Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was large puff of smoke coming from the driver's side of the vehicle while coming to a stop. The contact became aware of a brake fluid leak, causing a complete loss of brake pressure and braking power. The brake fluid was leaking more when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic and the technicians discovered that the catalytic converter was melted, causing severe heat damage to the adjacent brake lines. The contact stated no other parts were damaged. The vehicle was towed to a dealer; however, the technicians were unable to duplicate the original failure. The dealer was unable to determine what caused the catalytic converter to collapse onto the heat shield near the brake lines. …
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ESC and "Service 4WD" warning lights illuminated, causing the vehicle to shake abnormally. Additionally, the transmission unexpectedly shifted to 4WD Low while driving. The steering wheel vibrated while making a turn, and the vehicle jerked. The vehicle also intermittently failed to start immediately and made a clicking sound. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the ABS had failed, and that the drive train control module and transfer case control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stopped abruptly without warning. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the dealer agreed that the vehicle had experienced a failure however, the dealer was unsure of the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 24,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would vibrate without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they discovered that all the vehicle's brake rotors had warped and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.
Last night, my BRAND NEW car (Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited) tried to kill me. Driving down 1187 going 40 miles an hour, it came to a DEAD STOP, put itself in park and would not crank or start back up. All I could hear in the panic was screeching tires from cars trying not to hit me. The seatbelt also did not stop me and I was thrown into the steering wheel. My car has less than 900 miles on it. After a panic attack of EPIC proportions and a sleepless night, I immediately drove it to the dealership today and of course they can find NOTHING wrong with it. They are going to keep it a few days to double check a few things, but to say I will no longer be able to drive this car without SEVERE anxiety is an understatement. It has less than 1000 miles on it and I haven't even made my first payment. Trading it in, I will automatically lose $3100. …
[redacted] just south of Grapevine, CA, is a 4-lane freeway, speed limit 70 mph. It is quite steep, perhaps 4 or 5 %. It is very heavily traveled, and is used by a large number of 18-wheelers. It has a slow lane on the far right, for trucks and cars pulling trailers. I was in the #1 lane, traveling at 70 mph. About 5 miles south of Grapevine, CA, the car completely lost control of the steering. I came within inches of impacting the guard rail, and hitting a large tractor-trailer. By braking gently, and making greatly exaggerated steering inputs, I was able to maneuver to the slow lane, and, driving at less than 15 mph, was able to get to a truck stop parking lot, where the car was towed to a Jeep dealer. This is the third catastrophic safety failure this car has suffered. …
On many occasions, warning lights come on for no reason. The dealer has "updated" software, but to no avail.. Collision warning, stop/start error, throttle body error and more. On the last event we were driving uphill, approx 25 mph, nobody in front of us, and the brakes slammed on with multiple errors showing.. the car then lurched forward with active breaking, stop start error, throttle body sensor all showing up and going away. This happened 4 times on the evening of Sep 15th. The errors and random and intermittent.. They replaced a "secondary" battery at one point, and that did nothing. They told us we needed to drive it for over 100 miles, to charge the battery, but it did not fix the stop/start or any other error. Now it is in the Cerritos dodge dealer and we have a formal complaint filed with Chrystler.. The dealer states they can't find any problems.. …
Purchased new 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland in December 2021. The SUV has 2900 miles on it. Since purchase, the auto park engages at random moments most recently today when pulling out of drive thru lane. I began to drive the jeep forward and it locked up and engaged park brake. This has happened on numerous occasions. I went to get in the Jeep a few days ago. Started the engine and the brake engaged itself before even putting the vehicle in reverse. The touch screen in the dash that controls all functions of the SUV including radio, car play, heat/cooling, vehicle settings will randomly shut off and go black while traveling. While using the paired phone setting when making a call, the speakers produce a swishing/scrubbing sound that will not stop while the call is in session. New today, the windshield washer fluid light is on and the fluid is full. …
3 months ago, I was getting my all-season tires installed in lieu of my winter ones. They told me that the lug nuts on all four of my wheels were swollen and I needed to get a replacement as they could not use them. It was my first time hearing this terminology. I asked for clarification and was told that due to severe rust they cannot be used. 15 days ago, i heard some squeaking coming from the tires. I took it to the mechanic and was told that I have to replace the rear wheel pads. I took it yesterday to have them replaced and when they took off the tires, they called me in to witness that the rear disk brake rotors are totally rusted from the inside out, were badly deteriorated, and some pieces were falling off. They checked the front wheels as well, and they had the same issue as well. An issue such as this could lead to severe consequences and could potentially be life threating. …
The automatic braking system/parking collision system on our vehicle regularly causes it to slam on the brakes when the vehicle is in reverse, despite there not being any objects anywhere close to the vehicle. We have had this occur when we are trying to get out of oncoming traffic into a parking space, move out of the way of oncoming traffic into a driveway or parking garage, and when trying to back the car out of oncoming traffic to avoid a collision. This problem has been inspected by, and reproduced by, the dealer (Dishman Jeep in Spokane, WA). No other individuals have inspected the components causing this issue. There were no other warnings or symptoms of the problem before they appeared--just the slamming on of the brakes in reverse accompanied by a loud noise and message on the dash about potential collision, despite there being no objects or people anywhere close by.
Brake complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 32 complaints about the brakes of the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 8% of the model year's 409 complaints. The component named most often is disc › rotor (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, though it has 12 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 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 32,000 miles, and 40% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to brakes 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.