RoadVitals

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Airbags Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Airbags reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
33
Latest Jul 25, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
4%
of 800 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
8
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
8

What this page shows

Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 33 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming airbag

The 25 most recent of 33, in the owner's own words

AirbagsBody & structureEngine
Filed Jul 25, 2026
Fire reported

I was on the highway and the truck escalated in speed then it would decreased In speed . (61 mph to 45-41mph. Then it decreased speed all the way to a complete stop. Then burst into flames in front of truck. Truck made crackling sounds and proceeded to burn all the way back to the back seats of truck.

NHTSA ID
11752785
Incident
Jul 23, 2026
Airbags
Filed May 18, 2026

Car parked in driveway, passenger Active Head Restraint deployed overnight while parked. Plastic mold holding the latch pin in place is destroyed. Broke into pieces. The latch pin in pic1.jpg is still secured in the lock position. The computer is not throwing codes of deployed headrest, the computer thinks everything is fine. Pic3.jpg has a picture of the driver headrest, NOT deployed. The headrest are designed to deploy only with impact. The plastic molding broke away from the latch pin, and allowed the headrest to deploy prematurely. This should have been a safety recall on the first report. Thousands of complaints have been noted thus far.

NHTSA ID
11738558
Incident
May 10, 2026
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Jan 7, 2026
Crash reported

My son was hit head on in a very serious accident and his airbag on driver side didn’t fully deploy resulting in injuries. I’m not sure what component was faulty but the airbag should have fully deployed.

NHTSA ID
11709362
Incident
Jan 5, 2026
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Aug 20, 2024
1 injury reported

Passenger seat headrest exploded and hit my wife in the head/ear/neck and now she is in a lot of pain. This is the most random thing I have ever seen. My wife and daughter were driving through a parking lot going 4mph and the headrest just exploded. The plastic pieces holding the springs back broke and let the headrest fly forward into my wife’s head/ear/neck

NHTSA ID
11609705
Incident
Aug 20, 2024
Airbags
Filed Jan 8, 2024

I don't know if the headrest is part of the airbag deployment system or it's own entity. It is available for inspection. I was pulling into my driveway when the front passenger headrest exploded/deployed. I had just dropped my sister, who had been sitting there, and would have been injured by the force. I took my car to the dealership and was told that the 'involuntary deployment' was a known problem to Jeep and they had extended the warranty for the problem but it had expired in June 2023 so it would cost me $900 to fix. I contacted Jeep and was told they could not extend an extended warranty so repair was on me. There were no warning lamps or messages. This happened on 12/22.

NHTSA ID
11564089
Incident
Dec 22, 2023
Airbags
Filed Nov 19, 2023

Headset active air bags deployed when just sitting in driveway. I had no knowledge of the “warranty period “ to get it replaced otherwise i would’ve and my car has never been in an accident

NHTSA ID
11555936
Incident
Nov 18, 2023
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Sep 11, 2023

Driver side, headrest deployed without collision. Parked when airbag deployed.

NHTSA ID
11543953
Incident
Sep 9, 2023
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Aug 22, 2023
1 injury reported

4 days ago, while backing out of a parking spot, the passenger Active Head Restraint (AHR) deployed and struck my girlfriend in the head. There was no interaction with another vehicle and there was no accident. The AHR simply deployed on its own and struck my girlfriend in the head. I have not reset the AHR and left it as is. Please let me know what my next step should be. Thank you [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11540026
Incident
Aug 18, 2023
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Aug 21, 2022

My driver's-side headrest/"airbag" deployed without a collision. I was wiping down my drivers seat after getting the seat dirty and when I wiped over the headrest it popped against my hand and I heard a tinkling noise of something bouncing around inside my vehicle. Further inspection showed that my headrest had popped out like it had deployed in a crash, etc. I was parked in my driveway and was not pushing hard on the headrest. I looked inside the headrest, and also googled this incident, and there are plastic clips inside the headrest that hold it in place. Those plastic clips wore out and broke off, causing the headrest restraint to deploy. I googled this situation and discovered that other people experienced this same thing as well - I got lucky because I wasn't driving when it happened!! But also, after further research, I found out that this is a thing that is happening and nobody is doing a recall about it. It will cost $600+ to get a new headrest inserted BUT there's no guarantee that my next one won't do the same exact thing! I haven't spent the money to get it fixed yet, because of that, but I have to have my seat and lumbar support adjusted ridiculously so that I can ride comfortably without my neck sticking out like a turtle.

NHTSA ID
11480448
Incident
Feb 16, 2022
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Apr 5, 2021

WHILE CAR WAS BEING SWEPT OUT AT CAR WASH, DRIVERS SIDE HEADREST DEPLOYED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. A PART OF THE HEADREST BROKE RELEASING IT.

NHTSA ID
11406395
Incident
Mar 2, 2021
Mileage
129 mi
AirbagsSteering
Filed Jan 18, 2021

MY JEEP STALL OUT OF SUDDEN IN THE MIDDLE OF ME DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 20 ELGIN,IL IT WAS VERY VERY SCARY MOMENT, THE JEEP JUST DIED!!

