I noticed my dashboard bubbling a few weeks ago just around the front windshield. This car has been garage kept 90% of the time. I started googling the problem and found that I'm not the only one with the issue. I spoke to the dealer about the problem and they indicated that they have seen a lot of this but Jeep won't repair it. I am in contact with Jeep directly and have filed a complaint. They indicated that if the dealership felt it was a manufacturers issue (which they did). they would consider it. Don't know the results yet but will not give up until I have definite answer.

This is just the icing on the cake. This car has been in and out of the shop for the past two years more than I care to count and I bought it brand new.

The reason I, for fifteen years and 5 different Grand Cherokees, leased for three years was the belief that auto manufacturers built cars to last through the warranty period and had perfected planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence. When I leased the 2011 model, Fiat had just completely redesigned the car and after 3 years, I bought it. I also bought what turned out to be a brilliantly engineered built in obsolescence package. First the headlights, then the starter, now a cosmetic issue, coupled with the AC compressor fan failing...the cosmetic issue is way beyond the pale of what's acceptable. This car spends 90% of it's life in a garage. Almost overnight it looks like a beater. Really embarrassing to have a client ride in the car. So yes, I should have just leased the 2014 model and not trusted an automaker.

Having said all that...I believe this is a matter for a recall. This is a widespread problem and could very well affect the deployment of airbags. If not a voluntary recall, this should then be a class-action lawsuit. Very disappointed in Fiat Chrysler. I really had high hopes for this newly tooled company.

Update from Nov 28, 2016: Contacted FCA CEO Sergio Marcionne by email. Received a phone call from an assistant who said FCA would pay for a new dashboard. Called dealer, ordered the dashboard at my cost. When it arrived, I scheduled a service and paid for the installation. I then emailed a copy of the paid receipts to the FCA contact and received a check, that included the cost of a rental car, in ten working days. An awesome response to the dashboard problem. Thanks Sergio and FCA!

I own a beautiful black 2011 Grand Cherokee Overland Edition, with 52,000 mikes, the Jeep when purchased new was over $45,000. It has a leather dash that began to bubble a year after I purchased it. I have called Jeep to ask if there was a recall on the dash and there wasn't, however they were very aware of the problem as the lady I spoke with said so. She asked if I would like to document my complaint in the event there was a call back which I did do.

I have done extensive research and the 2011 Jeeps with 40,000 plus miles begin to exhibit this problem, where the glue begins to lose its adhesiveness and the leather begins to bubble. The cost is between $1500 to $2000 to repair and I have talked to enough people, some have been fortunate to get the dealership to replace/repair at no cost to the owners, others had materials covered and they paid the labor and others vice versa. It all depends on where the vehicle was purchased and how soon after the purchase the leather began to bubble will determine if you get any relief from the dealership.

This isn't a dealership problem its a jeep problem and while I absolutely love my Jeep I will be hard pressed to make another purchase (which I plan to do in 2017) if they wont stand behind their product and do the right thing when problems arise like this. If it was a safety issues you know they would be on it like a duck on a June bug, but because this is considered a "cosmetic" problem they wont lift a finger, because there is no threat to life or limb!

Disappointed in Marietta GA

Paul

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Update from Jun 22, 2017: same problem but a worse condition. Jeep won this battle but I will win the war when I take my hard earned money to the Ford dealership to purchase my next new vehicle! Totally unacceptable!

I have always liked jeeps but beyond frustrated with them. Bought my 2011 overland "brand spanking new" in May 2011. I won't list all issues with this vehicle but will keep this post to the bubbling leather dashboard.

I first contacted customer care in May 2015 when I noticed the bubbling dash. I was quickly informed that it was not a safety hazard and therefore Chrysler would not be issuing a recall. But I could pay for a new dash out of pocket. Thanks customer care, I could have figured that out without your help. Deciding that if I had to pay for the repair I would go to a locally owned car upholstery shop. They wouldn't touch it but would put a cover over the dash. But they wouldn't 'pierce' the bubbles so the cover would at least lay snug. Thanks but no thanks.

I have a 48k vehicle that has been embarrassing as hell to drive and have passengers in when it's very noticeable my dash and defroster vents are sticking up. Which leads me to the latest issue with this...my defroster has not been working. I've had it checked and the defroster is working fine. But perhaps the vents being dislodged and the leather shrinking away from the windows to cover the holes the vents belong in could be causing a problem. Hmmmm, Chrysler this sounds like a safety hazard to me if my windows are going to stay fogged up! ADMIT YOU USED INFERIOR PRODUCTS AND FIX OUR DASHBOARDS!!!

