[Adventurer55]

Interesting. 0W20...

Yes and the service guy at the dealership wasn't aware of that either. It states it plainly in the owners manual 0w20 for the 3.6. I'm going to use Pennzoil full synthetic. It is one of the highest rated synthetics. I'll follow the guidelines to the letter, because I'm not real trustworthy of the former FCA, who's still clearly in charge here until they aren't.

 

[YBNormyl]

I have 3 Wranglers 2015, 2015, 2016, and run full synthetic. Once in a blue moon I may hear a little ticking that doesn't usually last long. A friend of mine is a mechanic with his own shop and he said what he noticed was in the earlier 3.6 years there was more of a problem. If there was a class action for rads then I would join.

 

[James A]

I have this issue in my charger and whenever a Pentastar powered Mopar drives past me I listen for the tick and I have heard many with it as well.

 

[hmk123]

It feels like we live in an age of lost perspective. From what I had read the 2.7L V6 had design flaws that were widespread enough where the OEM needed to take responsibility (please correct me if I am mistaken here). On the other hand, if we all "demand" perfection for everything we not only have unreasonable expectations it starts becoming inhumane IMHO.

 

[Fast Eddie]

FAKE NEWS !!!!!

 

[fleetguy]

2012 Charger 3.6 105,200 miles, don,t want to get in a oil debate here but i use quaker state 5w-30 dino. No issues quiet as the day we bought it. Why this oil? Simple, its the cheapest oil in this area other than no name oils and meets Chrysler spec MS 6395. Again not trying to start an oil debate and having worked on motors as a career for 1/2 my life before i wised up i saw no failures that could be linked to a particular oil brand. In the late 1970,s if i recall correctly there was a problem with some of the 10-40 oils but i personally never saw it. I was in the industry before all the zinc was reduced- removed from oil and i understand that has caused issues in some engines. FWIW most of the engine failures we saw were from lack of oil, air filtration systems comprimised or altered, oil contamination (gas dilution) and engine overspeed.

 

[CherokeeVision]

I'm not so sure it isn't an issue. Doesn't take much looking at find new internet posts each week (with pictures) of ruined cams on both the the Hemi and Pentastar. Is it a massive issue? Probably not. But is it bad enough to generate lots of negative PR and have buyers quit Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram? Yes.

 

[Skinpine]

My experience:

My daughter's 2015 Charger SXT required follower replacement at 55,000. Purchased as certified used, it was covered by warranty with no questions asked. Believe me, it was more that a tick at warm up. Neither her or I have any idea what they replaced. She just took it to the dealer and picked it up when it was fixed. She has owned the car for 6 years. Only other repair has been a center bearing for the driveshaft, also covered by warranty.

My wife and I have a 2012 Grand Cherokee 3.6. Head was replaced at 83,000, now has 125,000 mi. Took it to the dealer at 8:00 am, they called at 10:00 am or so and said it needed a new head and I picked it up the next day around noon. No charge. The only other repairs required so far has been a collision sensor of some sort, a thermostat due to slow warm up and rear brake pads. I am satisfied with that.

 

[Nate_378]

My 2014 Charger has 192,000 miles and still runs like a top. No ticking, no smoking, no leaks. Ive been really happy with that 3.6 I have in it.

 

[valiant67]

I think the engine is a good design and I've had great service from them. I also think that FCA cost cutting at times hurt the reliability somewhat.
On the Gladiator forums there were a surprising number of head and engine replacements in my opinion.

 

[ImperialCrown]

The Pentastar has three-peated the Ward's list of the top 10 engines in the world:

Chrysler Group's Pentastar V-6 "Three-peats" on Ward's 10 Best Engines List

/PRNewswire/ -- Lone engine among Ward's 10 Best to be tested in a truck "Combines luxury-car-like refinement with boatload of low-end torque," says Drew...

www.prnewswire.com

This award was given almost 10 years ago. Since then, we had the PSU/PUG upgrade in 2016 (I think we got everything except the direct-injection).
For the 2023 ProMaster, they call it a 'next-generation' Pentastar. Anyone know what is different about this next-generation?

PSU (formerly PUG) — the Pentastar V6 engine upgrade

PSU (formerly PUG) - the Pentastar V6 engine upgrade The Pentastar upgrade has finally arrived, though, for the moment, only for the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We had written, "We are expecting revised heads, direct injection, and better cam phasing, possibly affecting exhaust as well as intake, or...

www.allpar.com

From the 2023 Ram ProMaster article:

I have an AWD 200S with the Pentastar/9-speed combo and am very pleased with it.
I use the Pennzoil 5W-20 synthetic and Mopar oil filters.

https://oilsadvisor.com/chrysler-ms-6395-certified-motor-oils-list/

 

[Dave Z]

(Re ImperialCrown) Interesting.

Incidentally from the 2013 Dart owner's manual:

Engine Oil Viscosity (SAE Grade) – 1.4L Turbo Engine
SAE 5W-40 synthetic engine oil is recommended for all operating temperatures. This engine oil improves low temperature starting and vehicle fuel economy. ...

