What 799 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

Active head restraint deployed on drivers side while auto was moving in parking lot. This unexpected event made the driver come to a sudden stop. There was no impacts of this vehicle into any object. No injury to the driver in the parking lot but is pssible injury to driver and other in the parking lot could have happened. After inspection it looks like a plastic bracket broke inside the active head rest.

NHTSA ODI 11709447

Hello, I am reporting failure on the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee in which the drivers side headrest activated while the vehicle was not in operation and not involved in any accident. The active head restraint had activated while the vehicle was parked and in a non-running condition. No accident occurred during this time frame. The passenger side active headrest is still in the factory location and has not been activated. The drivers side head restraint has activated and can not be returned to original position. My current safety is at risk as the active head restraint is not functioning per original safety design intent. My head and neck are currently constrained in a position that causes discomfort while driving due to the location of the active head restraint. The manufacturer (Authorized dealer) has been contacted and they responded with a response including that a recall was not issued for this failure type. A warranty period was extended to 10 years from manufacture date which my 2013 has eclipsed. No inspections have been completed to date. The parts have been untouched since the date of discovery. There were no signs of this issues prior to discovery. There are no service or warning lights currently illuminated on the dash or driver information screen. This is a safety related failure and needs to be repaired by the OEM with no cost to the customer. A well documented and known issue exists and puts the owner/operator of the vehicle at a increased level of risk of injury by continuing to operate this vehicle in its current condition.

NHTSA ODI 11682227

Passenger headrest popped out while driving downs the road. No accident bump or anything visible set it off. It punched out like an air bag.

NHTSA ODI 11679670

Front passenger side headrest clips faulted causing the headrest to eject. Took it to the dealership and was quoted over $1,000 parts and labor for replacement.

NHTSA ODI 11651189

Passenger seat headrest exploded and hit my wife in the head/ear/neck and now she is in a lot of pain. This is the most random thing I have ever seen. My wife and daughter were driving through a parking lot going 4mph and the headrest just exploded. The plastic pieces holding the springs back broke and let the headrest fly forward into my wife’s head/ear/neck

NHTSA ODI 11609705

Active Headrest Restraint ( AHR) Drivers Side deployed overnight. This safety feature on many Jeeps is intended to protect motorists including passengers, in the event of rear end collisions by deploying. However a cursory review online reveals many many complaints, recalls, & TSBs . But my entire family now is exposed because Jeep wont extend recalls any longer. My recall expired 11 months ago. I was never notified by mail or by dealership that this recall would expire April 2023. I bought this SUV with understanding of its many safety features like AHD among others. Only makes sense that Stellantis /Jeep extend this recall beyong April 2023 as a result of substandard plastic parts used in headrest. If I had been notified by dealership when Jeep was serviced in 2023 it could have been fixed. All my recalls have previously been fixed. Trying to reach Customer Care at Jeep 877-426-5337 only to get complete jibberish and run-a-around. Certainly affect my next buying decision. Here-to -fore pleased with vehicle but this changes everything . I take safety VERY seriously. Inspection clearly indicates plastic parts ( sled bracket) failed.

NHTSA ODI 11577170

Heated Seat element on passenger side burned through the upholstery and pant leg of passenger. Visible smoke in cabin and burn hole on seat and pant through to underpants.

NHTSA ODI 11566313

Was driving down the road with my young son in the back seat and all of a sudden the head rest came flying forward and smacked the back of my head hard enough for me to swerve and almost get into an accident. After further inspection looking at the headrest once I got home I noticed that a pin is mounted onto some obviously brittle plastic that’s secured to a latch. Well i wasn’t in an accident and just out of nowhere this headrest flipped forward enough to rattle my head a bit.

NHTSA ODI 11555353

The contact owns a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side front headrest deployed, pushed forward, and struck the contact on the head. There were no reported injuries. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 123,500.

NHTSA ODI 11544516

Driver side, headrest deployed without collision. Parked when airbag deployed.

NHTSA ODI 11543953

On the way home from work the Active Head Restraint deployed without there being a rear end collison. The head restraint on driver's side hit my wife in the back of the head and sounded like a loud and startling gunshot-like sound. Since I was on the highway if I had not kept from jerking the steering wheel when the head restraint deployed i could have been in a head on collison. I was able to pull off the road to see what happened. First I called my dealer and they said it wasn't going to be covered under warranty and also call fiat-chrsyler and they said that it wasn't covered. No warning lamps, messages and no other symptoms shown prior to the failure. The dealer did acknowledge verbally that they had had 3 or more other cases. Currently it is at the dealer being repaired and i will ask them to give me the old head restraint.

NHTSA ODI 11543540

4 days ago, while backing out of a parking spot, the passenger Active Head Restraint (AHR) deployed and struck my girlfriend in the head. There was no interaction with another vehicle and there was no accident. The AHR simply deployed on its own and struck my girlfriend in the head. I have not reset the AHR and left it as is. Please let me know what my next step should be. Thank you [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11540026

The active headrest popped open without an accident and can't be reset due to broken internal tabs. Very dangerous if it happens while driving. It's like getting punched in the back of the head by a rock-em sock-em robot.

NHTSA ODI 11530982

The active head restraints (AHR) deployed without any collision. I was driving on the interstate when this happened. My neck and shoulders have been sore now for 3 weeks. I went to the dealership and they said I would have to pay for this out of pocket. Chrysler should be paying for these since it is a known fault of small plastic parts that were designed too small to hold the tension of the active headrest assembly.

