Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee
When ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure gets reported
Owners of the 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee report ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at a median of 85,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 19 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 45,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 140,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 94,022 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
5% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44,200 miles | 67,500 miles | 85,000 miles | 89,000 miles | 138,222 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 17 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 1998 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 141; the 2009 has 21. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
While driving on u.s. Highway 270 in arkansas this date, my 2009 jeep grand cherokee experienced sudden unintended acceleration. I was pressing slightly on the accelerator pedal while going up a hill when the engine went into a wide open throttle condition. I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and turned-off the ignition, allowing the vehicle to coast down to approximately 45 MPH. Upon turning the ignition back to "on" the vehicle again experienced sua and accelerated quickly to 60+ MPH. I again turned the ignition switch to the "off" position and allowed the vehicle to coast back down. Upon turning the ignition back to "on", the engine went back into a wide open throttle condition again. After four tries (turning ignition "off", then "on", the engine RPM returned to a normal operating condition and I was able to continue with my trip. There was no floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal. The speed control system was not activated. I am a pilot with 500 hours of flight time and recent annual check ride qualification/training to handle emergency situations. Had my wife or the average driver been operating the…
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep cherokee. The contact stated that after having the electronic key fob replaced, the vehicle started to sporadically stall while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 88,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 jeep grand cherokee. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the ignition key moved inadvertently into the off accessory. The vehicle restarted and resumed normally. The failure recurred three times whenever encountering a bump in the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the ignition switch was currently being replaced. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.
Also reported on the 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
Other engine problem
Other wheel or tire problem
No-start or intermittent start failure
Other speed control problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 21 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure happen on the 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
Across 19 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 85,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
21 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.8 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed