general problems of the 2017 Jeep Cherokee - part 1

A service shifter message appeared out of nowhere, and now all the lights turn on regardless of which gear I'm in. After a quick internet search, it appears many people have experienced this exact same issue with various Jeep models. It seems this is an issue the company should take responsibility for and fix with a recall. The parts to replace this faulty design are expensive, and a repair shop cost would be exorbitant.

Vehicle has a known safety bulletin out from stellantis for the ptu but this model does not fall under it. I am having issues with the ptu and concerns with safety of driving and others. Will need repaired. Frustration that my certain subsection of this model is not covered under the safety bulletin despite known problems and significant safety risk.

Service shifter light came on dash, all gears on shifter , red lights came on. I was driving at 55 mph and could tell the car wasn’t accelerating and was slowing down . That’s when I noticed the service shifter light on dash. I was in a lot of traffic and couldn’t safely pull over , I was almost rear ended by the car behind me. I coasted to the side of the road and turned car off and back on . The light went off . This was yesterday , today I start the car and it starts rough ( which it usually doesn’t ) and the service shifter light is back on. This is a very serious , dangerous and possibly deadly issue . I was so scared when it happened as I had no control of speed of the vehicle . I see many , many reports on this issue for several years and it shows past repairs have not corrected the issue. A recall should be issued ASAP before someone gets hurt or dies from this very common problem . Customers should not have to pay to repair and issue that has been reported thousands of times for many years . Please give direction on how to get this properly and fully fixed . I am afraid to drive the vehicle for fear of a traffic accident .

I submitted a complaint about the service shifter that I been having since 2020 right after I finance the car with dealership. The problem continued and it hasnt been resolved even after taking it back for repairing. Recently on 6/24/2025 my car stopped on the expressway, the service shifter came on and also electrical throttle service control. My car started trembling and it would turn on but I couldnt drive it. The expressway road assistance was able to push me out the expressway and in the process my car started to run but shaky still and I was able to get it back home.

My 2017 has experienced multiple loss of power events( two on the highway!). The vehicle’s transmission will disengage and I will have to coast to the side of the road. My ignition is still on but have been told previously that my ptu needs replacing. I will have the amber service transmission light illuminated but only after having transmission disengage. This power failure is a extremely serious safety issue- now the local Jeep dealers have “no fix” and I am having to rent a car because of this safety issue.

Service shifter warning light.

I believe the ptu is malfunctioning and causing the transmission to slip or jerk. I am experiencing uncontrolled movement while driving. The vehicle is available at any time for inspection upon request. This puts myself and 2 small children at risk while driving, therefore my ability to use this vehicle is extremely limited and high risk. I have taken it to a Jeep dealership in porterville CA who stated my transmission needed replacement. They verbally stated my ptu was ok but never confirmed it with documentation. I have taken it to private mechanics who could not find any issues saying that the problem is internal. The mechanics I have taken it to in the past year have not come to a solution other than to suggest I wait for a resolution to the recall. The service all wheel drive light came on/off about a year ago and was consistant for several months but has turned off for awhile now.

The service shifter light came on and keeps coming on sporadically. I was dismayed to learn that there are numerous complaints regarding the service shifter light on the 2017 Jeep Cherokee. Has this ever been formally addressed.

Service shifter light is turning on the car at 20-60 mph and more. Car warning continues to appear over multiple periods of times and not able to see speed and determine if car is driving properly!.

There was no accident but I would like to prevent one. I believe there should be a recall on my vehicle regarding the service shifter. This defect could potentially result in power loss to the front wheels and the transmission being impossible to put into park. My vehicle service shifter light is on and my car jerks while driving. Is this not a problem with many Jeeps?.

Service shifter light comes on and all lights light up on shifter. This is a issue that I brought up about 2-3 years ago when I purchased the vehicle. Took it to dealership they replaced a cable and another part I believe. The issue is now happening again. My cruise control on the vehicle also does not always decelerate when it should and will speed up over the amount its set for.

