CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2014 (and 2015) Jeep Grand Cherokee have a serious defect trend of transmission complaints. Most of the complaints are for rough shifting — things like jerking & hesitation when shifting gears.
I rented a brand new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a few thousand miles on the odometer for Christmas vacation. I drove the jeep for 2 weeks and there were 4 snow storms and 1 ice storm during the vacation. With each storm 10-14 inches of snow fell, and I just happened to be on a road trip during every single storm. No big deal, I actually like driving in snow storms and I have a lot of fun with it. I even purposely go out in snow storms when they happen so that I can get accustomed to what my vehicle can and can't do. Therefore my experience driving in adverse snowy and icy conditions is quite extensive. This is a great way to prepare yourself for times when you actually get yourself unwittingly out in bad conditions and have to travel, like for me this Christmas vacation. On to the problem:
Every time I touched the brakes while driving on snow the Jeep kicked sideways violently in one direction or the other and I had my hands full keeping the thing on the road. I've never been in a vehicle that was so squirrely on the snow. Even when I gingerly applied slight brake pressure it still kicked the rear end sideways most of the time. This was happening to me at 100km/h on the highway, so it was a very dangerous issue. I had to change my driving style for the course of the rental of the Jeep. I made sure I left at least 100 yards to the vehicle in front of me and I coasted to a stop at traffic lights without using the brakes. I can't imagine that a less experienced or a nervous driver would have survived driving this Jeep. I don't know if all Cherokees handle this way or if it was just a problem with this one, but I do know I'm no longer considering buying one!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I rented a brand new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a few thousand miles on the odometer for Christmas vacation. I drove the jeep for 2 weeks and there were 4 snow storms and 1 ice storm during the vacation. With each storm 10-14 inches of snow fell, and I just happened to be on a road trip during every single storm. No big deal, I actually like driving in snow storms and I have a lot of fun with it. I even purposely go out in snow storms when they happen so that I can get accustomed to what my vehicle can and can't do. Therefore my experience driving in adverse snowy and icy conditions is quite extensive. This is a great way to prepare yourself for times when you actually get yourself unwittingly out in bad conditions and have to travel, like for me this Christmas vacation. On to the problem:
Every time I touched the brakes while driving on snow the Jeep kicked sideways violently in one direction or the other and I had my hands full keeping the thing on the road. I've never been in a vehicle that was so squirrely on the snow. Even when I gingerly applied slight brake pressure it still kicked the rear end sideways most of the time. This was happening to me at 100km/h on the highway, so it was a very dangerous issue. I had to change my driving style for the course of the rental of the Jeep. I made sure I left at least 100 yards to the vehicle in front of me and I coasted to a stop at traffic lights without using the brakes. I can't imagine that a less experienced or a nervous driver would have survived driving this Jeep. I don't know if all Cherokees handle this way or if it was just a problem with this one, but I do know I'm no longer considering buying one!
- coast2coast, Athabasca, Alberta, canada