2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Consumer writes in regards to ignition switch safety recall. The consumer stated the while attempting to make a left turn the steering and brakes failed. The vehicle went off the road and about 15 feet nose first into a gully. The air bags did not deploy. The consumer stated a recall was later released that appeared to have been related to the failures. The manufacturer advised the failure was not related to the recall.

- Byfield, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While the vehicle was stationary, the ignition switch malfunctioned. The contact could not shut off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 125,000.

- Albemarle, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the engine stalled. The contact was able to merge to the shoulder and restarted the engine which resumed normal function. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer advised that recall NHTSA campaign number 14V438000 (electrical) was not ready for repair. The failure mileage was 98,476.

- Lake Linden , MI, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the key failed to turn into the on position preventing the vehicle from starting on several occasions. Also, the vehicle stalled intermittently as the lights and gauges flickered. In addition, the vehicle decelerated each time the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to three repair shops. The technicians were not able to replicate or diagnose the failure. The vehicle was then taken to authorize dealer who indicated that the failure ciuld have been due to a faulty ignition switch but failed to confirm a specific diagnosis to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 14V438000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

- Daleville, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving various speeds, the contact inadvertently struck the ignition switch with the knee causing the vehicle to stall. The contact received a notification for NHTSA campaign number: 14V438000 (electrical system). However, the parts needed were not available. The contact mentioned that the manufacturer had exceeded the reasonable amount of time for the repairs. The dealer stated the parts were unavailable for repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 35,000.

- Midlothian, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled intermittently and the instrument cluster shorted out, which caused the gauges and sensors to malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop. The technician stated that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V438000 (electrical system); however, the parts needed to repair the vehicle were unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Garretteville, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 14V438000 (electrical system: Ignition: Switch). The VIN was included in the recall, but the part needed to repair the vehicle was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufactured exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Troy, NY, USA

My knee hit the ignition switch while I was driving, which turned the vehicle "off" at 65mph on the highway. The brakes and the steering lost power. This is happened about 10 times overall. Thankfully, I have always been able to turn the car back on before any accidents happened.

- Hampton, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the ignition stopped functioning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the winder on the ignition switch caused the switch to deteriorate. The dealer stated that the part was on backorder since the failure had become a common problem. The VIN was unavailable when the time complaint was filed. The current and failure mileages were approximately 72,000. Updated 11/03/10.

- Levittown, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving at any speed, the vehicle shuts off whenever an object touches the ignition key. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current mileage was 22,200 and failure mileage was 18,000. Updated 05/19/08.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

I am the owner of a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. On more than 10 occasions since I have purchased the vehicle I have inadvertently shut of the engine by hitting the key with my knee while driving at highway speeds. I believe this is due to the placement of the ignition directly above the driver's knee. To date I have been able to maintain control of the vehicle and get it restarted before an accident occurred. However, without power steering if I had been on a curve I doubt I would have been able to maintain control of the vehicle. I have been in touch with daimler Chrysler via email in an attempt to resolve this situation to no avail. This may be unique to me but I consider it to be a serious safety condition that needs to be rectified. I have asked them to allow me to terminate my lease without success. At this point there is no alternative but to ask that an investigation be initiated to determine whether my concern is an individual problem or a serious safety defect. Thank you for you prompt attention to this matter.

- Staten Island, NY, USA

: the contact stated while driving or in park the vehicle was turned off when the contact's knee touched the key. Even when the seat was moved farther back the problem still occurred. The key contains the remote keypad on it, which makes the key larger and easy to be hit. The ignition is located on the dashboard. The dealership replaced the ignition cylinder in an attempt to prevent the problem from occurring without success. Updated 03/22/06

- Chestertown, MD, USA

When ignition key is in place with the 2005 Grand Cherokee Laredo running, it is possible to bump the lower edge of the key with the driver's knee. ** answer required*** the consumer stated the remedy would be to raise the ignition switch or make the key smaller.

- Menlo Park, CA, USA

The car was a rental car. The driver rented it last week. The contact was driving on interstate in the right lane and driver's knee hit the key and the car shut off. The driver lost power steering, and had to come to a stop in the middle of the highway. The driver had the same problem again on an off ramp. The car shut off and he lost power steering, had to coast to a stop again. The local chyrsler dealership advised that there was a government mandate that requires that the key be located on the dashboard. The owner contacted rental company upon return, and made a complaint. The driver wanted others to know. The VIN number not listed because the contact was not the owner, this was a rental car.

- Jackson, MI, USA

I have a 2005 Grand Cherokee Laredo under 3000 miles. My engine light has come on less than 10 times, and my car has stalled when come to stop light or complete stop about 5 times. I have made 5 trips to the dealer and the first few times they could not find anything wrong with it. Then they determined it was related to the remote start which they had installed. I got it back and they said it was fixed and it stalled out when I pulled into my driveway that very day. Engine light came on again exactly 1 week later. Engine light is still on now. This will be my 7th trip to the dealer for this problem. I would also like to say that I have also hit the key in the ignition twice which made the car shut off and my car has also revved up with the brake on just as the other complaints on this site. I am also only getting 12 miles per gallon!

- Powell, OH, USA

Bought a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee in late October. Have had numerous instances on engine shutting down while driving, including on a busy expressway. Neither Chrysler nor the dealer was able to correct the problem (the dealer's service department was in contact with Chrysler techical support when trying to repair). They tried a couple of repairs suggested by Chrysler that did not resolve the problem. Finally realized I was gently bumping the ignitiion key or attached keys when going from the accelerator to the brake and the switch was moving to "accessory" from "on" and killing the engine. The two positions are very close together. Have talked to two people at the dealership who have had this happen with either a Jeep or pacifica. To me this is a serious safety concern that could get someone injured or killed if in traffic. I removed all other keys and even the ring from the ignition key to try to prevent this from happening. With this information, the dealer has agreed to replace the ignitiion cylinder; I asked that they check the other Grand Cherokee to see if it's a common problem several days ago, but they have not yet responded. To me as an engineer, there are two problems: The ignition switch is very low on the dashboard where the key can easily be hit, and the two positions on the switch are very close together, making this problem easy to occur. If there is the slightest weakness in the spring in the ignition, this is even more likely.

- Charlevoix, MI, USA

Driver's knee would hit the ignition switch while driving, this caused the vehicle to shut off. Contacted the dealer for this problem. Dealer informed consumer no complaint on this problem was recorded.

- Allen Park, MI, USA