[Hayek]

Congratulations on a fantastic purchase. Amazed you got a ₹3.2 l discount - that is almost as much as I got on my Tiguan Allspace which was more than 1 year old when I bought it (albeit not used). Presume there are no discounts on the Kodiaq and the Tiguan right now which makes the price difference larger. And from Axe77’s off-roading experience, I suspect the Jeep is a lot better suited to these trails than the Skoda or the VW.

For me, the only flaw with the Jeep Meridian is the absence of a Petrol option. For anyone with predominantly urban usage, the risk of DPF issues is too much to bear. And for folks like you in NCR, the restrictions on diesel engines even beyond the 10 year maximum life make things worse. Best wishes and do keep this thread updated

[shashankjain16]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

This option allows you to set a speed warning at any speed of your own choice.

Thank you so much! I was scratching my head around it!

Originally Posted by Eco_boost

Congratulations on both the car and your cute daughter

Thank you!

Originally Posted by bullitt1

Congrats on getting the Meridian. Grey and black combo looks terrific. As previous owner of Duster 85 and currently Compass 2D MT, i can relate to your comparison. Wish you many happy miles ahead and please do keep sharing your experience.

Thank you! Yes, I will try my best to keep this thread updated.

Originally Posted by Pkumarblore

I have to replace my Alturas G4. Will be more than happy to see an alternative to the Fortuner. Please keep the thread updated with long term ownership experience.

Thank you! Yes, I will try to keep the thread up to date. Alturas G4 is also a very good vehicle. If Mahidra had been serious about it, I might have considered it as well!

Originally Posted by Blue Vitriol

THIS! I've been telling everyone that every product: be it a vehicle or a smartphone can never be perfect, however depending on the use case, they can almost hit it out of the park when chosen correctly as per the requirement.

Yes, there is no perfect vehicle! Its all about compromises you want to make. Thank you.

Originally Posted by streetfighter

Great to see you considered the C5 Aircross too and then made your decision.

We had almost finalised C5 Aircross, and your ownership experiences on the review thread had helped my a lot. If only they had chosen the conventional read seat.

Originally Posted by car-o-holic

The wireless charger in the Meridian does not charge my iPhone 14 Pro max; this isn't an issue in my Seltos though! Wonder why and if there is a workaround that!

Congratulations on your Meridian too! By any chance you are using a very thick cover iPhone? Or have some access card sticking at it's back. That can hinder charging. It was the case with my, removing the card, the phone charges. Although charging speed is slow, not enough to keep up with the battery drain due to wirelss android auto. For long trips I will probably use wired android auto.

Originally Posted by Baddychat

What OEM tyres did your Meridian come with.

Thank you so much! I think Meridian comes with Bridgestone Duler H/T tyres.

Originally Posted by achyutaghosh

Congratulations, Shashank! Big fan of your Youtube channel- BornIdiots. Hope to see you travelling and vlogging soon with the Meridian

Thank you so much! I didn't know there were followers of my channel on this forum Glad to know!

Originally Posted by yashg

Congratulations and welcome to Jeep Life O|||||||O

As a new Compass owner I know you always feel anxious while buying a Jeep, but the moment you drive it, and the kind of joy and elation it brings you, everything else is forgotten. Wish you a trouble-free ownership and many a miles with the grey beast.

So true! Thank you!

Originally Posted by VinsWagen

I just hope that Jeep will improve its QC process and ensure reliability for the buyers. Their cars are real standout ones otherwise - There's nothing like them in India.

Yes, I too hope Jeep can just improve QC and customer support. They are ruining their otherwise brilliant products!

Originally Posted by Hayek

Congratulations on a fantastic purchase. Amazed you got a ₹3.2 l discount - that is almost as much as I got on my Tiguan Allspace which was more than 1 year old when I bought it (albeit not used). ...
For me, the only flaw with the Jeep Meridian is the absence of a Petrol option. For anyone with predominantly urban usage, the risk of DPF issues is too much to bear. And for folks like you in NCR, the restrictions on diesel engines even beyond the 10 year maximum life make things worse. Best wishes and do keep this thread updated

Thank you so much! Yeah, the discount has very lucritive. About the diesel vehicle life in NCR, I don't plan to settle in NCR region so that restriction was not under my consideration. I probably move to the mountains or Pune. Also, I think in NCR region there are many expressways where you can gain enough speed for enough time to not cause DPF issues. I do a lot of highway runs so, that shouldn't be a concern anyway. I am although concerned about DPF clogging in the mountains, lets see what happens.

