Automatic Emergency Braking Problems of Jeep Cherokee - part 1

I purchased this 2021 Jeep Cherokee, and it has developed a life-threatening defect where it performs an uncommanded braking while driving at speed. Without any warning the car slams on the brakes creating an immediate risk of a rear end collision. Diagnostic scans show multiple critical failures: po128 (the initial warning of a computer communication issues). Dealership (echo park) refuses to fix with the proper oem part and denies my warranty, (I called it in on day 15 on my warranty, 01/28/26) I let them know the fans were loud, rpms fluctuating, tailpipe full of black soot and making a loud sputtering, this is burning up my fuel fast. My appt was on 02/10/26 they said there was nothing wrong with it. A couple weeks go by and then the check engine light turned on (after my warranty) I took it back on 03/19/26, they visually verified the code, said I had to pay out of pocket to fix it with an aftermarket part not the oem part. They set up an appt for 03/25/26. Uo128 (lost communication with brake control module) and c008e-00(ecu internal performance). These codes are directly linked to the NHTSA safety investigation pe22- 009. When I took the vehicle to allways [xxx] on March 23, 2026, the service department refused to perform a safety inspection without an upfront payment, despite the vehicle having exposed wiring in the steering column and part of an active federal safety probe. As a small business owner (maid to sparkle) grandmother who transports a [xxx] daily, I am now stranded with a vehicle that is unsafe to drive due to a documented a manufacturer defect. While at the dealership I was simultaneously on the phone with Jeep customer care. Despite the vehicle being under federal safety investigation for the exact ghost breaking I am experiencing both the dealer and corporate representative denied assistance and refused a safety inspection without an upfront fee this shows a coordinated refusal to address a documented safety defect. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia),.

See all problems of the 2021 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

Daughter was driving the car when she approached a stop sign the electronic emergency brake engaged while the vehicle was still moving. This caused the vehicle to stop suddenly. She had to manipulate the electronic switch several times to disengage the brake to get the vehicle to move. Luckily this was in a rural town with little traffic.

See all problems of the 2017 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

I was stopped at a traffic light and when it tire we green I was unable to drive as the emergency brake was holding the vehicle. I was unable to release it. Car would not go forward or backwards. Finally was able to drive after disconnecting battery for a few minutes. Drive directly to repair station. They changed the e brake switch, and the motor on one side of rear brake and the caliper also. Was working for less than one day and I am still experiencing the problem. The service brake light is still on dashboard.

See all problems of the 2016 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

Parking brake on the Jeep automatically engaged while driving. Had vehicle towed to dealership where a new parking brake switch was installed and programed and told it was ready to go. Picked it up and it did the same thing again and turned on the auto start stop light. Took it back to the dealership and they said water had gotten into the back area and corroded the parking brake module and the connector. They wanted to charge me $2500 to fix. I took the vehicle home and parked it and started doing research. This is a known problem that could affect 1. 2 million vehicles. My Jeep only has 73,500 miles on it and is regularly serviced. It's driven roughly 4 miles a day. This is a safety issue so why isn't there a recall on it. It is a defect in design not a consumer made issue.

The start stop warning light is on now vehicle was idling when vehicle shut down emergency brake automatically engaged then the panel went blank and the windows the emergency warning lights all stopped working unable to warn motorists in back of me I couldn’t drive vehicle. Then panel lights up again saying to step on brake to start but fails to do so until after several attempts.

See all problems of the 2019 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

Electronic parking brake engaged and wouldn't release. Possibility of occurrence while driving. Problem has been confirmed by independent service center to have been caused by water leakage into the area where the parking control module is located. Water was found pooling in parking control module which corroded connecters. Vehicle has not been inspected by anyone but the service center. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

My service 4wd light is on again and the electronic controller module is cracked under the hood. There is no 4wd, sensors are not working, the automatic high beams as well as manual high beams will not work, I have random dings going off, and the car does not shift properly. Gas mileage is way down. This is a continuous issue with this vehicle. I have replaced the ptu, and I need help!!!! this has cost me nearly $10,000 out of pocket.

My car back in June 2025 left me stranded in the turn lane with traffic backing up after the emergency parking brake turned on without warning. I was not able to drive e my car or to release the brake and move my car. I did a thorough review of all possible reasonable switches that could have caused the malfunction. So I tried to turn off all of the warning systems. Once I did this I couldn't drive faster than 5 to 10 mph. I was able to get to a parking lot about 100 ft away. I called a tow truck, spoke with my mechanic at the local dealership. He suggested what I had already done including removing the battery cables. We did all this to no avail. He got the car then took 3 days to get it to release after opening and closing the door 10 times before starting the car again. He said I need a modulator valve. We have been waiting for over 6 months and my car is still waiting for this part. I can not drive the only car I own when I have a safety issue. Should this had happened while driving with my grandson in the car it is unsafe and it isn't what an autistic child needs to face. This incident has happened 4 times since it happened in June. Every time it takes place, I have to turn off the car open and close the door 10 times before the carvwill release and reset the computer system to make the car drivable again. I did check with the dealership yesterday and still other Jeeps of this year has the same issues but my car is not in that listing. What does a person have do when it is clearly a manufacturer defect?.

Vehicle losing power even when on. Does not accelerate in drive or reverse. My issue is the dealer found corroded wires, but when did they not say that the last time it was in which was 3 months ago. They also all of sudden tell me my battery does not fit my Jeep so they needed to replace to new battery in order to be able s add mf diagnose. All this makes no sense.

Just rained, while driving with my family in the car. The brake and parking brake lock up the car. No accidents. But the car won't disengage the brake saying service parking brake.

See all problems of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

Parking brake will automatically engage randomly while car is stopped at lights, stops signs, ect. The only way to reset is to put vehicle in park, turn off ignition and restart vehicle. Has happened several times over the last 3 months.

See all problems of the 2020 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

Several times while sitting at a red light or stop sign, the emergency brake automatically engaged and the vehicle wouldn't move. All three times, before I could put the vehicle in park and crank it back up, the traffic behind me was honking and trying to go around me - which could have caused a wreck. Just this morning, while driving to work, my vehicle died while I was going about 55mph. The dash dinged, an error message that said vehicle not in park flashed on the dash screen, then all of the dash lights lit up like christmas. Then my vehicle died - I had no power. After about 3 seconds, all of the lights went out except for the check engine and the battery light. The speedometer and the rpms immediately dropped to 0, but the vehicle was still moving. I was on a road with no shoulder and traffic behind me and I had to pull over in someone's yard to get out of the way of the traffic. That was very scary and could have killed me if I had been on the interstate or a busier highway. When I was able to safely pull off the main road, I put it in park, and it cranked right up and the dash lights went away. I am having to put it in the shop because I am too scared to drive it anymore. This problem really needs to be addressed as it is all over the internet. There are a lot of consumers dealing with this same issue.

Electronic parking brake (epb) module. Yes confirmed by a independent service center. Warning park brake indicator. This is the second time happening. First time was sept 2024 was fixed. Taking it in tomorrow for confirmation, if same issue mechanic stated the part is on national backorder!!!! unable to release out of park brake which in turn, unable to drive car. Safety issue when driving, stops abruptly, can't disengage safety brake.

The stop start system has been malfunctioning ever since shortly after I purchased the car. When I purchased the car, my father and I asked for a printout of the carfax history to ensure we weren't buying a '"lemon". There was no information reflecting that the 2019 Jeep Cherokee lattitude 2. 4 2wd had been serviced for anything other than routine car maintenance. The carfax reflected that the previous owner took care of the car, propelling us to seal the deal, otherwise we would've kept looking if there were any found issues. It wasn't until I attempted to get my car serviced at gettel the first time it malfunctioned that I learned it had been brought to their service department numerous times before it even reached 100 miles. They refused to work on it because the warranty had just expired recently, not even a whole year after buying the car (of course) and handed me a piece of paper with the recalls and services regarding the stop/start system. At this point I had to just repair it myself. Fast forward to the second time it malfunctioned: I was in traffic and preparing to slow down to turn when the wheels, brakes, and steering locked up, parking brake turned on and the whole car shut off causing a small collision. The other driver understood what happened and claimed the same thing happened to his wife, therefore he hates stop/start vehicles. He made me promise to never buy another electrical car, charged it to the game and drove away. Fast forward again to currently, now the third time my car broke down: while sitting at a light, it was still running, but as I lifted my foot from the brake pedal the car shut down. There was no indication of anything wrong with the car (s. N. None of the lights on the dash have ever lit up since I bought it). I contacted gettel via google review and now they want to do something about this death trap they sold me because I made my situation public. P. S. When I search my VIN# on this site, a completely different car pops up?.

