[D60]

From NHTSA:

How Are Problems With Recalled Vehicles or Equipment Remedied?

Once a safety-defect determination is made, the law gives the manufacturer three options for correcting the defect: repair, replacement, or refund. In the case of a vehicle recall, the manufacturer may choose to repair the vehicle at no charge; replace the vehicle with an identical or similar vehicle; or refund the purchase price in full, minus a reasonable allowance for depreciation.

The "repair" remedy is a problem. The ADII PTU issue has been languishing since the first ones were made in 2013. Maybe they are coming up with a clever way to resolve the issue, but how many recalls have there been so far without resolution? Too many! How many spare PTUs are they laying around? For sure way too few! How easy is it to crack open the PTU to repair it? Some have tried, but it isn't easy. The PTU, according to FCA, is not intended to be a serviceable unit.

The "replacement" remedy is unlikely. The Cherokee has been out of production since 2023 and the production numbers were getting quite small near the end. Unless there are enough unsold 2020-2023 vehicles with ADIIs sitting around, replacement doesn't seem like a viable option. Unless, of course, they decide to replace with a 2026 Cherokee KM (or whatever it will be called). I doubt they would do that, but???

So that leaves "refund". The RAM and JK forums are full of stories where FCA is buying out vehicles that have the Lifetime Powertrain Warranty, which was standard on at least 2008 and 2009 models. The buyout is market price of the vehicle AND you get to keep it - you just lose the warranty.

I'm guessing it might be a combination of "repair" and "refund". You bring your car in and the dealer will drop the PTU and look for whatever it is FCA tells them to look for. If they don't find anything, they'll button things back up and say "Have a nice day!". If the DO find something, then it's "Here is a check for your car. Sorry it's so low, but these things have taken a hit in depreciation! Have a nice day!"

We'll see. I was going to say "We'll see soon enough", but that ship has sailed.

I'm not a fan of Consumer Reports, but here is a good read on recalls:

What to Do When There’s No Fix for Your Car’s Recall - Consumer Reports

CR has information on what you can do if your car is recalled but there's no repair available yet. In 2022, over 2 million Americans have received a recall notice without an immediately available fix.

www.consumerreports.org

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Is anyone aware of what EXACTLY the issue is? ie where specifically is this snap ring and how is it not fully seated?

I guess I should search YT for a PTU teardown because that's what I want to see. If it's simply a matter of deepening or widening a groove, I can do that.

This sounds like something the aftermarket may eventually address like the Sonnax snap ring cure for NP231s

 

[XJ99]

My son's has been down since March of last year. No money to fix it, but after talking to the dealer it
doesn't just sound like a software fix. Hopefully all will be covered when we get the next notice. Been
about a year...

 

[AZJeeper]

Is anyone aware of what EXACTLY the issue is? ie where specifically is this snap ring and how is it not fully seated?

I guess I should search YT for a PTU teardown because that's what I want to see. If it's simply a matter of deepening or widening a groove, I can do that.

This sounds like something the aftermarket may eventually address like the Sonnax snap ring cure for NP231s

The short answer is NO - there is little to be found anywhere on what the snap ring problem is. It has taken FCA 11 years (2014 build start in 2013 to December 2024) to FINALLY say they traced it to the snap ring. If it was obvious, it would have surely been noticed sometime in that window as PTU failures are not uncommon. There is a good thread on the PTU here that shows in some detail how to tear down and rebuild the PTU. Unfortunately, it does NOT look like the process was successful. I wouldn't hold my breath that the aftermarket will catch on to this issue. As many PTUs as there are out there that seem to have this problem, I don't think there's enough of a market to make a buck - the PTU is a "non-serviciable" item.

 

[Bellingham Trailhawk]

The interstates have pretty good cell coverage. Secondary roads not so much in remote areas.

It would all be interstate till we get to the Albany area where my relatives live, and from visiting upstate NY (tye areas we go) all has pretty good coverage too.

I've talked it over with Mom and we plan to go and take my jeep. It's only a 2% chance. And at over 73k with some of that off-road I feel most likely it have it an issue if I was part of tye 2% but either way I pay for the Jeep assistance/sos so if something happens I can hit the assistance button and jeep will use the cars GPS know right where I am and send help. But that's very unlikely to be needed other then a flat tire or something.

