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What 306 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (306)Crash / fire / injury (38)Transmission & drivetrain (78)Engine (76)Electrical system (61)Fuel system (32)Brakes (25)Speed control (22)Steering (16)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (12)Fuel System, Diesel (12)Airbags (11)

4 of 306 complaints match · Fuel system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Oct 2, 2025Fuel systemCrash

I was stuck in traffic as a result of a road being closed while they cleared another incident. Creeping along, the Jeep with it's engine pause shutting down until I removed my foot off the gas and then engaging so I could move forward a foot or two. Keeping in mind this feature has been throwing errors and I've taken it to the shop twice in the last 6 months with no results, and another appointment scheduled within a few days of the accident. Car in front of me moved forward, I took my foot off the gas, and the self start struggled, and then burst into life at a full throttle. I stomped on my break and tried to steer away, but nicked the corner of the car in front of me, and tangled with their bike rack. But slowed enough there were no air bags deployed. But still, this has become MY fault because of some faulty feature in a car and I get to pay an increase in premiums despite 25 years of no accidents. Is it going to take people getting hurt before this feature can be fixed or at least disabled as a default?

NHTSA ODI 11691025

Nov 22, 2020Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel systemFire

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND TOWING MY BOAT (APPROX 4500LBS) FOR THE PREVIOUS HOUR OR SO ON STATE HIGHWAY BETWEEN 50-65 MPH WITH SOME STOPLIGHTS (NOT INTERSTATE), THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT (CEL) CAME ON AND THE DRIVER INTERFACE ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER CAME ON DISPLAYING SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF "SERVICE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM". CONTINUED DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES TO GET TO AN INTERSECTION TO TURN OFF THE MAIN ROAD. ONCE STOPPED AT THE STOPLIGHT I NOTICED SLIGHT SMOKE COMING FROM THE LEFT FRONT CORNER OF THE HOOD BY THE HEADLIGHT. I PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK, PUT THE HAZARDS ON AND PULLED THE HOOD RELEASE. BY THE TIME I EXITED THE VEHICLE AND MADE MY WAY AROUND THE DOOR TO THE HOOD, THICK BLACK SMOKE WAS BILLOWING FROM ALL AROUND THE HOOD AND FLAMES WERE NOTICED COMING THROUGH BODY GAPS AND THE GRILL. WITHIN 30 SECONDS THE ENTIRE ENGINE BAY AND HOOD WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. I DID MANAGE TO GET THE BOAT UNHOOKED AND PUSHED BACK AND DOCUMENTED WITH PHOTOS. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THESE INDICATIONS (CEL) AND DRIVER INTERFACE DISPLAYED THE EXACT SAME INDICATIONS. THE FIRST TIME IT RESOLVED UPON SHUTTING DOWN THE VEHICLE. THE SECOND TIME, IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER. APPROX 1 MONTH PRIOR TO THE FIRE THE DEALER FOUND NOTHING ON INSPECTION AND RESET THE CODE. THE CODE WAS FOR EXCESSIVE EGR FLOW. ADDITIONALLY THE DEALER PERFORMED ANY OUTSTANDING RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE. THIS VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH THE 3.0 ECO DIESEL ENGINE AND WAS BOUGHT NEW, DEALER, SERVICED ITS ENTIRE TIME AND HAD APPROXIMATELY 70K MILES ON IT. I HAVE NO DOUBT THIS WAS DIRECTLY RATED TO AN EGR PROBLEM THAT THESE PARTICULAR ENGINES HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH DIRECTLY RESULTING IN THE FIRE.

NHTSA ODI 11375815

Feb 8, 2017Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlFuel systemCrash

THE CAR OPERATED WELL AT FIRST START. EARLY IN THE DAY, IT DROVE 30+ MILES. AFTER BEING PARKED FOR 6+ HOURS IN A FLAT PUBLIC PARKING LOT, IT WAS TURNED ON AND PUT INTO REVERSE TO BACK OUT OF THE STALL. UPON LIGHTLY RELEASING THE BRAKE, THE CAR ACCELERATED AT A HIGH SPEED (APPROX 20MPH) AND HIT A PARKING PILLAR. A LARGE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE BACK END, INCLUDING BUMPER, HATCH, SAFETY REINFORCEMENT BAR AND FLOOR BOARD ALL HAD TO BE REPLACED.

NHTSA ODI 10950290

Dec 30, 2016Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel systemCrashFire1 injury

LESTER GLENN DEALERSHIP, TOMS RIVER, NJ DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THIS RECALL!

NHTSA ODI 10938837

Working with the data? Download all 306 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 7, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee verdict →