2008 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD NOT ILLUMINATE PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY STATED THAT THE HEAD LIGHT LEVELING SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

JEEP HAS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSFER CASE ACTUATOR MOTOR. LAST FALL, 9-19-13 I BROUGHT IT IN FOR A RECALL, NUMBER N23. PRIOR TO THE RECALL I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH MY JEEP AND I HAD TOWED IT UP TO ALASKA AND BACK, OVER 7,000 MI. THIS WINTER WE DECIDED TO SPEND IT IN ARIZONA. ABOUT 2 MONTHS INTO IT IS WHEN WE GET A SERVICE MESSAGE TO HAVE OUR 4WD SYSTEM LOOKED AT AND THAT IT WOULDN'T SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL FOR TOWING PURPOSES. SO I GET ON THE INTERNET FORUMS AND FIND OUT THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF OTHER JEEP OWNERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME THING AND NOT SHIFTING INTO 4 LOW ALSO. THEY TOO HAD NOT HAD ANY TROUBLES UNTIL THEY HAD TAKEN THEIR VEHICLES IN FOR THE RECALL FIX WHICH, WAS A REFLASH OF THE TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE. THE TRANSFER CASE ACTUATOR ARE ON BACKORDER FROM JEEP AT ONE PER DEALER EVERY 14 DAYS. AND I GET TO SHELL OUT $500.00 FOR A PROBLEM THAT DIDN'T EXIST UNTIL THE RECALL. OH, I HAD TOWED THE JEEP SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE ALASKA TRIP IN 2011. THE BIGGER PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF JEEP OWNERS WHO DON'T EVER TAKE THEIR JEEP'S OFF ROAD OR TOW IT BEHIND SOMETHING SO THEY DON'T GET THE TROUBLE MESSAGE UNTIL THEY DO AND THEY NEED IT. THAT MEANS THERE ARE MILLIONS OF JEEP OWNERS THAT DON'T KNOW THEY HAVE A PROBLEM. *TR

VEHICLE ENGINE SUDDENLY STOPPED ON HWY AT 70 MPH (THIS IS THE 3RD TIME IT HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 9 MONTHS). I WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF THE HWY. IT STARTED UP AFTER COMING TO A STOP. I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM (HAD WORKED ON PREVIOUS GRAND CHEROKEES AND EVEN HAD THE CHRYSLER ENGINEERS OUT TO TRY AND HELP THEM). THEY DID INSPECTIONS ON MY VEHICLE FOR 5 DAYS AND SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM OR FIND ANYTHING OUT FROM THE VEHICLE COMPUTER. THEY TOLD ME TO CONTACT CHRYSLER. I WAS EVENTUALLY GIVEN TO A CASE MANAGER. THEY INITIALLY SAID THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING AND NOW THEY KEEP DELAYING GETTING BACK TO ME. THIS HAS BEEN 2 WEEKS WITH NO SOLUTION IN SIGHT. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM AND THE VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN WITHOUT SOME FIXES. I ALSO HAVE A 7 YR/100,000 MILE PLATINUM WRAPAROUND WARRANTY THAT SHOULD COVER WHATEVER IS WRONG. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LIMITED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AS ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER, WHO COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,750.

THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS THE KEY GETTING STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND THE DEALER REPLACED AN IGNITION COMPONENT. AFTER THAT WAS REPLACED ON THREE OCCASIONS THE ENGINE TURNED OFF FOR NOW APPARENT REASON. JEEP COULD NOT DETERMINE WHY AND AT THAT POINT I PURCHASED A NEW CAR. I AM REPORTING THIS NOW AFTER HEARING ABOUT THE RECALL FOR OTHER VEHICLES WHICH TURNED OFF FOR NO REASON AND HAD CAUSED INJURY OR DEATH. FORTUNATELY I WAS NEVER IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. I WAS ADVISED BY JEEP TO REMOVE ANY EXTRA KEYS FROM THE RING BUT THAT DID NOT RESOLVE THE ENGINE TURNING OFF. PERHAPS THERE ARE OTHER JEEP OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM BUT IT WAS NOT PART OF THE POTENTIAL RECALL. *TR

I AM NOT ABLE TO SHIFT THE TRANSFER CASE INTO 4 WHEEL DRIVE LOW RANGE OR NEUTRAL AFTER THE SAFETY RECALL REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER. *TR

WHILE OFF ROAD VERY FAR INTO THE DESERT OF ARIZONA I WAS TRAVELING WITH MY PERMANENTLY DISABLED WIFE. WE WERE ON DESERT TRAILS AND THE TRAIL LEAD INTO A SOFT SILT TYPE DRY WASH. WHEN I TRIED TO PUT THIS JEEP INTO 4X4 LOW RANGE A MESSAGE POPPED UP IN THE INTERMENT CLUSTER THAT SAID "SERVICE 4 WHEEL DRIVE". THE JEEP WOULD NOT SHIFT TO 4X4 LOW RANGE AND LOCK THE DIFFERENTIAL AND DRIVE THROUGH THE DRY WASH TO SAFETY. THIS PROBLEM IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE "SAFETY RECALL N23 / NHTSA 13V-175 REPROGRAM FINAL DRIVE CONTROLLER MODULE" THAT A JEEP SERVICE CENTER HAD PERFORMED. THE FINAL DRIVE CONTROLLER MODULE (FDCM) (N23 / NHTSA 13V-175) RE-PROGRAMMING THAT I HAD PERFORMED AT A JEEP SERVICE CENTER CAUSED THIS POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM THAT COULD HAVE LEFT MY WIFE DEAD. IF WE HADN'T HAD WATER TO DRINK OR IF IT WOULD HAVE STARTED TO RAIN WE(SHE) COULD HAVE DROWNED IN THE WASH WHILE BEING TRAPPED IN THE JEEP, BECAUSE I COULD NOT PLACE THE JEEP IN 4X4 LOW RANGE AND LOCK THE DIFFERENTIAL TO DRIVE THE JEEP OUT OF A POTENTIALLY FATAL SITUATION. *TR

WENT INTO DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER TO HAVE "N23" SAFETY RECALL PERFORMED. BEFORE N23 SOFTWARE UPDATE THERE WAS NO PROBLEM USING THE 4WD-LOW FUNCTION, AFTERWARDS THE 4WD-LOW SHIFT FUNCTION COMES UP WITH "SERVICE 4WD" CODE AND WILL NOT SHIFT INTO 4WD-LOW. I DISCOVERED THIS WHILE STUCK IN A SNOW DRIFT THIS WEEKEND. AFTER RESEARCHING THE ISSUE I DISCOVERED THAT MANY JEEP OWNERS THAT WENT IN FOR THE N23 RECALL ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. *TR

