10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
35,006 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Jeep Cherokee steering problems

steering problem

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2016 Jeep Cherokee Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #24

Jun 152019

Cherokee

  • 55,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While in motion: 2016 Jeep Cherokee will randomly lose engine power during a right turn (on highway at high speed and at low speed on city street), steering locks up, decelerates automatically, and dash says to put vehicle into manual mode and select the desired gear. This is very dangerous and has almost caused an accident two times.

- Schaumburg, IL, USA

problem #23

May 222019

Cherokee

  • 41,000 miles
Vehicle loses power while driving, engine shuts down, steering locks and the dash lights up with a message that says put vehicle and "park" and then select desired gear. I have two small special needs children. This has happened 3 times in the last two months. I keep my vehicle up to date on maintenance/service. I read over 100 people's exact same complaints on line. It doesn't make sense that I am paying a car payment, have less than 45,000 miles on a less than 3 year old vehicle, and having these kind of safety concerns. We have one vehicle, limited means, and tons of therapy appointments. Today, my car died with no warning on a busy road, gives me approximately 10 seconds to pull to safety before there is no speed/ability to manuever the vehicle. It is ridiculous that the risk is so high, and the number of complaints listed on line show a serious issue with this among hundreds of vehicles by Jeep and nothing. The dealerships/service continue to make comments like "we were unable to replicate the issue". to be specific: Driving at about 25 miles per hour, straight following a right turn....lost power. Lights went on the dash, message above appeared. It took two tries to restart to get me out of the middle of the road.

- Taylor, MI, USA

problem #22

Apr 112019

Cherokee

  • 71,000 miles
Purchased a 2016 Jeep Cherokee 2016 latitude. Had 70,000 miles on it. Two weeks into owning it on hard turns the battery light and dash would light up. On two occasions the car would be making a turn (in drive) and would fail accelerate or continue in that gesr causes it to stall into neutral and then loose steering control. The car would then shake violently and after getting out of the way of traffic it was turned off. Once the car was turned off the car would not start until 3 or 4 times. Imagine this happening on the entrance to the high way. The car would drive for a couple miles and then stall out again. Not a safe car and do not feel comfortable moving forward with this vehicle especially St high speeds.

- Port Washington, NY, USA

problem #21

Dec 012018

Cherokee

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Service shifter light came on and gear shift lights are all red, P, R, N, D. they stay lite up. It happens when I shift gears. It doesn't matter if I shift into reverse or park it still lights up and doesn't turn off unless I restart my engine. I've researched and a lot of people are having the same problem with their Jeep including 2018 models

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #20

Mar 142019

Cherokee

  • 41,500 miles
While making a turn, the vehicle lost power in the brakes, accelerator and steering wheel. Everything locked up while I was going upwards of 25mph. I was able to coast to the side of the road, but completely lost the ability to control my vehicle. The car would not function until I turned it off and tried to restart it a few times taking a couple of minutes. This happened once on the 14th of March and once on the 15th of March. I was told by the Jeep dealership that they are aware of the issue and have told people to make sure to check their oil. I was told the dipstick does not reach the bottom of the oil pan and only goes down about halfway (3 of the 6 total quarts the pan holds). When the dipstick does not "feel" oil the entire car essentially shuts down and locks up in order to "protect the engine" causing the driver to lose all ability to control it. They might be protecting the engine from burning oil, but to lose functionality puts my life in danger. Jeep/Chrysler have had this reported before as I found numerous cases of the same story. However, they refuse to do anything about it. I could have been in a very serious accident if I was going faster than 27mph or if I was not in an area that I was able to coast to the side of the road. I was not told any of this information when I purchased the car

- Olathe, KS, USA

problem #19

Jan 012019

Cherokee

  • 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. While driving 45 mph, the engine stalled and the steering wheel seized. The contact was unable to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over and towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 72,000. The VIN was unknown.

- Palmer, TN, USA

problem #18

Dec 222018

Cherokee

  • 51,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving, vehicle will decelerate and warning light appears to shift car in gear. Then car turns off. Can not use breaks, all electronics flash and coltage light alarm comes on. When taken to dealer twice, no errors found. My children drove it today and the vehicle suddenly stopped and all warning lights came in along with a message to shift the car into gear. The vehicle was dead. Took back to dealer and again no error. I have researched this and many of the same vehicles are having the same problems, but Jeep does nothing.

