Vehicle was stationary in park after exiting vehicle while engine was running with drivers door open vehicle started moving in reverse. I had to chase vehicle and jump in to stop vehicle. Thankfully there was nothing behind vehicle
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee transmission complaints
Page 11 of 13: complaints 281 to 310 of 353, newest first, as owners wrote them.
After placing my vehicle in park, I exited the vehicle with it still running and entered my house for 3-4 minutes. When I came out of the house, the car had backed down my driveway and done a u-turn and backed into a snow bank. The car was in neutral, then.
Car going forward slowly ....attempting to park car.... Placed shift lever towards park ,all the way forward...pushed the ignition button.(to shut off ignition). Opened drivers door to get out & found car moving backwards ,engine still running .....applied brake, stopped car, no damage....found shift lever indicator to be in reverse & engine still running .... Thinking back I have had other times when I had thought car ign. Was off but was not........I have duplicated this condition,on purpose, several times ,sense then ,in an empty parking lot ........engine will not shut off unless car is in park......transmission will not go into park,,, but reverse,,,,if car is moving very slightly forward making ignition button useless. No solid feeling from shift lever that the car is in park...........this is my 4th jeep grand cher. All with consule shift, & over 150,000 on each with no such problems.
I feel the 8 speed automatic shift lever is dangerous at best and could result in a deadly accident. On several occasions I have thought I was in park , pressed the off button and went to exit the vehicle only to find the engine was still running and I was in reverse. Since the shifter always returns to the center position, there is no positive "feel" that the lever is indeed in park. I know you can say I should have looked down to be sure the engine was actually off, and you are correct, but after some 50 years of driving I know when I think I have shifted into park and turned the engine off, and with this car you just can't tell. On one occasion I even exited the car, and when I went to open the trunk noticed the fob would not open the trunk. Suspecting the fob switch was failing, I opened the car door and found the engine was running and the car was still in drive. Thankfully, I had parked in a small pothole in an otherwise flat parking lot and idle speed was not enough for the cat to drive itself out of the hole. Additionally, if you accidently bump the shifter out of drive while in motion and into neutral, when you realize what you have done and bump back into drive, there is a several second lag before drive picks back up. Not horrible on low traffic roads, but could be a real hazard on an expressway in heavy traffic. General safety of this entire shifter assembly needs to be reviewed.
Subject: 2014 jeep grand cherokee gear shifter comments: I've been reading about problems with the poor design of the gear shifter on the 2014 & 2015 jeep grand cherokees. I own one of these vehicles. The design of the shifter is terrible! After several 'miss-shifts', (I stepped out of the vehicle, thinking it was in park, it wasnt!!) I know what to look for now (verifying gear position on instrument panel) and I always set my parking brake. I highly recommend that this vehicle be recalled and a fix be implemented. Jeep realized there was a problem as there was a redesign for 2016.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. The contact stated that due to poor design of the vehicle, the shifter would easily shift into reverse instead of park. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The contact, who was a mechanic, stated that the design presented a safety issue but the vehicle was working up to specifications. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 5,500.
I left my car idling , on a flat surface in a parking lot to run into a bank atm. The gear shifter did not lock into park even though I pushed it all the way forward to the park position. The vehicle rolled into a parked car. The total damage sustained by the other car was $2100, and $1000 on my jeep gc. This shifter is not very intuitive, it is a newer electronic shifter and is not gated as most are. It does not give the driver good feel or feedback that the car is in the appropriate gear. This has been a problem from day one. If I had been pointed to the street this could have caused a major accident. This is a very dangerous situation! I brought it to the dealer to look at and they said there was no issue. Clearly there is an issue. I now see the nhsta is looking into more than 300 incidents of this rollaway issue. There are probably many many more since most people have not reported it. I have a big monetary issue this has cost, my insurance has gone up 70% as they think I was negligent and it needs to be addressed by jeep/chrysler/fiat. Please feel free to call me to inquire further into the issue I am having. I have notified jeep customer service and am taking the car in again on 2/22 for them to inspect. Thanks, [xxx] 'information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'
After the purchase of this vehicle, on two occasions the car was in the park position [p], but, moved forward. During the first incident, my wife had parked the car at local store. When she went to leave the vehicle the car rolled into a nearby fence. During the second incident, the grand cherokee after being placed into park rolled into our yard. The problem with the car's park position does need to be looked at; for my wife or myself could have been injured if we had started to leave the car. In the first incident there was $1,000 in damage to the car. In the second incident there was no damage to the vehicle. Thank you for your help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. Although the electrical shifter indicated that the gear shifter was placed in the correct gear, the vehicle still moved independently as if it were placed in reverse or neutral. The technician stated that the failure was with the electrical shifter; however, the failure was inherent to the contact's model. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
Three times I have exited from the vehicle after I had put the jeep into what I thought was park and then hit the button to shut it off, when really it was only in reverse and the engine was still running when I exited the vehicle. Several other times I have pulled into a parking spot, put it into what I thought was park and the vehicle started moving in reverse. When in a hurry, it is very easy to put the vehicle into park, though the electronic shifter actually stops in reverse. When I hit the power button (and it is really in reverse) you get a single ding, which again when in a hurry I thought was the car turned off. The first time it happened I was in my garage, when my feet hit the floor the vehicle started going backwards, the driver door hit me, though fortunately did not knock me down. I was able to jump into the seat and stop the vehicle a split second before the open driver door hit the garage door opening and a vehicle parked in my driveway. The other two times I exited the vehicle with it in reverse and still running were the same experience, but the vehicle did not come near to hitting anything before I jumped into the vehicle and applied the brakes. I drive a lot of rental cars and SUV's, I have never had an experience like I have had with this jeep. I will not let my wife drive the vehicle due to several times it has not gone into park.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. While the vehicle was parked, it independently shifted to reverse. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 19,000. Updated 04/29/16*lj updated 6/19/18
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. When the contact parked the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly rolled forward and crashed into a storage unit. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,000. Updated 03/08/16*lj the consumer stated after putting the vehicle in park, and pushed the button to turn off the vehicle, it continued to move forward and crashed through a storage room. Updated 03/14/16.
