2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee seat problems

SEATS

On August 17, 2026, while my wife was driving our 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 under normal conditions, the front passenger Active Head Restraint (AHR/headrest) suddenly and violently deployed without any collision, impact, or other apparent triggering event. I was seated in the front passenger seat and the spring-loaded head restraint struck me hard in the back of the head. Approximately 24 hours after the incident, I developed headache, pain around/behind my eyes, and nausea. The symptoms are intermittent, with periods of feeling normal followed by nausea and headache. Because of these symptoms following the head impact, and as advised by my GP, I went to the hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. The Jeep dealer has inspected the vehicle and advised that the passenger head restraint requires replacement. The repair could be handled under my Mopar Lifetime Maximum Care warranty. However, the dealer has also advised me that Jeep/FCA no longer has the replacement head restraint available, so the defective safety component currently cannot be replaced with the required new part. I am also concerned about the driver’s Active Head Restraint because it is the same age and design as the passenger-side unit that deployed unexpectedly. The dealer advised that the driver’s unit cannot be replaced under warranty unless it also fails. FCA/Jeep has been notified of the incident and my resulting injury and is reviewing the matter. I am filing this complaint because an occupant-restraint component deployed without a collision, caused a head injury requiring hospital evaluation, and a replacement for the failed safety component is reportedly no longer available from the manufacturer.

NHTSA complaint #11758031 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Active head restraint deployed on drivers side while auto was moving in parking lot. This unexpected event made the driver come to a sudden stop. There was no impacts of this vehicle into any object. No injury to the driver in the parking lot but is pssible injury to driver and other in the parking lot could have happened. After inspection it looks like a plastic bracket broke inside the active head rest.

NHTSA complaint #11709447 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Hello, I am reporting failure on the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee in which the drivers side headrest activated while the vehicle was not in operation and not involved in any accident. The active head restraint had activated while the vehicle was parked and in a non-running condition. No accident occurred during this time frame. The passenger side active headrest is still in the factory location and has not been activated. The drivers side head restraint has activated and can not be returned to original position. My current safety is at risk as the active head restraint is not functioning per original safety design intent. My head and neck are currently constrained in a position that causes discomfort while driving due to the location of the active head restraint. The manufacturer (Authorized dealer) has been contacted and they responded with a response including that a recall was not issued for this failure type. A warranty period was extended to 10 years from manufacture date which my 2013 has eclipsed. No inspections have been completed to date. The parts have been untouched since the date of discovery. There were no signs of this issues prior to discovery. There are no service or warning lights currently illuminated on the dash or driver information screen. This is a safety related failure and needs to be repaired by the OEM with no cost to the customer. A well documented and known issue exists and puts the owner/operator of the vehicle at a increased level of risk of injury by continuing to operate this vehicle in its current condition.

NHTSA complaint #11682227 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Passenger headrest popped out while driving downs the road. No accident bump or anything visible set it off. It punched out like an air bag.

NHTSA complaint #11679670 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Front passenger side headrest clips faulted causing the headrest to eject. Took it to the dealership and was quoted over $1,000 parts and labor for replacement.

NHTSA complaint #11651189 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Active Headrest Restraint ( AHR) Drivers Side deployed overnight. This safety feature on many Jeeps is intended to protect motorists including passengers, in the event of rear end collisions by deploying. However a cursory review online reveals many many complaints, recalls, & TSBs . But my entire family now is exposed because Jeep wont extend recalls any longer. My recall expired 11 months ago. I was never notified by mail or by dealership that this recall would expire April 2023. I bought this SUV with understanding of its many safety features like AHD among others. Only makes sense that Stellantis /Jeep extend this recall beyong April 2023 as a result of substandard plastic parts used in headrest. If I had been notified by dealership when Jeep was serviced in 2023 it could have been fixed. All my recalls have previously been fixed. Trying to reach Customer Care at Jeep 877-426-5337 only to get complete jibberish and run-a-around. Certainly affect my next buying decision. Here-to -fore pleased with vehicle but this changes everything . I take safety VERY seriously. Inspection clearly indicates plastic parts ( sled bracket) failed.

NHTSA complaint #11577170 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Was driving down the road with my young son in the back seat and all of a sudden the head rest came flying forward and smacked the back of my head hard enough for me to swerve and almost get into an accident. After further inspection looking at the headrest once I got home I noticed that a pin is mounted onto some obviously brittle plastic that’s secured to a latch. Well i wasn’t in an accident and just out of nowhere this headrest flipped forward enough to rattle my head a bit.

NHTSA complaint #11555353 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:HEAD RESTRAINT

The contact owns a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side front headrest deployed, pushed forward, and struck the contact on the head. There were no reported injuries. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 123,500.

