2014 Jeep Cherokee: whining or grinding noise

Filed Jun 19, 2026 · Transmission · IA

My PTU in my 2014 Jeep Cherokee is failing. The car has been jerking when accelerating. Sometimes very slow when I first accelerate then jerks heavily and takes off at a high rate of speed. I also noticed weird grinding and unusual sounds. The sound starts randomly when accelerating or when traveling and I let off the accelerator. The sound is more of a howling then grinds and quickly goes away. I replaced all the wheel bearings on the vehicle and it still existed. I then took the car to a Jeep dealer where one of the techs had test drove it and confirmed that the PTU has failed.

Filed Jan 7, 2026 · Transmission · KY

PTU is being replaced because the dealership said it is going to leave me without power to the wheels which can be extremely dangerous on interstate. Took my Cherokee in because the whining that I’ve been hearing for at least three years was getting louder. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer yet but I’m waiting on a replacement part and is currently on back order and I’m without the vehicle for a prolonged period of time.

Filed Oct 10, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · NY

The service parking brake warning pops up on start up (P)!, along with the engine light and the traction control light. A warning that says service parking brake appears, around with a service transmission warning, and occasionally another message saying 4wd unavailable at the moment. Another message says restart car in park at zero speed, which the car is already in park & not moving. The car is not drivable when all of these are on. If I attempt to change gears, the gear light flashes & when the car shifts gears it is very loud. It is also hard to turn the wheel. The emergency park has also come on, in it's own, while driving. Almost killed me on the highway. Had also done it in my driveway, when starting to pull out. Also when the engine auto shifts, it makes like a whining noise. The engine sounds to go in overdrive whenever going down hills or up hills. Down is worse though. This has been doing this since I got the car in 2021. I expressed these issues to the place I bought the car from, just days after buying it, and they refused to fix anything even though it was under the 30 day warranty. They claimed no issues. I have proof of mentioning these issues, to the person who sold me the car through the dealership.

Filed Sep 10, 2019 · Engine · 42,000 miles · GA

Engine stalls while driving. Two cases in which this occurs: 1) after fueling the vehicle, if "topped off", the engine will stall when driving resumes. 2) random times, driving the car...when stopped, then turning left, the engine will stall in traffic (engine light comes on). Able to restart, but engine makes terrible noise (whining) on first restart attempt. The engine stall issue appears common to this vehicle (per internet search). Stalling in traffic or during turns creates safety hazard to driver and other drivers in the area.

Filed Aug 28, 2017 · Transmission · WI

2014 jeep cherokee. Consumer writes in regards to issues with car stalling. *ld the consumer stated that the vehicle shifted hard between first and second gear. A "thud" could be heard when the vehicle jerked. The vehicle would "chug" and stall at intersections. The stalling also occurred when reversing and upon breaking in order to shift. The vehicle propelled forward when downshifting nearly hitting the vehicle in front of it. The vehicle became stuck at 3000 plus RPM when going down hill. The brake would have to be applied in order to have the car shift. The vehicle had a "howling" sound at the front end that worsens in cold weather. It was only heard while in motion. The radio randomly switched stations. Also, it would switch from the radio to the phone. Phone calls would not go through, but the timer for the call would connect. The radio and phone would be inoperable until the vehicle was restarted and they key removed from the ignition for at least 3 minutes. The dealer could not duplicate the failures. The consumer was concerned the warranty would run out before the vehicle could be repaired. Updated 08/28/2017

Filed Feb 6, 2017 · Transmission · 13,000 miles · CA

Hello, I have had multiple issues with my jeep cherokee transmission. In addition to the constant hard shifting, the vehicle has stalled out twice on the freeway. The car refused to shift in to gear and I pulled out to the side of the road to "restart" it. It proceeded to make a horrible whining sound. The engine lights and service transmission came up.

Filed Oct 26, 2016 · Acceleration, Engine · 44,000 miles · RI

Takata recall car bucking when shifting into gear. Also there was a knocking noise when driving at different speeds and when turning the wheel or going over bumps. It got so bad that it sounded like my tire was going to fall off or the underneath of my car. Also my car was shaking when it would hit a bump. There was also a whining noise that would occur when I turned my wheel either way. This problem has been occurring for almost two years now, everytime I brought it back to the dealer they stated that my "car was fine" was not until I brought it to another mechanic that they told me it was my front passenger wheel ball joint. This would occur while the car was on the highway or side roads, as long as the car was in motion. Also my car would have problems when shifting. The car bucked on my on the highway when I was going 65 the car lights started flashing and I got warning lights stating to put car into desired gear, check oil and transmission. I pulled into the break down lane and put the car in park. Turned the car on and off & the same thing happened.