 

[Bellingham Trailhawk]

It’s good that Chrysler/Stellantis have figured out the cause of the problem. But we have known there is a problem with the PTU in these cars for years. I’m pretty sure there was even a class action lawsuit about it.

But the risk hasn’t changed just because Chrysler finally figured out the cause. Either your vehicle has this problem or it doesn’t. You couldn’t know for sure before and you can’t know for sure now.

If you’d have been comfortable going on a road trip before, like many of us have done, I don’t see any reason to change plans now. Any car can have a relatively terminal problem on a road trip. Someone could also run into you, damaging the car enough that you can’t drive it home.

Yeah after a couple days to "calm down" after my notice mom and I decided we would keep our plan of driving cross country. I have the Chrysler roadside assistance as part of my connectivity subscription, and we are going interstate highway and even in WA when you are in the middle of nowhere the interstate (or main state/US route highways) usually have cell coverage. Then that's not even a concern once we get where we a going in upstate NY cause there are so many small towns and cities scattered about I swear it has more consistent and better cell coverage/signal strength then tye part of NW WA I live in. (Especially once you start getting out into the county)

 

[Bellingham Trailhawk]

@AZJeeper I do hope they come out with a real inspection and fix. Otherwise it may push up my idea of upgrading to a Grand Cherokee. I can't justify the price of a nicely equipped TH 4Xe (or any 4Xe a nicely equipped overland is pushing tye top of my justified spending range but it does get front recovery points and off-road air suspension. And such. But if he much happier in the price of a limited. And tye most "off roading" is forest service roads and such that hardly put the TH through paces. never used the rear locker, used 4 low a hand full of times (honestly used it more in bad snow/ice to get to/from work) so a limited should be more then capable

 

[AZJeeper]

@AZJeeper I do hope they come out with a real inspection and fix. Otherwise it may push up my idea of upgrading to a Grand Cherokee. I can't justify the price of a nicely equipped TH 4Xe (or any 4Xe a nicely equipped overland is pushing tye top of my justified spending range but it does get front recovery points and off-road air suspension. And such. But if he much happier in the price of a limited. And tye most "off roading" is forest service roads and such that hardly put the TH through paces. never used the rear locker, used 4 low a hand full of times (honestly used it more in bad snow/ice to get to/from work) so a limited should be more then capable

Let's face it, I'm a "toadie". My Cherokee was meant to be towed behind my RV until I need it. What are the options? There are no more new Grand Cherokee Trailhawks, unless you go 4xe. A Grand (non-Trailhawk) puts on about 500 lbs over the KL. A Grand 4xe Trailhawk puts on over 1,000lbs. My armored-up and fully-stuffed JK weights about that. There is a noticeable difference in towing that weight behind the RV. I could put a tow bar on my RAM 1500, but that's in the same weight category and it has 100k on the ODO. There are a couple of other new vehicle options I looked at, but frankly - aside from the PTU anvil over my head, the Cherokee is perfect!

I decided to be a bit more pragmatic about this. I have roadside with MaxCare, but decided to double-down with my insurance. The added cost is peanuts. If this goes on much more, I'll look at expanding rental car coverage too. Another opportunity came up for an extended East Coast road trip this fall and I won't wait around longer just to feel better about things. Screw the break-down demons. I'm forging ahead!

While I'm at it, screw FCA too!

 

[AtlCade69]

It's a snap ring problem. From 2016-2019 they used a snap ring that is a different spec. It could cause the PTU to lose drive or park. It's a physical problem so not sure what you mean by programming. The recall says no fix available yet but the newer vehicle has the proper snap ring. The fix would be to pull the unit and install a new snap ring or if the PTU is damaged due to shaft movement, a new PTU.

No, the recall says an Improperly Seated Snap Ring, vastly different.
This points to an assembly issue, not a bad component. However, the solution should largely be the same...

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCLRPT-25V011-2124.PDF

 

[Fraddles]

No, the recall says an Improperly Seated Snap Ring, vastly different.
This points to an assembly issue, not a bad component. However, the solution should largely be the same...

