CarComplaints.com Notes: Whenever a new product is introduced, there's bound to be some problems. And man oh man, does the 2006 Commander have some problems.
It's the plight of the 1st-generation adopter: you get the newest and shiniest in exchange for a handful of issues that get ironed out in future versions. But what happens when that handful of issues becomes a bucketload? The 2006 Commander has quality control issues like the door handles breaking off and the sunroof leaking. But what's truly worrisome is the electrical problems like the vehicle shutting down unexpectedly, gauges going crazy or the cruise control having a mind of its own.
Bottom line: if you want a Jeep Commander, you're better off looking at a later model year.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,823 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.
Interior door handles/cup are made with brittle resin and fracture easy. With a broken cup the handle dangles in the door making exit very difficult without emergency repair. The repair requires the entire interior door panel to be replaced at a cost of $800 per door. Prior to warranty expiring one door was repaired, however 2 more door handles are now broken. This is a common issue with Jeep products and should have triggered a safety recall.
Similar to most other complaints, all interior door handle housings are severely fractured. Driver side housing is so badly damaged that the handle requires a precise method in order to open it. My sister-in-law owns the Jeep Commander as well, same problem. Cost of repair (ie you are required to replace the entire panel for around $800) does not make any economic sense. This is undoubtedly a major safety issue in the event of an accident or worse, a roll over. Seeing that everyone who owns the Commander has this same complaint, how has this not been recalled"?"
I own a 2006 Jeep Commander. We love this vehicle. However 2 of our inside door handles have broken. The driver's door handle and back seat left door handle.. in seeing all of the posts regarding this same problem with other Jeep Commander owners it looks like this is a consistent problem. It is absolutely a safety issue for my children, myself and anyone inside the car. My son switched the child safety lock on the backseat (left side) door as well and now because the door handle is broken we are unable to switch it back. Therefore, the only way that passenger can get out of the car is if someone opens the door from the outside. Door latches/handles breaking is an enormous safety problem and viable reason for a recall. We are requesting an investigation into this matter for consideration of a recall.
The contact owns a 2006 Jeep Commander. The contact stated that the rear passenger side interior door handles were cracked and could not be utilized to open the doors. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.
Like many other consumers that own this vehicle, the driver's side interior door handle housing cracked and broke. This creates a significant safety issue.
- Pullman, WA, USA
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Interior door handle housing on all 4 doors becomes extremely brittle and cracks. When this happens the door handles become unusable from inside while parked. To exit the vehicle one must use external handle to easily open the door when stopped. After breakage, doors tend to open with pressure, from leg, on the handle while car is moving. Replacement of the entire interior door panel is require to fix.
The interior door handles easily break inside of the Jeep Commanders. If it does break, getting out of the car in an accident or other emergency may not be possible.
Rear driver side interior door handle shattered when door handle was pulled. Door handled was pulled on by an 8-year old female without excessive force. 15jun2013, driver door handle shattered when attempt to open was made, again without excessive force. If vehicle is vehicle is in a collision where electrical system fails and there is a fire, likelihood of occupant survival is low.
All of the door handles/openers on all (4) doors are defective caused from normal usage on very poor plastic material that gets brittle after a while. This is a huge safety concern considering that under the right circumstances no one would be able to exit the vehicle in an emergency. I have read were a Jeep Commander like mine has wrecked into a body of water and all of the windows shorted out and the person could not exit the vehicle and died. Please handle this matter correctly before there are any more deaths. Thank you.
One interior door handle (right rear) was broken when I purchased the vehicle, rendering the interior door handle inoperable. Within two months, my left rear handle broke in a similar fashion (crunching sound under light use).the interior handle 'cup' shattered in approximately 12 pieces, rendering that door handle inoperable. The driver's front shows several large cracks, and the passenger front shows 2 cracks. All have been rebuilt/reinforced using an epoxy stick. Jeep unwilling to assist as a defect. I am highly concerned that this could cause an inability to egress in an emergency situation.
Since December 2012, I now have 2 defective {broken} interior door handles, both rear passenger & now driver!! I do childcare and it is my responsibility to Transport children to & from school. When I realized the first handle was broken, it was when I was taking the children to school.the little girl got out of the truck, went to shut the door and it bounced back at her.I pulled over thinking the seatbelt was in the way.here is was the door handle from the inside, broken, not even allowing the door to shut!I had to rig the handle so that it would close the door! on 3/26/13 my husband was driving & heard a noise, he looked down and the driver side broke! not even being touched. To get out, I have to put the window down, reach out & open by the exterior handle. Please explain to me how this is safe!"!?!... if my car were to be in an accident and god forbid the electric didn't work, how the hell am I getting out. Or my passengers!!! use the other two doors that will most likely bust soon!?! I can't imagine that Jeep cannot afford a recall to fix this.would Jeep rather correct this or spend millions of $$$ in lawsuits god forbid any deaths should occur.this is the last thing that should go wrong before the vehicle goes to the graveyard. Obviously this is a defect on Jeep's end B/C this is happening to Jeep Commander owners from all over the country!! Jeep needs to stand by their product and put out a recall on this hazardous vehicle that we are driving. It's a sharp looking vehicle. If Jeep wants a good rep and their drivers/passengers safe, then we as Jeep Commander owners insist on a recall!! I know there are a lot of us out here.if there weren't, why would another company develop and market an "after-market" fix" if it was just a few of us, it wouldn't make business sense to do so.
