This fairly common problem affects only the 2.0 four-cylinder cars from 2017 to present. You apply the brake and press the start button, and the dash illuminates but the starter is silent. You say to yourself, maybe I forgot to press the brake pedal. But no, the brake is pressed but no start. Early warning of failure can be when the Auto Start/Stop warning appears – although this could also be a battery that is deteriorated – and then progresses to the starter becoming intermittent. Count to ten and try again. At the early stages of failure, you can usually get started by repeated attempts. 

Eventually there is no start and this means a tow to the dealer, where a bill for several hundred dollars awaits you. But the fix is actually very simple, can be performed without tools, and you have the spare part to get you going on board! 

You need to replace the starter relay. This 12V 30A relay is an $8.00 part available online from Mopar.

The relay is located under the hood just behind the headlight on the passenger side of the car under a snap-on cover. Remove the cover by squeezing the tabs located on the short sides of the cover. Then you will see two bright red relays. The one closest to the engine is the starter relay and can be removed by gently wiggling the relay with your fingers as you simultaneously pull it upwards. Insert the new relay, replace the cover, and start the car. Problem solved.

Don’t have a new relay? The same relay is used for the rear window defroster, which you can probably do without while you wait for the new relay to arrive. The relay is located in a fuse box in the trunk under the big piece of Styrofoam where you might expect the spare tire to be if it had one. Remove the rug and the Styrofoam to locate the light gray fuse box. Depending on the options of your particular car, the fuse box may look different than the one pictured here, but it will always be relay R17 (inside the cover is a diagram that shows location).

Why does the relay fail? Using Auto Start/Stop surely puts more wear and tear on the relay. Also, it seems like a weak battery may cause more current to flow to the starter due to lower than normal voltage. It may be that burnishing the contacts of a failed relay with some fine emery paper might rejuvenate the relay, but I haven’t tried that yet. 

Note: If you hate the Auto Start/Stop ‘feature’ as much as I do, Centerline sells a nifty little pigtail that you insert behind the Auto Start/Stop switch on the dash that reverses the default setting to always OFF.