2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Complaints

I AM PUTTING IN A COMPLAINT FOR MY 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE AND THE ELECTRONIC SHIFTER. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, I HAVE BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE QUICKLY SELECTING GEARS OR SWITCHING GEARS WAS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO AVOID A HAZARDOUS SITUATION. I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED INSTANCES WHERE I THOUGHT I HAD PUT THE CAR IN PARK WHEN I HAD ACTUALLY SELECTED REVERSE, BECAUSE THE TACTICAL FEEDBACK OF THE SHIFTER VARIES FROM TIME TO TIME, AND IS NOT CONSISTENT AT ALL. I AM EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN THE CHOICE OF SHIFTER FOR THIS VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD ABOUT 15 CARS IN MY LIFE, BOTH MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC, AND THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST DESIGN I'VE EVER SEEN/USED. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SHIFTER AND SHOULD BE COMPLETELY SWITCHED OUT FOR ONE OF A DIFFERENT DESIGN. CARS SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO USE THE MONO-STABLE SHIFTER DESIGN. THEY ARE TERRIBLE. PLEASE HELP FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE GETS HURT!

THERE ARE A TOTAL OF THREE INCIDENTS THAT HAD OCCURRED, ALL WITHIN A COUPLE MONTHS OF EACH OTHER. THE FIRST INCIDENT HAPPENED LATE DECEMBER/ EARLY JANUARY. FINISHING UP WORK I LEAVE THE BUILDING AND START MY CAR UP. WHEN I PUT IT IN REVERSE, TO PULL OUT, THE JEEP LURCHED VIOLENTLY FORWARD COLLIDING WITH THE CEMENT BARRIER. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY HELD ON TO MY CAR FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, REFUSING TO DISCLOSE ANY INFORMATION TO ME ABOUT THE STATUS OF MY VEHICLE. ONCE THEY RETURNED MY JEEP TO ME THEY CONCLUDED NOTHING WAS WRONG, AND DECLINED ANY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. THE SECOND INCIDENT I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, LATE MARCH DURING THE EVENING. ADMITTEDLY SPEEDING SLIGHTLY, I WAS GOING ONLY FIVE-SEVEN OVER. AND JUST RANDOMLY MY JEEP STARTS ACCELERATING BY ITSELF. AT ITS PEAK I WAS GOING 80-85 MPH AND CONTINUED AT THAT SPEED FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE. THE THIRD INCIDENT OCCURRED ON MAY 14TH, WHERE I WAS COMING OFF THE RAMP ABOUT TO MERGE ON TO THE HIGHWAY, WHEN MY CAR INEXPLICABLY KICKED IN ITS FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE AND DROPPED GEARS IN TO LOW. THE CAR VIOLENTLY SHUDDERED TO AN ALMOST NEAR STOP WITH BUSY TRAFFIC COMING FROM BEHIND, RESULTING IN A VERY CLOSE COLLISION. HOW IT WAS ABLE TO CHANGE GEARS, AND WHY, I HAVE NO IDEA. BUT I DEFINITELY DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN MY VEHICLE ANYMORE.

VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK/HARD SHIFT AND SLIP WHEN SHIFTING FROM 1-2 AND 2-3 WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALER WHO REPLACED THE VALVE BODY, RAN THE FLASH SOFTWARE UPDATE AND REPROGRAMMED THE PCM. THE DEALER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND INDICATED THAT THE "TRANS SHIFTS VERY SMOOTH NOW". 20 MILES LATER WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON CITY STREETS IT BEGAN TO CLUNK AND JERK WHEN DECELERATION AT 30 MPH AND THEN AGAIN AT 8 MPH; MUCH WORSE THAN BEFORE DURING ACCELERATION. THE VEHICLE ALSO NOW LUNGES FORWARDS AND SHAKES WHEN YOU COME TO A STOP AT A LIGHT/STOP SIGNS WITH YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE RIGHT BACK TO THE DEALER WHO HAS ORDERED A NEW TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 6500 MILES ON IT. THIS VEHICLE IS VERY UNSAFE WITH ALL THE JERKING AND CLUNKING AND CONTROL ISSUES. IT APPEARS THESE VEHICLES HAVE TRANSMISSION ISSUES WITH NO "FIX" AVAILABLE; SO I ANTICIPATE THE SAME PROBLEM TO OCCUR WHEN I GET THE VEHICLE BACK FROM THE DEALERSHIP WITH THE NEW TRANSMISSION.

