2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport from North America - Comments

Just bought a 2000 Cherokee Sport with around 58,000 miles. The windows would only work from the drivers door panel. The whole set of switches on the drivers door were replaced and all is fine.

Also someone had put a clamp on the brake line during a previous rear brake change and forgot to remove it. The seller did not know and it was not seen at time of the safety inspection. If you hit the brakes hard, the fluid would be forced through to the rear brakes and would hold the shoes against the drums. It almost caused a fire.

I have put 2500 miles on it since purchase and its my first Jeep. So far I love it.

My 140k miles of wheel shake around 55 mph is finally gone. I had Cooper Discovery tires forced balanced at the Tire Center. They had to turn the tires several times to get it right, but I'm finally relieved of this problem.

I’ve got a 2000 Cherokee Sport with about 120k miles. Within last couple of months, my evaporator was diagnosed as “dead”, my power windows and door locks stopped working and I started having the “ignition lock” problem. At this moment my Jeep is 20 miles away because I couldn’t turn the ignition key. As soon as Penn State is done with Akron I’ll head back and try the “Tap” to see if I can get it started.

I bought a used 2000 Cherokee sport less than 1 yr. ago. Less than 3 months after buying it would not start. That was the first computer, that was at 65,000 miles at 67,000 miles the second computer was put in. At this time it was diagnosed with a bad a/c evaporator, and the only window switch working was the drivers side. It now has 68,000 miles and it is back in the shop for the same code that got me the other two computers. I've always loved jeeps still do except for the one I own.

I just bought a 2000 Grand Cherokee Limited (76000) and tonight when I tried to heat inside all I got was cold air. It looks like it works on the passenger side, but not the driver's side or the middle. I played with all the temperature and it seems like it doesn't affect anything. I thought it is strange that I don't get any hot air inside. Has anyone faced this problem before? Is it the a/c or am I missing to adjust something?

Same issue with me - 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport - 95K miles - key sporadically does not turn - this has been going on for the past 2 years - seems to act up during the fall/winter for some reason - I'm going to call the dealership tomorrow and demand that it is fixed since there should have been a recall in the first place - this is a very dangerous issue IMO.

I have 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport that I bought new and now has 100K miles. No major problems, but a couple to mention:

1) Ignition key not turning; "tapped" on back of key and wroked fine.

2) While coming off a turn and accelerating - usually happens with less than a 1/4 tank of gas, engine acts like there is no gas. The way I combat this issue is to put injection cleaner every time I change the oil; this seems to work nicely.

I have a 1999 Jeep Cherokee and just had the same ignition lock issue this morning, what a nightmare! The guy at the Jeep dealership told me to hammer the key in with something heavy (like a beer bottle, he said, but that didn't seem safe nor did I have a spare beer bottle hanging out in my car) but luckily I had a roll of duct tape and that worked, but I can't keep hammering my key in with duct tape every time I need to start my car!

I had the locking ignition problem happen to me today. It also happened last month, and I was able to get by it with some wiggling. Today it would not budge. Here's how to possibly avoid a tow. You first remove the cowl around the steering column with a phillips screwdriver (one screw underneath). Pull to separate the top and bottom halves. Then from below the column, you can see a small tab that seats the ignition cylinder. You'll see it moving as you wiggle the key. It is spring-loaded, but with the key in the locked position it cannot move. With the key in the on position, the tab is easily pushed up with a screwdriver and the cylinder comes right out. But with the key locked, you have to drill it. It's aluminum, and it's easily drilled out with a 1/4" bit (drill a pilot hole first with an 1/8" bit). Once the tab is drilled away, the cylinder comes out. I was able to bang on it while out of the car and use some pliers to get it to turn. Then I popped it back it to get it started and get going. When I got it home, I dismantled the cylinder (turn the key until it stops, then push down the small spring-loaded peg to let the key turn a bit more - then the center with the tumblers pops out). I then ground down the tab that mates with the slot in the cylinder that causes it to lock. Now it will now spin whether or not the key matches the tumblers. It's not a security issue, since the car won't start unless the real key is right there next to the ignition (SKIM module). To get the cylinder to stay in (since the tab was gone), I threaded a stainless bolt into the hole below and up through the slot where the tab used to seat. Since it's aluminum, the bolt threaded itself in. It's a bit of a rig, but all seems to be well, and it would be an easy task to buy and drop another cylinder in now if I want to buy one.

I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. I had the "ignition key will not turn problem" in December and again last week. It's lubrication issue. In December a mechanic advised an expensive repair of replacing the key cylinder. before going that route I tried lubricating the key cylinder with a number of products. The one that worked is called "2-26 electrical grade" by CRC. The ignition key did not turn last week despite trying for ahlf an hour. I found and sprayed the "2-26" into the ignition key hole and the key is now turning freely.

On the 2001 Jeep Cherokee if you tap on the back of the key and get it to release then you can simply remove the ignition key cylinder and soak it in some kind of penetrating oil for about one hour. After you let it soak slowly push the key in and out of the key whole several time to work the internal mechanism loose and at the same time turning the ignition cyclinder once you get the key in. I did the following procedure and never have had a problem since however once a year spray some kind of lubricant such as WD40 into the key hole. Because the reason the ignition is locking up is because of binding parts and insufficient lubrication so there is no need to replace the old ignition key cyclinder with a new one. So instead of paying a couple of hundred bucks I paid five dollars for the lubricant and if you don't know how to remove the ignition key cylinder it's relatively easy refer to a Haynes manual because it shows you step by step. It takes about 15 mins to remove the lower cover held by one phillips screw and disengage the ignition key cylinder.

The same thing happened to me yesterday on my '99 Grand Cherokee. The ignition key would not turn. Tapping the end of the key with a hammer while jiggling and turning worked as a temp fix.

The dealer quoted me over $200 - that is CRIMINAL! An Auto Locksmith Service quoted me $125 plus parts - better, but still expensive.

I'm not a mechanic. In fact I disdain working on cars. But to save money, today I took off the steering column cover as described in a previous comment (one phillips screw underneath the steering column) and took out the ignition key tumbler. It's really easy if you can get the key to turn. On the underside of the tumbler there is a square spring loaded "button" that holds the tumbler in. Once the key is turned part way, just press the button and the key will pull out with the tumbler attached. This whole procedure took under 10 minutes.

Since I only had access to one vehicle, I put the tumbler back in and drove to a locksmith. Then I took the tumbler out again in the parking lot. The locksmith (All-Safe Locksmith in Sacramento, CA) rebuilt my ignition tumbler in about 5 minutes. He charged me $8. That's right EIGHT DOLLARS!

I asked the locksmith what causes this problem. He said "bad design."

If anyone else is having the same problem, I'm happy to help if I can. You can email me at Caleb5505@yahoo.com.

I just wanted to thank you guys on the ignition switch tip (removal). It worked great. I got the switch out and it turns freely, so I may have other problems. Dave 2/11/07. 2001 cherokee sport

RE: Advice from 12/11/06

Thanks! You saved me a lot of money! My '99 Grand Cherokee key would not turn, even with the rubber hammer trick. Your directions were very helpful.

I am an owner of a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Last night I could not turn my ignition; it was completely locked. I have had some problems in the past with this, but it was always fixed with a turning over of the key or a small jiggle. Not this time. To make matters worse, the steering wheel is locked as well. I tried that thing for about 30 minutes with my wife in the passenger seat giving me all sorts of great ideas to do. I had to leave it there in the parking lot and get a ride home. I will be back to try again today with this "pulling out the tumbler" method. If that doesn't work I will have to call a locksmith I guess. I want to avoid the dealership at all costs. I will let you all know what happens.