2019 Jeep Cherokee

The contact's granddaughter owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the PTU warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the PTU sensor unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Transmission needs to be replaced at 33,000 miles on the vehicle. While driving on a major expressway I experienced harsh up shifts from gears 1-2 & 2-3. It felt like the vehicle was being rear-ended. The vehicle died out and check engine light went on. Vehicle restarted and seemed to go back to normal for the rest of the drive. Vehicle was inspected at 2 Jeep dealers recommending new transmission and all related gaskets & Hardware. No warmings of any kind happened prior to this incident. Apparently there was a recall for this exact problem on the 2019 Jeep Cherokee yet my VIN number is not included. Recall: 2019 model year (KL) Jeep® Cherokee vehicles equipped with a 948TE 9-speed transmission. NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V-492

On 7.27.24, at 30,800 miles, my 2019 Jeep Cherokee displayed a warning light on the dashboard to service 4WD, stating that 4WD is unavailable. A trip to the dealer on 8.2.24 for diagnosis states the PTU has an internal fault and needs to be replaced. The vehicle is out of warranty. The replacement PTU part is on back order with no ETA. Dealer advised that driving with this warning light may or may not result in further damage. It could lead to damage of an axle or worse. Upon further research online, the PTU failure appears to be a known issue for many Jeep Cherokee owners.

while driving the car at 40 mph it just quit running! engine completely out causing driver to swerve. Vehicle behind had to swerve around to avoid collision. There was no accident and nobody was injured but a close call! Two different shops (one being the certified Jeep/Chrysler mechanic) confirmed total engine faulure! The first shop told me that the turbo fatally failed and sent metal shrapnel through the air intake ports and scored and scratched the inside of the cylinder walls. Then oil passed through the motor and through the entire exhaust system ruining the catalytic converter and all sensors in the motor and exhaust system. There were no warning lamps or warnings of any kind. The car is less than 5 years old and has approx 76,000 miles. Cost to repair: $17,260

The contact's daughter owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the high air flow vacuum was leaking, and a smoke test was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced, and an oil consumption test needed to be performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V739000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 79,504.

While driving on the highway, the vehicle suddenly lost power to the wheels although the engine continued to run. This caused me to coast to a safe area to await a tow. The PTU was replaced under the Jeep recall in 2020. Recently the service 4WD light came on and I took it to a dealer for diagnosis. I was advised that there was an issue with the replacement PTU. As this is a drive line component, I believe it was a defective replacement part. I contacted Jeep about this issue and was told the part would not be replaced by the OEM because it had previously been replaced under recall. I was also assured the vehicle was safe to drive and the part would only impede the use of 4WD. This proved not to be true, and the sudden catastrophic failure of the part caused a very unsafe event in my case. If the replacement PTUs are defective in some portion of Jeeps repaired under this recall, then there may be many Jeep drivers suddenly losing power on the highway as those parts begin to fail prematurely. I believe this issue is worthy of your agency's attention for that reason, especially if the manufacturer believes the vehicles are safe to drive with a failed PTU and advises customers based on that understanding.