NHTSA ID
11388708
Incident
Jan 16, 2021
Mileage
112,000 mi
AirbagsEngineFuel system
Filed Oct 25, 2020

VEHICLE WILL NOT START EVERYTIME AND ONCE IT'S JUMPERED TO ANOTHER CAR IT STARTS NO PROBLEM. SOMETIMES IT WILL START THEN IMMEDIATELY JUST DIE. VEHICLE HAS NEVER STALLED WHILE DRIVING. I BOUGHT IT DEC 2019 W/ 102K, IT NOW HAS 120K I DRIVE 400 MI/WK FOR WORK. I HAD TO BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY BECAUSE OF THE MILES AND THE WARRANTY CO. IS SAYING THEY WON'T FIX THIS AIR BAG MODULE AND SEAT BELT ISSUE AS WELL. THIS CAR NEEDS TO BE BOUGHT BACK BY THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALER HAS ALL PAPERWORK BECAUSE THEY STILL HAVE MY CAR.

NHTSA ID
11366287
Incident
Oct 19, 2020
Mileage
120,000 mi
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Sep 17, 2020

THE AIRBAG IN OUR HEADREST HAS BECOME DETACHED AND IS JUST HANGING NO ACCIDENTS.

NHTSA ID
11355593
Incident
Sep 15, 2020
Mileage
130,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Jun 14, 2020

DRIVER SIDE ACTIVE RESTRAINT HEADREST AIRBAG DEPLOYED WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET. NO ACCIDENT OR IMPACT TOOK PLACE TO CAUSE THE DEPLOYMENT.

NHTSA ID
11328802
Incident
May 11, 2018
Mileage
75,000 mi
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Jun 2, 2020

WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, PASSENGER SIDE HEAD REST DEPLOYED UNPROVOKED AND WITHOUT WARNING, STRIKING THE PASSENGER IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD. THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT, NO SUDDEN STOP, JUST NORMAL DRIVING AT APPROX. 40 MPH. THE PLASTIC PIECES THAT HOLD THE HEADREST HAVE FAILED CAUSING A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS OR FATAL ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ID
11327021
Incident
May 31, 2020
Mileage
76,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Dec 27, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V813000 (AIR BAGS). THE MANUFACTURER WAS CALLED AND CONFIRMED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALL PARTS AVAILABLE. IN ADDITION, THE MANUFACTURER SUGGESTED THAT THE CONTACT CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AND DECLINED A LOANER VEHICLE. AN UNKNOWN LOCAL DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED THAT THEY WOULD CALL THE CONTACT WHEN THE PART BECOMES AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED DUE TO HER WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATING AND IT COULD RESULT INTO A CRASH AS SPECIFIED ON THE RECALL SAFETY RISK. IT WAS UNKNOWN WHICH SPECIFIC WARNING LIGHT WAS ON. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID
11291539
Incident
Dec 11, 2019
Airbags
Filed Apr 24, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED THAT THE AIR BAG MIGHT DEPLOY UNEXPECTEDLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ROMANO CHRYSLER JEEP (LOCATED AT 215 W GENESEE ST, FAYETTEVILLE, NY 13066, (315) 637-3101) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT AN UNKNOWN SENSOR WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000.

NHTSA ID
11203434
Incident
Feb 13, 2019
Mileage
98,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Feb 27, 2019

THE ACTIVE HEADREST RESTRAINT DEPLOYED DESPITE NOT BEING INVOLVED IN ANY COLLISIONS, EVER. IT APPEARS THAT THE PLASTIC, THAT HOLDS IN A PIN, FAILED. THE PIN IS STILL STUCK WITHIN THE LATCH IN THE BACK OF THE HEADREST. AND THE HEADREST CANNOT HE RESET, AS THE PLASTIC IS BLOWN APART. THE DEALERSHIP HAS ADVISED THAT THE ONLY REPAIR TO THIS PROBLEM IS A NEW HEADREST.

NHTSA ID
11182843
Incident
Dec 20, 2018
Mileage
89,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Apr 24, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE HORN FAILED TO WORK. THE CONTACT DID NOT CALL THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,500.

NHTSA ID
11089913
Incident
Apr 4, 2018
Mileage
47,500 mi
Airbags
Filed Jan 22, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN, THE OCCUPANT CONTROL RESTRAINT WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BARNETT KIA JEEP CHRYSLER DODGE (3610 HWY 61 N, WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN 55110, (651) 429-3391) WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THERE WAS A FAILURE WITH THE OCR MODULE; HOWEVER, THE PART TO REMEDY THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER BACKORDER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000. *TT *TR

NHTSA ID
11064097
Incident
Jan 22, 2016
Mileage
35,000 mi
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Jul 25, 2017

