2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport review from North America

I have gotten every penny I paid for my extended warranty (and then some) back out in would-be repair costs. The A/C stopped blowing cold about 1 month after I bought it. I took it to a dealer, paid my deductible, and they kept it for 2 days running dyes through the cooling system and replacing hosing. The A/C worked fine through the rest of that summer. The second summer, the A/C stopped blowing cold again. I took it to a non-dealer mechanic, who replaced 2 valves and refilled the freon for $35. It almost made it to the end of that summer before going out again. My non-dealer mechanic ran diagnostics and informed me that my condenser had failed. Knowing that I had the vehicle under extended warranty and what my deductible costs were, he advised that I take it to a dealership for this repair. Summer is almost here and I will soon be making that trip.

At the 6 month of ownership mark, my transmission went out. I drove it very slowly to the nearest dealership, paid my deductible, and had it replaced. I picked it up 4 days later, drove it half a block and the check engine light came on. I circled back to the dealership and they brought out the diagnostic gadget. Something was mumbled about a sensor and a connection. They took my Jeep back into the garage. Two hours later, I took it home sans the check engine light glowing.

After the transmission was replaced, I began experiencing a strange electrical malfunction which would cause:

1. Airbag light would illuminate

2. Speedometer and tachometer gauges would drop to zero

3. Check-engine light would illuminate

4. Digital odometer would display “no bus”

Everything would return to normal if I waited for 1-2 minutes or held down the odometer reset button for a few seconds.

This issue disappeared recently after taking it to a desolate brand-name repair shop for an oil change because all of the “speedy” lube shop’s were packed. It was definitely the most expensive oil change it’s ever gotten, but well worth it in the long run. The mechanic never mentioned anything, but this glitch used to occur every hour. I left on a 3 hour road trip shortly after and it has not happened since.

The only other issue is that my check-engine light comes on from time to time. I’m pretty sure that this has something to do with the fuel system. I say this because it comes on whenever I find myself having to gun the engine. It stays on for a day or two and then goes off. It will be on the list for the dealership to check out when they are repairing my A/C. My extended warranty is up at 95000 miles and I will miss it terribly.

I live in a major city and have driven my Jeep like a maniac in a concrete jungle. The great thing about this vehicle is that it lets you. I have avoided a minimum of 15 accidents simply by it’s body height, over-sized tires, and 4.0L V6. I have swerved, sidewalk surfed, screeched, flew, straddled, curb tire tested, and taken my fair share of grassy median “shortcuts”. Speed bumps scream at the sight of me. However, I have never been in (or caused) an accident. It is a force to be reckoned with. Did I mention that it took a direct hit to the windshield from a rather large U.F.O. coming off of a collision about 20 ft. away and didn’t even crack? Timex hasn’t got anything on my Jeep. It’s has taken more than a lickin’ and kept on tickin’!