2020 Jeep Cherokee Problems

Fwd service light is on and my jeep keeps jerking and at times acts like it doesn’t want to go

Warning light SVC 4WD and dashboard message 4WD System Unavailable Service Required. Jeep Dealer found diagnostic code C14A7. Dealer checked Power Transfer Unit (PTU) operation and PTU fails to acuate. Needs to be replaced and part ordered. Time for repair could not be determined. I was told at least two months, possibly longer. In researching this issue I found there is a safety recall for PTU on 2020 Jeep Cherokees, but my VIN is not included in the recall. NHTSA Campaign Number 26V290000. I am concerned continuing to drive my vehicle and hopefully not experience a loss of drive power or vehicle rollaway. Also concerned about further damage to car, i.e. transmission, if I continue to drive. Dealer told me if vehicle leaks fluids, hear grinding noises, and/or it feels like gears slipping to bring vehicle back in.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact was informed that there was an oil leak underneath the vehicle. The contact was unsure if the oil was coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to the residence and parked, and the contact observed puddles of oil underneath the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer stated that the radiator, engine, turbo, thermostat, torque converter, and other unknown parts needed to be replaced, and that the engine control valve was possibly stuck, resulting in oil and coolant contamination. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle intermittently lost automotive power and there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle independently accelerated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 330,000.

Sudden total loss of power steering assist while driving over a small pothole on Pearman Dairy Road. Full details, diagnostic trouble codes (U0420-00, U0010-00, U1428-00, B2309-64), and Jeep case reference 97368807 are fully documented in the attached formal PDF letter

2020 Jeep Cherokee Limited AWD, VIN [XXX] , approx. 111,355 miles. Reporting serious safety concern: repeated/worsening electrical system failure with intermittent loss of power steering assist. For nearly a year, Auto Start/Stop warning and battery warning lights have appeared. During episodes, power steering assist can stop working, especially at complete stops, making steering extremely difficult when stopped, parking, or pulling out. Battery, alternator, battery cables/connections, and belt have been replaced, but issue continues and is worsening. Recently while driving, radio shut off, dash/instrument cluster began shutting down, blower motor cycled on/off repeatedly, and windshield wipers slowed while raining. Warnings included battery/charging, Auto Start/Stop, Service Electronic Stability Control, Service Park Brake, ABS, traction control, check engine, and Blind Spot Alerts Unavailable. Vehicle vibrated/ran rough, sounded like it might stall, then revved back up. Burning smell noted after failure and possible smoke near rear after shutdown. Vehicle was towed home due to safety risk. After tow, vehicle restarted but same warnings returned within minutes and radio/dash failures repeated. Concerned this is system-wide electrical, charging, power distribution, ground, or steering assist failure that could cause loss of steering assist, visibility systems, or safety systems while driving INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the warning message "Service Four Wheel Drive" and "Four Wheel Drive Unavailable" had displayed. Also, while operating the vehicle the parking brake had malfunctioned. The cause of the fialure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified and informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V290000(POWER TRAIN ). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 82,000.

My vehicle has been in the shop over 6 times due to the malfunctioning of the EMERGENCY BREAKING SYSTEM. Less then 2.5wks after I purchased this vehicle, I started experiencing my E brake randomly engaging while driving it down the road. I called the dealership. They suggested I bring it to a jeep dealer. I’ve brought it to a jeep dealer where it’s been several times since I purchased the vehicle to have this issue looked at, but due to the fact of no codes popping when it gets brought in there’s nothing that they can do. I reported it also with the jeep company to which my case/complaint was closed out, even though the problem has not been fixed the most severe and most scary time that my emergency brake system came on was when I was driving at 65 miles an hour at 2:30 in the morning leaving work with a semi truck behind me and my emergency brakes randomly engaged on the freeway bringing me to a dead stop. They replaced the emergency breaking module and it still does it however, now my vehicle no matter what I do every time I put the vehicle even into park, my emergency brake kicks in. I’ve also looked up online and seeing that I’m not the only one that has experienced this that several other jeep owners have also experienced this typically found from the years of 2014 to 2020 Jeep Cherokee I own a 2020 Jeep Cherokee Limited my vehicle had 30,000 or so miles on it when I purchased this car this car has been a death trap ever since. I can’t even feel comfortable putting my children, my mother or even my animals into this car let alone myself. I do fear that one day this vehicle is going to kill me because that night with that semi behind me he could’ve easily rear-ended my vehicle and I’m sure he was doing 75 miles an hour and then a vehicle not even a half a mile in front of them randomly stops without any warning how that happened my children would not have a mother.

