Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was on the highway and the truck escalated in speed then it would decreased In speed . (61 mph to 45-41mph. Then it decreased speed all the way to a complete stop. Then burst into flames in front of truck. Truck made crackling sounds and proceeded to burn all the way back to the back seats of truck.
My son was hit head on in a very serious accident and his airbag on driver side didn't fully deploy resulting in injuries. I'm not sure what component was faulty but the airbag should have fully deployed.
My driver's-side headrest/"airbag" deployed without a collision. I was wiping down my drivers seat after getting the seat dirty and when I wiped over the headrest it popped against my hand and I heard a tinkling noise of something bouncing around inside my vehicle. Further inspection showed that my headrest had popped out like it had deployed in a crash, etc. I was parked in my driveway and was not pushing hard on the headrest. I looked inside the headrest, and also googled this incident, and there are plastic clips inside the headrest that hold it in place. Those plastic clips wore out and broke off, causing the headrest restraint to deploy. I googled this situation and discovered that other people experienced this same thing as well - I got lucky because I wasn't driving when it happened!! …
I don't know if the headrest is part of the airbag deployment system or it's own entity. It is available for inspection. I was pulling into my driveway when the front passenger headrest exploded/deployed. I had just dropped my sister, who had been sitting there, and would have been injured by the force. I took my car to the dealership and was told that the 'involuntary deployment' was a known problem to Jeep and they had extended the warranty for the problem but it had expired in June 2023 so it would cost me $900 to fix. I contacted Jeep and was told they could not extend an extended warranty so repair was on me. There were no warning lamps or messages. This happened on 12/22.
Car parked in driveway, passenger Active Head Restraint deployed overnight while parked. Plastic mold holding the latch pin in place is destroyed. Broke into pieces. The latch pin in pic1.jpg is still secured in the lock position. The computer is not throwing codes of deployed headrest, the computer thinks everything is fine. Pic3.jpg has a picture of the driver headrest, NOT deployed. The headrest are designed to deploy only with impact. The plastic molding broke away from the latch pin, and allowed the headrest to deploy prematurely. This should have been a safety recall on the first report. Thousands of complaints have been noted thus far.
4 days ago, while backing out of a parking spot, the passenger Active Head Restraint (AHR) deployed and struck my girlfriend in the head. There was no interaction with another vehicle and there was no accident. The AHR simply deployed on its own and struck my girlfriend in the head. I have not reset the AHR and left it as is. Please let me know what my next step should be. Thank you [redacted]
Passenger seat headrest exploded and hit my wife in the head/ear/neck and now she is in a lot of pain. This is the most random thing I have ever seen. My wife and daughter were driving through a parking lot going 4mph and the headrest just exploded. The plastic pieces holding the springs back broke and let the headrest fly forward into my wife's head/ear/neck
My Jeep was rear ended at 50 MPH while at a standstill. I was ready to turn left in in the left lane. Vehicle came up behind me in the wrong lane and did not slow and hit me full speed. . Airbags did not deploy. Headrests came apart and split into two pieces throwing my head and body forward. I was the driver. Back end of carwas hit so hard it was pushed under the car. Accident was on 5/20/15
On 3/31/2016 I was driving on the highway at approximately 60 miles per hour. Unexpectedly my head was thrown forward. There were no cars in front or behind me. I discovered the drivers headrest separated from the headrest backing by at least 3". (see pictures) I took it to a Jeep dealership where I was asked if the vehicle was in a front/rear accident. I am the only owner and can verify it was not in a front or rear accident. They explained the headrest is designed to deploy during an accident to prevent whiplash. They attempted to reset it with no success and instructed me to call Jeep [phone]). After their attempt to repair the headrest rattles while driving - quite distracting while driving. Jeep has failed to repair or replace the headrest and has failed to return my calls for the past two weeks. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Jeep Cherokee. The contact was driving 25 MPH and another vehicle crashed into her drivers side door at approximately 30 MPH. The air bags did not deploy. The drivers side door was pushed in and the rear drivers side door fell off of the vehicle. The vehicle was equipped with side air bags. The contact was forced to exit the vehicle using the front passenger side door. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. A representative with the manufacturer stated that a request would be submitted to a special investigation unit so they could inspect the vehicle; however, that has not occurred. She made more than five unsuccessful attempts to follow up with the manufacturer and no one returned her call. The contact sustained an injury to her leg. The contact was pregnant and lost her child after the crash occurred. The failure mileage was 15,858.
NHTSA investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Airbag complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the air bags of the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 4% of the model year's 805 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 2013 Jeep Grand 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 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 62,000 miles, and 26% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 1 fire and 7 injuries and 1 death to air bags 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.