2008 Grand Cherokee 3.7L with engine code P2181

Question

2008 Grand Cherokee 3.7L the check engine light and ETC lights come on together and code P2181. What could be the problem?

Answer 1

P2181 Cooling system performance

Check the coolant level, and the operation of the cooling fan.and is the engine overheating?  It important that you check for any coolant loss . or coolant leaks a thermostat malfucntion ca cause  the engine to get hot.. When the ETC light is on it mean it detected a problem, Check the cooling system. As for the ETC  if the light is solid the vehicle is still driveable, it when it flashes it mean it needs to be towed. There is a TSB for P2181 # 18-003-12. What this does is reflash the PCM with new software.

Here is coolant leak that occured on this vehicle, To stop the leak and to save money the owner used a stop leak , and since the coolant will just leak out he decides he would just use water. This has gone on for at least 6 months. the water is now rust. According to the owner the engine never overheated, and he believed the leak stopped, But the engine did overheat and looking in the cooling system it was full of   coolant  (or water)  and  its full. This is a 3.7 Jeep. in order to proper fill the cooling system a bleeder screw had to be open which was never opened. to fill the cooling system. this made it seem as though there was no coolant leak because the tank was always full.and the radiator was full. From the thermostat on up to the radiator it is full of coolant ( or water)  but in the engine it was low to point where it overheated the engine and the fix is to do a head gasket.

Answer 2

P2181 Jeep Code - Cooling System Performance
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