2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Problems

The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under previous ownership under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V699000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the recall repair failed to prevent a recall-related failure 15,000 miles later. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal coolant odor entering the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that upon further inspection, there was coolant leaking onto the floor. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and remained with the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

#2 cylinder misfire code P0302. A known problem with this engine. A compression test reveals a common defect with this engine

Tone wheel failure resulting in vehicle not operating as intended. Required repair of which FCA stated the repair was not covered by the recall issued against the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the transmission remained stuck in first gear. The contact shifted to neutral(N) and shifted back to drive(D), and the vehicle responded as intended. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 151,755.

Abs module malfunctioned and caught on fire

While driving then it just shuts off

Tone wheel failure resulting in vehicle not operating as intended. Required repair of which FCA stated the repair was not covered by the recall issued against the vehicle.

I was stuck in traffic as a result of a road being closed while they cleared another incident. Creeping along, the Jeep with it's engine pause shutting down until I removed my foot off the gas and then engaging so I could move forward a foot or two. Keeping in mind this feature has been throwing errors and I've taken it to the shop twice in the last 6 months with no results, and another appointment scheduled within a few days of the accident. Car in front of me moved forward, I took my foot off the gas, and the self start struggled, and then burst into life at a full throttle. I stomped on my break and tried to steer away, but nicked the corner of the car in front of me, and tangled with their bike rack. But slowed enough there were no air bags deployed. But still, this has become MY fault because of some faulty feature in a car and I get to pay an increase in premiums despite 25 years of no accidents. Is it going to take people getting hurt before this feature can be fixed or at least disabled as a default?

I hit a deer at 65 mph, causing significant damage to my vehicle, $7,300+ to the front end. I have a safety beacon that detected the accident through my insurance, that detected the severity of the impact, resulting in an immediate call for safety to check on me. My airbags did not deploy, but there was a nasty aroma of sulfur during the impact. My minor children were secured safely in the vehicle, as well as myself. I, the driver of the car hit my head very hard on the steering wheel and window during impact, causing whiplash- neck pain, and reoccurring migraines still to this day 3-21-2026. Although I didn't receive medical attention it has been made known that I hit my head. This would've been avoided had my airbags deployed. I assume there may have been a malfunction and had this been a more serious incident, not only would my life be at stake, but most importantly my children. This is unacceptable for safety purposes.

I'm not sure what components malfunctioned but my vehicle is in a body shop currently getting work done from the accident I was recently in. The safety of my cousin and I was put into risk when I was driving on the highway and I hydroplaned on the highway and did a 180 degree turn but luckily no one hit me and I didn't hit anyone else. I slammed on the concrete median which is what stopped my vehicle on the highway leaving my vehicle with 9 thousand in damages. I filed an insurance claim and is now getting fixed like I mentioned. Prior to the accident I had noticed the car shifting to the left and dramatically declining acceleration and a loud pop by the front driver tire. That is the best way to describe what the car does. So on the day of the incident I believe the car did what I just explained and it caused me to hydroplane and I'm in fear it is going to happen again. I have taken it to another shop after the accident because my vehicle would not start and a different shop said they heard the noise but could not figure out what it was. When I get my vehicle back I planned on taking it to a recall center but I decided to make this report first. There were no warning lights before during or after the accident.

Abs module malfunctioned and caught on fire

Brakes repetitively seize, causing the wheels to overheat and the vehicle to shake while braking, putting the vehicle at risk of fire, reduced brake performance, and brake failure. Two different dealerships have confirmed from the problem at various points, the brakes are "repaired" and then have the same failure with the same components again. There are no warnings that the brakes are seizing other than the smell of burning brakes, or smoke coming from the wheel.

I'm not sure what components malfunctioned but my vehicle is in a body shop currently getting work done from the accident I was recently in. The safety of my cousin and I was put into risk when I was driving on the highway and I hydroplaned on the highway and did a 180 degree turn but luckily no one hit me and I didn't hit anyone else. I slammed on the concrete median which is what stopped my vehicle on the highway leaving my vehicle with 9 thousand in damages. I filed an insurance claim and is now getting fixed like I mentioned. Prior to the accident I had noticed the car shifting to the left and dramatically declining acceleration and a loud pop by the front driver tire. That is the best way to describe what the car does. So on the day of the incident I believe the car did what I just explained and it caused me to hydroplane and I'm in fear it is going to happen again. I have taken it to another shop after the accident because my vehicle would not start and a different shop said they heard the noise but could not figure out what it was. When I get my vehicle back I planned on taking it to a recall center but I decided to make this report first. There were no warning lights before during or after the accident.

My steering "locked up", I had it towed to a Jeep dealer who diagnosed it as faulty steering gear rack. It cannot be repaired-it must be replaced. The car did show a code when it locked up=but not before. The vehicle has not been repaired and is available for inspection,

I hit a deer at 65 mph, causing significant damage to my vehicle, $7,300+ to the front end. I have a safety beacon that detected the accident through my insurance, that detected the severity of the impact, resulting in an immediate call for safety to check on me. My airbags did not deploy, but there was a nasty aroma of sulfur during the impact. My minor children were secured safely in the vehicle, as well as myself. I, the driver of the car hit my head very hard on the steering wheel and window during impact, causing whiplash- neck pain, and reoccurring migraines still to this day 3-21-2026. Although I didn't receive medical attention it has been made known that I hit my head. This would've been avoided had my airbags deployed. I assume there may have been a malfunction and had this been a more serious incident, not only would my life be at stake, but most importantly my children. This is unacceptable for safety purposes.

This 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee was hit in the left front by a vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign. It also spun and was impacted on the left rear as well. All airbags but the driver’s side curtain airbag deployed. The driver hit their head on the seat belt pillar on the driver’s side. I have contacted Jeep but they have not responded to me in over a week. Injury to the driver’s head would have been less traumatic if this airbag had deployed.

I hit a deer at 65 mph, causing significant damage to my vehicle, $7,300+ to the front end. I have a safety beacon that detected the accident through my insurance, that detected the severity of the impact, resulting in an immediate call for safety to check on me. My airbags did not deploy, but there was a nasty aroma of sulfur during the impact. My minor children were secured safely in the vehicle, as well as myself. I, the driver of the car hit my head very hard on the steering wheel and window during impact, causing whiplash- neck pain, and reoccurring migraines still to this day 3-21-2026. Although I didn't receive medical attention it has been made known that I hit my head. This would've been avoided had my airbags deployed. I assume there may have been a malfunction and had this been a more serious incident, not only would my life be at stake, but most importantly my children. This is unacceptable for safety purposes.

Headlights will completely go out at night just at random, sometimes it's only one and sometimes it both completely. Yet the High beams and fog lights will work when activated even when the regular lights will not. Has been an ongoing issue for a while now, and upon talking to other Jeep Grand Cherokee owners of around the same year model they complain that there's do it randomly as well, and I've seen a lot of forums talking about this issue.

The paint on my hood has bubbling underneath. I’m not sure but someone informed me this was a manufacture related incident when the vehicle was painted and not done correctly, causing paint bubbling. This is only on the front hood area on both side of jeep emblem

My 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee has a water leak in the rear compartment area. It is leaking next to the wiring which could cause a fire or electrical short.

The headrest on the driver's side popped open when I was driving. I had backed out of my driveway and had changed to drive and as I did the headrest popped open. It hit me in the back of my head. Luckily I was driving slow and I could pull over to find out what happen and discovered that the headrest popped open. In trying to find out what was going on with the headrest I discovered a small piece of plastic that came out of the headrest. I am unable to reset the headrest due to this broken piece of plastic. I am glad that I wasn't driving at a faster speed as the bump from the headrest may have caused me to put on the breaks or change lanes as a result of the hit on my head.

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the driver's side dashboard leather lifted and blocked the defroster from operating as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the dashboard was not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the front driver seat head restraint deployed inadvertently and struck the contact in the neck, causing the contact to swerve off the road. The contact sustained a sore neck; however, medical attention was not provided. No warning lights illuminated. A local dealer was contacted and scheduled a service appointment. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was covered under an extended warranty. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,370.

I was in a motor vehicle accident on 9/27/23 and my driver side seat belt had a retractor failure allowing me to be thrown forward and hit my chest on the steering wheel, causing chest contusion, bruising and pain. The cause of the accident was due to another vehicle losing control and hitting me head on.

