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:
4 / 17
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,744 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.

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Owner Comments (Page 9 of 14)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #104

May 242017

Grand Cherokee

  • 80,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving at unknown speeds, the instrument cluster lights flashed and the engine stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

- Carteret, NJ, USA

problem #103

May 222017

Grand Cherokee

  • 82,000 miles
180 amp alternator experienced catastrophic failure causing total loss of all power, battery failure, PCM failure and smoking and burning smell from engine compartment. Experienced loud whinning from alternator while driving immediately prior to failure. Ultimate failure occured as car pulled into parking spot. This is the same issue experienced by 160 amp alternator under recall. It is extremely dangerous and Chrysler/Jeep should be required to fix these issues.

- Lynnfield, MA, USA

problem #102

Apr 142017

Grand Cherokee

  • 64,000 miles
I had the car for 3 years and didn't have any issues. Last Saturday evening 4/14/17 we had just gotten home from running to the store and black smoke started to come up from the front right side of the hood. I backed the car out of the garage and went around the car to see what the issue was. Saw sparks, grabbed my son from the back ran and called 911. With in 5 min the front of the Jeep was on fire. Took 30 min to put out and the car is totalled.

- Batavia, IL, USA

problem #101

Jul 012014

Grand Cherokee

  • 60,000 miles

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

This vehicle will stall while you are in drive and driving. There is no indication that the car has stalled. Lights and radio are one. When you go to break, the car will not stop. The following do not work, breaks, emergency break, power steering and throwing the car in park. You have to coast until you stop and hope you do not hit anything. Once you stop, the car will restart. This is a know issues with this vehicle. It has been in over 3 times to get fix. It does have a recall but that has not fixed the problem. It is currently a deadly weapon.

- Monee, IL, USA

problem #100

Mar 012013

Grand Cherokee

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While making a left turn at 10 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician replaced the external fuel pump relay and disconnected the internal fuel pump relay, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer on multiple occasions, but the cause of the failure was unable to be determined. The contact stated that the failure continued to recur intermittently. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.

- Ballston Spa, NY, USA

problem #99

Feb 162017

Grand Cherokee

  • miles
Usally when I drive the car slow the speed the cars turn off the dealer says the car was repaired but I have over 6 videos when my car turn off in the highway the danger is you can't use the steering because is to heavily to drive.

- Rio Blanco, PR, USA

problem #98

Jan 282017

Grand Cherokee 4WD 6-cyl

  • 159,000 miles

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

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee overland became possessed. While driving on the freeway, lights began flashing on dash, occasional lurches from transmission, one headlight goes out at night. When I pull over and turn the car off, it will not start. It was as though everything is dead. No response from any button on the key. After about 5 minutes, the headlights began flashing and horn bleating as though emergency. I pressed the "panic" button on the key fob and it stopped. Car now started. I drove a few miles then everything began going crazy again. When I stopped, with car still running, windshield wipers began working as though on intermittent. Then they began wiping fast. I tried turning the wipers on or off, to no avail. They were working with their own mind. Dangerous! I had no idea, while driving on the freeway, if both headlights would suddenly go out (it was night while I was driving) instead of just one, transmission damage may occur (what was causing the lurching?). when I pulled over.

- Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA

problem #97

Jan 032017

Grand Cherokee

  • 118,600 miles
3.6L engine. Vehicle keeps overheating. I have taken it to the dealership new thermostat new belts they have flushed the cooling system. The engine will run for approximately five minutes then it will start getting really hot up to 300 also the heating system will not work when this happens it blows only cold air.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #96

Jan 132017

Grand Cherokee

  • 64,000 miles
In the 18 months I have owned the vehicle it has randomly turned off 5-6 times on the highway or on a street. The engine turns off (with no warning on the dash) and you lose power steering and braking. I have taken it to the dealership twice in the last two months and they are not able to diagnose. I am picking up the car tomorrow from the dealership that has had it for the past six days. They will be releasing me an unsafe car that I will not allow my daughter or wife to drive.

- Langley, WA, USA

problem #95

Jan 182017

Grand Cherokee

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the fuel pump fractured and caused a host of electrical failures in the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle would not accelerate and smoke appeared under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #94

Jan 012017

Grand Cherokee

  • 101,000 miles

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

Car lost all power for steering and braking. Car stalled. Was at low speed 5-8mph turning to the right into a gas station driveway from busy roadway of speeds of 55mph. Car went straight and rolled to a stop. Grateful was parking lot and ditch in front of me and not the gas pumps or another vehicle as I had no control of the car stopping. I have twice had car to dealer for car going into limp mode. Both in year 2016. Same cylanoid each time.

- New Braunfels, TX, USA

problem #93

Dec 162016

Grand Cherokee

  • 80,384 miles
Alternator failed while going down the freeway at 65 mpg, resulting in loss of steering and braking. Alternator is 180 amp model. Vehicle has only 80,384 miles. Alternator failure occurred without any warning, and resulted in battery failure as well. Total cost for two components: $900 plus labor through dealership.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #92

Dec 072016

Grand Cherokee 4WD 6-cyl

  • 54,000 miles
Alternator gone with low mileage 3.6 engine 160 amp alternator. Manufacture said they had a re-call P60 but my body style and VIN. # didn't match. Same eng. And alternator on the Grand Cherokee that were recalled makes no sense what that alternator is on. A bad alternator is bad alternator. Vehicle was in motion when a wining noise and battery light came on, smelt hot.

- Corinna, ME, USA

problem #91

Dec 022016

Grand Cherokee 4WD 6-cyl

  • miles
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.

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

problem #90

Oct 272016

Grand Cherokee

  • 49,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving 55 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The dealer could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 49,000.

- Marion, IN, USA

problem #89

Aug 012015

Grand Cherokee 4WD 8-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
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.

- Old Saybrook, CT, USA

problem #88

Oct 292016

Grand Cherokee

  • 46,000 miles
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

- Glen Carbon, IL, USA

problem #87

Oct 142016

Grand Cherokee 4WD 8-cyl

  • 94,000 miles
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.

- East Amherst, NY, USA

problem #86

Feb 152016

Grand Cherokee

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving approximately 5 mph, the engine failed without warning and would not restart. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic who diagnosed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #85

Jul 152016

Grand Cherokee

  • 100,400 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the battery warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact mentioned that all electrical functions failed. In addition, a burning odor was present. The vehicle was not able to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the alternator and battery had failed and the engine control unit was damaged because of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in the NHTSA campaign number: 14V634000( electrical system). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,400.

- Wanamassa, NJ, USA

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