[car-o-holic]

Originally Posted by shashankjain16

Congratulations on your Meridian too! By any chance you are using a very thick cover iPhone? Or have some access card sticking at it's back. That can hinder charging. It was the case with my, removing the card, the phone charges. Although charging speed is slow, not enough to keep up with the battery drain due to wirelss android auto. For long trips I will probably use wired android auto.

Thank you!
Regarding the iPhone charging, I think it was a placement issue; it works in one particular angle! For now, it seems to be charging but as you mentioned, charging speed is poor & so I may not use it much.

[Altocumulus]

Congratulations Shashank !!

Seems like we are kind of on the same boat. I too upgraded from a 2019 Duster AWD to Jeep, albeit a Compass S 4x4 AT.

My initial choice was Trailhawk however at that very time TH production was on Hold and they were not taking any bookings for the same, hence booked a Model S. I had changed the booking to Meridian for sometime for the extra ground clearance and extra luggage space since there was significant discounts being offered. However I reverted back thinking it's just the 2 of us, no kids, no plans either. While the Meridian will be great on the highways, however ultimately the destination will be crowded city or a small town in the hills. Navigating and parking such a huge vehicle will be cumbersome.

Completely echo your review and differences with the Duster. Nowadays when I take the Duster out maybe after every 2 weeks, it feels like a toy. So light and nimble, and keeps me wondering was the Duster always this noisy and dare say slow. The Duster is ofcourse a fantastic vehicle and is a fantastic tourer and very capable. However the Jeep does take it up quite a few notches.

[shashankjain16]

2000 km Update, First long road-trip

Just came back from a 1500 km road trip to Udaipur. Meridian performed flawlessly, and the trip was amazing.

We left early morning from Gurgaon, it was dense fog all through Delhi - Jaipur highway. Meridian's lights + fog lights helped us steer through safely.



After Jaipur, roads improved and we were greeted with the empty smooth tarmac of Rajasthan - a driver's delight.



We reached in the evening around 5 PM. The onward journey of 650 km was done In 11 hours without sweat, including 45 mins lunch break and 10 mins tea break.


At a Burger King outlet for lunch. There aren't many good dhabas after Jaipur.

While in Udaipur, Google took us through some very narrow village roads, as if putting to test our car. It sailed through, of course. Also, I got the feeling that the car can take a beating. It's a luxurious car, but also not as fragile mechanically.


Google Maps was also in the mood for off-roading


Yes, this is Udaipur


Night view of Udaipur


Lake view from Zana Lake Resort



During our return journey, it was raining, and we faced heavy rains on many sections of the road. Breaking was excellent and confidence-inspiring. Never I felt the car slipping or losing grip of the road. However, Jaipur - Delhi section was absolute chaos. Very heavy traffic all through and the rains only made it worse. It took more than 5.30 hrs to cover the distance we did under 4 hours during the onward journey.

Amazingly, I was able to do the entire return journey of 13 hours with just one lunch break of around 1 hour. I was tired, but I could have done more since I had pushed myself more on my Duster (15 hrs non-stop from Manali, for example).

Also, could not believe we did a 13-hour road trip with our daughter. She was really brave and didn't throw many tantrums although my wife was pretty tired of keeping her engaged. She is getting ready for many more road trips in future.

Fuel Efficiency
Fuel efficiency on the highway was 15-16 km/l which is pretty amazing. My Duster gave around 19 km/l. With a 60 ltr, that means we can do almost 1000 km in a single tank.



Headlights
On my way from Jaipur to Delhi I found the headlights a tad too dim. Not sure if it was because of the blinding flash of headlights from the other side of the road. On a detour that google maps had taken us to skip a traffic jam, the lights seemed adequate. I think on a highway with proper barriers between both sides, lights would be adequate. Without those, they might seem inadequate. I was also observing the lights of other cars like Harrier seemed brighter.

Seats
Seats are hard, hope they get a little softer over time.

Rattling
On bad roads, there are sounds from 2nd-row side doors, sometimes squeaks, sometimes something heavy moving to-and-fro. On smooth roads, there is sometimes a minor rattle from the passenger side doors, but otherwise, the car is smooth and quiet. I am observing these, trying for concrete reproduction, so I can get them ironed out at 5000 km service.

