Four problems related to transmission not go into gear have been reported for the 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2017 Jeep Cherokee based on all problems reported for the 2017 Cherokee.
I have owned this car from new. Within the first year �service shifter� was displayed on the main driver display, and all lights on the shifter bezel lit up. After months waiting for parts, the dealership eventually replaced the shifter which cured it. It happened again around 2 years later, and again the bezel was replaced. It's now happened a third time, in sept of 2020. I took it to the dealership and they ordered the parts again. I am still waiting for the parts, 5 months later. It seems thousands of Jeep owners have been affected by this same problem, you can search on google for �service shifter� and see many stories and complaints about this issue, which largely, but not exclusively seems to affect Jeep Cherokees. Many owners have experienced the same issue happening again and again. Some people have been told it's a problem with fuses becoming loose, others have been told it's a wiring issue. While Jeep and the dealership have told me verbally the car is still safe to drive, it does disable certain things, and I dispute the car is safe to drive. For example, manual gear shifting is disabled when �service shifter� is displayed. That means you cannot select the gear you want manually, that is beneficial in situations like going down a hill or while off-roading. Secondly, �service shifter� is displayed permanently on the driver's display. It cannot be cleared from the display. That means that certain features cannot be accessed at all. This includes: tire pressure coolant temperature transmission temperature oil temperature oil life (and ability to reset it after an oil change) battery voltage fuel economy info trip info screen setup (customization options).
The shifter does not shift the gears correctly not communicating to the engine all lights are red on shifter gear making it unsafe to drive. The windshield wiper hose was never added to passengers side making visibility hard in slush or winter weather with only the driver side hose hooked up it doesn't clear the windshield properly.
"service shifter" message appeared on screen, all lights on pnrd turned red, could not see what gear vehicle was in. Had to turn car off to get message to leave. Has happened numerous times now. . Vehicle was in motion, on both city street and highway.
. The transmission jerks so hard at times in low gears that it feels like you are hit from the rear. Shifting of trans is not smooth at low gears especially on a incline. This has happend multiple times.