NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2015 Jeep Cherokee. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Upon placing vehicle into park, the parking brake independently engaged and would not release. Car was not able to move. Brake calipers were locked into position. Manufacturer TSB: 08-060-16 Based on repair invoices, it appears the electronic parking brake module is damaged by water leaking into the compartment. In case of inadvertent activation, the EPB causes a stalling condition, bringing the subject vehicles to a stop. TSB 10191415 followed in May 2016, instructing dealers on replacing the subject module and inspecting the electrical connector for corrosion. The technical service bulletin states “the electronic parking brake module is located in the back left side of the cargo area interior, near the spare tire.” The first model year of the KL-generation Cherokee has accumulated 2,187 complaints on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website. 11 of those complaints are filed under parking brake issues
Three of the four tires on the vehicle are splitting on the sidewalk near the rim. The fourth tire is cracking in the same location. All tires are maintained at the correct tire pressure. There’s no reason this shouldn’t be covered but of course it isn’t. Guess someone has to die before Firestone replaces defective tires.
UNKNOWN I had to jump my vehicle due to battery dying out. Once jumped, I received a warning that my electrical emergency park brake malfunctioned. I had trouble shifting gears if I could get them to shift at all. I could hear and feel grinding beneath the jeep. Looking deeper into this it was discovered that there is a vehicle investigation (pending potential recall) on water leaking inside the vehicle to be causing corrosion leading to the E Break module to fail in my specific model. I eventually got the vehicle towed to the dealership. Their service department claimed I may have spilled drinks into my module. I do not buy drinks or carry any in my vehicle cupholders (which are placed by design right behind the gear shift module). Nothing was spilled, the damage is consistent with the common issue pending investigation #PE22009. I am currently awaiting a complete transmission replacement due to the defect.
While driving, vehicle shuts off or engine dies without a warning. I have to wait about 30 seconds until it starts again. Very dangerous.
Recall service was performed to reprogram the power transfer unit (PTU) for "safety" concerns to prevent potential input shaft disruption of powertrain on Aug 17, 2022. Less than 2 months later (Oct 8, 2022) vehicle's "service 4wd" light came on and diagnosed as a failed PTU. Informed the PTU is on a national backorder with over a month estimated wait time. This seems to indicate an increased level of failure of a critical component in the power train system for Jeep Cherokees. Additionally, the safety recall appears to have the potential to create more damage to the PTU.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving uphill at approximately 5 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise, and the vehicle began rolling backward. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle rolled to a stop. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact stated she manually pushed the vehicle near her residence. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was referred to the local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the dealer not having the equipment to repair the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V529000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
Was driving home for lunch and stopped at traffic light. Parking brake self-engaged and would not release. I could not move the car in either direction. Repeated attempted to get parking brake to release by pushing/pulling on switch. Finally turned off car (sitting in moving traffic) and when I restarted the brake released. Was able to get car home and parked. Called my regular mechanic and got it in yesterday, but again brake wouldn't release (it had not been set) without turning car off and on. When my repair shop took the components apart, it revealed that water had leaked down into the computer system that controls the parking brakes (had various flashing lights on dash -- odometer/stop/start signal, etc.) and damaged the circuitry. The repair shop called to explain this problem and noted that NHTSA had begun and investigation into this problem in July and had about 80 cases under investigation at that time -- apparently a body-weld issue causing leak into that component. Prior to this locking up, a service parking brake light had come on intermittently for a couple of days. My wife and I were both at risk and just fortunate this didn't lock up while on the interstate which we drive regularly. Have called local Jeep dealer where we bought it and they claim they have heard nothing about this and the earliest we can get in is 10/18. Our mechanic has temporarily disabled the parking brake (both electronically and mechanically) so that the vehicle is drivable, but said he wouldn't advise driving on it very long this way, due to the other warning components that are now compromised.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a 4x4 message indicating to shift into neutral (N) was displayed and the electronic parking brake engaged inadvertently. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) board needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Serv 4wd light came on. Never use 4wd option. Took in for service and was told we needed to update power transfer unit fro a recall which they did and also replace the power train unit. Why did they update the prgram if they knew the unit was bad.
vehicle loses power sometimes when the gear shift is D position of the 9 speed automatic transmission. This has happened 3 times in one week. The saftey concern is that two of those times were while crossing a busy intersection. A certified dealer reprogrammed the PCM this week(I paid for the service) but I believe the manufacturer is aware of this problem but my Jeep Cherokee VIN is not on a recall list. The SERVICE TRANSMISSION warning appeared after the first malfunction. I have only driven it home from the dealership so am not sure the problem is solved. However, the warning light did not come on. I am sure many Jeep Cherokees were recalled for this problem but my VIN is not included yet.
