2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Visibility & Wipers Problems

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear glass fractured without impact. The contact's minor children were seated in the rear seat when the failure occurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started and the panoramic sunroof was opened, glass from the shattered sunroof fell into the cabin of the vehicle. The contact had not observed an object shattering the sunroof. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or a glass repair shop to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

ABOUT 47 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OUTSIDE DROVE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES WITH INTERIOR TEMP SET TO 72 DEGREES DOWN A HIGHWAY. WINDOWS STARTED FOGGING UP SO TURNED ON THE DEFROST. HEARD A CRACK AND WINDOW CRACKED DOWN MIDDLE OF WINDSHIELD ABOUT 10' SPREAD TO ABOVE THE MIRROR AND TURNED TOWARD DRIVER SIDE WINDOW. LATER SKIPPED ABOUT 2 INCHES AND STARTED AGAIN. BY 2 HOURS LATER CRACK SPREAD TO TOP OF WINDSHIELD AND ALMOST TO END OF DRIVER'S SIDE.

My Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit was purchased new in 2018. I am the only owner and primary driver. In early 2020 I noticed some bubbling with the leather of the dashboard. It continued to bubble up a little at a time until today, November 7, 2023 it is so bubbled up that the delaminated leather blocks the air vent that defrosts my windsheild; blocks completely any possibility of warm air reaching the windshield wipers. In freezing weather conditions this becomes very dangerous. I was driving in a blizzard down the freeway with very low visibility. The only way I could see anything was to have the wipers going at full speed. Because they were not receiving any warm air from the defrost vents they froze up in the closed position and would not move. Due to freeway traffic and conditions I could not pull over but I could not see. I nearly rear ended a vehicle in front of me and could not see to trade lanes and try to pull off. I was able to roll down my window, grab and flip the wiper to get it moving WHILE DRIVING. My front passenger was able to do the same and we continued to drive this way with our windows down until we could pull off. Other drivers with functioning dashboards where the warm air was reaching the wiper area as intended were not having the same problem I was. The delaminated leather is also a problem because my windshield will not defog on the lower half and visibility can be very poor. This may not be as big a hazard but still is a hazard because of the reduced visibility.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE SUN ROOF GLASS FRACTURED WITHOUT IMPACT. THE SUN ROOF INTERIOR COVER PREVENTED THE FRACTURED GLASS FROM FALLING INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,820.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL POPPING SOUND AND NOTICED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WAS CRACKED ON THE TOP PASSENGER SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THEY INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT A ROCK MAY HAVE CAUSED THE CRACK. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, TWO WEEKS LATER THE FAILURE RECURRED IN A SIMILAR SPOT ON THE WINDSHIELD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THEY INFORMED THE CONTACT IT WAS THE CONTACT'S FAULT. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT STOP SIGNAL THAT THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL POPPING SOUND AND NOTICED THAT THE WINDSHIELD WAS CRACKED AGAIN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TOM O'BRIEN CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE RAM - INDIANAPOLIS (4630 E 96TH ST, INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46240) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT A ROCK HIT THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THE WINDSHIELD NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED FOUR TIMES IN THE SAME SPOT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000.

BACKUP CAMERA DISPLAY IS FULL BRIGHTNESS AT NIGHT AND NOT DIMMABLE. EFFECT OF FLASH BRIGHTNESS WHEN PLACING VEHICLE INTO REVERSE CAUSES TEMPORARY LIGHT BLINDNESS AS WELL AS REDUCES EXTERNAL VISIBILITY SUCH THAT MIRRORS AND VISUAL OBSERVATION ARE IMPAIRED SIGNIFICANTLY. IT IS NECESSARY TO MANUALLY COVER THE SCREEN WITH A SHIELD AS THE "SCREEN OFF" BUTTON WILL ALSO NOT TURN OFF THE BACKUP CAMERA DISPLAYED. OCCURS EVERY TIME VEHICLE IS PLACED IN REVERSE. THIS ISSUE OCCURS AT NIGHT.

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AROUND 5:30AM. CLEAR TRAFFIC AND NO LARGE TRUCK IN FRONT. SPEED AROUND 65 MPH AND MY SUNROOF FAILED BY SHATTERING FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON AND GLASS FELL FROM TOP TO THE FLOOR. HAVE MINOR CUT AND THE GLASS. TRAVELING ON FREEWAY.

ON JANUARY 25, 2018 I WROTE A LETTER TO MY LOCAL DEALER (ANCHORAGE CHRYSLER CENTER) ASKING FOR THEIR HELP IN WORKING WITH JEEP CHRYSLER TO FIND A SOLUTION TO THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPERS OF MY BRAND NEW 2018 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SUMMIT FREEZING TO THE WINDSHIELD WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE ON CITY STREETS WITH FULL DEFROST WHILE OPERATING IN FRIGID COLD TEMPERATURES. ALONG WITH THE LETTER I INCLUDED A FEW PHOTOS THAT SHOWED THE PROBLEM, THOUGH THEY HARDLY DID IT JUSTICE. ON FEBRUARY 7, 2018 I RECEIVED A REPLY FROM FCA THAT THEY "UNDERSTOOD WHY THIS MIGHT CAUSE A CONCERN, BUT THE CHARACTERISTIC I DESCRIBED WAS NOT RELATED TO A DEFECT IN MATERIALS, WORKMANSHIP, MANUFACTURING OR FACTORY PREPARATION AND THEREFORE THERE WAS NOTHING THAT COULD BE DONE (PARAPHRASED)." ON FEBRUARY 13, 2018, I WROTE FCA A REPLY DISAGREEING WITH THEIR FINDINGS AND CITED THE DESIGN FEATURE THAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM AND THAT THEY DID IN FACT PROVIDE THE OPTION ON THE 2018 CHEROKEE'S, BUT NOT THE GRAND CHEROKEE'S. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC AND ASKED FOR THEIR HELP IN IDENTIFYING A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM "ON MY NEW $50,000+ AUTOMOBILE." IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH AND I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REPLY. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED AT THEIR LACK OF A REPLY. I REMAIN CONVINCED THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

MY 2018 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HAS HUNDREDS OF TINY POT MARK LIKE MARKS THAT APPEAR IN BETWEEN THE WINDSHIELD GLASS. VERY NOTICEABLE WHEN THE SUN IS LOW IN THE SKY. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS WITH ANY OTHER OF MY NUMEROUS VEHICLES.