Saw articles this week regarding the federal safety agency investigation of transmission shifter in 2015 jeep grand cherokee. While I am not concerned for my safety (as I have learned to keep foot on break until I locate one of the indicators that shows park while I keep pushing the shifter forward) I am concerned every time boca car wash parks my vehicle next to federal highway in downtown boca raton after going through their wash; or when a restaurant valet parks my vehicle. Unless you know this shifter, you eventually will step out when it is in reverse. Just a matter of time. Maybe the owner could be deemed responsible to make multiple attempts to get his vehicle into park with this quirky shifter, but not the valets or other people who may drive the car.
The electronic gear shift is poorly designed and unsafe. You never know when operating the shift gear if you are in park, neutral, drive or reverse. It is confusing and dangerous. I found myself on many occasions, thinking that the lever was in park, when in reality I was still in reverse or drive. I open the door to get out of the vehicle and the vehicle starts moving. I am in my 60's and have slipped couple times, when these incidents occurred. I mentioned these incidents to my local dealership and they found the power train functioning as designed.
My wife and I have been confused with the electronic shifter on our 2015 grand cherokee. This issue has happened at least 7 times when we thought the car was in park but was actually in reverse or drive and almost had an accident hitting other parked cars when leaving a parking lot at a store. It has also happened to me in my garage more than a few times where I thought the car was in reverse but was in drive and again almost hit the garage wall. Thank god we never hit anything but we are very nervous about driving this car now. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else as it is very nerve racking. The last time it happened was on 1/14/2016.
The shift unit fails to positively enter the park position when shifted to that position. It has enter the reverse mode! This has happened several times. If the shifter is accidentally bumped to the neutral position while in motion such as if you arm is on the console and hard braking caused your hand/arm slide forward contacting the shifter putting the unit in neutral, the brake must be applied before the unit can be shifted back into gear. The vehicle will be still in motion! The unit is not user friendly in selecting a gear. You must visually assure you are in the desired gear. The dial knob system chrysler had in vehicles without a console was much more user friendly! This issue should be addressed! I believe several years back in the 70s ford had a similar issue with the car moving from park to reverse on its own. I personally know of one lady who was dragged by the car after the door knocked her down as the car went into reverse! These issues with my 2015 jeep have occurred several times since I have owned this vehicle.
On many occasions, both my wife and I have experienced this vehicle not properly going into park when shifted from either drive or reverse. If you do not look at the shifter control and assume that it is in park, it will move (in reverse) unless you stop it and re-shift into park and look at the panel. I called several chrysler/jeep dealership service departments to check and see if there are any other reported issues and was told that they didn't know anything about the problem. This is going to cause an accident.
On several occasions, the transmission was not full engaged in park, when I started to exit the vehicle and the unit began moving. While I have not been injured, the system of shifting needs to be improved, so that it is clear the unit is in park. It is hard to see the dash indicator regarding what gear the vehicle is engaged. The situation is unnerving at times. The vehicle operates well in other aspects.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. While the vehicle was parked, it rolled away independently and struck a tree in a parking lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a third party investigator arrived to determine the cause of the failure. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and repaired by the insurance company. The approximate failure mileage was 5,812.
I experienced the problem reported in the news article regarding the confusing chrysler jeep electronic shifter. I left my car running and thought I had put it into park. I walked around the car and went into my house for 5 minutes. When I came out the car had rolled down a driveway into a neighbors yard causing nearly $10k in damage.