NHTSA complaint #11544516 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Driver side, headrest deployed without collision. Parked when airbag deployed.

NHTSA complaint #11543953 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

On the way home from work the Active Head Restraint deployed without there being a rear end collison. The head restraint on driver's side hit my wife in the back of the head and sounded like a loud and startling gunshot-like sound. Since I was on the highway if I had not kept from jerking the steering wheel when the head restraint deployed i could have been in a head on collison. I was able to pull off the road to see what happened. First I called my dealer and they said it wasn't going to be covered under warranty and also call fiat-chrsyler and they said that it wasn't covered. No warning lamps, messages and no other symptoms shown prior to the failure. The dealer did acknowledge verbally that they had had 3 or more other cases. Currently it is at the dealer being repaired and i will ask them to give me the old head restraint.

NHTSA complaint #11543540 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

The active headrest popped open without an accident and can't be reset due to broken internal tabs. Very dangerous if it happens while driving. It's like getting punched in the back of the head by a rock-em sock-em robot.

NHTSA complaint #11530982 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

The Active Head Restraint (AHR) deployed on it own due to failed plastic internal parts on the passenger headrest. This is a known issue and has been for years. Jeep should correct this issue for all affected vehicles. I fear that the driver headrest will also fail and could potentially lead to a crash. This needs to be addressed.

NHTSA complaint #11517653 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Passenger headrest separated -- turns out it is called "Active Head Restraint" -- I did not know it was even there! The vehicle was not involved in an accident or rear ended (as I understand activates this). Nobody was injured and in fact nobody was in the vehicle when it went off. This happened a few months ago and thought it was just a broken headrest and I would have to fix it. Upon investigating the headrest last week is when I discovered this has been an issue for a long time. I found a "Warranty Bulletin" put out by Mopar BUT it was not issued to owners of the vehicle. I called the Jeep dealer on 3/2/23 and found out that my vehicle went out of the "Warranty Bulletin" time period just last month. I missed the repair because I was not notified of the issue from Jeep / Mopar! After reading of other individuals occurrences and injuries I have disconnected the "AHR" from the driver seat because of the possibility of it activating when my daughter is driving the vehicle and causing her to loose control of the vehicle. This item failing is more dangerous to drivers & passengers than other items which have been recalled by the NHTSA because this can cause an accident with death potential vs like a leaking fuel line that would cause a fire and loss of the vehicle but most likely not a death because the person would be able to exit the vehicle.

NHTSA complaint #11510280 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

My driver's-side headrest/"airbag" deployed without a collision. I was wiping down my drivers seat after getting the seat dirty and when I wiped over the headrest it popped against my hand and I heard a tinkling noise of something bouncing around inside my vehicle. Further inspection showed that my headrest had popped out like it had deployed in a crash, etc. I was parked in my driveway and was not pushing hard on the headrest. I looked inside the headrest, and also googled this incident, and there are plastic clips inside the headrest that hold it in place. Those plastic clips wore out and broke off, causing the headrest restraint to deploy. I googled this situation and discovered that other people experienced this same thing as well - I got lucky because I wasn't driving when it happened!! But also, after further research, I found out that this is a thing that is happening and nobody is doing a recall about it. It will cost $600+ to get a new headrest inserted BUT there's no guarantee that my next one won't do the same exact thing! I haven't spent the money to get it fixed yet, because of that, but I have to have my seat and lumbar support adjusted ridiculously so that I can ride comfortably without my neck sticking out like a turtle.

NHTSA complaint #11480448 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

Drivers side headrest popped open without any collision or contact. It looks like a plastic latch that holds the headrest & airbag in place broke spontaneously.

NHTSA complaint #11438530 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

The passenger side front seat active headrest disengaged while the vehicle was not in motion. My son was hit in the head but not seriously injured. The car has not been inspected by a dealer. I'm reporting this incident because a dealer will charge a fee to assess the failure and my online research has identified many similar failures without Chrysler accepting responsibility for the defect.

NHTSA complaint #11429447 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

While driving the vehicle under normal weather conditions and normal road conditions, the driver's headrest exploded forward.

NHTSA complaint #11428120 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

On July 15, 2021, I was driving my vehicle 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee in my town. My daughter was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle. As I was driving, the passenger headrest deployed unexpectedly for no reason. I heard a loud pop and then my daughter scream as the headrest hit her in the back of the head. She was not injured. I have no idea why this occurred. I went home and researched this online and discovered several articles in which similar incidents have occurred with other people in similar vehicles. I contacted the dealership to see if they were any recalls for this particular issue and I was told no. Also, the representative from the dealership told me they had talked with a supervisor and did not know what I was talking about.