On my 2006 Jeep Commander the inside door handles break and you can't open the doors without reaching outside and using the outside handles. If this isn't a safety issue that I see hundreds others have typed in Jeep forums then I don't know what is. Hopefully we don't have a crash and can't get out of a burning Jeep or go into water. Also see how several Jeep owners have posted utube videos on this safety issue. You call Chrysler and they tell you 500 to 600 a door handle to fix. Please look into this matter before some one loses a loved one. I can email photos if you want them.
My interior door handles are breaking due to what appears to be a manufacture defect. With the door handles breaking it is and or will cause a very dangerous situation if your are ever in an accident and or fire preventing you from exiting the vehicle.
The rear passenger inside door handle is no longer functioning. There is a piece of plastic within the door that braces the handle so it is secure enough to be able to pull it and open ( unlatch) the door. At this point the door closes but is impossible for the passenger to open the door from the inside. This is a serious safety concern for I have 2 children that ride in the back frequently. My Jeep dealer was notified and I was told that is not covered under warranty. My Jeep is under 100, 000 miles and for this to happen inside the door where no person can touch this ridiculous.
The door handles began to fall apart creating a hazard. Some of the doors do not open just the drivers for now. I have looked on forums and noticed that this has happened to other owners with the same model. In addition, the back passenger side window rolls up and down on occasion and gets stuck.
Faulty interior door handle assembly problem the problem is with the incorrect resin mix which results in a brittle and crumbling material causing failure just the same. This is obviously a manufacturer defect, however its a fault that is not covered under Jeep warranty. The only fix was replacing the entire door panels. Chrysler designed the interior door panels on the Jeep Commander in such a way that the entire door panel had to be replaced rather than just the door handle. The interior door handle is plastic welded at certain points from the backside of the door panel. I understand 2008 models had a door handle redesign so they obviously knew of this problem. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
The interior door handles are all cracked and 1 out of the 4 works. I have to crawl over the console to exit the vehicle! I am not the only 2006 Jeep Commander with this design flaw, many have exactly the same problem as I do! Chrysler does not want to correct the problem they created. I understand 2008 models had a door handle redesign so they obviously knew of this problem. Thank you for any assistance you can provide. This is a major safety concern in the event of wreck, fire, or if you drove into high water. How do you get out of the vehicle quickly...dukes of hazard style?! come on Chrysler!
The door handles where you open and close the door have completely shattered in to pieces by just opening and closing the door normally. I am unable to exit my car properly because the drivers side handle is completely shattered and will not open. I am unable to exit my car without crawling across the seat due to the handle completely crumbling and now other door I use to get out has started to crumble. One of the back doors is starting to break as well and they tell me it will cost over $2800 to repair. I don't have that kind of money to fix a door handle. I'm afraid I'm in danger if I have to exit my car in a hurry or my daughter or a riding guest. It's horrible that it just cracks like nothing and they wont take any responsibility. I cannot just open my door and get out of my car. They all being broken is one thing and I believe obviously a flaw on Jeep part, but not being able to get out of my car is dangerous.
We had the driver door handle break and called Chrysler because there are so many complaints on the internet about this. We were advised to take it to a dealer and have it looked at and a report made. We did that and also had pictures taken and sent with the report to Chrysler, our case # 22652678 was filed. At the time 2 other door handles were showing cracks. We were turned down for a repair even though it is a safety issue. Since that time 2 more handles broke. 2 can not be opened from the inside. We were told they would consider discounting the repair to $1300 per door. If they have such a bad design and plastic parts you would think an honorable company would do the recall and repair. We now have a dangerous car with no way to exit in an emergency. At our age we can not be jumping over consoles and seats to exit the car. Our children have been advised to sue if anything happens because Chrysler does not want to correct the problem they created. I understand 2008 models had a door handle redesign so they obviously knew of the problem. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Interior door handle base shattered, making handle inoperable and creating dozens of sharp shards of brittle plastic in the passenger compartment. Drivers door cannot be opened from inside the car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wilton Manors, FL, USA