A close-up of a transmission cross-section held in a mechanic's hand.The transmission is one of the most critical components in any motor vehicle. It's the mechanical bridge between the engine and the road. If it starts to fail, the entire driving experience can easily fall apart with it. A slipping, shuddering, or hesitating gearbox doesn't just make a daily drive miserable. It can strand you in traffic or cause sudden power loss at high speeds. It can also be a safety hazard. When Consumer Reports made a list of the least satisfying cars to own, most were SUVs, and some were there because of the transmission. An expensive family hauler that lurches through gears poses a serious risk of rolling away or unexpectedly shifting into park because it feels like it has fundamentally broken its promise to the driver.Moreover, transmission repair bills can easily run into the thousands — and in some cases, owners have needed multiple replacements on the very same vehicle. The worst part? Some of these issues were known to manufacturers long before customers started complaining about them. Here are five SUVs that have notoriously bad transmission problems. 1. Jeep Grand CherokeeA front-end view of a red Jeep Grand Cherokee driving down a road.The Grand Cherokee — the worst Jeep model in terms of resale value — experiences transmission problems that are anything but anecdotal. They are documented across multiple recall filings. One of the most consequential is NHTSA Recall 16V-240, issued in 2016. Per the notice, certain 2014–2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission and monostable gear selector were prone to dangerous rollaways. FCA's own defect description states that the spring-loaded shifter, which returns to center after each selection like a joystick, led drivers to incorrectly believe the transmission was in Park.NHTSA (PE15-030) identified 306 rollaway incidents from this defect, resulting in 117 alleged crashes and 26 injuries. This wasn't the only time the Grand Cherokee faced a rollaway threat. In November 2024, Kelley Blue Book reported that Jeep recalled another 206,502 SUVs — this time 2018–2019 Grand Cherokees — over a faulty ABS sensor that could allow the vehicle to start and shift out of Park without the driver pressing the brake pedal. These problems extend to the Grand Cherokee's plug-in hybrid, too.Consumer Reports noted that in 2023, Stellantis recalled 12,458 4xe SUVs after a fault caused the transmission to shut down the engine. NHTSA campaign number 25V-576 later expanded that recall to nearly 92,000 models from 2022 to 2026. A more recent problem involves the 2021–2024 Grand Cherokee. TSB 21-009-25, issued in 2025, documents D-clutch failure in this transmission, triggering DTCs P0733 (third-gear incorrect ratio) and P1DA8 (clutch defective). Owners reported the transmission slipping, failing to move in reverse, and not shifting above third gear. 2. Nissan PathfinderA red Nissan Pathfinder parked in front of a Nissan dealership.The Nissan Pathfinder's CVT problems are documented in Nissan's own filings with NHTSA — and the timeline is notable. In 2013, Nissan issued a TSB (NTB13-002) to reprogram the TCM on 2013 Pathfinders to "prevent a CVT belt slip condition from occurring." The bulletin was dated the same month the 2013 Pathfinder went on sale. A second TSB followed in September 2013. Neither fixed the problem, and the situation turned to legal means. According to ClassAction, the class action alleged Nissan began reprogramming software in undelivered vehicles five weeks after the first sales. By the time Nissan issued a voluntary service campaign (PC500) — covering 2013–2014 Pathfinders and filed with NHTSA — the repair tree had three branches: reprogram the TCM, replace the valve body, or replace the entire CVT assembly. That a full CVT replacement was a documented option on vehicles still in their factory warranty window tells you everything about how far the defect had progressed.The ClassAction page includes verbatim NHTSA complaints from owners — one driver described losing power while merging onto a freeway with a semi behind them; another reported the shuddering occurring on every drive. Nissan did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to a $277.7 million settlement covering 2015–2018 Pathfinders. The problems were severe enough that Nissan ultimately abandoned the CVT. In our own review of the 2022 Pathfinder, we