Engine Oil Viscosity (SAE Grade) – 2.0L And 2.4L Engine
SAE 0W-20 API Certified engine oil is recommended for all operating temperatures. This engine oil improves low temperature starting and vehicle fuel economy. ...
If 0W-20 engine oil is not available, SAE 5W-20 API Certified may be used as a temporary suitable alternative.

They should never provide alternatives without being clear how temporary it is - have they learned nothing from the Ultradrive failures?

The Pentastar has three-peated the Ward's list of the top 10 engines in the world:

Chrysler Group's Pentastar V-6 "Three-peats" on Ward's 10 Best Engines List

/PRNewswire/ -- Lone engine among Ward's 10 Best to be tested in a truck "Combines luxury-car-like refinement with boatload of low-end torque," says Drew...

www.prnewswire.com

For the 2023 ProMaster, they call it a 'next-generation' Pentastar. Anyone know what is different about this next-generation?

PSU (formerly PUG) — the Pentastar V6 engine upgrade

PSU (formerly PUG) - the Pentastar V6 engine upgrade The Pentastar upgrade has finally arrived, though, for the moment, only for the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We had written, "We are expecting revised heads, direct injection, and better cam phasing, possibly affecting exhaust as well as intake, or...

www.allpar.com

I am completely unaware of any changes to the Pentastar for 2023 but a large number of changes had been planned for a while. I'll see if I can figure it out. Output seems unchanged. Maybe that's just carryover language from old PUG.

 

[sickboy]

Isn't synthetic the recommended oil? Can any manufacturer be held at fault when the owner isn't using the recommended oil weight & type (conventional vs synthetic)?

I know that the 1st gen Pentastars had a valvetrain issue with the rockers through (I think) 2015 or 2016, but my understanding it is it a resolved issue with newer 1st gen and all 2nd gen and 3rd gen engines

I’ve heard tales that if you blow up a GM motor, they take an engine oil sample and send it out for testing. Not a bad idea, and probably common for all manufacturers. But, the rumor part is if you used the wrong oil, or if it was Past it’s change interval or shows signs of abuse, they won’t warranty the repair. Again, just what I’ve heard…

 

[sickboy]

I'm not so sure it isn't an issue. Doesn't take much looking at find new internet posts each week (with pictures) of ruined cams on both the the Hemi and Pentastar. Is it a massive issue? Probably not. But is it bad enough to generate lots of negative PR and have buyers quit Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram? Yes.

For fun, there is a YouTube channel called “I do cars”.
he breaks down junk engines for salvage parts, and clearly has a distaste for mopars (I let it slide), but he has shown several examples of scoring on mopar cams. (as Well as dropped valve seats. It could be that the engines are junk because they are overheated or starved of oil, and that’s the result, or perhaps the parts are cheap and deteriorating across the board. Hard to tell, as people don’t usually open up good motors.
I will say, of the few mopar engines he has done on the channel, they were all droppEd valve seats (I think). Where his preferred GM designs spin bearings, grenade pistons, bend rods, and ventilate blocks.

 

[Lone Bone]

We've had 4 vehicles in in the past month with passenger intake cam shaft lobes all worn down- causing misfires looks like rocker arm design is no longer roller- and there is a Teflon part it "rolls" on...

 

[sanitarium16]

yea the pentastar went from 5w30 to 5w20 and now 0w20

 

[Cajun300C]

All of my HEMI engines didn't have that tick sound......or maybe I had the music too loud to hear it.....

 

[Doug D]

All of my HEMI engines didn't have that tick sound......or maybe I had the music too loud to hear it.....

The Hemi in my '06 Dodge Ram 1500 has been running smoothly (no ticks) for 281+K miles.

 

[jondickson]

From the owner’s manual. I normally get the oil changed at my dealer, but I was too far from home this time and got it done at a different dealer, and in the wonder and awe of a drive-in setup that seemed incredibly posh and well designed, I forgot to specify synthetic. FWIW, the noise was almost identical on our 3.5 V6 and quite similar to that on my old 318 V8...

Engine Oil Viscosity – 3.6L Engine
SAE 5W-20 engine oil is recommended for all operating temperatures. This engine oil improves low temperature starting and vehicle fuel economy.
The engine oil filler cap also shows the recommended engine oil viscosity for your engine. For information on engine oil filler cap location, refer to the
“Engine Compartment” illustration in this section.

Engine Oil Viscosity – 5.7L Engine
SAE 5W-20 engine oil is recommended for all operating temperatures. This engine oil improves low temperature starting and vehicle fuel economy.
The engine oil filler cap also shows the recommended engine oil viscosity for your engine. For information on engine oil filler cap location, refer to “Engine Compartment” in “Main- taining Your Vehicle” for further information.

2019 Grand Cherokee 3.6
The manual and oil cap both say 0-w20,,, would I be better off switching to 5w20?

 

[valiant67]

2019 Grand Cherokee 3.6
The manual and oil cap both say 0-w20,,, would I be better off switching to 5w20?

It's an old wives' tail that a thicker oil protects better, especially in a modern close tolerance engine. The thicker oil may be worse.
I'd follow the recommended viscosity for your car as it has changed over the years.