2016 Jeep Cherokee Complaints

POWER TRAIN — Filed 10/02/2026

Warning message of 4 Wheel drive overheating and disengaging. a few minutes later a loud pop occurred, and flames overtook the engine and drive train. I pulled off the road and the fire department came and put out the fire. It is a total loss. I believe that this is a safety recall but I was never notified of any repairs needed.

AIR BAGS — Filed 08/17/2026

I was involved in a significant front-end collision while driving my 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle sustained extensive front-end damage, including substantial damage to the hood, front bumper, and front structural/components area. Despite the severity of the collision, none of the airbags deployed. I sustained injuries to my neck, shoulders, and back as a result of the collision. I am concerned that the non-deployment of the airbags may have contributed to the severity of my injuries. Prior to the collision, I was not aware of any airbag warning lights, warning messages, or problems with the airbag/SRS system. I am concerned that the airbag system may not have functioned as intended during the collision. I am requesting that the non-deployment be investigated as a potential safety issue. The vehicle has been declared a total loss but remains intact at a tow facility and has not been dismantled or disposed of. It is currently available for inspection.

AIR BAGS — Filed 07/15/2026

Took a hard Impact to the rear driver side tire and rear driver door corner small dent(near rear tire), and was spun 180° causing being propelled into a light pole on the passenger front and side. No airbags deployed in the entire vehicle. Multiple people in the vehicle in the vehicle sustained concussions, one also hit their head off the side window which resulted in a large bump forming, and also sustained a fractured rib. No warning lights were on and vehicle had recently been inspected. Currently there is a case opened with JEEP regarding the lack of deployment of the airbag system related to this accident.

ENGINE — Filed 05/12/2026

pulling out of a gas station the engine revved and accelerated without me pressing on the pedal harder. i tried pressing the brakes and they would not respond. It caused my vehicle to crash into a pole where it continued to rev until the vehicle was turned off.

FIRERELATED — Filed 03/05/2026

The contact owned a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that twenty minutes after her husband parked and turned off the vehicle in a parking lot, the vehicle caught fire while unoccupied. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she noticed sparks coming from beneath the rear driver's side taillight before the vehicle caught fire. The fire consumed half of the vehicle, causing extensive damage. The firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire. There were police and fire department reports filed. The fire department informed the contact that the fire was caused by an electrical failure. The vehicle was towed to a collision center, but was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

AIR BAGS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 10/01/2025

I was going home, speed limit 55 mph, so thats what I was doing. A suv entering a intersection ahead of me, ( i dont have a stop or yield sign, but they do) the suv never stops, rolling into the intersection, as im entering the intersection at 55 mph. I tried avoidance at last second to no avail. My front drivers corner smashed the middle, passenger side of the other suv. My Jeep continues to the right, uncontrollable, stops in someone's front yard, engine still running. The other car swerved to the left, still on the road, rolling on its side. My airbags never deployed, i didnt even get any lights on the dash, i had to shut the engine off. Not one airbag deployed, and nothing even recognized there was something wrong. This car is supposed to have all options for airbags, yet a collision at highway speed, with post wreck travel of less than 50 feet, and not one single air bag deployed. I very literally could have died right there. I honestly dont know how i didn't.

FIRERELATED — Filed 06/27/2025

The contact owned a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that around 5AM, when parked on the driveway the day before in the evening, the contact's wife heard abnormal noise from a window and discovered the vehicle had caught on fire. As a result of the fire, two other vehicles and the contact's residence were damaged. The vehicle was unoccupied during the fire. A fire inspector informed that the fire was an electrical one near the battery and fuse panel. The fire was extinguished by the fire department with water and foam. A fire department report was filed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 133,000.

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 02/16/2025

I parked my vehicle at 6pm on February 15th. at 2:45 pm I awoke to a loud explosion outside my bedroom window. There was a very large fire, and it was my car. I was in shock we could only watch from our window as the fire department arrived and put out the fire which was spreading to the carport and mailboxes near my parking spot. It also burned a truck parked next to mine. both cars a total loss. My insurance company sent someone to tow my vehicle, but the tow truck driver refused saying the vehicle was untowable, due to the massive damage. the next day a neighbor informed me that he got the whole incident on video start to finish. 'The video shows my engine igniting while off and had been parked for over 6 hours. In the video you see a small flame start under the hood near the windshield wipers. the flame then grew and grew!!!! until the car was completely engulfed in flames. I also had a full tank of gas!!! Once the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. the whole thing was melted to the concrete. the engine laying on the ground. A TOTAL LOSS!!!!

ENGINE — Filed 02/16/2025

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied at 3 AM, the contact noticed a loud popping sound outside the contact's window. The contact inspected and noticed the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated the flames were coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the fire spread and damaged the vehicle that was parked beside the contact's vehicle owned by the neighbor. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in a residential apartment parking lot when the fire occurred. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The Police arrived, however, no report has been filed as of yet. There were no injuries sustained. The contact stated that both vehicles were towed to a local tow yard. In addition, both vehicles were condemned to total loss. The origin of the fire was undetermined however video surveillance showed that the fire started from the front area. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 01/15/2025

There was absolutely no warning driving at 55 mph heard a loud noise and smelt fluid pulled over small flame that extinguished by itself and fluid everywhere did a little research and many of these same jeeps had a PTU issue and were recalled

POWER TRAIN — Filed 01/16/2025

*While driving vehicle on highway heard a loud noise and grinding sound and PTU exploded and *was not able to maneuver vehicle properly. *Fluid that was leaking out . Caused fire . Once car turned off this stopped flames .This could have been a very dangerous situation if it had not gone out for us and others on the highway. * we brought the vehicle to our mechanic who diagnosed it and said there was a problem to bring it to the Jeep dealer who also diagnosed the same problem. * it is currently still at the Jeep dealer . Because there are no parts available, which makes us wonder if this has happened to many other people.. * there were no warning, lamps or messages that came on.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 02/04/2024

Cruise control would not disengage. Instead it accelerated me to 85 mph is rush hour traffic. The car continued to accelerate will out responding to any commands to turn off cruise control. Second time this has happened. It was supposed to be fixed by doing an update to the car. This did not work. The second time I attempted to use cruise control after having had the long block engine replaced due to the oil consumption law suit, the car once again had the same problem with now slowing down. I tried putting the car into neutral and pressing the break. The car was accelerating so fast. The brakes had no effect without causing me to lose control. I was forced to put the car into a ditch at 75 mph. Rather than to rear end the dead stopped 3 lanes of traffic ahead of me and being pinned in by the traffic behind me. Car flipped I now have brain damage and failing kidneys due to blood transfusions

POWER TRAIN — Filed 07/27/2023

I was sitting at a red light when the light turned green I hit the gas and I heard clunk truck put it on park got out to check andy car rolled backwards into a man's car then wouldn't go forward or reverse and then after awhile mechanic got there and said the right front axle came undone from the ptu some how

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE — Filed 03/20/2023

The contact owned a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that she had parked the vehicle in the driveway near the garage of her friend's residence, and 10 minutes later, she was informed that the vehicle had caught on fire. The contact stated that the vehicle caught on fire from the front seats onward. The contact stated that the fire expanded to the garage, causing the whole residence to catch on fire. The contact stated that the five adults and two children, who were occupying the residence immediately exited the residence. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. A fire department report was filed. The contact did not recall whether a police report was filed. There was no injury sustained. The vehicle was totaled. There was no further information provided. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the case had been closed as they were unable to investigate the remains of the vehicle. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V338000 (Electrical System, Structure), however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 05/24/2023

Recently my emergency brake locked up while driving and lost control and bumped my head pretty hard the car would not release it brought it to jeep dealer they said it’s corrosion due to water intrusion in the electronic emergency brake module after doing a little research on finding that a lot of people are having the same problems and have reported them to you. I also called jeep and had a customer service representative. That was very rude and did not care about the accident. I’ve just been in Is there anything you can do as my car is stuck in the shop at the moment, don’t want to put a new part in if it’s going to happen again because it’s a manufacture defect, and I also don’t want the brakes to lock up while me or my wife is driving. This is very dangerous and needs immediate attention now

POWER TRAIN — Filed 04/05/2023

The contact's son owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. The contact stated that while his son was parking, the transmission was shifted into park (P), the contact's son lifted his foot off the brake when the vehicle sporadically accelerated, crashing into another parked vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. No injuries were sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V302000 (Power Train). 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 121,000.

AIR BAGS — Filed 12/07/2022

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while his fiancé was driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle crashed head-on into a tree. During the crash, the front-end was severely damaged but no air bags deployed. During the crash, the driver sustained head and neck injuries rendering her unconscious. The driver also sustained an injured right knee, leg contusions, and lacerations; along with chest and torso injuries. The driver was transported from the scene to seek medical attention. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was towed from the scene. The vehicle was later deemed destroyed by the insurance company. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 05/31/2022

January 4, 2022 I was in and accident. My vehicle was in the repair shop for 90 days. The car was repaired and was in good working order. The other person involved in this accident was a 17 year old female. She was not injured.’ On 4/12/22 I took a trip, stopped for gas, attempted to make a left turn in the station but the car malfunctioned ( like a standard transmission) and ran over the center divider. I filled the tank and no problems afterwards. May 31, 2022 as I approached A left turn the car malfunction, (bucked like a stick shift.) I was struck by another vehicle, my car was hit with such force it overturned, spun around the opposite direction and struck a pole. However, it was not a head on collision because my vehicle had no front damage. The airbags deplored and I had serious injuries and a concussion. According to bystanders, the other vehicle speed was approximately 50 miles per hour; the speed limit on this roadway is 35 MPH. It is a dangerous rode with many fatalities this year. The driver in this accident was an 18 year old male. He was not injured. There are no traffic signals for more than one mile. It is a heavily traveled rode and the on and off ramps to I95. I have complained many times to our 911 operator about people speeding, running the red light and stop signs.

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 05/19/2022

At approx. 49,000 miles I brought my Jeep to an authorized dealership to inspect hard shifts/skips in the transmission shifting. Dealership was unable to reproduce issue. At approx. 59,000 my vehicle was fully repaired and guaranteed from an authorized collision center (passenger side impact) when the transmission light began to illuminate. The same dealership cleared these codes without diagnosis for the issue. At approx. 71,000 the 4WD light illuminated and the dealership replaced the PTU, indicating it was "unresponsive" yet not due to collision. Days after this repair the module that communicates connection between my vehicle and the starter/alternator has gone out "inexplicably" I believe my model has faulty electrical components similar to the recalled models and I would like to raise complaints everywhere and anywhere that my issue is relevant.

VISIBILITY — Filed 04/04/2022

The contact's granddaughter owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while his granddaughter was at a stand still at a railroad crossing, the rear windshield shattered independently without impact. The contact stated he was not aware of any warning light was illuminated. The driver called the police department and filed a police report. The contact stated no one was injured nor seek medical attention. The driver was able to continue to drive to her residence. The contact spoke to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The contact stated an independent mechanic came to her residence and informed the rear defroster on the windshield overheated and burned the cables which caused the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/04/2021

I had my car parked in a public parking garage for a few hours, and it suddenly caught on fire on the backside of the car. There were no warning lights or anything like that before hand. The whole back of the car is burned and the cars on either side of me were damaged as well. The fire department had to come put the fire out. I don't know for sure, but it sure seems like it might have been the same Power Liftgate short circuit issue that the 2014-2015 Jeep Cherokees got recalled for (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2015/RCRIT-15V393-6798.pdf)

AIR BAGS — Filed 01/26/2021

My wife was involved in an accident due to the other driver making an illegal u-turn. This collision involved a front impact of her Jeep causing several thousand dollars of damage. During this accident, the airbags did not deploy as would have been expected in an accident of this nature.

AIR BAGS — Filed 05/21/2021

Airbags failed to deploy after front end no-fault collision.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 12/24/2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED 2016 JEEP CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH AND APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED HOWEVER IT FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AS SHE REAR ENDED TWO VEHICLES. THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE STEERING WHEEL AND KNEE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AS A WELL AS THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG. NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES TO HER LEGS AND CHEST, SHE ALSO HAD WHIPLASH AND A VERY BAD MIGRAINE. THE CONTACT STATED THE OCCUPANT IN THE OTHER VEHICLE HAD SUSTAINED WHIPLASH. EMERGENCY OFFICIALS WERE ALERTED. THE CONTACT STATED SHE REFUSED TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM DUE TO COVID-19. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN UNIDENTIFIED SALVAGE YARD WHERE IT WAS DEEMED A TOTAL LOSS. THE LOCAL DEALER (MAK HAIK FORD 10333 KATY FWY, HOUSTON, TX 77024) WAS NOTIFIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 80,000.*DT*JB*DT*JB

AIR BAGS — Filed 11/01/2020

IN FRONT END ACCIDENT HITTING A TREE AND AIRBAGS DIDN'T GO OFF.