The PTU IS DAMAGED AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED THIS CAR WAS WELL TAKING CAR OF AND NOW IT NEEDS A NEEDS PTU I NEED HELP THIS SHOULD BE PART OF A RECALL ON THIS THEY WANT OVER 4000,00 TO FIX IT , HOW IS THIS VEHICLE NOT PART OF THE RECALL
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 35 MPH, the transmission unintendedly shifted into neutral (N). Additionally, while stopped at a stop sign, the transmission was shifted into drive (D) when it unexpectedly shifted into neutral (N). No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V529000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
wheels locked up, unable to stop car. wheels were not turning during accelerator and car would not come to a stop when braking as tires were just sliding and skidding on road. could not change gears
Ptu need repair. My Jeep cherokee 2015 have issue with the ptu motor operation. I cant drive my car now. Because I dont have the money for fixed that.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the contact heard a knocking noise coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the transmission was shifting hard while changing gear. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V529000 (Power Train) and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 116,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that after the vehicle was parked during a rainstorm, the vehicle was started and shifted into reverse(R) and the contact became aware that the parking brake warning light was illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle and noticed that the parking brake warning light was illuminated again while the vehicle was idling. The vehicle was then shifted into the park(P) and the parking brake engaged independently. The contact was unable to disengage the parking brake. The parking brake warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the electronic parking brake module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Investigation Number: PE22009 (Parking Brake). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 157,000.
The Transmission blew on the vehicle. I was driving on the freeway with my wife and son in the vehicle, attempting to overtake another vehicle, and the vehicle lost power. I put on my hazzards, and pulled over. Luckily I was able to maintain control. Found out the transmission was blown.
About an hour into the morning commute, the vehicle was at a stop light when a warning bell chimed. The message on the dash read the emergency/park brake had automatically engaged and the light on the park brake indicated the brake was on. I turned it off. Prior to this incident, the braking system including the emergency/park brake functioned as expected. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealership yet.
Crack block in Engine mileage 63k.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a burning oil odor inside the vehicle. After a long trip, the vehicle was parked in the garage and the contacts’ wife notice smoke coming from under the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact drove out of the garage and sprayed the vehicle with a water hose. During the incident no flames were present. The contact stated that the cause of the failure was due to a faulty oil cooler which leaked oil onto the catalytic convertor caused the burning oil odor and smoking. The contact stated that the oil cooler had been replaced on three separate occasions. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Electric Emergency brake system will not disengage. Started my vehicle and it stated check parking brake and the red light was also on. I thought someone hit the brake button so I hit it and the light went off. I was able to drive my jeep a few feet to unlock the gate to our property. I put the jeep in park got out to open the gate and when I got back in the orange light came back on to check the park brake. I tried clicking it off and it would not go off. I then could not move my jeep forward or backwards. Because of this we had to have the jeep towed to local dealership to review. It is there as we speak. They told us looks to be the brake module. I will have documentation once the repair is complete.
One day, out of the blue, a ton of warning lights came on after making a simple right turn onto another road. The "Service Transmission", "Service Park Brake" and "Service Antilock Brake System" message comes on and the ABS warning light, the ((P))! parking warning light, the engine light, the traction control warning light, - There was also a lag of sorts just before the lights came on. The steering wheel felt very tight. I managed to pull over and wait a while and slowwwwly drove home. After taking it to my mechanic who explained their read just wont be accurate - it needs to go to Jeep, said their result had something to do with the coil? Something behind the steering wheel? I had recently (3 months ago) had new brake pads on all four tires and rotors cut or whatever. A shop I've gone to a million times with no issues. There are hundreds of thousands of customers in the comment sections and Jeep forums complaining of the same issue and Jeep dealership mechanics telling them they've never seen the issue before. Jeep needs to be FULLY investigated. For a lot. This OBVIOUSLY could cause a serious accident/death/cost me a [XXX] ton of money for which there's seemingly no fix according to other Jeep owners. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the message "4 Wheel Drive Requires Service" was displayed. The contact stated that she was able to drive the vehicle to her residence. However, the failure reoccurred intermittently while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) had failed. The independent mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) had failed and needed to be replaced. Upon investigating the failure online, the contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V343000 (Power Train), which she associated with the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,403.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the vehicle would intermittently fail to start up after multiple attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the failure was likely related to the transmission. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V338000 (Electrical System, Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the liftgate intermittently failed to open. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Parking brake activated while driving. I stalled. Was able to restart the vehicle and everything seems normal but my check engine light is on.