On numerous occasions throughout 2015 the vehicle has failed to shift into park, drive and or reverse when the shift lever was actuated to select those gears ! If you do not pay particularly close attention to the indicators you do not realise that the vehicle is not in the selected gear and will roll off or move in an unintended direction . Needless to say my wife and I consider this defect to be extremely dangerous and feel it needs immediate remedy by the manufacturer . I understand the 2016 models no longer use this shifter mechanism and I suggest chrysler should recall the older models and replace the shifter mechanism with a safer version !
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. After switching to the park position and exiting with the engine running, the vehicle suddenly drove forward and struck a second vehicle. The contact sustained an injured right arm. Medical attention was not required. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. Also, while driving at various speeds, the collision avoidance system randomly activated and caused the braking system to abruptly stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 1,000.
I have owned a 2015 jeep grand cherokee for 6 months now. On at least 3 different occasions I have exited the vehicle with the engine running thinking it was in 'park' only to find later upon re-entering the vehicle that it was actually in 'reverse'. The only thing that kept the vehicle from rolling away was that I had firmly engaged the emergency brake. Luckily, I have a habit of always using my emergency brake. In two instances, with the engine running and thinking the vehicle was in 'park' I exited the vehicle and went behind it to open the tailgate. When the tailgate would not open I went back to the driver's side only to realize the vehicle was actually in 'reverse' (which is why the tailgate would not open). Again, the only thing that kept the vehicle from rolling away (or onto me) was the firmly engaged emergency brake. I think the design of the gear shift selector is a serious safety issue that could easily result in injury, death, and/or property damage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. The contact stated that after the gear shifter was placed in park, the vehicle began to roll backwards independently. At times, it was difficult to know if the vehicle was in park or reverse due to the failure of the gear shifter. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200.
The automatic transmission shifter does not have a positive feel and is difficult to find the correct gear. Shift gates are minimal. It is very easy to unintentionally leave the car in "reverse" when you intend to put it in "park". On one occasion I stepped out of the car while it was in "reverse" after I thought the car was in "park". You really have to apply force and double check the dash display to make sure the car is in "park". After my incident, I always find I have to double check to make sure the car is in "park". Shouldn't be that way - poor engineering. We have not had an incident in some time but it takes a lot of practice to "master" the electronic shifter. I have noticed jeep has gone to a gated shift for the 2016 model year. This would be the safest and most appropriate fix. This electronic shift could be very dangerous to someone who isn't familiar with the car.
On 9/4/15 I was backing a boat into the lake using this vehicle. I put the vehicle into park, or thought I did, and opened the driver door. As I exited the vehicle rolled backwards, knocked me down, and the entire vehicle, with boat and trailer, went into the lake. I have noticed since then that the shifter requires you to hold it in park for a second before the park gear will engage. Slamming the shifter towards park, even with the button depressed and foot on the brake, will not always engage the parking gear. You must wait until the parking gear light on the dash is illuminated. This is not user friendly. I would suggest a sensor being installed on the transmission that automatically shifts into park when the driver door is opened, much like the mercedes gl450.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 jeep grand cherokee. The vehicle was equipped with the push to start keyless ignition. The gear lever was shifted into park and the push start ignition was engaged. The contact exited the vehicle. After returning, the contact discovered that the engine remained in operation. The failure recurred on five separate occassions. In addition, the vehicle independently shifted into reverse. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.
On january 12 2016 at 9am I was parking in an office parking lot. After coming to a stop in the parking space behind a cement curb and 2 to 3 feet from an office building I started move the gear shift from "drive" to "park." the car suddenly surged forward at fast acceleration over the curb and into the building. My foot was on the brake but the car was only stopped by the brick building. There was considerable damage to the car and building. I contacted chrysler corporation and the car was towed to the dealership where I had purchased it less that two months previously. On january 22, 2016 chrysler responded they completed an investigation and that they did not believe the accident was due to a manufacturing responsibility. I requested a copy of the investigation but chrysler has refused saying it is confidential and they have closed the case. The car is being repaired at the dealership but we do not feel it is safe to drive unless changes are made to the transmission. I have requested a letter from chrysler that they feel the vehicle is safe to drive.
The console shifter is not atypical of a normal automatic transmission shifter. The gate does not have a feel that allows the driver to sense which gear they are in. I just recently left the car in neutral while stopping to go mail a letter at he mailbox. The jeep started to roll and I was struct by the mirror. I am just glad I was able to get back into the vehicle and apply the brakes.
The shifter in this vehicle is not intuitive, sticks in gears and has poor tactile feedback for desired gear. Often the vehicle stays in reverse gear when pushed all the forward when parking from drive. In multiple instances I thought the car was in park and exited the vehicle with the car running to find it was still in reverse. The car started to roll backwards as I was getting out. Also, paddle shifters are erratic and do not shift when under high RPM. I complained to the dealer a few times only to be told "it takes some getting used to". This is a serious safety issue. I've owned 5 grand cherokees including the 2011 year with a perfectly functional and safe gear selector.
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