1997 Jeep Cherokee Limited 4.0 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A car for him and her. Brilliant fun and practical

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car and the full service history shows nothing out of the ordinary.

General Comments:

I managed to get a very high specification model. the only extra I am missing is heated seats.

The wife insists using the Jeep instead of my Skoda Octavia for long journeys due to the comfortable ride, the MPG is noticed however and it is an expensive luxury to run.

My wife uses it for the family shopping and I use it for off-roading/green-laning without any problems.

I have been told by my passengers however that the rear seats can become uncomfortable on long journeys.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th October, 2002

1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport Straight 6, 4.0L from North America

Summary:

It's a Jeep... enough said

Faults:

The power windows have given me problems. The driver can control all of the windows with the master switch, however, the passengers cannot control their own windows. I think it is something wrong with the child safety lock switch. Sometimes the fuel reads empty when there is over a half of tank left. This can be corrected by turning the Jeep off and re-starting it. The back seat (4-door) is a little tough to get in and out of. The back doors are pretty small.

General Comments:

Over-all the Jeep Cherokee Sport is great. It has more than enough power (4.0L). It rides like a Jeep (not so great), but so do most other off-road vehicles. And believe me, this is an off-road vehicle. The Cherokee will take you anywhere you want to go. The winters of PA put down some serious snow and ice, but the Jeep keeps on going. I've been to Jeep Jamboree in my stock Jeep Cherokee and it hung tough with all the wranglers. It handles real well. No problem parking at the mall in this SUV. The gas mileage isn't the greatest (about 18 mpg), but still not bad for a 4X4. Other than a few electrical problems, I would say this vehicle is awesome. It lives up to the Jeep name.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd July, 2002

9th Oct 2003, 12:56

We used to have a 97 Cherokee sport also. The gas gauge was messed up like yours, constantly reading wrong. The crank sensor was also beginning to fail when we got rid of it.

26th Oct 2004, 17:10

We still use a '94 Cherokee sport. I found this site while looking for something that would tell me if I have have a problem with the gas/mileage, but our 20 mpg seems to fall in line with what you indicated.

A failing crank sensor caused intermittent stalling which kept a couple of technicians guessing for a while, but a Jeep dealer finally fixed the problem.

Our Cherokee will turn over 200,000 Km this fall and we still love it. It gets us to the lake, up/down muddy hills and pulls the boat with no problems.

4th Jan 2009, 12:38

Not a bad auto. Bought it in 2004. Very few problems. Check engine line came on and would barely run, got it fixed and it came on again but ran good. Been on for 2 years now and it runs great. I'll keep it till it dies. Bought used with 57,000 miles. Would buy another if I could get one in the same shape.

I give it 5 stars.

1997 Jeep Cherokee LTD 2.5 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A big disappointment

Faults:

The vehicle is now on its 5th set of alloy wheels since the finish cracks and bubbles - 1st set after two months.

Rear suspension changed at 10,000 miles.

35 different electrical faults so far, most of which were due to poor assembly.

General Comments:

This could be such a good small 4x4 but is let down by shoddy build quality, if it wasn't for the this poor quality issue, in my opinion it would out perform any diesel 4x4. Having said that I will never buy another one, from now on it will have to be Japanese.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 22nd December, 2000

15th Oct 2002, 17:46

I would just like to say that I drive a 97 jeep Cherokee, and it is probably the most reliable vehicle on the road. Any Jeep is practically guaranteed for 200,000 miles. Also it really depends on how you drive the Cherokee. If you are constantly going off road on a stock suspension then that is just ignorant. If you plan on doing any off road driving they you need to replace the stock suspension when you purchase the vehicle. Just remember what JEEP stands for. JUST EMPTY EVERY POCKET. That is very true, people expect more from this car then it is built to handle, that is why most people say, a real jeep is built. Simply that means that if you expect anything more that driving on the road, and driving the speed limit, then you need to build that jeep, with some minor engine mods. and a suspension lift, and oversize tires you not only have the meanest looking and sounding vehicle on the road, but also, a fun, reliable ride. Thank you.

7th Jun 2003, 10:41

I have a 1994 Jeep Cherokee LTD and up to now have had no problems however my vehicle has developed an intermittent fault. I can be driving along and all of a sudden the revometer drops to zero the engine cuts out, the engine will turn over, but not fire up I conduct a spark test,results no spark. After approx 6-10 minutes the vehicle will fire up as normal when turning the ignition key. garages cannot find the fault as it never happens when they have it, I have changed the Distributor, but still have problem. Is there anyone who can give advice or experienced this kind of problem.

Other than this the Jeep is great!!!

Kate.

29th Dec 2007, 09:46

I realize this post is 4years late, but for future reference. Our Jeep (4.0 ltr now 11 years old with 162k miles on the clock) had the same issue with cutting out as Kate's. Found it to be the coil which had several crack in it thus losing 'fire'. I replaced that, and all was good.

In reply to 7th Jun 2003, 10:41

6th Feb 2012, 15:03

You might try to change the oxygen sensor. This sounds very much like a faulty sensor.