Other Dislikes
* There must be a way to permanently disable the auto start-stop function
* Engine noise can be overwhelming when the ambience is relatively quiet (no ac, and cold winter morning)
* Overtaking is not an issue for sedate driving. But if you want to zig-zag quickly through traffic, Meridian is not for you.
* At one point the Auto IRVM stopped working, restarting the car fixed it though
* Auto vipers are not so smart, they take their time to adjust to rain intensity. Also, they might miss the water drops splashed by vehicles running on a wet road

[shashankjain16]

So after returning from my trip, the noise from passenger doors had increased significantly and had started bothering me a lot. So, I went to the Jeep service centre today. They promptly took a test drive with me and identified the issue.

The noise was coming from rubber-bordering doors rubbing against the metal. They greased it on all the doors. There was also minor rattling from passenger A-Piller. They opened and fixed some loose wiring. And voila! The car has become dead silent (for now at least)! I was back in 1.5 hr.

I was pretty satisfied with the service. And the only grudge I was having with the car is now solved! Looking forward to the next long road trip.

[shashankjain16]

4000 KM Update

I completed 4000 kms on my Meridian in just 2.5 months.

To keep it short, I am in absolute love with this car. Never have I felt such an urge to keep on driving. I thought it was initial excitement that would eventually die down. But, I think now I understand what the "driving pleasure" everyone keeps talking about. It's hard to explain in words, only can be felt.

The best thing I like about is the performance of the car on bad roads. The other day I took the car to Smabhar Lake in Rajasthan which went through some really bad patches of village roads. The car absolutely glided over them all, and no vibrations were felt inside the cabin. The gear shifts are smooth and on point, acceleration is smooth and no rattles whatsoever. I am more annoyed by rattles from luggage because the car is otherwise quiet (I can hear minor rattles from the front passenger side sometimes).





Some other observations:

* Headlights I've realised are only useful when it's absolutely dark. If there is even a little bit of light from oncoming traffic, or during dusk/dawn, then lights are of no use. For now, I am sticking to stock headlight as I don't want to introduce unnecessary issues because of upgrades, then go on bashing Jeep.

* There are many times when I go from Parked to Drive mode but Electronic Parking Brake is not disengaged. I have yet to figure out what algorithm is followed here.

* The headlight stick is a bit long and hard and it is sometimes difficult to give a dipper at night. Many times I accidentally engage turn indicators while giving the dipper.

* Auto Start/Stop is a nuance. Auto Hold is very useful.

* Cooling has been adequate till now, although it can take some time for the cabin to cool. Yet to test in peak summers when temperatures cross 45 degrees.

* Got first AdBlue refill. Got a 5 ltr bottle for Rs 600 from a local HP Pump. It gobbled up the entire bottle and still, there was around 20% space left. Not sure what is the capacity of the tank.

Also, I encountered my first ripoff - went to get side-steppers installed at the showroom. Didn't bother to ask cost first (my mistake). After installation, I was quoted 28,000 for them (including 5% discount). I was like Be careful with Mopar accessories if you are reading this. (Also bought a car cover worth 5500 from them)

[d2krish]

Originally Posted by shashankjain16

Attachment 2405857

I have made a shortcut to the 360 camera in the status bar. Gives me one-touch access to it in tight situations. I have it always on during bumper-to-bumper traffic.


Attachment 2405858

Have installed 70mai dashcam both front and back. Ordered from amazon, self-installed

First of all, congratulations for the wonderful choice and wish many memorable moments with the car.

I am using a Jeep compass model S 4x4, took delivery just 3 weeks back, still exploring the car. Unfortunately, wanted a Trailhawk, but, there was no Trailhawk available, so have to settle with the lower ground clearance, especially, the 2 flanges under the front bumper in front of the wheels.

Coming to the point, like to ask you 2 things:

1. Could you please guide me on how did you create the shortcut on status bar for the 360 degree camera? Expecting the options would more or less be similar in both the cars.

2. Could you please guide me on self installation of the back camera, mostly on how you laid out the wire? Which panels did you open? etc.
I self-installed the front dashcam but not very sure of the preferred wire layout for the rear one, hence asking.

Thanks in advance.

[shashankjain16]

Originally Posted by d2krish

1. Could you please guide me on how did you create the shortcut on status bar for the 360 degree camera? Expecting the options would more or less be similar in both the cars.

Slide down the status bar, just like you do on mobile, it will open up a list of shortcuts. There will be a surround camera shortcut, drag it and drop it on the voice command icon in the right part of the status bar. It will replace the icon and now you have the shortcut in place.

Originally Posted by d2krish

2. Could you please guide me on the self-installation of the back camera, mostly on how you laid out the wire? Which panels did you open? etc.
I self-installed the front dashcam but am not very sure of the preferred wire layout for the rear one, hence asking.

