Oh no, what happened to this 2014 Jeep Cherokee? Long story short, the Jeep Cherokee blew up after a routine oil change at Walmart. But people are still trying to figure out why this happened. Was it the mechanic’s fault, or did the Jeep have a prior issue? 

2014 Jeep Cherokee explodes after Walmart oil change 

Just to clarify, we aren’t blaming Walmart for the 2014 Jeep Cherokee explosion. The event just happened to occur in the parking lot of the automotive center of a Phonix Walmart SuperCenter. Nikki Smith, the owner of the Jeep Cherokee, frequently uses this location due to the convenient location and low cost for maintenance. 

When she purchased her Cherokee, everything was fine except for a broken windshield wiper. But then, after two recent oil changes under Walmart’s supervision, she was left with a cloud of smoke instead of her SUV. 

What happened to the Cherokee? 

Nikki took her 2014 Jeep Cherokee to Walmart on August 12 for the first oil change. Everything seemed to go perfectly fine. But a few weeks later, she noticed that oil was leaking into parts under the hood. 

She returned to Walmart on August 28 to inform them about the leak. Four hours later, the oil was replaced, and she was told that her next oil change would be free. Something felt wrong like they were trying to fix a problem without telling her. 

Then Nikki couldn’t get her Cherokee to accelerate over 20 mph, and it started smoking. So she returned to Walmart. She was told they needed to run a diagnostic test on the vehicle to determine the problem because they didn’t have an electronic reader. 

She returned the following day thinking her troubles would be solved, but then the mechanic ran into the store advising her to grab personal items from her Jeep Cherokee. By the time she reached the driver’s side, the Jeep exploded. 

Walmart is investigating the issue, but the cause of the explosion is unknown. Nikki was told she would be placed in a rental car, but no one has reached out to make that happen yet as the investigation continues. 

Is the 2014 Cherokee reliable? 

According to Consumer Reports, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee has a reliability rating of one out of five. That’s well below average. Owners have reported significant and minor issues with the engine, transmission, drive system, fuel system, and electronics. 

On CarComplaints.com, there are thousands of complaints about the engine and transmission. They recommend avoiding this vehicle like the plague. There are even reports listed by the National Vehicle Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA).

The issues include failure to accelerate, stalling, burning through oil, leaking oil, shifting roughly, overheating, and more. The 2014 Cherokee has 11 recalls, but none of them are for engine or transmission problems. 

However, there was a recall for the power liftgate module. A short circuit in the liftgate control module may result in fire. We don’t have the vehicle history for Nikki’s ride, and we don’t know how well it was taken care of before she bought it. 

We will continue tracking this story to see if Walmart’s investigation determines the cause of the explosion. Until then, do your homework before purchasing a 2014 Cherokee. It may come with a headache.