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

The drivers headrest randomly “popped” from the fixture smacking me in the back of the head hard enough to almost cause a collision

NHTSA ODI 11719719

While driving down the highway the passenger seat headrest airbag deployed. Causing it to hit the back of my head with no warning. There were not any lights on or anything.

NHTSA ODI 11683555

The active headrest shot off without cause and whiplashed my head and neck. There was not an accident or any reason for it to go off.

NHTSA ODI 11664191

On 12/09/2024, I got into the vehicle, sat in the driver seat, turned the ignition on, and then immediately, the driver seat adaptive headrest popped open hitting the back of my head forcefully. I looked inside the headrest and it appears that there are two plastic pieces that cracked and broke apart.

NHTSA ODI 11630403

The active headrest deployed while I was driving on [XXX] returning home from work this evening. I was very fortunate not to hit the truck next to me or run off of the road as the force of the blow was enough to thrust my head forward and make me see stars. I was able to pull over and after about 10 minutes I was able to see clearly and was no longer too dizzy to drive. This malfunction is extreme dangerous and could very easily result in severe injury or loss of life due to causing a crash. I will be following up with my physician as I suspect the force I felt was certainly enough to cause a concussion. Jeep needs to recall every single vehicle with these headrests and correct the issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11573026

The headrest on the passenger side seat deployed without any warning or a collision (AHR system). This vehicle has never been in a collision. It is available for inspection. My daughter was sitting in the passenger seat when it was deployed causing it to hit her in the head with a good amount of force. It has not yet been brought to a dealership as it just occurred. There were no warnings or messages prior to it deploying. I am concerned the driver side will deploy as i’m driving and the safety of passengers in the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11540190

The passenger side head rest deployed into my wife's head while we were driving. No impact occurred, just deployed without any incident. I've read about this happening to many people across a range of Jeep models, and is a major safety concern. I'm personally concerned this could happen to the driver while driving (myself or my wife) causing an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11531989

Driver headrest failed as my wife was driving her jeep. It deployed hitting her in the back of the head causing a slight concussion.

NHTSA ODI 11531752

My driver was traveling on an interstate and the head rest "air bag" went off and smacked her in the back of the head. This cause her to veer off course and fortunately she did not cause an accident. The head rest feature is for safety when your have a rear end collision not just under normal driving conditions.

NHTSA ODI 11527240

The active headrest released on the driverseat while operating the vehicle under normal conditions. The headrest hit the driver's head with significant force. The headrest will not reset.

NHTSA ODI 11492803

Drivers side Active head restraint, spontaneously deployed. Headrest hit driver in the head while driving. Which could have caused an accident had driver had their head against headrest or been traveling at a faster speed. No warning lights or tones before deployment. Vehicle has not been inspected by dealership, manufacturer or police as Vehicle was not in an accident. They will not be notified due to no recall or warranty. Part will be replaced by onwer. After further inspection plastic clips inside the headrest failed.

NHTSA ODI 11469694

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving, the driver's side headrest was deployed with no warning. The contact stated that he was hit in the back of the head and required medical attention. The contact stated that the dealer was called and was awaiting a diagnosis appointment. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,500.

NHTSA ODI 11467044

I was actively driving my 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with my 3 year old son in his car seat in the rear passenger seat when I was violently struck in the back of the head causing me to momentarily black out. I came to confused and assuming i was rear ended by another vehicle, i immediately pulled my vehicle over to check on my son, when i looked back i noticed there was no one behind me. When i got out of the car I began dry heaving and felt extremely nauseated. i checked on my son who seemed ok and on the back of my vehicle which was in perfect condition. I was still very confused and checked on my son again who was crying and scared because " mama was hurt", its at that time that i notice my driver side head rest had exploded. it was completely split in half. my active driver head restraint that is built into the head rest had gone off for no reason. An hour after being struck in the head I was till experiencing nausea, pressure in my head, head ache, neck and back pain and dry heaving. because I'm also pregnant my husband drove me to urgent care. they said i had whip lash and likely a concussion but because I'm pregnant there wasn't much the could do for me without risk to the baby. Because this happened after service hours at Jeep I called the the next morning where they advised me there are no recalls on my jeep and no warranty on the head rest. I will need to pay for it to be looked at and pay for any parts necessary to repair it.

NHTSA ODI 11465644

The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's seat headrest deployed and struck the back of her head. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11465445

While driving down the road the passenger side ahr (active headrest restraint) unexpectedly deployed striking the passenger in the back of the head resulting in a migraine. Once stopped I inspected the headrest and saw that two plastic pieces that held the metal rod in place had broken even though we were not involved in an accident or sudden stop.

NHTSA ODI 11465358

2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee drivers side heated seat burned a nickel size hole through the seat, burned a hole through my girlfriends sweatshirt and burned her skin. Thank god she was able to maintain her composure and pull over to a parking lot and get out. What if she had jerked the wheel (as it startled her) and caused a crash? What if she was on the highway?? What if the vehicle started on fire?? The vehicle is currently at the dealership and being inspected. There were no warning lamps or other symptoms.

NHTSA ODI 11443879

While driving on neighborhood roads, the driver's headrest suddenly popped forward without warning or reason. My head was slammed forward and I lost control of the vehicle. If this had occurred at highway speeds there is a very high probability that I would have crashed the vehicle. As it stands I have a lot of neck pain from strained muscles in the back of my neck.

NHTSA ODI 11434882

Was driving with my girlfriend and we heard a loud boom and my girlfriend injured her head because the headrest exploded and jerked her head forward.

NHTSA ODI 11422527

Driver headrest exploded into the back of my head while I was driving on a two-lane road (Hopper in Santa Rosa CA). Impact caused me to lose consciousness for several seconds, and I woke up on the wrong side of the road still in motion with my 6 year old daughter in the back booster seat. This problem is reflected in NHTSA online literature, a certified class-action suit, and online notices about potential recall. Headrest is being replaced for free but the Jeep dealer didn't have any in stock and there is no timeline to get it fixed. Currently working with Kaiser Permanente insurance plan and medical staff to help with neck, head, and back pain, and continuing dizziness on and off every day since the incident.

NHTSA ODI 11422057

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

The front passenger seat headrest safety mechanism malfunctioned causing it to deploy. This caused a severe head injury to the passenger. Major concern of the driver seat headrest having the same problem and potentially causing an accident. There were no warning signs prior to the incident.

NHTSA ODI 11420764

THE DRIVERS SIDE HEADREST RETAINING MECHANISM FAILED WHILE WE WERE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. IT WAS A VIOLENT EVENT, THAT HIT ME IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WHEN IT HAPPENED. THIS COULD REALLY CAUSE SOMEONE TO LOSE CONTROL OF THEIR VEHICLE. WE WERE ON A SURFACE STREET AND THANKFULLY NOT ON THE FREEWAY. WE HAD JUST FILLED UP WITH GAS AND HAD JUST TURNED RIGHT ONTO THE ROAD, MAYBE WENT 100 YARDS AND THAT IS WHEN IT BLEW. WE HAD JUST DRIVEN ABOUT 150 MILES PRIOR TO GETTING GAS.*DT

NHTSA ODI 11416015

SHORTLY AFTER I TURNED RIGHT, WHILE LEAVING A PARKING LOT AT LOW SPEED, OUT OF THE BLUE I WAS FORCEFULLY HIT IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD. I PULLED OVER IN CONFUSION TO ASSESS WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THERE WERE NO FLYING OBJECTS IN THE CAR, NOR OTHER CARS BEHIND ME, AS I BRIEFLY WONDERED IF I HAD BEEN REAR-ENDED. UPON LEAVING MY VEHICLE, I IMMEDIATELY SAW THAT THE HEADREST WAS SPLIT OPEN, AND WAS THE CAUSE OF THE HARD SMACK ON THE HEAD.

NHTSA ODI 11373163

THE PASSENGER ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT DEPLOYED UNEXPECTEDLY AND JOLTED MY WIFE'S HEAD HURTING HER NECK WHICH IS STIFF AND SORE. THE CAR WAS PARKED ON CITY STREET AND MY WIFE JUST STEPPED IN AND SAT DOWN WHEN THE HEAD RESTRAINT DEPLOYED. THE TWO HOOKS INSIDE THE HEAD RESTRAINT APPEAR TO BE DEFECTIVE. ONE HOOK BROKE COMPLETELY OFF, AND THE OTHER IS CRACKED AND BARELY ATTACHED TO THE HEAD RESTRAINT.*DT*JB

NHTSA ODI 11354822

THE HEADREST OF THE FRONT PASSENGER UNEXPECTEDLY BURST OPEN WITHOUT ANY CRASH WHILE DRIVING.*DT PASSENGER DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INJURIES. HEADREST HAS NOT BEEN REPLACED.*JB

NHTSA ODI 11343021