The transmission found in Jeep Cherokee vehicles is defective and increases the risk for accident and injury, according to a class action lawsuit recently filed by a disgruntled consumer.
Plaintiff Lisa Cummings filed the Jeep class action lawsuit against FCA US LLC over claims that the 9-speed transmission found in the 2016 Jeep Cherokee is defective and consistently fails to shift into the desired gear.
Cummings says she purchased a 2016 Jeep Cherokee in January 2016, believing that the vehicle was “safe and reliable and, therefore, a good value.”
However, she allegedly soon began experiencing problems related to the 9-speed transmission installed in the vehicle. Cummings claims that the vehicle fails to reliably switch gears or stay in the desired gear. For example, it reportedly takes more than a minute for the vehicle to shift from reverse to drive.
In multiple instances, Cummings’ vehicle suddenly accelerated or decelerated due to the alleged transmission issue. During one dramatic instance, Cummings says she was driving down the freeway with her grandchildren at a speed of around 70 miles per hour. The vehicle suddenly downshifted and decelerated to a speed of around 25 miles per hour.
A semi-truck which was driving behind Cummings nearly hit her vehicle as a result of the alleged transmission failure. Cummings says she now feels unsafe driving her Jeep Cherokee and does not use the vehicle on the highway.
Due to the faulty transmission and dangerous defect, Cummings returned to the dealership and told the employees about her vehicle problems. The dealership allegedly flashed her vehicle and told her it would not be a problem anymore.
However, the Jeep Cherokee class action lawsuit claims the problem persisted. Cummings reportedly returned to the dealership eight times between January 2016 and January 2018 in an attempt to fix the issue. However, the dealership allegedly failed to acknowledge the transmission issue and did not fix the dangerous problem.
The Jeep Cherokee transmission class action claims that FCA knew or should have known that their 9-speed transmission found in Jeep Cherokee vehicles was defective, but concealed the dangers in order to entice consumers to purchase their vehicles.
“The existence of the Defect is a material fact that a reasonable consumer would consider when deciding whether to purchase or lease a Class Vehicle,” the Jeep Cherokee class action claims. “Had Plaintiff and Class Members known that the Class Vehicles were equipped with defective transmissions they would not have purchased or leased them or would have paid less for them.”
A settlement has been reached over similar allegations regarding Fiat Chrysler vehicles. The settlement was proposed in February after almost three years of litigation. Should the settlement be approved, it will provide an extended warranty, cash payment of up to $2,000, or a trade-in voucher for up to $4,000.
Cummings seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased or leased a 2016 Jeep Cherokee equipped with the 9-Speed Transmission. She also seeks to represent a subclass of the same consumers who live in New York or purchased their vehicle in New York.
The Jeep Cherokee class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, treble damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
Cummings is represented by Todd S. Garber and D. Greg Blankinship of Finkelstein Blankinshp Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP.
The Jeep Cherokee Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Cummings v. FCA US LLC, Case No. 5:18-cv-01072-GTS-TWD, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
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216 thoughts onJeep Cherokee Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Transmission Defect
I have a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have had to replace the water pump twice, the tension belt and now the transmission has gone out. I am still making payments, but I cannot make payments and continue to fix issues every month. Is; there a class action on the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I was sold a lemon.
My 2016 Jeep Cherokee will refuse to shift at times, jerking the entire car violently with a huge thump when it does. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but this here process I’m not my
I’m having lots of power to my 2016 Jeep Cherokee latitude
I had a brand new Jeep grand Cherokee limited edition 2008
What a nightmare
I’d be quicker to list what was right about it.
From the time of purchase it was a lemon.The transmission slipped / jumped while driving -could drop from 70 km to 20 km in a matter of seconds…the dealership said they could find nothing wrong. Eventually I got a recall letter saying don’t drive because transmission dangerous.
The sunroof leaked and after a year said it needed replacing….at my cost.
The battery had to be replaced 3 times within the first 4 years.
Key lock/steering wheel tumbler had a recall to be replaced.
Had a major oil leak in the valley area after six years
Turbo needed replacing after 6 years
The Turbo Mercedes engine was miss matched with the electrics
All up I had 12 recalls.
Found out it was first attempt to accomplish this set up.
Paying for a brand new car and being ripped off is not acceptable – I believe there were upwards of 20,000 complaints in US but they were blocked because Chrysler couldn’t afford the cost of compensation or replacement back then
I have a 2019 but I’m having the same issue or you guys are not open up for that year model?
I have a 2019 jeep grand Cherokee altitude that the braking system recall that has no repair available lost control of brakes coming down a mountain and crashed into a pole! It almost killed me no air bags deployed! I haven’t worked in 10wks! Root insurance denied my claim because they say it’s a jeep problem to fix. Jeep wants me to tow it to another shop. I’m not paying for anything else for this vehicle. Jeep has destroyed my entire life!
My jeep cherokee’s transmission has never been right.
Our Jeep was in a Jeep shop for over 8 months while being told the transmission was being replaced. At the end we were told the worth of the car was not worth replacing the transmission and we would receive a check for the worth of the car. That was in March. We have been given the runaround ever since (4-5 months) after contacting the dealership MANY TIMES. Still no check.
I AM WONDERING HOW MANY OTHER CUSTOMERS THIS IS HAPPENING TO?
I have a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. It’s now 8 years old, but has just 21k miles on it. I’ve lost all power on my vehicle while drive 4 times now (3 times on the freeway at full speed, dropping suddenly to almost 20 mph because the accelerator pedal just went to the floor, and did nothing (but make an engine revving sound). I was able to pull off to the side, turn off the car and wait a bit. After a few minutes, I turned the car on and it seemed to be operating normally. The last time this occurred, I chose to return home from the vacation I was heading to in Utah (because I couldn’t trust the car wouldn’t kill me by shutting down the power on a Nevada Interstate at 70 mph.
2016 jeep cherokee limited. Wrecked twice. First time went from park into gear. Hit my mother’s Mercedes. 2nd wreck 2months later loss all power on highway totalling my car. The recall fix didn’t work . Luckily no one died. This is a death trap. Luckily no passengers in my vehicle . They would have died.