2016 Jeep Cherokee Driver assistance Problems

I was stopped at a traffic light and when it tire we green I was unable to drive as the emergency brake was holding the vehicle. I was unable to release it. Car would not go forward or backwards. Finally was able to drive after disconnecting battery for a few minutes. Drive directly to repair station. They changed the e brake switch, and the motor on one side of rear brake and the caliper also. Was working for less than one day and I am still experiencing the problem. The service brake light is still on dashboard.

NHTSA ID

11722400

Incident

Mar 1, 2026

I was going home, speed limit 55 mph, so thats what I was doing. A suv entering a intersection ahead of me, ( i dont have a stop or yield sign, but they do) the suv never stops, rolling into the intersection, as im entering the intersection at 55 mph. I tried avoidance at last second to no avail. My front drivers corner smashed the middle, passenger side of the other suv. My Jeep continues to the right, uncontrollable, stops in someone's front yard, engine still running. The other car swerved to the left, still on the road, rolling on its side. My airbags never deployed, i didnt even get any lights on the dash, i had to shut the engine off. Not one airbag deployed, and nothing even recognized there was something wrong. This car is supposed to have all options for airbags, yet a collision at highway speed, with post wreck travel of less than 50 feet, and not one single air bag deployed. I very literally could have died right there. I honestly dont know how i didn't.

NHTSA ID

11718675

Incident

Oct 1, 2025

The PTU was bad and was replaced by the dealership under Chrysler extended warranty. The dealership then said the transfer case module and motor needed to be replaced and while at the dealership replacing those components they informed me that the rear differential axle is bad resulting from the bad PTU

NHTSA ID

11712655

Incident

Jan 22, 2026

Vibrating issue and missing fire originating from engine. Intake camshaft broken and left cylinder head is damaged and needs replacement. This should not be happening to this car. Cannot drive a faster rate either. There should be a claim out for all these issues.

NHTSA ID

11687366

Incident

Sep 5, 2025

vehicle losing power even when on. Does not accelerate in drive or reverse. My issue is the dealer found corroded wires, but when did they not say that the last time it was in which was 3 months ago. They also all of sudden tell me my battery does not fit my Jeep so they needed to replace to new battery in order to be able s add mf diagnose. All this makes no sense.

NHTSA ID

11663789

Incident

May 29, 2025

The car is not shifting properly and will "jump" or "lunge" forward while driving. I have noticed that the RPM's will jump and bounce around, seemingly down shifting, then shift again, and then down shift again, which causes jerking motion.

NHTSA ID

11660971

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

I was driving my car and the parking brake went on at a stop light and wouldn’t unstick. Water has been leaking in to the car and it isn’t properly sealed.

NHTSA ID

11649169

Incident

Mar 19, 2025

While driving doe the highway the Dashboard lights go out and headlights turn off. Headlights and bulbs go out frequently. Rear license plate lights go out even after bulb replacement. Kicks cruise off while driving and shift gear control warning.

NHTSA ID

11635822

Incident

Dec 1, 2024

PTU problems. Grinding noise from rear when turning slow and accelerating. Remove fuse for ptu and noise goes away. Put fuse back in it is back. Vehicle moves a lot when put in park and sometimes when using remote start you can see the vehicle jump forward a couple feet. My vehicle has all symptoms from recalls NHTSA 20V-343, NHTSA 20E-037, NHTSA 23V-302. But my PTU part number of:68283349AA is not included in any recall. This needs to be looked at further and extend the recalls to all PTU’s on the Jeep Cherokees 2014-2017. Chrysler knows these are bad

NHTSA ID

11625110

Incident

Sep 1, 2024

The vehicle cut off on me while the vehicle was in drive and I was driving on the highway going 70mph. It has done this several times now. The car cuts off. The vehicle looses power.

