Jeep Recalls 419,000 Grand Cherokee SUVs Over Airbag Module Issue

If there is a single part credited with saving lives in vehicles like your truck or SUV since its invention, it is the airbag. Introduced in the 1970s, this critical safety feature has helped prevent serious head injuries and has evolved to protect nearly every part of the cabin to reduce bodily injury during an automotive crash. But airbags can only do their job if sensors and modules detect a crash and trigger proper inflation. For 2022–2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2023–2025 Grand Cherokee L SUVs, a recall has been issued because the module may not clear fault codes even after the underlying issue has been repaired.

Spanning multiple model years, the recall involves 419,035 vehicles. The lion’s share, 278,905 units, is of the three-row Grand Cherokee L. The problem stems from software in the occupant restraint controller, or ORC, the module that retains sensor-fault issues related to the side-impact airbags that “remain active for the lifetime of the sensor.” That does not simply mean the sensor was never replaced or the issue was left unresolved. Even after repairs are completed, the ORC module can retain the fault history and treat it as if the problem is still present.

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Jeep parent company Stellantis said it became aware of the issue through warranty claims that began surfacing in early 2023. The investigation stretched for more than three years as the automaker worked to identify the cause, ruling out issues unrelated to the module, including door wire-harness routing and the sensors themselves. By April of this year, Stellantis determined the issue could put affected vehicles out of compliance with federal airbag safety regulations and recently decided to recall those specific Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L model years. According to the report, no other vehicles built on the same platform, or vehicles produced after the 2026 model year, use the same ORC module.

The good news is there is a fix, and it does not require replacing the ORC module. Owners will need to bring their Grand Cherokee to a dealer to have the module reprogrammed, which should resolve the issue. Dealers should have received notice of the recall and the reprogramming procedure by the time you read this story, but owners are not expected to be notified until around mid-June. If you want to know whether your Grand Cherokee is included, you can check by entering your VIN on NHTSA’s website or on the Mopar recall website.