2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 238 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 23rd highest complaint count among 26 Grand Cherokee model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 24 involved a crash and 5 involved a fire. 13 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Engine and engine coolingJun 8, 2023
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Ram 1500 and 2014-2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles equipped with 3.0L Diesel engines. The crankshaft position sensor tone wheel may delaminate, causing the engine to lose its ability to synchronize the fuel injector pulses and cam shaft timing, possibly resulting in an engine stall.
An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.
Dealers will update the powertrain control module software to maintain vehicle propulsion, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed August 3, 2023. Some owner notification letters were mailed October 31, 2023. The remaining owner notification letters will be mailed at a future date, anticipated July 2024. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 66A. This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-475.
Campaign 23V411000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, diesel, delivery, fuel pumpJun 9, 2022
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2014-2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 2014-2019 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with 3.0L diesel engines. A high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failure may introduce internal debris into the fuel system, potentially resulting in fuel starvation.
Fuel starvation may result in an unexpected loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the HPFP, and inspect and replace, if necessary, additional fuel system components, free of charge. Interim notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed July 21, 2022. Owner notification letters for were mailed for Jeep Grand Cherokee owners starting January 11, 2024. Owner notification letters for Ram 1500 owners were mailed March 7, 2024. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLS's number for this recall is Z46.
Campaign 22V406000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, sensing system, cameraSep 10, 2020
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2020 Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Cherokee, 2019-2020 Ram 1500 Pickup, Ram 2500 Pickup, Ram 3500 Pickup, Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, and Jeep Renegade and 2019 Dodge Challenger vehicles equipped with 8.4" or 12" radio displays. A software error can cause the rearview camera image to remain displayed after the vehicle has been shifted out of reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
The lingering rearview image can distract the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.
Chrysler has notified owners, and dealers will update the radio display software, free of charge. Optionally, owners can choose to remotely update their software via an Over-The-Air (OTA) update available as of May 1, 2020. The recall began April 27, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W30-W37.
Campaign 20V191000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
238 reports, newest first.
Other or unspecified, Dec 9, 2022
Hello, Before two months I bought preowned grand Cherokee north edition with 15.500 miles. When I start driving for the first few minutes I hear a sound like whistling, and it's like the engine is having a hard time getting up to speed. also very often when I shift the transmission into reverse I hear a knock.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving 30 MPH and various other speeds, an audible warning sound was heard inside the vehicle and the temperature gauge indicated that engine was overheating. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 28,000.
Structure, Nov 17, 2022
Today I was driving on the highway with a high wind advisory, in the morning driving with the wind was causing my hood to flex under the intake pressure. This afternoon driving against the wind on the highway the wind was strong enough to pop the hood open while the latch kept the hood secured, twice. The winds at the time were 15mph with gusts to 35mph.
Electrical system, Oct 27, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with an unknown audible alert warning. Additionally, the vehicle intermittently failed to start. AAA arrived on the scene and jumpstarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and no error codes were retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,500. The VIN was unavailable.
Engine, Oct 23, 2022
The vehicle when drive shuts engine off and tell you to shift to park. It has don’t it to me a few time and twice I almost got rear ended. I took it to the dealer and they say they can’t find anything wrong with it. To shut off the stop start system but it still does it when I stop start system is off. If you go online a lot of people are having the same issue Jeep just doesn’t want to acknowledge it. This is very dangerous because it does it at any speed stop and go or you could do 65 on the highway and it does it in jeep is aware of this because many people have complained about it and it’s going on death years. After some time, the system completely shut off and I was able to drive it without the stop start system. The message that came out was stop start system needs servicing, but the jeep dealer has no idea what that is. They have tested the battery and they said it’s OK. It Hass to do something on the transmission or something yeah true but this is going to be something if they don’t fix someone’s gonna get hurt and when they get a lawsuit that’s what you’re gonna do something for the negligence.
Power train, Aug 28, 2022
Faulty transmission at 14,500 miles. Car shifted abruptly from park to reverse in harsh and sometimes in a lunging manner. Similar abrupt shifting occurred from 2nd to 3rd gear. Problem resulted in need for a totally new transmission.
