by Brad Anderson
- Michigan couple suing Jeep after their Grand Cherokee 4xe abruptly stopped.
- Their plug-in hybrid SUV allegedly shut down in the fast lane on I-75.
- The Jeep’s been parked for months, yet they still pay $1,000 in lease costs.
Just a month after Stellantis recalled more than 90,000 Grand Cherokee 4xe models over a software glitch that can cause them to stop without warning, a couple in Monroe County, Michigan, have found themselves in a legal standoff with the automaker over the same problem.
In 2023, PJ Phillips and his wife leased a brand-new Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe showing just 16 miles on the odometer.
Read: Thousands Of Jeep Plug-in Hybrids Could Suddenly Lose Power While Driving
According to their lawsuit, they later discovered the SUV had already undergone major repairs involving key parts of its hybrid powertrain. From that point on, they claim the vehicle became a constant source of frustration.
What Went Wrong?
Things got particularly sketchy in May this year when Carly Phillips was driving in the fast lane of I-75 when the Jeep suddenly shut down.
Fortunately, she was able to pull onto the shoulder safely, but ever since this incident, the Grand Cherokee has been sitting at a Jeep dealership, and the family continues paying roughly $1,000 a month in lease payments and insurance costs.
According to the owner, the local Jeep dealership refused to service the vehicle, citing its complicated repair history.
Last year, CJ began investigating Michigan’s Lemon Law and arranged an arbitration with FCA in April 2024. This arbitration ruled in favor of FCA, according to Click on Detroit, citing the warranty coverage and claiming the issues had been resolved.
However, after the incident on I-75, a second arbitration was organized and sided with the family.
Jeep’s Electrical Gremlins
The couple says their SUV has suffered a range of electrical faults, from malfunctioning reversing cameras and erratic crash detection to steering and navigation glitches. They’re asking Jeep to buy back the Grand Cherokee 4xe for a fair price, saying they’ve lost faith in further repairs.
“Every issue we’ve had with this car isn’t mechanical – it’s not the transmission, it’s not the wheels falling off – it’s all electrical components,” Phillips told the news outlet.
“For us to lose that money as a middle-class family – I work full time, my wife’s part-time – we can’t take a $10,000 hit like that,” he said, referring to the financial loss they’d face if they traded in the SUV.
In September, Stellantis announced it was recalling 91,787 Grand Cherokee 4xe models from the 2022-2026 model years, noting a software error could cause a loss of propulsion.
The company explained that an overloaded microprocessor in the Battery Pack Control Module could trigger the shutdown. Whether that same error caused the Phillips’ Jeep to stall on the highway remains uncertain.
