PTU/Transmission failure. Vehicle is available for inspection. Traveling 70mph on a local highway when the vehicle gave two large jolts/shutters and loud bangs. Lost all power to the vehicle while on the highway and had trouble safely exiting the highway with other vehicles passing by and having no power to the vehicle. Transmission/gear fluid from the ptu/Transmission completely emptied itself onto the road after the failure. The Jeep brand is well aware of these issues plaguing the 2015- present Jeep cherokee 4x4 models. However, only the 2015-2019 are currently recalled. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, or service center but is able to be.
2020 Jeep Cherokee transmission complaints
Page 6 of 8: complaints 131 to 160 of 202, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Ptu failure at 75,325 miles as well as active grill shutter at same time. Was told the ptu is on back order and last person it took 6 months to get it. We have had vehicle since new and always dealer serviced. Super disappointed on time to fix it, meaning there is obviously a problem.
Service 4wd light is on, diagnostic is reading code for transfer case
The SVC 4WD light came on in my 2020 Jeep Cherokee at 59000 miles. This indicated a problem with the PTU, the transfer case actuator. The warranty expired 1.5 months ago, and Jeep is denying to fix it under warranty. This has been a recall for over 60,000 Jeep Cherokees, yet it has not been a recall for my vehicle. This clearly needs to be recalled for my specific vehicle, yet Jeep has failed to acknowledge this. The risks for the PTU failing are scary, including sudden loss of power and slipping out of park ,or drive, including while in motion.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "4WD Unavailable" remained displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transfer case unit was faulty and needed to be replaced; however, there were no parts available for the repair. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 25V011000 (POWER TRAIN). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "4WD Unavailable" remained displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that that the transfer case unit was faulty and needed to be replaced; however, parts were unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 25V011000 (POWER TRAIN). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
My Jeep keeps going into Limp Mode and not will completely shut off while I come to a complete stop at a stop light. And while I’m driving the engine light comes on. I can cycle it through to get the engine light off. Then it runs fine. This has been happening since after I bought it. I’ve taken back to the dealership I got it from and they couldn’t find anything wrong with it, so they took it to a Jeep dealership and got the same answer. Clearly there is something wrong with it. And could cause me to get into an accident. This is my only vehicle for transportation. The code that shows up is P0934
PTU Failed. 4x4 service light came on weeks after warranty ended. I called jeep and was told if it is not driving bad I can take my time in repair. My car ended up not working on Jericho Tpke., Commack a few days before Christmas. I was not provided a loaner due to the holiday week.
No injury or incident yet. The PTU was diagnosed as failing at 46,500 miles on June 30, 2025. The vehicle is still being driven because the driver has no alternative, but no dealership has been able to confirm whether it is safe to operate in this condition. A failing PTU can result in sudden power loss, drivetrain lockup, or loss of park function—especially in AWD vehicles. These symptoms match those described in the federal safety agency Recall 25V011000 affecting Jeep Cherokees. The lack of clear safety guidance and the delay in repair have created a potentially hazardous situation. This should be investigated as part of the broader PTU defect pattern.
Replaced transmission at 20,000 miles. Now at 55,000 miles it is going again. Powertrain warranty expired by 6 months.
Hard shift 70-80 mph, lost drive power output. No response to gas pedal while engine remained on. I turned on hazards and moved to the emergency lane as the car was coasting to a stop. I caught a glimpse of 4WD or AWD something and it disappeared before I could read it all. I was about to approach an off ramp from the highway emergency when at a slow speed perhaps 30 mph or so output returned and I was able to complete driving home. This is the first time it was more than just jerky clunky shifting. Vehicle has 69,858 miles.
I bought my vehicle in summer of 2020 brand new. It currently has 66k miles on it. A week ago the 4 WD service light came on. I took it in for diagnostic and it came back with code C14A7-97 PTO motor operation. The motor is functioning obviously, but the trasfer case is not engaging. There is currently a recall on vehicles similar to 2020, on the same issue but none have been issued on mine yet. The PTU should be good for 100k miles but not even close to that & it’s a super pricey fix on a vehicle I still pay on monthly. PTU input spline is the power transfer unit, so basically my 4 wheeled drive vehicle is not gonna function in 4 wheeled drive. I am hopeful as I saw similar complaints to mine here, that this is the next batch of recalls for Jeep, as I doubt I am alone.
The power transfer unit, differential, spark plugs, and air induction failed. The vehicle is still having bad vibration problems at speeds above 50 mph despite $7,000 in repairs.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the message "4-Wheel Drive Unavailable" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the PTU had failed and needed to be replaced. The PTU was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 21,794.
I recently had a svc 4wd light come on in my 2020 jeep cherokee which has 75,750 miles. Then while driving a warning light kept coming on telling me that the 4wd service is unavailable and to service 4wd. Well - I took it to the dealership and was told that the ptu needed to be replaced and that unfortunately it was not covered under a recall because it only covered the years 2017 - 2019 and some 2020 cherokees. I feel that this ptu that is defective should have a recall issued for the 2020 year as well since it's unrealistic to think that the ptu would fail on a vehicle that has only had the 4wd even used maybe five times in a 4 1/2 year span. I would like you to check into this issue that I feel should be a recall and would/could cause serious accidents due to sudden loss of power, or ability to move vehicle due to transmission failures. I feel that jeep/chrysler knows about this issue and have been slowly issuing recalls, beginning from 2014, then 2016 and then 2017-2019 and now I feel the 2020 and possibly later years should be covered. I was at the dealership 4/30/25. At this time I cannot afford to repair this ptu issue and am taking a chance to continue to drive my vehicle since mechanically it is working right now - just providing me with the warning lights/beeps. Please look into this and advise.