THE SHIFTER DOES NOT ALWAYS GO INTO PARK. I HAVE TO SOMETIMES MAKE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS PUSHING UP ON THE SHIFTER FOR IT TO GO TO PARK. THIS HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN A DOZEN TIMES. FOR EXAMPLE, ONCE I WAS GOING INTO PARK I PUSHED THE LEVER UP ALL THE WAY UNTIL IT STOPPED. I BELIEVED I WAS IN PARK BECAUSE THE LEVER WOULD NOT GO UP ANYMORE, BUT I WAS IN REVERSE. WHEN I WOULD PUSH IT UP AGAIN IT WENT TO NEUTRAL AND STOPPED. THEN I WOULD REPEAT TO GO INTO PARK. THE LAST INCIDENT I WAS ACTUALLY IN REVERSE AND DID NOT KNOW AND THE KIDS WERE ATTEMPTING TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN MOVING BACKWARDS. ALTHOUGH I WAS NOT PHYSICALLY LOOKING AT THE GEAR I WAS IN...I FELT AS THOUGH I SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PARK. I AM 36 YEARS OLD AND HAVE OWNED OVER 15 BRAND NEW VEHICLES (CHEVY, SUBARU, FORD, TOYOTA ETC.) I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN TO ME BEFORE AS I AM A VERY GOOD DRIVER WITH A CLEAN RECORD AND NEVER HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY TYPE OF ACCIDENT. THIS TELLS ME THAT BEYOND THE SHIFTER BEING TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT PEOPLE ARE USED TO...IT SOMETIMES DOES NOT EVEN GO INTO PARK WHEN YOU ARE TRYING AND SOMETIMES NEEDS MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS.

THE SHIFTER IN THE VEHICLE IS DEFINITELY NOT A GOOD DESIGN. AFTER MONTHS OF OWNING THE JEEP, (DEC 2015) I STILL COULD NOT SAFELY ASSUME I HAD IT IN THE CORRECT GEAR. CAN NOT TRUST WITHOUT LOOKING, AND IN THE SUNLIGHT I'S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I THOUGHT SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS EARLY ON WERE PEOPLE WHO PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE DRIVING BUT AFTER 5 MONTHS, I STILL CANNOT GOT TO A GEAR CORRECTLY 50% OF THE TIME. I CAN DRIVE A STRAIGHT 6 BUT THIS SHIFTER IS HORRIBLE. I'VE HIT REVERSE WHEN ATTEMPTING PARK, NEUTRAL OR BACK TO REVERSE WHEN ATTEMPTING DRIVE. MAKES ME FEEL PRETTY INCOMPETENT BUT MY HUSBAND WHO IS A TRUCK DRIVER HAS PROBLEMS AS WELL.

TRANSMISSION CANNOT BE PLACED FROM NEUTRAL INTO DRIVE IF THE VEHICLE IS MOVING. THE VEHICLE AND DRIVER WAS IN A CAR WASH (DELTA SONIC) BEING MOVED BY AN AUTOMATED CONVEYOR SYSTEM. AT THE END OF THE CAR WASH CYCLE, THE DRIVER IS INSTRUCTED BY CAR WASH LIGHTS TO MOVE THE CAR FORWARD OUT OF THE CAR WASH BAY. HOWEVER, THE CAR IS STILL IN MOTION AND THE TRANSMISSION CANNOT BE PLACED IN DRIVE. BRAKING THE CAR TO A FULL STOP ALLOWS THE TRANSMISSION TO BE PLACED INTO DRIVE, HOWEVER, THE CONVEYOR SYSTEM CONTINUES FORWARD CAUSING THE CAR TO JUMP OUT OF THE CONVEYOR ROLLERS. THIS PLACES THE CAR IN JEOPARDY OF BEING STRUCK BY THE FOLLOWING CAR STILL PROGRESSING IN THE CONVEYOR. ALSO, WHILE DRIVING FORWARD OUT OF THE CAR WASH BAY, THE VEHICLE MUST NOW PROGRESS OVER THE CONVEYOR ROLLERS AND HOPEFULLY NOT OFF THE SIDES OF THE CONVEYOR. TESTING THE CAR ON FLAT AND SLOPED PAVEMENTS SHOWS THAT WITH THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, STOPPED AND NOT MOVING, THE CAR CAN BE MOVED INTO DRIVE. WITH THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND ROLLING DOWN A SLOPED PAVEMENT, THE TRANSMISSION CANNOT BE MOVED FROM NEUTRAL TO DRIVE. THERE IS NO MENTION TO THE OWNER THAT THIS CONDITION EXISTS AND COULD POTENTIALLY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.

ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AFTER WE BOUGHT OUT JEEP, AFTER SHIFTING THE GEAR LEVER THE JEEP WAS IN A GEAR OTHER THAN WHAT WAS SELECTED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WE WOULD SHIFT THE LEVER UPWARD TO PARK , PUSH THE OFF BUTTON, START TO EXIT THE VEHICLE AND IT WOULD BEGIN TO ROLL. ON APRIL 6, 2016, MY HUSBAND PULLED INTO OUR GARAGE PUSHED THE GEAR SHIFTER UP INTO WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS PARK, PUSHED THE OFF SWITCH, RAISED THE BACK HATCH AND BEGAN TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. AS HE EXITED, THE JEEP ROLLED BACKWARDS STRIKING THE CEILING OF THE GARAGE DOOR AND DAMAGING THE TAILGATE. WE CONTACTED THE DEALER TO OBTAIN A NUMBER FOR CHRYSLER CUSTOMER CARE. WE CALLED AND SPOKE TO SOMEONE THERE. THEY ASSIGNED US A CASE NUMBER #29033851. A THIRD PARTY MET US AT THE DEALER TO GO OVER THE SYSTEMS ON THE VEHICLE. THE ESTIMATED DAMAGED IS $1,693.30. WE ALSO SENT S LETTER TO THE CEO OF CHRYSLER REGARDING THIS ISSUE WITH THE SHIFTER WITH NO RESPONSE. SINCE THEN WE HAVE HEARD THAT CHRYSLER WILL BE RECALLING MILLIONS OF THE 2015 GRAND CHEROKEES DUE TO THIS ISSUE. WE FINALLY RECEIVED A LETTER FROM CHRYSLER STATING THEY ARE NOT LED TO BELIEVE THAT THE INCIDENT WE HAD WAS DUE TO A MANUFACTURING RESPONSIBILITY. WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN DO A MAJOR RECALL ON THE SAME ISSUE THAT CAUSED OUR INCIDENT.

I HAVE A 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE WITH A MONOSTABLE GEAR SHIFTER. NUMEROUS TIMES I HAVE HAD THE CAR GO INTO AN UNDESIRED GEAR. ON OCTOBER 20, 2015, I DROVE THE CAR INTO THE GARAGE TO PARK IT; I PLACED IT IN WHAT I THOUGHT TO BE PARK, EXITED THE VEHICLE, AND THEN THE VEHICLE (IN REVERSE) STARTED TO DRIVE OUT OF THE GARAGE. I WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN THE DOOR AND CAR AND UNABLE TO GET BACK IN DUE TO THE SPEED OF MOVEMENT. AS THE CAR BACKED OUT, THE DOOR CAUGHT ON THE MAIN SUPPORT COLUMN TO THE HOUSE AND BENT BACKWARDS; EVENTUALLY THE DOOR HINGE GAVE OUT AND THE CAR CLEARED THE GARAGE. ONCE IN THE DRIVEWAY AND WITH THE DOOR OUT OF THE WAY, I WAS ABLE TO RUN FAST ENOUGH TO GET INTO THE CAR AND STOP IT BEFORE IT DROVE INTO THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET. THE CAR HAD ENOUGH SPEED TO SCREECH WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. MY SHOULDER AND ARM WERE BADLY BRUISED BUT I DID NOT SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE HOUSE DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY MINOR; WE ARE AWAITING AN INSPECTION TO VERIFY THE COLUMN'S INTEGRITY. THE CAR DAMAGE WAS SUBSTANTIAL, REQUIRING A NEW DOOR AND TWO NEW PANELS. MY INSURANCE COMPANY, USAA, COVERED THE DAMAGE (MINUS DEDUCTIBLE). MY BROTHER HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE IN A CHRYSLER 300 WITH THE SAME SHIFTER, HE BACKED INTO ANOTHER CAR WHEN HE THOUGHT THE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK. MY WIFE HAS MADE THE MISTAKE ON OUR JEEP A NUMBER OF TIMES AS WELL, BUT SHE HAD NOT GOTTEN OUT OF THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY BEFORE NOTICING THE ERROR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE RADIATOR LEAKED A REDDISH COLOR FLUID ONTO THE GROUND. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE RADIATOR AND HOSE RUPTURED. THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED. IN ADDITION, THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE BLACK WHEEL TRIM DETACHED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000.

ON 11/3/2015, I PUT MY CAR IN PARK, ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING, AND I EXITED VEHICLE. HOWEVER, CAR DID NOT GO INTO PARK, ROLLED FORWARD, KNOCKED ME DOWN AND ROLLED OVER MY LEFT FOOT WITH BACK REAR TIRE. THE PARKING GEAR DID NOT ENGAGE AND I WAS NOT ALERTED THAT IT WAS STILL IN DRIVE. THIS OCCURRED IN A PARKING LOT. SOMEHOW I GOT UP, WAS ABLE TO RUN AFTER CAR AND DIVE IN CAR AND HIT GEARSHIFT INTO NEUTRAL TO STOP IT. I ENDURED A CRUSHED FOOT AND FOUR MONTHS OF THERAPY. THERE WAS NOT DAMAGE TO THE CAR NOR DID I REPORT TO POLICE.