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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2017 Jeep Cherokee Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
650about this part
Share
49%of 1,338 total for the year
Median mileage
46,683miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 650 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2017 Jeep Cherokee, 49% of the 1,338 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 46,683 miles. 5 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 3 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Dash board service shifter light comes on and on the floor shifter lights are also lit. Has occurred on both city and highway driving in motion. I have to pull off the road, turn vehicle off and restart. Has occurred more often recently. It is a dangerous specific motion. I am submitting this incident into this NHTSA database for further investigation.”

NHTSA complaint #11316719, filed 2020-03, 13,000 miles

“I turned on my vehicle and on the screen appeared service shifter. All lights on the shifter were lit (instead of just the gear that the car is in being lit). The vehicle seemed to operate without any issues but I only drove it a short distance. When I parked, I turned off the vehicle and turned it back on. The problem did not happen this time.”

NHTSA complaint #11383923, filed 2020-12, 38,000 miles

“The lights on the gear shift all came on (p, r, n, d) and on my dashboard instrument panel it said service shifter . I shut the car down and restarted, which corrected the issue temporarily. However it has now happened 3 times in the last week. It happened twice when the vehicle was stationary and once when it was moving on a city street.”

NHTSA complaint #11337639, filed 2020-07, 39,000 miles

“After roughly 38,000 miles the vehicle will occasionally display a service shifter warning. The error persists until the vehicle is restarted. I plan on taking the vehicle to a dealership as soon as I am able after reading other owners with this warning have had severe issues with their vehicle changing gears without the drivers input.”

NHTSA complaint #11297039, filed 2020-01, 38,000 miles

“While driving a warning light comes on that says service shifter , the car does not seem to have problems, however the dealership is telling me after inspection it will be $600 as the harness is bad. If I do not replace the car can become confused on what gear it is in and randomly shift, major concern if you are traveling 70 MPH on the interstate...”

NHTSA complaint #11246216, filed 2019-08, 48,400 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026333%
20222956%
202110359%
202019960%
201983250%
201829643%
201765049%
201663645%
20151,00756%
20141,47156%
2006212%
20012410%
2000298%
19995314%
19986516%
19974712%
19966013%
1995437%
1994387%
19934411%
19921513%
1991136%
1990176%
198995%
198888%
198747%
1985212%

Other parts of the 2017 Jeep Cherokee

Other or unknown
343 complaintsElectrical system
342 complaintsEngine
260 complaintsBrakes
62 complaintsVehicle speed control
60 complaintsSteering
45 complaintsElectronic stability control
42 complaintsAir bags
26 complaintsFuel system
18 complaintsForward collision avoidance
17 complaintsSuspension
16 complaintsBody and structure
12 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2017 Jeep Cherokee

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology