2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee Engine Problems

My car is driving okay but it’s having some electrical issues and it shuts down.

NHTSA ID

11695993

Incident

Jul 16, 2025

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL SEIZED. WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL TO SLOW THE VEHICLE. IN ADDITION, AFTER THE FAILURE, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY. THE CONTACT INFORMED A LOCAL MECHANIC OF THE FAILURE. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 116,000.

NHTSA ID

11362746

Incident

Sep 28, 2020

Mileage

116,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING THE OTHER DAY AND ALL THE SUDDEN I HIT A BUMP AND THE KEY FOB FALLS OUT OF THE IGNITION CUTTING THE ENGINE COMPLETELY OFF. SO I WAS COASTING WITH NO ENGINE OR POWER. LUCKILY I PUT IT IN TO NEUTRAL AND IT STARTED BACK UP. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS. ALSO MY KEY WILL NOT RELEASE WHEN I AM TRYING TO TURN THE CAR OFF SO I HAVE TO LEAVE IT ON SOMETIMES AND IT HAS KILLED MY BATTERY. MOST OF THE TIME IT WILL RELEASE AFTER A CLICKING NOISE I CAN TURN IT TO THE OFF POSITION AND IT WILL RELEASE. IT HAS COST ME TWO BATTERIES AND A NEW KEY

NHTSA ID

11290588

Incident

Dec 5, 2019

Mileage

159,110 mi

HAVE OWNED USED 2009 JEEP GRD.CHRKE. FOR 10 MONTHS 2 MONTHS IN TO OWNING NOTICED AT TIMES VEHICLE WOULD LOOSE POWER. PRESSING GAS PEDAL DID NOTHING. HAD TO PULL OVER SHUT JEEP OFF, WAIT A MINUTE THEN START JEEP BACK UP. THIS WORKED AND THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY. BUT OVER THE MONTHS IT BECAME MORE FREQUENT. I TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER AND HE COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. NO CODES FROM ENGINE. I HAVE HAD THE NECESSARY MAINTENANCE DONE ON THE JEEP. THIS WEEK THE PROBLEM BEGAN ON FRIDAY AND CONTINUES ON. MY JEEP WILL NOT GO OVER 25 MPH. TAKING IT TO AUTHORIZED DEALER AND JEEP REPAIR ON MONDAY. BUT HAVING READ THE COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE I HAVE VERY LITTLE FAITH THIS PROBLEM WILL BE FIX!!! EVEN THOUGH MY COMPLAINT MIMICS SEVERAL OF THE COMPLAINTS SENT IN TO THOSE THAT MANUFACTURER JEEPS!!!

NHTSA ID

11122387

Incident

Jan 10, 2018

Mileage

157,700 mi

VEHICLE RANDOMLY SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND THE STEERING IS LOST. THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING AND HAS HAPPENED AT 60MPH AS WELL AS 35. THERE IS NO WARNING BEFORE IT HAPPENS. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

NHTSA ID

11121565

Incident

May 1, 2018

Mileage

160,000 mi

VEHICLE WILL LOSE POWER WHILE DRIVING. SOMETIMES WILL LOOSE POWER WHILE PULLING OUT. VERY DANGEROUS WHEN PULLING ONTO THE HIGHWAY. HAVE TO PULL TO SHOULDER TO AVOID BEING REAR ENDED.

