What 2,369 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, she noticed that the front driver’s side headrest had inadvertently deployed without warning. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the basic extended warranty had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall and that the extended warranty had expired. No further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 189,184.

NHTSA ODI 11544515

Driver side head rest randomly deployed and hit the back of my head very hard pushing me forward while drive down my neighborhood.

NHTSA ODI 11542524

We reached to the back seat and heard a pop and then the head rest popped out of place and won’t go back. I’ve seen numerous other reviews about this situation of their headrest popping out. This should be covered by warranty and recalled to have the headrests fixed

NHTSA ODI 11540927

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while seated in the vehicle, the front passenger’s side head restraint separated from the seat striking the passenger in the back of the head. The passenger was not seriously injured. The contact was not able to place the head restraint back on the seat. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 94,000.

NHTSA ODI 11537920

While driven the vehicle, the head of the driver front seat opened and broke where you can see the broken plastic support in the interior. After a month the head of the seat of the passenger were broke in the same way. They were open and broke and expose the interior of the head seat noticed the plastic pin support broken.,06

NHTSA ODI 11537006

The driver's side Active Head Restraint deployed for no reason.

NHTSA ODI 11535051

When sitting in the passenger seat while the car was parked, the active head restraint popped and hit me in the back of my head. After realizing what happens, I read about resetting this and was unable to as the plastic clips that hold the head restraint back were broken.

NHTSA ODI 11534149

Passenger head rest deployment while parked with no reason

NHTSA ODI 11526914

•Driver headrest deployed while driving for no reason. Vehicle is available for inspection. •When headrest deployed, it strike me on the back of my head causing uncertainty of what hit me. •The problem has not been reproduce. •The component has not been inspected by the manufacture, police, insurance representative, or anybody else. • There was no warning, lamps, messages, or any other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

NHTSA ODI 11525184

The Active Headrest Restraint (AHR) busted open with the broken clip issue and cannot be fixed without a dealership replacement. The car is available for inspection. This was not the result of an accident or collision, as the car was parked. If I were sitting in the seat, it most likely would have given me a concussion or a hospital visit. Since the AHR is supposed to reduce the occurrence of whiplash in the event of a collision, I am now at increased risk of whiplash if something were to happen. Multiple reports claim it has caused injury, and I am now worried for my passengers if their headrest was to also pop out. As of 2023, the NHTSA has received nearly 500 complaints of headrests bursting open, with at least 71 of them involving injury. The vehicle has not yet been inspected, but will need to be taken to a dealership and paid to be fixed since there is no recall at this time, and I expect a costly repair. There were no previous warnings or indications that this would happen. This is a dangerous situation, and I am scared to drive my car in fear of my headrest not working properly in the event of a FUTURE COLLISION, and am now scared the headrest on the passenger side will bust open and injure someone else. In a proposed class action lawsuit, "65-page complaint states the defect can be traced back to the failure of a “cheap plastic component” inside the AHRs that are unable to withstand the 75 pounds of constant pressure applied by the AHRs springs. The plaintiffs claim this 'cost-saving measure' puts the AHRs at risk of failure and vehicle occupants at risk of injury." Here is a link to a perfectly good summary of this issue. The article was published in 2020. https://thomasjhenrylaw.com/blog/nhtsa-investigates-headrests-bursting-open-in-dodge-jeep-chrysler-vehicles-71-injuries-reported/

NHTSA ODI 11511371

Front Passenger side Head Rest broke apart, looks like a plastic piece or lock mechanism broke on the headrest causing it to break apart and I cannot push it back together and re-lock it. This happened while driving down the road with no external factors at play.

NHTSA ODI 11506019

While stopped at a Stop sign, the passenger side headrest restraint was deployed while my wife was seated. The headrest made a loud noise and did contact her head, but she was not harmed. If this were to happen on the driver's side, especially while moving, the result could be catastrophic.

NHTSA ODI 11498251

The passenger side headrest popped out violently by itself. Was driving up the interstate when the headrest randomly popped out. The headrest is unable to be reset. This could have been a very dangerous issue had someone been sitting in the passenger seat when the active headrest system deployed.

NHTSA ODI 11491995

While driving normally, the passenger headrest violently shot open. Plastic clips which once held a metal rod inside the headrest can be seen stressed and broken, causing the active head restraint (AHR) systems to deploy. Several independent websites and forums show this is a known issue but there has not been a recall. There were no warning signs of an issue until this point.

NHTSA ODI 11491502

While sitting in my car with with it running in a parking spot my passenger side active headrest retention system failed and the headrest deployed violently. Luckily no one was sitting in the passenger seat however this could have caused serious injury of death had the seat been occupied. Upon further investigation by myself I noticed that the metal retention bar was still in place however the plastics that is supposed to secure the bar to the mechanism the bar has broken

NHTSA ODI 11483366

Passenger side front seat headrest (active head restraint) deployed for no reason while sitting at a stop sign.

NHTSA ODI 11482934

This happened to me today. I was driving and heard a really loud pop/ rattle noise (almost took me off the road it was so abrupt) and thought maybe it was something that hit my car on the road. Sound nearly took me off the road. I pulled over and after inspection I noticed the driver headrest had deployed and the clip is broke. This seems like a SERIOUS safety hazard. It is available for inspection upon request. The headrest has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representative or others as it just happened today. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

NHTSA ODI 11482137

While highway driving at 62 mph the passengers seat head rest suddenly blew apart with a loud bang, This scared both my wife and I as it was totally unexpected. We found ourselves looking all around trying to figure out what had happened. This was a totally dangerous distraction.There were no bumps in the road or any indication that would of caused the problem. Upon inspection it looks like a small plastic piece holding a metal pin broke. It has not been taken to a dealer yet. It is available for inspection, but I hope to get it fixed shortly.

NHTSA ODI 11481589

The head rest deployed into the back of my head while driving through an intersection. No collision. No bumps. No contact. Smooth driving and then it deployed. It’s a hard and shocking deployment that hits you in the back of the head very aggressively causing my head jolt forward from the impact.

NHTSA ODI 11481525

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the front, passenger side headrest deployed without warning. The contact's wife was sitting in the front passenger seat during the failure and was hit in the back of the head. The contact stated his wife had experienced headaches since the incident but had yet to seek medical attention. The contact notified the dealer of the incident but was offered no assistance. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 153,000.

NHTSA ODI 11480507

For no reason whatsoever, the headrest srs deployed. And now I have to replace it with a new one. Very expensive. And dangerous problem.

NHTSA ODI 11479503

My passenger side headrest deployed randomly while my girlfriend was in the seat. She currently has a headache, we are looking into this further and what steps should be taken. Vehicle was driving maybe 10 mph when this took place. I understand this design for deployment is supposed to take place during an accident to protect the passenger from whiplash. Again, this incident took place randomly (no accident) A plastic clip broke off, causing the headrest to spring and deploy. This is a dangerous safety design flaw and Jeep should have a recall for this component. There were NO warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The incident occurred on August 4, 2022.

NHTSA ODI 11477780

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while she was stopped at a store parking lot, she heard a popping sound as the front passenger’s side headrest inadvertently deployed. The contact stated that she was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The contact re-inserted the headrest into the seat however, the headrest was not secured and would detach from the seat while driver over rough road surfaces. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11476004

Headrest popped open out of nowhere driving down the road. Luckily I was leaning forward

NHTSA ODI 11475405

Driver seat active headrest deployed for no reason.

NHTSA ODI 11468514