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.

The 2.4L four-cylinder uses oil between changes, sometimes badly. This is not folklore: Chrysler published a warranty extension coded XB1, under Warranty Bulletin D-23-01, for 'Select 2014 - 2019 Jeep Cherokee (KL)' and a list of sibling Fiat Chrysler models. Its own description of the symptoms is 'oil pressure low indicator lamp illumination between oil changes' and 'excessive oil consumption,' and the procedure is 'performing an oil consumption verification test and possibly replacing the long block.' Six separate revisions of a companion bulletin, '2.4L Engine Oil Consumption Test,' appear in Chrysler's filings for these years. Owners in the community report engines replaced under warranty after failing that test, and report stalling when the level runs low. The coverage terms are not stated in the bulletin summary, so verify by VIN rather than assuming it is still live. On any 2016 2.4L, check the level on the test drive and ask for oil-change receipts close enough together to tell you how much it drinks.

Water gets into the power liftgate control module and creates an electrical short that can start a fire 'with the ignition on or off.' NHTSA flags this one park-outside: owners are told to park away from structures until it is repaired. Recall 23V-338 (Chrysler code 49A) covers 2014 to 2016 Cherokees with the power liftgate and replaces two earlier campaigns, 15V-393 and 15V-826. The important detail is in the recall text itself: 'Vehicles repaired under the prior recalls will still need to have the new remedy performed.' A seller who shows you the old 2016-era liftgate repair is not showing you a finished car. Dealers relocate the module, add a water shield, and replace corroded connectors, all free.

Every 2016 Cherokee uses a ZF nine-speed automatic, the 948TE. ZF is the German company that makes the gearbox. A working mechanic who repairs these says 'every second or third will have some kind of transmission issues,' that he has replaced five or six, and that 'some of them were fixable, some of them were not.' The early symptoms are stuck gears, throttle response delay, and clumsy downshifts. Some of it is genuinely software, and Chrysler ran customer-satisfaction programs W20 and W84, both powertrain reprogramming, on these years. There is also a documented electronic shifter fault: Chrysler's bulletin for 2015 to 2018 Cherokees covers a 'Service Shifter' message on the cluster with communication codes U0103 and U0103-87. Jeep calls the transmission fluid lifetime fluid and the unit is sealed, with no dipstick and only drain and fill plugs, which means nobody has been checking it. Drive the car for a long time before you buy, warm the gearbox up, and work it through every gear both ways.

The V6 option is a 3.2L Pentastar, a short-stroke version of Chrysler's 3.6L that a mechanic notes was unique to the Cherokee. Its known wear item is the oil filter adapter housing, which weeps oil at the block joint. Chrysler's bulletin on it spans model years 2014 to 2022 and tells dealers to replace the inlet O-ring and gaskets rather than the whole adapter on cars over 30,000 miles. A mechanic puts the job at three or four hours of labor. The second V6 item is a ticking noise from the top of the engine caused by a worn rocker arm, which can turn into a misfire. Look for oil residue around the filter housing and listen for a top-end tick at idle.

2016 collected a cluster of build-quality recalls. Two separate halfshaft campaigns cover cars built in narrow windows: 16V-287 (code S38) for a left halfshaft that 'may have been incorrectly manufactured causing it to fracture without warning' on cars built 30 September to 2 October 2015, and 16V-284 (code S39) for the right halfshaft on cars built 3 October 2015 to 22 March 2016. Recall 16V-590 (code S63) covers first or second row seat fasteners not torqued to specification, with dealers replacing seats or seat sets. Recall 18V-332 is the large multi-model cruise control campaign, where a wiring short can stop cruise control disengaging, fixed by a software flash of the engine or powertrain control module (the PCM, the computer that runs the engine). And 17V-824 is a Kidde fire extinguisher replacement. All free, all worth checking by VIN. Chrysler also ran customer-satisfaction program S57 on 2016 cars for front wiper arms that can work loose.