Please see attached further information as to complaint recently filed, NHTSA ID # 11525685

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while the vehicle was receiving tire maintenance service, the contact was informed that all 20 lug nuts were swollen. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that all 20 lug nuts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000. The contact replaced all of the swollen lug nuts at their own expense.

The 2011-2021 Jeep WK2 Grand Cherokees all have a safety issue when driven in colder climates in snowy, or icy conditions. Where the wipers are parked on the windshield is below the level of the dashboard, so any heat that is produced by the windshield defroster does not warm the glass where the wipers are parked. This leads to the wipers freezing to the windshield, and cannot be operated to clear the windshield. I don't know why this hasn't been a recall issue in the past, as it effects every WK2 in those years. The solution would be to remove the windshield, and add a heating element to the inside of the glass, similar to the rear window, which happens to have a heating element underneath the rear wiper. There are other vehicles that do have heating elements under the front wipers, namely the Jeep KL Cherokee models. So, FCA knew this was a problem, and decided to ignore it, as they have done many other issues.

6 FEB 2018 @ 0649: BEFORE SUNRISE, TRAVELING AT APPROX 53MPH, TEMPERATURE APPROX 36 DEGREES, FRONT RETRACTABLE PORTION OF PANORAMIC SUNROOF SHATTERED AND DROPPED GLASS INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT ONTO THE DRIVERS HEAD AND RIGHT SHOULDER. GLASS WAS ALSO DROPPED INTO THE REAR BENCH SEAT, CHILD SEAT (WAS NOT OCCUPIED), FRONT PASSENGER SEAT (WAS NOT OCCUPIED), AND ARMREST.

WHEEL WOBBLE STEERING PULLING TO SIDE WHILE DRIVING

WHILE DRIVING TO NASHVILLE, TN WE WERE DRIVING BETWEEN 65 - 73 MPH WITH SPEED CONTROL AND HIT SLOWER TRAFFIC IT FELT LIKE THE VEHICLE LOST POWER STEERING. THE STEERING WAS HARD TO HANDLE ON THE JEEP. IT WOULD PULL EITHER LEFT OR RIGHT AND WOULDN'T SEEM TO GO STRAIGHT. WE COULD STOP THE VEHICLE AND TURN IT OFF AND THE STEERING WOULD BE FINE AGAIN FOR A WHILE. I TOOK MY JEEP BACK TO THE DEALER ON DECEMBER 2, 2016 AND AS OF TODAY DECEMBER 27, 2016 THEY STILL HAVE IT. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS THE POWER STEERING OR THE LIFT SUSPENSION BUT IT MOST DEFINITELY IS A SAFETY PROBLEM. THIS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE SERVICE TECHS HAVE GOT IT TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AT THE DEALERSHIP. *TR

265/50R20 Cooper Evolution H/T, all 4 tires have cracks all the way around each tire, possibly sidewall defects. Tires were purchased new from Bob’s tire in Attalla, Alabama.

Tires: Pirelli 285/40R22. Tires failed: Front passenger + Both -Driver/Passenger tires. Failures did not occur concurrently. I am writing to report significant issues with the Pirelli tires on my vehicle, raising serious safety concerns. (Usage, two tires - 11 months / 1 tire - 4 months) Firstly, the front passenger tire has developed noticeable bumps on the sidewall near the rim. Notably, these tires have never encountered foreign objects or rough terrain that could have caused this damage. The bulges indicate potential internal damage, compromising the tire's structural integrity and posing a risk while driving. Additionally, the passenger rear tire suffered a catastrophic blowout at 65 mph on Interstate 75. Examination revealed a 10-inch strip had detached from the tire's inner layer. This sudden failure occurred without warning and could have resulted in a severe loss of control, endangering my safety and that of other road users. Similarly, the driver rear tire also blew out at 65 mph on Interstate 10 due to a failed section measuring approximately 6 inches along the contact area. These incidents raise critical concerns about the reliability of these tires, especially at highway speeds. Following these events, my technicians inspected the vehicle and found no other underlying issues, raising further questions about the quality and durability of these tires. I urge you to investigate thoroughly to prevent risks for other customers relying on your products. Thank you for your attention to this issue.