I was driving my car and the parking brake went on at a stop light and wouldn’t unstick. Water has been leaking in to the car and it isn’t properly sealed.

The electronic parking brake locked up at an intersection - only way I could get it going again was disconnect and reconnect the battery. Took to dealer and was diagnosed as the parking brake module. Dealer wanted $1900 to repair but the part was on back order for an unknown time. Removed all fuses linked to parking brake and was told to drive it - only has front wheel drive as computer thinks parking brake is on - Jeep has told us that water leaks into to them and shorts them out. Not impressed as times are tough and not getting any help from Jeep. Why is there not a recall as this seems like a infection with this model?.

E-brake service light came on and couldn’t release it, so it had to be towed for a second time in 3 days. The first mechanic released it and said I would be able to drive it until I could get it to the dealership for a possible computer issue that he wouldn’t be able to preform. I drove it a total of 9. 5 miles after this before it did it again and I had to have it towed. This was very scary to know that the e-brake could just lock up at anytime or anywhere. I could easily get injured or killed if it happened at the wrong time or place. The dealer found that the module was full of water and needed to be replaced. This is my 3rd Jeep in almost 31 years and now I’m not feeling safe with a Jeep anymore. Why hasn’t there been a recall when it’s a big safety issue? I did get warning lights when it happened the 1st time and did have it towed because it wouldn’t disengage no matter what I did. It’s costing me $400+ to replace the module and $400+ to put in a new multifunctional switch that the dealers repair shop also states is involved with this issue. Also, it cost me $105 for the 1st tow and $171 for the 2nd and $110 for the 1st mechanic to look at it. Again, I’m a senior citizen and should not feel scared to drive my vehicle nor need to spend $800+ and an additional $386 to resolve an issue that Jeep has known about for years and is just waiting for it to kill someone before they respond!.

Forbthe past gew months my 2014 Jeep Cherokee latitude had been in and out of the shop. The ebrake will set itself and not disengage. I think they have replaced everything remotely associated with the ebrake. I picked it up again yesterday afternoon, drive 3 minutes down the road, pulled into a parking space, put in park, and the ebrake came om before I even shut the vehicle off. It will not disengage. I am currently sitting beside the vehicle, waitin for the service tech to call me back yet again. I have quite literally lost count of how many times rhis vehicle has been in the shop since I got it a year and a half ago.

Automatic brakes suddenly came on. Huge brake busy road and could not get the car going.

The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the automatic emergency braking unintendedly activated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and failed to exceed 30 mph. The contact stated that the auto start/stop function and the brake warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 153,400.

My parking gage engaged several times while parked I saw that it said the parking breaking was engaged but I had not put it on. Next it engaged when stopped for a traffic light. I was able to restart it several times. Noticed that this was most likely to happen after a rainfall. Last time it happened my son was able to trick it into disengaging and get it home. Next day it had to be flatbed towed to my mechanic. He changed the parking break switch and that burned out again. After careful investigation he found over two gallons of water under the spare tire where the parking break module is housed. It had to be replaced as well as both calipers. The module also had to be reprogrammed. It was at there 22 days. The mechanic bill was nearly $1,800. Now I need extensive body work to perhaps stop the water coming in thru the seams underneath the power-lift door which had opened. In checking previous complaints it seems that this should have been a recall long ago as it has happened to other similar Jeeps.

Water in electronic parking brake module by spare tire corroded wiring causing parking brake to engage needing to replace the entire module and wiring. The issue appears to be that water may be leaking into the electronic parking brake module, causing damage and corrosion.