I BELIEVE THIS ISSUE/COMPLAINT IS A RESULT OF SAFETY RECALL N23/NHTSA 13V-175. TEN DAYS AGO WE WERE PREPARING TO HOOK UP MY JEEP FOR TOWING BEHIND OUR RV. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO PUT THE TRANSFER CASE INTO NEUTRAL IT WOULD NOT MOVE AND I WOULD GET A 'SERVICE 4W SYSTEM' ERROR MESSAGE. WE TOOK THE JEEP TO THE DEALER AND WAS ADVISED THE TRANSFER CASE MODULE WAS BAD. THE WORST NEWS WAS THERE WERE NONE TO BE FOUND WITHIN HUNDREDS OF MILES AND I HAD NO POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. TEN DAYS LATER AND I AM STILL WAITING FOR A REPLACEMENT PART. THIS IS THE PART THAT WAS 'REPROGRAMMED' AS PART OF THE SAFETY RECALL N23/NHTSA 13V-175. EVER SINCE THIS REPROGRAMMING WAS PERFORMED I HAVE NO 4X4, NO 4LOW OR NEUTRAL. THIS IS EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR AND WE WERE FORCED TO CANCEL OUR TRIP. NOW, AS A REALTOR IN UPSTATE NY I AM NOT ABLE TO DO MY JOB AS I CANNOT TAKE BUYERS TO PROPERTIES ON SNOW COVERED ROADS. MY JEEP WORKED PERFECTLY FINE UNTIL THIS MODULE WAS REPROGRAMMED. ADDITIONALLY, NOW I HEAR A THUMPING NOISE FROM THE REAR (IT SOUNDS LIKE THE REAR,) WHEN I FIRST START OUT EVERY MORNING. I SEE OTHER JEEP OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM, AND FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THIS PART IS BEING REPLACED ALL OVER THE US AS A RESULT OF FAULTY REPROGRAMMING...AND THAT IS WHY THEY CANNOT GET A NEW ONE. I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT TILL THIS PROBLEM CAUSES OTHER ELECTRICAL ISSUES, WHICH IT VERY WELL COULD. I BELIEVE CHRYSLER IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS REPAIR AS MY TRANSFER CASE WORKED FINE TILL THEY REPROGRAMMED IT. *TR

WE ARE FULL TIME RVERS AND HAVE TOWED OUR JEEP ABOUT 40,000 MILES WITHOUT ANY ISSUES, UNTIL THE RECENT RECALL. NHTSA #13V75000, CHRYSLER N23. THE VERY INNOCUOUS RECALL NOTICE SPOKE OF THE DOT REQUIRING THE RECALL BASED ON A NUMBER OF CASES WHERE THE TRANSFER CASE SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL ON IT'S OWN AND THE VEHICLE ROLLED AWAY, CAUSING DAMAGE. THE RECALL WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE FIX WAS TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER FOR A SOFTWARE REPROGRAMMING TO TAKE CARE OF THE ISSUE. THE RECALL NOTICE WAS VERY CAREFULLY AND CLEVERLY WRITTEN TO LEAVE ONE WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT A SOFTWARE ISSUE WAS THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM, AND JEEP WAS GOING TO FIX IT WITH THE REFLASH OF THE TRANSMISSION COMPUTER. THIS IS NOT TRUE. THE ISSUE IS CAUSED BY THE FAILURE OF HARDWARE IN THE TRANSFER CASE, AND THE ?FIX? OFFERED BY JEEP IS NOTHING MORE THAN A BAND AID TO MEET THE STRICT LETTER OF THE DEMAND BY THE NHTSA. AS THOUSANDS OF JEEP OWNERS ARE NOW LEARNING, AFTER THE RECALL THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE THE TRANSFER CASE WILL NO LONGER SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL, OR 4WD LOW, AT ALL. I HAVE PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF DOZENS OF JEEP OWNERS WITH THESE ISSUES WHO NEVER HAD A PROBLEM BEFORE THE RECALL. THIS PROBLEM CREATES A GREAT UNCERTAINTY AMONG OWNERS. WE DON'T KNOW IF THE 4WD SYSTEM WILL WORK WHEN NEEDED, OR END UP STUCK IN NEUTRAL OR 4WD LOW, MAKING THE VEHICLE UNUSABLE. WHILE NOT BEING ABLE TO TOW MAY NOT BE A SAFETY ISSUE, I THINK THAT DISABLING A 4WD SYSTEM THAT MANY PEOPLE RELY ON IN BAD TERRAIN OR WEATHER WOULD BE. I DON'T THINK THAT NHTSA HAS MONITORED THIS SITUATION PROPERLY AND HAS ALLOWED CHRYSLER TO COMMIT WHAT AMOUNTS TO A FRAUD UPON THEIR CUSTOMERS. I THINK NHTSA NEEDS TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THIS ISSUE. *TR