Problems · by component
2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee engine problems
124 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee cite engine, 10% of all 1,297 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
124
10% of all complaints
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Vehicle will all of a sudden shut off with out warning while driving. It has shut off while in motion going about 25miles per hour . I hurry and put it in park and restart it. It has restarted every time. Sometime the lights on the dash will flash for a moment but has only done that 2 times out of the 10 that it has shut off while driving”
“I am experiencing so many problems with my jeep. It shift out of gear then start shutting down. Lights appear all across the dash board. At times, I have difficulty in shifting gear.The clutch slip and I get this burning smell. Then engine light comes on. It slow to move after shifting it into the forward gear. Sometimes it doesn't move when I shift it into the forward gear. Then when it does, it start bucking and kicking while driving. It slows down even when you press the gas pedal. Lastly, I have major problem with my a/c. It runs cool for a second and then completely shut off.”
“The ignition I believe lost connection with the key fob. Multiple times while driving the vehicle will randomly just die. An when trying to start sometimes it does nothing unless you push key in a certain way.”
“If vehicle sits for more then 8 hours you can drive it - but once the vehicle has been turned off Vehicle will not turn on for more then 5-10 seconds and will just turn off. Sometimes it says invalid key when it’s the primary key and not spares. Acts as if it has kill switch. Problem keeps happening constantly”
“Jeep cuts out in middle of driving it says engine misfire on 3 . Driving down road will almost died or not run in traffic im lucky I havent had wreck yet to scared to drive it have seen all over the interent how bad it is mechanics cant seem to fix even jeeps own mechanics”
“The Jeep dealer replaced my ignition switch that was part of the 2014 ignition switch recall. My Jeep continues to lose power after successfully turning on. It will turn on for a less than one minute, all the lights on the dash board will turn on, and the engine will have sudden loss of power. It can take up to an hour to get it to turn back on without it losing power again. If driven after it turn on without waiting at least 2 minutes, the car will suddenly lose power while in drive. This has been happening on an almost daily basis since 2019, which resulted in it being parked in the driveway for 6 months for fear it would turn off while driving on the freeway.”
Showing 6 of 124 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.