2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Engine Problems

-Thermostat -car died in traffic -not that I know of -it was diagnosed by the dealer -no warning lights or lamps -not that I’m aware if

NHTSA ID

11737814

Incident

May 5, 2026

This submission is an update to NHTSA Complaint #11727024. The vehicle continues to experience recurring engine overheating and misfire conditions. These issues have been previously diagnosed and are consistent with known manufacturer Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) related to this engine. Despite this: The dealership has not performed the appropriate diagnostic protocol (including STAR testing) The manufacturer, Stellantis, closed my case without resolving the issue No repair or corrective action has been completed The vehicle remains in operation due to lack of manufacturer support. This condition presents a potential safety risk, including: Loss of power while driving Risk of engine failure or shutdown Increased risk during normal roadway operation The vehicle is regularly operated by my 17-year-old daughter, which increases concern regarding driver safety and reliability of the vehicle under these conditions. This situation reflects: A known defect documented by the manufacturer Failure of the dealer network to properly diagnose/repair Closure of a manufacturer case without resolution of a safety-related issue I am requesting that this complaint be reviewed as part of any broader pattern of similar failures and considered for further investigation.

NHTSA ID

11728882

Incident

Apr 2, 2026

BE ASVISED, THIS REPORT MAY BE INTERCEPTED, DELETED, HIDDEN, OR MODIFIED UPON RECEIVING. NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION Vehicle Safety Complaint Complainant: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] Vehicle: 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee ------------------------------------- SAFETY DEFECT COMPLAINT – POST-REPAIR VEHICLE CONDITION I am reporting a serious safety concern involving my vehicle following collision repairs performed by Gerber Collision & Glass under a claim handled by State Farm Insurance. After the repair, the vehicle began exhibiting multiple safety-related issues, including: - Steering instability and shaking - Engine performance issues and abnormal noise - HVAC malfunction - Persistent chemical and/or coolant odors - Physical symptoms while driving, including dizziness, lightheadedness, and shortness of breath I returned to the repair facility with photographic evidence showing parts with visible wear and damage that appear inconsistent with proper replacement. Despite this, no diagnostic evaluation was performed, and no corrective action was taken. The repair facility has refused to address the condition of these parts, and the insurer has refused to authorize further inspection. Additionally, there are discrepancies between the insurance estimate and the final repair invoice, raising concerns about whether the documented work matches what was actually performed, including work involving structural components such as the cradle/subframe. I believe this vehicle may be unsafe to operate and that the repair may have introduced or failed to correct conditions that pose a risk to driver safety. I request that this matter be reviewed as a potential safety defect related to post-collision repair. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11728833

Incident

Feb 19, 2026

I am reporting a repeated safety-related issue involving my 2021 Jeep Cherokee Overland. The vehicle has experienced ongoing engine misfires and overheating, which create unsafe driving conditions. The issue presents as follows: -Engine begins to misfire, causing rough operation and shaking. -The check engine light flashes intermittently indicating active misfire. -Vehicle performance becomes inconsistent, with concern for loss of power while driving. -Vehicle experiencing coolant loss/overheating, concern for engine failure. These conditions create a serious safety risk, as the vehicle may lose power unexpectedly or become inoperable while driving. Multiple repair attempts have been made, including replacement of ignition components (coils and spark plugs) and other related service. The issue continues to recur, and the root cause has not been resolved. Despite repeated attempts to resolve the issue through the dealership and manufacturer, the problem persists and the vehicle remains unreliable. The manufacturer has not provided a resolution despite multiple attempts, and communication is unsuccessful I am submitting this complaint due to ongoing safety concerns and a lack of resolution.

NHTSA ID

11727024

Incident

Oct 28, 2025

This vehicle has ongoing issues with electrical systems. Any time temperature drops into negative digits the vehicle will drain both batteries to the point the auto is inoperable. Further jump starting the vehicle in a very low battery state is a futile venture. The issue leaves the vehicle and it's occupants stranded in sub-zero conditions.

NHTSA ID

11713059

Incident

Jan 23, 2026

I am reporting a potential safety-related defect involving my Chrysler vehicle equipped with a V6 Pentastar engine. During a routine oil change a few weeks ago, I was informed by the service provider that my engine oil level was extremely low, despite the oil change being performed earlier than the recommended interval. This was alarming, as the vehicle had not shown any warning lights or obvious leaks. The service provider advised me that Chrysler vehicles with the V6 Pentastar engine have a known issue related to a defective engine seal that can cause excessive oil consumption. I was told that Chrysler is aware of this issue, that it has been the subject of class action lawsuits, but that it has not been formally recalled. I have since submitted my information to a class action settlement related to this issue but have not received any response. Due to the risk of engine damage, sudden failure, or safety hazards while driving, I believe this issue should be formally reviewed and documented by NHTSA. I am submitting this report to help document a potentially widespread defect that may affect vehicle safety and to ensure appropriate action is taken to protect consumers.

