Broken Active Headrest (AHR)
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Dear fellow Jeep owners,
I live in the Netherlands and have experienced exactly the same with my 2014 Grand Cherokee Summit. Last week, one morning the driver side headrest was broken. I am not sure whether JeepCares also helps non-US Jeep owners, but for the time being I decided to 'repair' it myself using the method as described by Burner2b on page 7 of this discussion, .i.e. using a tie-rap to get the headrest in the original position again. That worked. Two remarks:
1. I didn't have to remove the backside of the seat. If you pull the hard plastic part at the back of the headrest (first at the bottom until you hear a click, then at the top so it disengages from the metal tube) you have enough space to install a tie-rap as shown in the picture by Burner2b.
2. As explained in many posts already, there is a metal pin that originally is held in place in the plastic structure in the front part of the headrest (the soft part). The plastic broke so the springs push the front part of the headrest forward. But the metal pin was still held in place by the 'jaws' that are supposed to be operated by the solenoid in case of an accident. This is in the back part of the headrest. I forgot to make a picture of this, but once you see it yourself you know what I mean. I removed the metal pin to make it easier to push the headrest back against the force of the springs into it's (more or less) original position. Removing the pin was easy, you can just slide it sideways out of the 'jaws'.
Of course, as also mentioned before, this means the headrest isn't 'active' anymore. Even though it hasn't been broken yet, I also decided to fasten the passenger headrest aswell. This to avoid the situation that it explodes while my wife is sitting in the passenger seat. I seriously think these things are now more dangerous in their original configuration than when fixed (with a tie-rap) after being broken.
On another note (maybe you already have seen this): I read at another website about car problems, that the NHTSA has started an investigation into this issue for the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. This to determine whether these vehicles should be recalled. It was a fairly recent article from 30 september 2019. N
It also said: "Although the headrest investigation includes only 2014 Durangos and Grand Cherokees, NHTSA is aware of identical complaints about additional Grand Cherokee and Durango model years and other FCA models. Those similar reports will be evaluated during this investigation."
So maybe good to follow this process and see whether a recall will happen. And then hopefully this also counts for the non-US Jeep owners.....
Regards, Bert
I live in the Netherlands and have experienced exactly the same with my 2014 Grand Cherokee Summit. Last week, one morning the driver side headrest was broken. I am not sure whether JeepCares also helps non-US Jeep owners, but for the time being I decided to 'repair' it myself using the method as described by Burner2b on page 7 of this discussion, .i.e. using a tie-rap to get the headrest in the original position again. That worked. Two remarks:
1. I didn't have to remove the backside of the seat. If you pull the hard plastic part at the back of the headrest (first at the bottom until you hear a click, then at the top so it disengages from the metal tube) you have enough space to install a tie-rap as shown in the picture by Burner2b.
2. As explained in many posts already, there is a metal pin that originally is held in place in the plastic structure in the front part of the headrest (the soft part). The plastic broke so the springs push the front part of the headrest forward. But the metal pin was still held in place by the 'jaws' that are supposed to be operated by the solenoid in case of an accident. This is in the back part of the headrest. I forgot to make a picture of this, but once you see it yourself you know what I mean. I removed the metal pin to make it easier to push the headrest back against the force of the springs into it's (more or less) original position. Removing the pin was easy, you can just slide it sideways out of the 'jaws'.
Of course, as also mentioned before, this means the headrest isn't 'active' anymore. Even though it hasn't been broken yet, I also decided to fasten the passenger headrest aswell. This to avoid the situation that it explodes while my wife is sitting in the passenger seat. I seriously think these things are now more dangerous in their original configuration than when fixed (with a tie-rap) after being broken.
On another note (maybe you already have seen this): I read at another website about car problems, that the NHTSA has started an investigation into this issue for the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. This to determine whether these vehicles should be recalled. It was a fairly recent article from 30 september 2019. N
ot sure if I am allowed to share the link, but if you google "jeep grand cherokee headrest investigation" you'll find it.
It also said: "Although the headrest investigation includes only 2014 Durangos and Grand Cherokees, NHTSA is aware of identical complaints about additional Grand Cherokee and Durango model years and other FCA models. Those similar reports will be evaluated during this investigation."
So maybe good to follow this process and see whether a recall will happen. And then hopefully this also counts for the non-US Jeep owners.....
Regards, Bert
NHTSA request for information letter.
While the investigation is initially focused on the CONUS, the failures have been seen worldwide so I'd expect the number documented uncommanded deployments to be greater than 439.
I'd be very surprised if there was not a recall issued in the next 12-24 months following the investigations.
I just hope mine don't deploy before then.
