Car Issues Tracker
Vehicle complaints, recalls & safety data — sourced from NHTSA

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee: Complaints, Recalls, and Known Problems

Owners have filed 1,637 safety complaints about the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with U.S. regulators. Here's what the federal data shows, system by system.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · Retrieved July 14, 2026 · Counts change as new reports are filed

1,637
Complaints
11
Recalls
7
Investigations
4★
Overall crash rating

Complaints for this vehicle report 46 crashes, 104 fires, 35 injuries. No deaths have been reported.

Key findings
  1. Electrical issues dominate. They appear in 51% of the 1,637 complaints on file — an unusually concentrated failure pattern.
  2. Stalling is a recurring theme. 325 of the 1,637 reports describe the engine stalling — many while driving.
  3. 7 NHTSA defect investigations are associated with this vehicle.

What owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA name the vehicle system involved. For the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, electrical issues stand far above everything else.

Complaints by vehicle system
System mentions in 1,637 complaints · a complaint can cite more than one system
Electrical
834
Brakes & stability
307
Engine & cooling
300
Fuel & propulsion
247
Other / unspecified
153
Power train / transmission
101
Steering
99
Visibility & lighting
64

"When driving the vehicle it just stalls. No warning and all power is lost including power steering which makes it VERY dangerous to all occupants of the vehicle and others on the road."

Owner complaint filed November 2025 · Electrical System,Engine,Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA ODI 11698331

"While driving the road whether highway our town… my vehicle will stall out. I can’t safely pass because my car loses power.. check engine light starts blinking then traction control lights come on and then battery light. I have to turn the car off after turning flashers on put it in park and restart after a few seconds. This vehicle is VERY UNSAFE to DRIVE."

Owner complaint filed July 2025 · Electrical System,Engine,Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA ODI 11676084

When complaints were filed

Complaint filings for the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee over time:

Complaints filed per year — 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Year the complaint was filed, not the incident year
2
20
32
229
343
181
182
123
131
178
90
32
35
17
28
14
11121314151617181920212223242526
2026 is a partial year (through July 14, 2026).

How the 2012 compares with other model years

Across the Jeep Grand Cherokee model years we track, the 2014 has the most complaints on file (2,369); the 2012 ranks 3 of 4.

Total complaints by model year — Jeep Grand Cherokee
All complaints on file per model year, as of July 14, 2026
1,638
2012
1,637
2,369
1,342
Older model years have had more time on the road to accumulate complaints — compare adjacent years, not endpoints.

Recall history: 11 recalls

11 recalls apply to some or all 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit.

Sep 201111V-487
Engine And Engine Cooling

CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 CHRYSLER VEHICLES, INCLUDING 200 AND TOWN AND COUNTRY MODELS, DODGE VEHICLES, INCLUDING CHARGER, DURANGO, GRAND CARAVAN AND JOURNEY MODELS AND JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM AUGUST 31, 2011, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 13, 2011, THAT ARE EQUIPPED W…

Mar 201414V-104
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured October 11, 2011, through October 1, 2012. Under certain braking events, the Ready Alert Braking System (RAB) may result in the driver experiencing a hard brake pedal f…

Apr 201414V-154
Service Brakes

Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles manufactured from January 5, 2010, through September 8, 2013. The subject vehicles have a brake booster with a center shell that may corrode and allow water to get inside.

Jul 201414V-391
Electrical System:Wiring

Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured January 5, 2010, through December 11, 2013. In the affected vehicles, the wiring for the vanity lamp in the sun visor may short circuit, after a service repair is perfo…

Oct 201414V-634
Electrical System:Alternator/Generator/Regulator

Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Durango; and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured April 22, 2010, to January 2, 2014, and equipped with a 3.6L engine and a 160 amp alternator. In the affected vehicles…

Feb 201515V-115
Electrical System

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured September 17, 2010, to August 19, 2013, and equipped with a 3.6, 5.7 or 6.4 liter engine, and 2012-2013 Dodge Durango vehicles manufactured January 18, 2011, to August 19, 2013, and equipped wit…

Dec 201515V-879
Electrical System:Wiring

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured December 3, 2009, to September 1, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the wiring for the vanity lamp in the sun visor may short circuit, after having been remedied for a prior reca…

Jul 201717V-435
Electrical System:Alternator/Generator/Regulator

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Dodge Durango, and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The affected vehicles have electro-hydraulic power steering (EHPS) and are equipped with a 5.7L or a 3.6L engine and a 160, 180 or…

Sep 201717V-572
Service Brakes

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The affected vehicles had brake booster shields installed under a previous campaign to prevent water from entering the brake booster and limiting braking ability. This recall is to verify that the br…

Oct 201717E-061
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline:Turbo/Supercharger

Accessible Technologies, Inc. (ATI) is recalling certain ProCharger Superchargers, model numbers AB037A-100, AB037A-100P, and A037A-100B, sold for installation on 2012-2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and SRT vehicles. The supercharger mounting bracket may contact and damage the ABS line, possibly resu…

Nov 201919V-813
Electrical System

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2011-2013 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles equipped with a 3.6, 5.7, or 6.4 liter engine and previously recalled under NHTSA Recall 14V530 or 15V115. The fuel pump relay inside the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM-7) may fail, causing the…

Does your car have an open recall?

Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit. Look up your 17-character VIN on the official NHTSA site to see open recalls for your specific vehicle. Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov →

Crash-test ratings

NHTSA crash ratings measure how the car protects occupants in a crash — a separate question from the reliability complaints above. A vehicle can be both crashworthy and trouble-prone.

★★★★☆
Overall
★★★★☆
Frontal crash
★★★★★
Side crash
★★★★☆
Rollover

Frequently asked questions

How many complaints does the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee have?

As of July 14, 2026, owners have filed 1,637 complaints about the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with NHTSA. The most-reported system is electrical.

How many recalls does the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee have?

The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee has 11 NHTSA recalls on file. Recall repairs are free at any dealer.

Is the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee safe in a crash?

NHTSA gives the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee an overall crash rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Crash ratings measure occupant protection in a collision; they do not measure reliability, which is what the complaint data above reflects.

Methodology & source

All figures come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public APIs: the Office of Defects Investigation complaint database, the recalls database, and NCAP safety ratings, retrieved July 14, 2026.

Complaints are self-reported by consumers and are not verified by NHTSA or by this site. A single complaint may cite multiple vehicle systems, so system mentions can sum to more than the complaint total. Complaint volume is influenced by fleet size, media attention, and recall notices, and is not by itself a measure of defect rates.

This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer. Nothing here is repair, purchase, or legal advice. For your specific vehicle, use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and consult a qualified technician.