NHTSA Complaint #11678102 — 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE

I am writing to report a malfunction in the active headrest deployment system in my vehicle. While driving, the passenger’s side headrest unexpectedly deployed without any indication of an impact or collision, posing a potential safety risk. My wife was in the seat at the time when the unit deployed jarring her head forward. Upon my investigation, it appears that the one of the failure points were internal plastic components. This malfunction caused the headrest to deploy randomly, despite there being no collision or triggering event. While the headrest is designed to deploy during a rear-end collision to prevent neck injuries, its unintended activation while driving can cause discomfort, distraction, or even injury, especially if it occurs suddenly. If this happened during an emergency maneuver or while driving at high speed, it could also interfere with my ability to maintain control of the vehicle. At this time, the vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. However, I believe a more thorough inspection of the headrest system, and perhaps the vehicle’s onboard diagnostics, could provide insight into the issue. There were no warning lamps, error messages, or other noticeable symptoms prior to the headrest deploying unexpectedly. This malfunction occurred without any prior indication of a problem. The deployment was a sudden event while driving, with no alerts or warnings beforehand.