Thanks. Being able to turn off ESS I'm aware of. Are you saying you can disable eTorque as well? I'm still trying to learn about it, and I learned that I don't want it lol. I can live with it if I'm forced to I guess, knowing it can be shut off would make me feel better. OTOH my 2016 Rubicon has been great, and is still in mint condition so I can certainly hold off.
The E-torque only works when the ESS is on. It actually gets you moving while restarting the engine for a brief second, providing 90 ft. lbs of torque. Once the engine fires and takes over, it stops providing the torque. When the engine is running and you are just driving, it works as a generator and recharges the battery. It was origninally called a "belt start generator." Etorque became the marketing name. So again, it only works on the restarts.
Interestingly, the first cold start uses a normal starter and the regular engine battery. The E-torque has its own larger battery for the stop/start function, which takes over once the engine is warmed up.
So yeah, when the ESS is disabled, the Etorque does nothing more than act as a generator/alternator.
It is too bad that it likely causes accelerated bearing wear because this system works absolutely seemlessly and VERY well. It's a wonderful piece of engineering. In fact, it made Ward's 10 best engines in the world list when it was introduced.
Oil_Udder did say they used an advanced coating in the engine to mitigate ESS wear. I would assume that coating is on the bearings as well as pistons and possibly other parts. He told me awhile back that he's not sure how well it works and then later told me that ESS causes pretty bad bearing wear. But the guys on the Jeep forum are telling me they know of Rams with the Etorque V6 that are pushing well past 150k and going strong. Time will tell, but for now we're disabling ours with the Tazer.
The good news is that if you don't want that system you can get a Gladiator. It has the standard ESS without Etorque. The other option is a Wrangler with a manual transmission. I also believe the 2.0 engine no longer has Etorque but just standard ESS. The 2.0 is turning out to be a very good and reliable powerplant. I don't see any pattern of issues on the Jeep forum. They love their 2.0 turbos.
I will also note that the original 2.0 turbos with e-torque seem to be doing just fine after 3 years on the road. I've not heard of one complaint about any kind of issue with it on the Jeep forums. The owners appear very happy with them. I think in 2020 or 2021 they went to the 2.0 without e-torque. Not sure why. Maybe to push folks to the V6?
But our 3.6 Etorque is doing just fine with it disabled. I don't love carrying the big battery around underneath, but don't really think about it. The Jeep performs great.