What 1,344 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

With no warning or reason the active headrest deployed while I was at a stop light having been stopped for a few minutes and smacked my passenger in the back of the head.

NHTSA ODI 11502022

Headrest airbag deployment spontaneously. This is a known issue that has caused numerous accidents. Here is a link with multiple people experiencing the issue. People are directed to contact Jeep Cares but this is a safety issue that needs to be recalled. https://www.jeepgarage.org/threads/headrest-clips-spontaneously-broken.222166/

NHTSA ODI 11500771

The front passenger headrest deployed unexpectedly while driving hitting me. The car was not involved in an accident to cause it to deploy. I have not taken it to a dealership to diagnose - it is pretty obvious though (you don’t really need a qualified technician to tell you your headrest deployed). It can’t be pushed back together and it has to be replaced. There were no warning signs or any physical adjustment being made of the headrest at the time of deployment. Since this is a safety feature of the vehicle - like an airbag - a malfunction like this should not be acceptable. I would like to see this investigated and a recall issued for the component that caused the failure. Chrysler need to be held accountable for things like this. We can’t have safety systems failing unexpectedly and then charging the owner $1000 to fix them again with the same crap that is going to break again.

NHTSA ODI 11497890

Drivers left front headrest airbag deployed for no reason. No accident or owner abuse caused this headrest air bag to deploy. Did research and found many other Jeep owners are having the same problem. I am a Florida resident and found that a lawsuit has been filed about these safety incidents. Watched Jeep repair videos and read Jeep tech documents to try to manually reset deployed headrest, but was unsuccessful because when it deployed unexpectedly the plastic pieces were cracked. Please help me resolve this safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11491712

2015 jeep grand Cherokee, the passenger side headrest deployed while driving, I understand that others have had this problem and there’s a recall for either passenger side or driver side but my jeep does not come up on the recalls. Please advise I would hate to have the driver side headrest deployed while I’m driving. Thank you

NHTSA ODI 11491638

The dashboard is got some wrinkles which makes me think the dashboard is weak now, so when the airbag comer out the dashboard may come out

NHTSA ODI 11487763

There are two issues. One is that the air bag light is on and never goes away and could mean faulty air bags, two the car is making a clicking noise and jerking when accelerating and the 4 wheel drive service light has come on. It could be the transfer case or differential. The car only has 60,000 miles and isn't driven everyday. It should not be having these safety issues.

NHTSA ODI 11481473

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated upon raising the front driver's side headrest, it deployed inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front driver's side headrest needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11480981

The passenger side active headrest restraint spontaneously engaged and will not reset. I was a passenger when it happened and it struck me in the back of the head. I’ve noticed many others with my year, make and model of vehicle have had similar issues, but Jeep is not wanting to accept there is a manufacturing default. Luckily it wasn’t my drivers side headrest. But it could be next time and potentially while I’m driving. There were no warnings prior and it’s extremely rare that anyone rides in that seat.

NHTSA ODI 11478944

I took the vehicle to the dealership because the driver’s side air bag at the knee seemed to be expanding and pushing the panel out. Naturally, I was concerned about safety in the event of an accident, so we want that bag to operate properly, but also I was concerned about the air bag continuing to expand even when no impact event had occurred. Jeep Service found found that inside the sealed knee blocker panel, the airbag cover was ripped & caused the airbag to have some expansion that caused the knee blocker assembly to bulge out. The cost for this repair was $1,419. What I am struggling with is how can an airbag installed behind a sealed panel actually rip thus causing the owner to be responsible for the safety equipment repair cost. Is it under warranty? No, but why wouldn’t a safety air bag be safe in the sealed compartment without ripping therefore putting the driver (or their passengers) in danger by either deploying improperly or not deploying properly? I do believe it is reasonable to alert Jeep & NHTSA to open an investigation. I have to wonder how many other 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees have ripped knee airbags inside the sealed knee blocker panel? If a driver side air bag can rip after 7 years in an enclosed/sealed knee panel – I imagine there must be significant danger to other owners too. I am now concerned for the safety of other 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners which may have an undiscovered ripped air bag cover causing expansion that could injure the driver or not protect them properly in the event of an accident (and possibly cause harm to their passengers or other vehicles around them when that deploys without an impact). Drivers have a false sense of comfort thinking their Jeep’s airbags will help keep them safe but that may clearly not be the case. I have reported to Jeep Case #83266298. A piece of safety equipment malfunctioned inside a factory assembled/sealed panel. The consumer should not have to pay $1,419 for dangerous poor design

NHTSA ODI 11470379

I lost control of my 2015 jeep grand cherokee Laredo and crashed head on into a utility pole. The airbags did not deploy and my seat belt did not lock up on. I was traveling about 40mph at the time. The lack of restraint from the seat belt and no airbag sent me smashing into the steering wheel. No warning lights telling me something was wrong with airbag.

