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What 678 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Jeep 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 (678)Crash / fire / injury (16)Transmission & drivetrain (289)Electrical system (189)Engine (155)Brakes (35)Steering (30)Fuel system (26)Speed control (20)Airbags (16)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (15)Suspension (8)

3 of 678 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Mar 26, 2026Electrical systemVisibility & wipersFire

The rear defroster or related electrical wiring in the rear glass/liftgate area appears to have malfunctioned and shorted, causing a fire while the vehicle was parked, turned off, and unattended. The fire resulted in the rear glass shattering/blowing out. The incident was recorded on a residential security camera. This posed a significant safety risk because the fire started while the vehicle was off, creating danger to occupants, bystanders, nearby vehicles, and surrounding property. There were no prior warning indicators, messages, or symptoms known before the failure. A dealership has inspected the vehicle and provided a repair estimate consistent with failure in the rear defroster/rear glass area. The vehicle and damaged components should be available for inspection. Based on the observed damage and location of the fire, this appears to be an electrical short involving the rear defroster system or related wiring.

NHTSA ODI 11727244

Apr 17, 2023SteeringSuspensionElectrical systemCrash

This vehicle is designed to be a flat tow vehicle for a class a motorhome. No one made me aware of the death wobble and this caused an accident which could have been deadly. We did 13,000 dollars in damages to my motorhome and jeep. After hours of research i found this to be a common problem from Jeep. i contacted the local jeep service department and they were not aware of this. Come to find out there is a jeep part to correct the problem, at a cost of $286.39 and a labor charge of $460.00 to install. If jeep is aware of this problem, why are they not advising the public to not flat tow this jeep until the necessary parts are installed. There is nothing in the manuals regarding this problem!

NHTSA ODI 11517448

Jul 9, 2019SteeringElectrical systemBrakesCrash

I WAS COMPLETING A TURN WHEN THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND SHUT COMPLETELY OFF CAUSING ME TO LOOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HIT A CURB. VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO DEALERSHIP WHERE I WAS ADVISED THIS HAPPENED DUE TO A SAFETY FEATURE OF MY CAR . WHEN THE CAR IS LOW ON OIL WHEN YOU TURN IT THROWS OFF THE OIL PRESSURE SENSOR SO THE ENGINE DOESN'T BLOW UP . MY LAST OIL CHANGE WAS IN FEB MY CAR IS COMPLETELY OUT OF OIL AND NO CHECK OIL LIGHT APPEARED .

NHTSA ODI 11230601

Working with the data? Download all 678 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 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 2018 Jeep Cherokee verdict →