I didn't remove any panels. I just pushed the wires through the panel gaps and attachments. Just tucking the wires wherever you can see little space it can be pushed into. Follow path of A-Pillar -> door's top -> and so on.

[theunstabledesi]

Heartiest congratulations to you and your family and wishing you many more miles in your beauty. The rear end reminds me of a hearse though. But your post has seriously got me contemplating about buying a meridian 4x4.

[shashankjain16]

10,000 km Update

So, I managed to clock 10k kilometres in a matter of 5 months, a new record for my car ownership. A lot of it has to be credited to the sheer driving pleasure of this car and the comfort level it offers. I have been to Dehradun, village roads of Rajasthan, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and everywhere the car has performed flawlessly. Just last week I did 400km trips on 3 consecutive alternate days without fatigue. The only destination left is the mountains, which we are planning to visit pretty soon.

And, luckily, the car has been niggle free so far.

As I have gotten more used to the car, I have got a few more observations to share:

1. The AC is good, but you have to keep the blower at high speed to let it cool the cabin. If the car has been parked in the sun under the scorching heat of 45 degrees, it will take 20-25 mins to cool the entire cabin. But once done, it will be chill and very comfortable.

2. My average in the last few trips has been 11-12km/l. AC was running at full speed, the car was loaded with 3-4 people, there were frequent hard accelerations, and highway runs were at 120 km/hr constant speed. Above 100, the average is less. The best is between 80-100. I even got a 15.8 average in summer. So, it really depends a lot on driving conditions. Driven correctly, the car can give a really good average.



3. The glass area and visibility is worse compared to my Duster. The windows are smaller and even the windshield area is not that great. I will miss the views of the mountains a bit I think.

4. There haven't been any new rattling noises so far. In fact, some that were coming, in the beginning, have gone away. The rubber squeaking issue popped up again which I have fixed with a bit of DIY described below.

5. I have also applied these double-sided tape + transparent tape + some grease on all 4 door latches to prevent metal cracking noise on bad roads.

Fixing the Squeaking Rubber Issue

As mentioned earlier, the rubber insulations on the door are a cause of squeaks on bad roads which is very annoying in an otherwise silent car. During my 5k service, I mentioned it and they fixed it to some extent. But the issue came back again after a few days.

I wasn't in the mood of visiting SC again so, I got into fixing it myself. The fix was easy - proper lubrication.

Silicon-Based Lubricant
I ordered a spray lubricant from Amazon - https://amzn.to/42LDuhU and sprayed it on all the door seals. Car was silent again. But after a few days, the sound was back. I realised that silicon-based lubricants don't stick long. Repeated ingress/outgress wipe away the lubricant applied and noise creeps back in.


Applying Silicon Spray

White Lithium Grease
Next, I tried White Lithium Grease - https://amzn.to/3Jmn4FP. I applied it again on all doors. This time, it stuck, in fact, a bit too much, so it jammed the doors a little and force had to be applied to open them. I removed a lot of it by scraping rubber with a wooden spoon. After a few ingress/outguesses the door opened as before and the grease stuck well. It has been 5000 km since, and the noise hasn't crept in.

Few things to keep in mind before you try this solution:

1. User surgical gloves (I had a few left over from the covid era) to apply grease. Otherwise, your hands will stink for days.

2. Apply a very thin layer of grease. It sticks well and extra will only cause issues in the door opening.

3. Some of the grease will stick to the metal part of the doors. Don't worry, and don't wipe it.

4. I read online that White Lithium grease reduces the life of rubber and plastic parts. I still went for it as the rubber seals are inexpensive and I can get them replaced without a major cost.

There was one more source of squeaks in one of the outer panels of the doors, which I fixed using silicon spray.


The outer panel which was causing noise.

5000 km Service
My first service was done in April's first week. It was mostly general checkups, lubrication and wheel alignment/balancing. I opted for WA/WB as the car wasn't dead straight on highways. The total was around Rs 2800.

During the feedback call, I said that the cleaning could have been better. It was casual feedback, but they took it pretty seriously. I receive multiple calls about complaints and the service head offered free cleaning at the time of my convenience as a compliment. It was a nice gesture.

DEF Refill
Hearing horror stories of non-recommended DEF causing issues, I have decided to get DEF refilled from SC only. A few days ago I got it refilled after almost 4500 km. The tank gobbled up 10 litres of it. It cost around Rs 1100.

PS. I don't have many pics of the car right now, but soon there is going to be a trip to the mountains, where hoping to capture a lot of pics with the beast in it's natural habitat.

[cooldip]

How's the Meridian driving? The thread has been quiet for a while now