Update: Just got off the phone with corporate Jeep customer service, and they were very helpful and understanding. My case has been escalated to a case manager and should be hearing back from them after the holidays. I have not been guaranteed that the headrest will be covered, but there is a good chance that it will be since it is a manufacturer defect and the dealership where I took it this morning has seen this defect in several local WK2s. As I get updates I will post for others that may have this issue in the future.
Broken Active Headrest (AHR)
So I got in my Jeep yesterday after it being parked in the driveway overnight, to notice that the active headrest on the passenger side was sticking out. After closer inspection, I came to find that the tabs at the top of the headrest were broken so it cannot be re-engaged. Has anyone else had an issue with the headrests? I know that there was a recall on other vehicles a few years ago, but haven't heard anything on Jeeps. I'm glad that it didn't happen to the driver side while my wife or I was driving. I'm sure it would have caused us to wreck with something smacking into the back of our heads unexpectedly.
I took the Jeep into the dealership to see if it would happen to be under warranty, and since it is over 36k miles it is no longer covered. It was going to cost $470 for the replacement and $120 for labor. Anyone have any idea to where I might be able to get just the plastic headrest backing part instead of replacing the entire unit? None of the junk yards in a 3 hour radius have a 2011+ WK2 and everywhere that I have found online sells only the entire assembly.
Recall Link: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-840000-vehicles-mostly-in-u.s.-for-headrests
I took the Jeep into the dealership to see if it would happen to be under warranty, and since it is over 36k miles it is no longer covered. It was going to cost $470 for the replacement and $120 for labor. Anyone have any idea to where I might be able to get just the plastic headrest backing part instead of replacing the entire unit? None of the junk yards in a 3 hour radius have a 2011+ WK2 and everywhere that I have found online sells only the entire assembly.
Recall Link: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-840000-vehicles-mostly-in-u.s.-for-headrests
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gdasher, how did this get resolved? I just had this happen to my 2014 GC and the tabs are broken. Was just driving down the road and it activated by itself.
Hi mds5062,gdasher, how did this get resolved? I just had this happen to my 2014 GC and the tabs are broken. Was just driving down the road and it activated by itself.
If you decide to visit your local dealership for further diagnosis I'd be happy to offer assistance if needed. Just PM our page with your VIN and let me know!
Andrea
Jeep Social Care Specialist
Thank you. I contacted the Recall Customer Service listed on jeep.com and they are sending someone out to take a look. Appreciate your response here and will follow up with you if I don't hear from them this week.
What's the update on this issue?
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Sorry for the delayed response, the notification email got buried in my inbox.What's the update on this issue?
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As of now I am still awaiting a call back from Jeep. After I initially spoke with the a Rep from the Recall Support Line (around when I posted my first comment in this thread) I didn't hear from them for over two weeks. I called back and they stated they needed additional information to review my case and asked if anyone was injured, and there wasn't any. After a month, I called back last week (August 10th) and learnt that there was no need for an investigation since no injuries occurred. Would have been nice to receive some sort of notification, they have my phone, email and mailing address on file but nothing. The Rep stated that that my claim/issue will be routed to a different department for a Goodwill replacement since I am out of Warranty. I was told I'd be notified within 1-2 business days but have heard nothing.
Overall, not a good experience.
This should not take this long. This is a prime example of the way FCA resolves problems. This should have been a easy and quick item to have been resolved for the customer. Fundamentally their system has to be upgraded to a higher level and more efficient way of expediting these types of issues.
So I have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with 32k miles and overnight in the garage the passenger seat AHR deployed. I watched a Youtube vid on how to reset it but it wouldn't reset. When I looked closer there were broken tabs (plastic pieces). I called the local dealership and they told me likely not covered under my bumper to bumper warranty. They implied that they broke when trying to reset it and wouldn't cover that. When I told them I didn't break them and I wouldn't have been resetting it if it didn't deploy they just repeated that it would likely not be covered. I have an appointment 9/5, so I guess I'll find out for sure then, but seriously how can that not be covered under warranty? How does Jeep expect to get repeat business (or any business at all) without backing up their products?
