2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Problems

What owners report

Complaints on the 2020 Grand Cherokee cluster around a few recurring themes: the infotainment screen freezing, restarting or delaminating; stalling or a sudden loss of power while driving, frequently traced to fuel pump, battery or engine problems; and reports of unintended acceleration or cruise control that climbs faster than expected. Many of these appear at very low mileage, often within the first few thousand miles.

1. 1
   Engine

   Stall or loss of power while driving

   • 26 complaints (11%)
   • median 23,250 mi at 3.2 yrs old (14 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2020–2026

   Owners describe the engine cutting out at speed or at a stop, sometimes with a dash message asking them to place the vehicle in park, and sometimes with the whole cluster and radio going dark before the vehicle restarts or is towed. Several say the vehicle would not accelerate when the pedal was pressed. Dealers often could not duplicate the failure, while others diagnosed the fuel pump, battery, camshaft or coolant intrusion into the engine. Reported from a few hundred miles up to about 117,000 miles, with many cases in the first 20,000 miles.

   Recall 23V411000Recall 22V4060003 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask for service records showing whether the fuel pump, battery and any camshaft or water pump work has been done, and whether the PCM software updates were applied. Test drive at highway speed and note any hesitation or warning lights.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While driving 60 miles per hour along the southbound express lane of garden state parkway my new 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee started shaking. Within seconds, I pulled on to the grassy area next to the fast lane where my vehicle died. After getting towed to the dealership, I was notified that my new car with 329 miles on it is in need of a new engine, new batteries and new starter. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11376779, filed 2020-11, 329 miles

   “I was at a red ight, on a busy road. The light turned green, I was the first car stopped in the turning lane. The light turned green,and as I turned, the car into the lane, it rolled foward for a second when I took my foot off the brake, then it lept forward, stalled, then said on the display that the car needed to be put in park before starting the engine. I was in the middle of the intersection going across oncoming traffic.”

   NHTSA complaint #11349166, filed 2020-08, 8,246 miles
2. 2
   Vehicle speed control

   Unintended acceleration or cruise control speed jump

   Mentioned in 9 of 60 sampled complaints

   Complaints describe the vehicle accelerating on its own with the driver's foot off the pedal, sometimes from a stop or after refueling, and cruise control speed climbing quickly when the plus button is held or pressed. Some owners report the brake pedal feeling hard or the vehicle not stopping during these events, and dealers variously reported finding a wiring fault, calling it normal operation, or being unable to duplicate it. Reported throughout the mileage range, with several cases under 5,000 miles.

   What to check: On a test drive, try the cruise control plus and resume buttons at highway speed and confirm the speed changes gradually and cancels normally with the brake. Ask whether any throttle body or pedal work was done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When using the rear park assist, with my foot completely off the accelerator, the vehicle has spontaneously accelerated while going in reverse, requiring me to hard break to avoid collision. This has happened multiple times.”

   NHTSA complaint #11297670, filed 2020-01, 250 miles

   “Holding the + button down for more than a split second causes the speed to quickly increase in 5 MPH increments. While driving on the interstate at 65 MPH, I pressed the + key and within seconds the speed control setting jumped to 95 MPH. I hit cancel as fast as I could. In Jeep's 2017 and 2019 models that I owned the speed increased gradually when the + key was depressed. Th selling dealership checked out the vehicle and reported to me that it was working as designed. See attachment.”

   NHTSA complaint #11362344, filed 2020-10, 400 miles
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Infotainment screen freezes, restarts or delaminates

   • 62 complaints (26%)
   • median 12,000 mi at 1.4 yrs old (13 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2020–2026

   Owners report the radio or Uconnect screen freezing, rebooting on its own, or staying stuck on the rearview camera image while driving. Some describe bubbles and peeling on the screen surface that distort the display and make the buttons work intermittently. Dealers reportedly replaced radios and cameras or updated software, and in some cases told owners to wait for an update. Mostly reported in the first 20,000 miles, sometimes within days of delivery.

   Recall 20V1910002 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check the screen for bubbles, delamination or dead areas and confirm the radio software is current. Back the vehicle up and confirm the camera image clears once you shift out of reverse.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have had continued issues with my vehicle for over four months. It started as noticing the favorite artist button not working on the vehicle correctly. It then changed to the screen restarting while I was driving down the road, sometimes multiple times. It then progressed to the backup camera freezing, which has almost caused multiple accidents. The dealership upgraded the software, replaced the backup camera, and most recently replaced the radio itself. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11397566, filed 2021-02, 12,000 miles

   “I shifted from park to drive to reverse out of my parking space to shift to drive. I was driving on the road when I noticed the screen stuck on the reverse image. It was bot do anything and remained frozen until I reached my destination.”

   NHTSA complaint #11373246, filed 2020-11, 1 miles
4. 4
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Transmission rough shifting or failure to engage

   Mentioned in 7 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners describe hard shifting, slipping, a loss of drive while moving, and the vehicle refusing to shift into gear or start after being placed in park. Some report transmission replacement at very low mileage, and others say the dealer could not reproduce the problem. The warning indicators for service transmission were mentioned in several accounts. Often reported under 5,000 miles, with a few cases around 30,000 to 55,000 miles.

   3 related service bulletins

   What to check: Test drive from cold through several gear changes, including reverse, and watch for a check engine or service transmission message. Ask whether the transmission software updates or any output shaft spline work were performed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While I was driving down the road the transmission failed and I had to have the vehicle towed and the transmission replaced. The vehicle only had 460 miles total at that time. The vehicle now has 940 total miles and I am beginning to feel hard shifting and slipping while driving, that seems to me that the new transmission they put in the vehicle is going bad already. I will be taking it back to the dealer to have them look at it. I was on a city street going straight at approximately 30mph.”

   NHTSA complaint #11321276, filed 2020-04, 460 miles

   “After only 350 miles my engine started sputtering and had to pull over. By the time we stopped the car the sputtering was violently shaking the vehicle. We had to get it towed only for the dealer ship to take several hours to replace a spark plug. - at almost all time there the air conditioner never seems to get to the desired temperature for more than 20 seconds. When at a stop, the A/C is non existence and temps drop significantly. Unless you have it set to max A/C it will never feel cold/hot. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11338533, filed 2020-07, 350 miles
5. 5
   Air bags

   Airbags not deploying in a collision

   • 17 complaints (7%)
   • median 34,000 mi at 3.7 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • 13 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2020–2026

   Several owners describe collisions, including head-on and intersection impacts, in which the airbags did not deploy, while a few report airbag warnings or inadvertent deployment tied to a failed occupant restraint module. Dealers and the manufacturer were notified in these cases, with limited follow-up reported. Reported from under 3,000 miles up to about 55,000 miles, in crashes at various speeds.

   What to check: Confirm there are no airbag or seat belt warning lights and ask for a diagnostic scan of the occupant restraint system. Check for any open recall work tied to the restraint system.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Was pulling into shop on nice sunny day. I turned taking a right off road and some lady swerved right off road and hit me doing 50mpg. This caused me to go forward in vehicle and accelerate at a high speed. I then hit a metal carport which crashed on my roof. Busted sunroof, hit side of brick wall on passenger side and then went down into a steep ditch and partially back up. None of the airbags deployed. I did see one black oval shaped airbag behind the front driver tire afterwards. Jeep was totaled. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11329281, filed 2020-06, 2,011 miles

   “I was involved in a head on collision with a snow plow mounted to a ford f-250 where significant front end damage was done to the vehicle, and the airbags didn't deploy. There's no way possible these airbags should have not been deployed.”

   NHTSA complaint #11315434, filed 2020-03, 2,643 miles

Buying note. A 2020 Grand Cherokee is worth a careful pre-purchase inspection focused on the infotainment screen, transmission behavior and any history of stalling or fuel pump work, since many complaints surface at low mileage. Ask for the full service history and confirm any open recalls were completed.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.