Skip to content
EnginePart report

2018 Jeep Cherokee Engine Problems

Complaints
155about this part
Share
23%of 688 total for the year
Median mileage
27,500miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 155 complaints about the engine of the 2018 Jeep Cherokee, 23% of the 688 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 27,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 2 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

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

“Turned on just fine, pulled out to the street from the store gradually. Slowed down for the red light and before I stopped all the red lights turned on on the shifter and then on my screen it said service shifter. I've only own this car for a month and doesn't even have plates on it yet. 43000 miles when bought and I'm not a happy person”

NHTSA complaint #11322312, filed 2020-04, 43,000 miles

“The message service shifter appears, and all of the gears on the gear shift light up. There is no specific reason this happens. It has happened multiple times, sometimes while in motion and braking, sometimes while the car is parked. It started when my car was no longer under the 32,000 mile warranty at the dealership. This seems to be a popular issue after I researched it.”

NHTSA complaint #11328716, filed 2020-06, 39,000 miles

“I have a 2018 Jeep Cherokee with under 30,000 miles on it. My car's stalled in the middle of an intersection while taking a right turn. My brakes and steering were locked, causing me to drift up on to a curb and hit a sign. No warning or indicator lights came on in the car prior to this. I had the car towed to the dealership that I am leasing the car from. …”

NHTSA complaint #11291548, filed 2019-12, 24,528 miles

“Car randomly shuts off- has happened approximately 8 times in the last12 months. Car is in motion- as brakes are applied to slow down.. Car just dies without notice. So far I'm lucky it's only been while I'm not on the hwy. But approaching a stop or turn. Takes a couple minutes and a few hard cranks to get it to restart.”

NHTSA complaint #11308333, filed 2020-02, 20,000 miles

“My car went dead while driving. Took to the shop and said there was a software update/recall that caused the car to use more oil than normal and I was driving with no oil!!!!! This recall update had been released 6 days ago per my dodge/chrysler dealership. Why is this recall not here? Sounds very strange to me.”

NHTSA complaint #11383827, filed 2020-12, 35,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026222%
2022815%
20212816%
20204614%
201945927%
201815523%
201726019%
201631422%
201536420%
201451619%
200173%
2000123%
199910%
199841%
199762%
199641%
199530%
199410%

Other parts of the 2018 Jeep Cherokee

Transmission and drivetrain
296 complaints
Electrical system
190 complaints
Other or unknown
174 complaints
Brakes
38 complaints
Steering
30 complaints
Fuel system
26 complaints
Vehicle speed control
20 complaints
Air bags
16 complaints
Electronic stability control
15 complaints
Suspension
9 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
6 complaints
Engine cooling
4 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2018 Jeep Cherokee

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 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