10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
31,233 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2017 Jeep Cherokee drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2017 Jeep Cherokee Owner Comments (Page 2 of 24)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #455

Jul 172024

Cherokee

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have been hearing a grinding noise coming from my car for a few months. I was having another service on my car and tire replacement at an independent provider and asked them to diagnosing the noise. After completing their diagnosis they determined I need my PTU replaced. "Diagnoses grinding noise coming from PTU. Needs PTU replaced." There are current PTU recalls on other Jeep Cherokees years 2014-2017. My mechanic reviewed the recall with me and told me to contact Jeep. I went to Jeep dealership with supporting documentation from my mechanic. My 2017 Jeep Cherokee is having the same issue as recall notice for PTU. I am being told by Jeep that due to no open recall issues for my VIN Jeep wont make the necessary repairs under recall. My mechanic advised me to file a formal report as I meet all the criteria for the recall and my Jeep should be added to the recall and covered through Jeep as a recall defect. He also advised me to limit driving my car long distances or at high speeds as the safety concerns are the PTU will eventually break which in turn will seize my axle, which would render my vehicle immobile. If this occurred in heavy or fast traffic the accident that would ensue could be deadly. I have uploaded the necessary documentation for review. I have the up most confidence that Jeep will extend the recall notice to cover my PTU replacement and get me safely back on the road.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #454

Jul 242024

Cherokee

  • miles
At random times, the vehicle will come up with "Service Shifter" on the dash, making it so that no other items can be viewed, including speed and such. Simultaneously, all lights on the shifter will come on, and no manual gear changes can be executed. The only way to get this cleared is to turn off the engine and restart. yhis can come up at the time of starting the engine and moving into reverse, or it can come up at random times whern driving at freeway speeds, so there is no reliable pattern on when this will occur. Shops have said that there is no remedy that they are aware of, but this appears to be a common issue amongst this vehicle with other owners. If this continues, I worry that this may cause a long-term incident for my family.

- Taylorsville, UT, USA

problem #453

Jul 112022

Cherokee

  • miles
The shifter turns all red lights and service shifter appears in the warnings. There was a recall for this on certain vin #s for the same make and model but Chrysler refuses to acknowledge the wider problem effecting others. They advise you to pay out of pocket and I can-??t afford that. This is clearly an issue that is wide spread and the danger is unknown what can happen but I don-??t feel safe driving my [XXX] in a vehicle with all these warning lights. The issue started apparently 2 years ago but hadn-??t been addressed by my wife because she was out of work and not driving it much. We need both our vehicles safe and Chrysler needs to fix the issues that their manufacturers caused. There are so many articles and complaints about this same issue and Chrysler refusing to fix it. Please help us ensure the safety of our family until we can afford another car. Our mechanic was able to replicate the issue and now it-??s just constantly on. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Industry, PA, USA

problem #452

Jun 182024

Cherokee

  • 71,076 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the 4-WD unavailable warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the PTU (Power Transfer Units). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 21-017-21. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 71,076.

- Needham, MA, USA

problem #451

Jul 202023

Cherokee

  • miles
Service shifter keeps popping out and I know thousands of other people have that issue and they still haven-??t issued a recall or anything to fix

- El Paso, TX, USA

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problem #450

Jul 032024

Cherokee

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle briefly returned to normal functionality, but the failure reoccurred. The low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission mount. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. The VIN was not available.

- Cahokia, IL, USA

problem #449

May 272024

Cherokee

  • 127,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact's husband struck a curb. The contact's husband depressed the brake pedal and attempted to make a turn, but the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The "Service Shifter" message was displayed, and the vehicle made an abnormal sound and stalled while driving. The steering wheel was firm while making the turn. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the failure was self-corrected. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was unable to be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the independent mechanic that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #448

Jul 032024

Cherokee

  • miles
vehicle jolted while driving, then lost all power to wheels. grinding noise coming from front end. rolled backwards when placed in park.

- Meridian, ID, USA

problem #447

Jun 292024

Cherokee

  • miles
The vehicle jerks or jumps while driving on the highway. I took the dealership twice to get it fixed and paid out of my pocket but problem is not resolved. Now the issue leads to the power transfer case (PTU) failure. I went to the dealership for diagnosis and they told it will cost me $3900 out of pocket to fixed the vehicle.

- Milan, IL, USA

problem #446

May 292024

Cherokee

  • miles
I was driving up bridge in morning rush traffic suddenly without warning lost drive cv axel on passegner side broke and had to be towed. I called 911 and the police tried to put car in drive and car would just roll back and it almost went into the unit. when the car suddenly stopped I was just lucky no one ran into me, I was in the middle of the road & could not move the car.