NHTSA ID

11593201

Incident

May 9, 2024

Cruise control would not disengage. Instead it accelerated me to 85 mph is rush hour traffic. The car continued to accelerate will out responding to any commands to turn off cruise control. Second time this has happened. It was supposed to be fixed by doing an update to the car. This did not work. The second time I attempted to use cruise control after having had the long block engine replaced due to the oil consumption law suit, the car once again had the same problem with now slowing down. I tried putting the car into neutral and pressing the break. The car was accelerating so fast. The brakes had no effect without causing me to lose control. I was forced to put the car into a ditch at 75 mph. Rather than to rear end the dead stopped 3 lanes of traffic ahead of me and being pinned in by the traffic behind me. Car flipped I now have brain damage and failing kidneys due to blood transfusions

NHTSA ID

11587572

Incident

Feb 4, 2024

4 wd service light comes on randomly, started the middle of February. It took a couple of weeks to get an appointment with the dealership. Twice in the past 2 weeks the car has slowed down, lost power in traffic to where I had to pull over and let the car go at a low speed until it would go at normal speed again. There is an active recall for the part needing to be replaced with the same year model however this VIN isn't listed in the recall.

NHTSA ID

11580067

Incident

Mar 25, 2024

My parking brake suddenly turned on and my jeeps information center on the dash informed me to stop and shift to park. The light on the switch for the emergency brake flashes as well as the red light on the shifter and the vehicle would not shift anymore nor would the epb turn off . I had to disconnect my battery for about 30 minutes before it allowed me to disengage the parking brake and start to drive again. It happened again once or twice before it completely just stopped engaging even when I tried to engage it. Car states when attempting to engage the parking brake that the parking brake needs to be maintained the light on the switch flashes and a warning light stays on now. The odometer started flashing a day or so after the initial issue began. Now I am unable to use my parking break at all, the warning light and message to get parking brake serviced show constantly as well and the odometer continues to flash.

NHTSA ID

11561671

Incident

Aug 10, 2023

My emergency brake is automatically engaging randomly. I was at a red light and it engaged and my vehicle would not move while in Drive. I had to shift to park and back to drive in the middle of traffic.

NHTSA ID

11551346

Incident

Oct 23, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH with the cruise control activated, the cruise control system failed to maintain the set speed. The contact stated that the speed fluctuated up and down erratically. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,500.

NHTSA ID

11548004

Incident

Sep 24, 2023

Mileage

40,500 mi

Emergency brake will not disengage and is effecting braking and driving. It has been inspected but 2 different mechanics who have been unable to resolve issue. This has ruined my brakes and has made the vehicle difficult to drive.

NHTSA ID

11546156

Incident

Aug 22, 2023

the parking brake has engaged several times at low speeds in parking lots, comes on when turn the vehicle on, and when placed into park. not sure if it will do it during high speeds, at the shop now. it happened during the Power Transfer Unit failed and should be looked at as a part affected by that. We had no issues until the PTU failed, and the parking brake started coming on when we put the vehicle into park, then would do it, the last time, the parking brake must have been instructed by the ptu to engage while the vehicle was in motion or shorted from a electrical surge from the ptu. the dealer doesn't think they are related, but i disagree. the service transmission, service 4wd, system unavailable, check engine light, abs, traction control, brake light, all came on and the parking brake engaged while pulling out into traffic, i got it to the next drive while dragging the rear tires, i was going about 20-25 mph.

NHTSA ID

11545738

Incident

Aug 13, 2023

I purchased my car brand new in 2016. I did not drive the vehicle often since working in NYC and parking was impossible. Then we had the Pandemic in 2020-current and I have been working from home for the last 2 years and 8 months. The car had been in an indoor garage and occasionally I would take the car for a ride and then the car wash. I took very good care of the vehicle. On September 11, 2023, I had to meet a client in White Plains, NY and decided to drive. When I got to White Plains, NY I entered the garage and parked the car. Immediately, the brake light came on with two yellow lights. Then I was unable to reverse the car and/or go forward. Since I was already in a parking spot, I left the car in it's position and thought that I would take care of it when I return. When I returned the Emergency Brake Light was blinking and I was unable to move forward and/or backwards. The brakes were engaged so I kept pressing the Emergency Brake hoping that the brakes would disengage. After about 45 minutes turning the car on then off and pressing the Emergency Brake the brakes disengaged and I was able to move the car. The next day I mentioned the problem to my Dad (who is a mechanic and engineer) and he came to my house to inspect the car. When he opened the back compartment of the vehicle it was filled with water. My Dad tested the brakes and again the brakes were engaged and the vehicle would not go forward and/or in the reverse. The brakes would not disengage. My Dad had to tow the car to a Mechanic Shop to have them remove all the parts in the back. The Mechanics inspected the vehicle and found water leak on rear trunk of car which affected the E-brake module. Disassembly in the rear of the car was performed in order to dry the water which they say entered through sunroof of vehicle. This has been a mind blowing experience and the worse part is that the Manufacturer (FCA) states they cannot help me. This is really evil and wicked with Jeep Cherokee.

