2018 Jeep Cherokee Steering Problems

The steering rack failed about one week after I purchased the vehicle. The dealer replaced the steering rack once, but the same problem happened again about six months later. The vehicle has now been at the dealership for about one year waiting for another replacement steering rack. The dealer informed me the part is unavailable and must be specially manufactured. A loaner vehicle was provided while waiting. This repeated steering system failure is a serious safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11737325

Incident

Apr 1, 2024

My Jeep veers left and right sharply while I drive. It does not take off pulling into traffic-I have to wait for total total clearance-there is no take off. My gas tank was filled three days ago and it is already below 50%. I drive 7 miles to and from work Monday-Friday, nowhere else. I have avoided several accidents due to these problems. These problems happen everyday. I have take it in to my jeep Dealership-Hendricks at least four times over the years and they drive it, say they find nothing and return it to me to bring back if the problems arise again. HELP before this car kills me.

NHTSA ID

11724283

Incident

Mar 13, 2026

Regarding Recall Transport Canada Recall 2025-012, also known as Safety Recall 01C and NHTSA ID Number: 25V011000 My Jeep has the service 4WD message displayed on the dash along with the noise/vibration/grinding as described in the same recall for other Jeeps for my model year. I'm not sure if this recall needs to be expanded but I'm curious to know what the process looks like as my problem is identical to the other Jeeps effected by this recall but my Jeep isn't listed.

NHTSA ID

11689321

Incident

Nov 9, 2023

I keep getting a “service shifter” message and all gears light up red. This has now happened about 15 times. I asked a dealership about it, but they said they would have to correct all of the wiring. I saw that many other jeep cherokee owners also experience this same issue and it does not go away.

NHTSA ID

11582406

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

At exactly 37000 miles my service “shifter light” comes on every 4-5 days. I’ve noticed in the warmer months it comes on more frequently. During the cold winter it came on twice. It’s becoming warmer again and it’s popping up often. My husband has a 2017 jeep Cherokee with the same exact issue. Our dealership gave us no answer to this problem. Not sure why, i just hope this doesn’t cause a major issue or hopefully a recall soon to fix this!

NHTSA ID

11573507

Incident

Feb 28, 2023

Turn into our street, windshield whippers came on. Fuse blown, take out still stay on. Kept changing them, Fuse kept blowning. Replace mod with turn single, wheel part. Pic sent. Worked two weeks, did it again. Now they are saying it's the radio is pulling to much, relay needs to be replace the radio. Which mileage, radio, back up camera, whatever else is connected together causing the problem. This safety problem because back up could hit someone or something, whippers just coming on scared, hurting window, windshield whippers it self if dry out. This should be recall and concern. I don't understand why this not. Jow it's taken so long figure out problems at car place. They took the suv apart still cant figure problem out. Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11543975

Incident

Jul 6, 2023

This vehicle is designed to be a flat tow vehicle for a class a motorhome. No one made me aware of the death wobble and this caused an accident which could have been deadly. We did 13,000 dollars in damages to my motorhome and jeep. After hours of research i found this to be a common problem from Jeep. i contacted the local jeep service department and they were not aware of this. Come to find out there is a jeep part to correct the problem, at a cost of $286.39 and a labor charge of $460.00 to install. If jeep is aware of this problem, why are they not advising the public to not flat tow this jeep until the necessary parts are installed. There is nothing in the manuals regarding this problem!

NHTSA ID

11517448

Incident

Apr 2, 2023

1) Engine turns off while driving the vehicle and the dash tells me to shift it into park. After the car is stopped and shifted into park it makes a starting noise as if you are trying to start the vehicle as if it is flooded, but it will eventually start after approximately 30 seconds. After approximately 30 seconds the vehicle starts sometimes without even pushing the start button. 2) The vehicle dies often when turning, driving over small amounts of snow, backing up, or exerting the engine at all. It usually does not shut off while driving straight down the road without exerting any energy unless there is snow causing the engine to exert any energy. This has caused safety risks to me and others in the following manner: a) It has caused me to stall while turning onto the highway from side streets which I have narrowly avoided being t-boned and side impacted. This can cause injury or death to myself, my passengers, pedestrians, and traffic. b) It has caused my vehicle to stall while on the roadway when it exerts energy due to snow and causes me to spin the vehicle out of control in traffic which can cause injury or death to myself, my passengers, pedestrians, and traffic. c) It has cause me to stall while backing out, or pulling out of parallel parking with traffic which can cause injury or death to myself, my passengers, pedestrians, and traffic.

NHTSA ID

11498491

Incident

Oct 25, 2022

while driving about 50 mph, I suddenly lost steering and many alarm lights came on. the car was very difficult to steer and I had a difficult time to return home

NHTSA ID

11476079

Incident

Jul 13, 2022

Car shuts down after seeing "service shifter"

NHTSA ID

11442781

Incident

Nov 22, 2021

Coming to a stop at a stop sign and the dash made a ding followed by the engine light coming on, the shifter went into park on its own, the display stated “Shift to park and then select desired gear”, lights flashed on the shifter console. Unable to drive I had to restart more than once. Car barely restarted before I was able to shift again and continue home.

NHTSA ID

11441716

Incident

Nov 24, 2021

Made a right turn onto a street and heard a single ding(the same ding it makes if seatbelt is off) then the car turned off, the red battery light briefly came on and then turned off. I rolled out of traffics way onto the shoulder and placed my car in park and tried to restart it. Car would not restart initially. After 3 tries the vehicle restarted and I was able to make it back onto the road. - the engine shut off and the power steering went out. these are available for inspection upon request. -The vehicle stalled in the middle of traffic so not only my safety but the safety of other drivers was at risk as my vehicle was turning a corner and not able to accelerate as other drivers came up behind me causing them to swerve. -the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center however my wife and I have experience the same issue at two different times. -The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership where the vehicle was purchased brand new and they were not able to provide an answer to the problem. -There were no warning lamps or other symptoms prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID

11426937

Incident

Jul 29, 2021

ON MARCH 14TH WHILE SLOWING AND TURNING RIGHT ON A STATE MAINTAINED COUNTRY ROAD, THE VEHICLE ENGINE STALLED AND POWER STEERING WAS OUT WITH THE BATTERY LIGHT ON.. VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AFTER TWO ATTEMPTS AFTER PUTTING IT BACK INTO PARK. ON MARCH 16TH WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE VEHICLE STALLED AT A STOP LIGHT IN THE SAME MANNER DESCRIBED ABOVE ON US HWY 421. IT TOOK 4 ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. CURRENTLY THE DEALERSHIP CANNOT RECREATE THE STALL AND WILL BE SENDING US ON OUR WAY WITH THIS VEHICLE UNREPAIRED. MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION AND WILL POSSIBLE CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TO THE DRIVER AND OCCUPANTS.

NHTSA ID

11403842

Incident

Mar 14, 2021

Mileage

41,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ABS, CHECK ENGINE, PARKING BRAKE LIGHT UP. BRAKES START TO SHAKE LIKE IF A TIRE IS SLIPPING BUT ITS NOT. STEERING WHEEL GETS STIFF. TRANSMISSION SHIFTS VERY HARD, ALL SYMPTOMS GO AWAY IF THE CAR IS WARM SOMETIMES. ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT WHEN IT WILL START DOING ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS AT ONCE. WE HAVE NOT TAKEN THE VEHICLE UP TO HIGH SPEEDS UNTIL WE TAKE IT TO GET CHECKED OUT BY THE DEALER.

NHTSA ID

11397656

Incident

Feb 10, 2021

Mileage

32,491 mi

PURCHASED MY 2018 CHEROKEE IN FEB 2018 AND IN OCTOBER 2019 HAD VIBRATION IN STEERING WHEEL. DEALER SAID I HAD 4 WARPPED ROTORS THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT MY EXPENSE. IT SEEMED ODD AT ONLY 18 MONTHS OF NORMAL DRIVING, MOSTLY HIGHWAY.

