NHTSA Complaint #11704638 — 2017 JEEP CHEROKEE

Component malfunctioned: Power Transfer Unit (PTU); Safety risk: failure risks loss of drive power of the vehicle, putting driver and surrounding individuals at risk; Problem reproduced: Yes - dealer; Component inspected: Yes - dealer; Messages: Yes - SVC 4WD. Upon purchasing the vehicle, I was informed that the PTU fluid is not meant to be changed - that it is meant to be "lifetime". However, at 8 years and 56,000 miles, I am now informed that the PTU is failing because the fluid was never changed. Thus, instead of a simple, cheap fluid change service, I now need to pay around $5,000 for the dealer to change out the entire PTU. 8 years and 56,000 is far from "lifetime" but it just outside of the warranty so I have to pay for this out of pocket despite Jeep claiming that the PTU fluid is not meant to be changed. This is so common of a problem that the PTU part needed to complete this repair is not only out of stock at all dealers, there is a long queue for obtaining the part. This is costing me not just extra repair money but also impacting my daily life as I am out of a vehicle for much longer due to having to wait for an available part. I now also have to pay for other modes of transportation while also being overall limited on my ability to complete daily responsibilities. Clearly, if the PTU fluid is meant to be "lifetime", as I was informed it was meant to be when I purchased the vehicle, it is consistently defective since so many Jeep owners are dealing with this problem. Consumers should not be the one footing the bill for this Jeep defect.