CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012 Grand Cherokee hasn't seen the same complaint volume as the 2011, at least not yet.
It's worth noting both model years are part of a class-action lawsuit that focuses on a defective TIPM and a long wait for replacement parts.
The 2012 also received national attention after it failed a Swedish Magazine's "moose test". The test measures a vehicle's ability to swerve out of the way of an obstacle you wouldn't want to hit while driving down the road ... like a moose.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 83
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
42,513 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.
Battery light came on dash while driving. Driver suspected low battery voltage. Vehicle battery was replaced. After a mile or so of driving battery light came on again, with a high pitched whine from the engine and burning smell. Alternator failure was diagnosed. Alternator and serpentine belt were replaced. Owner found out subsequently, that although this vehicle was not covered by the Jeep alternator recall, it is the same year and model of others that were covered. Repairs cost $250 for the battery, and approximately $1100 for the alternator, belt and labor. Owner believes that this vehicle shares the same fault as the recalled vehicles.
Car started normally however, once I began driving, a number of diagnostics errors were displayed on the screen. I started to smell as though something was burning so I returned home. A few minutes after that, the entire car went dead. No power at all. I could not even lock the door. I see that there was a recall P60 / NHTSA 14V-634 related to the alternator and the description of events that could occur with that, was pretty close to what I experienced this morning. However, when I researched this with fca, I was told that my VIN was not a part of that recall. So now, I am thinking that I may have this defective equipment in my vehicle. I have to have the car towed to a local dealership for a diagnostic review but over the phone, the service rep believed that it sounds like an alternator/battery issue. I have also read numerous complaints from other Jeep owners about similar problems. I want to be covered in case this turns out to be an issue where my vehicle should have been included in the alternator recall but was not. I was lucky that the failure occurred before I got away from my home and on the freeway.
Vehicle was serviced for recalls approximately 2 months ago after the vehicle stalled while driving. Yesterday, the vehicle began to smell like burned rubber and stalled while I was driving approximately 35 miles per hour in rush hour traffic. The vehicle completely died and needed towing to dealership. The dealership says alternator is burned up, along with computers and battery and do not acknowledge the ongoing issues with the alternator or electrical system in this model. This is not covered under the alternator recall according to the dealership and they maintain this is very different from the recall issues (although it acts the same). Very scary and dangerous.
As I was entering an expressway on ramp when Jeep slowed down, wipers came on, turn signals started flashing erratically. It slowed to crawl as I had to inch my way to the side of the road and I could not fully get out of road. A utility truck stopped and placed cones around my car to keep it from being hit until tow truck arrived. I since learned that most of the 2012 alternators were recalled but not the 180 amp alternators but it appears it is the exact same problem and I have learned from my mechanic and other websites that many other 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee's with 180 amp alternators are having same issue as the ones equipped with the 160 amp alternators. The alternator, battery and computer controlling alternator all had to be replaced at a cost of $2,000. The dealer wanted $3,000.
Car stalled while driving down the road. Lost all power. Took it in for repair, $4K of repairs including tipm, PCM, alternator and battery. Jeep unwilling to help in cost of repairs.
- Nolensville, TN, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a loss of power while being operated at various speeds. The failure occurred without warning. The dealer could not duplicate the failure. Prior to the failure, the vehicle experienced similar failures and was reminded per NHTSA campaign number: 15V115000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 104,566.
I haven't had any trouble with my car. I was going to my dads when a battery light popped up. I was less than mile from his house. When I got to his house I cut the car off so my dad could check under the hood but he didn't see anything wrong with it. When I cranked the car back up my radio was cutting on and off, I cut the air on low and it started blowed heat out the defrost, and the windshield wipers start going off by theirselves. I cut the car off again so it would stop. When I tried to cut the car back on it wouldn't crank. My dad hooked it up to a battery charger because he thought the battery was dead. We got it cranked and left his house to take it straight to the Jeep dealership. We got about a mile down the rode and the lights were flickering, the steerwheel locked up and the car cut off. Under the hood started smoking. We were stranded on the side of the rode with my 4 year old son in the back seat. We had two people stop to try and jump the battery off but it was completely dead. We called a tow trunk and they towed it to there shop. They hooked up to there machines and said it was the alternator. Now I've paid $800 to get the alternator replaced. When the alternator went out it fried my power module control.
In Feb 2016 was driving through town and my dashboard and Jeep started acting crazy and it just totally died as I tried pulling into gas station, was now blocking entrance/exit. Totally dead, couldn't put it in neutral and hazards didn't work. Replaced tipm costing me $1300. Then in Oct 2016, Jeep dashboard started going crazy again and died as I'm driving and turning in the middle of an intersection! everything dead, no hazards, lights anything and it was pitch black. I was lucky I didn't get hit. Now they said it was battery even though I argued that it wasn't, I said it was the tipm again. They replace battery, but battery light came on right after I left dealer. Then they said it was the alternator. Got it replace but it wasn't the alternator, it was the tipm again! they covered that since I just paid for it in February. Faulty tipm's caused my Jeep to totally die as I'm driving - twice!! if I was on a highway, it would have been horrific. And both times I had my kids in the Jeep with me. Absolutely unacceptable. Never buying a Jeep again. This is so dangerous.