noted that the switch to a 9-speed automatic was a major improvement over what we called the "unlovable old CVT." 3. Ford ExplorerA red 2020 Ford Explorer hybrid being driven in a green country setting.The 2020-generation Ford Explorer's transmission problems aren't singular — they are a cascade of different defects. Ford Safety Recall (23S05), issued in 2023 and covering 2020–2022 Explorers with the 10R60 transmission, documents an unintended PCM reset that could occur while driving. Per the dealer bulletin filed with NHTSA, when this happens, the park pawl engages unexpectedly. This leads to grinding noises, a loss of drive power, and the vehicle either rolling while in Park or becoming completely stuck in Park.This earned it a spot on Consumer Reports' list of used cars to avoid. A separate TSB (22-2428) documents harsh and delayed shifts caused by sticking valves in the main control valve body, with the repair escalating from reprogramming to a full overhaul. The 2020 Explorer's CarComplaints page shows over 1,000 NHTSA powertrain complaints, earning it a severity rating of 10 out of 10 — "Really Awful." 4. Chevrolet TahoeA red Chevrolet Tahoe parked on gravel.The Chevrolet Tahoe's 10-speed transmission has a documented paper trail stretching across two safety recalls, multiple TSBs, and nearly 1,900 field reports of rear wheel lockup — all filed with NHTSA. NHTSA Recall (24V-797), in 2024, covers 461,839 vehicles — including 2021 Tahoes — and stems from 1,888 lockup reports, 11 road incidents, and 3 injuries. NHTSA Recall (26V-085), issued in 2026, covers an additional 43,732 2022 vehicles (including the Tahoe) after the first recall's software fix missed vehicles built with unique internal hardware.GM's own remedy for both recalls is a software patch, not a physical replacement of the defective valve. A separate GM TSB (22-NA-182) documents harsh shifts, shudder, surge, stall, neutral flare, and transmission overheating as known conditions. Another GM TSB (PIP5893) covering 2021–2023 Tahoes documents a broken or damaged park pawl actuator piston servo triggering a "Service Transmission — Unable to Shift Soon" dashboard message.The Consumer Reports 2022 Tahoe reliability page lists rough shifting and slipping transmission among owner-reported problems, with one subscriber writing: "Shifts rough, and there's a lot of slack in gears... I fear transmission will go out next." As was the case with the Pathfinder, these problems have also attracted legal attention. ClassAction documents an active lawsuit investigation into GM's 10-speed transmission covering the Tahoe, Silverado, and Sierra. Beyond the recalls, common problems with Chevrolet's 10-speed transmission reported by owners include rough shifting, gear slippage, delayed engagement from park to drive, and overheating under towing loads. 5. Mercedes-Benz GLEA red 2020 Mercedes GLE Coupe parked on an urban French setting.Spending a better part of six figures on a luxury SUV should buy refinement above all else. However, nothing undermines that promise faster than an unexpected transmission stall. NHTSA Recall (24V-118), issued in 2024, covers 105,071 model-year 2020–2023 GLE 450 and GLS 450 vehicles equipped with the 9-speed 9G-Tronic automatic. Per the filing, the transmission software fails to complete a downshift from 7th to 6th gear under certain braking conditions, causing the engine to stall.Mercedes opened its investigation in March 2022 after receiving stall incident reports, but didn't succeed in replicating the fault on a test vehicle until May 2023 — more than a year later. By the time of the recall, the manufacturer had logged 261 field reports and 730 warranty claims related to the condition, per Autoevolution. The stalling recall isn't the only transmission-related issue on record. On MBWorld forums, owners report harsh, unpredictable downshifts from 5th to 4th during every deceleration.One owner even described the 9-speed as a "trashcan transmission" that clunks on the 3-to-2 downshift across multiple vehicles. Consumer Reports named the GLE the least reliable mid-size SUV for 2025, with transmission listed among the problem categories driving that ranking. The 2020 GLE's broader reliability record is so poor that it earned a spot on our list of used Mercedes-Benz models to avoid, which cited up to 36 NHTSA recalls for that model year alone. Want the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.