2017 Jeep Renegade: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Mar 28, 2025 · Engine · IL

Engine malfunction with unpredictable times of hard shift jolting. It's a concern while driving and frightened when it happens. Not sure if this could get worse and could be a safety risk. Took to a dealer. Did not act up when they checked it. It has to be driven all the time to catch when it decides to act up. Happens between 2 to 3 and down from 4th to 3rd gear. No engine light indicates a problem. When I had other things fixed, I had mechanic to check it out. Invoice mentioned what was fixed but nothing stating about them running a test on what I have additionally been experiencing with the jolt as it shifts since it didn't do it at the time. Had transmission flushed hoping it would help but still does it.

Filed Nov 26, 2022 · Engine, Suspension · CA

While accelerating at a certain speed and letting go of the pedal the vehicle stalls causing a loud cluck sound depending of the speed of the acceleration. I am not sure if this issue will cause the vehicle to break down or cause other problems in the near future. In the beginning of November 2022, the drivers side has been making clunking noises when ever I reverse and while slowly taking from. It is Nov 25, and I have been told is the struts that have signs of defective because of the tires wearing down from the inner side. Also, I was told by a different mechanic the motor mount may be loose, and now the wheel bearing. I've replaced the wheel bearing on the driver's side and the noise has not completely left but the replacement helped. I am hoping the struts make the difference along with swapping to street tires.

Filed Jun 25, 2020 · Engine · 23,000 miles · NY

When I turn the vehicle on and start driving, if I slow down and begin to accelerate it gives a warning stating low oil pressure and then the vehicle will stall while I'm driving. This happens when I am going anywhere from 15 to 20 miles per hour. The vehicle burned through 3 quarts of oil between oil changes. It also slams into gear when running low on oil.

Filed Oct 2, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 28,000 miles · DE

I bought 2017 jeep renegade 1/2018. First 6-9 months ran good no issues noticed. When I reached approx. 28k miles, the jeep started severe hard shifting with a clunk & car jerk anytime I was driving in speed range of 27-32 MPH. Over next 5 mos. 10/2018'feb/mar 2019, I took my jeep to same dealer purchased/serviced 5 different times. Each time same complaint of hard shift 27-32mph. This sporadically happens with no rhyme or reason to when only that it occurs during that speed range. I could be accelerating or coasting in town to decelerate and will happen. I filed a formal complaint to jeep chryselr 1/2019 after 3rd dealer service visit not resolved. Dealer every time said all normal, no transmission issues. Now both dealer & jeep insist hard shifting is normal claiming it is an electronic transmission that has a 'clutch' engagement around that speed and normal to feel when it engages or disengages. Both dealer & jeep claim this is also common and more noticeable when it reaches colder weather but refuse to acknowledge any issues. I advised my jeep didn't do this first few months when bought new during winter season jan 2018, but still I am told by both dealer & jeep that this is normal. I still have the problem today and no one has resolved. Now they just say nothing they can do. I even stopped driving distances may-july afraid to go over my 36k warranty. I am getting close to my 36k warranty exp. Now and asked for one last time to please figure out the hard shifting issues before something happens. I won't even let my 3 teen driving children behind wheel of the jeep for fear that the hard shift & car jerks would potentially cause them to have an accident. I owe too much for trade-in value so am stuck with a new jeep that has insane shifting issues and jeep will not acknowledge, take ownership, or recall to fix even after multiple consumer reviews show same issue

Filed Sep 19, 2019 · Engine · 9,000 miles · CA

Vehicle hesitates and struggles to shift. It hard shifts and feels like it kicks. When accelerating from about 20 MPH to 65 MPH which is freeway speed engine takes a long time to accelerate then it jerks and shifts really hard.

Filed Sep 8, 2019 · Transmission · 7,000 miles · CA

While in motion, the transmission clunks randomly into a gear or, and sometimes miss shifts. When in sport mode, transmission won't shift whether shifted up or down leaving the car at speed dangerous in traffic.

Filed May 29, 2019 · Transmission · 26,000 miles · GA

We bought a 2017 jeep renegade in september 2017. Our renegade has a very hard shift problem and makes a loud clunk sound around the 25-30mph range...it hits so hard that it feels like someone hit you in the back of the car while driving. We had our car serviced 3 times at the dealership for this problem and it still continues. When we went back for the 3rd time on may 24th, the service advisor told us that it wasn't throwing any codes so they didn't know what to do to fix it. He also informed us that this was a big problem with the renegades and all they could do was to flash a software update even though he knows it will not fix the problem. Another tech said "is your car still under warranty?" we said yes, it only has 32,000 miles on it. He said to the other tech, we should just put a whole new transmission in the thing. The other tech said, if we do that, it will just be putting the same kind of transmission back in it (9 speed transmission) which would eventually have the same problem. We were told that most people just want to try to trade the car in for something else. The service tech advised us to talk with a sales person. So while talking with the sales person, she tried to get us into a certified used car. We bought a new car for a reason, to not end up with some else's problems with a used car. Then we ask to speak to the manager. He told us that any car he put us in would just have the same transmission and possibly the same problems. The manager actually told us that we would just be better off trading it in at another dealership. We went to the subaru dealership to speak with them about trading it in and they only wanted to offer us a trade in value of $10,000 when we still owe $15,000. It just doesn't seem fair that no one at the jeep dealership is willing to help its customers when they clearly know they have sold many customers faulty vehicles.