NHTSA ID

11544925

Incident

Sep 16, 2023

The car has been stalling when the fuel level reaches the half point for over a year now. Now it is stalling at any time regardless of the fuel line level. Recalls completed and up to date. Informed it was a software issue. Car still performing the same after recall.

NHTSA ID

11543773

Incident

Jan 28, 2022

Since inception of purchasing the vehicle in January 2019, I have experienced a sudden jolt, banging sound/feeling. In the beginning the issue was subtle. In addition, I have felt a sudden loss of speed. It should be noted I did not seek any service at this time. As a side note, sometime in 2020/2021 i received a letter of a recall for fault PTU however this was for another jeep i owned no longer in my possession. This prompted me to call mopar to see if my current vin was possibly on that first recall of jeeps however i was advised it was not even though i had experienced the same issues described. Fast forward to as of recently august 2023, I received a recall letter with this current vin and proceeded to the nearest dealership for repair. I was advised the repair was a software update. As I was leaving the dealership after the update, I felt the loss of power, jolt and grinding when turning to backup with the service 4wd illuminated. I reparked and walked back inside the dealership when I was advised the repair was only a software update. In addition, I was advised a diagnostic test could be done for $175. I was advised to wait a couple of key cycles to see if the issues corrects itself. The software update has since not corrected itself and I feel as though I am at risk of an accident. This issue is getting worse with my vehicle and is a safety concern. I feel as though I am being penalized for faulty PTU which is on the manufacturer for costs to assure correction/repairs made. Thank you your time in reading this.

NHTSA ID

11536488

Incident

Aug 4, 2023

Ptu fail the second day of purchasing my car on my birthday with my 2 daughters was in the car with me a 1 year old and 2 year old the car made a big boom and stop it put it self in park. I took the car to a shop yes it was confirmed the ptu yes I took it to Jeep no they appeared after that happen

NHTSA ID

11535705

Incident

Mar 29, 2023

My 2016 Jeep Cheroke with 75,000 miles started to show a yellow 4WD service light. It would come on and off. I brought it to a Jeep service repair center, where it currently sits, and they confirmed the PTU is NO good. Needs to be replaced at a cost of over $3,000. And to make matters worse, I was advised not to drive the Jeep because it is a safety issue! Also, there is a recall out for "certain" Jeep Cherokees, not mine, with the same exact issue! My Jeep Cherokee was manufactured during the time of the recalled Cherokees but it isn't part of this recall at this point?! I do not have $3,000 to repair a failed PTU which is part of a recall but not my jeep "yet," but if I am driving the Jeep and the PTU totally fails, the Jeep will lose power to the wheels and it can cause an accident. Jeep knows this PTU is an issue but won't help. This is a safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11534369

Incident

Jun 9, 2023

I was sitting in park waiting to pump gas and when it was my time to pull forward, I shifted into drive and when I pushed the gas pedal my emergency break was on without me turning it on. About 30 minutes later this happened again. I turned off the vehicle and turned it back on and when I did, the emergency break came on. I am concerned that the emergency break will engage again when put into drive without me knowing.

NHTSA ID

11531216

Incident

Jul 9, 2023

Driving down the road the emergency brake engaged and the car stopped. If there had been a car behind me, this would have created an accident, especially if I had been on the highway. I have read that others have had this problem and there is class action suit.

NHTSA ID

11530376

Incident

Jul 4, 2023

I just bought my vehicle and I looked it’s been driving funny I took it to the shop they said I need my ptu fixed when I looked it up there is a recall but I don’t understand why my car not involved in the recall when it’s majority jeeps problem right now

NHTSA ID

11529842

Incident

May 30, 2023