NHTSA ID

11083381

Incident

Apr 5, 2018

Mileage

151,000 mi

VEHICLE SHIFTS INTO LOWER2ND GEAR WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ACCORDING TO OWNERS MANUAL THIS IS CALLED LIMP MODE AND NEEDS TO BE STOPPED PLACED IN PARK AND TURN IGNITION OFF AND RESTARTED TO CONTINUE DRIVING THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME AND OTHERS

NHTSA ID

11055942

Incident

Dec 11, 2017

Mileage

14,134 mi

WHILE DRIVING, THE IGNITION SWITCH GOES INTO ACCESSORY AND THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF..JEEP HAS NO POWER STEERING OR POWER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THIS SCARED THE "H" OUT OF MY WIFE YESTERDAY WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ACROSS A BRIDGE GOING TO WORK. SHE WAS TRAVELING APROX. 45 MPH ACROSS A STRAIGHT BRIDGE. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED TO MYSELY LAST YEAR WHILE ON THE PA TURNPIKE IN TRAFFIC. I PUT THE FLASHERS ON AND SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND RESTARTED THE JEEP WITHOUT MUCH SERIOUS PROBLEMS. BUT NOW A SECOND TIME !!! I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO GET HURT BECAUSE OF THIS

NHTSA ID

10873157

Incident

Jun 7, 2016

Mileage

81,350 mi

UPPER RADIATOR HOSE ELBOW FAILED ALLOWING IMMEDIATE LOSS OF ALL COOLANT FLUID. THE BARB ON THE END OF THE PLASTIC ELBOW BROKE OFF ALLOWING THE HOSE TO SLIP OFF THE ELBOW. THIS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING AND RESULTED IN IMMEDIATE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND OVERHEATING OF ENGINE. THE DRIVING WAS BEING DONE BY A FIRESTONE TECHNICIAN THAT WAS TEST DRIVING THE VEHICLE AFTER A FRONT END ALIGNMENT. BASED ON COMMENTS BY OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME VEHICLE THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE ( HTTP://WWW.CHEROKEESRT8.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=50508).

NHTSA ID

10789603

Incident

Nov 9, 2015

Mileage

61,780 mi

VEHICLE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING, KEY WAS IN THE ON POSITION SUDDENLY SHUTOFF CAUSING NO POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES, INSTRUMENT PANEL AND GAUGES WENT TO ZERO. WAS ABLE TO RESTART AFTER A FEW MINUTES. DROVE HOME, WENT TO START VEHICLE 1 HOUR LATER AND NOTHING HAPPENED. THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE AND IS SIMILAR TO SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS FOR THIS MAKE AND YEAR. CHRYSLER HAS NO RECALL OR FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM AND IS NOT WILLING TO RECOGNIZE IT AS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. SOMEONE WILL BE KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS OR ALREADY HAS, DEAD PEOPLE DO NOT COMPLAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10694263

Incident

Mar 12, 2015

Mileage

77,723 mi

WHEN THE RED LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I TRY TO PROCEED ACROSS THE INTERSECTION WHEN THE CAR JUST DIED. THE RADIO CONTINUED TO PLAY BUT I HAD NO POWER STEERING. I MANAGED TO PULL OVER AND TURN ON MY FLASHERS. MEANWHILE THE RADIO CONTINUED TO PLAY. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TRY TO START THE CAR AGAIN AND IT DID INDEED START. IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING ON I75 GOING 70MPH AND THE CAR STALLED I WOULD BE IN HUGE TROUBLE. THE GOODYEAR MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10668460

Incident

Dec 27, 2014

Mileage

37,000 mi

THIS IS THE THIRD INCIDENT SINCE AUGUST OF THIS YEAR. LATEST INCIDENT OCCURRED TODAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014. IN EACH INCIDENT, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY GOES INTO A ROUGH IDLE AND EVENTUALLY STALLS WITH LOSS OF POWER. I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STEER THE CAR OFF THE ROAD AND SWITCH BETWEEN OFF/START POSITIONS UNTIL THE VEHICLE STARTS. THE VEHICLE RUNS NORMALLY AFTER THESE INCIDENTS WITH NO "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT DISPLAYED. REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO CHRYSLER AND THEY TOLD ME THIS YEAR JEEP WAS NOT IN SCOPE OF THEIR RECENTLY ANNOUNCED RECALL FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10644642

