Went to turn right car kept pushing straight and steering wheel locked up. Also, no airbags were deployed
Jeep Grand Cherokee steering lock-up problems
118 of the 29,174 owner complaints about the Jeep Grand Cherokee describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 2011 model year.
- owner complaints
- 118
- worst model year
- 2011
- typical mileage
- 72,805
Is there a fix? There are 6 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Engine failure 38Stalling 28Loss of power 9Check engine light 8Won't start 5Warning lights 5Brake failure 4Won't shift 3
What owners say
The engine power cuts of randomly while driving with no warning at all. When it happens the steering locks up veering the vehicle to the left so you have no control and at the same time the power brakes lock up and you are unable to stop the vehicle. Everything else works when this happens lights, radio, heater, air conditioning. No warning lights display. I had the vehicle with a mechanic that kept it for over 4 months to test drive and see if it would occur. It happened while he drove it but no codes show up to determine the cause. I had it towed back to my home and contacted Jeep Chrysler and they gave me a claim number to bring to my local Jeep dealer. They had it for over a week and unfortunately the jeep ran fine so once again no resolution to be able to fix. I bought the Jeep from Carvana 9/7/24 and am still paying it off but yet haven't been able to drive it for the past 15 months because it is unsafe for myself and anyone else on the roadway.
Went to turn left at barely 5mph and steering locked up with my front wheels pushed outside of wheel well (driver wheel, passenger is facing in), causing a collision. Steering wheel won’t turn at all now.
I was driving my car and the car shut off at 30 mph. It completely stopped and the steering wheel locked up. Started flashing start/stop and told me to put it in park. Glad no one got hurt and hope it doesn’t do it again.
There were no warning or check engine lights prior to the incidents below. Car was just serviced Nov 3rd 2025 for safety recall 25v-472 and 25v-576. 1st incident Dec 21, 2025: Driving 70mph on major busy interstate in MA and all of a sudden vehicle lost ALL power. It shut off completely. No lights, No warning. Had to coast over to R shoulder and wait several min before power restored. This was Very scary as traffic was heavy. 2nd incident occurred Jan 19, 2026 and was terrifying: I was driving on a curvy mountain 2 lane road at night. This road does not have much lighting. There are no shoulders or pull over lanes due to guardrails. Out of nowhere with no warning. Vehicle lost ALL power (including steering and ALL lights). Could not get out of road as everything shut off and steering locked. I had NO Lights (both internal and external) I Finally got flashers to work after a minute or so but had to sit there dead in the middle of the road on a curve praying no cars came around curve. Was able to restart after about a minute and a half! Called dealership today and they said there is no recall for “loss of power” and we will be taking it in for a $200 diagnostics test.
I was driving down the interstate with my two babies in the car seats and all of a sudden all of the dash lights came on, and the power steering locked up. I was driving 70 miles per hour and had to pry my wheel as hard as i could to be able to pull over on the side of the interstate. Once I pulled over i turned the car off hoping it would reset whatever happened and the car was completely dead. It would not crank at all. I ended up having to call someone to come get me and my kids off the side of the interstate and tow the car to the dealership. this car has less than 70,000 miles on it and still is not fixed. It has been at the dealership for over 3 weeks with what they are telling me is electrical issues. I do not feel comfortable driving this car anymore as it is a safety hazard and could have gotten me and my children killed.
While driving my vehicle on the highway, the steering wheel locked up and it put itself into neutral. The abs system notification and another light was active and my jeep stated my vehicle was going too fast for the gear it was in. The abs breaking system bypassed the nss safety feature in my jeep causing me to go off the road as a I lost all control of the steering in my vehicle. Upon a check by the mechanic, I had faulty wiring in the wiring harness which they cannot replace because the part is no longer made. My jeep is only a 2015. I went off the road because there was poor weather - it was snowing out and my vehicle would not respond to any gear resulting in my turning the vehicle off. My jeep was towed to the dealership for diagnosis. I have not picked up my jeep yet due to the dealership schedule but have attached the communication with them concerning the problems.
The cuts off in the Middle of the street in front of a school .The vehicle will not start up.I try to Crank it on vehicle make a loud screeching sound like metal to metal .Dash lights 4wd pop on then a lightning symbol came on.The vehicle wont change gears steering wheel lock ,wheels lock ,The front left turning signal does not work all the other lights do.My wife and I avoided a collision when the vehicle shut off while driving .Thank God no one were hurt.Bought this vehicle in October 2025.
Today my steering locked up ,was not driving on the highway but was on my way when the steering said on my screen the loss of power steering .So afraid this will happen again and me driving. Yes it is at dealership now. Had to have it towed. The Vehicle is at dealership .Yes the red steering wheel was on the screen and the loss of steering when I was trying to back out of my carport. So afraid this will happen on the main road in traffic and I or another person will get hurt. Could not even turn the steering when backing out of my carport. Thank you for checking on this. These cars are dangerous when this happens. Bad thing is in all these cars they don’t know how to fix them,cause they can’t find what this problem is.
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Numbers: 22V426000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC) and 24V838000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated while driving downhill at approximately 20 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The contact was unable to turn the steering wheel to the left or the right. The vehicle later returned to normal functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. Parts distribution disconnect on the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V426000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). VIN tool confirms parts not available for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC).
Related recalls
Steering: linkages: knuckle: spindle: arm
- What is wrong
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. An improperly machined steering knuckle may separate between the ball joint and knuckle, causing the wheel to fall outward and resulting in a loss of control.
- Risk
- A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the steering knuckle, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 11, 2024. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. FCA's number for this recall is 07B.
Recall number 24V131000 · Recall details
Steering: column
- What is wrong
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2021-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L vehicles. An incorrectly assembled steering column intermediate shaft may disconnect from the u-joint, and result in a loss of steering control.
- Risk
- A loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the intermediate shaft and assembly parts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2023. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 58A.
Recall number 23V352000 · Recall details
Steering: gear box (other than rack and pinion)
- What is wrong
- On certain sport utility vehicles, the power steering gear may contain an improperly formed spacer clip, which could dislodge within the steering gear.
- Risk
- A dislodged clip may cause increased steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the steering gear assemblies. Owner notification began on march 12, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.
Recall number 03V079000 · Recall details
Steering: gear box (other than rack and pinion)
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. An internal nut in the steering gear assembly could loosen and cause the steering gear to lock up.
- Risk
- This could reduce steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the steering gear assembly. Owner notification began december 27, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.
Recall number 01V007000 · Recall details
Steering: gear box (other than rack and pinion)
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. Some steering gear units were assembled with internal end-of-travel-stops that missed the heat treat process, resulting in soft internal travel stops.
- Risk
- This could result in sticking, binding, or seizing of the steering gear.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the steering gear on involved vehicles.
Recall number 99V312000 · Recall details
Steering: steering wheel/handle bar
- What is wrong
- The molded plastic pin which connects the upper steering column shaft and the lower column shaft may have been sheared prior to installation of the steering column assembly into the vehicle. If this occurred, the upper steering shaft will separate from the lower steering shaft.
- Risk
- If the upper and lower steering shafts separate, completeloss of steering control will occur, which could result in an accident.
- Remedy
- A restraining sleeve will be added to the intermediate shaft to limit the amount of steering shaft movement available.
Recall number 93V210000 · Recall details
Questions about the Jeep Grand Cherokee steering lock-up
Which Jeep Grand Cherokee years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2011 (14 complaints), 2005 (11 complaints) and 2006 (9 complaints).
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