2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport from North America - Comments

I have owned my jeep for over 4 years\60K miles and it has held up very well except for a few minor problems.

The engine light came on at 25K miles, so I took it back to the dealer and they told me it was a miss-fire problem in cylinder #1. The engine light came back on 3 more times after that and every time I took it back to the dealer because it was still under warranty.

The dealer finally told me the truth about the engine light coming on. They told me it was an engineering defect and nothing could be done to fix it. All they could do was put a heat shield next to Cylinder #1 to keep it from over heating and causing it to miss-fire. (What BS!)

Now my Jeep is no longer under warranty the engine light has come back on again…. WHAT DO I DO? I’m not going to pay them a $100 for them to reset the engine light and tell me it’s a miss-fire problem. I could ignore the engine light if I knew it came on because of a miss-fire, but what if it came on because of a major problem.

If anybody has any ideas of what I should do, it would be very much appreciated.

Also, I read some of the reviews on Jeep Cherokees and a lot of you complained about the right front speaker not working. I found out after getting new speakers install by Car Toys that the speaker wire is ran under the carpet and it had been broken from me always stepping on it. Why they would run wire that way… I will never know.

Hello fellow Jeeper!

Sounds like you have one of the typical Chrysler Dealers... they expect you to throw money at them and they give you the run around.

Well I have a simple solution that will tell you what EXACTLY is wrong with your car.

This only works on Chryslers with the digital odometer and trip meter. Simply go into the car, hold down the trip reset button, put the keys in and turn the car to RUN (not START) Run is when the dashboard lights up and everything comes on except the engine. The let go of the trip reset button, and the car will begin to cycle through a bunch of numbers. 111111, 222222, 333333, 444444, etc, etc... At the same time the Needles on the tachometer, the speedometer, the gas gauge, and the temp. gauge will move up and down all the way. Once this is done the car will show you its serial number, then if any error codes have been saved in the computers memory it will show them to. Write these down quick b/c it doesn't stay up long. After a couple of seconds the dashboard will light back up again and start chimeing, then everything is back to normal.

The website I found with all of Chryslers codes on it is: www.ptcruizer.com/computer-codes.html.

This works great on my Liberty (haven't had to read a code yet, but I've tried it for peace of mind). I've also heard the turning it from run to off 4 times will work, but I couldn't get it to, and think that's very hard on the fuel pump.

Hope you can figure out whats wrong with this information. It's a shame the majority of Chrysler's dealers suck, they really do make a great vehicle.

I hope you have kept documentation that you had been bringing your Jeep in to the dealer for this problem from the time it was still under warranty. If not, you should go to the dealer and tell them that you want copies of the repair orders.

I would then contact Chrysler and complain loudly and often

until they do something to rectify this problem. If you do not get satisfaction, contact a consumer advocacy group in your area and ask for assistance in getting your Jeep fixed.

I swear some service departments would rather keep putting off repairing something (or taking the time to properly diagnose a problem) until the vehicle is out of warranty.

There are some very good dealerships and service departments out there, but it certainly seems that they are outnumbered by the bad ones.

In the future, if you aren't getting satisfaction from one dealer regarding warranty work, take your car to another (and another if necessary) until you are satisfied that the problem has been properly diagnosed and fixed.

You have the right to have a problem free vehicle!

Thank you both for the very helpful info. I also found out that Auto Zone checks error code for free. It turned out to be a problem with the emissions control.

If your problem turned out to be with the emissions system, then perhaps you have already had it fixed. However, the root of the problem may be a buildup of carbon deposits. Chrysler Service Bulletin #0900303 explains just such a problem. I believe that the buildup of carbon could cause not only cylinder misfire, but also your emissions system Check Engine codes. Hope the information helps.

Regarding engine check light on: Your problem could simply be a vapor lock on one or more the injectors caused by overheating because the heat shield (insulation) is not lodged properly. It happened on my 2001 Cherokee. The dealer mechanic told me I needed a valve job costing $700-800. I knew my engine was running very well other than for this occasional "check engine light on" problem that occurred when the engine was hotter than usual. Lodging the heat shield properly solved the problem. The dealer in question is rated five-star!!!???

Good luck!

Hi. I have a 1992 Cherokee, my boyfriend has a 1991 Cherokee and I know several other people who have them also. We all have our check engine lights on all the time. I don't really think it means anything, to be honest. Mine was on when I bought the car, I've put 55,000 miles on it in 4 years and I've never had any kind of mechanical problem with the car at all besides minor things like brakes, getting a belt replaced, etc. I was worried about the light being on when I bought the car, but heard from people that the check engine lights just come on in Cherokees and don't go away unless you can figure out a way to turn it off (that usually doesn't actually involve repairing the car). I've talked to several people that had the same thing happen to them, so if your car's running fine, I wouldn't worry about it. I think it's just a quirky little thing on an otherwise great car.