Sudden total loss of power steering assist while driving over a small pothole on Pearman Dairy Road. Full details, diagnostic trouble codes (U0420-00, U0010-00, U1428-00, B2309-64), and Jeep case reference 97368807 are fully documented in the attached formal PDF letter

Pulling into gas station and power steering went out when pulling in, almost hit pump. Not only did it now need a new power steering rack but the clock spring had to be replaced to program it

In November 2024, while driving, my jeep began to lose power. Accelerator was not working and pulled over. It turned on but would unexpectedly turn off whenever I would drive it. It was in the shop 4 months. Last week, Nov 2025, while at a stop light it completely stopped working. When I tried to accelerate it wasn’t working. Break pedal was hard and I could not turn it back on. Dash lights were on and tank had gas. Had to get it towed. Was told engine was in good shape. Still looking at starter issues.

Blind spot indicator light comes on and I have no control of the windows. Speeds up to four RPMs or more no matter what speed I am going including while I'm in cruise control. Turns off cruise control while driving. All of these are random incidents but they have become more and more frequent.

Issue #1: Fuel pump failure, had to completely replace the fuel pump at approx. 60,000 miles. Approx. $1,300 repair. Issue #2: Rear differential failure due to faulty/poor construction of materials, per the repair shop. Failed at approx. 63,000 miles. There was no external damage to the differential, it was caused by poor construction/defects of the materials used to build the car. Approx. $4,500 repair. Both issues are KNOWN issues with Jeeps of this model year, to the extent that I have not been able to find replacement parts due to them being in such high demand.

While using the remote start feature to warm car in attached garage (with door open), car started then after a minute stalled out. I tried to remote start again and it did not start. went to vehicle to start with key fob present, as I went into attached garage there was a strong odor of gas. started vehicle and removed outside of garage to find a huge puddle of gas on ground in attached garage. fuel leaked out while running using remote start! had car towed to dealership, they informed me that the fuel supply tube had failed (part# 68489840AA). repair cost of $610 plus $ 128 for towing. this could have been a total loss of car and garage, possibly LIFE, along with house that is attached to garage!!!!! or it could have caught fire will driving. DANGER DANGER!!!!!! our whole house had the worst gas fumes all day, cleaned up spilled fuel as best as possable and a week later still has a odor of the spilled fuel!

When I bought the jeep from the first week on air bag light won’t come on I will notice it flickers but if it does come on it’s for a few minutes and that is it. Ok next thing the seat belts up front and back almost cut you so tight you can’t move and you not even be driving and the seatbelt will just take spells that really hurt my girls don’t even like riding in it anymore. It’s been hectic with my kids and I driving somewhere due to safety concerns

I was involved in a head-on accident with another car. The airbags did not deploy in my 2020 Jeep Cherokee. This resulted didn’t some injuries to me in a driver of the other car. The other car driver airbags did deploy but my 2020 Jeep Cherokee airbags did not deploy vehicle damage was rated such that the car was totaled with heavy front damage on the driver side front.

4wd and power steering is off due to some recall issue that affects my make/model/year but for some reason my vin# wasn’t able to be repaired. Alignment is off and I constantly buy used tires

The power transfer unit, differential, spark plugs, and air induction failed. The vehicle is still having bad vibration problems at speeds above 50 mph despite $7,000 in repairs.

4wd and power steering is off due to some recall issue that affects my make/model/year but for some reason my vin# wasn’t able to be repaired. Alignment is off and I constantly buy used tires

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a grinding sound coming from the vehicle while accelerating, while the vehicle was idling, and while depressing the brake pedal. The failure was intermittent but became more frequent. The traction control warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that the START/STOP button intermittently failed to start the vehicle, requiring several attempts to start the vehicle. The "A" for the Start/System remained illuminated long after the button was pressed. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed that the failure might be caused by a failure of the power transfer unit. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the contact noticed an abnormally loud sound. The contact stated that the rear sunroof panel fractured without impact, and the shattered glass fell all over the interior of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