NHTSA complaint #11425245 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

THE PASSENGER SEAT HEATER LIGHT KEEPS TURNING OFF AFTER PUSHING THE BUTTON. I CHECKED UNDER THE SEAT AND ALL WIRES SEEM FINE. TURN THE CAR BACK ON AN IT WORKS FOR A LITTLE BIT THEN DOES IT AGAIN. SOMETHING ODD IS GOING ON WITH IT BECAUSE THE AC SEAT WORKS STILL. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAUSE A VERY LOUD ANNOYING HUM WHEN GOING 60 OR FASTER AN ITS VERY ANNOYING.

NHTSA complaint #11416659 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

WHILE DRIVING THE PASSENGER ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT DEPLOYED DUE TO FAILURE OF THE PLASTIC RETAINERS STRIKING MY WIFE IN THE BACK OF HER HEAD. THANKFULLY SHE WAS NOT INJURED.BUT IT STARTLED US NOT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OVER AND CHECK. THIS CLEARLY COULD HAVE CAUSED AN INJURY OR ACCIDENT AND THESE DEFECTIVE HEADRESTS SHOULD BE RECALLED AND REPLACED IMMEDIATLY.

NHTSA complaint #11407381 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

WHILE CAR WAS BEING SWEPT OUT AT CAR WASH, DRIVERS SIDE HEADREST DEPLOYED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. A PART OF THE HEADREST BROKE RELEASING IT.

NHTSA complaint #11406395 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

WHILE IN PARK, THE DRIVER HEADREST DEPLOYED INTO THE BACK OF MY HEAD. NO COLLISION TOOK PLACE, IT RANDOMLY DEPLOYED. IT WILL NOT RESET AS IT SEEMS A PLASTIC BRACKET BROKE INSIDE. NO RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE BUT WHEN RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM, IT SEEMS TO HAVE AFFECTED A LARGE GROUP OF 2011-2018 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE OWNERS.

NHTSA complaint #11404143 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SEATS

MY 2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE OVERLAND 4X2 'ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT' (AHR) HEADRESTS MANUFACTURED BY GRAMMER AG SUFFER FROM A DEFECT. FCA US AND GRAMMER AG'S ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT IS MEANT TO SPRING FORWARD IN THE EVENT OF A REAR-END COLLISION TO CATCH A VEHICLE OCCUPANT'S HEAD TO PREVENT WHIPLASH, THE FEATURE HAS DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING OR EXTERNAL FORCE FROM A COLLISION, AND FORCEFULLY STRUCK THE BACK OF MY PASSENGER'S (WIFE) HEAD WHILE WE WERE IN MOTION. THE FORCE OF THE IMPACT TO THE BACK OF MY VEHICLE PASSENGER'S (WIFE) HEAD AND WITHOUT WARNING OR CAUSE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN OPERATION. SHE WAS INITIALLY STARTLED AND WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THEN WE DISCOVERED THE BROKEN HEADREST. LATER, MY WIFE EXPERIENCED A HEADACHE AND NECK DISCOMFORT OVER SEVERAL DAYS. I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL LAWSUIT DOCUMENTS ONLINE FILED BY OTHER JEEP OWNERS WHO STATE THE CAUSE OF THE DEFECT AS THE FAILURE OF A 'CHEAP PLASTIC COMPONENT' INSIDE THE DEFENDANTS' AHR. SPECIFICALLY, THE FEATURE CONTAINS A PLASTIC BRACKET THAT ACTS AS THE TRIGGERING MECHANISM AND HOLDS THE FEATURE'S SPRING-LOADED RELEASE IN PLACE UNTIL A SENSOR SIGNALS THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN HIT IN ITS REAR, THE CASE EXPLAINS. AS A 'COST-SAVING MEASURE,' THE PLAINTIFFS SAY, CHRYSLER AND GRAMMER AG DESIGNED THE AHR BRACKET WITH 'AN INFERIOR AND INEXPENSIVE FORM OF PLASTIC' THAT CAN CRACK AND BREAK DOWN PREMATURELY DUE TO THE 75 POUNDS OF CONSTANT PRESSURE APPLIED BY THE AHR'S SPRINGS ONTO THE BRACKET. I MAY HAVE MISSED IT, BUT I HAVE ONLY SEEN A RECALL FOR 2014 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HEADRESTS. I WOULD LIKE THE PARTS ON THESE HEADRESTS REPLACED. NOT SURE IF THE SAME DEFECT ALSO EXISTS ON REAR PASSENGER SEAT HEADRESTS.

NHTSA complaint #11383359 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.