The short list
Where the money goes wrong — and where it doesn’t.
✕ Years to avoid
The loudest year, and the most recalled. 1,594 complaints and eleven recalls, both the highest in our data. This is the mid-life refresh, and it arrived with launch faults: a transmission whose internal weld could fail, remedied by replacing the whole transmission (18V-492); a new 2.0L turbo engine that could be missing valve stem keepers or have a reversed camshaft cap (18V-344); a steering rack gear that could break (19V-637); instrument clusters that failed outright (18V-917). On top of that, 2019 is the only model year caught by both Power Transfer Unit replacement campaigns, 25V-011 and the 2026 campaign 26V-290 whose remedy is still under development.
The year the recall only patches the problem. 1,401 complaints, and a coverage gap that is unique to this model year. Both Power Transfer Unit recalls covering the 2016, 20V-343 and its expansion 23V-302, are software updates that make the car fall back to rear-wheel drive and set the electronic parking brake. Neither replaces the unit. The two campaigns that do replace it start at 2017 and 2019. That is why so many 2016 filings say a version of 'my VIN was not included.' It also carries a park-outside power liftgate fire recall, 23V-338, which supersedes an older campaign and must be done again even on cars fixed the first time.
✓ Years to hunt for
The quietest one with real volume behind it. 46 complaints and three recalls, two of which are minor and one of which Chrysler records as already remedied fleet-wide. Nine model years of software revision have gone into the nine-speed by this point. The Power Transfer Unit recall still applies and still has no published remedy, so check it by VIN. Then ask a dealer about customer-satisfaction program ZD3, a free nine-speed transmission program filed with no published description.
Settled, with one recall you must not leave open. 141 complaints and four recalls. The car is fully worked out by now and the electronics complaints have thinned to almost nothing. But recall 20V-657, covering front lower control arms that may fracture while driving, carries an unusual instruction from NHTSA: 'Owners are advised to not drive their vehicles until they have been inspected and repaired if needed.' Check that one before you drive the car home, then the transmission cooler hose fire recall (21V-310), then the Power Transfer Unit campaign.
Same year. Different engine.
One badge, several engines — the year’s verdict assumes the riskiest one. Yours might be the calm one.
Which engine is in the one you found?
Three engines, three different weaknesses, and one driveline problem they all shareThe volume four-cylinder, with a documented thirst for oil. The 2.4L Tigershark uses Fiat's MultiAir valve system and it drinks oil between changes, sometimes badly. Chrysler documented it directly: warranty extension XB1, published as Warranty Bulletin D-23-01 for 'Select 2014 - 2019 Jeep Cherokee (KL),' lists the symptoms as 'oil pressure low indicator lamp illumination between oil changes' and 'excessive oil consumption,' with a procedure of 'performing an oil consumption verification test and possibly replacing the long block.' A companion bulletin, '2.4L Engine Oil Consumption Test,' was revised six times. One owner filmed himself adding 'quarts plural of oil in this thing every month' on a car bought new. Two 2018 recalls also hit this engine specifically: a cracked oil pump housing (17V-670) and a fuel tube that leaks into the engine bay (18V-282). The counterweight is real, though: a mechanic who tears these down says they 'don't ever really spin bearings or crack blocks even at higher mileage,' the timing chain setup is reliable, and he has seen examples past 300,000 miles. It punishes an inattentive owner rather than failing on its own. Check the level cold and ask for consecutive oil-change receipts.
The V6, and the oil filter housing that weeps. A short-stroke version of Chrysler's 3.6L Pentastar that a mechanic notes was fitted only to the Cherokee. Its documented wear item is the oil filter adapter housing, which leaks at the joint with the block. Chrysler's bulletin on it spans model years 2014 to 2022 and tells dealers that above 30,000 miles the fix is to remove the adapter and replace the oil inlet O-ring and gaskets rather than the whole assembly; a mechanic puts the job at three or four hours of labor. A separate bulletin covering 2014 to 2017 tells dealers to inspect the oil pump for relief valve failure if a P06DD code is present. The other symptom is a tick from the top of the engine, which owners and mechanics attribute to a worn rocker arm and which can turn into a misfire. Look for oil residue under the filter housing and listen at idle. Mechanics generally prefer this engine to the four-cylinder for durability, if not for fuel economy.
