The 2019 Jeep Cherokee Is Receiving Some Alarming Complaints From Owners
The Jeep Cherokee has been bringing cargo space, capability, and performance to Americans for decades. As one of Jeep’s flagship vehicles, the Cherokee is a fan-favorite. But the 2019 Jeep Cherokee seems to be rubbing owners in all the wrong ways. Though most things should be getting better with time, owners of the 2019 Jeep Cherokee may beg to differ.
What the critics had to say
According to Consumer Reports, the 2019 Jeep Cherokee may have been updated but its “fresh appearance, a new optional engine, and numerous convenience updates aren’t enough” to make it anything but “mediocre.”
Applauding its new engine for being more fuel-efficient, experts still faulted it for its hesitating nature. Between the “loud and coarse” engine and an automatic transmission that “isn’t smooth or responsive,” the 2019 Jeep Cherokee pales in comparison to the rivals in its segment.
In fact, Consumer Reports only gives the 2019 Cherokee a cool overall rating of 52 (out of 100). Thus ranking it toward the bottom of all compact SUVs. But it’s not the experts that are finding problems with the 2019 Jeep Cherokee.
What owners complain about with their 2019 Jeep Cherokees
On CarComplaints.com, there are 72 owner-reported complaints of the 2019 Jeep Cherokee. Though there are other model years that receive more complaints than 2019, the number of issues reported is unimpressive given the model year’s “new” status. And of those 72 total complaints, it’s easy to see that some areas are causing 2019 Jeep Cherokee owners more problems than others.
There are significantly more owner-reported complaints in the “engine problems” category than any other, with 33 total. Out of those 33 engine complaints, almost all surround the engine shutting down or stalling while driving.
According to CarComplaints.com, the “2019 Jeep Cherokee is racking up engine complaints for suddenly shutting down while driving.” Occurring at a low average mileage of around 6,000 miles, this is the model year’s worst-rated problem. It is also the main reason behind CarComplaints.com’s label of the 2019 Jeep Cherokee: “Beware of the Clunker.”
But it seems the Jeep’s engine and transmission are tied to the same type of issues. With more than 188 complaints to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the Jeep Cherokee’s engine complaints “could possibly be related to the increasingly defective 9-speed transmission which suffers from hard shifts, lurching problems, and a wiring harness defect.”
Nearly 15 owners of the 2019 Cherokee have reported problems with the transmission, while nearly 10 more complain that their electrical system is also affected by failure or shortcomings. While problems with the engine and transmission seem to be a trend for 2019 Cherokee owners, do all Jeep Cherokees perform as poorly?
Do all Jeep Cherokees have the same problems?
Though the newer 2019 Jeep Cherokee has quite a few complaints, problems with the Cherokee don’t stop there. When looking at CarComplaints.com’s model year comparison of the Jeep Cherokee, it’s clear that some model years are proving to be worse than others. And it seems that the 2019 model year isn’t the first to have engine and transmission problems. The 2014 and 2015 Jeep Cherokees currently have 659 and 643 owner-reported complaints; an astoundingly-high amount.
It’s easy to see a trend between the Cherokee’s transmission and engine performance. More than 400 owners of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee complain of transmission issues, from improper shifting to complete failure.
More than 80 owners complain of engine issues, sharing the same “stalling” problems as 2019 model year owners. Nearly the same number of owners share these problems with their 2015 Jeep Cherokees as well.
Though older model Jeep Cherokees don’t seem to share the same owner complaints as these newer models, it appears that the common thread of all Cherokee problems is the transmission and engine. In fact, CarComplaints.com lists “transmission problems” as its worst-rated problem category for the Jeep Cherokee, across all model years.
As if transmission issues aren’t bad enough on their own, these issues are also creating problems with the engine.
