2014 Jeep Cherokee: false forward collision warnings

Filed Apr 20, 2020 · Airbags, Body · 50,000 miles · TX · crash · 2 injuries

Driving in the freeway and have an accident due to the malfunctioning front collision warning and the not working sensors

Filed Nov 20, 2015 · Acceleration, Brakes · 19,000 miles · OH

Forward collision avoidance system is activating without warning and without any other vehicles or road obstructions in front of the vehicle. This has happened 4 times over the last month. One of the times this happened my wife was traveling at approximately 40mph and there was a vehicle following behind her and they in turn had to slam their brakes on to avoid hitting her. Of course this enraged the driver behind her thinking that she was intentionally slamming on her brakes. Another time my wife was traveling at 65 MPH on the highway and the forward collision avoidance system slammed the brakes on hard enough to engage the ABS system. Thank god that there were no other cars or semi's behind her or slick roads as this could have caused a very serious if not fatal accident. The two other times were the same, the crash avoidance system activating for no reason. The vehicle is currently at the dealer for repair and we were notified that the vehicle was ready for pick up on 11-13-2015. Upon arrival at the dealer I specifically asked if the safety concerns with the crash avoidance system and transmission had been corrected. I was told that they hadn't been looked at because they weren't on the list of repairs, when actually this is why the appointment for service was set. The dealer told me to go ahead and take the vehicle and bring it back on 11-23-2015. I refused taking the vehicle as it was not safe for my wife to drive. After arguing, they kept the vehicle. We were notified again on 11-19-2015 that the vehicle was ready for pick up, but they could not duplicate the symptoms with the crash avoidance system. On 11-20-2015 I went to the dealer and again refused the pick up of the vehicle until it has been repaired and is safe for my wife to operate. I have been in contact with jeep multiple times during this ordeal and have an open case on the vehicle at this time.

Filed Jun 5, 2015 · Brakes · 6,000 miles · OR

As has been reported by others, my jeep cherokee has brake for no apparent cause on three different occasions. The "collision imminent" tone has sounded at the same time. There was no accident or loss of control at the time this happened, but it was disconcerting. On two other occasions, the same thing has happened, but these were triggered by a car leaving the road to the right side, to turn at an angle into a street that branched off the route I was on. Although the car was clearly out of the path of the car, apparently the collision avoidance system thought that my car was closing on the other car too quickly, and again sounded the warning and slowed the car down. Again, there were no problems with control of the car, and no accident, although drivers behind me had to slow down by about 15 miles per hour below the speed limit. I have learned to leave some extra distance between me and cars turning off for just this reason.

Filed Jul 1, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 3,423 miles · ME

The first issue arose as the vehicle was being backed out of a driveway. While still in motion, the vehicle produced an audible and visual collision alert with no obstructions present. The vehicle stopped suddenly, partially in the roadway, shifted to neutral and shut the motor off. It was necessary to cycle the vehicle through stop-accessory-run and back to accessory before the vehicle could be placed in park. Once in park, the information center (evic) read "battery voltage low". After returning to the stop position the vehicle was restarted and the malfunction indicator (mil) remained illuminated. Scrolling to the battery status on the evic showed a reading of 13.9v, within a normal range. The vehicle was placed in drive and operated properly, except for the mil for 24-hours with multiple starts and stops. The following day, upon starting the vehicle, again an audible and visual alarm sounded and the vehicle shut down completely, with the evic reading 4-wheel drive unavailable. It then changed to adaptive cruise unavailable, then forward collision warning unavailable. An indicator light with an exclamation mark stated that service was required. Again, the vehicle was cycled through the stop-accessory-run sequence without the break depressed to re-set the electrical sequencing. The vehicle was restarted and only the mil remained illuminated. The vehicle was then able to be put in gear and returned to service. Both occurrences took in excess of one minute to return the vehicle to operational, and had they happened in an active traffic area, would have left the vehicle a sitting duck for oncoming vehicles. The dealership has been notified and an appointment scheduled to address the issues. No repairs completed to date; owner advised that the vehicle is still able to be driven, but to keep the phone number to roadside assistance handy.

Filed Mar 8, 2014 · Driver assistance, Engine · 4,640 miles · CA

A jeep authorized dealership changed the engine oil and oil filter for my vehicle. About 15 minutes after I took my vehicle from the dealership, the incident happened on a highway. "service transmission" warning showed up first, the engine light was on, and some electronic functions were disabled, which include, but are not limited to, the forward collision warning, the parksense, the lane sense, and the adaptive cruise control. The ESC activation / malfunction indicator light was on. There was loud rattling noise from the engine, and the vehicle was shaking while moving on the highway. I had a difficult time moving the vehicle off the highway. After I parked on a surface road, I found no engine oil was registered on the dipstick. The leaked oil was splashed over the vehicle's exterior. In particular, it covered the parking sensors and the rear window, which disabled the electronic safety features and greatly reduced my visibility while driving. The vehicles behind me on the highway were also splashed by the leaked oil and were beeping and/or cutting in my lane to complain. The dealership determined that the rubber ring that seals the cartridge housing of the oil filter was broken, causing the engine oil leak. This o-shaped rubber ring comes with the oem oil filter that was installed when the oil filter was changed. The engine was damaged. The dealership stated that no test drive is required to check if there is a leak for oil change service. Three other jeep dealerships confirmed this claim. I believe there is a design defect in the oil filter sealing that can cause life threatening accidents. I believe jeep does not instruct their authorized dealership to implement an oil filter change procedure that ensures a part defect like this would be discovered before the vehicle leaves the dealership.