The following occurred at approximately 10:40 while traveling on our way home from grocery shopping, heading west on g Ave (kalamazoo county, michigan, on the north side of walmart), cruise control was set to 53 mph (55 mph speed zone). Vehicle began to accelerate up to 59 mph, well beyond speed control setting, whereupon I pushed the “cancel” button. Engine immediately revved up to about 6000 rpm, although drive seemed to disengage (it did not accelerate further), then rpm gradually returned to normal and normal speed control resumed but not under cruise control. We returned home a few minutes later, without incidence.

While driving the service shifter warning has come on. The car will drive like it is not in the correct gear, and all the gear shift lights come on. It does not want to accelerate. If the warning comes on when starting up, the Jeep will not allow me to shift from park. It has to be shut off and restarted after waiting a few minutes. The auto stop-start no longer works. (it’s the feature that helps to cut emissions that usually engages when at a signal light. ). While researching, I found out that mopar has recalled some Cherokee models, but not mine.

When accelerating the vehicle has a hard shift every now and then that’s very noticeable. Seems to be slipping or having trouble shifting occasionally when trying to get up to speed.

The shifter turns all red lights and service shifter appears in the warnings. There was a recall for this on certain VIN #s for the same make and model but Chrysler refuses to acknowledge the wider problem effecting others. They advise you to pay out of pocket and I can’t afford that. This is clearly an issue that is wide spread and the danger is unknown what can happen but I don’t feel safe driving my 2 year old girl in a vehicle with all these warning lights. The issue started apparently 2 years ago but hadn’t been addressed by my wife because she was out of work and not driving it much. We need both our vehicles safe and Chrysler needs to fix the issues that their manufacturers caused. There are so many articles and complaints about this same issue and Chrysler refusing to fix it. Please help us ensure the safety of our family until we can afford another car. Our mechanic was able to replicate the issue and now it’s just constantly on.

Vehicle started rapidly accelerating and was unable to turn off cruise control. Dash lights flashed on and off. Had to put the car in neutral and slow to a stop.

Shifter lights up in red and it flashes a warning sign of "service shifter. ".

Gas pedal will stop working while driving not allowing me to accelerate the Jeep. I have to pull over, power off the Jeep, and wait about 5 minutes. After waiting, I have to hold the key in the start position until the Jeep turns on which ranges anywhere from 30-190 seconds to do. There is a recall for this specific issue but my car is not covered. I believe that the recall should be expanded as it does not fully cover the vehicles affected. This has now happened 6 times over the last 2 months.

�service shifter� notification after starting car, stayed on during entire drive until car was powered off and back on again when the notification disappeared. While notification was on dashboard, all red lights (indicating park, neutral, reverse, drive) were lit up red on shifter. Notification appeared initially while vehicle was in park and did not disappear throughout the entire drive (0-70mph) until vehicle was powered off.

Service shifter light comes on. Need to turn off vehicle and restart. If light is on and vehicle running the shifting is hard and steering is loose.

Tl the contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that the service shifter warning light and several other unknown lights on the gear shifter were illuminated while driving. The failure recurred sporadically. The dealer was not called. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

I was driving down a side road, going about 20mph when it was like my Jeep shifted into neutral. It completely stalled. The battery light flashed on the dashboard and and a message popped up that said vehicle must be in gear, alternating with a shift to park or neutral, press brake to select gear message. I was able to swing it into a parking lot where I put it in park but the error wouldn't go away and when I shifted back into drive and hit the gas pedal, it wouldn't move. I shut the engine off and when I tried to restart it, it wouldn't start. I sat there for 15 minutes before it would start back up. I was able to move forward with no warning lights and drive the approx 2 miles home.

While driving the vehicle, the engine just shut off and all warning lights were displayed. Luckily I was not in heavy traffic or on highway. Had to wait about 30-45 seconds before it would restart. This has happened 3 times in the last month ( April). Is there a recall for this. I've looked into this problem and there are several complaints of this same issue.

