2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle for more than 24 hours, the vehicle would not start up. The contact stated that the battery was constantly being drained. The contact was only able to start the vehicle in the morning after connecting a 1-amp charger to the battery. The contact stated that he contacted the dealer and it was suggested that the battery be replaced. The contact stated that the battery was replaced twice however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 11,000.

I took my vehicle in for a recall on Saturday. I left with the auto start stop warning light on. They said the cable was fried and part was on back order, otherwise it was fully drivable. I started it for this first time since Saturday on Monday morning. I began to drive and the AEB immediately slammed on. Every warning light started to flash. Including the hazards. I had to unload my kids through the driver side, as the other doors wouldn’t open from inside or outside. The locks nor the windows would roll down. On the suspension it said to turn the engine on, however the engine was on.

-The new 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L-Limited was made to be a third, row off-road, all weather driven vehicle. #1: The front windshield is flush with the front pillars. This causes accumulated snow or off-road dirt to easily be pushed to the driver side window (with no way to wash off) and blocking the driver’s side mirror. This makes it impossible to to use the blind spot light on the side mirror. In my case, I had audio alarm turned off as not to wake the kids while driving across the country. So I had a couple of near misses until I was able to stop, clean the driver’s window and turn the blind spot alarm back on. This is not a big deal if driving in clear rain, just not off-road or snow. It’s available for inspection whenever needed. -Our safety was placed at risk by creating a blind spot, making my driver’s side mirror and sensor obsolete. This created me nearly striking the cars beside me. -I just returned from the dealership(Puyallup-Larsen Jeep)an hour ago and the staff admitted it was a flaw. They actually recommend I go buy some aftermarket window lip, that does not exist. It was disgraceful to say the least for them to admit a flaw and suggest I fix it on my own, after having my car for 8 hours and it having 3500 miles on it. -No warning lights other than the blind spot sensors activating that I could be sure was activated or not. #2: The third row seat over heated the phone charging cord, causing light cabin smoke and burning a slight hole in the gym bag. My 7 y/o twins were woken up and advised me she think she smelled smoke. I figured it was nothing, it a brand new vehicle. She said “something is burning Dad”. I turned the cabin light on as my 14 y/o said she now smelled something in the second row. I saw a light fog and immediately pulled over, ran to the back and yanked out the cord out of the car. The cord was overheated to my touch. The cord had burned the plastic bag the Happy Meal toy was inside. Available for inspection whenever.

VEHICLE LOCKS ARE NOT WORKING SAFELY. When locking doors on the vehicle the doors are easily opened when you pull the handle while sitting in the vehicle. All doors will open which is very dangerous especially since my grandkids sit in the back and can open the doors while the vehicle is in motion. I have a video showing the doors locked and i am able to open the doors when the vehicle is driving down the road.

Second incident in less than 2 months on Grand Cherokee L that has 2K miles. Vehicle experienced limp mode when stabilizer system malfunctioned when going 45mph. Began to stall and lost acceleration. Gas pedal was unresponsive. Second incident (~500 miles later) Power Steering Failure. Could not get vehicle out of garage. Luckily this malfunction did not occur on the highway. Was able to get it to dealer the next day and they fixed with software updates for only the effected power steering module. What other updates are needed and what happens if the braking system is next? I have lost all faith in Jeep’s ability to design a safe and reliable vehicle for my wife and 2 kids. My wife has anxiety driving her own car as well. The roll out of the L and Grand Wagoneer may be coming with potentially fatal flaws.

Vehicle was left at dealer on 12/3 to address the infotainment screen gltiching and turning off and to address a recall. The dealer performed a software update and addressed the recall. I picked vehicle up on Saturday, 12/4. The infotainment screen flashed off again and I noticed the transmission shutters and bangs during a downshift and when I lift off the gas pedal. It was observed on Sunday, 12/5 that the nightvision images freezes and glitches while using.

The car lost communication with the Body Control Module causing multiple features to malfunction, including power steering, while we were on the road. It's a 2021 vehicle that we leased only 29 days prior to the incident. Yes, with multiple important features malfunctioning at once, we were at risk. Fortunately, we were not on a highway or driving in inclement weather or this would have been even more dangerous. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer after the incident. There were no prior warning signs and the problems came about rapidly.

On 11/11/21 I started vehicle and placed in drive to pull out of driveway. Upon moving the steering wheel became locked and would not allow me to steer. The “Service active dampening system “ warning came on along with “Service power steering”. I was able to put vehicle in reverse and back into driveway but the steering was still not functioning. After vehicle sat off for few minutes I restarted and appeared fine but check engine light came on. I took to dealer the same day. After 3 days they could only determine that the computer had shut down. No other explanation or resolution except that if happens again to have it towed there. What if this were to happen while driving at highway speed?

During the first 3,000 miles of owning the vehicle, on 3 separate occasions, the vehicle has failed to shift from first to second gear, appearing to get stuck in neutral. Because this is occurring when the vehicle is first beginning to accelerate this is happening when entering intersections, changing lanes, and crossing lanes causing the vehicle to rev while either coasting (due to the positive motion prior to shifting) or sit motionless when on-coming traffic is approaching. The only way to get the vehicle back in motion is to completely stop the vehicle (irrespective of the dangerous location) put the vehicle in park, then back in drive, and try accelerating again in hopes that the vehicle will shift on a second attempt. One one of the three occasions so far, this occurred while exiting a parking lot but before entering a changing lane on a busy street. On another occasion it caused me to get stuck on a blind curve. The issue occurs intermittently and to date I have not been able to get the dealer to remedy the issue. Their text msg response at TransitTowne Jeep Chrysler Dodge RAM in Elma, New York, is that "..there is no codes in the system and there is no updates available for the software. There is nothing to diagnose if there is no code and everything checks out in the system. ... The Jeep does have an 8 speed transmission that is all electronically controlled and it can take some getting used to." This is the response I received after dropping the vehicle off at 10 a.m. and receiving a call the same day that my car is ready to be picked up at exactly 1:03 p.m. (which included the time to perform an oil change, tire rotation, resolve a missing trim issue, and investigate an issue with the tailgate). The only warning was the beep that goes off when the car is in close proximity of an impact (due to the other cars approaching as I try to get the back in motion) but the warning is useless until I can get the car back in motion to avoid an impact.