NHTSA ODI 11461040

Driver side head rest broke free while driving down the road and hit me in the back of the head. No collision. No wreck. Did not activate properly, plastic holding the system together broke apart.

NHTSA ODI 11454838

None of the air bags deployed after running of the road and hitting a tree causing inuries to the driver (broken ribs, compressed lung, fractured vertebrae, extreme bruising on right side). Insurance company is currently working a claim to total the vehicle. There has been no inspection of the vehicle or problem duplicated. If there was a passenger in the front passenger seat they would have been killed. No warning lamps or indications the air bags would not work.

NHTSA ODI 11444452

11.09.21 the SERVICE AIR BAG SYSTEM light came on and when off immediately. A few days later it came on again and went off and kept doing it once a day since then repeatedly. Now yester 11.13.21 it came on and wont go off and it keeps beeping when it shows up on the dashboard, but the icon doesn't go off on the side dashboard

NHTSA ODI 11443752

I was sitting in my parked vehicle when the drivers active head restraint suddenly came apart and knocked my head and neck forward. This happened without warning and was a jarring motion to my head and neck. Thank goodness my vehicle was in park.

NHTSA ODI 11442035

Driver headrest suddenly deployed while I was starting to back out of driveway. Nothing was hit by vehicle. Knocked my head forward, scared, stopped vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11440379

The headrest on passenger seat exploded causing concussion, neck and shoulder injury. I am not sure what to do moving forward. am afraid that the driver headrest will explode as well. Really need guidance.

NHTSA ODI 11430633

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the service air bag warning light for the passenger’s side air bag was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where they informed him that there was an open circuit in the airbag module that needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed him that the vehicle was not under warranty or recall. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair which he declined. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 76,600.

NHTSA ODI 11425819

I was driving the vehicle when my drivers headrest popped and hit the back of my head. I pulled over to see what happened and it looks as though the headrest exploded but nothing came out. I’m not sure if an airbag was supposed to deploy but it did not. Luckily because my son was in the back seat, not sure if air bag was suppose to deploy or not. I did not hit anything when it happened and I was just driving. Consumer has notified the dealer to get it repaired.*JB

NHTSA ODI 11421888

On 6/14/2021 I got in my vehicle and noticed the driver side headrest was deployed outward. I can see broken plastic clips inside.

NHTSA ODI 11420978

We were entering the vehicle, as I was getting into the drivers seat there was a terrible noise beside my right ear and pressure on my head. At the same time my grandson was entering in the rear seat behind me and was hit in left ear area with an exploding Active headrest restraint. The car had been remotely started but was not actually running yet and was in park with nothing behind it. I had no idea of this potential hazard, we drive long distances with grandchildren in the rear seat and if this would have or if the passenger headrest explodes while driving, it could be catastrophic. This is not acceptable. They should be replaced immediately, not wait until they actually cause a catastrophy !!!! I would rather not be in constant fear of the next explosion in my car which could have far worse results.

NHTSA ODI 11420290

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE PASSENGER HEADREST JUST POPPED OFF WITH NO REAR END COLLISION. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AS THIS HAS MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11405244

WHILE PARKED, THE FRONT PASSENGER HEAD REST EXPLODED, PART OF A REAR-COLLISION SAFETY FEATURE AS I UNDERSTAND IT. CONCERN IS THIS COULD CAUSE HEAD/NECK INJURY OR WORSE IF IT OCCURS ON THE DRIVER SIDE WHILE DRIVING, THIS COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT

NHTSA ODI 11404017

SEATBELT HAVING TROUBLE RETRACTING.

NHTSA ODI 11386373

I THOUGHT SOMEHOW I BROKE MY HEADREST AND DIDN'T REALIZE. BUT WHEN I WENT TO LOOK IT UP AND TO MY SURPRISE I SEE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH HE SAME EXACT ISSUE. CAR WAS NOT MOVING AND WAS PARKED BEHIND MY BUSINESS, CAME BACK TO THE HEADREST DEPLOYED. SURPRISED JEEP HASN'T RECALLED THIS YET SEEMS LIKE A MAJOR ISSUE, CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE IF SOMEONE WAS SITTING AND IT EXPLODED.

NHTSA ODI 11377977