Electrical system, Aug 12, 2022
When I put my 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee in reverse, the backup camera displayed on the screen like normal. However, once I shifted into drive the backup camera image was frozen on the display. It wasn’t until I powered off the radio and back on that it went away. This is a safety issue because it caused a distraction to me while I was in drive trying to figure out what was going on. I also took a video that clearly shows my jeep was in drive while the backup camera image was still frozen on the display.
Engine, Aug 8, 2022
Vehicle stalls unexpectedly. Error is "shift to park". Driver shifts the vehicle into park. The car is then locked in park and the driver needs to restart the vehicle. The vehicle doesn't always restart. This has happened multiple times. After the first time, we took it back to the dealership where we bought the vehicle and they replaced the batteries. After the batteries were installed it happened again, took it to a Jeep dealership and they were not able to duplicate the issue so did not do anything. It happened again after that. This is extremely dangerous and can cause serious accidents since the vehicle is stalled in the middle of a road!
Power train, Air bags, Jul 12, 2022, crash
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. While turning left at 10 MPH, the contact's vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal and it traveled to the floorboard. The contact stated that an unknown yellow warning light flashed on the instrument panel during the failure. Due to the failure, another motorist hit the rear driver-side door of her vehicle. The bottom and door air bags deployed upon impact; however, the no other air bags deployed. The other driver was taken to the hospital by ambulance; his injuries were unknown. The contact sustained no injuries in the accident. A police report was filed. The vehicle was initially towed to an independent tow yard and later towed to her home where it had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
Structure, Other or unspecified, Jul 2, 2022
On July 1, 2022, in the morning, the right rear passenger door window in my 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee spontaneously exploded and then, in the evening of the same day, the rear hatch window also spontaneously exploded. The vehicle was purchased new in June of 2020 and has been driven approximately 57000 miles. There was no evidence of damage to the windows prior to the explosions.
Suspension, May 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the front-end of the vehicle suddenly collapsed. The contact veered to the side of the road and noticed that the rear driver's side tire had deflated. Upon towing the vehicle, the contact noticed that the driver's side control arm was fractured. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 16,319. Case number is [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”
Suspension, Feb 24, 2022
Shocks failed at under 50k miles and should not have had this issue at such a low mileage. I have a baby so driving a vehicle with shocks that have busted does not feel safe at all. Dealership has done a diagnostic and no longer under warranty, Extended warranty does not cover it as well. Stuck paying a diagnostic fee and shocks are on back order with 250 plus in line to get them.
Engine, Feb 11, 2022
Updating NHTSA ID Number 11382705, 10/22/20. Dealer diagnosed issue on 9/15/21 and it was caused by a defective battery. Battery was replaced and there has been no further issue. Please remove or supplement No. 11382705
Other or unspecified, Jan 30, 2022, fire
I was evacuating the Colorado Marshall Fires and my 2020 Grand Jeep Cherokee with 20,000 miles just quit while driving down the road. It was slow moving traffic out of the area with 100 MPH winds, heavy smoke and debris flying through the air. As I tried to restart it, there was a message about some sensor, but unclear as to what exactly the message was. The engine would not turn over. The car was partially blocking traffic and caught on fire approximately 10 minutes after it stopped. Those evacuating were down to one lane and navigating around a burning car. No investigation is possible as it is completed burned up. I have followed all of the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules and have had zero incidents with this Jeep prior to this. I would like some sort of investigation as to the cause (an assessment of the situation as there is no car left to inspect). I do not want this happening to another person/family as they are trying to get out of a dangerous situation. I was lucky in that there were others evacuating, however, had I been in an isolated area, my dogs and I could have been dead.
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. Several unknown warning lights illuminated on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with 45 error codes relating to the vehicle not being able to communicate with the blind spot and doors due to battery failure. The battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The contact was uncertain if the dealer diagnosed the vehicle with engine control module (ECM) or body control module (BCM) failure. The dealer informed the contact that the windshield seal was not installed correctly during manufacturing, which caused water to seep in and damage the engine control module (ECM) or body control module (BCM). The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered since it did not have an extended warranty. The failure mileage was 14,787.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Back over prevention, Dec 20, 2021
Screen constantly freezes and it's unresponsive for long periods of time, then reboots. Then the cycle repeats. Serious safety hazard as the back up camera image freezes on the screen and doesn't change, even though your moving and the image video should have changed. This has been happening since the car was bought new and dealership says they're nothing that can be done
Electrical system, Air bags, Service brakes, Dec 17, 2021, crash
I bought my 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk used from Carmax and after barely having it 7 months it is now totaled by Insurance company. The reason: driving home from work on state highway at approx. 45mph on November 24, 2021 after dark. Came over rise in road to see about 10 vehicles completely stopped in front of me about 100 yards away. I applied the brakes and nothing happened. Took foot off brake pedal & tried again... nothing. I had to swerve off road to keep from running into back of vehicle(s) stopped in front of me. Was able to safely miss damaging/injuring any other vehicles/people. Struck a tree on the left front of Jeep. Applying brakes did not stop or slow my Jeep Grand Cherokee's speed. When tree was struck at approx. 45mph the airbags did not even deploy.
Other or unspecified, Nov 18, 2021
My Safety as well as other Drivers safety are at risk when you down the highway at a speed between 70 & 75 miles an hour and all off a sudden your engine quits, I was told it goes into limp mode, I turned off engine, started it again could not get power, turn off engine again waited a few minutes and it finally gave me some power, was told by the Dealership that they could not find anything the computer may have reset itself, in a one week period it did twice, I nearly got hit or the person could have got killed hitting me. This is definitely a safety issue I think this should be a recall.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 12, 2021
Bought jeep in December 2020. Currently at 8000 miles. In October 2021, the vehicle would not turn off. The push button would go between ACC and Start but not in the off. Dealership has never seen this and after 8 days, are not able to definitively tell me what the issue is. The assumption has been given that the car is not recognizing that the vehicle is in Park. This is an assumption as whatever diagnosis that is being done is not finding the error.
Other or unspecified, Sep 20, 2021
While driving on the highway I heard a loud sound, like a gunshot and my sunroof had shattered onto me.
Other or unspecified, Sep 8, 2021
I was merging onto a highway after work and my sunroof exploded. There were no other vehicles, bridges, or any other objects around me. This could have been a real bad situation if it occurred with other vehicles around me. The local Jeep dealership refused to cover the repairs under warranty stating that, "Looks like an object hit my sunroof". There are no other markings around the sunroof.
Steering, Power train, Vehicle speed control, Sep 7, 2021
The vehicle starts jerking at a high rate of speed that become dangerous. Often times the vehicle will shut off on its own. Also the unconnect system goes out a lot. Another problem going wrong with the jeep is that the back window Always makes noise as if it would crack or something.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Aug 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that after refueling and attempting to drive out of the service station, the vehicle independently accelerated to 60 mph. The contact was able to shift into neutral and drove the vehicle into a field and the vehicle returned to normal function. Additionally, the gear shifter was not operating as intended. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic located the wiring that failed and was able to return the vehicle to normal function. The contact also wanted to state that the dealer was unable to specify what caused the vehicle to independently accelerate. The gear shifter was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000.
Other or unspecified, Aug 6, 2021
The Sunroof exploded and a sound like a bomb or gun went off. Most of the glass blew out of the car but I had some drop on my head, neck and shoulder. The glass went everywhere. I later found that I had glass fragements in my right eye as well. The doctor took them out. I took the dealership and they were going to replace it and then I got an email saying it was going to be under investigation. 10-14 days or longer. I am a senior adult and work a part time job. This is my only car. The runaround continues. I received an email about the investigation and no phone number. I just want my car fixed. This was my dream car and now its a nightmare car. As soon as it is repaired I will never have another JEEP. The service has been terrible. The staff at the dealership tried to be helpful but their hands are tied. Frustrated since I did nothing wrong.
Engine, Jul 17, 2021, fire
Jeep caught fire while parked. Origin of cause states right side of engine is fire origination