2014 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Seats Problems

On November 6, 2025 at 11:59 AM, the active head restraint on my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited deployed without impact as I adjusted the driver’s seat into an upright position. This was a spontaneous mechanical deployment inside the cabin of a stationary vehicle. The dealership confirmed this as a known failure involving the internal plastic retaining clip that holds the deployment pin. This defect was previously covered under a 10-year extended warranty that expired in November 2024. At the time of the incident, I was alone in the vehicle. I later sought medical evaluation for head, neck, shoulder, and lower back pain and was diagnosed with a cervical strain. Because this failure occurs without collision, it presents a serious risk of injury to drivers and passengers. I regularly spend time with elderly individuals in personal, non-commercial contexts and occasionally transport others in my personal vehicle. In such a population,...

Was getting ready to go to town, opened back seat for daughter to get into vehicle, and all of a sudden the front seat headrest popped out. Was very scary. Thankfully no one was in the front seat when it happened. I could only imagine there would have been some pain/injury sustained if they were. There were no warnings. No other malfunctions. Headrest is not able to be "clicked" back into place as a bracket is broken inside. There has not been any investigation by manufacturer, police or insurance reps.

We were driving this weekend and the headrest components failed and blew it apart. It shoved my husbands head forward really hard. We pulled over and tried to fix it but all the pieces are snapped inside of it. From our understanding that is a safety feature that is supposed to happen in a crash but we were not in a crash, just doing 55 mph down the road. It was not inspected by anyone yet but from reading online forums this seems to be a common occurrence.

Drivers seat headrest, popped apart while driving. Hit back of drivers head with loud sound, scaring driver and jerking neck, while driving. Checked for recall, none shown.

The headrests activator failed on the driver’s seat and hit me in the back of the head. I was driving about 35mph. This vehicle has never been in an accident. A week later the same thing happened in the passenger seat to a passenger. Upon inspection the plastic failed that secures the latch-pin. We were never notified about this problem!

Driver active headrest self deployed while driving. No explainable cause as vehicle was not in an accident. It happened while driving normally. No cause can be observed.

Spontaneous deployment of driver seat head rest (without any collision or trauma to the vehicle that might make it deploy). Unable to safely operate my vehicle now that head rest safety function is defective.

Grand Cherokee head rest popped out.

The driver side Active Head Restraint unexpectedly deployed while driving the vehicle.

The driver's side active head restraint deployed without warning striking me in the back of the head, fortunately not hard enough to seriously injure me, but hard enough to cause a headache. I had just gotten into the vehicle to drive to work, so it wasn't even moving. There are broken pieces of plastic that apparently used to hold it closed. My vehicle has no uncompleted recalls, but now looking at my vehicle information online I've discovered that there was a "warranty extension" in 2020 regarding a possible failure exactly like this, and I've also discovered there were lawsuits following reports of injuries! Chrysler never notified me, nor did the Jeep dealer bring it to my attention during any of my routine service appointments. Why wasn't this a RECALL requiring repair instead of left to be a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off??? Adding insult to injury, the...

-The passenger seat head rest popped open (exploded - it was super loud) when in the process of backing up out of my driveway. - The safety of everyone in the car was put at risk. My husband was in the seat and was hit in the back of the head. My son, his wife and their 2 month old daughter was in the back seat. - The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by anyone. It just happend last night. - It has not been inspected yet either. - There was no indication of any issue with the head rest. There was no collision or problem prior to the rest rest popping open (or exploding, seriously).

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? --It was taken by Jeep when they repaired it. They likely have it. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? --I was at a complete stop when the headrest deployed into the back of my head causing sever injury. There was no impact. The headrest slammed the back of my head. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? --Yes, and there have been news reports about class action suits, but there was no recall. In fact, they notified owners that if you hadn't had a problem then you're okay. No need to do anything. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? --Manufacturer (jeep) Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem...

The headrest restraint in the driver's seat spontaneously deployed hitting the back of my head while I was driving. It is available for inspection. The deployment was startling/surprising - quite a distraction - my impulse was to turn around to see what hit me - it wasn't readily apparent until I re-oriented my body in the seat and found my headrest had moved forward making it uncomfortable to drive. A web search indicated other Jeep/Durango owners have experienced this - some are attempting to "reset" the headrest on their own. A call to Chrysler/Jeep customer care confirmed that the warranty on this item had been extended to 14 Mar 2023 - no recall. I was not notified to my knowledge. They declined to help me. The vehicle has not been inspected. There were no leading indications of a failure, nor is there an indication currently, other than the headrest is...

