Jeep is about to let 121,000 owners of Grand Cherokee SUVs know that their new car could become a pain in the neck. Not in the metaphorical sense, either, because the automaker has just issued a recall for faulty head restraints – aka headrests. The second-row headrests may not lock into the upright position, and since there’s no flight attendant to give you a helpful reminder, you’ll need to get new headrests installed instead.
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- Base Trim Engine
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3.6L V6 Gas
- Base Trim Transmission
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8-Speed Automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Rear-Wheel Drive
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- Base Trim Engine
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3.6L V6 Gas
- Base Trim Transmission
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8-Speed Automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Rear-Wheel Drive
- Base Trim Horsepower
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293 hp
The recall covers the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the long-wheelbase three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee L from 2023-2024. It also applies to 764 Mopar OE replacement headrests, likely ones that were installed to try and fix this issue in the first place.
Affected Headrests Won’t Lock In Place
SUV drivers want all of their rear seats to fold flat. That way they can maximize storage space and haul large items nice and neat. In the second row of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, like you’ll find in the second row of most SUVs, the seats aren’t always able to fold completely flat because of the headrests that are required for safety.
Some SUVs make you remove the headrests to fold the rear seats, while others can squeeze down if you move both front seats all the way forward. Others, like Jeep, take a more convenient approach: when you pull the seat-fold handle, the first thing that happens is the headrests drop forward and get out of the way. Then you can fold them nice and flat like in the photo just above these words.
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If the headrests fold down, they need to be able to lock back into place when you put them up. In certain Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L models built between May 16, 2023, and May 2, 2024, they won’t do that. The issue is with the locking mechanism in the headrest assembly. Jeep refers to the issue as “an interference condition” that can stop the headrests from staying in place.
Folded Headrests Are A Big Deal For Safety Regulators
While a headrest folded forward seems like a fairly minor issue in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the folding-forward aspect which raised the concern. From a regulatory standpoint, the folded headrests don’t protrude high enough from the bottom of the seat. FMVSS 202a S4.2.1 says “when measured …the top of a head restraint located in an outboard designated seating position must have a height not less than 750 mm [29.53 inches] in any position of adjustment.” The folded head restraints don’t meet that requirement.
FCA US, which is still the North American-based side of Stellantis, learned about a potential issue in August 2024. It spent the next few months trying to understand the cause of the failure and determine which models were affected.
The fix starts with an inspection. If the headrest has the problem, a dealer will replace it at no charge to the owner. While dealers will be notified July 24-25, owners won’t be notified until September. That’s because Jeep doesn’t yet have the new parts available. Those should be ready to go for the recall later this fall.
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So if you’re driving a 2023-2024 Grand Cherokee and you’ve got a floppy headrest, know that Jeep is aware. And it is working on getting that taken care of for you.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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