I was driving to work this morning at 5:30am in the rain, heavy rain, so I had my wipers on. They were turned to high because of how heavy the rain was. All of a sudden the wipers went crazy and the drivers side wiper was hanging off the side of the car still trying to wipe. I immediately lost visibility and tried to move off the highway. I was struggling to see where the road was. I ended up off pavement at one point and I believe that's where I picked up the screw in my tire that made my tire go flat. I was luckily near an exit, but now leaning into the passenger side of the car trying to see and find a safe place to get off the road. This could've gone very badly I was lucky and blessed it did not. I took my Jeep to the service department at the dealership where the gentleman helping stated he's seen this a lot. He said there hasn't been a recall on the Cherokee only the truck, but he's seen it happening in a lot of vehicles. Evidently the screws come loose. If this is a common problem there needs to be a recall.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that on several occasions, after driving for several miles, the temperature gauge remained at HOT(H). The vehicle was steered to the side of the road each time and turned off for 10 minutes before restarting. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a malfunction in the active grill system that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

The paint on the passenger door panel close to window is peeling off it should not be doing this with it being 3 years old

The power transfer unit went out of car at 67000 miles (just out of warranty). Haven't got fixed due to expensive. Now has 144000 miles on it and still not fixed. Noticed there were other recalls but mine wasn't part of it yet PTU went out.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a grinding sound coming from the vehicle while accelerating, while the vehicle was idling, and while depressing the brake pedal. The failure was intermittent but became more frequent. The traction control warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that the START/STOP button intermittently failed to start the vehicle, requiring several attempts to start the vehicle. The "A" for the Start/System remained illuminated long after the button was pressed. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed that the failure might be caused by a failure of the power transfer unit. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

1. This is not a safety issue. This is a cosmetic issue. 2. Not applicable to warning lights. 3. General Issue: Bottom portion of drivers seat, reported to be leather, is peeling. This peeling is discoloring the seat and shows signs that it will continue over the entire seat. Never before have I seen this issue with leather seats (in many previous vehicles), including other Jeep vehicles. The issue was confirmed by an authorized Jeep dealer and they provided me an estimate including labor to be more than $1000. This peeling is of course, a cosmetic issue, but it looks awful and should not happen on a Jeep that is only 4 years old and has been gently taken care of. I realize this is a "wear and tear" issue, however there is no over-use - only usual getting in and out of the car. Leather should wear much longer and should not peel over time.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2020 JEEP CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 69 MPH IN WINDY WEATHER AND PASSING ANOTHER VEHICLE, THE HOOD INADVERTENTLY UNLATCHED. THE HOOD AJAR WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ALLEN SAMUELS CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM OF HUTCHINSON (1421 E 30TH AVE, HUTCHINSON, KS 67502, (620) 665-5567) AND WAS INFORMED IT WAS FLEX HOOD AND WORKING PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MARMIE CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM (1724 10TH ST, GREAT BEND, KS 67530, (620) 792-2571) WHERE THE HOOD WAS ADJUSTED AND THE SWITCH WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED HOWEVER, NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,900.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the transmission was failing and was slipping between 3rd and 4th gear. Additionally, the contact stated that the torque converter was also failing. There were no warning lights illuminated. There was an abnormally sharp chirping metal-on-metal and a rumbling sound coming from the vehicle while accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact speculated that the manufacturer was attempting to allow the warranty to expire. The contact was concerned that the warning lights were not activating as expected during the failure. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was diagnosed, and determined that the transmission and the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called another local dealer, Premier Cape Cod Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, A Premier Company at (556 Yarmouth Rd, Hyannis, MA 02601), but no additional assistance was provided. The manufacturer was contacted and declined the repairs and referred the contact to another dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 50 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle began to decelerate independently while making an abnormal sound. The contact stated that the 4WD Auto warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to her destination. The contact also stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle shifted out of park(P) into neutral(N). The contact took the vehicle to an unknown local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,201.

ESC LIGHT COMES ON RANDOMLY, CONDENSATION IN BOTH BODY SIDE TAIL LIGHTS ,SWITCHING FROM DEFROST TO A/C WARM AIR BLOWS TO FLOOR (SET AT 70),THEN I CHANGE TO FRONT VENTS WARM AIR CONTINUES ,THEN TRY TO SET ON AUTO AND NOTHINGS BLOWS OUT, THEN TURN TO A/C AGAIN AND IT GOES TO WARM DEFROST. FRONT DRIVERS SIDE SPEAKER RANDOMLY GOES OUT