Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46
I have a 2001 Cherokee Sport. The check engine light is on since I bought it 2 months ago. The engine runs great but I am about to do all the things mentioned in this thread to see what turns out. Thanks for all the great advice!
I have an 2001 Cherokee Sport. At 53 mph the front end shakes until I reach 56 mph. I drove this vehicle off the show room floor and it has always done this. The dealer has never been able to figure out why it happens and has change out most of the parts in the front end and they did all the changes when it was under warranty. We also rotated and balanced and changed tires and that did not help The strange thing is if it is below 30 degrees out it is barely noticeable and it gets worse as it warms up. Has anyone else had this issue?
I own an immaculate 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0. After 50 miles air bag switch in steering column broke. At 35 k an oil leak developed. At 45 k I had to replace a fuel injector. Intermittent problem include the passenger widow switch not working, the hatch open indicator light comes on when door is shut, the power lock for the hatch stopped working even when replaced, Rear widow wiper no longer works. Seems to be short in the wiring system for the rear of car or a computer malfunction. Check engine light periodically goes on and off (on right now). And this Currently 98 K on car and runs well. Very poor gas mileage however. Dealer never ever was a help. The funny thing is I like this vehicle but I will never buy another Chrysler product. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things.
To everybody troubled with either engine cut outs, or misfires. Open the relay box, remove the relay marked ASD, (it just pulls out), and swap it with the relay marked 'Fuel Pump', (they are rated the same). If you notice a marked improvement in the running, replace both relays. They cost UK £3.50 each from an auto elec shop, (About $1.25 US). I had a cut out problem for weeks before trying this. On opening up the old ASD (Auto Shut Down) relay, I found that the points were burnt away to nothing, which caused the MAP to shut down the fuel and ignition. Very cheap solution for a common problem.
I own a used 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4-cylinder. I'm not too vehicle savvy to say the least. I'll explain in as much detail as possible to make it sufficient to understand. Bare with me.
First off, here's some other info that might be of use:
Body Style: 4 DR. WAGON/SPORT UTILITY
Engine Size: 4.0L L6 MPI
Drivetrain: Rear Wheel Drive.
I never drive more than 10 mph over the speed limit, meaning I don't ever do anything dumb like racing in it. Had it for 2 years and 9 months exactly. I'll elaborate on why I bring this up a bit later.
I was driving when all of the sudden the engine shuts\ off; power steering locked up, and I turned it as far as it would go to get onto the sidewalk. After popping the hood and everything, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary (with my limited knowledge). I got back in and tried to start it.
It cranked right back up and I drove back the 15 minutes to my house. I thought I may have knocked the key out or something and decided to try driving it again from my house. I was trying to get to work in the first place. It took 5 minutes before the engine cut off, steering locked up, etc.
A day later, after explaining it to my dad, he didn't know if I was explaining it enough and decided to ride with me and my brother to see what would happen. This time it took just driving down the street for the engine to cut off. Yet again, it cranked right back up and we drove it around for 6 or 7 minutes and came back to the house.
It doesn't grind or anything; the engine just shuts completely down. No extraordinary noise or anything. Suffice to say, the engine light has been on ever since this incident.
Also, I'd like to mention a few things I tried while driving. When the incident first occurred, I had my radio on. I turned it off to drive back home.
The second time (after I thought I bumped the key out) I drove a few minutes with the radio off, and then turned it on. Engine turned off a few minutes afterward. After turning the Jeep back on, I turned the radio off and drove it back home without the engine shutting off.
When I showed my father and brother, I didn't even have the radio turned on when it shut off down the street (about a 15 second drive). When we drove the rest of the 6 or 7 minutes, we drove with the air conditioner on full blast, and the radio on. The engine DID NOT shut off. So it wasn't a low battery or screwed up alternator like we were guessing.
Now here's another kicker. A few days later, my dad told me to start the Jeep, put it in drive (hold on the brake), and shut it off to see if it would turn back on in neutral. The plan was to take it to Discount Auto Parts or something to get the check engine light checked. In case the engine shut off in traffic, the plan was to put it in neutral and turn it back on to drive so as to avoid an accident.