NHTSA ID

11710178

Incident

Dec 5, 2025

THE ISSUE IS IN STARTING THE VEHICLE. WHEN I PUSH THE START BUTTON, THE VEHICLE STARTS, BUT THE ENGINE CONTINUES TO TURN WITHOUT STOPPING AND TURNING OVER. I THEN PUSH THE START BUTTON AGAIN TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT, AND THEN IT WILL START NORMALLY. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS. ALSO, SOMETIMES WHEN YOU PUSH THE START BUTTON, NOTHING HAPPENS, AND THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START. IT TAKES A SECOND ATTEMPT TO START NORMALLY

NHTSA ID

11699713

Incident

Oct 23, 2025

First gear knocks hard in to gear,this happ en on uphills,cluster and the speed meter and the in infotainment screen has go pitch black,loss of power under acceleration and collapsing all the system of the car.

NHTSA ID

11695665

Incident

Oct 9, 2025

There is a delay in my car starting when I push the start button. When doing some research online to see what the possible issue might be I found that other cars with the same make/model/year had this issue and was apart of a recall for the fuel pump relay.

NHTSA ID

11692129

Incident

Oct 7, 2025

My 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee will not start / turn over and if it did the car will shut off. This has been happening for the past week or so. I took it to my local Jeep dealership today and they are stating that both the fuel pump and the water pump need to be replaced. They also stated that the fuel pump recall does not apply to my vin. In addition to my fuel pump needing to be replaced, my water pump has failed too. It is severely leaking water. My Jeep is only 4 years old with barely 70,000 mi and is experiencing severe safety issues. I cannot drive it as it could shut down unexpectedly while I am driving thereby posing a major safety risk.

NHTSA ID

11690530

Incident

Sep 23, 2025

I believe it is something with the engine or an electrical component. I was driving and as I was parking my car shut off, was not able to completely park back end of the car is sticking out. I looked up if there were any current recalls using my VIN and nothing appeared. I did my own researching and found that there have been recalls for that model regarding the PTU, Power Steering and Power Loss which is the issue I am experiencing. My car turns off on its own and does not get any type of power. Started having trouble turning on my car over Labor Day weekend was not able to travel due to what I thought was my battery having issues, people were jumping me to be able to start my car. I then had my battery tested at O'Reilly's on 9/3/2025 and when trying to jump start my car they shorted my engine block fuse which I was told after having my car towed to the mechanic and they took a look at it. I replaced my main battery thinking that would solve the issue and it did not and this was before the mechanic looked at it. I then had it towed to a mechanic where they replaced the engine block fuse and I was told that the car was good and running after paying on 9/19/2025. I left the mechanic and came to work where after two hours I tried to start my car and it did not. I called the mechanic and was told it was my auxiliary battery after they came to look at the car and inspect it once again that same day 9/19/2025. I purchased and replaced the auxiliary battery and was able to start and drive the car for 1.6 miles to my brothers apartment from my work before the car turned off on me as I was trying to park. There was an error message on the car at the time when it turned off which read with a caution symbol, "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon" and then turned off.

NHTSA ID

11688872

Incident

Sep 3, 2025

Was pulling into a parking spot on the 2nd level of parking garage and the Jeep accelerated and hit the cement wall at front of garage space. It accelerated on its own. The front of the jeep was crushed, and I ended up with a fractured sternum and a seat belt hernia which I will have surgery in the next couple of weeks. The airbags did not deploy. And I did not press on the gas pulling into the parking spot --- it just accelerated on its own. When I first got in the car the system showed that systems disabled, but the then the message went away. When I pressed seat one, it did not go in place and I had to adjust it on my own. I continued on to my dermitologist appointment , pulled into the the parking space and the instant brake when too close did not break and the air bags did not deploy. Thru me into the cement wall, and the whole front of the car was demolished, Not epairable.

NHTSA ID

11676946

Incident

May 28, 2025

The car keeps dying while I’m driving and saying “shift to park” and then slamming on the brakes and dying. The card is 4 years old with 44k miles. I had to sit on the side of the road in 93 degree heat in Florida while pregnant and waiting on a tow truck. How has someone not died because of this? I’ve seen SEVERAL posts of people saying the same thing happened to theirs. It’s SO unsafe.

NHTSA ID

11669356

Incident

Jun 22, 2025

This Car have a lot issues we the computer in the car, the car I was missing oil in the engine ,the piston. Blows out No light 💡 engine On the car have a lot problems we trans mission No light On,I Have problems we transfer Case No light on, Now still having problems if backups sometimes is No light on,I don’t know if Normal but if have a lot safety concerns in this car.