Shifter error then turns off randomly. Especially on turns.

This happens every day while driving. I will be driving (no certain speed) but I will hear a "ding" & I look at my screen & it says "service shifter" and all my lights light up on my gear shifter. My Jeep tends to have hard shifting once this occurs. I then have to stop, turn my car off and turn it back on. (the pictures I'm attaching are from last week. However, this has been happening for awhile).

Car stopped on me and keeps doing it before it does it says service shifter I have contacted Jeep , I have went to a dealership. But no one has helped and my 2 year old was in the car yesterday when I locked while I was driving.

Transmission shifts up to 7th gear and than down to6th gear some times engine shuts off than restart while driving highway traffic. Transmission shifts but engine red lines before you go in gear.

At 15,000 miles my service shifter light would turn on. I have to pull over, put the vehicle in park and shut off the vehicle. This happens at least once a month. When I called the dealership they said there was nothing they could do about it if the light wasn't actively on.

Car starts to stall after 1000 miles driven in between oil changes. This started at 30000 miles. It stalls in the middle of driving. It stalks at stop signs. This my 16 year old daughters first car. It is not safe.

Service shifter message keeps coming up and all lights on gears turn red and I have seen a lot of complaints on this model Jeep. It happens when switching gear, parking, driving. It needs to be recalled!.

The speed control in my car went wacko a couple of weeks ago. Sped up from 45mph to 56mph. In the short space of time it took for this to happen (1-2 seconds, not sure as I was freaking out. . . ), I applied the brake - too no avail, then I put it into neutral and that worked; which was good because I almost plowed into the car in front of me (on a narrow single lane road on a hill going downhill so, there was no option to bail out, if there had been time to do that - which there was not. I have had it in the dealership for 12 days now and they can't seem to fix it.

My 2017 Jeep Cherokee with little under 45,000 stalled this morning on my way to work. The car lost steering/braking control. The battery light came on and stated I needed to shift to park then to desired gear. My Jeep would not run at this point. I had to wait a good 5 minutes until I was able to attempt starting my vehicle. However, when attempting to start the vehicle it did not start on the first 2 tries. The 3rd time it finally started. Furthermore, after letting my vehicle sit and cool once I got to my work location which is 40 miles away. I and another CO worker checked the oil, and the oil barely registered on the dipstick. I will be going to get the oil changed again since the oil was dark and smelled burnt. This is not the first time I've had issued with the Jeep Cherokee. The other instance all the shifting gears on the console lite up and a message on the dash stated to shift into the desired gear. This too happened while I was driving. This is unsafe, especially in the first instance whereas you lose all control of your vehicle. I have called the dealership to have the vehicle checked out; however, they are unable to get my vehicle serviced until 2 weeks after this occurrence.

The contact owns a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 25 mph and making a left turn, the vehicle ceased with the service shifter warning message illuminated. The driver pulled to the side of the roadway. After approximately an hour, the vehicle restarted and the driver drove to the residence. The vehicle was taken to homer skelton Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram located at 7661 us-51, millington, TN 38053, (901) 872-0195, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that an unknown computer needed to be reset. The computer was reset however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,000.

Was driving down the highway and service shifter came on and locked out the shifting. After shutting off the vehicle and restarting it was turned off. The second time this happened was on March 6th 2019, after shifting the vehicle from park I made it to roughly the end of the parking lot or less than 1/8 mile and again the service shifter light come on locking out the actual shifting mechanism. The second condition was my cruise was set at 66 miles an hour well trying to reduce and cancel speed cruise would not shut off until I hit the brakes hard to avoid the crash.

While driving this vehicle made a right hand turn and accelerated uphill. The car died and lost all systems including steering and limited braking. I took vehicle to dealer and found out this was due to low oil. This happened twice within 4 months. No oil indicator ever appeared in either instance. Said it was a safety feature to save engine but apparently not human lives. It as scary. . I do not trust this vehicle and why is it consuming so much oil.