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #17

Sep 262017

Cherokee

  • 1,100 miles
After having my brand Jeep for less than 2 months, the service park brake, anti-lock brake, and traction light went off while driving. My car then proceeded to jerk while driving so I pulled over and turned the car off. Upon restart of the Jeep, all the lights were gone and the Jeep drove fine. 5 to 6 months (around March 2017) later the lights went off again while driving and the wheel became stiff and hard to turn. Since the light went off after turning the car off and back on before, I did that but the lights stayed on. I called to schedule an appt with the dealership then the lights went off. The lighst stayed off, as the appointment was 2 weeks away, so I cancelled it. As a single parent I cannot afford to waste money for a diagnostic that would not show an error because the malfunction lights were off. In August of 2017 the lights came one again, the wheel became hard to steer. These lights stayed on for 2-4 days then went off. This occurence happened again in between as well my sons bday weekend February 2018. My parents were driving the car and this made them uncomfortable. Since then the lights came on more frequently, using go off within a day or 2, only to come back on again. In the past 3 weeks the lights have come on daily, cut off while driving, and cut back on. The brakes now make a vibrating sensation when driving, and 3 times when backing up the parking brake engaged itself. In the history of ownerhship of this vehicle I have used my parking brake maybe 3 times. I am frustrated with this vehicle that I purchased brand new with 7 miles on it to being experiencing so many problems. I have owned the vehicle since Sept 2016 (not even 2 full years although this problem started early on) and only have 25K miles on it.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #16

Jul 172018

Cherokee

  • 54,500 miles
My Jeep has been and looked at for shaking in the front end when getting to a certain speed. I have found out after going to get a wheel alignment and being told it may be my tires and having them changed and then told it may be the balance of the tires and having that checked the issue is still present. After looking into this issue more and talking to other Jeep owners about this they said it is what is called the Jeep shakes. And according to looking this issue up this is present on many Jeep years and for me as a car owner there is no recall to fix this issue. The cost of fixing this issue can range from $900 to 1500 dollars depending on where it is taken. The Jeep when driving and reaching 55 plus mph and it starts to shake and if able to get to 65 mph the shaking ceases.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #15

Jun 152018

Cherokee

  • 52,000 miles
On 4 separate occassions, while in motion, the car completely shut down. On each stall, everything shut off completely including all lights dashboard etc. When I attempted to restart the car in the middle of the road (once on the highway) obstructing traffic, the car would not restart. Only after waiting 3 -5 minutes did the car eventually start. Twice I was almost rear ended.

- Rock Hill, SC, USA

problem #14

Apr 012018

Cherokee

  • 30,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee that was hitched to a recreational vehicle. While driving the recreational vehicle at 60 mph with the Jeep in tow, the contact noticed that the Jeep was swaying vigorously. The vehicle was taken to an unknown Jeep dealer (the contact was driving on vacation), but the failure could not be diagnosed. The contact was informed that it was safe to drive the recreational vehicle while towing the Jeep. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 30,000. The VIN was not available.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #13

Feb 232018

Cherokee

  • 19,233 miles
While stopped at an intersection, the vehicle stalled. All light went off and brake pedal stuck down. I put car in park and turned key. Tried to restart vehicle and nothing started... light just came on the dash with every item flicking. The brake pedal was still stuck down. If I out the car in neutral, unable to push vehicle and unable to remove parking break. Keep in mind I'm at a very heavy traffic intersection. Took about 5 minutes until the car told me to press break to release parking break. I turned the key and the vehicle started again. Now I am afraid this will happen every time I come to a stop. My car has 19300 miles.... nothing to this extent should be going wrong.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #12

Jan 212018

Cherokee

  • 20,673 miles
"takata recall" I have had my car looked at a couple times for the same issues and no luck getting it fixed. While driving on both highway and regular roads I will get a warning chime and all of a sudden my service parking brake, ABS, traction control, and four wheel drive- overheated lights come on. I then lose power steering, the steering wheel becomes very stiff and the brakes stop working. It is very scary especially in the winter time, to not be able to control your vehicle. I am pregnant and have a 2 year old child and do not want this Jeep anymore unless fixed. I have done research and it seems that people with the same Jeep even different years have had the same issue. Please help! this always happens when the vehicle is in motion. I have many of the same images just all different days this has happened to me. I will attach and image below. As stated this has happened multiple times not just one day. Thank you.

- Highgate Center, VT, USA

problem #11

Jan 132018

Cherokee

  • 12,700 miles
Jeep wobble. I was towing my vehicle behind my motor home. I had traveled approximately 300 miles without problems. Near the end of my trip I made a right turn. Just after making the turn I felt a violent shaking. The incident occurred at low speed estimated to be 20 to 25 mile per hour. I looked into the rear camera and was able to see the vehicle oscillating from side to side.I immediately slowed to a stop to get the shaking to stop. Since I was blocking traffic I continued on to a safe place. After proceeding about a mile to my destination, I had no further issues. I have contacted Jeep concerning the issue. They stated that it was on me to buy a wiring kit to correct the problem. When I purchased the vehicle on December 31, 2017, I told the dealer that I was in the market for a vehicle for towing. They did not have one with the equipment necessary for towing in stock but stated they could get one from louisville ky. I agreed to have get it. In short I purchase a vehicle that the dealership said was ready for towing. At now time during the sales process or after was I ever notified a a wiring package requirement. I just learned of it in recent days when I had it in the shop. I feel that Chrysler should pay for the fix and not me as the consumer based on their representation that the vehicle was ready for towing.

