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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 Jeep Cherokee — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 176 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

176
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
10
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
4
Involved Fire
owner-reported
8
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Jeep Cherokee — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2,650 complaints

1,789 complaints

1,410 complaints

1,337 complaints

687 complaints

1,660 complaints

325 complaints

176 complaints

51 complaints

3 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Power Train 103 reports
Engine 28 reports
Unknown Or Other 26 reports
Electrical System 23 reports
Service Brakes 14 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 11 reports
Air Bags 9 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 5 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Power Train ODI 11632934 12/29/2024

PTU is going out causing jeep to not have 4wd. 67k miles. Causing the jeep to not be able to get traction on a busy highway causing a traffic jam in snow. Putting people’s safety at jeopardy.

Power Train ODI 11445327 12/28/2021

While I was trying to get onto the interstate my vehicle would not accelerate. I tried to merge in with traffic but I was only going 35 and I almost hit someone. They stayed the same speed hoping I would speed up in front of them but I couldn’t. This put everyone around me at risk. I took my vh to the dealership. They called me today and told me they sold the rental I was in a…

Power Train ODI 11706912 12/24/2025

I was driving on the interstate at approximately 70 mph when I attempted to accelerate to pass another vehicle. There was no response. At first, I thought I might have hit a patch of ice, but I quickly confirmed that wasn’t the case. I tried to accelerate again, and once more nothing happened—other than the engine revving. No warning lights appeared to indicate a problem. I c…

Power Train ODI 11705902 12/18/2025

PTU Failure. Known issue. 2017-2019 recalled but the part is still and issue and can lock up transmission. Recall needs to be extended to cover later years

Electrical System ODI 11497610 12/15/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the contact felt that the vehicle had lost motive power. The contact stated that there was a message to “Park and Restart the vehicle”. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that a software update was needed. The …

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 Jeep Cherokee, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2021 Jeep Cherokee reliable?
Owners have filed 176 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 Jeep Cherokee, most often about power train. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Jeep Cherokee years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.