While holding down the brake in my own driveway, I turned off the engine while in drive, and I put it in neutral and tried to start it up. The engine would no longer turn over. It's cranking but did not turn all the way over, and hasn't for the past couple of days.
So, we called our friend who happens to be a specialist with transmissions. He hooked up his little computer thing-a-ma-bob to something under the steering wheel to get a reading from the check engine light. He got 3 codes, only 2 I can remember.
1) Got something called a rev engine code. As if I had been racing in it or had it in neutral pushing the gas for long periods at a time.
2) Cylinder 3 is misfiring.
I'll update the 3rd once I find out what it was.
After running a few more checks, he's pretty baffled. He isn't a "throw parts in and see if it works" kind of guy. He finds out what's wrong and then fixes it. Problem is, he's pretty stumped. But, because he's determined, he's going to continue to look at my Jeep and figure it out.
I figured I'd come here and maybe somebody can throw some support mine and his way.
One side question to add on to this story. Weeks before the engine abruptly quit working, the auto-lock and unlock button stopped working on my keychain. I changed the battery in it and it still doesn't work. Know what the cause of that would be? What would need to be replaced in the Jeep?
Thanks for any and all help! I'll answer any questions as best as I can if anybody needs me to clarify anything.
-Baffled Jeep Owner
Lehigh Acres, Florida.
I had a 1992 Cherokee and had a similar issue as the person with the long comment; had the Jeep for 12 long years. I would be driving without any issue and then suddenly the engine would cut-off. I tried everything to get the engine starter again, but to no avail, but then, unexpectedly it would start as soon as I turned the key. This happened on several occasions. The last time it happened at a parking lot of a military store. A passerby told me to replace the fuel filter; I did and the issue went away. By the way, just today I bought and immaculate 2001 Cherokee Sport; hope it would last for 12 more years as well.
I have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee with the miss-fire on #1, #6, and random multiple miss-fires. We have changed the plugs, coil-pack, probe (distributor), fuel injectors, temp sensors, and oxygen sensors, did the carbon cleaning for the valves, and it still misfires. You can stop the jeep and turn it right back on and it's OK, it resets itself. It does it worst when it gets colder outside, it will run fine about a mile and then when you slow down it starts missing. It will run fine for 7 miles or farther till you slow down, then it starts missing. I've been working on this trying things for almost a year with lots of frustration. Anybody think of anything else?
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 98000 miles. Check engine light is on. It is no big deal, it is only a misfire code. Happens all the time. If you keep driving it will go out in a few days. Happens more often with cheap gas. I suggest good quality gas and 89 or 93 octane. Had plugs replaced and it still does same thing.
I have a 2001 Cherokee sport with engine light on. I can't figure out how to check the codes myself. By holding the odometer button down and turning key to on, I can get it to test the lights and gauges, but at the end it doesn't give the codes like other people have said it might. Anyone get codes this way from this car?
If you cannot get the codes yourself, you can go to Autozone and they will read them for free.
Also you can disconnect the battery for 2 minutes and the computer will reset itself. This will turn off check engine light. If anything major is wrong it will come right back on. If it is just a ghost code, like the misfire code, it will not come back on until it misfires again.
Hi-
This is just an FYI, I see a lot of questions but few resolutions to codes.
Vehicle:
Working on my friends 1997 Jeep GC, 4.0L., 150K.
Problem:
Multiple misfires. Check Engine Light. Throws a 43 (coil current error) from the key-on-off-on diag method.
Scanner shows P300, P304, P305, P306. This is multiple random misfires, cylinders 4,5,6.
O2 voltages bounce, but seem good range.
Timing bounces (due to misfire) at idle.
Idle rough, but not terrible.
Vacuum reading about 17 +/- 1 inch when engine misfires.
MPG not bad, getting about 20mpg.
Checked electrical tests, all good. Checked fuel pressure, okay. New tune up about 10K ago, including plugs, wires, coil, cap, and rotor.
Crank position sensor is new, as I broke the old one when we rebuilt the trans.
O2 sensors new.
