NHTSA Complaint #11560448 — 2015 JEEP CHEROKEE

I received an error message on the dash that the PTU failed which is a common failure on this Jeep. Mine was diagnosed by a local dealership. They informed me that the PTU ws determined to be ok, and the Transmission Control Module was actually at fault. After waiting for the part, which wasn't available due to the Stellantis strike. When I was waiting for the parts to come in, the dealer said I could drive the Jeep since it was electronic part failure and as long as I didn't engage the 4-wh. dr. to power the rear wheels, it would be ok to drive. When the TCM was received, I dropped the Jeep off for service. The part was replaced, error cleared, and test driven by the technician. The error message immediately returned. At this point, the technician decided to do a visual inspection of the drivetrain. He found the rear differential cracked all the way around, and all fluids had leaked out. If the rear differential had locked up or CV snapped off due to lack of lubrication, it could have caused a serious, possibly deadly accident. I feel the technician should have performed a complete inspection of the driveline first, before trusting the computer to correctly diagnose the problem. After talking to other Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk owners, it appears they had similar situations with the rear differential splitting open much too often for a front wheel drive midsize SUV.