Sounds like I have the same problem as a lot of Jeep owners with this leather dash. The dash started bubbling a few months after we bought the car used at 42,000 miles. Started as a small bubble, didn't think much of it. Well it has continued to bubble and peel up at the edges ever since and keeps getting worse. We don't even live in a sunny place. It's Oregon, it rains 9 months out of the year! This is terrible that Jeep won't fix something that is obviously defective. It is embarrassing when people are in my car and my husband hates driving my car because of it. This is our third Jeep but after this we definitely won't be buying another. We would have been better off getting the cheaper model!

My Car started to Bubble and ripple on entire dash board. Started out as small air bubble and now the entire dash board is wrinkled, bubbled and sagging. I am so upset about this issue. I called Chrysler Canada and they were so rude and told me if I had an issue it was up to me to deal with it. I have read now, how many people are having same issue. I bought the top end of this car and expected it to last for a long time. Now I couldn't even sell it with the dash looking like this. Chrysler should help even by paying the labor or something. This is my 4th Jeep and now will be my last. When I called and told the lady this, she said "great! I will make a note about it" How rude.

If I had to write a complaint for each separate issue with this car, I would never be done writing!

Glad to see I'm not the only one! My service tech at Jeep suggested I call Chrysler (in Detroit) and speak with a customer service representative. To her credit, she explored several options but could not find a solution. She said she personally had never heard of this issue before. She mentioned if enough complaints arise, it may fall under an official recall and it would be taken care of. No idea when or if that will ever happen! I also purchased the lifetime warranty It is not covered. Just hoping there's enough of us that complain where it becomes a recall issue. Hope our collective efforts make that happen!

So finally got annoyed enough with all the issues on this vehicle, but apparently too late for FCA to do anything. Dash started bubbling along the edge of the glass a couple summers ago but I wasn't really botherd. This summer bubbling / separation started in center of dash, looks really sh*tty. I work at FCA so I looked up the root cause of the bubbling. There were issues with supplier missing a vacuum process on the leather that activates the glue. Most 2011 vehicles were built before the supplier corrected their process to ensure that it wasn't missed. I brought into dealer to see if they would cover, of course I was told it was out of warranty. I then called Chrysler Care, they told me directly that if the issue was due to a manurfacturing defect than it would be covered. I brought all the documentation (including supplier 8D report taken right out of Chrysler issue tracking system showing clear root cause) to the dearlership and a couple days later was told they couldn't do anything. I called Chrysler Care back told them what the dealership said, she called them and then told me the district manager said it couldn't be covered. Absolute BS, how about they stand by their product. This is Jeep's flagship vehicle and they won't even help out an employee with a vehicle that has a blatant issue due to missed process when building it. In addition to this dash being a POS, have had electrical issues (sunroof not finding home position), lights turning on and windows randomly rolling down when turned off, passanger side seat adjuster cable frayed and dislodged, driver side door lock jammed and every rim rusting out due to galvanic corrosion (steel cap touching aluminium rims, looks like sh*t). The last issue with the wheels is also a manufacturing defect (insufficient clear coat to isolate cap from rim). Gave out three of my employee numbers to family / friends this past year, never again. Will never recommend a Chrysler product to anyone ever again.

We own a 2011 Grand Cherokee Overland - top of the line, everything and anything available is in this car. Purchased the extended warranty, bumper to bumper - waste of money. Two years ago the leather dash started looking loose, brought to the jeep dealer in Ramsey, NJ. Said there was nothing they could do about it. Now it is two years later and the dashboard is a mess. Brought it back to Ramsey Dealership yesterday and said there was nothing they could do,not covered, not their problem, that is verbatim "not their problem, however it will be their problem if we trade it in and purchase a new Summit". Really, asshole, why the hell would we dump another penny into the purchase of a jeep when you can't back up the $50,000 car that we have now? This is our 8th Jeep, yes, 8 jeeps, and though the others had minor issues, this is by far the worst.

I want this jeep fixed, I will not stop writing, calling, being a general pain in the ass to everyone and anyone that is connected either directly or indirectly with this car. Watch out Ramsey Jeep, I am only getting started..........