Engine off, lost power steering and brakes. Gave me an error on the dash something about not being able to shift. Have 2 kids.

This morning, on the way to work, the electric parking brake module of my 2014 Jeep Cherokee trailhawk activated when the vehicle was in motion, making it impossible to accelerate or reverse. If I had been driving on the highway or interstate, this could have been fatal. The tech who towed my car said this is a known issue, and his sister even traded in her Cherokee because of this issue. There has recently been rain in the area, and it is a known issue among 2014-2020 Jeep Cherokee owners that the emergency parking brake module corrodes due to rainfall. The tech confirmed that my electric parking module is corroded. This issue has been confirmed by the repair center, which is charging $1,300 for a repair. I have reached out to mopar, the manufacturer, to complain. This is a widespread, known-issue among Jeep owners, and there's currently a class action lawsuit against Jeep regarding this issue. There were no warning signs before the parking break activated. This needs to be a Jeep Cherokee recall.

History of the vehicle in the shop for braking issues, on 08/09/2024; 2 vehicles in front braked for an animal on a busy road, and saw braking. Was at around 30mph and started to brake, car in front had an emergency brake event and came to a sudden stop. My vehicle sent a brake!, warning and started to apply brakes, I went to an evasive maneuver, my steering was cut, my brakes kicked my foot to half pedal and I could no longer brake. Coasted into the back of the vehicle in front of me at around 25 mph.

There has been two separate occasions this has occurred. The last occurrence resulted in a car wreck . The first occurrence I was driving out of a public parking lot and had feet on breaks and engine rived up and keep going into traffic but car saw me coming and switched lines. This second occurrence I was parking the car in a parking space with my feet on the breaks and the car rived up even with me hitting the breaks jumped the curb and I and the car ended up through the window of a store. No one was hurt but car damaged and in the shop for repairs. Police came to the seen and deemed it an accident. I did not see any warning lights or messages prior to either of these events. Report #wc2400651 / unable to upload as I don't have a copy.

See all problems of the 2015 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

1* the electric emergency brake. 2* the e brake engages while I am driving and causes the car to abruptly stop almost causing the car behind me to rear end my car. 3* no, it just started, it happened 2 times yesterday 5/1/24. 4* no 5* not that I am aware of.

2nd time, I did not put auto brake on but it engaged itself and than was stuck and would not disengage. Luckily I was not in traffic, because that could have been a serious safety issue. The e brake engages on its own and than won’t dislodge. Multiple times this has happened now. Took it in once and paid almost $1500 to get it repaired, 3 days later same thing happened again!.

Was involved in a t-boned accident where the front end of my Jeep stuck a vehicle in the side. The collision sensor did not activate nor did the air bags deploy. The other vehicle involved had airbags that deployed. The Jeep is at my residence for inspection. With airbags not performing properly (faulty) this did not keep the upper body from jilting forward which causes head and shoulder issues. Insurance has not investigated neither did police. There was no warning lights or messages indicating that there was a problem prior to the accident.

1. Engine timing chain making rattling noise. Yes automatic emergency braking activates when there is no collision imminent. Yes 2. Faulty timing chain can cause significant damage to engine while driving faulty automatic braking system can cause accident if stopped abruptly in traffic. 3. Timing chain has been inquired by mechanic. Video of the noise. Needs to be confirmed by dealer for warranty 4. No 5. No warning.

My vehicle dashboard gave me a "service park brake" message. The emergency brake would automatically engage if attempting to shift the car into park. The emergency brake could not be disengaged. The vehicle was towed to a Jeep dealership. The dealership has determined that the "park brake module connector" and surrounding wires have corroded due to water intrusion. They told me the car is considered unsafe as if it were to be driven the e-brake could engage at any moment. They also determined there is water leaking into that area of the car I. E. The rear left cargo area where the brake module sits. My online research has determined this is a common issue, and Jeep has not had a recall or notices about it. The water leaking could come from the sun/moon roof or the wheel well. Please visit this link and others like it to see that many people are having this issue with no long-term solution per the manufacturer. Some people have reported multiple failures of the park brake module on the same vehicle with the repair costing $1k+ each time. . Read more...