- Groveport, OH, USA

problem #10

Oct 042017

Cherokee

  • 37,800 miles
In November 2016 I was driving in a 35mph zone. The car began to skip and jump forward. Without warning the service shifter light came on and all my lights for the shifter came on (P, R, N, D). The car which was in drive immediately shifted into park and I lost all control. Thankfully I was able to come to a stop and call for a tow truck. The issue was fixed under warranty and they said it's a defect in the shifter. The service department was very vague when explaining this to me. Two weeks later I I was told I could pick up my car. Fast forward to today 10/04/2017, my car did the same thing. I was traveling at 55 mph this time and lost all control. I had to jump a curb and drive across the lawn and into the parking lot. I have read many issues about this problem from other Jeep owners. Why hasn't a recall been issued? especially if this is a known issue. I could have caused a large accident especially since it was during rush hour. Safety of consumer and others on road need to be taken into account.

- Lexington, SC, USA

problem #9

Apr 302017

Cherokee

  • 17,500 miles
2016 Jeep with "active drive II" while flat towing my vehicle behind my motor home according to book procedures, we encountered an incident where the front of the vehicle started rocking, shaking, moving right/left up and down. We were on a main highway(concrete improved). I initially had no idea what had happen. We had been on the road for a couple hours. Once off road, I could find nothing wrong. Tires, tow bar, suspension all seemed as it should be. We moved the motorhome was vehicle (our tow) slowly to a more safe area. Still found nothing. Once home +- 150 miles more with no further incident. I have made notice of this to both Jeep wave and Chrysler customer service. I have gotten received mixed information as feed back. I've got great concern if this could happen again.

- Willis, TX, USA

problem #8

Feb 212017

Cherokee

  • 10,500 miles
Vehicle stalls out in the middle of driving, completely losing all power to the vehicle in the middle of traffic. Steering wheel locks up and acceleration rapidly declines to 0. dash displays shift to P then desired gear. In order to get the vehicle working correctly again, I must shift to P and then turn the vehicle off and back on (when turning the vehicle back on, it hesitates to start). Can't turn on hazards so no one knows why I am stopped in the middle of traffic. Have been to the dealer two times now, going on three. Being told software. Regardless of that, it's very dangerous and hazardous. All it will take is someone not paying attention for myself and my family to be seriously hurt or god-forbid worse.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #7

Jan 042017

Cherokee

  • 5,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle's emergency brake independently activated on its own while being towed. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle needed a wiring harness and the power steering needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

- Livingston, TX, USA

problem #6

Nov 252016

Cherokee

  • 7,500 miles
Bought car in Feb 2016 and was ok to tow 4 wheels down with out any additions. About 2 months later I received a notice that I could no longer tow 4 wheels down with out adding a mopar flat tow wiring kit. Due to battery drainage the front end goes into a serious wobble which could cause accident or even death. Jeep refuses to pay for this addition. I towed this car from AZ to fl and just last month I did have the wobble and must say glad I was not going highway speed as it could have been very serious!!!! this happened while going through a construction site and the speed was about 35 ti 40 mph, it was so bad that I had to stop and spend time unhooking and then hooking back up again. Luckily there was place to pull off the road.

- Green Cove Springs, FL, USA

problem #5

Sep 132016

Cherokee

  • 3,002 miles
We have been warned that this vehicle may have a steering wobble when towed behind a motorhome. Fiat Chrysler has issued a recall addendum to the owner's manual that a harness wiring kit part no. 68321424ab is recommended before towing, and that if the vehicle is towed without this kit, Fiat Chrysler will not be responsible for any damages. Also, service procedure notice S13 and service bulletin no. 08-029-16 rev. A have been issued saying that we need a mopar flat tow wiring kit before towing have been issued. Even though our Jeep is under warranty and Fiat Chrysler has issued these warnings, the manufacturer refuses to pay for the installation of the recommended kit. We have gone through our dealer, the district Jeep service manager, and also directly to Fiat Chrysler with no resolution. Fiat Chrysler refuses to cover the cost of this repair, which would be $330 out of pocket to us. We feel, since our vehicle is under warranty and Fiat Chrysler acknowledges this problem, that Fiat Chrysler should pay for the installation of this repair that they recommend and require, via recall. Further, the current new version of the owner's manual issues a caution that "failure to use the proper mopar wiring kit to power the steering system during recreational flat towing may damage the vehicle's steering system and/or other vehicle components." None of this information was indicated in the original owner's manual for the 2016 Jeep Cherokee at time of purchase.

- Rapid City, SD, USA

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