Filed Mar 22, 2019 · Transmission · 31,500 miles · MS

At approximately 31,500 miles transmission is making a loud clunk sound and jars the vehicle. So loud and hard it startles the passengers. I believe it is happening between 20-30 MPH and when I remove accelerator and begin to coast. It seems to be when I coast downhill. No warning lights display on the dash. Seems to only happen at low speeds. Possibly has occurred 4 times before taking to dealership the first time. Took vehicle to purchasing dealership march 2019. Problem still occurring the same day I picked up. Has happened 3 more times in 2 days. Rescheduled with purchasing dealership 2nd attempt to repair. I am the original owner - purchased april 2017. One driver. Issue is new and started at approx 31,500 miles in march 2019.

Filed Nov 13, 2018 · Engine, Steering · 17,000 miles · NY

My daughter was driving with 4 passengers on interstate 83 in pennsylvania when she heard a loud clunk, the engine light came on and she had lost most ability to steer. She fortunately was able to get the car to stop on the side.thank god everyone was safe - this could have ended terribly. According to the mechanic and what we know so far, the bcm went bad and they are replacing (under warranty). The vehicle is a 2017 and has approximately 17,000 miles on it. How does something like this happen. We purchased the vehicle because it seemed like a reliable, safe option. This whole thing could have ended differently. You cannot be traveling on a highway and all the sudden have your car stop running. Chrysler may want to dig a little further and see if it is a recall issue.

Filed Sep 30, 2018 · Engine · 11,000 miles · GA

While driving my vehicle jerks and lunges forward when shifting gears. As I am driving I will hear a loud clunk noise, which then results in my engine stalling out. It has happened while driving on the highway. I've noticed it happens when I must accelerate quickly or when I release the gas pedal. On the panel soon after the clunk a message appears stating that the car must be shifted to park in order to drive. I am afraid to drive my car as I purchased it to ensure the safety of my son. It has been a nightmare each time I attempt to drive it. Dealership says it's normal for 2.4l transmissions to do this, main cause is low oil. I have found that it still happens after a fresh oil change. The car only has 15,000 miles on it. No harsh driving has been done. This issue needs to be fixed. This issue puts every driver on the road at the same time at risk. These engines are lemons.

Filed Apr 23, 2018 · Electrical, Transmission · 16,000 miles · CA · crash

I purchased this car after owning two wrangler's, a cherokee and a patriot. I noticed right away that my transmission would lunge forward when coming to a stop and the transmission would shift harshly when slowing down in traffic then applying the gas to go, the car also hesitates to take off. I have had many scary situations where I was almost rear-ended many times because of the delay, I also came to a stop at a crosswalk and right when I went to stop the car lunged forward and I hit someone walking in the crosswalk, I was lucky the guy was not hurt, I also had a time where there was a couch in front of me on the freeway and I was not able to avoid it because of a hesitation in the engine where at times I am unable to accelerate right away and this could cause me to get hit if I switch lanes to quickly, I ended up slamming on the breaks and sliding into the counch and contacting 911 to explain what happened. This transmission is defective and all the shops do is reset the transmission and do a software update to the transmission and the TCM and the PCM on the car. The cars door locks will also sometimes beep loud and sometimes beep short like something is wrong and a good portion of the time the car will not lock. I also have a weird vibration coming from the right side of the car and the dealer said that they tested it against a cherokee and it's the same but I have a renegade so I have in writing they tested the wrong model car. This car has had so many issues and I really feel unsafe, I have already taken the car in 5 times and they don't really do anything. I will be taking it in to get my AC knob replaced because it has a sharp edge and I keep getting cut. I don't think being told the harsh shifting is normal is right, I feel like I am driving a manual transmission because of the weird shifts this transmission does.

Filed Apr 17, 2018 · Electrical, Transmission · 3,100 miles · IN

The 9-speed transmission causes the vehicle to lunge forward causing the vehicle to be unsafe. I would have rear end a dodge ram truck at a stop light; if my foot was not firmly on the brake. The lunging forward, and hard shifting happens randomly primarily on the downshifting, and when it's cold out. Other issues: when using the washer solvent fluid the vapors come back through the cabin, making the cabin air toxic to breath. The front driver side rotor and brake pad had to be changed; because they were deemed defective due to finding metal debris in the brake pad at about 3,100 miles when I reported the noise at the first oil change. Electrical: randomly the push start will not work, turn signal turning right will not work, and head lights would not automatically come on. This 2017 jeep renegade latitude 2.4l has less than 6,000 miles. The transmission, washer solvent, and brakes started before the first oil change at 3,118 miles; however, the washer solvent was not report until later when I found out it is toxic, and I only used it about 3-times, and turned the air off each time. All deemed unable to duplicate except for one time or normal for the washer solvent issue.