2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee

CAR WOULD NOT START. NEITHER FOB WOULD WORK. CAR WAS IN WRANGELL ALASKA AND HAD TO BE SHIPPED TO BELLINGHAM. CAR IS NOW AT DEALERS. WAS NOT A FOB PROBLEM. ECM, ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE? AFTER TWO DAYS WORK WITH TWO MECHANICS, THEY STILL DO NOT KNOW THE PROBLEM, JUST GUESSING. ONLY DEALER CAN WORK/PROGRAM THE CAR COMPUTER. COST OF SHIPPING CAR + HOTELS+RESTAURANTS+TOWING TO AND FROM FERRY++++++ DEALER COST. ALL BECAUSE THE CAR HAS TO BE FIXED AT THE DEALER AND THEY APPARENTLY CAN'T DO IT EITHER. THIS IS GETTING REALLY EXPENSIVE. WHAT IF I HAD BEEN OUT IN THE BOONIES, AWAY FROM PHONE SERVICE IN THE WINTER AND THIS HAD HAPPENED? *TR..UPDATED 09-25-14 *BF

ON 11-20-13, CAR DIED AT A STOP SIGN AT NORTHBOUND BRADSHAW AT SHELDON IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA. CAR WAS TOWED TO AUTO SHOP IN LOOMIS, CA. SINCE 11-20-13, THIS VEHICLE HAS DIED A TOTAL OF 8 TIMES, AT VARIOUS SPEEDS FROM 0 MPH TO 65 MPH. ON TWO OCCASIONS, I WAS IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF WEST BOUND I-80 NEAR ROCKLIN, CA, GOING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH. CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP AT AUTONATION CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM IN ROSEVILLE, CA ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE CAR WAS DELIVERED TO AUTONATION ON 9-17-14 (TWO DAYS AGO), AND THEIR SHOP WILL, ONCE AGAIN, TRY TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *TR

THE IGNITION ON MY JEEP WENT OUT OF IT'S NORMAL OPERATING POSITION TO ACC POSITION AFTER THE KEY WAS ACCIDENTALLY BUMPED. THE CAR WAS IN MOTION AT THE TIME. STEERING LOCKED UP AND THE ACCELERATOR WAS DISABLED. AND JUST A FEW DAYS AGO THE SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS TIME MY CAR ROLLED AT A SLOW SPEED INTO ANOTHER CAR DUE TO LACK OF BRAKES. LUCKILY, NO DAMAGE OR INJURIES IN THAT CASE EITHER. I ASSUME THE RECENT RECALL FOR JEEP GRAND CHEROKEES UP TO 2007 FOR THE SAME REASON WILL BE EXTENDED TO THE 2008 MODELS. *TR

THIS JEEP HAD THE N23 RECALL DONE AND I POSTED EARLIER ABOUT THE ONGOING PROBLEMS NOT GOING INTO 4 LO AND NEUTRAL...BUT THE PROBLEM IS WORSE THAN BEFORE THE RECALL AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE NOW. THIS PROBLEM IS WORSE ON MINE THAN I FIRST THOUGHT. BUT IF THE INTENT BY CHRYSLER TO SOLVE A SAFETY PROBLEM WITH GOING INTO NEUTRAL UNINTENTIONALLY, WAS THE REASON FOR THE RECALL, THEY FAILED. I JUST DID SOME TESTS ON MY 08 GC AND FOUND: IGNITION ON, MOTOR OFF IN ANY GEAR BUT PARK AND THE TRANSFER CASE IS IN NEUTRAL. IN PARK IT'S LOCKED. MOTOR ON, THE TRANSFER CASE WON'T GO INTO FOR 4 LO OR NEUTRAL AND THE SERVICE "4 WD" COMES ON IMMEDIATELY WHEN TRYING TO GO INTO 4 LO OR NEUTRAL. MY SCANNER SHOWS NO CODES, AND THE MESSAGE ON THE EVIC DISAPPEARS ONCE THE JEEP IS OFF AND THEN RESTARTED. IN SUMMARY, IF THE JEEP STALLS AND THE KEY IS STILL ON, THE TRANSFER CASE IS IN NEUTRAL!!! THIS IS MORE OF A SAFETY ISSUE THAN BEFORE. *TR

