My 2021 Jeep Compass diesel MT: Service, workshop experience & costs

In addition to the scheduled services, I had to go to the Jeep workshop thrice for minor accidents.

BHPian ArjunKrish recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone,

I wanted to post a quick update on the ownership experience of my Jeep Compass Diesel 4×2 MT purchased in Oct 2021. I had not written about the service experience in my previous posts and so I have added a few pictures of the bills of the three services that I have done so far.

I have also written about a few unfortunate incidents that had occurred previously.

My Jeep Compass Diesel 4×2 MT Longitude is close to 30000 kms now and the first service was done in Mar 2022 at around 5000 kms. The second was done in Aug 2022 at 14000 kms and the third one was in July 2023 at 28000 kms.

In addition to the scheduled services, I had to go to the Jeep workshop thrice for minor accidents. The first accident was in Apr 2022 where a pebble that had come from a truck at the front had made a small crack on the windshield. It was quite small, and I realized that there was a crack only when I was cleaning the windshield during a driving break. Anyways, the insurance claim and repair did go fine, and I got the car in a week’s time.

The second accident happened in Jul 2022. It were some stupid bikers (college students) who were zipping closely past heavy traffic. They were going so fast and so close and one of them lost control and banged on the front left fender and the alloy wheel. The fender was dented, and the alloy had a deep scratch. Luckily the people on the motorcycle did not get hurt. The repair took almost 10 days. Had to wait for the arrival of parts, especially the alloy wheel. Everything was done clean and neat.

The third accident was a nasty one. I was driving back home at night when a dog suddenly came out of nowhere. Just then a lorry had passed me from the opposite direction. The lorry driver didn’t care to switch to low beam even after I flashed the lights and while my eyes took a second or two to being able to see in the dark, this dog had come right in the middle of the road. I couldn’t veer off to either side fearing deep pits at the left and oncoming traffic at the right. The car rammed on to the dog and I could feel it getting under the front left wheel. I was shocked and startled and pulled over to the left to check what had happened. It was dark and I couldn’t find any signs of the dog. I went on to check the front part and to my shock and grief the front left part of the bumper was damaged along with the left fog light and intercooler. I had not turned off the car and I called up a contact at SRT Jeep, Coimbatore to explain the situation and told him that I felt a loss of power. I asked him if it was fine to drive home which was just 5 kms away. He asked me to proceed home and call the RSA. The next morning, the flat-bed tow truck arrived and with a heavy heart, sent the car for another repair. The arrival of parts took a long time. The Intercooler and Radiator were replaced. The Condenser was checked for leaks and seemed to be fine. It took 3 weeks for the car to be repaired and delivered at home. I feel this is a long time considering that the bumpers are something that are prone to damage in the case of an accident, and they should be made available sooner for faster repairs.

Except for the third service, every other service and repair were done at SRT Jeep, Coimbatore. The third service was done at the Jeep dealership, Tru Sai Motors, Salem because SRT Jeep had closed due to some rumored financial issues and that Jeep did not renew their contract with them.

The pictures of the service invoices are for your reference:

I would also like to add on a few more points about some aspects of the Jeep Compass, some of them on which I have seen people complain about.

Air Conditioning: The AC seems to be perfectly fine. I usually set it at 20’C which is perfect for most part of the daytime. During peak summer months, it requires to be set at 19 or 19.5’C for a while and once the cabin cools down, 20’C is good. On not so hot days and during evening or night, 20.5’C to 21.5’C is good. My car does not have a panoramic sunroof and that itself must be helping with not letting too much heat from above while the car is moving.

Cabin space: Most of the time the car has either one or two people and even when there were 4 people, I didn’t hear any complaints from the rear passengers for shortage of legroom or headroom. In my opinion, the rear seat is pretty good in terms of space. I fail to understand why people find it to be cramped.

Fuel Efficiency: I usually get between 12 to 13 kmpl in the combined driving cycle. High speed driving on a highway or some spirited driving in the mountains sees the figure drop to 11 or 11.5 kmpl. A relaxed drive on the highway or country roads sees the figure go up to 15-16 kmpl. I have also got up to 19kmpl on some occasions, but I mostly drive the car to enjoy driving it and I am not a sedate driver who bothers a lot about fuel efficiency.

Ride and Handling (My favorite part): Some things I say now would be contradictory to what I had said about the Compass’s handling in my previous post. As I drive this car more and more, my perceptions and my understanding of how it handles have changed. The Compass has great levels of grip and I have pushed it hard in corners. The only thing to be aware of while going hard in the corners is that you have to be careful with how much you press the accelerator. If the accelerator is pressed a bit too hard, the front tires squeal because of all that torque going to the front wheels which are already at the limit of their grip. The steering could have had a bit more feel, but this is how Electric Power Steering are. The Hydraulic and Electro-Hydraulic ones were soooo good. Sad that we can’t have them anymore. I agree that there is a fair bit of body roll because of the high stance and high ground clearance, but the Compass sticks to the line very well. The Jeep Compass handles extremely well for a high riding crossover.
The ride is a bit firm with the tall tire sidewalls on the 17 inch wheels smoothening out some of the harsh edges. The ride has never been uncomfortable or bone-jarring.

I want to add in some comparisons with the BMW X1 which I got to drive recently. One of my cousins has a 2019 BMW X1 xDrive 20d (2-liter diesel with 400NM of torque) and we took it on some country roads which had a few corners. We went fast. very fast. And no, we did not cause trouble to other road users by driving like that. Later, I also took my Compass on the same road and drove it the same way to find the differences in the way the X1 and Compass handled. The X1 has a light steering too. I felt it to be lighter than the Compass at high speeds, but it was accurate and direct, and the car handled very well, maintained its line perfectly. The car held its line when going fast into corners and when floored in mid corner it accelerated fast without any drama. Thanks to the all-wheel drive. Body roll was very minimal. I was driving it in manual mode and the engine was in sport mode. The gear shifts were so smooth. I did not even feel the torque converter changing gears when I pressed the paddle shifters. The BMW X1 put a wide grin on my face.

Now coming to the Compass… Whatever I am about to say here are my honest observations and not saying this just because I have a Compass.

The Compass’s handling is right up there with the X1. The steering is slightly heftier than the X1 at high speeds and lighter than the X1 at lower speeds. I felt as confident in the Jeep Compass as I felt in the BMW X1, in going fast on narrow country roads and while turning in to corners. It held its line very well and when throttled carefully, exited corners without any drama. Except for the slightly higher body roll (probably because of the higher ground clearance), the Compass handled similar to the X1, and I was grinning wide again. And the thought that flashed in my mind during this time was “Why would people spend upwards of 60 lakhs for a BMW or any similar car when cars half their price drive almost identical?” Maybe it is just the aspiration to own a car of a particular brand.

Comments, thoughts, insights are welcome.

Cheers,

Arjun

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