10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 32,599 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Vehicle would not shift into drive after backing out of driveway. Had to stop after rolling down hill and shift to park, then back to drive again to get the vehicle in gear. Service shifter light was repaired at the dealership 6 or 7 months ago. That problem has returned as well.
- Oak Ridge , NC, USA
The "Service shifter" notification continues to come on while driving. All shifter lamps light up which scares the driver not knowing what gear you are in. The driver has to pull over to turn off the vehicle and turn it back on to clear the notification and light. On busy Interstates and Highways, this puts my family at risk! I have found that there are many forums out there for jeeps 2014 to present that have had these issues for years without a clear fix. Some have stated they have spent $$$ without resolution. I just called a jeep dealership about my issue and they told me that they would have to charge me over $150 to confirm that I'm having this issue before addressing it! If this is a continued flaw or issue with the vehicle, why hasn't it be addressed and resolved before some is hurt or worse?
- Deer Park, WA, USA
After the vehicle stalled I waited a minute and tried to start the vehicle again. The engine started and came up with the error "Service Shifter." The status lights for all the gears were red. The vehicle was parked on a flat parking lot and it was 55 degrees outside. The vehicle had previously run fine a few minutes before.
- Powell, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. The contact stated while driving at 40 MPH and going up a hill, the vehicle inadvertently stalled. The contact stated he veered the side of the road and switched gears to park. The contact stated as soon as he exited the vehicle, the vehicle rolled down and ran over his right arm. The contact stated his wife who was sitting in the passenger seat promptly depressed the brake pedal with her hands and the vehicle stopped. The contact sustained a bruised wrist but did not seek medical assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the power transfer unit had failed and the failure was related to the recall for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V343000 (POWER TRAIN). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they would follow up with the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000.
- Bentonville, AR, USA
I was driving like normal about 15 mph after just pulling out of the gas station onto the main road and have no issues with my car as of late and all of a sudden it just stopped. All the lights lite up on the shift, every light lite up on the dash saying everything needed to be serviced, I was unable to move or do anything with the car, not even turn it off and i was in the middle of the road! Luckily no one was behind me and I was still able to engage my hazards. After about 10 min's my car turned off on it's own. I sat for another 10 before finally being able to turn it back on and move it to the side of the road and eventually get it back to my house 2 miles away. Clearly this is a serious safety issue and is not ok, especially the fact that my car was bought brand new and is not even 5 years old!
- Orland Park, IL, USA
Unknown
- Wichita, KS, USA
Frequent service shifter light comes on but goes away after restarting car, transmission slipping
- Anniston, AL, USA
Car stalls without warning or indicator lights and will not restart in a safe manner. There are dozens of reports concerning this situation online and it is a SERIOUS safety issue that has received no attention. There is apparently and -€œincomplete-€ notice from JEEP that has failed to reach all customers. This has now happened to me three times -€" 2 of which were in situations that created significant safety risk.
- New Hyde Park, NY, USA
While driving the warning chimed with a -€œservice shifter-€ message on the dashboard screen. All of the lights (P, D, N, R) were light in the shift indicator. Due to the warning message I was not able to see any other information on my dash. I wasn-€™t sure if I could even keep driving leading me to panic for fear that I couldn-€™t even put the car in park. After some research I have come to find this is a recurring problem with 2014-2019 Jeep Cherokees. Since this occurred on a weekend I intend on leaving the car parked for safety and calling a dealership Monday morning.
- Struthers, OH, USA
The Service Shifter warning comes on the dash and all of the LED's on the shifter turn red. It used to only happen when the vehicle was turned on. We would shut off the car and restart it and it would go away. Lately, it's been getting progressively worse. We have to turn off the car and restart it multiple times, sometimes running it through the gears to get the warning to go off. But, now it's turning on while driving. We haven't been to the dealership yet, but there are numerous complaints about SERVICE SHIFTER on the 2017 Jeep Cherokee. I hope they don't wait too long to issue a recall.
- New Waterford, OH, USA
-€œService Shifter-€ message appears and all gears (P, R, N, D, etc.) light up on the gear shift. I purchased my vehicle brand new and this has been happening since 28K miles. When I contacted the dealership, I was told it was not covered under warranty or a recall; it would cost about $400 with parts and labor to repair. I was also told if I did not repair it, that it could eventually turn into a safety hazard where my engine would lock up and stall and I would be stranded on the side of the road and it would not start up again. What happens if this is occurs on the highway. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed. Others all across the nation are experiencing the exact same problem. https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t68742_ds990296
- Pine Bluff, AR, USA
On the morning of 8/11/21, my 2017 Jeep Cherokee turned off on its own while I was still parked in my driveway. I took the key out and waited several seconds before turning the car on again. The car appeared to function correctly - no warning lights or messages. I went on to start my usual 30-minute commute to work. Approximately 15-minutes into that commute, a "service shifter" message appeared on the dashboard. The gear shift lights all turned red. I immediately pulled over and put the vehicle in park. The gear shift lights were all still red and I was only able to confirm that my vehicle was in park via the dashboard. This put my safety at risk as I did not know if my vehicle would remain in drive or if it would change to reverse as I attempted to safely pull over. Luckily, I was alone and my young child was not in the vehicle with me. After safely pulling over and parking, I took the key out and let the vehicle sit for nearly a minute. I turned the vehicle back on and everything appeared to be back to normal. I immediately called my local Jeep dealership to seek service advice and was told that this is a common issue. I asked if my vehicle was safe to drive now that the message was not appearing on the dash. I was told it was NOT safe to drive but to call them the next time the warning message appeared and they would TRY to schedule me for service. No service appointments were available for the next two weeks so there was nothing they could do to help me. This response is grossly irresponsible and putting vehicle owners at risk. A quick Google search will uncover that this is a known issue and Jeep has done nothing to issue a recall.
- North Hollywood, CA, USA
Service shift warning message. Same as the complaints already filed by other people. Happens too often. Dealership never fixes the issue but wants to charge even though it will continue to happen.
- Laredo, TX, USA
On July 3, 2021 I stopped at STOP sign, then when I stepped on the gas car wasn't moving, when I looked at the gear shift I noticed all the lights are on, all P R N D AND "-" AND "+" NEXT TO THE GEAR (PICTURE ATTACHED). Then I stopped the engine and restarted the car to move on. On July 16, 2021 I took the car for oil change and showed the picture to the mechanic at the JEEP Service Center in Morgan Hill California (on Church Street in Morgan Hill, CA). The service guy said we know this problem it is a recall, he said it is wiring harness problem for the gear, he said they will fix it when they receive the part at no cost. Then, on July 26, 2021 I went back to see if they have received the part to fix the problem This time the service guy said it is not covered, JEEP will not pay for it. Well, if it is electrical wiring harness problem why should I pay for it. Such thing is a design/manufacturing problem, it is not wear and tear. Why should I pay for the problem created by manufacturers fault. Such electrical problem could well cause for an accident Please inform me what should I do" is it a recall? or is a new recall candidate" Sincerely, [XXX] email:[XXX] cell: [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Morgan Hill, CA, USA
Service shifter indicator lights on console & display. Comes on while driving & scared to drive due to not knowing if it will fail & cause an accident and/or fatality
- Sperry, OK, USA
Service shifter - I researched the propblem and apprently there is a faulty error with a lot of Jeep Cherokee in regards of this matter please invistigate. Thank you
- Trenton, OH, USA
My service shifter light came on and all the lights on the shifter console came on (PRND21). At first, I could turn the car off to reset it. This was dangerous because I had to pull over wherever I was. As time has gone on it pretty much stays on. My car has 33000 miles on it but is past the 3-year mark. I took it to the dealership and they told me the previous years had this problem but was recalled. It cost me $500 to replace a plastic bezel. I have saved all dealership repair paperwork. The dealership confirmed this is a very common problem.
- Columbia, NC, USA
I received an engine shutoff signal which disabled the car immediately without prior warning. It was due to the protection signal for low oil. The vehicle had a oil change 5,000 miles prior with synthetic oil. Over the course of 5,000 miles it "burned" the oil to the point of low level. Upon discovery, I noted many customer complaints (online) of this issue. There was no prior warning to the low oil level (no low pressure light or indicator.) I purchased this vehicle for my daughter and had she been driving on a busy highway, it would have disabled her car without any power to safely navigate this from the road, probably leading to a major accident. A newer vehicle with no mechanical issues does not "burn" oil excessively, this is a major engine issue. Some oil loss is understood and normal (in older cars), this newer vehicle used over 3 quarts of oil in the span of one oil change. Had I known about this issue, I would have been vigilant in monitoring this issue. Not knowing about this issue led to a very unsafe shutdown of the vehicle.
- Lehman, PA, USA
My daughter was driving her car. It started "jerking". She pulled into a parking lot because she was worried. Her granddad went to pick it up and it drove fine for him. He said the parking brake was on- she did NOT put the parking brake on. I drove it down the street the next day- it jerked then also- and then stopped in the middle of the road. I was able to get it started back up and pull into my driveway. The next day my husband got it towed to a repair shop. It wouldn't work at all! The shop says it needs the transmission rebuilt or a new one. I feel my daughter's safety was at risk, because she is a newly turned 16 year old driver. If she had been driving it when it completely stopped it could have been bad. There were no warning lamps or messages beforehand- except that the parking brake was on- when it was not.
- Muscle Shoals, AL, USA
- International Falls, MN, USA