CHRYSLER ISSUED A RECALL (N23) FOR PROBLEMS WITH JEEP TRANSFER CASES SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL UNEXPECTEDLY. I'VE SEEN NO POSTS WHERE THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGMENT, I HAD THE RECALL DONE. IMMEDIATELY PEOPLE STARTED HAVING ISSUES WITH 4LO NO LONGER WORKING, AND "SERVICE 4WD" MESSAGES SHOWING ON THE DASH. THESE ARE MY SYMPTOMS ALSO. PEOPLE THAT FLAT TOW THE JEEP BEHIND A MOTOR HOME COULD NO LONGER SWITCH THE TRANSFER CASE TO NEUTRAL (IRONIC HUH?). WHAT DOES CHRYSLER DO? THEY DON'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR PROBLEM. A YEAR AFTER THE FIASCO STARTED, THE DEALER THAT DID MY RECALL DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUE? APPARENTLY CHRYSLER DEALERS LOADED DEFECTIVE SOFTWARE OR INSTALLED THE SOFTWARE IMPROPERLY. THE SOFTWARE CANNOT BE UNLOADED AND REVERTED TO BEFORE THE RECALL. CHRYSLER'S ANSWER WHEN I CALLED 800 NUMBER YESTERDAY, OVER A YEAR SINCE THIS RECALL FIASCO STARTED, WAS FOR ME TO PAY THE DEALER TO DIAGNOSE THE SYMPTOM AND IF THE DIAGNOSTIC CODE IS CORRECT, THEY'LL RELOAD THE SOFTWARE...AFTER I'VE PAID THE SERVICE CALL! THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF POSTS ON LINE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH THE N23 RECALL, BOTH ON AUTOMOTIVE SITES AND RV SITES FROM OWNERS THAT FLAT TOW THEM. AND CHRYSLER HAS THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND...OR ELSEWHERE. THIS IS THE BIGGEST SCAM. PER THE POSTS, CHRYSLER IS CHARGING PEOPLE THOUSANDS TO REPLACE COMPONENTS WHEN IT'S THE RECALL THAT STARTED THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM OCCURS IMMEDIATELY WHEN TRYING TO ACTUATE 4 LO. IT DOESN'T GO INTO 4 LO AND THE SERVICE 4WD MESSAGE OCCURS ON THE INFORMATION CENTER. I HAD TO SHOW THE DEALER THE SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER CALLING ATTENTION TO THE PROBLEM, FROM POSTS ON THE WEB. THAT TELLS ME THAT CHRYSLER IS NOT EVEN INFORMING THEIR OWN DEALERS ABOUT THE PROBLEM CREATED BY THE N23 RECALL. AND THE QUADRATRAC II TRANSFER CASE WITH THE 4LO CAPABILITY IS AN OPTION UPGRADE. THE RECALL TAKES AWAY THIS FUNCTIONALITY! *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT POSTED X-PRESS WAY SPEEDS (70 MPH) THE CAR SUDDENLY WENT DEAD. THE POWER STEERING, RADIO, A/C ETC. SHUT OFF. FORTUNATELY TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT AND I PULLED OFF TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AFTER THE VEHICLE COME TO A STOP. I TURNED THE KEY TO THE LEFT (OFF POSITION) THAN TURNED BACK TO THE RIGHT ON POSITION. THE CAR STARTED IMMEDIATELY AND I CONTINUED ON. THE CAR WILL ALSO STALL IMMEDIATELY AFTER STARTING IT AND I WILL HAVE TO SOMETIMES START IT TO TWO TO THREE TIMES BEFORE IT STAYS RUNNING. I HAD THE PROBLEM LOOKED AT A FEW YEARS AGO. FIRST THEY SAID IT WAS A BAD KEY. WHEN THAT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM THEY SAID IT WAS A BAD COMPUTER BOARD. THAT WORKED FOR A FEW MONTHS AND THAN THE INTERMITTENT STARTING AGAIN AND HAS BEEN THAT WAY EVER SINCE. I KNOW OLDER MODEL JEEPS ARE GOING TO RECALLED BUT I THINK THE RECALL SHOULD INCLUDE 2008 MODEL YEARS ALSO. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ONTO A MAJOR ROADWAY WITH MY WIFE AND KIDS IN THE VEHICLE THE CAR JUST STALLED OUT AND I LOST ALL CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. LUCKILY THERE WAS NO OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. I TURNED THE KEY TO OFF AND STARTED THE CAR RIGHT UP AGAIN. I RESEARCHED THIS ONLINE TO FIND THIS IS A WIDESPREAD ISSUE AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THE NHTSA HAS DONE NOTHING AFTER THE ENTIRE GM SCANDAL WITH CARS SHUTTING OFF CAUSING SEVERAL FATALITIES. *TR

WE ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH THE IGNITION KEY, IT SOMETIMES RELEASES EASILY AND SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO START THE CAR AGAIN AND MOVE IT AND THAT CAN HAPPEN UP TO AS MANY AS 5 OR 6 OR AS LITTLE AS 2 OR 3 TIME. INITIALLY IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A PROBLEM, BUT NOW IT IS BECOMING SCARY. TAKING IT TO THE DEALER AGAIN BECAUSE WE MENTIONED IT THE LAST TIME WE WERE THERE AND WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WOULD BE OK UNTIL THE CHECK ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT GOES ON. WE JUST CAN'T WAIT AND CONTINUE DRIVING THE CAR LIKE THIS. THERE SEEM TO BE OTHER COMPLAINTS WITH SIMILAR ISSUE. WE HOPE THAT ALL OUR CONCERNS CAN BE REMEDIED. *TR