- Boutte, LA, USA

problem #445

Aug 252023

Cherokee

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

SHIFTER GEAR HARNESS PTU REPLACEMANT. Driving down the road and the shifter light all light up and a message comes on saying service shifter the car has 45000 miles. take to dealer they say need a new shifter gear $535. I google it to find out there is a recall on 2017 Jeep Cherokee but not on my vin ! really" have it fixed 3 months later a message appears on my dash again saying service 4wd. so I take it in and now the put is bad $3600 really ? jeep no help because original warranty expired.had a extended warranty also it read 75000 mils or 7 years guess what came first 7 years 2months after it expired this happen.I believe jeep is putting cars on the road they know has these problems also just two ago the shifter g service light came on again this time they said it was a cracked female cap on wire harness. they said as a courtesy they temp fixed no charge this time but if it happens again I would have to replace both shifter and harness $1200 cost really of course its going to happen again this car is lemon! they also told me that it was safe to drive while they order the Parts which takes weeks to get ! really safe to drive ? I don't think so as you read hundreds of people have the same problem. jeep has put their customer in unsafe vehicle where is the protection for the consumer" they say my vin is not on recall because of the factory it was produced in. that is crap its the parts that are bad and they are in all jeep Cherokee 2014 -2018!

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #444

Apr 302024

Cherokee

  • miles
Just bought a used 2017 jeep cherokee limited with 102,000 miles on it and within days started getting "service shifter" dash warnings. Looked up issues on jeep forms and similar jeep models between 2015-2018 experience this issue apparently.

- Chambersburg, PA, USA

problem #443

Mar 292024

Cherokee

  • miles
This is a well known issue, and apparently the manufacturer is not doing anything bout it. You can read many many complaints here: [XXX] My problem began a few weeks ago. The "Service Shifter" message. Disappeared after I turned car off. Now it's back. Of course I'm sure the dealer will be happy to see me and apply a $500 bandaid that won't fix the problem. Obviously a manufacturing defect that will only get addressed when someone is killed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Hamburg, NY, USA

problem #442

Mar 182024

Cherokee

  • miles
Bolts fell out of ptu and broke housing. Vehicle right now is available for inspection. Problem confirmed by local Jeep dealer. No prior warning, just started making awful noise and vibration.

- Argyle, NY, USA

problem #441

Jun 222022

Cherokee

  • miles
Power Transfer Unit failure at 73531 miles. Repaired at the dealership for a cost of $3300. Manufacturer has offered an extended warranty to cover PTU failures on SOME vehicles in my year range for failure of this part, but mine was specifically EXCLUDED by the manufacturer. In spite of their denial that I received a defective PTU, nonetheless mine failed. Service 4WD warning message appeared, and I took it the dealer for repairs which they completed.

- Clinton Township, MI, USA

problem #440

Mar 102024

Cherokee

  • 134,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the power transfer unit (PTU). The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V343000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 134,000.

- Richland, WA, USA

problem #439

Feb 032024

Cherokee

  • miles
My 2017 Jeep Cherokee was manufactured in September of 2016. There-??s no current recall on my VIN, however there is a recall regarding the PTU (power transfer unit) which ended September 23rd 2016, because cars after that date were manufactured with -??stronger internal components-??. My car only has 62,000 miles and I-??m currently having the same issues as this recall describes. I-??m getting a -??service 4WD drive-?? alert, a -??service shifter-?? alert, and -??AWD unavailable-?? alert. I-??ve taken it to multiple Jeep shops and the same code keeps popping up. C14A7-97. This code has a direct correlation with the power transfer unit causing the car to suddenly changed from 4WD to 2WD. I need to see if this can be replaced as a part of this recall. It-??s available for inspection upon request.

- Sandy Springs , GA, USA

problem #438

Feb 162024

Cherokee

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 20-30 MPH, an alarm sounded, and the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road on some occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle would fail to restart while turning the key in the ignition switch and would restart independently when taking her hand off the key. The contact stated that she was able to continue driving; however, the failure reoccurred several times in one day. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where engine oil was added to the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The dealer performed a software update under an unknown recall and added oil to the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer advised the contact that they would contact the dealer and she would be contacted afterward. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

problem #437

Feb 052024

Cherokee

  • miles
Odometer keeps giving a -??service shifter warning-?? turn vehicle off and back on and it goes away! Came back a few days later! All of the gears were lit up when warning came on dash board!

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #436

Feb 032024

Cherokee 6-cyl

  • miles
I was driving and it started shuttering, then I lost forward mobility. Had to have it towed to the dealership. Dealership confirmed that it is the PTU. Now currently sitting at the dealership waiting to be fixed. The contact stated there was a warranty bulletin put out by Mopar regarding the 2016/2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk about the PTU needing to be replaced. The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk with the 9speed and feels it should be included in the bulletin. The dealership is charging $3690 out of pocket expense but the contact can not afford to fix the vehicle.

- Harrison, MI, USA

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