Check Engine light often came on our 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport (60k miles), I always took it in for service when that happened. Usually it's nothing major, this time, it's a crack in cylinder cap, costing me $2k to fix. Chrysler is not being very cooperative to help out since my warranty is over. This is my second Jeep, I take very good care of the car and I am disapointed with this problem and especially with Chrysler's decision not to help. My suggestion is not too ignore those check engine lights and check it right away.

Thank you all for the great info! I have done my research on this problem with the engine light. If you take your Jeep into AutoZone they will check the error code for you at no charge. Turned out that my engine light came on because of an emissions control leak, which can come from a loose gas cap.

I still wanted the engine light to turn off so I bought an OBD 2 Check Engine Light Code Reader OBD2 OBDII II on ebay for $35. This great little device will not only check the error code for you, but it will also reset the engine light.

The dealer didn't mention any recalls while they were putting in that shield? Hmmm. Not sure if it's related, but Chrysler recalled 4.0 Grand Cherokee in 2001 for something similar. You could check out the NHTSA site or give them a ring. Here's the summary: NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 02V104000 Recall Date : APR 08, 2002

Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:INJECTORS

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 1115322.

Recalls Summary

Make: JEEP

Model: GRAND CHEROKEE

Type: ANY

Year: 1999

Recall Number: 02V104000

Summary:

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 4.0L ENGINE ONLY, THE DESIGN OF THE INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLDS COULD ALLOW DEBRIS TO ACCUMULATE AT THE #3 CYLINDER LOCATION.

Consequence:

THIS COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE.

Remedy:

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A MANIFOLD SHIELD TO MODIFY THE AIR FLOW CHARACTERISTICS AND TO PREVENT THE ACCUMULATION OF DEBRIS IN THE AREA OF THE #3 CYLINDER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MAY 13, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLER-CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.

Notes:

DAIMLER-CHRYSLER RECALL NO. B06. ALSO, CUSTOMERS CAN CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

I own a 2001 sport. and every once in a while, my light comes on also, but usually after I drive for a while then take my foot off pedal the engines sputters and the whole jeep bucks kinda. then engine light comes on. I usually just disconnect the negative battery cable for a few minutes. then it resets itself. hope this helps.

I have a 2001 cherokee sport. I had the check engine light come on at about 50,00 miles. The problem turned out to be that I installed bosh spark plugs in it. The dealer told me to only use the champions. The parts stores do list other brands of plugs, but its best to go to the dealer and get the oem parts. It does make a difference. No problems since.

I have a 2001 Jeep sport 4.0 Liter 4 wheel drive automatic.

My engine light and airbag lights come on once in a while after driving. I had it in a few times to the shop and paid for diagnostics, they really could not fix it, after vapor problem, gas tank cap not on right, misfire on 1 cylinder, still lights coming on. I knocked with my hand on the instrument plastic cover and the lights go off. I told the repair shop they checked again and told me the computer is bad and could cost $1000 to install a new one.

I used my hand to knock at the plastic cover to fix the problem. Also when the lights come on usually no instruments are working.

Not really a good thing from Chrysler not fixing it right, otherwise I like the car very much and I got 97,000 miles on it. It is a quick Jeep.

Thanks,

Peter

I just bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee. I had it for a week and the check engine light came on so I went to Advance Auto and they read the codes and said it was misfiring on cylinders 4,5, and 6 so I gave it a tune up. the light went off and now a week later the light is on again and it is running rough, could this be a heat shield issue as well???

I recently purchased a 2001 Sport. The check engine light came on after having a rough restart. The code said misfires in 1 and 6 (free check at Auto Zone - thanks for the tip!) so I headed to the dealer. They suggested a 90k tune-up, but their work only fixed the engine light until I got home. Since then I have talked with a mechanic who says that it may be a weak alternator, needing to put out a perfect 14.4 volts at the battery, that is causing the computer to run slightly slower than normal; he said it may also be responsible for the rough restarts. I will check that next.

It is a fun truck and great to get around in.

I have a 2001 Cherokee with a check engine light on also. The code that turned on the light is a multi-cylinder misfire. After driving my Jeep on a warm or hot day and shutting it off for a short while (15-20 minutes) and then try to start it again, it will vapor lock and run very rough. I have a friend that is a very good mechanic and he told me that because there is no return from the fuel rail to the tank, that when I shut my Jeep off when it's hot, the fuel boils in the rail creating a vapor. Then, when I restart the engine, the vapor has to be purged through the injectors before the fuel, causing the rough idle and misfire. After the vapor is purged, the engine runs great. Now that I know what the problem is, I have just been dealing with it.