Filed Jul 12, 2016 · Steering, Transmission · 1,000 miles · NJ

The transmission has had issues since I got the car, the dealer has done several software updates but none completely solve the issue. The car feels like it wobbles when it accelerates from a stop and they cannot seem to fix this problem or admit that there is one. Also, when you turn the steering wheel it makes a grinding or whining noise and I have brought it back twice for this. They just grease the system and it stays quiet for maybe 10 miles. I'm concerned that this could lead to a much bigger issue in terms of safety if it loses steering to some degree.

Filed May 1, 2015 · Transmission · 16,900 miles · WI

On or around january 29, 2015, when I went to start the vehicle it lunged forward even though the transmission was in park and the parking brake was set. The transmission was reflashed by the jeep dealership on february 3, 2015. On the drive home from the dealership, the check engine light came on and began making a loud whine/chatter/chirping/metal sequel noise when accelerating. The vehicle was towed to another jeep dealership where the transmission was replaced under warranty. Starting on or around march 12, 2015, the vehicle began making the whine/chatter/chirping/metal sequel noise again when accelerating. I reported the defect or condition on wisconsin dot form mv2692 and made my vehicle available for repair 4 times (3/16/15, 3/18/15, 3/24/15, & 4/8/15). Fiat chrysler automobiles (jeep) and/or dealer is refusing, unwilling, or unable to repair the problem. Another problem related to the vehicles transmission occurred on april 30, 2015. I was at an intersection waiting to turn left. When pressed the accelerator to proceed through the intersection once the traffic cleared the vehicle hesitated to move and when the transmission finally connected it lunged causing the wheels spin. Since january 5, 2015, my vehicle has been out of service at the jeep dealership for 46 days. The transmission problems along with the other 4 current defects or conditions were reported to chrysler's enhanced customer satisfaction team over a month ago. According to the dealership, chrysler has not replied with a resolution. Fiat chrysler automobiles (jeep) and/or dealer is refusing, unwilling, or unable to repair the problem.

Filed Apr 14, 2014 · Acceleration, Transmission · 6,500 miles · LA

I purchased a 2014 jeep cherokee ltd. In 10/2013 for my daughter to learn to drive (with learner's permit) and to drive when she gets her license soon. I was driving the car in march on I-10 in heavy traffic time when SUV made a whining noise, gears stalled for several seconds, RPM's dropped. Suv continued to do this at a variety of speeds with increasing frequency. The car has less than 7000 miles, so I brought SUV to selling dealer's service department and was told they could find nothing wrong. They guessed and updated software, then closed the service order. After leaving dealership, SUV performed 5 intermittent and similar episodes on the way to destination that was about 7 miles away. I returned SUV to the same service department the next day and reported the incident to chrylser and jeep customer care (jcc). Jcc contacted the dealer. A decision was made to remove the entire transmission to be sent to jeep engineers to dissect and determine cause of the problem. A new transmission exact to the old, only with 'updates' was placed in the SUV. Since these series of events have occurred, I have discovered that the jeep cherokee had 4 holds on releasing the SUV due to the issues with 9 gear fiat transmission. I was also told by the dealer that ours was the 2nd such case seen in their service department with the same problem. Ultimately, jcc offered more warranty and the ability to skip one payment of which I did not accept. The only acceptable offer would have been for the engineers to tell me that the SUV is safe for their own new teen driver or to take the SUV back, to no avail. Jcc sent the case to the 'case analyst' team, but ultimately closed the case as resolved. I have serious concerns about my daughter driving the SUV once she obtains her license. I also have concerns about her younger brothers riding in an SUV that may perform unsafely and unpredictably.

Filed Jan 23, 2014 · Transmission · CA

2014 jeep cherokee. Consumer writes in regards to transmission problems. *smd very shortly after the vehicle was purchased, the consumer noticed spots on the driveway, which then progressed into a horrible whining and grinding noise. The vehicle started to shift erratically and the consumer did not feel she had control of the vehicle. The consumer made an appointment with the dealer, and after having the vehicle for a day, she was informed the entire transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer explained to the consumer, that part of the transmission was porous, which explained the stains on the driveway in multiple spots. The transmission was replaced under warranty.