There are 47 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokeein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
REPEATED CAM SHAFT FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. THIS HAS HAPPENBED THREE TIMES IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS. IT IS CURRENTLY AT A STELLANTIS DEALERSHIP IN MICHIGAN. THERE IS USUALLY N O PRIOR WARNING. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AS SOON AS THE ISSUE STARTS.
Transmission failure at 19,481 miles in my 2021Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 V6. The vehicle has not been abused, and the mileage is low for its age. The symptoms—erratic shifting, limp mode, and “Service Transmission” warnings— are consistent with a known defect pattern affecting multiple FCA vehicles using the same transmission.
I believe it is something with the engine or an electrical component. I was driving and as I was parking my car shut off, was not able to completely park back end of the car is sticking out. I looked up if there were any current recalls using my VIN and nothing appeared. I did my own researching and found that there have been recalls for that model regarding the PTU, Power Steering and Power Loss which is the issue I am experiencing. My car turns off on its own and does not get any type of power. Started having trouble turning on my car over Labor Day weekend was not able to travel due to what I thought was my battery having issues, people were jumping me to be able to start my car. I then had my battery tested at O'Reilly's on 9/3/2025 and when trying to jump start my car they shorted my engine block fuse which I was told after having my car towed to the mechanic and they took a look at it. I replaced my main battery thinking that would solve the issue and it did not and this was before the mechanic looked at it. I then had it towed to a mechanic where they replaced the engine block fuse and I was told that the car was good and running after paying on 9/19/2025. I left the mechanic and came to work where after two hours I tried to start my car and it did not. I called the mechanic and was told it was my auxiliary battery after they came to look at the car and inspect it once again that same day 9/19/2025. I purchased and replaced the auxiliary battery and was able to start and drive the car for 1.6 miles to my brothers apartment from my work before the car turned off on me as I was trying to park. There was an error message on the car at the time when it turned off which read with a caution symbol, "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon" and then turned off.
Service shifter message keeps showing every-time I turn on the vehicle. Eventually it just stays on. Took vehicle in for service and when dealer was installing new shifter, it shorted out other components. Jeep still hasn’t found a permanent fix.
Once you start driving after letting the vehicle sit the transmission will “slip” multiple times jerking the car and everyone in it. Occurs every day around 4 pm and various times
Since it was brand new it likes to shift hard into reverse or drive from park. Sometimes it shifts with NOTHING going on like it should Other times there is subtle thump into gear other times it's a harder thumb into gear. There is 2 or 3 levels of hard shift into gear. Valve body and Output shift kit have already been replaced and it's STILL happening
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal and attempting to overtake another vehicle. The RPM was extremely elevated; however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and restarted the vehicle before resuming normal driving. The contact became aware that, when shifting between automatic and manual driving modes, the vehicle operated normally without hesitating. The vehicle was taken to several dealers on several occasions; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. In addition, the headlights occasionally shut off unexpectedly while driving at night. The contact would pull over and wait for the headlights to return before resuming normal driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls associated with the VIN for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The car have a lot of problems engine total failure, mounting joints failure, acelere by him self, jerking,,while driving vehicle kicks aggressively in to gear, oil cup broken down make in the engine to blow oil over , no oil in engine. Sometimes missing 3. Quarters of oil because the seal of the engine no last , is a lot problems in this car
I drove my car out of my garage on the way to work and just outside my house, the transmission bucked when shifting from 3rd to 4th gear and the p0733 code appeared. I turned around and went home and took another car to work. I had previously taken my jeep with ~85,000 miles to my local dealer wanting the 4 wheel drive and transmission service as I do with all of my cars. It was driving fine, but seemed like the gas mileage was decreasing a bit which I shrugged off. The dealer informed me that the transmission wasn't serviceable. I thought this was odd, but they did the 4 wheel drive service and said everything was good. When I got the error code, I called my local independent transmission shop who said they could look at it in 2 days, so I didin't drive it until the ~10 minute drive to drop it off. They called the next day and said the transmission was done- burnt fluid and bits of clutch in the fluid. They couldn't even find a rebuilt trasmission because according to them so many are failing. They quoted me $8700 for a new transmission from Jeep which I begrudgingly agreed to because what else could I do? I've had one car's transmission fail (Jeep Wrangler but it had 220,000 miles and was 15 years old so I could accept it. The shop received the new transmission from Jeep and then called me saying the valve body was bad, it would not communicate with the car. They went through warranty struggles with Jeep who after another week finally sent another valve body, which also did not work. Finally, they figured out they were sending unprogrammed valve bodies with the transmission and the car needed to be towed to the dealer to program...more $$$. So, after a3+ weeks I finally got my car back today. I've looked online and wondered what I could have done- there are so many similar examples out there of similar experiences, Wrangler transmissions failing with low miles; it's unforgivable that Jeep says the transmission can't be serviced!