Electronic parking break activated while driving. When attempting to turn left on a two way street electronic parking break activated by itself and locked the rear wheels. Car currently parked as I am unable to move it. EPS system will not release. Parking break still engaged.
Sounds like a backfire. Happened 3 times in 2 days. Engine was replaced 2-20-2020@ 55,029 mi. Currently has 67713 mi
The parking brake module failed. It caused the vehicle to violently be slammed into a stop by the electronic parking brakes engaging on their own. This primarily happened anytime the vehicle was put into park, or came to a complete stop. The parking brake is then unable to be released. When revving the engine in drive or reverse the parking brake stays engaged. Randomly did it only work properly and disengage, leading to the car being inoperable due to the possibility of being stuck in traffic or on a major roadway should the car get stuck with the parking brake engaged. This could also lead to a stall of the engine as well as that dangerous situation. The safety of myself and others are at risk with this issue. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer to be a failure to the parking brake module. The part is on backorder with a lead time or several weeks, and over 150 plus parts on backorder when I attempted to find and order this part. This is a common issue for the Jeep Cherokee. There were no warning lights prior to the failure, only a message for "parking brake service" with warning lights after the parking brake was unable to be disengaged.
During an accident, the air bags failed to deploy when hit by a Dodge Ram 2500. The vehicle was totalled by the insurance company, and the insurance company took ownership of the vehicle.
While I am driving and the kuds in car, the car completely power off calling into park before switching on. I was in a big big trouble. I checked online and found that cars 2014-2017 had a call for PTU that causes the same horrible situation that I was in. It was a nightmare. I used my car that never face any problem where I take of it and use it usually for serving my kids driving them to their school and activities. I face the problem 3 times yesterday 2 timed and thanks God while I was on the traffic light but to day is horrible while on the road.
The foam that is minimally-glued into the headrest popped off of the shell after a couple months of use. We were able to hold it in place with the fabric cover for several months. then the foam began slipping and ultimately cracked in half. We were unable to keep it in place after that. We have photos of the damage. The seat has been destroyed per the request of the manufacturer. Once the headrest is raised above the level of the outer seat shell, any amount of pressure or holding on to the headrest causes it to bend and flex. I believe this allowed the headrest foam to pop off. Without the foam in the correct location, there is not appropriate padding for the child's head in an accident. A report was made to Chicco. Though outside of the warranty period, Chicco replaced the seat.
I open the car with key fob and vehicle dash lights up when I go to start vehicle everything goes black and vehicle will not start. The battery in vehicle has been checked and in good condition I replaced key fob battery still does not work. This has happened a couple times and then vehicle will magically start. I am generally stuck for a while before we can get it going . I have tried putting fob against starter button to start doesn’t work, I have pressed brake hard, still noting leaving me stranded at night
I am not sure if it is my PTU system but my vehicle shuts off when I am at a stop or idling. It is very unsafe to drive and could cause collision. I took it to a local shop and the owner said the scanner read nothing! Something is wrong if my car continues to completely shut off while in drive.
In June 2022, my electronic parking brake engaged and would not unlock. On the dash, the Parking Brake light, the Brake light and the Stop/Start light were all illuminated. I was unable to drive the vehicle. I had to have AAA tow it to the dealer to find out what was wrong with it. The dealer I took it to had to install a new Parking brake module and rewire 32 pins on the new connector. They informed me that there was corrosion on the unit and did not find any water in the compartment area. My vehicle is a 2015 Jeep Cherokee and at the time of the repair it only had 40,649 miles on it. I had to pay right at $1,200.00 for this repair and I feel I should be reimbursed from the manufacturer since the vehicle was only 7 years old and has low miles. This will happen again if they don't come up with a fix for it.
As I was pulling on to a main highway the vehicle locked down on me and would not go into reverse or drive. When I try to put it in reverse or drive it makes a bad noise.
There is a very hard shift in the transmission on take off. It also make a noise in the transmission when this happens. Very sluggish take off speed.
oil leak at engine cooling system which is common on jeeps from 2014 to 2017.
2015 Jeep - while turning left from a stop sign, the vehicle temporarily gave out on the road, making a loud clunking sound, then switched from auto to snow gear. Thankfully, there were no other cars nearby. The service light came and when taken to the shop - we were informed the PTU required replacement, costing us close to 4K. The vehicle was bought new and is less than 7 years old. For years, I noticed a problem with the vehicle and could not understand the power issues since the car was a new purchase. This is a huge safety concern and when purchasing a new car, you don't expect having to spend 4K close to 7 years later due to faulty design/manufacturing vs. normal wear and tear.