I was driving down the freeway when I felt my headrest strike the back of my head. This caused a momentary distraction as my head was pushed forward and the back of my head was struck. The headrest component of the safety restraint system deployed. It is available for inspection upon request. The dealership inspected and said this is a known problem but they would not cover the repair as it fell outside of their warranty period which ended 10/2023. It would be a cost of $800+ that I would have to pay. There are no warning lamps/messages currently illuminated or displayed. Incident occurred May 30, 2024

Vehicle was parked in my front yard and sometimes between the hours of 830am and 3pm the driver side headrest activated (popped). No warning lights before or after it activated. Issue could have caused an accident and possibly caused injury to myself or my children had I been driving when system activated. Vehicle is available for inspection Issue is a known problem as a simple Google search would show

Passenger seat, headrest deployed, spontaneously going down the road.

Passenger side, headrest deployed for no reason overnight

While driving the vehicle the headrest deployed striking the driver in the back of the head. Action happened while turning onto a residential street. Driver stopped to access the damage. Driver sustained a headache from impact. Headrest will not reset. If system deployed while driving down the highway it could have resulted in traffic accident. Concern for the owner as subject has severe spinal issues and impact could result in fatal damage. There is no codes visible at this time.

Out of nowhere the headrest "exploded" with force while I was driving and it was like a punch to the back of my head. I am nauseous and have a headache hours later.

Driver side head rest randomly deployed and hit the back of my head very hard pushing me forward while drive down my neighborhood.

We reached to the back seat and heard a pop and then the head rest popped out of place and won’t go back. I’ve seen numerous other reviews about this situation of their headrest popping out. This should be covered by warranty and recalled to have the headrests fixed

While driven the vehicle, the head of the driver front seat opened and broke where you can see the broken plastic support in the interior. After a month the head of the seat of the passenger were broke in the same way. They were open and broke and expose the interior of the head seat noticed the plastic pin support broken.,06

The driver's side Active Head Restraint deployed for no reason.

When sitting in the passenger seat while the car was parked, the active head restraint popped and hit me in the back of my head. After realizing what happens, I read about resetting this and was unable to as the plastic clips that hold the head restraint back were broken.

Passenger head rest deployment while parked with no reason

•Driver headrest deployed while driving for no reason. Vehicle is available for inspection. •When headrest deployed, it strike me on the back of my head causing uncertainty of what hit me. •The problem has not been reproduce. •The component has not been inspected by the manufacture, police, insurance representative, or anybody else. • There was no warning, lamps, messages, or any other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

The Active Headrest Restraint (AHR) busted open with the broken clip issue and cannot be fixed without a dealership replacement. The car is available for inspection. This was not the result of an accident or collision, as the car was parked. If I were sitting in the seat, it most likely would have given me a concussion or a hospital visit. Since the AHR is supposed to reduce the occurrence of whiplash in the event of a collision, I am now at increased risk of whiplash if something were to happen. Multiple reports claim it has caused injury, and I am now worried for my passengers if their headrest was to also pop out. As of 2023, the NHTSA has received nearly 500 complaints of headrests bursting open, with at least 71 of them involving injury. The vehicle has not yet been inspected, but will need to be taken to...

Front Passenger side Head Rest broke apart, looks like a plastic piece or lock mechanism broke on the headrest causing it to break apart and I cannot push it back together and re-lock it. This happened while driving down the road with no external factors at play.

While stopped at a Stop sign, the passenger side headrest restraint was deployed while my wife was seated. The headrest made a loud noise and did contact her head, but she was not harmed. If this were to happen on the driver's side, especially while moving, the result could be catastrophic.

The passenger side headrest popped out violently by itself. Was driving up the interstate when the headrest randomly popped out. The headrest is unable to be reset. This could have been a very dangerous issue had someone been sitting in the passenger seat when the active headrest system deployed.

While driving normally, the passenger headrest violently shot open. Plastic clips which once held a metal rod inside the headrest can be seen stressed and broken, causing the active head restraint (AHR) systems to deploy. Several independent websites and forums show this is a known issue but there has not been a recall. There were no warning signs of an issue until this point.

While sitting in my car with with it running in a parking spot my passenger side active headrest retention system failed and the headrest deployed violently. Luckily no one was sitting in the passenger seat however this could have caused serious injury of death had the seat been occupied. Upon further investigation by myself I noticed that the metal retention bar was still in place however the plastics that is supposed to secure the bar to the mechanism the bar has broken

Passenger side front seat headrest (active head restraint) deployed for no reason while sitting at a stop sign.