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCLRPT-25V011-2124.PDF

There could be a number of reasons that the snap ring did not 'seat correctly' ... could be issue with the installation of the snap ring... but could also be an issue with a dodgy batch of rings that are slightly out of spec, or 'in spec' but right on the limits at one end or the other... similarly there could be 'a batch' of input shafts with incorrectly cut grooves for the snap ring...

Cheers.

 

[AZJeeper]

It's not the shaft. As I said earlier it is the snap ring itself. The issue started in 2016 and ended in 2019. It was identified as an out of spec snap ring. A different source for the part which manufactured it slightly different.

The links to the recall information is scattered throughout this thread. They say nothing about an "out of spec snap ring". Simply provide a link or two so we can independently verify there is indeed new information about this issue. Thanks.

 

[peterjdaly]

Sitting here in New Zealand with a 2019 TH, made in 2018. Right hand drive, made for the export market in the same factory. It has the DTC C14A7-97 error after showing me the SVC 4WD warning, and being diagnosed by the local Jeep dealer.

The Jeep importer here is insisting that there is no recall on it. Seems awfully coincidental that we have the same model with the same symptoms, but we are being told it's not subject to recall.

Any comments welcomed.

 

[AtlCade69]

Sitting here in New Zealand with a 2019 TH, made in 2018. Right hand drive, made for the export market in the same factory. It has the DTC C14A7-97 error after showing me the SVC 4WD warning, and being diagnosed by the local Jeep dealer.

The Jeep importer here is insisting that there is no recall on it. Seems awfully coincidental that we have the same model with the same symptoms, but we are being told it's not subject to recall.

Any comments welcomed.

Recalls are done by jurisdiction, you may want to contact New Zealand's counterpart to the US NHTSA - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Recalls are seldom in sync internationally...

 

[peterjdaly]

Recalls are done by jurisdiction, you may want to contact New Zealand's counterpart to the US NHTSA - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Recalls are seldom in sync internationally...

Yes, I gather so. I contacted NZTA and they referred me to the Jeep importer. Who basically said "Recall? Wot recall?" as if the admitted circlip defect doesn't exist.

Kind of frustrating, as the estimate to repair is somewhere near 50% of the value of the vehicle.

So I have a vehicle whose manufacturer has said "Our bad" and an importer who says "Nothing to see here".

 

[D60]

The links to the recall information is scattered throughout this thread. They say nothing about an "out of spec snap ring". Simply provide a link or two so we can independently verify there is indeed new information about this issue. Thanks.

It's like a game of Where's Waldo except and even a first grader could find the sentence about the snap ring:

 

[D60]

Also I'm not at all convinced people are interpreting the 2% thing correctly.

Is this merely verified cases vs production numbers? This is my guess. eg "we built 100,000 from '17-19 and only 2,000 have complained of this problem" ??

Or is this KNOWN from the assembly line that definitely only 2% were built this way? I doubt it. eg "We know from dates and assembly procedures exactly how many PTUs were built with a faulty part or process" <---- I'm VERY skeptical of this

Furthermore when automakers soil the bed like this they always start small so as to not scare consumers or shareholders. Then magically and as quietly as possible the recall grows to encompass more production dates. Funny how that works

 

[AZJeeper]

I never made it past first grade so I'll just have agree with you about the snap ring. There's nothing else I've seen otherwise.

According to HTHSA, the % is just an estimate of scope - nothing more. It could be 100% once they get into it, but that's FCAs problem. Or, really, it's our problem!

 

[Bellingham Trailhawk]

Let's face it, I'm a "toadie". My Cherokee was meant to be towed behind my RV until I need it. What are the options? There are no more new Grand Cherokee Trailhawks, unless you go 4xe. A Grand (non-Trailhawk) puts on about 500 lbs over the KL. A Grand 4xe Trailhawk puts on over 1,000lbs. My armored-up and fully-stuffed JK weights about that. There is a noticeable difference in towing that weight behind the RV. I could put a tow bar on my RAM 1500, but that's in the same weight category and it has 100k on the ODO. There are a couple of other new vehicle options I looked at, but frankly - aside from the PTU anvil over my head, the Cherokee is perfect!

