2016 Jeep Cherokee problems & reliability
1,401 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Jeep Cherokee, alongside 9 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
18 complaints report injuries (26 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2016 Jeep Cherokee vehicles were involved in 133 fatal crashes with 40 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train → | 626 | 45% |
| Engine → | 313 | 22% |
| Unknown OR Other | 312 | 22% |
| Electrical System → | 296 | 21% |
| Service Brakes → | 92 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 76 | 5% |
| Steering → | 53 | 4% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 43 | 3% |
| Structure → | 33 | 2% |
| Air Bags → | 30 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 45,000 miles (middle 50% between 25,875 and 65,000 miles), based on 839 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Good afternoon, my 2016 Jeep Cherokee is currently at the Local Jeep Dealer in Savannah, Georgia. I have been informed by the dealership that my Power Transfer Unit has failed and has to be replaced. I went to your website and this is an ACTIVE CAMPAIGN for this issue, it is #23V302000. This is a known recall issue…”
Power Train · filed Jul 28, 2026
“Took a hard Impact to the rear driver side tire and rear driver door corner small dent(near rear tire), and was spun 180° causing being propelled into a light pole on the passenger front and side. No airbags deployed in the entire vehicle. Multiple people in the vehicle in the vehicle sustained concussions, one also…”
Air Bags · filed Jul 20, 2026
“The vehicle show code B0020-13. This is a fault in the wiring system for the airbags. Caused by Jeep engineering being bad. This has nothing to do with how is driven or used and is a massive safety issue and shuts the entire airbag system down. It requires fix 10-001-20. This issue is so common they have issued a…”
Electrical System · filed Jul 16, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Electronic Parking Brake Water Ingress
Preliminary Evaluation PE22009 · opened Jul 22, 2022 · closed Oct 29, 2023
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
Technical service bulletins
450 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The 10 most recent:
Unable To Clear C1494-07 And C14A9-00 After 45A Recall Technicians may experience the following: SYMPTOM: ● wiTECH displays a mismatch error after performing recall 45A.
08-292-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 23, 2026
Start Stop Charging Warning Lamp Illuminated On, Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS) State of Charge (SOC) Inaccurate, Battery Charging Message, Presence of IBS related Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), or Battery Warning…
S1408000384 REV.J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 4, 2026
Start Stop Charging Warning Lamp Illuminated On, Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS) State of Charge (SOC) Inaccurate, Battery Charging Message, Presence of IBS Related Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), or Battery Warning…
S1408000384 REV.I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 14, 2026
Service 4wd Light On, AWD System Service Required Message Illuminated. Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) C14A7-97 PTU Motor Component Or System Operation Obstructed Or Blocked.
S1721000016 REV.B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 19, 2025
Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates.
31-001-25 REV. B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 16, 2025
Verify Reman part number availability. Order the "R" part number for all orders: Warranty, Mopar, customer pay and service contract. Order "68" part number for New unsold units only.
9100653 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 15, 2025
Verify Reman part number availability. Order the "R" part number for all orders: Warranty, Mopar, customer pay and service contract. Order "68" part number for New unsold units only.
9100645 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 15, 2025
Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates.
31-001-25 REV. A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 14, 2025
Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates
31-001-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 13, 2025
Decreased Remote Start And RKE Range. Tire Pressure Sensors Values Are Not Displayed
S2208000138 REV.B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 4, 2025
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2016 Jeep Cherokee has 9 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2016 Jeep Cherokee?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 45,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.