NHTSA ID

11385969

Incident

Oct 3, 2019

Mileage

25,976 mi

THE CAR RANDOMLY SHUT OFF WHILE I WAS AT A LIGHT. IT HAS DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES AND IT IS VERY DANGEROUS. I ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED. THERE HAS BEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS. IT WAS IN MOTION ONCE AND THE WHEEL LOCKED UP. BUT IT WAS A VERY SLOW MOTION. SECOND TIME I WAS TAKING OFF FROM A STOP

NHTSA ID

11375603

Incident

Nov 16, 2020

ALL LIGHTS ON SHIFTER COME ON RANDOMLY WHEN TURNING ON VEHICLE. YOU CAN'T PUT IN DRIVE WHILE LIGHTS ARE ON. YOU HAVE TO TURN CAR ON MULTIPLE TIMES OR UNTIL LIGHTS GO OFF. ON DASH BOARD IT READS SERVICE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS

NHTSA ID

11354906

Incident

Aug 2, 2020

Mileage

36,000 mi

MY CAR LOST ALL POWER WHILE IN MOTION IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY STREET INTERSECTION WITH A SHIFTER ERROR CODE. WOULD NOW ACCELERATE, AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. TURNED OFF AND BACK ON AND DID IT INSTANTLY AGAIN. CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD IT NEEDED AN OIL CHANGE. I JUST PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE 2 MONTHS AGO. *TR

NHTSA ID

11329794

Incident

Jun 16, 2020

Mileage

19,300 mi

BOUGHT MY VEHICLE 12/21/2017. HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS EVER SINCE. TOOK MY CAR TO [XXX] IN AUSTIN WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED SEVERAL DIFFERENT TIMES. I WAS ALWAYS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. IN NOVEMBER 2019 MY CAR BROKE DOWN AND I PAID TO HAVE IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP IN SA SINCE THAT IS WHERE I WAS RELOCATED TO FOR WORK. BLAMED IT ON MY OIL WHICH I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED BY MY VEHICLE IT WAS EVEN LOW. ENGINE HAS NOT BEEN ACTING RIGHT SINCE. 5/21/2020 I WENT ON A TRIP BUT ONLY MADE IT TO WACO. VEHICLE SHUT OFF GOING 70 MPH ON THE FREEWAY AND I ALMOST GOT HIT BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT VEHICLES BECAUSE OF IT. 5/26/2020 DEALERSHIP CALLED ME TO LET ME KNOW I WAS GETTING A NEW ENGINE SINCE MINE WAS COMPROMISED BY THE OIL IT WAS CONSUMING. NOW I AM BEING TOLD THAT I HAVE TO DRIVE IT AND TEST IT BEFORE THEY WILL REPLACE IT. HAVE DONE AN INTENSIVE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH AND THIS IS A HUGE LIABILITY TO PUT MY LIFE IN DANGER FOR A TEST THEY NEED FOR THE COMPANY. CALLED THE LOCATION I PURCHASED IT AT AND SURPRISE THEY WILL NOT TAKE CARE OF IT. NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE SINCE I PURCHASED IT AND THEY HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO MAKE IT RIGHT.*DT*JB INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

11326319

Incident

May 21, 2020

Mileage

56,000 mi

DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON A MAIN STREET AT ABOUT 45 MPH THE ENGINE STALLED COMING UP TO A RED LIGHT TURNING RIGHT. AFTER SHIFTING BACK TO PARK AND STRUGGLE TO TURN OVER AND RESTART, ABLE TO GET BACK HOME WITH SAME PROBLEM OCCURRING 2 MORE TIMES. REPLICATED THE ISSUE AGAIN PARKED AT THE HOUSE WITH A VERY HARD STRUGGLE TO START. STEERING AND ENGINE POWER COMPLETELY GONE.