We recently replaced the exhaust manifold as the old one was cracked, so I suspected possible vacuum leak at the intake (cyl 4,5,6 are adjacent). While idling vehicle cold, I doused the intake gasket area with starting fluid. Slight rise in idle momentarily, but not bad. (yes, that is not a good thing).
Once warmed up, I did it again. Put a direct hit on the injector where it inserts in the manifold, and WOW! The misfire was very noticeable. Did it again on all injectors, one at a time, and found that the only one that did not matter was cyl 2. #6 just about stalled the vehicle.
The O2 sensors read about.8v (very rich) when I sprayed the injector holes.
Final diagnosis: bad injector seals.
Cost:
Code scanner: $200 (CP9185 from advanced auto)
Injector seals: $9 (advanced auto)
Time about an hour to diagnose and change out.
(Actually this the 10th time I used the scanner in the past 2 weeks).
Peace of mind not getting taken by the dealer:
PRICELESS!!! :D :D :D :D :D.
So, for anyone getting those codes, do your research, and check those seals.
Things to watch out for:
The new seals are tight. Use some dish soap to lubricate before putting injectors in. I use electrical connection grease (very light coating).
Use caution with the starting fluid (fire risk). Have an extinguisher in your garage. You do have one, right??? ;)
Hope this helps someone out there. :D.
-mike.
I wish I'd found this thread last night! Right now my 2001 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 is in the shop, being "diagnosed" b/c my malfunction indicator light (aka check engine) came on yesterday.
This is my second Jeep - the first was a 1990 Jeep Cherokee that I drove until it couldn't drive anymore - had almost 300,000 miles on it and the check engine light never once came on.
I've had this 2001 Jeep for about a year, keep very regular maintenance and upkeep on it, and know the previous owner did, too. It has just over 60,000 miles on it, and this is the first indicator of problems I've had so far.
My brother also owns a 2001 Jeep Cherokee, and both of our right front speakers and right front window controls work on and off.
I really wish I'd read to bring it to Auto=zone or check the error codes myself (did not know about that!). So, will just wait to hear my estimate and then make a decision from there.
Thanks for all of the advice! Very, very helpful, especially if this is going to be a recurring problem! I now know a couple things to do first, instead of bringing it right into the shop.
Update on above post.
Got my car back from that shop, but they couldn't find any problems, after having my car for 2 days. They cleared the 2 codes and turned the light off.
Two days later, the light was on again. THIS time, I tried the self-checking tips for the codes, but the trip reset button one never gave any, just my mileage, and we couldn't get the run-off-run-off-run to work.
Brought it to the dealer next, figuring they would know Jeeps best. They found 1 code - fuel leak. I had been smelling gas and mentioned this. Turns out, my gas cap had been rusting and corroding, so wasn't creating a good seal. They replaced it, ran the test again - no codes and the light went off.
Yippee!
My 98 Cherokee Sport 4.0l has been plagued with the 'Check Engine' light for a while now. Here are some things of interest I have found:
1. The odometer thing (holding the reset button in and switching key to 'run') for the OBDII code does *not* work. It will cycle through 111111, 222222, etc., but at the end it does not show the serial number or codes.
2. The run/off/run/off, etc. thing does *not work*.
3. I went to Sears and bought their cheapest OBDII scanner, the Actron PocketScan. Normally $79.99, but on sale right now for $49.99. It works like a charm. It showed codes 300, 303, 305 and 306. 300 means random misfirings, 303, 305 and 306 mean misfiring on cylinders 3, 5 and 6 respectively.
4. Used the 'Erase' function on the new scanner to clear the Check Engine light and error codes. After driving a bit the light came back on. The scanner showed 306. I cleared the errors and ran it again several more times and each time got the Check Engine light back with the same 306 error code.
5. Plugs are new (Bosch) and plug wires are new. I blew a head gasket not long ago and replaced it. Head was in good shape, but I didn't bother decarbonizing or even re-seating the valves.
6. There's some good things to try in here (as well as some pretty questionable theories), so I'll give them a shot and put the results here.
Check engine light problem was resolved by my Jeep Mechanic. The fix is, 1 asbestos wraps around the 1,2,3 injectors to stop them from over heating. 2 the computer needs to be updated. Once that was done I had no issues. I hope this helps. No service station could figure this out.