2016 Jeep Cherokee · symptom sheet
Airbag warning light or recall
- 31owner reports
- 44,000median miles
- 16involved a crash
Newest report Aug 30, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
31 of the 1,406 complaints on this car describe airbag.
Tick what matches of 31 reports
Airbag on other Cherokee years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022.
What this problem usually is
Airbag complaints split into a few kinds. The most common is an airbag warning light that won't go out. Others involve the passenger seat sensor switching the passenger bag off with an adult sitting there, an airbag that didn't deploy in a crash, or one that went off without a crash at all. A large share also come from owners waiting on a recall part.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the occupant sensor (5 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the airbags covers the 2016 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
NHTSA investigations into the airbags on the Cherokee
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture. Open.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 25,000 and 66,000 miles, from the 21 reports that gave a mileage.
What owners wrote
“From airbags all of them. yes its available for inspection. the airbags deployed while I was driving and I couldn't control the car and ended up in a ditch. yes we were put at risk as well as others on the road. Nobody has inspected vehicle at this time. no prior issues or warnings. It deployed without any warnings. There was NO cause for this to happen, No impact when this ocured.”
Filed Mar 21, 2026
“Start driving the vehicle multiple times during the operation you get a service airbag message with a code / dtc of b0020-13 which FCA put out a TSB for but when you do take the car in the code is not stored in memory, so they refused to repair it”
Filed Dec 1, 2023
“My wife was involved in an accident due to the other driver making an illegal u-turn. This collision involved a front impact of her Jeep causing several thousand dollars of damage. During this accident, the airbags did not deploy as would have been expected in an accident of this nature.”
Filed Jun 3, 2021
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 16 of 31 reports involved a crash and 17 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found
Other problems on this car
- "Shift to Park" or "Service Shifter" warning comes on 269 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 258 reports
- Service 4WD light or power transfer unit (PTU) failure 224 reports
- Multiple warning lights come on at once 107 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 93 reports
- "Service Transmission" message or wrench light comes on 90 reports
- Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard 87 reports
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 81 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 62 reports
- Burns oil or oil level rises 51 reports
- Driveshaft, axle or transfer case problems 48 reports
- Battery dies or the car will not start 46 reports
- Traction control or StabiliTrak light comes on 30 reports
- Wheel bearing, tires or wheels 25 reports