2020 JEEP CHEROKEE — Complaint #2052785
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM filed January 3, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2052785 (ODI reference 11633806) concerns a 2020 JEEP CHEROKEE and was filed on January 3, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 3, 2025. The report was geocoded to Ohio based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:electric power assist system, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 1, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same JEEP CHEROKEE cohort independently describe similar steering:electric power assist system failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2020 JEEP CHEROKEE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact's mother owns a 2020 Jeep Cherokee. The contact stated that while his mother was driving at unknown speeds, the steering wheel stiffened and was difficult to maneuver. The failure would occur intermittently. The contact stated that while his mother was driving at approximately 25 MPH, the steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a nearby tree where it came to a stop. No air bags deployed. The driver sustained bruising to the chest, and back injuries, and hit their head against the steering wheel. Medical attention was required. A police report was failed. The police department towed the vehicle. The vehicle's front end was severely damaged causing the radiator to leak. It was unknown if the vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2052785 |
| ODI Number | 11633806 |
| Date Filed | January 3, 2025 |
| Failure Date | January 3, 2025 |
| VIN | 1C4PJMLB8LD |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.