NHTSA Complaint #11297841 — 2015 JEEP RENEGADE

THE HEADLIGHTS WERE ON TOO LONG WHILE THE ENGINE WAS OFF CAUSING A DEAD BATTERY. NO BIG DEAL I THOUGHT... I JUMPSTART THE CAR PER OWNERS MANUAL INSTRUCTIONS (IT HAS A COMPLEX BATTERY SO EVEN THOUGH I'VE JUMP STARTED MANY DIFFERENT VEHICLES I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WEREN'T SPECIAL PROCEDURES, IT ENDED UP BEING PRETTY STANDARD). WHEN IT DIED IT WAS IN A GARAGE SO I HAD TO MANUALLY UNLOCK THE GEAR SELECTOR TO PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL TO PUSH IT INTO POSITION FOR A JUMP CONNECTION. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND LET THE BATTERY CHARGE UP A WHILE. ONCE THE CAR CHARGED UP ENOUGH, IT STARTED RIGHT UP. AT THIS POINT I THOUGHT I WAS IN THE CLEAR, THAT'S WHEN THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT AND SERVICE TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. THE ENGINE IS RUNNING FINE, TRANSMISSION WAS FINE BEFORE THE BATTERY DIED. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT I COULD NOT MOVE THE VEHICLE. IT WAS LOCKED INTO PARK. I WAS BLOCKING THE ROAD IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHILE I WAS MANUALLY UNLOCKING THE GEAR SELECTOR, I FINALLY GET THE CAR TO SHIFT INTO DRIVE AND TRIED TO ACCELERATE. ONLY THE ENGINE WOULD REV, NO MOVEMENT. TRY TO REVERSE, SAME THING. AT THIS POINT I COULDN'T GET THE CAR BACK INTO PARK. I PUSH THE CAR BACK INTO THE GARAGE TO GET IT OUT OF THE WAY AND GO TO TURN IT OFF. THE RENEGADE (PUSH BUTTON START) WILL NOT LET YOU TURN THE CAR OFF IN ANY GEAR BUT PARK. IT WAS STUCK IN NEUTRAL. AFTER STRUGGLING MORE TO FORCE IT BACK INTO PARK, I FINALLY GET IT AND WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR OFF. I'M LUCKY IT DIDN'T GET STUCK IN D OR R IF IT STARTED WORKING! I'VE NEVER HAD SUCH AN EXPERIENCE JUMPSTARTING A CAR AND THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN. LUCKILY I WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO PUSH THE CAR BACK OUT OF THE WAY, OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE STUCK THERE INDEFINITELY UNTIL A TOW CAME. I'VE READ NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THIS IN ONLINE FORUMS. EACH ONE SAID A DEALERSHIP HAD TO RESET THE CARS COMPUTER TO MAKE IT WORK AGAIN.