The contact owned a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact that while driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was associated with the fuel system. The vehicle was repaired under an unknown recall. However, the failure reoccurred while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The message "Repair Parking Brake" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the parking brake module, the front driver's side axle, the CV joint, and other unknown repairs needed to be completed. The vehicle was repaired. However, the failures reoccurred and the engine was emitting abnormal rumbling sounds while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that water had leaked through the liftgate, which damaged the parking brake module. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact sold the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
The part on my car that is at fault is recalled and has a service bulletin open for many of the vehicles made within the same few years. Mine missed the cut off by a month but has the exact same issue with the PTU being faulty. Has the svc 4wd light on. Had it inspected by mechanic and is the same issue as others that are covered.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at 20 MPH, the transmission slipped to neutral (N). There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact shifted to park (P) and shifted back to drive (D). The contact was able to continue driving. However, the failure reoccurred several times. The contact stated that at times, he would need to turn off and restart the vehicle in order to resume driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V529000 (Power Train). The contact became aware that the recall repair was previously completed on the vehicle. However, the transaxle range sensor wire harness was never replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
Vehicle has been struggling to accelerate Vehicle unable to maintain cruise control Vehicle vibrates
Transfer case failure. Notice failure as8 a click...clicking louder and louder no matter direction. Turning, forward, reverse. Unable to find/locate replacement 2 spd transfer case - new or remfg. Where can I get parts???
6 weeks after completing safety recall w47 at our local jeep dealership, we noticed a large puddle of fluid in our garage. After inspection, the rear differential had completely broken open, exposing the gears inside. The differential had to be completely replaced. Fortunately, this happened in our town. We previously had no problems with the vehicle. There were no warning lights or anything similar. This happened at 76000 miles.
I was about half a mile from my job when I lost most of my engine power (my daily commute is about 9 min each way - 3 miles and a speed limit of 40). I was accelerating uphill from a red light and I reached about 15 miles an hour before I realized I did not have the power to get more speed. I pulled in and noticed white smoke billowing from my car but did not ever see a check engine light. I had a few coworkers come outside to take a look . There was still heavy white smoke. I got it towed to the garage we take our fleet trucks. My piston rings were compromised (is the theory) and it lead to a multitude of problems even though I stopped driving it within half a mile of noticing anything irregular about my car.
Driving down the road. Vehicle made loud noise and although it was in drive it actually shifted into neutral. I was not able to put into gear and I was stuck in middle of road. I got our and pushed it to the side of the road but definitely a safety concern as I just got off a crowded interstate and could have crashed. I was blessed. Called insurance and had them tow to shop. I was on military orders at the time so I had to rent a uhual trailer and tow my vehicle cross country because of this incident. I believe there is a recall for the PTU now that I have had it looked at. I had to take it to a shop because the dealership wouldn’t look at it for over a month! they are saying it’s not covered under the recall even though the faulty ptu made the output shaft west the teeth down and cause this problem.
This is a complaint about the start stop system and the transmission on our 2015 Jeep Cherokee limited. The start/stop system never worked for more than a few days after having it is repaired. We finally just shut it off manually. The primary reason we are making this complaint is the transmission or at least I believe it is the transmission. There seems to be delayed shifts and jerking as we accelerate from a stop. Often there is a loud clunk and jerk as the transmission engages. Of course it only happens when you are routinely driving and not when you have it at the dealer. This problem started shortly after we purchased the vehicle and continues to this day. I am afraid it will happen when we are getting on the freeway or some critical time and causes an accident not to mention a huge service bill. Of course when ever it was taken to the dealer, they could not find anything wrong.
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that at start-up, the “Service Air Bags” warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not subjected to a recall for the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
Ever since I have owned the vehicle the brakes have shuddered causing the brake pedal and steering wheel to vibrate. I have replace the pads and rotors 3 times and have the same issue. It has been checked by 2 Jeep dealerships and by Tooles Garage in San Carlos CA. NO ONE CAN FIND THE ISSUE. I have looked online and have found far too many confirmed reports from people on forums and such having to same issue. All of them have simply replaced the brakes and rotors and service their brakes regularly in order to get rid of the scraping and shuddering experience. Which should not happen for approximately 40-50k miles and people are changing them in less than 15K. I am not the only person and I feel like there is something wrong with the braking system that so many people are complaining online for years about the exact same issue I have been dealing with. My wife uses the cat to drive our children to school and it does not feel safe to her while driving it. However we cannot purchase or trade in the car yet so we are at an impass. Please help.