NHTSA ODI 11530272

The Active Head Restraint (AHR) deployed on it own due to failed plastic internal parts on the passenger headrest. This is a known issue and has been for years. Jeep should correct this issue for all affected vehicles. I fear that the driver headrest will also fail and could potentially lead to a crash. This needs to be addressed.

NHTSA ODI 11517653

Passenger headrest separated -- turns out it is called "Active Head Restraint" -- I did not know it was even there! The vehicle was not involved in an accident or rear ended (as I understand activates this). Nobody was injured and in fact nobody was in the vehicle when it went off. This happened a few months ago and thought it was just a broken headrest and I would have to fix it. Upon investigating the headrest last week is when I discovered this has been an issue for a long time. I found a "Warranty Bulletin" put out by Mopar BUT it was not issued to owners of the vehicle. I called the Jeep dealer on 3/2/23 and found out that my vehicle went out of the "Warranty Bulletin" time period just last month. I missed the repair because I was not notified of the issue from Jeep / Mopar! After reading of other individuals occurrences and injuries I have disconnected the "AHR" from the driver seat because of the possibility of it activating when my daughter is driving the vehicle and causing her to loose control of the vehicle. This item failing is more dangerous to drivers & passengers than other items which have been recalled by the NHTSA because this can cause an accident with death potential vs like a leaking fuel line that would cause a fire and loss of the vehicle but most likely not a death because the person would be able to exit the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11510280

My driver's-side headrest/"airbag" deployed without a collision. I was wiping down my drivers seat after getting the seat dirty and when I wiped over the headrest it popped against my hand and I heard a tinkling noise of something bouncing around inside my vehicle. Further inspection showed that my headrest had popped out like it had deployed in a crash, etc. I was parked in my driveway and was not pushing hard on the headrest. I looked inside the headrest, and also googled this incident, and there are plastic clips inside the headrest that hold it in place. Those plastic clips wore out and broke off, causing the headrest restraint to deploy. I googled this situation and discovered that other people experienced this same thing as well - I got lucky because I wasn't driving when it happened!! But also, after further research, I found out that this is a thing that is happening and nobody is doing a recall about it. It will cost $600+ to get a new headrest inserted BUT there's no guarantee that my next one won't do the same exact thing! I haven't spent the money to get it fixed yet, because of that, but I have to have my seat and lumbar support adjusted ridiculously so that I can ride comfortably without my neck sticking out like a turtle.

NHTSA ODI 11480448

The driver's seat active head restraint spontaneously deployed. There was no collision of any kind. This occurred while vehicle was stopped at a traffic light. The driver (who is not the individual filing this report) suffered a sore neck as a result. At time of deployment, the driver's head was inclined forward and tilted down. Otherwise the injury might have been much worse. This incident could have been exceptionally dangerous if the deployment happened while vehicle was moving. As of today (June 2, 2022), the vehicle has not been inspected by dealership. The first available appointment for repair is June 8, 2022. No warning or other indication given prior to spontaneous deployment. The part is available for inspection by NHTSA, at least until it is taken to dealership. I have uploaded pictures of part.

NHTSA ODI 11467089

I was driving down a residential road, going about 30 mph. I went over a very small bump. My driver's side seat headrest exploded open and hit me in the back of the head. It scared me so much I swerved my car. Luckily it was a quiet street and I was going slow or I would have had an accident. I have a medical condition called fibromyalgia so this triggered severe headaches and fatigue for about a week. Luckily no serious injuries. I took it to a Jeep dealership and they said it's covered under the extended warranty and will be repaired for free. But what about a recall to avoid this dangerous safety issue in the first place? What about the passenger seat that is also now waiting to pop open and injure someone?

NHTSA ODI 11439260

Drivers side headrest popped open without any collision or contact. It looks like a plastic latch that holds the headrest & airbag in place broke spontaneously.

NHTSA ODI 11438530

The passenger side front seat active headrest disengaged while the vehicle was not in motion. My son was hit in the head but not seriously injured. The car has not been inspected by a dealer. I'm reporting this incident because a dealer will charge a fee to assess the failure and my online research has identified many similar failures without Chrysler accepting responsibility for the defect.

NHTSA ODI 11429447

While driving the vehicle under normal weather conditions and normal road conditions, the driver's headrest exploded forward.

NHTSA ODI 11428120

On July 15, 2021, I was driving my vehicle 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee in my town. My daughter was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle. As I was driving, the passenger headrest deployed unexpectedly for no reason. I heard a loud pop and then my daughter scream as the headrest hit her in the back of the head. She was not injured. I have no idea why this occurred. I went home and researched this online and discovered several articles in which similar incidents have occurred with other people in similar vehicles. I contacted the dealership to see if they were any recalls for this particular issue and I was told no. Also, the representative from the dealership told me they had talked with a supervisor and did not know what I was talking about.

NHTSA ODI 11425245

The contact owns a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the headrest independently exploded. The contact sustained a sore neck but did not require any medical attention. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.

NHTSA ODI 11422269

THE PASSENGER SEAT HEATER LIGHT KEEPS TURNING OFF AFTER PUSHING THE BUTTON. I CHECKED UNDER THE SEAT AND ALL WIRES SEEM FINE. TURN THE CAR BACK ON AN IT WORKS FOR A LITTLE BIT THEN DOES IT AGAIN. SOMETHING ODD IS GOING ON WITH IT BECAUSE THE AC SEAT WORKS STILL. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAUSE A VERY LOUD ANNOYING HUM WHEN GOING 60 OR FASTER AN ITS VERY ANNOYING.

NHTSA ODI 11416659