The turbo that arrived with the 2019 refresh. The 2.0L turbocharged four came in with the 2019 mid-life refresh and it arrived with an assembly defect. Recall 18V-344 covers 2019 cars whose engines 'may be missing valve stem keepers, which can allow the valve to drop into the engine cylinder causing engine damage,' and which 'may also have a reversed camshaft cap that can damage the camshaft bearing causing camshaft failure.' Free inspection and repair. Beyond that, Chrysler documents turbo-specific service items: a P0299 underboost condition after a software update on 2019 and 2020 cars, a P0244 wastegate actuator fault on 2019 through 2022, and a useful note that a turbo oil leak is often just the oil feed O-ring, which 'is serviced separately and complete turbo replacement may not be necessary.' Owners like it for power and economy; one described it as sounding 'a little rough' and 'coarse' next to the V6. Note that Chrysler's oil-consumption warranty extension covers the 2.4L only, not this engine.
The VIN answers this in one step. Every Cherokee VIN encodes its engine, so paste it and we will tell you which row you are looking at, plus its open recalls. Rows appear only where a Chrysler warranty extension, recall document or mechanic source names the engine. And note what no engine row can fix: the Power Transfer Unit failure is a driveline problem shared by every four-wheel-drive Cherokee here regardless of what is under the hood.
Decode my VIN — freeEvery year, rated
Each verdict links to the full report: known issues with real repair costs, open recalls, and the print-and-go inspection checklist.
The year the Power Transfer Unit recalls reach with a software patch and nothing more. 1,401 complaints, a park-outside liftgate fire recall, and no federal campaign that will actually replace the failed part.
1,401 complaints · 9 recalls
Full report →1,325 complaints and one saving grace: 2017 is the first year Jeep will actually replace the failed Power Transfer Unit under recall rather than patch around it. Everything rides on whether that has been done.
1,325 complaints · 6 recalls
Full report →Half the complaint volume of the years on either side, and it is inside the Power Transfer Unit replacement recall. The 2018 is the quietest of the pre-refresh cars, provided the 2.4L has not been drinking oil since new.
680 complaints · 7 recalls
Full report →The loudest year in the whole run: 1,594 complaints, eleven recalls, and the only model year caught by both Power Transfer Unit replacement campaigns. The refresh brought a new turbo engine and a launch-year recall list to match.
1,594 complaints · 11 recalls
Full report →Complaints fall by more than four fifths from 2019 and the recall list drops to three. What does not go away is the Power Transfer Unit, and on a 2020 the recall covering it still has no published fix.
268 complaints · 3 recalls
Full report →141 complaints, the quietest Cherokee with real volume behind it. But one of its four recalls told owners not to drive the car until it was inspected, so the recall record here is not a formality.
141 complaints · 4 recalls
Full report →46 complaints and three recalls, two of which are small and one of which has no fix published yet. This is the Cherokee at its quietest, and the Power Transfer Unit is still the only question that matters.
46 complaints · 3 recalls
Full report →Three federal complaints in the whole model year, because Jeep built almost none of them before the line stopped. One recall, and its remedy has not been published yet.
3 complaints · 1 recalls
Full report →At best these things just get an average reliability rating. It's not because they're all averagely reliable, it's just because the really really good ones that have no problems are offset by the really really bad ones.
Shopping Cherokee years? We’ll watch them for you.
New recalls, federal investigations, and quiet warranty-extension programs land months after you buy. Tell the canary which years you’re considering — it sings when something changes.
Watch my years — freeCross-shopping?
Same class, checked the same way: