1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited V8
Summary:
I love the jeep
Faults:
After having driven it for only 3,000 miles I had to change the rotors. after 4000 miles I had to change the oil pressure sending unit. After owning it for 6,000 miles I had to change the radiator, while I was fixing that when I started it up and drove it for 20 minutes the water pump went out on me. I then had to replace the gasket for the transmission fluid. Lastly I've started noticing that I'm getting poor fuel economy. 8 miles a gallon in the city. I know it's a v8 four wheel all time, but this is getting taxing; on top of all of that the transfer case is starting to leak.
General Comments:
Does anyone have any advice on the transfer case or the fuel economy. I take pretty good care of this vehicle its just starting to get unnerving. Before I got this vehicle I didn't even know how to change my oil, now after doing all of the above mentioned problems myself (I'm military and don't have a lot of money so professionals can look at it) any help would be appreciated...
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 2nd March, 2005
4th Mar 2005, 20:50
As the owner of a couple of Jeeps, I can say they are pretty picky on gas. Weather will have a lot to do with the mileage. Cold weather makes it run harder first thing in the morning (or when the engine is cold), therefore it uses more gas. Also a heavy wind, blowing it around a lot, makes you have to give it more gas to keep it going at running speed while driving head on into the wind.
Also, if you run your defroster a lot, that is basically the A/C compressor, so your basically running the air conditioning, that uses more gas. And also, how much you put your foot into it has a big chunk. Get that lead foot syndrome and kiss the mileage good bye.
Also I've noticed they don't take well to poor quality gas. Every know and then when I go to the stations with the older, run down pumps, to save a cent or two, my mileage drops a lot, so I end up losing a lot in the long run.
You also should check your air filter. If it's dirty, the engine is working harder for air, and therefore using more gas. Also, keep your tire pressure up. If you have the factory sized tires on there (not necessarily OEM tires), run a few pounds more than what they recommend on the side of the drivers door (where all the information on the car is, on that white sticker).
Also if you run it in 4 full time all the time, that really drops the mileage. I have the selec-trac (full time option) on one of my Jeeps, and I only use it in the winter when some roads are messy and others are cleared. When all the roads are bad, I use plain ole 4HI (part time).
As you can see there are a lot of factors that can cause bad gas mileage, and all can be easily fixed, or avoided.
Hope this helps you, and Happy Jeepin!