NHTSA Complaint #11521887 — 2014 JEEP CHEROKEE

On March 7th 2023, I was driving my Jeep Cherokee on NY 96A in 55 mpa traffic, saw the check engine light turn on briefly, the engine seized at this speed, started chugging, and nearly had a traffic accident given the abrupt engine failure. In addition, while I was able to get to the side of the road, the car was stuck protruding off from the shoulder into the lane, the engine would not start to move the car, and it was a very unsafe situation given poor visibility at dusk. At 91,000 miles, it seems very strange to have experienced engine failure that ultimately resulted in a $6,785 repair bill at Maguire Jeep/Chrysler dealer in Ithaca, NY (VVA assembly needed to be replaced, broken valve spring in cylinder 4, roller spun and wedged in camshaft causing lobe damage, VVAA collapsed causing loose rocker and damaging head, valve and camshaft. Cylinder head needed to be rebuilt). This vehicle has had other serious problems in the past prior to this incident including a malfunctioning parking brake in 2020 that resulted in my 6 year old son and I stranded, unable to drive while we baked in the 90+ degree heat, a very costly broken 4wd module replacement 2021, and multiple breakdowns due to starter issues/needing starter to be rebuilt (2022 2x).