View attachment 240038

I decided to be a bit more pragmatic about this. I have roadside with MaxCare, but decided to double-down with my insurance. The added cost is peanuts. If this goes on much more, I'll look at expanding rental car coverage too. Another opportunity came up for an extended East Coast road trip this fall and I won't wait around longer just to feel better about things. Screw the break-down demons. I'm forging ahead!

While I'm at it, screw FCA too!

View attachment 240036

I'm not so much screw FCA as my jeeps been a great vehicle and my dealership has always treated me right. I really would like to drive it till "the wheels fall off".

I love my Trailhawk. And hope I have many more years and miles of enjoyment.

I'm also going forward with my plans to drive cross country from the upper NW corner of WA (30 minutes from the Canadian border) to upstate NY just outside Albany in July fix or no fix.

I have roadside through Jeep and my insurance. So I'm double covered that way

 

[Fj4080]

I'm not so much screw FCA as my jeeps been a great vehicle and my dealership has always treated me right. I really would like to drive it till "the wheels fall off".

I love my Trailhawk. And hope I have many more years and miles of enjoyment.

I'm also going forward with my plans to drive cross country from the upper NW corner of WA (30 minutes from the Canadian border) to upstate NY just outside Albany in July fix or no fix.

I have roadside through Jeep and my insurance. So I'm double covered that way

I'm with you, hope to have it for years. Just got back from 1100 mile trip from Reno to The Dalles OR. Zero issues and very comfy. Mines not in the recall, but lets face it 2020-2023 will be on that list i'm sure.

 

[Bellingham Trailhawk]

I'm with you, hope to have it for years. Just got back from 1100 mile trip from Reno to The Dalles OR. Zero issues and very comfy. Mines not in the recall, but lets face it 2020-2023 will be on that list i'm sure.

Yeah it's a great SUV, and fully loaded it's definitely feels like a luxury car but much more capable. And mine still feels brand new even at over 73k and this August it will be 7 years I've owned it.

 

[silverbelle51]

I'm just following this thread to stay informed. Random thoughts directed at nobody, just thinking out loud.

I saw 2% of vehicles effected in the thread. I kept wondering where that number is coming from. It's from the NHTS "Recall 573 report". It's dated Jan 16th,


So if my math is right, our individual odds of "winning the lottery":
63,082 * 0.02 = 1,261.64
or to round up, I'm guessing that means, 1262 Cherokee's could end up shitting the bed.

Or to look at it another way:,
63,082 - 1262 = 61,820 Cherokees are probably okay.

So on an individual basis, our odds are pretty good. Not that we should have to hope for favorable odds to begin with.

Still, 1262 potential court cases suing them, as far as their lawyers concerned is nothing to sneeze at.

I was talking to my local mechanic about this the other day. He's a big jeep guy. Family run shop. Most honest mechanic I've ever met. Conversation summary is this:

Their going to do the bare minimum. What they'll do is get in there, drop it, check for wear, if they don't see any, they'll button it back up, and kick it out, without changing a thing. As an example, He mentioned a jeep recall involving a pump (I don't remember which one), he called them out on it. Basically say, "look I do this for a living, I know your just going to put the old one right back in. You know it, I know it, change the pump while you've got it down anyway". He said he was surprised that they did, but his case was an exception. Probably because he called them out on it, and that particular dealer gave in.

I have a 2015 Latitude with an unidentified electrical problem that my very excellent repair team has not been able to identify, so after multiple attempts he had it taken to the local dealership in Mendon, MA who after a $215.00 charge had no clue . advise I drive until it stops again. That is freaking dangerous ( IN AN INSTANT CAN LOOSE POWER STEERING) . I have e-mailed the manufacturer 2 times now zero response. How many vehicles don't have electrical problems ? Are they counting on these car repair insurance plans to keep the lid on the secrets of defective vehicles ? ALL AMERICAN VECHICLES HAVE EMBEDDED ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WHICH WILL MAKE YOUR VECHICLE INOPERABLE AND MAY VERY WELL GET YOU IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND COST YOU YOUR LIFE - YES !