue. My two cents is that the OP needs to turn off the ESP (not sure if its still called ESP in the 2013 models, may be the traction control you guys are speaking of) when in 4-hi, especially on sand. What happens if you don't turn this off when in sand in 4-hi is that the wheels are all spinning at different rates which the ESP interprets as a adverse situation, which triggers the computer to apply the ESP program to the wheels, selectively activating ABS etc. until the 'situation' corrects itself. When this happens, especially in sand the jeep can seem like it's bogging down and jumping all over the place and the next thing you know you are halfway to being stuck in the sand especially if it's soft and trying to figure out why. this is what i think you experienced.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
Last edited by JKJeremy; Jul 25, 2013 at 06:54 AM.
JK Freak
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 832
Likes: 1
From: Sabina, OH
i may be wrong but i thought wheel hop occurred when you are in 4-hi/lo on a hard surface (i.e. pavement) and attempted to turn, which is bad and hard on things. On an offroad surface in 4-hi/lo the wheels are able to slip on the loose surface material thus eliminating the issue. My two cents is that the OP needs to turn off the ESP (not sure if its still called ESP in the 2013 models, may be the traction control you guys are speaking of) when in 4-hi, especially on sand. What happens if you don't turn this off when in sand in 4-hi is that the wheels are all spinning at different rates which the ESP interprets as a adverse situation, which triggers the computer to apply the ESP program to the wheels, selectively activating ABS etc. until the 'situation' corrects itself. When this happens, especially in sand the jeep can seem like it's bogging down and jumping all over the place and the next thing you know you are halfway to being stuck in the sand especially if it's soft and trying to figure out why. this is what i think you experienced.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
No matter what you call it your points are all valid
JK Super Freak
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,702
Likes: 0
From: north tonawanda new york
i may be wrong but i thought wheel hop occurred when you are in 4-hi/lo on a hard surface (i.e. pavement) and attempted to turn, which is bad and hard on things. On an offroad surface in 4-hi/lo the wheels are able to slip on the loose surface material thus eliminating the issue. My two cents is that the OP needs to turn off the ESP (not sure if its still called ESP in the 2013 models, may be the traction control you guys are speaking of) when in 4-hi, especially on sand. What happens if you don't turn this off when in sand in 4-hi is that the wheels are all spinning at different rates which the ESP interprets as a adverse situation, which triggers the computer to apply the ESP program to the wheels, selectively activating ABS etc. until the 'situation' corrects itself. When this happens, especially in sand the jeep can seem like it's bogging down and jumping all over the place and the next thing you know you are halfway to being stuck in the sand especially if it's soft and trying to figure out why. this is what i think you experienced.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 466
Likes: 0
From: Burbs of Chicago
i may be wrong but i thought wheel hop occurred when you are in 4-hi/lo on a hard surface (i.e. pavement) and attempted to turn, which is bad and hard on things. On an offroad surface in 4-hi/lo the wheels are able to slip on the loose surface material thus eliminating the issue. My two cents is that the OP needs to turn off the ESP (not sure if its still called ESP in the 2013 models, may be the traction control you guys are speaking of) when in 4-hi, especially on sand. What happens if you don't turn this off when in sand in 4-hi is that the wheels are all spinning at different rates which the ESP interprets as a adverse situation, which triggers the computer to apply the ESP program to the wheels, selectively activating ABS etc. until the 'situation' corrects itself. When this happens, especially in sand the jeep can seem like it's bogging down and jumping all over the place and the next thing you know you are halfway to being stuck in the sand especially if it's soft and trying to figure out why. this is what i think you experienced.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
FYI: In 4-hi you have the option of leaving ESP full-on, partially-on or full-off, which is best for sand. In two wheel you have the option of full-on or partially-on. In 4-lo the system is automatically switched to full-off. oh, and definitely air down when on sand.
You are talking about wheel-skip which is caused by drive-line bind when turning on high traction surfaces. Wheel-hop is caused by suspension bounce when traction is varied. (Usually initiated by a bounce or poor tire balance and a bunch of wheel speed.) This can also be seen at a local drag strip where someone tries to do a burn-out with a IRS car or truck.
No matter what you call it your points are all valid
No matter what you call it your points are all valid
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 378
Likes: 0
From: Williamsburg, VA
if you press the ESP button once it turns it partially off, if you hold down the button for like five seconds or so then the ESP icon in your dash will flash, i believe, and that indicates that it is in full-off mode, in either case a single button press will turn it back to full-on. oh and it automatically reverts to full on everytime you turn off the jeep, so if you stop on the trail and turn your vehicle off then you need to remember to turn the ESP off again once you get back under way.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,702
Likes: 0
From: north tonawanda new york
if you press the ESP button once it turns it partially off, if you hold down the button for like five seconds or so then the ESP icon in your dash will flash, i believe, and that indicates that it is in full-off mode, in either case a single button press will turn it back to full-on. oh and it automatically reverts to full on everytime you turn off the jeep, so if you stop on the trail and turn your vehicle off then you need to remember to turn the ESP off again once you get back under way.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
From: Tampa, FL
thanks everyone for your help. I was gonna do the sequence commands on this site that shuts the ESP down permanantly. I did not know about holding the ESP button for 5-seconds to shut it down. I was just pushing it once and thinking that it was a POS. 
ops willing to share your knowledge. again many thanks heading to trail this weekend and anxious to try out my new ESP disables jk.
ops willing to share your knowledge. again many thanks heading to trail this weekend and anxious to try out my new ESP disables jk.