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND SUDDENLY I WAS HIT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD. AT FIRST I THOUGHT I WAS HIT BY ANOTHER CAR BUT I LOOKED AROUND AND THERE WAS NO CARS AROUND. I PULLED OVER AND LOOKED AT MY HEADREST AND IT EXPLODED AND HIT ME IN THE HEAD. I CALLED AND BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO JEEP WHO SAID IT WAS THE ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT AND IT IS SET TO GO OFF DURING AN ACCIDENT. I TOLD THEM I WAS NOT IN ANY ACCIDENT. I THEN CALLED JEEP DIRECTLY WHO TOLD ME THEY WOULD INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE AND THAT I SHOULD LEAVE MY CAR AT JEEP. THAT WAS 3 WEEK AGO. ALL OF MY ATTEMPT TO CONTACT JEEP TO HAVE THEM RECTIFY THE ISSUE AND REPLACE MY HEADREST HAVE GONE NO WHERE. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY CALL BACKS AND EVERY TIME I CALL THEM THEY TELL ME THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO EXCEPT WAIT UNTIL I AM CONTACTED BY JEEP. THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE AS I COULD HAVE RUN OFF THE ROAD AN CRASHED.

NHTSA ID
11010437
Incident
Jul 7, 2017
Mileage
105,000 mi
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Jul 13, 2017

I BOUGHT THE CAR LESS THAN A YEAR AGO. THE CAR IS A 2013. THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT CHECKED. THEY INFORMED ME THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS SEEMS RIDICULOUS CONSIDEING THE CAR IS LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD. I ENDED UP HAIGB TO PAY OVER $300 FOR A NEW PASSENGER SEAT BELT INCLUDING INSTALLATION. WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD I GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT? WHY IS SUCH A NEW SEAT BELT FAILING? SHOULD I WORRY THAT MY DRIVER'S SEAT BELT WILL FAIL AS WELL? IT DOESN'T SEEM THIS SHOULD BE HAPPENING ON SUCH A NEW CAR. I AM HAPPY TO PROVIDE REPAIR RECEIPTS AS REQUESTED.

NHTSA ID
11005092
Incident
Jun 19, 2017
Mileage
61,816 mi
Airbags
Filed Mar 3, 2017

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V879000 (AIR BAGS) AND CONTACTED THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES. THE DEALER PLACED THE CONTACT ON AN EXTENDED HOLD SEVERAL TIMES, SO THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO SCHEDULE A REPAIR IN A REASONABLE TIME FRAME FOR MONTHS. THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN AS TO WHEN THE VEHICLE WOULD BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND THE CONTACT WAS WAITING TO RECEIVE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT WAS NOT EXPERIENCING A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ID
10958528
Incident
Dec 19, 2016
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Dec 9, 2016

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND THE FRONT PASSENGER SAFETY HEADREST DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON, FRIGHTENING ME AND DISTRACTING ME FROM DRIVING. I WAS NOT IN AN ACCIDENT DURING OR PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT. INCIDENT OCCURRED SATURDAY AFTERNOON , NOVEMBER 5, 2016. *TR

NHTSA ID
10934157
Incident
Nov 5, 2016
Mileage
54,000 mi
AirbagsInterior & seats
Filed Oct 5, 2016

WHILE DRIVING APROX. 40 MPH ON A REGULAR CITY STREET IN MY 2013" JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE, MY PASSENGER SEAT HEAD REST EJECTED AND THE SPRING ACTION LUNGED IT FORWARD CAUSING MY ENTIRE SEATS AIR BAG SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION. I WAS INFORMED AT THE DEALERSHIP THAT IT WAS A MALFUNCTION, MY ONLY OPTION WAS TO PAY THOUSANDS TO REPLACE IT. ALSO THAT THE SEAT WILL NEVER GO BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION AND THE INNARDS WILL ALWAYS SHOW UNLESS I PAY TO FIX IT. I WAS SIMPLY DRIVING WITH MY CHILDREN, NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY HAPPENED. IT JUST WENT OFF ALMOST CAUSING ME TO CRASH BECAUSE OF THE VERY LOUD POP CAUSING ME TO REACT. I WAS TOLD THAT MY DRIVERS SEAT HAS THE SAME SYSTEM AND BASICALLY BE CAUTIONS WHILE DRIVING. I INFORMED JEEP CORP. THEY SENT A PRIVATE CORPORATE INVESTIGATOR. I WAS INFORMED VIA FORMAL LETTER THAT THEY WILL NOT BE FIXING THE PROBLEM. THIS IS THE 4TH. DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION MY VEHICLE HAS HAD. #TIMES PREVIOUSLY IT WAS A NATION WIDE RECALL THAT WAS TAKEN CARE OF. I FEAR I WILL BE DRIVING WITH MY CHILDREN ON THE FREEWAY WHEN THE DRIVERS SEAT MALFUNCTIONS AND WE WILL CRASH AS A RESULT OF THIS RANDOM MALFUNCTION. IF I CRASH NOT ONLY IS MINE AND MY FAMILIES LIVES IN DANGER BUT ALSO ALL OF THOSE IN THE VEHICLES AROUND ME.

NHTSA ID
10914077
Incident
Sep 17, 2016

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .