My Jeep experiences hard shifts, lunging, and unexpected disengagement of the transmission. In addition, there is an extreme delay when accelerating (dangerous when pulling out into traffic).

Each time I brought my Jeep in for an oil change, I would mention the transmission problems. The service people told me it was normal, so I let it go for a long time. After continuous complaining on my part, the service department finally did a software update. It DID NOT fix the problem. Fast forward to today (April 27, 2016) and the next step is to replace my transmission. I will list this on a separate complaint on this website.

READ THIS:

I purchased my 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk in December 2013 and it was one of the first off the assembly line with the ZF nine-speed. At the time of my purchase, I was not aware (nor told) that the ZF nine-speed transmissions had known issues. I was deceived and misled from the moment I signed my agreement.

The Cherokee release was delayed several weeks because they couldn’t iron out problems with the transmission. Fiat-Chrysler of America (FCA) CEO, Marchionne told reporters at the 2015 Detroit auto show “the transmission lacked "mature" software when it launched in 2013 on the Cherokee… We have had to do an inordinate amount of intervention on that transmission, surely beyond what any of us had forecast."

In January 2014, the executive in charge of ensuring that the ZF nine-speed's software operated correctly left what was then Chrysler Group. Mircea Gradu had been head of transmission, powertrain and driveline engineering for the automaker. He now works for Hyundai Motor America as director of engineering and quality.

FCA’s chief quality officer got the boot after a poor review of the transmission from Consumer Reports.

I bought this vehicle used in Oct. 2015. It had 13,000 miles on it and immediately noticed very rough shifting. When you push the accelerator it stalls then slams into gear causing a very hard jerk. I took it into Jeep and they said it is a “Learn Transmission” and they would re-flash the computer for the transmission and that would fix the problem. It has not. It is shifting worse than ever. I have had it into the shop 3 times for the same issue but it continues to persist. Jeep said they will change the transfer case this upcoming repair but they cannot find the part to do it now.

I am wondering why there hasn’t been some fix to this problem yet or just replace the entire transmission. My friend just bought a 2016 Jeep Overland and has about 2,000 miles on it and says his is starting to do the same thing.

Nice interior and features but the transmission is terrible.

I purchased this car back in 2015 after a previous owner returned it with 5,000 miles on it. After getting what I thought would be a great deal, I had the car no more than a few hundred miles when I noticed the transmission shifting EVER so roughly! I couldnt imagine what I was doing wrong. Since then, the car has been back in the dealership 6 times for the same issue. They keep saying how they cant do anything to help me with this case and "that is how the car drives." Let me tell you, NO car in modern time drives like this unless its a 5 speed and the driver doesnt know how to clutch. This car has the worst first 3 gears I have ever driven in. It constantly jolts forward, when you stop it feels like the transmission is still spinning and may throw you into the intersection. Ultimately this car is a piece of work. Beautiful accents, gorgeous interior, navigation, etc....god awful transmission.

I am absolutely sick of this problem now. It is a problem that has been happening consistently ever since I bought the car. Whenever the car shifts gear from 1st to 2nd to 3rd (around 0km/h to 30km/h) the gear changes really roughly. Essentially it doesn't change in time, resulting in sudden laggy acceleration. It is so annoying, and I've been to the dealership multiple times. They've offered refreshing some software, but it has done nothing. So I visited again, only to be told that this issue is unfixable. If Jeep wanted so badly to release their "9speed transmission" that sounds so fancy, they should've perfected, or at least developed it up to a moderate standard that could actually be usable. I'm sick of Jeep, and am currently looking to sell it and buy a brand new Korean or Japanese car.

The transmission repeatedly and unexpectedly goes into what feels like neutral then slams back into whatever gear it feels like. Sometimes a higher, sometimes a lower. As we live in upstate NY the roads can be snow and ice covered at times, hence the purchase of the vehicle to start with.

When it decides to do its early up shift it allows the engine to gain several hundred if not thousands of RPM before slamming into gear. This has to be very hard on other drive train parts. When it decides to downshift suddenly it also sends the RPM screaming upwards. Also slowing the vehicle rapidly, not what the drivers behind me appreciate. Twice now on slippery roads when it did it's downshift trick, it sent the vehicle sliding, once across into the oncoming lane. This is very dangerous.

The vehicle has been back to the dealer 3 times now for a "transmission ecm upgrade" if anything it gets worse (more frequent) after every upgrade. It is beyond time for Jeep to acknowledge a serious problem and either replace the transmission or the vehicle before someone gets killed.

Three trips to the dealership; seemingly, my home away from home. The check engine light is on once again: first time no code detected. Second time, a software update, third time, replace transmission module. Drove the Jeep 1/4 mile, check engine light on again! And now, transmission is making clicking grinding noises and jerking erratically. F*k! I've already taken too much time off from work trying to fix this st. I bought a brand new fking vehicle. For what? To have problems! St! Fk! Damn! My last new car lasted 175000 miles with no problems. Why are we as consumers having to put up with this new dumb! Fk this cheap s* t for a lot of money!

I purchased my 2014 Jeep Cherokee in May of 2014. I have had rust issues, transmission problems that are not fixed with flash updated, electrical issues that are random that can not be reproduced when I take it into the dealership. I am unable to lock my car for the door handle. Sometimes it locks on the first try other times it takes pressing the lock button several times. It has been replaced and it has not fixed the issue. My sunroof makes a terrible noise when I am driving on the interstate when it rains. This has been the worst vehicle I have ever purchased. I'm in the middle of a lemon law case with FCA and they are dragging it out and taking their time while I'm having to make monthly payments on a vehicle that does not preform the way a new vehicle should.

My 2014 Jeep Cherokee with a little over 5,000 miles was brought to the dealership after I noticed the rough shifting. It likes to upshift and downshift at high rpms which causes a huge jerk that throws your forward. Some times when stepping on the gas the vehicle would barely move so I'd press a little harder, then suddenly the rpms would sky rocket and the car would bang into high gear. At times when braking the rpms will shoot up and the car will accelerate and you have to slam the brakes to avoid slamming into the person in front of you. Dealership informed that they needed to do some trans software update and that problem would be fixed. Needless to say the vehicle is still shifting rough and they wont do anything but update software. Contacted customer service and all they do is try to schedule you an appointment. Useless.

I have a bad back, so it really hurt me every time the Jeep would jerk, I called and they said a lot of times the car has to get used to your driving, especially if there are 2 different drivers. I said there are 6,000 miles on this car, it should have gotten used to our driving by now. They said well bring it in, and we will check it and since you are do for an oil change, we will do that too. When I got there, they said there is an update that needs to be done. I explained that I needed to get some things done today, they said well you can get a rental, I said ok, but I am not paying for it, they said we will pay this time. After I picked up the Jeep, they said it needed an update, so that should take care of it.

Update from Aug 23, 2015: No oil change or rental that time, just the problem with the jerking.

Since picking up my leased vehicle on March 15th, 2014 there have been multiple issues with the transmission. In fact, the car began to smoke when I first picked it up, and multiple warning lights became illuminated, within minutes of leaving the dealership. The car bucked as it shifted gears.

Upon returning to the dealership, I was assured that it was a software glitch, and would be remedied. While the dashboard is no longer lit up, the car doesn’t drive properly, continuing to have rough and unpredictable shifting. When the transmission shifts gears, there is a pull back, akin to being held by a rubber band and then let go.

The car has been back into the dealership on eight occasions for five software updates and issues related to the “drive” of the car, with little improvement. On a recent test drive, the service manager at the dealership was able to replicate the ongoing issue. He noted that despite my insistence that the issue transpires during stop and go driving, previous test drives (following updates) were conducted on the highway, and thus the car was deemed as having “improved.” Yesterday, I nearly hit the car in front of me. This car is unsafe to drive.