2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee · symptom sheet
Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard
- 59owner reports
- 17,000median miles
- 5involved a crash
Newest report Sep 24, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
351 of the 1,359 complaints on this car are about the transmission and drivetrain. 59 of those describe transmission shudder.
Narrower sheets: Transmission jerks, lurches or bangs into gear (30 reports)
Tick what matches of 59 reports
Transmission shudder on other Grand 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: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
What this problem usually is
This is the biggest drivetrain group on the site: a transmission that shudders, slips, hesitates or bangs into gear. It's the everyday version of transmission trouble, where the car still drives but doesn't drive right, and it has three narrower sheets of its own for jerking, hesitation and slipping.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the valve body (6 reports) and the transmission (5 reports).
Recalls and investigations
One recall on the transmission and drivetrain covers the 2015 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
The affected vehicles, equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission and a monostable gear selector, may not adequately warn the driver when driver's door is opened and the vehicle is not in PARK, allowing them to exit the vehicle while the vehicle is still in gear.
All 10 recalls on the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
NHTSA investigations into the transmission and drivetrain on the Grand Cherokee
Vehicle rollaway, engine on. Closed jun 24, 2016, led to recall 16V-240.
Powered vehicle rollaway. Closed feb 5, 2016.
Sudden acceleration. Closed sep 10, 2002.
Roll-away in reverse when parked. Closed dec 18, 2002, led to recall 02V-053.
Inadvertent rollaway in reverse park. Closed nov 1, 2001.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 5,300 and 60,000 miles, from the 40 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 2 service bulletins or notices for the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
Gear Ratio DTC?s, Transmission Shift Concerns, Does Not Shift At Times, Shudders
Flash: 8HP70 SRT Transmission Shift Enhancements This bulletin involves reprogramming the Transmission Control Module (TCM) with the latest available software. A small number of customers may experience one of more of the following conditions.
What owners wrote
“ACC automatically canceled without braking causing car to either slow down immediately or speed up unsafely, slippery road light turns on, on dash while driving straight, lunging of the car that feels like tires are spinning and or hesitation.”
Filed Jun 17, 2026 · 61,264 miles
“Hard shifting car jumps when put in gear I think itâs a known issue with this vehicle”
Filed Nov 5, 2025
“My car keeps slipping into neutral, not able to go over forty three miles per hour. Will not go into park or drive at times. Electrical issues. This has happened several times two times on the freeway, with one of them and entering the freeway, almost causing an accident.”
Filed Dec 9, 2024
“The transmission slips fro D to P making the vehicle inoperable. I have check all doors to make sure they were closed. restarted the vehicle yet still in able to drive! It is Not the first time it happened .”
Filed Apr 10, 2023
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 5 of 59 reports involved a crash and 3 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 Paid for this repair before a recall covered it? How recall reimbursement works
Other problems on this car
- Seat belt or seat problems 370 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 116 reports
- Airbag warning light or recall 103 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 67 reports
- Rolls away in Park or will not shift out of Park 65 reports
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 54 reports
- Diesel fuel system or injector problems 40 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 39 reports
- "Shift to Park" or "Service Shifter" warning comes on 32 reports
- Engine overheats or leaks coolant 31 reports
- Transmission drops into neutral or downshifts on its own 30 reports
- Fuel pump failure 26 reports
- Engine rattles or ticks 25 reports