Jeep Cherokee 2015 has a huge safety issue problem with the 9-Speed transmission:

My Jeep Cherokee 2015 Limited 4x4 has a 9-Speed transmission that does not work and is very dangerous for the driver and the passengers. During December 2019 the transmission was hung in neutral while I was trying to cross a busy highway. I was in the middle of the highway and the Jeep Cherokee would not engage into the proper gear. I was very lucky that I was not hit by another vehicle.

The local Jeep Cherokee dealership keeps doing software updates and the so called fixes do not resolve this safety issue. This has been going on for two or more years and the situation is only getting worst. The software updates do not resolve the said safety issue.

Jeep needs to know about this huge safety issue. The Jeep experience is not a good one if people are intimidated in driving or being passengers. Jeep needs to resolve the transmission problem before people die in accidents.

Bought this Jeep Limited, used, with 24000 miles about 2 years ago. Loved it for about the first 6 months. Then, the transmission problems began. It started as a reluctance to shift into 3rd or 4th gear at times. Brought it in and they updated the software. And, like everyone else who has one of these lemons, was told the update repairs work about 95% of the time. What a load of crap. Two weeks later, same rough shifting. It almost slams into gear. Brought it back, and they supposedly couldn't find any problems. Took it home and decided to live with it until I can afford to trade it in on a good SUV. It is obvious they have no real fix and I refuse to waste my money on another Jeep...ever!

Just bought the car 4 days ago. 5 minute test drive was fine (of course).

On the first day, there was a significant clunk and jerk as the car shifted gears (around 45-47 mph). As others said, it felt like I got a tap from behind. The rest of the day it was fine and I was unable to replicate it. It has happened 1-2 times a day since (and I don't drive it much), usually around 45 mph, once around 30 mph. I cannot find a way to replicate it, it just happens randomly.

It also paused when I was trying to turn left across traffic. Scared me as traffic was coming.

Will be returning the car today, without a fix as I only have 7 days to return and all posts have said that the software upgrade only fixes the issue for 2 weeks and then it's back. Don't want to be stuck with this issue and I don't feel safe driving it with the pause when pulling into traffic.

Loved the car...just wish it worked better....

I am the second owner of this vehicle. I feel like a fool now because I didn't research any previously reported issues with this particular vehicle. I simply went on my belief in history and the quality of the JEEP name.

The transmission slams into gear so hard that I actually feel as if I have been rear-ended and I'm actually jolted from my seat. After about the third time I have now made an appointment with a local JEEP Dealership to have it checked into. But now as I am only NOW researching it, it's heartbreaking to realize that JEEP or the company that manufactured this 9 speed have no fixes nor admit that the transmission is faulty. I found in the glove box of my jeep an invoice where the previous owner took it in to his dealership with the same complaint. The dealership only ran a diagnostic and said there were no issues found. HORSE SH*T!!!!! They now suggest a SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENT to fix the problem...it won't fix it from all I am now reading. How can they be allowed to put this on the market and sell it to working people, some who work hard just to own a vehicle of this caliber and it's riddled with problem that the manufacturer says it's operator error...WTF???!!!??? I am now stuck with it and my only recourse is a lawsuit or hopefully they now have a resolution and are willing to make things right with consumers.

I have had my 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk for almost 2 years. It has recently been acting up while slowing down to a stop it jerks hard and during acceleration it hesitates and then it will kick in and jerk hard again. I took my car to a dealership to check into it and they told me it could be my brakes sticking (which it is not) it is something in the transmission. I am afraid it is going to leave me stranded or worse cause me to get into an accident if it decides to completely go out while I am driving. It is very annoying paying that much money for a vehicle and you are afraid to drive it and don't trust it. Sad they don't make cars like they used to! Dealerships are more worried about making money than selling people decent and safe vehicles.

This is the first time I brought my vehicle in on 2/8/17 to the Coon Rapids Chrysler Jeep for a recall and talked to the service man about the transmission down shifting hard and not shifting right into gear. They test drove it and told me they did not see an issue and these vehicles do shift funny and sent me on my way.

Update from Sep 28, 2017: On to the second time I brought my vehicle in on 5/17/17 to the Coon Rapids Chrysler Jeep for a leak on the rear gear box that was found be Valvoline when I had the oil changed and for the transmission. Again, I told the service man that it was getting worse and shifting really hard when down shifting and when driving it shifts hard. It also takes off (speeds up) when I let up on the brake, very dangerous in my eyes. I also told him about when I press the gas the RPM’s go really high but it seems the vehicle is not shifting into gear. They again test drove the vehicle and said they did not notice anything but did change out the transmission control module which should correct what I am feeling. That lasted about two days and it was doing the same thing.

Update from Sep 28, 2017: From the two days after I got my car back from the 5/19 appointment I just kept driving it thinking maybe it was me and I was imagining this. Low and behold I was imagining nothing because around 7/5/17 I was pulling away from a stop light and heard grinding and felt a clunk like feeling and my car would not move. Yep there I sat stalled in the middle of an intersection. I was towed in to the Brookdale Chrysler Jeep to have the work done on my vehicle being Coon Rapids Chrysler Jeep did not seem to care that I brought this vehicle in twice and still sent me on the road with a faulty vehicle not doing anything more than a test drive. If they would have looked a little further into this being something was obviously wrong with this vehicle. Anyhow, moving forward Brookdale Jeep put in a new all-wheel drive distributer and a few other things and sent me on my way. I’m Thinking YAY everything is good and happy with Jeep again. Unfortunately that did not last long. About two weeks after getting my vehicle back, low and behold the down shifting hard and shifting into gear hard starts again.

Update from Sep 28, 2017: On 8/18/17 the check engine light came on in my vehicle came on so I set up an appointment at Brookdale Chrysler Jeep to check that and the shifting issue again. I take the vehicle in and tell them it is having shifting issues again like before they need to look at the transmission. These are the notes from the invoice “after tapping on the esim the leak went away replaced esim retested evap system no leak was present”. They test drove the vehicle and here are the remarks from the test drive “Transmission upshifted harshly with A/C on under a cold start condition. After transmission reached operating temp the shift was normal for the 9 speed transmission the vehicle is equipped with. The hard shift is also normal for the nine speed”. So here is where my issue is, what is normal? Because I drove my Ford Escape for 11 years before I bought the vehicle of my dreams, or so I thought, and I want my 11 year old Escape back UGH. I was so happy I finally got a Jeep until about 6 months after I was in this vehicle, everything seems to have went downhill from there.

Update from Sep 28, 2017: Not done yet though, on 9/22 the check engine light came on AGAIN! I have an appointment to bring the vehicle in tomorrow 9/28 to the Brookdale Chrysler Jeep to have that checked along with the transmission AGAIN. I think I may lose my mind at this point. I have a vehicle with 36,000 miles on it that has been nothing but a problem and all I keep getting from the service guys is no, that is normal, HUH? will update once again because I am sure this will not be fixed ever

This is the 3rd or 4th time I've brought my car into the dealership for this issue, and unfortunately, not the last time. As usual, they did an "computer update" to the onboard computer. The car shifts extremely roughly, especially at 30 and 40 MPH (I think somewhere around 3rd, 4th and 5th gears). I still have the issue on deceleration, where the RPMs jump up, just as a pull to a stop, jerking my car forward.

I was still unaware of this transmission issue (didn't find out until May 2017). Stupid me, for not doing what I tell my students to do, and use my fingers to find the answers!

This is the 4th time in almost as many months that I have brought my Jeep in for the same transmission problems. I am less than 2000 miles away from losing my warranty, which means "I'm screwed"!

All the problems that I've seen online are exactly the problems that I am having. Acceleration upon downshift, making car jerk forward. No acceleration from a stop, making the car just sit there for a second, before it moves, rough shifting (especially at 30 and 40 MPH), making a loud popping sound and jerking my car when it finally does jump into the correct gear. The only issue I haven't had is the car just stopping. CAN"T WAIT!!!

I have NEVER been more disappointed in a vehicle (and the dealership from which I purchased it) in my life. This is an intermittent problem. It happens several times a week, albeit not every time I go from a standstill (or reverse) into first gear. The car shifts so roughly that I (and any passengers) are literally jolted in our seats. The car has been to the dealership four or five times and they have never been able to find out what's causing this. Software updates provided by Jeep have not fixed the problem. It is as bad now as it was when I first purchased the vehicle. I am at my wits end as to what, if anything, can be done to fix this.

Extremely disappointed Jeep Cherokee owner in Southern California.

I have my 2015 Jeep Cherokee which i only drive to work basically on Fridays and I take on trips out of town, the vehicle started by having rough rough changes when changing from 3rd to 4th. At times I would drive the vehicle and have it on cruise control and would have to brake due to traffic. Once the traffic got lighter I would resume the cruise speed and the car would do a horrible change like a jump when changes gears.

I took the vehicle to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and was told that was due to the vehicle having a nine gear transmission and that the problem I was advising them about was truly normal. Yet about two weeks later the check engine light came on and the cluster was advising the start and stop system needed to be serviced. When took the vehicle to the dealership I was advised the vehicle needed a new transmission and was told the transmission would be replaced.

My 2015 Jeep Cherokee Latitude V6 4x4 has had a quirky jerky transmission from day 1... I researched it and gave it time to "adjust" (adaptive blah blah blah....)... Initially the problem was mainly just a sluggish start in first gear with a pronounced shutter/shimmy... This issue was fairly consistent but the severity came and went... It seems either I have adjusted or that issue has gotten a little better.... BUT... unfortunately at about the 20,000 mile mark the shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear have started getting very rough unless I am being aggressive with the throttle... It doesn't always do it but it seems much more likely to happen if you are reducing throttle at around 30-35 mph... It seems to be getting more frequent and rougher, sometimes so hard that passengers gasp and ask "WTF was that!?"... I am taking it in and requesting a reflash of the tranny software next week... When I talked to the service manager I asked him if they could do the reflash for me and he initially said "well... we will see... we might could blah blah blah... we will see IF there is "something available".... blah blah blah".... So I came back with "Either you can or you can't do the reflash... so can you do that for me??...".... he answers "well... ugh... yes... I think we can do that".... What kind of BS crap have they been told to tell owners!!! I was going to leave the car and come back but I think I'll hang around and ask to see them reprogram the computer... I really hope that the transmission manufacturer has fixed the software... IF that's even the issue...