While the investigation is initially focused on the CONUS, the failures have been seen worldwide so I'd expect the number documented uncommanded deployments to be greater than 439.
I'd be very surprised if there was not a recall issued in the next 12-24 months following the investigations.
I just hope mine don't deploy before then.
New user posting twice so I can contact Jeep Cares
This is the Jeep Grand Cherokee site, you might want to also post on the Jeep Patriot part of this website.
Everyone should be filing safety complaints with the NTHSB, this is a piece of safety equipment and almost all the failure appear to be a defect in the design, because they all fail the same way at the same point and they seem to fail far to often to be normal wear and tear.....
Once the NTHSB gets enough complaints, it will start an investigation, and if they find the complaints are warranted they may insist FCA do a recall of the part and replace it.....
One other option to consider, I can't recommend disabling a piece of safety equipment, if you do so, you do it at your own risk....
But, several pages back someone showed how he ziptied the AHR back in place, which of course disables it...
I also posted a video about designing AHR and one of the designers stating they are for the 80% of the driving public that fail to adjust their headrest and seat properly and sit in a proper position while moving in the car.....
Which if you ever what a video of crash tests of an AHR it will become very apparent if you adjust your seat and head rest properly and sit in a proper position while the car is moving you don't need an AHR....
Please educate yourself on how to adjust your seat and headrest properly and how to sit properly in a seat while the vehicle is moving. I can't tell you the number of people that insist they know, yet are completely and utterly ignorant on it, its quite sad and pitiful actually....
Everyone should be filing safety complaints with the NTHSB, this is a piece of safety equipment and almost all the failure appear to be a defect in the design, because they all fail the same way at the same point and they seem to fail far to often to be normal wear and tear.....
Once the NTHSB gets enough complaints, it will start an investigation, and if they find the complaints are warranted they may insist FCA do a recall of the part and replace it.....
One other option to consider, I can't recommend disabling a piece of safety equipment, if you do so, you do it at your own risk....
But, several pages back someone showed how he ziptied the AHR back in place, which of course disables it...
I also posted a video about designing AHR and one of the designers stating they are for the 80% of the driving public that fail to adjust their headrest and seat properly and sit in a proper position while moving in the car.....
Which if you ever what a video of crash tests of an AHR it will become very apparent if you adjust your seat and head rest properly and sit in a proper position while the car is moving you don't need an AHR....
Please educate yourself on how to adjust your seat and headrest properly and how to sit properly in a seat while the vehicle is moving. I can't tell you the number of people that insist they know, yet are completely and utterly ignorant on it, its quite sad and pitiful actually....
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Hi, just joined up. My 2014 Jeep Patriot has just had the same thing happen. The plastic clips are snapped. Happened overnight when there wasn't any one in the vehicle. I'm in Australia and have an appointment at a Jeep dealership in a week to look at the problem. If you guys are paying upwards of $900 to have this fixed in the USA, I can only imagine what they're going to try charging me here down under!!! I've lodged a complaint with Jeep, FCA and our equivalent of NHTSA. I'll see in a week what happens and keep you updated. There's no way I'm going to fork out over $1000 for a head rest, that's ludicrous! 2nd hand ones can be had for $200 delivered from the states. So if I go that route, here's what I've gathered...
Disconnect battery
Remove back seat cover
Unclip wires
Install new head rest
Reconnect wires
Reconnect battery
Is that it? Will my dash throw up any codes?
I can't believe this defective piece of equipment hasn't been recalled, will it take a death for someone to do something? If the AHR deployed while I was doing 100km/he with my family onboard, I have no idea how I would react to essentially a kick in the back of the head!
Please help
Disconnect battery
Remove back seat cover
Unclip wires
Install new head rest
Reconnect wires
Reconnect battery
Is that it? Will my dash throw up any codes?
I can't believe this defective piece of equipment hasn't been recalled, will it take a death for someone to do something? If the AHR deployed while I was doing 100km/he with my family onboard, I have no idea how I would react to essentially a kick in the back of the head!
Please help
Quick FYI...
So there was this rattling sound in the headrest because I left the metal pin in the "jaws" when I "repaired" it...
I removed the pin and everything that was loose in there and now it's all silent...
I also tightened the new ty-rap properly this time so the back plastic cover fits inside the "soft" part.
10-4 out.
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2 Posts
So I decided to swap my non-deployed passenger and deployed driver headrests following the procedure I stated above. No dashboard codes! At least now I can drive comfortably until the situation is resolved.
The bad part is that my wife/passenger will be uncomfortable, but the driver needs to be comfortable first. Now I just pray it doesn't deploy while I'm driving down the freeway with my kid in the back!