NHTSA ID

11309403

Incident

Feb 15, 2020

Mileage

14,250 mi

RACK AND PINION COMPLETELY BROKE WITH ONLY 37,000 MILES

NHTSA ID

11296984

Incident

Jan 3, 2020

I HAVE A 2018 JEEP CHEROKEE WITH UNDER 30,000 MILES ON IT. MY CAR'S STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION WHILE TAKING A RIGHT TURN. MY BRAKES AND STEERING WERE LOCKED, CAUSING ME TO DRIFT UP ON TO A CURB AND HIT A SIGN. NO WARNING OR INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON IN THE CAR PRIOR TO THIS. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT I AM LEASING THE CAR FROM. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS COMMON WITH JEEPS, THAT THE CAR WILL BURN THROUGH OIL VERY QUICKLY, THAT NO LOW OIL INDICATOR LIGHT WILL COME ON, AND THAT THE ENGINE WILL SHUT DOWN AS A 'SAFETY FEATURE.' I WAS TOLD THAT THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO PROTECT MYSELF BEYOND GETTING OIL CHANGES EVERY 3K MILES AND THAT IT 'SHOULD' BE FINE. AGAIN, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING THAT THE CAR WILL SHUT DOWN OR THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE PRIOR TO IT TURNING OFF WHILE IN MOTION. THE CAR SHUTTING OFF WHILE IN MOTION WAS REFERRED TO AS A SAFETY FEATURE BY THE DEALERSHIP WHO WOULD ONLY OFFER ME AN OIL CHANGE AS A FIX.

NHTSA ID

11291548

Incident

Dec 17, 2019

Mileage

24,528 mi

WE PURCHASED A USED 2018 JEEP CHEROKEE LATITUDE (LESS THAN 13,000 MILES) FROM A DEALERSHIP IN COLORADO SPRINGS ON 10/17. ON THE WAY HOME, ABOUT 100 MILES, THE STOP /START WARNING LIGHT AND BATTERY LIGHT WENT ON ABOUT 8 MILES FROM HOME GOING APPROX. 50 MPH. WE DECIDED TO GET IT HOME. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVEWAY, WE PLACED THE CAR IN REVERSE AND NOTICED THAT POWER STEERING WAS NOT WORKING. WE TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND AT RESTART, THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE RESET. WE NOTIFIED THE DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY AND THEY RECOMMENDED CHANGING OUT BATTERY. WE DROVE ABOUT 15 MILES TO AN AUTO PARTS STORE AND BOUGHT THE BEST BATTERY THEY HAD FOR THAT VEHICLE. WE DID NOT USE THE JEEP FOR THE NEXT DAY (FRIDAY). SATURDAY 10/19 WE DROVE IT DOWN TO DENVER (ABOUT 60 MILES) WITH NO PROBLEM. ON THE WAY HOME, AGAIN THE STOP /START WARNING LIGHT AND BATTERY LIGHT WENT ON GOING APPROX. 60 MPH. WE DROVE TO A PARKING LOT AND MADE A TURN INTO A PARKING SPOT. AT THAT POINT POWER STEERING WAS OPERABLE. I PLACED THE CAR IN PARK AND THEN IN REVERSE AND THEN NOTICED NO POWER STEERING, I PLACED THE CAR IN DRIVE AND AGAIN NO POWER STEERING. WE STOPPED AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE RESET. ABOUT 2 MINUTES LATER WHILE DRIVING, I NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT WARMER AND REAR DEFROST HAD BOTH BEEN SWITCHED ON AUTOMATICALLY.

NHTSA ID

11269737

Incident

Oct 17, 2019

Mileage

12,200 mi

I WAS COMPLETING A TURN WHEN THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND SHUT COMPLETELY OFF CAUSING ME TO LOOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HIT A CURB. VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO DEALERSHIP WHERE I WAS ADVISED THIS HAPPENED DUE TO A SAFETY FEATURE OF MY CAR . WHEN THE CAR IS LOW ON OIL WHEN YOU TURN IT THROWS OFF THE OIL PRESSURE SENSOR SO THE ENGINE DOESN'T BLOW UP . MY LAST OIL CHANGE WAS IN FEB MY CAR IS COMPLETELY OUT OF OIL AND NO CHECK OIL LIGHT APPEARED .

NHTSA ID

11230601

Incident

Jul 3, 2019

Mileage

22,000 mi

MY VEHICLE WS IN MOTION WHEN THE BATTERY LIGHT FLASHED ON BRIEFLY. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS MY VEHICLE LOST POWER COMPLETELY. I WAS UNABLE TO STEER, BRAKE OR ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. I USED MY EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP THE VEHICLE.*BF CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY HAVING THE ENGINE REPLACED BUT IT HAD AROUND 28,000 MILES ON IT. THE BATTERY LIGHT BRIEFLY BLINKED ON BEFORE THE VEHICLE STOPPED FUNCTIONING. THE LAST OIL CHANGE WAS ON MAY 26,2019. VIN IS INVALID.*JB

NHTSA ID

11230044

Incident

Jul 5, 2019

Mileage

28,000 mi