On February 24th, we were traveling from seattle to portland on interstate 5 in my 2022 Jeep Cherokee trailhawk with the cruise control set at around 75 mph. Suddenly the emergency collision braking system applied and all of the lights on my vehicle lit up. While the braking system was being applied the cruise control was simultaneously applying gas resulting in the vehicle rpm redlining on multiple occasions. Fortunately, the weather was good, traffic was light, and I was able to maintain control of the vehicle to pull over once a vehicle in the slow lane passed. When stopped the engine light was on, along with an alarm for loss of electronic stability control (esc), and an alarm for brake service. After clearing the esc alarm by restarting my vehicle multiple times as indicated in the owner's manual I tried to operate the vehicle. However, the vehicle would not move properly in to drive (noise and felt like the brake was applied). We then decided to contact Jeep roadside assistance for an emergency tow covered by the warranty. We towed the vehicle to the nearest Jeep dealership which was closed for the weekend. On Monday, the dealership informed us that the power transfer unit (ptu) had failed and would need to be replaced. Regarding additional mechanical damage, a determination could not be made until the ptu was replaced. On Tuesday, the dealership advised that the ptu was on an engineering hold until March 20th as the part was now being produced by a new vendor. At this time it appears my vehicle will be inoperable for more than a month until the part is released from the engineering hold. I am concerned that ptu failure is a serious safety defect similar to what has occurred in past model years of the Jeep Cherokee.

See all problems of the 2022 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.

My 2019 Jeep Cherokee latitude only had 25000 miles on it when I bought it. Within a month the emergence break would come on by itself randomly while driving or beginning to accelerate from a parked or stopped state. Vehicle also can be parked completely level and it states the vehicle needs to be returned to park and restarted. Meanwhile all the lights come on on the dash and the shifter lights up red. Every single gear. It literally will not move unless you drift. It also will not start randomly, you will go out get in and for no reason it won’t turn over, yet the electrical systems will turn in fine, it’s getting power. In order for this to stop, you have to keep turning it on and off and apply the parking brake and the brake and than release them…. Over and over with intermittent breaks in between until it finally turns over. If you manage to get it started than it won’t shift properly. It stays in an extremely low gear unless you accelerate rapidly. And it won’t accelerate rapidly, your foot can be to the floor and it’s barely going until it gets into third and than just keeps rising never down shifting again until you coast to a stop and have to turn it off again and start the process over. On hills when this happens you will get hit and killed bc it won’t go in time for you to get out of oncoming traffic’s way. It has shut off while driving on the highway. Left me stranded blocking people in in parking lots. And almost gotten me and my family killed in several occasions. There are no similar circumstances in which it does this. It is comletely random and that makes it terrifying. I have 2 children that I am afraid to take anywhere now, and the Jeep was bought to keep them safe and able to get anywhere in case of inclement weather etc. As if that’s not enough, the passenger seat floor is always wet. There is no leak coming in from doors or windows so I have no idea. And the radio and ac/heat turn on and off by themselves constantly.

Had to have our 2014 Jeep Cherokee limited towed in on 10/11/2019 parking break will not shut off, stuck will not move. Same problem happening again December 2023!!!!!!!! 2019 dealership repairs: cause: water intrusion into the epb module & connector. Replaced fuses checked module & found when disconnected that the module & harness were both green & corroded. New module & connector with new wires required to repair. Removed & replaced module, cut off old wires & wired all new wiring to a new connector, new connector has weather pack insulators around wiring to protect from moisture intrusion. Reconfigured new module parking break now works & was able to release rear breaks. $919. 14 cost as of today January 6, 2024 the Jeep is still currently in the garage with the same exact issue. Apparently this is going to be an ongoing issue. Now I am going to have to pay another $900. . This also is a security risk! no security risk should ever be overlooked!!.

Braking system engaged while driving at ~40mph. Emergency brake also appeared to engage. Once completely stopped, vehicle brakes were locked up and vehicle had to be hauled for service.

See all problems of the 2018 Jeep Cherokee 🔎.