"Bubbling Leather covered dashboard" 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland

On November 9, 2015, I was at the Ed Voyles Chrysler (in Marietta, GA) Jeep for an unrelated recall issue and showed them my defective leather covered dashboard (2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Overland) with only 36,300 miles on the vehicle... I spoke with the service supervisor and she told me there was nothing she could do and referred me to Chrysler and told me to have them call her to verify in her words " a defect".. I called Chrysler that afternoon (1-800-992-1997- spoke with Joslyn) gave her the details (as I did at the dealership) and she called Ed Voyles Chrysler to speak with the service supervisor while I was on hold... She came back after 5-10 minutes and told me that they wouldn't cover anything and the repair is on me. It was beyond the 3 year warranty period.. I don't know how someone can anticipate a bubbling leather dashboard prior to the expiration of the warranty period? This is a $45,000-$50,000 (even more than that now) car which has an obvious defect in workmanship that Chrysler won't admit because it's everywhere... A simple search on the internet you will see complaints/pictures about this all over the country. For example " Jeep bubbling dashboards" etc..

In addition, they hide behind "it's not a safety issue" phrase....The fact is they won't do anything (even when Jeep personnel realize and admit it's a defect).... unless they are forced to do it...

In general, I'm a reasonable customer, not nit-picky etc.... don't sweat the small stuff etc.... If I had a vehicle for 7-8 years old , 100,000 miles and the seats were ripping, cracks in the dash... so be it... I'm realistic, wear and tear.... However, not after 36,000 miles and if you saw my car you would swear it was 1-2 years old... I've always kept my cars very clean and followed strict maintenance procedures.

On November 12, 2015 I contacted Landmark Jeep/Chrysler where the vehicle was purchased. I spoke to Salesman who sold me the vehicle and described the problem. He said he would get the service manager involved and contact Chrysler.... Nothing yet...

Very frustrating and the feeling of being ripped off.... If they get back to me with an unsatisfactory answer, its my last Jeep Chrysler.

Update from Dec 18, 2015: December 18, 2015: Landmark Jeep Chrysler and Chrysler Corp. came through! Today I got my Grand Cherokee back with a new dashboard... They did a nice job installing it, called me every day to report the progress... very professional.... Chrysler Corp. arranged for a loaner car for the 3-4 days I had to leave it there.... Advice to others: It may sound obvious, but deal with the dealership you bought your car from... In particular, get the Salesperson and Service manager talking together... They need to go to bat for you...

$0 cost, a few phone calls but overall pleased with Chrysler/Jeep for handling this one.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with all available options, including a beautiful black leather dashboard with nice stitching in the grain. The Jeep is in pristine condition and always been extremely well maintained. However about six months ago, the beginning of warm weather and sunshine here in NH, the dashboard started to bubble up right in the center, about 2 inches wide and a foot or so long. Since them many other areas, have started to bubble up, against the glass on both the left and right side it bubbles up about 3/4" high and a foot long, when it is parked in shade and can cool down it is not as bad but still bubbled up about 1/2 inch and very ugly as it is right in your face!

Anyhow, I have seen online that some owners have gotten their dashboards replaced by the dealer at no charge, my dealer has done other recalls(replaced fuel pump relay today 10/19/15) on this vehicle but claims they cannot help with this leather dashboard bubbling issue.

Any help and or direction would be very much appreciated, first time to your site, I will add photos of dashboard problems as well.

thanks

This vehicle had a sticker of $44,685 and is the top of the line trim package available by Jeep. The vehicle has less than 30,000 miles and the dashboard is bubbling and separating in several places. The vehicle stays in our garage and the local dealer says "oh it's from the heat". I purchased and extended warranty from the dealer at a cost of $1,685 at time of purchasing this vehicle brand new and guess what, "that does not cover the dashboard".

The cost of repair is $2,250 and that is absurd and Jeep needs to recall this obvious defect in manufacturing.

I recently relocated to Enterprise, AL. My leather dash inside my 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is bubbling and coming away from the dash. I love my Jeep and I've always been a Jeep girl. But now I hate the new Jeeps and I want to switch over to GMC. I've also had several recalls since owning my Jeep. I had this issue with my 2005 Jeep as well. I thought Jeep/Chrysler had redesigned the Jeep. I thought they would be better. I thought they were still made in the USA. I guess that's the problem. These dealers want us to buy American made, why don't they produce quality vehicles instead of ripping off US consumers. I'll definitely buy another Honda Accord and my SUV of choice will be a Danali GMC or Mercedes. I thought Jeep was made to be a rugged vehicle and could handle the pressure. Not so. They lie to get your money and corporate headquarters doesn't care. I wish there were some way to sue them for this.