Incident happened while sitting in the vehicle, diagnosing an issue with the catalytic converter. A loud noise was heard just as something struck me in the back/ side of the head. The result was my head being whipped forward/ sideways and leaving my head/ neck sore, especially when I woke up the next morning. Upon inspection, it was determined that the headrest in the driver seat had “deployed” unprovoked. Upon searching google / the federal safety agency for this issue I found that there were issues with other models that had extended warranties. I then contacted the vehicle owner and asked if they had received any notice about this issue. Vehicle owner replied that the passenger side headrest had already deployed unexpectedly while driving down the road, almost causing an accident, and was repaired at a dealership in March 2024. Vehicle owner also stated (and sent email proof) that the dealership stated that they “could not replace the driver side headrest if it was not deployed because they would be charged by the manufacturer if they turned in an undeployed headrest.” There were no lights, warnings or indications that the headrest was going to deploy. The vehicle is available for inspection and the headrest has not been repaired.
2014 Jeep Compass seats problems
27 complaints (9% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 52,687.
- owner complaints
- 27
- of this car's complaints
- 9%
- typical mileage
- 52,687
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Front assembly: head restraint2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Jeep Compass seats problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Active Head Rest Inadvertent Deployment
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19014 on September 9, 2019, to investigate 128 consumer complaints alleging that the Active Head Rest (AHR) inadvertently deployed without the occurrence of a crash or other rear impact event in model year (MY) 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles.When ODI opened the investigation, ODI was aware of thirteen alleged injuries.A small number of Early Warning Reports identified driver and/or passenger front seat AHR inadvertent deployments without a rear impact event.Reported safety consequences resulting from the AHR deployments include concussions, headaches, soft tissue injuries, disorientation, nausea, vomiting and/or loss of vehicle control as a result of being surprised and distracted by being struck in the head by the inadvertent AHR deployment. On September 24, 2019, ODI sent an Information Request (IR) letter to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).ODI requested certain detailed information from FCA related to the following subject vehicles: MY 2010-2014 Dodge Avenger 200, MY 2010-2014 Dodge Calber, MY 2010-2014 Chrysler Sebring, MY 2013-2015 Ram Tradesman, MY 2012 Ram Van, MY 2010-2019 Dodge Grand Caravan, MY 2010-2016 Chrysler Town and Country, MY 2010-2017 Jeep Compass, MY 2011-2020 Dodge Durango, MY 2011-2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee, MY 2010-2019 Dodge Journey, MY 2010-2012 Jeep Liberty, MY 2010-2011 Jeep Nitro, and MY 2010-2011 Jeep Patriot vehicles.On December 2, 2019, ODI received a response from FCA that included vehicle production data, consumer complaints, field reports, warranty claims, manufacturer actions, production changes, and other data related to the alleged defect from the start of production (2010) through September 24, 2019.On January 27, 2020, ODI received an update to the December 2, 2019, IR response from FCA.On September 22, 2020, ODI requested additional subject vehicle AHR information from FCA.ODI received FCA's response on October 21, 2020.ODI subsequently received an update to FCA's October 21, 2020, response on February 16, 2021.During the investigation, ODI requested updates to certain IR questions on two occasions.FCA provided updates to question #2 on March 5, 2021, and questions #2 and #5 on May 26, 2023. FCA’s IR response data identified approximately 7.5 million subject vehicles (with approximately 15 million AHR assemblies).Due to the large number of vehicles and failure reports, ODI focused its analysis on the FCA vehicle model with the highest failure rate to represent the worst-case scenario.For this purpose, ODI focused on MY 2012-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles for its analysis.This population includes 710,890 vehicles that FCA manufactured between August 19, 2011, and August 8, 2015.ODI identified 2,839 alleged AHR failures within this limited population.ODI identified 263 alleged injuries that were caused by AHR failures in MY 2012-2015 Grand Cherokees vehicles.Of these alleged injuries, ODI categorized them as eighty-two (82) soft tissue (neck/whiplash, bruise) injuries, four (4) concussions, fifty-nine (59) headaches, and one hundred eighteen (118) without a specific injury description.Although complainants have alleged injuries, ODI has been unable to obtain evidence to substantiate or validate any injuries where medical treatment was required.Consumer outreach was conducted by ODI, where sixty-three (63) FCA complainants with alleged injuries were contacted.Twelve of the sixty-three FCA consumers responded and were interviewed by ODI.ODI requested medical records, however, only one response was provided. Attorneys representing the responding complainant provided a synopsis that indicated they had experienced prior neck-related injuries dating to the mid-1990s.ODI also contacted one hundred (100) consumers who submitted Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) in an attempt to validate alleged injuries. Despite the efforts of ODI, the office has been unsuccessful at obtaining substantive documentation/evidence supporting complaints that allege serious injuries (where pre-existing medical conditions did not already exist). In addition to the low severity of alleged injuries caused by AHR deployments, there have been eleven alleged crashes and two alleged lane departures within the entire subject vehicle population that has been in the field up to sixteen years (with over 8,500 AHR inadvertent deployments).ODI was not able to validate that the alleged crashes were the result of inadvertent head rest deployments, and the crashes were minor in nature. ODI has conducted a thorough investigation of the alleged safety defect and with up to sixteen years of exposure for some vehicles and over 8,500 inadvertent AHR deployments, no serious crashes or injuries could be validated in the sub-population of focus.The lack of serious injuries validated by ODI with such large period of field exposure is consistent with thework done by the federal safety agency’s Human Injury Research Division and the Biodynamic Research Corporation, which support that an inadvertent AHR deployment is not likely to cause serious injury.In addition to the low risk of injury, FCA released an extended warranty program that covers inadvertent AHR deployment for ten years / unlimited mileage from the vehicle's in-service date. PE19014 is closed with the FCA extended warranty program.