AutoUtility currently tracks 400 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 113 complaints (28.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 20 filings cite a crash, 8 cite a fire, 12 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 400 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (113 reports • 28.2% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Steering System (102), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (70)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 20 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 12 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
400
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
20
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
12
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 28.2% of complaints

Electrical System

113 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 4 fire reports
#2 Problem Area 25.5% of complaints

Steering System

102 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 6 crash reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 17.5% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

70 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 10 crash reports 🩹 7 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 14% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

56 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#5 Problem Area 12% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

48 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

  • Campaign #22V284000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE)
*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 2 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 5.5% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

22 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11758719
Filed: 08/22/2026

"On [XXX] while driving in northeastern colorado on hevily traveled [XXX] without warnin lamps, messages or other symptoms my vehicle stopped running. I was in a lane of traffic and since car had stalled out I had limited steering, braking etc. I did manage to get my vehicle out of the lane of..."

Incident Date: 07/13/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11754729
Filed: 08/04/2026

"Electronic Throttle Control warning light comes on upon starting vehicle while extended crank occurs. When starting car, the push to start feature will not turn over and continuously cranks multiple times. Issue is intermittent- never know when it will happen which makes it difficult to replicate..."

Incident Date: 10/30/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Exterior Lighting NHTSA ODI ID: #11752887
Filed: 07/26/2026

"I was driving back from the airport and as it began to get dark, it became apparent I had no headlights. I somehow managed to drive the last two hours home on parking lights and lights from other vehicles.I took it to a Chrysler Jeep dealership Goldies in Huntington, West Virginia. The exam that I..."

Incident Date: 07/11/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11750460
Filed: 07/14/2026

"While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden, unexpected engine stall and complete loss of propulsion due to a premature failure of the in-tank electric fuel pump. This failure occurred at only 37,000 miles, which is well below the expected lifespan of a major fuel system component. A sudden..."

Incident Date: 06/11/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11744034
Filed: 06/14/2026

"I had stopped at a red light and the auto start/stop turned off the car. It would not restart. The fault caused it to stay in Park and could not get out of Park to move vehicle. This not only caused a road hazard but made me and others unsafe. The cause was a enclosed fuse box that made batteries..."

Incident Date: 06/10/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Jeep Grand Cherokee

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee 1355 128 10 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee 308 27 9 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee 364 26 6 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee 848 42 11 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee 362 17 7 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee 231 24 3 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Current Page 400 20 12 Current
2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 368 13 23 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 475 15 22 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 262 9 17 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee 68 7 4 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee 0 0 5 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 106 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 32 0 3 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 31 0 1 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 29 2 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 24 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 0 2 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 17 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE 14 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 12 0 0 1 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 10 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 9 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 9 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 1 0 1 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 7 5 0 4 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7 1 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 7 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 0 1 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 5 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 0 0 3 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 5 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 2 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 3 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 3 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE 2 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 1 0 1 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,LANE DEPARTURE 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEATS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,SERVICE BRAKES, AIR 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,CHILD SEAT 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (400). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Related Official Reports for 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.