2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee: What to check before buying

Sudden acceleration while pulling into parking spots is the most serious pattern, with brakes slow to respond and 3 reports ending in crashes. Other reports describe the engine shutting off while driving with a "place vehicle in park" message, and long cranking with no start that shops blame on the fuel pumps. Smaller patterns include seatbelt and airbag warning lights, the vehicle refusing to switch off, total headlight and brake light failure at night, and cruise control that keeps accelerating. Touchscreens delaminate, which disables GPS and SOS functions, and owners report long waits for replacement parts.

Transmission trouble dominates. Reports describe harsh or lunging shifts, slipping, dropping into neutral, and refusing to engage reverse or park. Several end in full replacement, at mileages from 14,500 to 88,000 and sometimes earlier. Stalls at stoplights come with an auto park message. 4WD service and stability control warnings point to transfer case or rear differential work. Two fires followed a loss of drive or a stall. Crash reports involve the vehicle surging in parking lots or hesitating during a turn, and one crash caused an injury.

Camshaft and rocker arm wear on the 3.6L Pentastar V6 is the most repeated failure. Symptoms are ticking, misfires, rough idle, and loss of power while passing, and some engines end up with metal debris and need replacement. Head gasket and coolant leaks with misfire codes show up around 115,000 miles. A cracked plastic oil housing can push oil into the coolant, and water pumps fail early. Repeat emissions check-engine lights also appear. One engine caught fire while parked, starting on the right side.

Electric power steering cuts out without warning, often with a "power steering unavailable" message. Drivers describe drifting into oncoming lanes during turns. One dealer replaced the whole steering gear for $5800 at roughly 28K miles because the module cannot be serviced separately. Other reports cover constant pulling to the right despite repeated alignments, very heavy steering with a rubbing sound, clunks from the front suspension, and a violent wobble during flat towing. In one crash the driver lost steering and the front end collapsed.

In most of these reports the airbags failed to deploy in serious crashes, including head-on, T-bone, and high-speed rear impacts. All 9 complaints involve injuries, among them concussions, rib and vertebrae fractures, and head injuries. Several vehicles were declared total losses with no deployment at all. One report describes only partial deployment after the vehicle had stopped. In another, every airbag fired at 70 mph with no impact and broke the driver's ribs.

Unintended acceleration at low speed is the core complaint. Vehicles surge while backing up or parking, and pressing the brake does not stop them. Four reports end in crashes, and some note that collision avoidance did not step in, including on a vehicle with 500 miles. A separate pattern involves the cruise control "+" button raising set speed in 5 mph jumps, in one case from 65 to 95 mph. Dealers told owners this works as designed.

Cranking without starting is the main pattern. The engine usually catches on a second press of the start button, and dealers blame the fuel pumps, a costly repair that the existing recall does not cover for these vehicles. Refueling is another complaint: the pump nozzle keeps shutting off as if the tank were full, which leads to spills. Other reports cover a vehicle that would not shift or restart at 88 miles, and a water pump that leaked and was replaced 3 times in a year.

The leather dashboard cover peels and lifts, held down only by the vents, at mileages from about 21,000 to 50,000. In one report the manufacturer called this a known defect with no recall or extended warranty. Side and rear hatch glass can shatter on its own with no prior damage. Interior door trim delaminates and breaks. One report describes the hood flexing at highway speed and popping open to the safety latch in strong wind.