Summary:
Fairly good vehicle, bad transmission
Faults:
Air conditioner died after 1 year, almost had to beg to have it replaced since it was a few weeks past warranty. Died again after 7 years.
I experienced a leak in the back door where rain would leak in, soak into the noise reduction material, and got moldy smelly.
Transmission would not drop back into 1st gear when coming to a stop, after about 180,000 km. The mechanics indicated that my overdrive gear also needed replacing. $4000 later, I drove away with the same problem. They eventually got it right. Note that this wasn't a Jeep dealership repair shop. The JEEP dealership I had to deal with was really bad to deal with (everything I brought in to fix I had to come back to get it fixed right at least once), but they're closed now so I probably wasn't the only one to notice.
4-wheel drive is now acting up, and falling into neutral suddenly. They want to open up the transmission again, but I'm not going there with a 12 year old vehicle.
Rear wiper and inside fan blower died after 5 years.
Rear wiper dead again after 8 years. It seems to collect road dirt and eventually grinds to a halt.
Radiator replaced in 2006, as well as encountered a gas leak.
General Comments:
I like the drive and feel of this vehicle.
The engine seems to be bullet proof and the 6-cyl is plenty strong.
The interior and even body have held up well (with rust proofing.
But the problems with the transmission and other equipment have been a pain and from my point of view, too frequent.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 9th March, 2006