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that after his wife had parked and turned off the vehicle in the driveway, the vehicle inadvertently rolled down the driveway. The contact restarted and parked the vehicle in the driveway again, and activated the parking, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and Golling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (2405 S Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302); however, both dealers were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,500. The VIN was unavailable.
Started my 2021 Grand Cherokee Jeep started to drive light on dash transmission service and my vehicle would not go over 35 had to get off highway and get towed .10pm on 12/18/2024
Vehicle shifts from park to drive jumping gears ,making loud noises, Accelerating by its self and jumps aggressively into gear. Transmission is slipping, late engagement when shifting, and shifting rough. sometimes it will low rpm. Rpm is going up and down. Making total transmission failure and transfer case failure. Melting the hot and cold lines. Mechanic found aluminum melted and oil burn. Rpms fluctuate and gets hung up during shifting while driving.
This Car have a lot issues we the computer in the car, the car I was missing oil in the engine ,the piston. Blows out No light engine On the car have a lot problems we trans mission No light On,I Have problems we transfer Case No light on, Now still having problems if backups sometimes is No light on,I don’t know if Normal but if have a lot safety concerns in this car.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle started shaking violently. The vehicle then briefly lost motive power and was unable to accelerate as intended before returning to normal functionality; however, the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 18,000.
The electronic stability control has malfunctioned and the 4wd svc light has comeon. The vehicle shifts hard when taking off at low speed. When coming to a stop there is a loud pop from transfer case. Also the 4wd low and neutral comes on by themselves. This vehicle definitely has safety issues. I just bought this vehicle and just barely have 1000 miles on it. How is thus safe? The hard shifting started around 6/1/2024 the electronic stability, svc 4wd, going into 4wd low and neutral all started on 6/23/24
Vehicle shuts down puts itself in park and applies the parking brake and states that the hood is not closed when it is and has not been opened. It also disable the auto stop/start . It does this at traffic lights or when ever a vehicle comes to a stop creating a potential rear end collision due to having to manually restart the vehicle, disengage the parking brake and put the vehicle in drive.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power before stalling and shutting off. During the failure, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The messages "Service Shifter" and "Transmission Temperature High" were displayed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer and was reprogrammed; however, after retrieving the vehicle, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,899.
Started noticing hard reverse shift when vehicle was cold. Took to the dealership, tech could not find any issues other than it shifted hard in reverse. Tech found no leaks, performed PCM reflash. Still no problems found. Tech did not check transmission fluid level on vehicle. Must be checked at the dealership. Tech recommended replacing transmission even though could not find any issues. A few days later while driving at highway speed the vehicle suddenly downshifted to 3rd gear nearly causing me to loose control. Vehicle would not shift into fourth gear. Had to limp vehicle home.
Driveshaft became loose while driving
Paddle shifters are disabled with no way to enable them. While towing, there is no way to reduce downhill speed maximizing the use of the power train while minimizing the use of the brake system causing the brakes to overheat and a potential crash incident.
Showing 1–20 of 47 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026