Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2017 Jeep Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Multiple sporadic flashing loss of traction light on dry roads and rolling starts. 5/10/18 4872m vehicle in motion on city street 35mph "service parking brake" flashed on display 5/12/18 5004m making left turn from stop on yield green very slight decline, city street, depressed gas pedal to make turn, car slipped out of gear flashing to put car in neutral or park and then back in drive. Car rolled into intersection. I flipped over to tiptronic w/o response, shifted to neutral and back w/o response, kids in backseat while car is stalled perpendicular to oncoming traffic. Turned hazards on, shifted to park and back, no response, rolled to side of road at this point. Put car back in park, counted to five, shifted back to drive, and car responded. 5/12/18 5084m fianc driving, city street 45mph. …
Service shifter came on one evening and went off upon shutting the vehicle down and restarting it. The next day woth no warning I was on the highway with my three kids. Suddenly dash flashed 4x4, traction control, ers, auto stop all unavailable and then the transmission just stopped functioning. I was in the fast lane doing 70 MPH and had no power what so ever. The rpms went up and I had no acceleration with the gas pedal down. I was able to get to the slow lane but not without causing a rift in traffic, thankfully other drivers were alert around me and let me over once I hit my flashers. The vehicle was acting as if it was stuck between gears. Ot would engage in r, n and p but nothing when I put it in d. Called a rollback and per dealership every code that could throw has thrown and at my expense we are starting with entire shifter assembly to the tune of $900 parts and labor. …
The vehicle has had multiple problems since my purchase date issues with the sunroof which has continued to persist, as well as a strut, hub, strut assembly, electronic parking brake and also now that I have taken it in there are more problems arising and now I have a check engine light on service all brake system lights on and light and traction control light on and also a 4wd system unavailable light on after taking it in to get fixed and the dealership fixes one problem and more keep arising! The vehicle was parked and then when I turned it back in that's when the parking brake would not disengage and then the sunroof and popping sounds were happening while driving. The transmission issue is when I am driving it is shifting way to often and shifting very wonky. …
Prior report#[redacted] 5/26/18 5:54p xm stopped working and wouldn't work the rest of the day. 5/28/18 4:24p traction light flashed driving on flat dry road 5/29/18 8:21a 5371 miles stop & go traffic on flat road, traction light flashed 5/29/18 8:36a 5374 miles stop & go traffic on flat road, traction light flashed 5/29/18 8:46a 5375 miles stop & go traffic on flat road. Accelerating straight through an intersection, car jumped and slipped from gear. Flashing "d", display alternating message "to shift vehicle must be stopped" and "shift to park or neutral press brake + select gear". Turned flashers on, stopped rolling car, shifted to park, waited a few seconds, shifted back to drive. Car responded and drove through intersection. Approx. Twenty feet later traction light flashed again. Video is 33.7mb.
While driving down d rthe highway my Jeep shut off mid motion, my daughter and I were in the middle of a 4 way. We costed to side of road I cranked it 5-6 times then it started . When my Cherokee stoped the dash read shift to park then select a gear. The next time it died again in the middle of the road I was running 55 MPH, the oil light flickered for a split second and the car died. The car lot I bought from said they found no issue this is an issue it is going to get me or my kids hurt. I have no warning when it will shut down. The only lights that come on is the shift into park press brake select gear. It is terrifying I use this Jeep Cherokee to transport my kids. It is happening more frequently.
Was driving and in motion when I heard a ding and the "service shifter" alert came on, and all of the gears had the red light on. I have owned the vehicle for 9 months and have never had an electrical issue before. It is not due for an oil change or any other maintenance service. It is at 47,000 miles and when I called the dealership, they said this happens very frequently but is not covered under warranty, and that I would need to replace the shifter and shifter harness. I am very upset and disappointed with Jeep that this is a life-threatening issue, and it happens "frequently." please investigate this issue as this is not fair to owners who are now at risk when traveling.
*service shifter* motion* *stalled* the following is the same issue I had with my 2014 Jeep Cherokee. I had traded that vehicle in for a newer 2017 model because of this... I have a 2017 Jeep Cherokee. Occasionally when driving at any speed the vehicle will stall and say "service shifter, place car in p or n" - I can no longer accelerate and have to come to a complete stop. Turn off the vehicle. Restart it after several minutes. When I try to restart, the engine has a tough time kicking back on.this is a very dangerous recurrence and must be dealt with immediately. This is the second report I have made. The first report was with my 2014 Jeep Cherokee.
While driving, service shifter will display on dash and all lights at shifter will light up. Turning vehicle off and back on gets rid of the message for a while, but it comes back on after a few miles---most of the time. I googled the issue and there are thousands of people with the same complaint. I have brought it to a couple different dealers and got different diagnostics. Sometimes it comes on when shifting to drive and sometimes a mile down the road, and sometimes after 300 miles, but it comes on a lot and it is worrying me, especially since so many people have the issue and Jeep has not done anything about it yet. This should be a recall.
The service shifter has come on multiple times lately and it requires me to shut the car down completely. Once restarted the car runs perfectly until about another 300 miles or so and the service light comes back on. Recently my car will show service shifter then it just shuts down completely in the middle of driving extremely dangerous. I've been seeing more and more people having this problem with this year make and model and it should definitely be something they investigate and recall it's extremely dangerous to just be driving and your car decides to shut off.
This problem has occurred at least 4 times in a 2 week period. While driving on service streets a pinging noises goes off..the battery light a lightening bolt and shift into drive appears and lasts a few seconds. The steering wheel gets very heavy and hard to turn. The vehicle turns off! The radio continues to play. I cannot shift into park. When I try to turn the ignition it makes a screeching noise..after the second attempt it usually will restart. This is very dangerous and I am afraid to get behind the wheel of my car!
Traction Control complaints in other Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2017 Jeep Cherokee?
NHTSA has 42 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2017 Jeep Cherokee, 3% of the model year's 1,337 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2017 Jeep Cherokee traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2017 Jeep Cherokee, though it has 6 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 2017 Jeep Cherokee traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 45,000 miles, and 19% before 25,000 miles.
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.