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Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Problems & Worst Years

Every reported problem for the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, model year by model year — ranked from 390 federal NHTSA complaints across 20182020.

2018
Worst year
2020
Fewest complaints
3
Model years covered

Like its SRT sibling, the high-performance Trackhawk carries no recall campaigns across its three model years in this data — every problem here is purely owner-reported. The 2018 launch year posted the highest total at 297 occurrences, overwhelmingly concentrated in one electrical complaint: infotainment screen delamination and malfunction, logged 159 times and tagged safety-severity. A malfunctioning UConnect touchscreen (32 occurrences) and glitching that triggered random function activation (26) round out the electrical side, while a service brake recall issue and transmission trouble leading to unintended acceleration each drew 17 occurrences.

The 2019 model year tells a different story. Total volume fell to 115, but five of its twelve problems were tagged safety-severity — the highest ratio in the Trackhawk's record — including an engine stall at idle tied to the stop-start system, an ABS/ESC system failure, electrical issues preventing the engine from starting at all, and steering lock-up leading to uncontrollable steering. Even at a fraction of 2018's complaint volume, 2019 reads as the year with the most serious safety profile.

By 2020, complaints dropped to just 44 occurrences, led by engine misfire due to camshaft wear and transmission failure causing rough shifting, alongside continuing but lower-volume UConnect display delamination and freezing issues.

For a buyer, that pattern argues for treating 2019 with particular caution despite its modest complaint count, since the safety-tagged issues there — steering lock-up and no-start electrical faults — are the kind that matter most in daily use. The 2018 model year's screen delamination, while high-volume, is more of a nuisance than a safety concern on its own. As with any of these figures, they represent what owners filed with NHTSA rather than a precise failure rate, and 2020's lower count partly reflects less time on the road rather than a cleaner design — a pre-purchase inspection and service history check still carry more weight than the model year.

WrenchConnect Editorial · analysis of NHTSA complaint data

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk problems by year

Complaint volume by model year (bar = relative to the worst year). Theworst yearsare the most-complained-about, weighted by safety-risk problems.

YearComplaint volumeProblemsSafety / HighMost common problem
2018worst
258
143/6Infotainment Screen Delamination and Malfunction
Electrical · 159 complaints
2019worst
91
125/5Engine Stall at Idle Due to Stop-Start System Failure
Engine · 22 complaints
2020worst
41
92/4Engine Misfire Due to Camshaft Wear
Engine · 10 complaints
Years to avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020 — the most-complained-about Grand Cherokee Trackhawk model years.
Cleanest year: 2020 drew the fewest complaints of the 3 years on record.

Data source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaints and recalls, 20182020. Problem clustering and year rankings are derived from the complaint record; complaint volume reflects reports filed, not total incidence or fault rate. Vehicle image is illustrative.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Problems & Worst Years…