2020 Jeep Cherokee: What to check before buying

Transmissions shift harshly, slip, refuse to engage drive or reverse, or drop into neutral while moving, often with a check engine light. Several owners need a full transmission replacement. Some of these happen within the first few thousand miles, and others between 77,278 and 88,000 miles. Other reports describe the engine revving without the car accelerating, stalling at stops, and 4WD or traction control warnings traced to rear differential parts. Two filings involve crashes and two involve fires. Many reports in this group describe a Grand Cherokee rather than a Cherokee.

Cars shut off while driving or at lights, then refuse to restart or stay stuck in park with a message to place the vehicle in park. Owners blame long cranking before the engine starts on the fuel pumps. Other reports cover 4WD, traction and stability warnings that end in a transfer case replacement, failed active grille shutters, climate controls that freeze and let the windows fog, and a delaminating center touchscreen. Three filings describe crashes after the vehicle surged or the brakes stopped responding.

Fires dominate this category. Six filings describe the engine compartment catching fire, sometimes while parked and sometimes while driving after a burning smell or loss of power. Some of these cars had only 13,000 to 16,800 miles. Other reports describe coolant leaks, failed water pumps, a cracked oil housing that put oil into the coolant, and head gasket leaks with cylinder misfires around 115,000 miles, where a dealer suggested a new engine. One camshaft and lifter failure shows up first as a faint ticking. Several of these owners drive a Grand Cherokee.

Power steering cuts out or the wheel suddenly turns heavy, often with a power steering warning on the dash, and drivers cannot finish a turn. Three crashes are reported. In one the steering seized at about 25 mph, and another is blamed on a fractured steering rack. Dealers replace the whole steering gear because the module inside cannot be serviced. Other complaints describe a notchy wheel that hangs up near center, a constant pull to the right, and clunks from the front suspension over bumps.

Serious frontal crashes end with no deployment, and that is the main pattern here. Thirteen of the 15 filings involve crashes: head-on and T-bone impacts that totaled the vehicle while no air bags went off, or deployed only partly. Reported injuries include concussions, broken ribs, a cracked sternum and a fractured vertebra. One owner reports every air bag firing at highway speed with no impact. Another finds a bag hanging out below the steering column.

The electronic parking brake engages on its own, both at stops and while moving, including at highway speeds of 55 and 70 mph. The car comes to a sudden stop. Dealers often find no stored codes and send owners home. Other reports describe automatic emergency braking slamming on from a standstill, a front brake locking during a swerve, and an ABS module replaced three times. Three filings involve crashes, including a rollover after a front brake locked.

Cruise control overshoots the set speed, in one case climbing from 60 to 80 mph, and pressing the plus button can make the setting jump in large steps. Dealers say the system works as designed. Four filings describe crashes after the vehicle surged while parking or backing up and kept going despite the brake. Some of those owners add that collision avoidance did not step in. Other reports describe sudden loss of power and stalling.

Fuel leaks are the most serious reports here. A cracked plastic fuel line fitting or a failed fuel supply tube sprays or pours fuel onto a hot engine or a garage floor. In a separate pattern the engine cranks but does not start until a second try, which dealers trace to the fuel pumps. One fuel pump fails outright, stalling the engine and taking power steering and brakes with it. Owners also describe gas station pumps clicking off early, as if the tank were full.