1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited 4.0 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A very nice looking and comfortable car shame about the build quality!

Faults:

Electric aerial packed up after a week. Week later had a rear lamp warning display.

Week later same fault back to garage again!

Started crabbing on full lock back to garage who said this was normal???.

Exhaust started knocking back to the garage again remember all these faults are after only 3 weeks of ownership!

Had a funny judder from rear after long run someone told me this was the rear diff on the way out as the bearings break up when hot???

General Comments:

When I bought this car I took it on a long test drive several times around town mainly and was happy.

Looking back now I think I fell in love with the looks and comfortable seats. I would advise anyone thinking of buying a J.G.C.

Take it for a hard long run and get all the axles to temperature then you will feel any jerks or judders that should not be there.

I am not saying that all J.G.C are bad, but the one I bought and have gladly sold now was bad.

Everytime I got in it I was forever thinking what will go wrong next?and listening for noises and wondering how much will this cost to fix?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th May, 2005

1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0 litre from North America

Summary:

I would not recomend it to my worst enemy

Faults:

Alternator at 65,000km.

Brake pads and rotors at 40,000km.

Front swaybar links replaced twice, once under warranty.

Rear wiper motor died.

Front u-joints, steering stabilizer, and centre link replaced just after warranty expired.

Transmission oil pan rusted through and needs to be replaced.

Air conditioning condenser needs to be replaced.

Daytime running light module failed.

Anti-lock brakes have been disabled (pulled the fuse out) due too bad sensor.

Lift gate latch broke.

Rear differential pinion seal failed and luckily I noticed it in time before major damage to the differential.

Terrible fuel mileage.

A lot of rust developing on lift gate around the license plate bezel.

General Comments:

This vehicle was pretty enjoyable to own for the first 60,000 km., which happened to be the term of my warranty. After that it was just one thing after another. Luckily I can do my own mechanical repairs or this dog would have been gone a long time ago.

As a matter of fact, as soon as I get all the current problems fixed I will be getting rid of it.

After owning many GM vehicles over the years this was the first Chrysler product I have owned and it will also be the last!

I will be buying a Chevy Equinox as soon as I can unload this piece of junk.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 27th March, 2005

13th Apr 2005, 11:31

Hi.

I have just bought a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0l 4x4 and my rear wiper doesn't work either. Did you get yours fixed in the end? What was the problem and how much was it to fix?

Also, my headlights don't work (only my driving lights that come on automatically) and my high beam lights won't stay on either. Was this a similar problem to what you experienced? If so, how much did it cost to fix?

Thanks for all your help.

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1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited V8 from North America

Summary:

I love the jeep

Faults:

After having driven it for only 3,000 miles I had to change the rotors. after 4000 miles I had to change the oil pressure sending unit. After owning it for 6,000 miles I had to change the radiator, while I was fixing that when I started it up and drove it for 20 minutes the water pump went out on me. I then had to replace the gasket for the transmission fluid. Lastly I've started noticing that I'm getting poor fuel economy. 8 miles a gallon in the city. I know it's a v8 four wheel all time, but this is getting taxing; on top of all of that the transfer case is starting to leak.

General Comments:

Does anyone have any advice on the transfer case or the fuel economy. I take pretty good care of this vehicle its just starting to get unnerving. Before I got this vehicle I didn't even know how to change my oil, now after doing all of the above mentioned problems myself (I'm military and don't have a lot of money so professionals can look at it) any help would be appreciated...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd March, 2005

4th Mar 2005, 20:50

As the owner of a couple of Jeeps, I can say they are pretty picky on gas. Weather will have a lot to do with the mileage. Cold weather makes it run harder first thing in the morning (or when the engine is cold), therefore it uses more gas. Also a heavy wind, blowing it around a lot, makes you have to give it more gas to keep it going at running speed while driving head on into the wind.

Also, if you run your defroster a lot, that is basically the A/C compressor, so your basically running the air conditioning, that uses more gas. And also, how much you put your foot into it has a big chunk. Get that lead foot syndrome and kiss the mileage good bye.

Also I've noticed they don't take well to poor quality gas. Every know and then when I go to the stations with the older, run down pumps, to save a cent or two, my mileage drops a lot, so I end up losing a lot in the long run.

You also should check your air filter. If it's dirty, the engine is working harder for air, and therefore using more gas. Also, keep your tire pressure up. If you have the factory sized tires on there (not necessarily OEM tires), run a few pounds more than what they recommend on the side of the drivers door (where all the information on the car is, on that white sticker).

Also if you run it in 4 full time all the time, that really drops the mileage. I have the selec-trac (full time option) on one of my Jeeps, and I only use it in the winter when some roads are messy and others are cleared. When all the roads are bad, I use plain ole 4HI (part time).

As you can see there are a lot of factors that can cause bad gas mileage, and all can be easily fixed, or avoided.

Hope this helps you, and Happy Jeepin!

3rd Apr 2008, 05:13

You bought a Jeep. You should have known it eats gas. If anything, just disconnect the front axles, make it a 2wd truck. You'll save some gas.