2025 Jeep Cherokee: What to check before buying

The most serious pattern is sudden power loss while driving. The vehicle drops speed, shifts itself into park or shuts off, and sometimes will not go back into drive. One highway case ended in a rear-end crash with 2 injuries. Hybrid 4xe owners report battery failures and service hybrid warnings, some within the first 3,000 miles, plus long waits for recall repairs because parts are unavailable. Other reports describe 12-volt battery drain, flickering screens, an erratic HVAC fan, and slow charging after recall work. Dealers often cannot find a cause.

The transmission sometimes will not engage. The drive indicator blinks, the engine revs, and the car coasts until it is restarted. Some vehicles slip into park at low speed, and one owner put that at about 3,000 miles. Others go into limp mode at highway speed and then shut off. Owners also describe rough shifting, a thump at 70 to 75 mph, and shuddering that starts around 8-10,000 miles. Hybrid models show burning smells and service warnings before losing power. Dealers often cannot duplicate the faults.

The one fire report describes a parked, switched-off vehicle filling with smoke from the driver-side wheel well and hood, then catching fire. Other reports describe the engine shutting off at low speed with total power loss, and a service hybrid electric system warning that the dealer could not fix. One owner describes waiting for a recall repair because remedy parts are unavailable and says a rental was refused unless paid for out of pocket. Most of these complaints are about getting repairs done, not about repeated failures.

Driver-assist warnings stay lit or keep coming back. Owners describe a blind spot alert light that stays on and a recurring automatic emergency braking message saying functionality is limited and service is required. In one case that message appeared as often as every two hours. Lane departure alerts stop vibrating the wheel. Dealers often find no stored codes, and one vehicle sat at the dealer for weeks without a fix. There are no crash or injury reports in this category.

Forward collision warning and automatic braking either work erratically or not at all. In one report the brakes locked up in a busy intersection, the car stopped abruptly, and engine power cut out for 10-15 minutes, leaving it stranded in traffic at 8,855 miles. Another owner says the system has never worked since purchase, and a dealer road test could not get it to activate either. Repeated dealer visits have not found a root cause, and one owner says a buyback is underway.

A wheel that will not turn at all on startup is the most serious report here. It happened within weeks of purchase, with no warning light, and the car had to be towed. The dealer replaced the entire power steering rack. Another report describes the steering wheel buttons failing at highway speed, followed by an ABS warning light. That repair required a new ABS unit and instrument panel. Both cases ended with the vehicle towed to a dealer, and neither involved a crash.

Fuel economy falls short of the rating. One owner with the 3.6 V6 averages about 16 mpg against a rated 22 combined, notices a rich-running smell at times, and says the dealer reports nothing can be done. A second complaint involves a fuel door that does not lock with the doors, even though the owner was told it would. Neither complaint describes a breakdown, warning light, or safety incident on the road.