Hi WestSlopeCO,So I have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with 32k miles and overnight in the garage the passenger seat AHR deployed. I watched a Youtube vid on how to reset it but it wouldn't reset. When I looked closer there were broken tabs (plastic pieces). I called the local dealership and they told me likely not covered under my bumper to bumper warranty. They implied that they broke when trying to reset it and wouldn't cover that. When I told them I didn't break them and I wouldn't have been resetting it if it didn't deploy they just repeated that it would likely not be covered. I have an appointment 9/5, so I guess I'll find out for sure then, but seriously how can that not be covered under warranty? How does Jeep expect to get repeat business (or any business at all) without backing up their products?
If you'd like to send us a PM with your VIN I'd be happy to look into this further for you.
Andrea
Jeep Social Care Specialist
I tried to PM you, but I'm brand new here and it says I have to have 2 posts before I can send a PM to someone in the Admin Group. I'm hoping this counts as my second post so I can PM you after this is posted ... we'll see.
Same issue here with 2015 Jeep GC Laredo 29k miles. Passenger headrest deployed overnight while parked in garage and also has the same broken tabs mentioned above. Dealer is refusing to replace by pointing out a small front bumper crack from 8 months prior. Can't explain the 8 month gap or the fact that only one deployed.
Hi orlando,Same issue here with 2015 Jeep GC Laredo 29k miles. Passenger headrest deployed overnight while parked in garage and also has the same broken tabs mentioned above. Dealer is refusing to replace by pointing out a small front bumper crack from 8 months prior. Can't explain the 8 month gap or the fact that only one deployed.
We'd be happy to investigate further. Please send us a private message with your VIN and the servicing dealership if we can help.
Kori
Jeep Social Care Specialist
Hi orlando,
We'd be happy to investigate further. Please send us a private message with your VIN and the servicing dealership if we can help.
Kori
Jeep Social Care Specialist
Thank you Kori. I will send over the details.
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Same issue with driver side. Dealer is quoting over $600 to fix 
I had the same issue with the driver's side in my 2014 Laredo while driving. Thankfully I was at a red light when it deployed and not cruising at 70. Took it to the dealer and they quoted me $650, including 2.5 hrs of labor to remove a headrest *eye roll*. After lots of back and forth they offered to replace it free of charge (out of warranty). But that was about a month and half ago and dozens of calls to the dealer have gotten nothing resolved. Seems like this is becoming a fairly common problem
I wanted to post an update on my AHR issue. I brought it to the dealer this morning and they called me and said it would be covered under warranty. So thankfully Jeep is backing up their product and my faith is restored in them. It will take a week to get the non-stock part, but that is fine with me. So long as I don't need to pay for anything associated with it, I'm happy to bring it back in. So thanks Jeep. Good luck to everyone else who is having this issue. Really seems like this is of the scale where it should be a recall ... but I'm sure that won't happen unless they legally need to (because recalls are expensive!).
Update on my AHR situation, dealer called and said that my GC shipped with a cloth interior, which was news to me. Apparently the first owner had the interior reupholstered with Katskin. But since the headrest that deployed was leather, and the part the dealer requested for my car is cloth, the dealer refuses to replace the headrest. I said it was fine that it was cloth and I can have it covered in leather later, but no dice. I asked if they would replace it with a leather headrest instead, and they said they would get back to me on that. Now the service department won't respond to me whatsoever; I've tried calling a dozen times in a day, I've tried emailing, I've tried calling the head of the service department directly. Every time I get told that the manager "will call you right back" and never hear from him. (stay far away from Meador Dodge in Ft. Worth)
I'm going to try the whole process over again with another dealership this week, hopefully they will either be able to replace it or at least have the balls to tell me they won't replace it. But if they won't fix it, next step is gonna be to file a vehicle safety complaint with NHTSA. Safety equipment on a 3 year old vehicle should NOT deploy on its own, and with the number of complaints on Jeep Garage about the AHR it seems like its to the level of a recall.
I'm going to try the whole process over again with another dealership this week, hopefully they will either be able to replace it or at least have the balls to tell me they won't replace it. But if they won't fix it, next step is gonna be to file a vehicle safety complaint with NHTSA. Safety equipment on a 3 year old vehicle should NOT deploy on its own, and with the number of complaints on Jeep Garage about the AHR it seems like its to the level of a recall.
What year is your Jeep GC?
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