While this thread is for the WK2 vehicles, the Office of Defects Investigations did start an investigation in Sep 2019 that includes additional models.
"ODI is opening this preliminary evaluation (PE) to evaluate the scope, frequency and consequence of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. Although at a lower rate of occurrence, ODI is also aware of similar reports on other MY Grand Cherokee and Durango, as well as other FCA models and model year vehicles equipped with AHR. These reports will also be evaluated during the PE."
Since the beginning, the frequency of reporting has gone from approximately 1/month in 2014 to 1 every few days in 2020.
"ODI is opening this preliminary evaluation (PE) to evaluate the scope, frequency and consequence of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. Although at a lower rate of occurrence, ODI is also aware of similar reports on other MY Grand Cherokee and Durango, as well as other FCA models and model year vehicles equipped with AHR. These reports will also be evaluated during the PE."
Since the beginning, the frequency of reporting has gone from approximately 1/month in 2014 to 1 every few days in 2020.
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Just happened to my 2015 Jeep and just got it assigned to a case manager but not optimistic. Exactly what is described by many with the plastic brackets broken and exactly what the 2014 recall is for but keep being told "yours isn't a 2015" and it isn't a known issue. Happened over night with no one in the vehicle.
Wow! Cant believe this happened to me in my 2015 Jeep SRT also today! Why does this defect go without a recall for all Jeep owners? While driving to drop my daughter off to her moms, my pregnant girlfriend gets smacked I the back of her head! Startled her for a second and says shes still feels like shes got a headache from it. I am the second owner on this Jeep so o
I have no warranty!
Reading all these comments I certainly hope Jeep will accommodate repair without charge!
I have no warranty!
Reading all these comments I certainly hope Jeep will accommodate repair without charge!
It looks like the fatigue failures in AHR's designed by Grammer AG, has been occurring across multiple platforms.
www.classaction.org
www.classaction.org
Lawsuit: ‘Cheap Plastic Component’ Responsible for Sudden Deployment of Allegedly Defective Mercedes Active Head Restraints
According to a class action lawsuit, the active head restraint (AHR) mechanisms in the headrests in certain Mercedes-Benz vehicles are defective and can deploy without warning or the force of a collision.
www.classaction.org
Class Action: ‘Hundreds of Thousands’ of Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler Vehicles Equipped with Defective Active Head Restraints
A class action alleges scores of Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler vehicles are equipped with Grammer AG-made active head restraints that can deploy without warning.
www.classaction.org
New here. Searching for repair/replace options on my AHR which deployed a few months ago unnecessarily. I have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with ~70k miles, purchased pre-owned just two years ago. My driver's side AHR deployed while freeway driving. Totally unexpected, thump on back of head was a surprise. I too watched Youtube videos on how to reset but not possible. Upon further inspection I see the plastic tabs that hold a metal bar which keeps the entire system under tension have broken. My local dealership closed down several months ago making any physical dealer inspection a total hassle. I contacted FCA, and didn't get much help as being outside of warranty period. This is a total design flaw IMO - plastic tabs holding together a system under constant tension. I don't understand how this is not a covered repair by Jeep. My second Jeep and not sure about another when Jeep does not stand behind it's brand. Temporarily zip tied together. I'm searching for a fix and am happy to DYI if the guts of the system can be replaced. Is that possible?
Report it to the NHTSA and hope a recall happens, the issue has been going on for years but FCA won't own up to it and fix it. But try calling jeep cares and explain that there are dozens of forums threads and its a defect. Mine hasn't broken yet, anyway to disable it?
2014 Summit 5.7 4wd 20" tires swapped to 18", added all skid plates
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These are going "off" because the plastic gives way, not because they are "activated". So disabling them wouldn't prevent anything other then making them not work when you need them to work. It would be nice if Jeep came up with a TSB for a repair to them that could be done before the plastic breaks.
Hi! First post here, shame its about something negative as otherwise I love my jeep!
I also have a broken AHR fortunately on the passenger side. I live in Qatar and will try to escalate this to my local government agency as Jeep have refused to fix it (even though my car is still under warranty!) The part here costs around $700 plus labour so I am going the route of DIY or "bodging" it for now...
Will report back in case I get any help from my local dealer or agency in case it helps anyone else with this problem in my region.
I also have a broken AHR fortunately on the passenger side. I live in Qatar and will try to escalate this to my local government agency as Jeep have refused to fix it (even though my car is still under warranty!) The part here costs around $700 plus labour so I am going the route of DIY or "bodging" it for now...
Will report back in case I get any help from my local dealer or agency in case it helps anyone else with this problem in my region.
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