NHTSA ID

11667942

Incident

Oct 16, 2024

The vehicle (2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee) was on the road for about 90 minutes when the engine shut off for no reason at 65 mph in noon rush hour traffic. We were in the left lane and had to coast through 2 lanes of traffic and an exit approach while trying to avoid a deadly crash with high-speed traffic. There were no warning lights or alarms on in the car. The only message was that we needed to put the car in park to restart. We finally came to stop and waited a minute and restarted the engine and were able to make it home. I called the dealer, and the next appointment was 3 weeks out. I tried driving during a rainy day before the dealer appointment and the vehicle shut off 3 times in 3 blocks, so I returned home and waited for the appointment date. As of today, the dealer says there are no codes and in 2 test rides the car is running just fine. This is a huge safety issue and I hope that we can get help before anything happens again.

NHTSA ID

11666598

Incident

May 27, 2025

The car have a lot of problems engine total failure, mounting joints failure, acelere by him self, jerking,,while driving vehicle kicks aggressively in to gear, oil cup broken down make in the engine to blow oil over , no oil in engine. Sometimes missing 3. Quarters of oil because the seal of the engine no last , is a lot problems in this car

NHTSA ID

11658058

Incident

Feb 17, 2025

I was driving down the highway and all of the sudden and with zero warning the engine cut off but the effect it had on the car was very severe engine braking as it automatically downshifted very aggressively which caused me to go from about 80mph to a stop VERY quickly. The dash looked as if I simply had the car switched to on without starting the engine. There were no warning lights lit. Shifting into park and turning the car completely off and back on allowed it to start again with no further symptoms.

NHTSA ID

11652429

Incident

Apr 3, 2023

I was sitting inside my home when all of the sudden I heard a loud boom, walked outside and saw my 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee on fire. The fire started in the front and moved to the back of the vehicle. The engine had been off for about 2 hours and vehicle was sitting in the driveway. My son's car seat, stroller and many other belongings were ruined in the fire. A police report was not filed, but a fire report was.

NHTSA ID

11617879

Incident

Sep 6, 2024

The auto stop/start system,shuts down the engine when waiting to pull out onto a busy street.it has a shut down switch,but it gets rest everything the ignition is turned on.there is no way to perfectly shut off.

NHTSA ID

11616925

Incident

Sep 27, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that on two occasions while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the message to" Shift to Park and Restart" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled but was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to a dealer during the first failure however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,100.

NHTSA ID

11611663

Incident

Nov 17, 2022

Mileage

8,100 mi

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. After restarting the vehicle, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.

NHTSA ID

11600128

Incident

Jul 7, 2024

Mileage

25,000 mi

I was driving approximately 55 MPH on the highway when my vehicle suddenly lost all acceleration. I received an alert on the dash and a chime - the alert stated "Shift to P to Start" - with no other warnings and no CEL or Check Engine light. Pressing the gas, even to the floor, did nothing. I was forced to brake the car to a stop on the shoulder, shut off the engine, and restart the vehicle. Afterwards, I experienced some slight hesitation which resolved, and then was able to drive the rest of the trip without issues. Having the vehicle lose all power on the highway without warning is a serious safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11591529

Incident

May 29, 2024

Vehicle shuts off (engine) randomly during driving. This is the third occurrence. After waiting a few minutes vehicle is ‘fine.’ Dealership is not able to ‘replicate’ the issue. Serious safety issue. How can I operate my vehicle ethically, when I know it could shut off randomly … particularly on a fast moving highway? Dealership says it sees no error codes or issues. My hunch is an issue with the fuel pump? Perhaps a fuel sensor? PLEASE HELP! I am scared to death of driving my vehicle, and I feel I am not being offered the assistance I need. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. Thank you. Best, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11590945

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

While driving on the highway Friday [XXX] in the middle lane the whole vehicle just shut down and locked up. Speed roughly about 20-30 mph in rush-hour traffic. No warning lights at all. Full tank of gas. Zero power to anything. Wheels locked up completely. Shifter nonresponsive to try Neutral. No hazard lights. No brake lights. No way of giving other vehicles a warning. Could not open doors or windows. 911 was called to the scene and I was very thankful not to have been seriously injured or lose my life during this whole situation. I was transferred into the fire truck as to get out of traffic. Fire department had to google where to find locking mechanism for the wheels in order to push it over to the right lane. I have a police case number on hand. Vehicle had to be towed to a body shop. The vehicle was sent into service TWICE before for electrical/battery issues in March & April of 2024. Service Dealership: BROWN DODGE-CHRY-JEEP INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11586966

Incident

May 3, 2024

One day I smelled something burning after driving. I didn't see anything the first time but i kept smelling the burning smell and noticed a few days later oil dripping from underneath the car. Oil made its way ALL under the car, it traveled on various parts and created an oil coating. I made an appt to the Jeep dealership (Keffer jeep in Charlotte, NC) and they said the oil cooler failed. There were no obvious signs other than a slow leak from under the car, no warning lights, no change in performance. However had I not noticed coolant could have mixe in with oil and ruined the engine. Less than 32,000 miles on the car when it occured.

NHTSA ID

11582309

Incident

Aug 16, 2023