Vehicle jerked and lost power to the gas pedal while accelerating. After about 20 seconds the gas pedal reingaged again. The vehicle coasted until that point. The service department of the dealership stated that they will not be able to diagnose the problem unless a code shows up that they can read, which none did. It appears that the issue is similar to the PTU issue of the 2017-2019 Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle was purchased in 2019 even though the model is 2020.
The PTU for 4wd going bad before 60k miles
Our 2020 Jeep has the same failing power transfer unit problems of previous Jeep Trailhawk recalls that had been issued for 2014-2017. Chrysler has had this vehicle in the shop now for over 60 days with no idea when they can even get parts because we are told there are several hundred of their vehicles with the same issue. They obviously have done nothing to address the failures of their power transfer units from the previous recalls and continuing to stick owners with that problem. They should also be responsible for providing a vehicle when they can't even provide parts for repair.
I was traveling down Elm Street and had just gone through the railroad under-pass when I pushed on the accelerator and heard something like the grinding, spinning, sound under the front passenger side of the vehicle. Additionally I noticed that I had lost all propulsion. I moved out of traffic and glided to a stop on a slight hill. This is when I found out that some how the whole drive train was disconnected, because I placed the gear selector into Park and let my foot off the brake and began to roll backwards down the hill. I quickly reapplied the emergency brake, and turned on my hazards.i turned the Jeep off hoping that it would re-set, and the transmission would re-engage. After waving a few cars passed, I restarted the vehicle, and the power train did re-engaged and I was able to disengage the emergency brake and remove my foot from the brake pedal. The vehicle was flat bed towed to a mechanic. He informed me of that this year and make of Jeep had a transmission recall but the VIN on my vehicle but was not included on that recall. He verbalized I needed to report this because my Jeep is doing the exact same thing as those involved in the recall. He verbalized that a clip was not postioned correctly and that is causing the transmission to completely disengage internally. He suggested I report this as Jeep may have overlooked the Trailhawk models in that recall.
The message/warning light keeps coming on: Stop/start Unavailable - Service stop/start system. This feature is suppose to help reduce the amount of harmful emissions released into the air! Some times this causes the engine/transmission to clunk. Seems to maybe a common issue with the Jeeps. Save fuel from burning while the car is stationary. Such a great feature and is doesn't work!
Was driving vehicle, started making grinding noise and would not move. After a couple restarts it moved, but was locked in 4x4 snow mode and would not change. Limped pinhole and had tow truck take to dealership. Diagnosis PTU is bad and needs to be replaced. Estimated cost is about $4000. Replacement PTU is on back order for at least 30 days.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly lost motive power before slamming into two-wheel drive (2WD). The contact turned off the vehicle and, after restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The "Service All-Wheel Drive" warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the power transfer unit (PTU) was damaged and disengaged the transmission and differential. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact related the failure to Jeep Recall: 01C. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The Power Transfer Unit (PTU) suddenly became disconnected while we were in the passing lane on a highway. We lost power temporarily and dashboard lights came on saying service was needed. Moved slowly into a safe location and called for tow truck. There was some “knocking” as we moved. While diagnosing the vehicle, the dealer experienced the same indications and stated that it sounds like a separation in the PTU. There were no prior indications that something was wrong until it happened. I researched on line and found recalls for this issue in prior years (2017-2019) on the same vehicle as mine (Jeep Cherokee 2020).
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, and while driving at various speeds, a warning chime sounded, and the message "Service Four-Wheel Drive" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was initially occurring intermittently but had become consistent. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would jerk upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the Power Transfer Unit (PTU) was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to a recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
My service 4 wheel drive came on. It simply just randomly happened one day at 125,000 miles and now my car is undriveable and it’s a very costly repair.
The Jeep was making noises and jerking some. Took it to the dealership and the Power Transfer Unit needs replaced and the cost would be 5800.00. The dealership said the vehicle could just stop at any time jeopardizing our safety. NO warning lamps came on. Apparently this has been an issue on models 2017-2019 and recalls were issued. Apparently the 2020 needs to be recalled as well before someone gets hurt.
4WD Warning light illuminated during normal driving. 4WD system inactive creating unsafe driving condition in Michigan winter weather. Vehicle taken to Jeep Service center and found C1494-92 active fault code. Performed PTU fork recalibration and fault went away, vehicle returned to owner. Within 2 days, 4WD Warning light illuminated again. 4WD system inactive again creating unsafe driving condition in Michigan winter weather. Vehicle returned to same Jeep Service center and same C1494-92 active fault code found. Now fix changed to PTU replacement, very expensive and time consuming service. From first visit to second visit, warranty expired so customer was responsible for PTU replacement cost.
Ptu unit not working. I brought to dealership, and he confirmed issue. However, there is a recall for 2017-2019 jeep Cherokees. My jeep was manufactured 8/2019 even though I purchased it in January 2020. How do I know they checked my Jeeps vin number with the 2019 models? I understand it's a 2020 but it was made with the 2019 models.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle started to jerk, lost automotive power, and stalled. The contact later discovered that the vehicle would reverse. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the transfer case had experienced an internal failure and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Power train problems at 17,000 miles, 5 years 3 weeks from purchase, with a 5-year / 60,0000 mile warranty. First diagnosis required replacement of the transmission valve body. This did not work. The second repair required replacement of the transmission. This failed after a 3 mile drive. The third repair was the power transfer unit. I have only driven about 5 miles since then and am hesitant to drive more. The repairs above took 102 days to complete and cost $4907. Other than the transmission failure and need to pull off the road and await a tow, there was no safety risk apparent. The vehicle was serviced by a dealer. The manufacturer is aware of the problem(s). No warning lamps or messages were noted.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2020 Jeep Cherokee?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history