This happened to me today. I was driving and heard a really loud pop/ rattle noise (almost took me off the road it was so abrupt) and thought maybe it was something that hit my car on the road. Sound nearly took me off the road. I pulled over and after inspection I noticed the driver headrest had deployed and the clip is broke. This seems like a SERIOUS safety hazard. It is available for inspection upon request. The headrest has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representative or others as it just happened today. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

While highway driving at 62 mph the passengers seat head rest suddenly blew apart with a loud bang, This scared both my wife and I as it was totally unexpected. We found ourselves looking all around trying to figure out what had happened. This was a totally dangerous distraction.There were no bumps in the road or any indication that would of caused the problem. Upon inspection it looks like a small plastic piece holding a metal pin broke. It has not been taken to a dealer yet. It is available for inspection, but I hope to get it fixed shortly.

The head rest deployed into the back of my head while driving through an intersection. No collision. No bumps. No contact. Smooth driving and then it deployed. It’s a hard and shocking deployment that hits you in the back of the head very aggressively causing my head jolt forward from the impact.

For no reason whatsoever, the headrest srs deployed. And now I have to replace it with a new one. Very expensive. And dangerous problem.

My passenger side headrest deployed randomly while my girlfriend was in the seat. She currently has a headache, we are looking into this further and what steps should be taken. Vehicle was driving maybe 10 mph when this took place. I understand this design for deployment is supposed to take place during an accident to protect the passenger from whiplash. Again, this incident took place randomly (no accident) A plastic clip broke off, causing the headrest to spring and deploy. This is a dangerous safety design flaw and Jeep should have a recall for this component. There were NO warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The incident occurred on August 4, 2022.

Headrest popped open out of nowhere driving down the road. Luckily I was leaning forward

Driver seat active headrest deployed for no reason.

The Active Head Restraint system, which is integrated into the headrest unexpectedly deployed while I was safely operating the vehicle on the highway. The impact to the back of my head caused a concussion. The vehicle was not involved in a collision or other kind of accident that would trigger the system to deploy. After parking the vehicle and inspecting the headrest, it was observed that several plastic fastening components failed causing the unintended deployment of the system. It was also observed that the plastic around the metal fastening pin had failed. Internet research shows that this is a known problem with Fiat Chrysler automobiles. A Federal investigation is ongoing relating to this issue. Further, there is a class action lawsuit in the state of California.

Vehicle was parked when the front passenger headrest exploded.

Passenger Headrest safety feature deployed while a passenger and I were driving hitting him in the back of the neck.

The drivers active headrest deployed while sitting parked in driveway. Came out the the jeep this morning and the clips that hold it together broke. This is a part of the safety system.

My 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee automatic headrest deployed. My wife was driving as normal and she was hit over the head by the headrest. It was deployed under normal driving conditions. There was no accident. This is very dangerous because of the sudden surprise. She could have been killed!!!!!

I have a 2014 SRT jeep I was at the car wash and my passenger head rest system deployed I look inside and saw that the clips were broken.

PASSENGER HEAD RESTRAINT HEADREST DEPLOYS WITHOUT COLLISION. WHILE PARKED IN DRIVEWAY OVERNIGHT, (POPPED OPEN AND FORWARD). DEALERSHIP FOUND NO FAULTS

Deployed head rest while vehicle was in parked and engine was off.

While driving my vehicle on an interstate, I felt something hit the back of my head against my hairclip. Once stopped at a light, I tried to adjust my power seat thinking that it had somehow readjusted itself (I have been waiting over 6 months for a new PCM and lots of little power gremlins have shown up with the engine and other systems). When that did not help the issue, I reached to my headrest to see if I could adjust it when I realized that it had popped open. There was no incident/accident to cause this.

The driver's side headrest exploded forward when no one was in it. 10/12/21 the Jeep was taken to the Buffalo airport. Early Afternoon, 10/13/21 it was picked up. When the car was picked up, it was found with the headrest exploded. After close inspection of the car, no damage was found to indicate a collision had happened. The safety of others is an issue because it inhibits the driver from properly seeing the road after it exploded. The problem is being solved by our own mechanic. No inspection has been made by any authorities or insurance reps. No warning lights, messages or symptoms were observed before the headrest exploded. You can see pictures attached.