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist, and the Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances. To review a complete closing summary, please the attached closing report. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to
PE19014
What 2014 Jeep Compass owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle, the driver’s side headrest had deployed from the bottom of the headrest and was partially separated. The contact stated that while driving, the headrest was sticking out and poked her in the back of the neck. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the center of the steering wheel was protruding outwards, and while attempting to sound the horn, the horn failed to operate. While entering the vehicle, the headrest on the driver's side was bumped and the headrest deployed. Approximately 2 months later, while entering the vehicle, the passenger’s side headrest deployed without impact. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer referred the contact to another facility to replace the air bags; however, the air bags were not replaced. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
Headrest airbag went off randomly with no reason while driving. It broke when it went off and cannot be put back or reset.
The 2014 Jeep Compass was in a parking lot and the driver side head restraint opened up as though there was an accident, but there was no accident and no warning system, message, or other symptoms. There is broken plastic inside the headrest, so it cannot be reassembled. It is a safety issue because the part cannot be put into the original configuration that was intended by Jeep, so the current safety of my neck while in this car is unknown. Police and insurance were not involved because there was no accident. Dealer claims that (a) Jeep will not pay for a replacement despite the existence of multiple TSB's, and (b) there is a federal law preventing replacement parts from being manufactured on hand, so they must be ordered for every occurrence of a complaint, meaning I have been waiting for months to get this replaced - while in an uncertain state of safety. I am concerned that I will approach a statute of limitations on my complaint and not be able to get it fixed at all.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The headrest in the passenger seat deployed without a car accident. Just randomly when the car was parked. Jeep dealership wants to charge me 140 dollars to inspect this and the air bags. Supposedly both have recalls but they have “expired”. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? It hit my husband in the head while he was sitting passenger. Now no one can sit comfortably in that seat and I’m scared the air bags are going to also deploy while I’m driving the car which could injure me and my kids in the process. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No they are trying to charge me to look and told me it would be over 800 dollars to fix, which I do not have right now. The headrest is VERY obviously deployed. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No
The headrest of my passenger seat deployed while I was driving on the highway. My twelve year old was sitting in the seat as it happened, and was hit in the head by the front of the headrest. There has been no formal inspection about it yet, but I witnessed it first-hand. There were no warning signals, lamps, or warnings associated with the incident and it happened very suddenly.
The drivers side headrest active restraint deployed, there was no accident or hit to it. Upon inspection there was broken plastic peices found and the head rest could not be reset. I saw on some sites that this was a known issue and the warranty was extended 10 years from 2022.
Headrest deployed, it can be inspected upon request. Headrest eployed after just closing the door, it impacted hard against the back of my head while parked, had this happened while driving it would've caused a serious accident. After getting home safely I did a quick resesrch of this issue with several reports from other car owners, plan on going to the dealer tomorrow to report the issue with them. Since it just happened I will report it to the dealer tomorrow but will keep a record for insurance report. No, there was no signs or alarms when the system failed, just with a visual inspection you can see broken plastic where it was supposed to be connected.
Headrest popped open while driving and hitting me in back of head
Questions about the 2014 Jeep Compass seats
Does the 2014 Jeep Compass have seats problems?
Owners have filed 27 complaints about the seats of the 2014 Jeep Compass, 9% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2014 Jeep Compass seats problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 52,687 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2014 Jeep Compass seats?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Jeep Compass have bad seats?
The Jeep Compass model years with the most seats complaints are 2014 (27 complaints), 2015 (12 complaints) and 2016 (10 complaints).
Other 2014 Jeep Compass problems
Engine 93Airbags 91Seat belts 53Electrical 36Acceleration 35Transmission 35Fuel system 26Brakes 20Driver assistance 20Body 14Steering 8Suspension 8Lights 6Wheels 6Visibility 5Locks 1Tires 1
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