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee suffered rapid failure of alternator after being driven for 2 miles after oil change from dealer. Smoked for15 minutes after being turned off. Resulted in total shutdown of the electrical system
Electrical short in passenger side sun visor caught the interior of the vehicle on fire while parked in our garage. We had noticed a burning smell a week earlier and my wife had seen smoke in the passenger cabin. We immediately took it to the dealer and they kept it four days before returning it to us, blaming a rodent nest in the ventilation fan. Three days later it caught fire.
Within the span of approximately 15 months, the engine has randomly turned off 8 times in the middle of driving. When this occurs, the car loses power steering and braking, making it difficult to control, aside from the fact that the car can not safely be moved to a safe emergency stop location. The car has been to the dealership numerous times, but with no solution. The dealer has performed all recalls and software updates, but these have not solved the problem. The dealer has stated that they cannot replicate the problem, so therefore cannot fix it. Chrysler customer care was contacted and a case manager was assigned to the case. The case manager instructed the dealership to drive the car, which they had done before, to try to replicate the problem. They were unable to do so and the case manager has stated that there is nothing that can be done if the problem cannot be replicated. When asked what to do in the event the vehicle causes an accident, the case manager stated to contact him at that point and he will take the case "to the next level". in short, the car must be involved in an accident before Chrysler is willing to do anything. At this point, we are not comfortable driving this car for which we are paying a lot of money and are not being offered any solutions.
NHTSA campaign number: 14V634000 / Chrysler recall P60 already exists but that is for 160 amp mine is 180 amp, I think that is the only difference. My Jeep died and would not start up again. All power was lost 100%, luckily my family and I were stopped at a gas station getting sodas. It sounds exactly like the same issue of the recall that is already out but also effects my Jeep with the 180 amp alternator. According to Chrysler that is the only difference in the two models. Mine is a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 3.6L
The same exact thing as recall P60 except my model supposedly has a 180amp alternator. I can't be for sure since the tag was almost completely melted when the alternator was removed. Pulling into a parking lot the electrical system just started flashing and going haywire. The vehicle quit working. When I popped the hood, the alternator was so hot it was almost glowing.
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received a recall for the ignition switch two years ago, but the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The NHTSA campaign number was unknown. The contact had not experienced a failure.
I have a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited, 5.7L engine. Purchased the vehicle used. At approximately 60,000 miles (2015) the Jeep begin to randomly stall while driving. It always happened within 10 minutes of leaving my house. Fuel levels good, didn't matter if turning left or right. Vehicle stalled, causing steering to lock. Almost in 3 accidents. Only remedy was to put it in park, Jeep would start right back up. This happened in June, August and October. After October stall, I took to the Jeep dealership. The dealership couldn't find anything unusual, and replaced the battery. The trailer taillights were not working and they recommend replace tipm. Things were fine until September 2016. On Sept 2 Jeep stalls turning right, full tank of gas. On Sept 6 - stalls slightly turning into suicide lane. Back to dealership. Dealership has it from 9/7-9-9. can't replicate it, and no errors come up. They do replace recall sun visors. Sept 18 - stalls going straight on road. Again, this is in the morning, and within 10 minutes of leaving my house. Saturday Oct 14. Jeep stalls again around noon time. Hadn't driven it since Friday 1pm, the day before. Full tank of gas. Died while slowing down towards a red light, going straight. Almost rear ended as a result. The dealership cant diagnose one thing that happens randomly. There is a plethora of complaints online regarding the tipm and alternator in this Jeep. My VIN isn't covered by the recalls, but it sounds like a tipm would remedy the situation. This vehicle is unsafe to drive, and Chrysler isn't helping.
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee stopped in the middle of the road with the engine losing power, warning lights flashing with the smell of hot or burning electrical wiring entering the cabin. I was lucky I was on a city street going about 30mph, and not on the interstate moving at a faster pace. I had the car towed to the dealership and was told the next day that the alternator needed to be replaced, at a cost of over $1,000. I was told it was a difficult job to replace the alternator. Based on youtube videos, it should not have taken more than around 30-40 minutes. The alternator was available for $405-$450 from numerous mopar oems online. The dealership charged me over $730 and labor of over $250 for a total of over $1,000. The recall was for the 160amp, for the same exact stated situation that I had with the 180amp, so it was not covered. This is a safety hazard that should have been included in the recall. The Chrysler/Jeep dealership seems to using this as an opportunity to gouge the public.
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving, the 180 amp alternator failed and caused the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was determined that the VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 14V634000 (electrical system). The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V879000(electrical system, interior lighting); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
While driving a whining noise started. Then battery light came on. System started it indicate system shutting down. Drove straight to dealer and was informed the alternator was burnt out and the battery shot. I complained to fca. Their esponse there is a recall on 160 amp alternators but it.does not apply to my vehicle because it has a 180 amp alternator.
Battery died and dealer replaced battery and performed recall repair for sun visor wiring. Within first 20 miles, while in motion on atlanta rd. In smyrna, Georgia, cabin filled with smoke from electrical fire beneath front passenger seat, which is where battery is located.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Arlington, VA, USA