Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, backup camera).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Jeep Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was going home, speed limit 55 mph, so thats what I was doing. A suv entering a intersection ahead of me, ( i dont have a stop or yield sign, but they do) the suv never stops, rolling into the intersection, as im entering the intersection at 55 mph. I tried avoidance at last second to no avail. My front drivers corner smashed the middle, passenger side of the other suv. My Jeep continues to the right, uncontrollable, stops in someone's front yard, engine still running. The other car swerved to the left, still on the road, rolling on its side. My airbags never deployed, i didnt even get any lights on the dash, i had to shut the engine off. Not one airbag deployed, and nothing even recognized there was something wrong. This car is supposed to have all options for airbags, yet a collision at highway speed, with post wreck travel of less than 50 feet, and not one single air bag deployed. …
Cruise control would not disengage. Instead it accelerated me to 85 mph is rush hour traffic. The car continued to accelerate will out responding to any commands to turn off cruise control. Second time this has happened. It was supposed to be fixed by doing an update to the car. This did not work. The second time I attempted to use cruise control after having had the long block engine replaced due to the oil consumption law suit, the car once again had the same problem with now slowing down. I tried putting the car into neutral and pressing the break. The car was accelerating so fast. The brakes had no effect without causing me to lose control. I was forced to put the car into a ditch at 75 mph. Rather than to rear end the dead stopped 3 lanes of traffic ahead of me and being pinned in by the traffic behind me. …
My 2016 Jeep Cherokee with 42100 miles on it locked up much like a brake locking up. The auto park brake feature is always applied when parked and has always worked fine until now. My wife was pulling out of the garage had just started to back up and the Jeep would not move. I was in the house she came inside and told me her issue with the Jeep. I went out and tried it, and had the same issue. I put it in reverse and tried to give it some more gas.. Jeep lurched some like the brakes were locked. Had no brake light though. I turned the engine off and restarted, made sure the brake light was out.. same thing.. I gave it more gas this time and something gave. I took it for a 30 mile drive.. it was on a Sunday, no shops open to talk to about it. On the 30 mile drive I had no issues even after stopping and restarting several times. …
Car refused to exit cruise control, again Instead it accelerated. I pressed again and again cruise control to stop it did not respond. Repeatedly And more frantic I pushed pushed the button as stopped cars grew closer. The car started to accelerate instead and refused to stop Even when pressing the brake. I was able to push the brake down enough to get to engage neutral after multiple attempts. I feared fir my life and for others due to not being in control of the vehicle that was not responding to commands. I was told that the vehicle had been serviced for this problem when it happens to me prior and the dealership refused a free update due to a tsb saying it has been corrected already and I would have to pay. The dealer didn't even not my vehicle as I asked. I was told if I'm not paying I'm not a customer and they don't note a account for non customers. Jeep dealer Greenwood Indiana. …
My electronic parking brake malfunctioned AGAIN. The vehicle was parked and turned off without activating the parking brake. When I returned to the vehicle and restarted it the parking brake was engaged and would not turn off. In addition, the red 'brake' light, and yellow electronic park brake warning light on the dashboard appeared; the odometer was flashing. After several attempts putting the vehicle in D and then R, in effect "rocking it", the parking brake did disengage. All of the lights remained on. Each time the car was placed back into 'park' the parking brake would re-engage, and I needed to go back through the same process to disengage the parking brake." About the third time, the Parking Brake permanently engaged and could not be disengaged by any means. The car is at the dealer to have the Brake Module replaced for the 3rd time, ALL due to water intrusion. …
i was driving my son to school one day about 2 months ago maybe longer and all of a sudden out of no where the car shuts off saying low oil pressure. i changed out the sensor. thinking that would fix the problem. well that sure isnt the case. i burn a quart of oil 3rd or 4rh day of the week evey week taken it in no can find the problem. now i see there a recall say needs a pcm up date. maybe it it fix the problem. probaly not. i think jeep really needs to go over the jeep engines with a pick and comb and find these problems its scary drivong i am so affraid iam am going to be an a realy bad accident one day. my car always shutting off while driving iys not fun. its even worse when i jqve my child in the back seat and is helpless because he straped up in a car seat. part 2 if i fill my jeep up.with a full tank of gas it stalls and shuts of in the middle of traffic driving. …
the parking brake has engaged several times at low speeds in parking lots, comes on when turn the vehicle on, and when placed into park. not sure if it will do it during high speeds, at the shop now. it happened during the Power Transfer Unit failed and should be looked at as a part affected by that. We had no issues until the PTU failed, and the parking brake started coming on when we put the vehicle into park, then would do it, the last time, the parking brake must have been instructed by the ptu to engage while the vehicle was in motion or shorted from a electrical surge from the ptu. the dealer doesn't think they are related, but i disagree. …
My parking brake suddenly turned on and my jeeps information center on the dash informed me to stop and shift to park. The light on the switch for the emergency brake flashes as well as the red light on the shifter and the vehicle would not shift anymore nor would the epb turn off . I had to disconnect my battery for about 30 minutes before it allowed me to disengage the parking brake and start to drive again. It happened again once or twice before it completely just stopped engaging even when I tried to engage it. Car states when attempting to engage the parking brake that the parking brake needs to be maintained the light on the switch flashes and a warning light stays on now. The odometer started flashing a day or so after the initial issue began. …
When I went to leave work yesterday on my dash a "P" with a circle around it was illuminated on my dash is orange. I also was unable to drive in reverse as my cars parking brake was on. I tried many things to get it to release with no luck. It took about 20 minutes of turning on and off the car, googling, depressing the break and many other items. I don't know how but i finally was able to find the right combination of knobs break petal and excel ration it dropped into reverse. Late that evening I attempted to leave my home again it would not allow me to back up. I was unable to use my car and was forced to Uber. I have since unhooked my batterie, did a combination of break petal, seat belt, brake release and gas to allow the care to reverse 5/10 times. This I hear is a continued issue with a Jeep and I should file this issue with NHTSA.
Blower module, a/c module and yes it's available anytime. For starters my a/c doesn't work completely and I have a newborn that cannot be in this vehicle due to that issue. Also with my first encounter with the issue, my car turned off and all the lights came on then turned off and warned that autostart/stop didn't work, and my emergency brakes didn't work along with my traction control. The a/c error has be confirmed by a dealer for me, but they said it was rare for a bunch of electronics to go out with it. The vehicle has not been looked yet by a manufacturer dealer due to money being tight. The car stopped working for about 5 minutes with my brother inside the vehicle. The lights flashed on then threw out all those warnings I had mentioned up top.
Collision Avoidance complaints in other Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are collision avoidance problems on the 2016 Jeep Cherokee?
NHTSA has 30 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2016 Jeep Cherokee, 2% of the model year's 1,411 complaints. The component named most often is automatic emergency braking (24 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2016 Jeep Cherokee collision avoidance problems?
No. NHTSA lists no driver assistance recall for the 2016 Jeep Cherokee, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2016 Jeep Cherokee collision avoidance problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 43,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to driver assistance problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.