Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (seat frames, recliners, heated seats and seat tracks).
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).
The contact owns a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the headrest independently exploded. The contact sustained a sore neck but did not require any medical attention. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side front headrest deployed, pushed forward, and struck the contact on the head. There were no reported injuries. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 123,500.
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!! …
Passenger headrest separated -- turns out it is called "Active Head Restraint" -- I did not know it was even there! The vehicle was not involved in an accident or rear ended (as I understand activates this). Nobody was injured and in fact nobody was in the vehicle when it went off. This happened a few months ago and thought it was just a broken headrest and I would have to fix it. Upon investigating the headrest last week is when I discovered this has been an issue for a long time. I found a "Warranty Bulletin" put out by Mopar BUT it was not issued to owners of the vehicle. I called the Jeep dealer on 3/2/23 and found out that my vehicle went out of the "Warranty Bulletin" time period just last month. I missed the repair because I was not notified of the issue from Jeep / Mopar! …
Hello, I am reporting failure on the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee in which the drivers side headrest activated while the vehicle was not in operation and not involved in any accident. The active head restraint had activated while the vehicle was parked and in a non-running condition. No accident occurred during this time frame. The passenger side active headrest is still in the factory location and has not been activated. The drivers side head restraint has activated and can not be returned to original position. My current safety is at risk as the active head restraint is not functioning per original safety design intent. My head and neck are currently constrained in a position that causes discomfort while driving due to the location of the active head restraint. …
Active Headrest Restraint ( AHR) Drivers Side deployed overnight. This safety feature on many Jeeps is intended to protect motorists including passengers, in the event of rear end collisions by deploying. However a cursory review online reveals many many complaints, recalls, & TSBs . But my entire family now is exposed because Jeep wont extend recalls any longer. My recall expired 11 months ago. I was never notified by mail or by dealership that this recall would expire April 2023. I bought this SUV with understanding of its many safety features like AHD among others. Only makes sense that Stellantis /Jeep extend this recall beyong April 2023 as a result of substandard plastic parts used in headrest. If I had been notified by dealership when Jeep was serviced in 2023 it could have been fixed. All my recalls have previously been fixed. …
On the way home from work the Active Head Restraint deployed without there being a rear end collison. The head restraint on driver's side hit my wife in the back of the head and sounded like a loud and startling gunshot-like sound. Since I was on the highway if I had not kept from jerking the steering wheel when the head restraint deployed i could have been in a head on collison. I was able to pull off the road to see what happened. First I called my dealer and they said it wasn't going to be covered under warranty and also call fiat-chrsyler and they said that it wasn't covered. No warning lamps, messages and no other symptoms shown prior to the failure. The dealer did acknowledge verbally that they had had 3 or more other cases. Currently it is at the dealer being repaired and i will ask them to give me the old head restraint.
The driver's seat active head restraint spontaneously deployed. There was no collision of any kind. This occurred while vehicle was stopped at a traffic light. The driver (who is not the individual filing this report) suffered a sore neck as a result. At time of deployment, the driver's head was inclined forward and tilted down. Otherwise the injury might have been much worse. This incident could have been exceptionally dangerous if the deployment happened while vehicle was moving. As of today (June 2, 2022), the vehicle has not been inspected by dealership. The first available appointment for repair is June 8, 2022. No warning or other indication given prior to spontaneous deployment. The part is available for inspection by NHTSA, at least until it is taken to dealership. I have uploaded pictures of part.
On July 15, 2021, I was driving my vehicle 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee in my town. My daughter was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle. As I was driving, the passenger headrest deployed unexpectedly for no reason. I heard a loud pop and then my daughter scream as the headrest hit her in the back of the head. She was not injured. I have no idea why this occurred. I went home and researched this online and discovered several articles in which similar incidents have occurred with other people in similar vehicles. I contacted the dealership to see if they were any recalls for this particular issue and I was told no. Also, the representative from the dealership told me they had talked with a supervisor and did not know what I was talking about.
I was driving down a residential road, going about 30 mph. I went over a very small bump. My driver's side seat headrest exploded open and hit me in the back of the head. It scared me so much I swerved my car. Luckily it was a quiet street and I was going slow or I would have had an accident. I have a medical condition called fibromyalgia so this triggered severe headaches and fatigue for about a week. Luckily no serious injuries. I took it to a Jeep dealership and they said it's covered under the extended warranty and will be repaired for free. But what about a recall to avoid this dangerous safety issue in the first place? What about the passenger seat that is also now waiting to pop open and injure someone?
NHTSA investigations
Active Head Rest Inadvertent Deployment
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19014 on September 9, 2019, to investigate 128 consumer complaints alleging that the Active Head Rest (AHR) inadvertently deployed without the occurrence of a crash or other rear impact event in model year (MY) 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles.When ODI opened the investigation, ODI was aware of thirteen alleged injuries.A small number of Early…
Seat complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat problems on the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 57 complaints about the seats of the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 7% of the model year's 805 complaints. The component named most often is front assembly › head restraint (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee seat problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seats 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 seat problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 81,000 miles, and 9% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 12 injuries to seats 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.