Incident

Aug 2, 2014

Mileage

54,000 mi

ON TWO OCCASION MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. BOTH TIMES THE THERMOSTAT GAGE KEPT GOING UP AND DOWN. ON BOTH OCCASION I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO HAVE IT CHECKED. ON THE SECOND OCCASION THAT THIS HAPPENED I WAS TOLD THAT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN HAD BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM. (PULL CODE #P2181) I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT I HAD TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER TO HAVE IT TAKEN CARE OF. SINCE THIS IS A MANUFACTURING ISSUE I FELT THAT IT SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE AT NO COST TO ME BUT WAS INFORMED THAT I WOULD NEED TO IN FACT PAY FOR THIS UPDATE. (NOT ONLY DO I NEED TO PAY BUT I ALSO HAVE TO TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK TO HAVE THIS DONE). *TR

NHTSA ID

10632216

Incident

Sep 7, 2014

Mileage

139,650 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND FAILED TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON THREE OTHER OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

NHTSA ID

10615715

Incident

Oct 17, 2012

Mileage

50,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING THE JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE, THE CAR COMPLETELY TURNS OFF WHILE IN DRIVE. WITHIN SECONDS POWER STEERING IS LOST. THIS OCCURS WITHOUT ANY INITIATING EVENT AND OCCURS AT RANDOM. MOST RECENTLY THE ISSUE OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH. THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED 8 TIMES, WITHOUT ANYTHING BEING RESOLVED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10615153

Incident

Sep 8, 2009

Mileage

32,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED AND RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE AND DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000...UPDATED 09-05-14 *BF UPDATED 09/16/2014 *JS

NHTSA ID

10607958

Incident

Jun 3, 2014

Mileage

40,000 mi

AFTER DRIVING PROLONGED TIME ON XPRESSWAY AND SLOWING DOWN OR STOPPING, THE JEEP HESITATES, MISFIRES AND LETS OUT GIANT CLOUDS OF WHITE SMOKE OUT TAILPIPE AFTER ACCELERATING WITH PARTIAL OR FULL THROTTLE. ALMOST CAUSED MAJOR FREEWAY ACCIDENT MULTIPLE TIMES TRYING TO SWITCH LANES OR PULL ONTO FREEWAY ONRAMP. CAR BEEN INTO DEALERSHIP 3 OR MORE TIMES FOR SAME COMPLAINTS. SINCE CAR THROWS NO CODES AND DEALERSHIP CAN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM ON THEIR TEST DRIVES, DEALER JUST KEEPS HANDING THE JEEP BACK TO ME AND SAYING NO ISSUE WITH JEEP. MY JEEP HAS ALSO STALLED UNDER HARD BRAKING ON AT LEAST ONE OCCASION. VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION(S) WITH NO SATISFACTION FROM DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. CHRYSLER ALSO CONTACTED AND OPENED CASE FILE. THEY WOULDN'T AUTHORIZE ANY WORK TO BE DONE TO THE JEEP EITHER. CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED PROPERLY, HAS 90K MILES CURRENTLY AND A LIFETIME WARRANTY FROM CHRYSLER WHICH SEEMS WORTHLESS AS CHRYSLER WON'T PICK UP A SCREWDRIVER TO LOOK FOR PROBLEM IF THE JEEP DOESN'T THROW A CODE. ABSOLUTELY NUTS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10594512

Incident

Apr 4, 2014

Mileage

85,000 mi

THE VEHICLE HAS ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION STALLED WHILE DRIVING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10592792

Incident

Nov 21, 2013

Mileage

80,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER HAVING THE ELECTRONIC KEY FOB REPLACED, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SPORADICALLY STALL WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 86,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 88,000.

NHTSA ID

10553364

Incident

Sep 11, 2013

Mileage

86,000 mi

FRONT PASSENGER AND DRIVERS DOOR INTERIOR HANDLES ARE CRACKING. THE CRACKING IS GOING TO LEAD TO A FAILURE OF THE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE IN A EMERGENCY. WHILE CLEANING THE DOOR PANELS I NOTICED THE PROBLEM AND CHECKED ALL FOUR DOOR. THE ONLY DOOR THAT IS CRACKED IS THE FRONT DOORS. I LOOKED FOR RECALLS ON THIS MATTER AND DID NOT FIND ANY. I HAVE TALKED WITH OTHER JEEP OWNERS AND THEY HAVE STATED THAT THEY HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. THE FROM SEATBELTS WILL NOT RETRACT ALL THE TIME. IF THIS HAPPENS THE SEAT BELT WILL GET CAUGHT IN THE DOOR, WEARING THE BELT. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES ON MY VEHICLE. THERE IS A WEAR POINT ON THE SEATBELT WERE IT HAS GOT CAUGHT IN THE DOOR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10524043

Incident

Jul 4, 2013

Mileage

62,940 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE VEHICLE PULLED AWAY AS IN DRIVING ITSELF. MY ONLY CONTROL WAS THE BRAKES. IT WAS SCARY THANK GOD NO ONE GOT HURT. ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME. I'VE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME NOTHING IS WRONG. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME 4 DIFF TIMES. WHEN I PUT THE CAR ON PARK THE RPM REVS UP TO 5000 RPM I HAVE TO IMMEDIATELY SHUT THE CAR OFF. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN AND NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO IMMEDIATELY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10502570

Incident

Mar 12, 2013

Mileage

60,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON U.S. HIGHWAY 270 IN ARKANSAS THIS DATE, MY 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE EXPERIENCED SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. I WAS PRESSING SLIGHTLY ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WHILE GOING UP A HILL WHEN THE ENGINE WENT INTO A WIDE OPEN THROTTLE CONDITION. I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND TURNED-OFF THE IGNITION, ALLOWING THE VEHICLE TO COAST DOWN TO APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH. UPON TURNING THE IGNITION BACK TO "ON" THE VEHICLE AGAIN EXPERIENCED SUA AND ACCELERATED QUICKLY TO 60+ MPH. I AGAIN TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH TO THE "OFF" POSITION AND ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO COAST BACK DOWN. UPON TURNING THE IGNITION BACK TO "ON", THE ENGINE WENT BACK INTO A WIDE OPEN THROTTLE CONDITION AGAIN. AFTER FOUR TRIES (TURNING IGNITION "OFF", THEN "ON", THE ENGINE RPM RETURNED TO A NORMAL OPERATING CONDITION AND I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH MY TRIP. THERE WAS NO FLOOR MAT INTERFERENCE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE SPEED CONTROL SYSTEM WAS NOT ACTIVATED. I AM A PILOT WITH 500 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME AND RECENT ANNUAL CHECK RIDE QUALIFICATION/TRAINING TO HANDLE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. HAD MY WIFE OR THE AVERAGE DRIVER BEEN OPERATING THE CAR, THERE WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE VEHICLE SIMPLY WENT BERSERK. *TR

NHTSA ID

10462921

Incident

Jun 24, 2012

Mileage

24,100 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 30 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER BUT THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE DUPLICATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE 22,500.

NHTSA ID

10458046

Incident

Sep 13, 2011

Mileage

15,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CONSTANTLY ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON FOUR OCCASIONS AND A NEW THERMOSTAT WAS INSTALLED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND A CLAIM WAS FILED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

NHTSA ID

10440462

Incident

Oct 19, 2011

Mileage

40,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS WOULD ILLUMINATE AND THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL. DURING THE FAILURES, THE CONTACT HAD A HARD TIME MANEUVERING THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO NOT IMMEDIATELY RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO HAVE THE FAILURE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND ADVISED THE CONATCT TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR AN INSPECTION. THEY OFFERED NO OTHER ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

NHTSA ID

10419638

Incident

May 9, 2011

Mileage

50,000 mi