1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd from UK and Ireland - Comments

I bought the car in June of this year, the exhaust manifold was cracked when I collected the car. The transmission failed 3 weeks later and the car was in the dealership for 3 weeks, the finance company stated this was "fair wear and tear on a vehicle of this mileage" (38,000 miles!!! I don't think so).

The air con unit and mirror memory failed.

The ABS light came on after a few miles.

The brakes pulled sharply to the left.

The driver's seat was replaced and the passenger's seat is waiting to be replaced.

The ambient temperature gauge failed.

The rear axle has a rumbling noise that has been repaired twice and again requires repair. I am now trying to prove that when the car is used for motorway mileage, this fault is quite common.

If anybody else has suffered the problem with the rear diff rumbling could you please add your comments, it could be the only way I have to get the finance company to accept my rejection of the vehicle.

In the 6 months of owning the car over £8000 has been spent on repairs, but apparently the vehicle is totally roadworthy!

Have a 96 model, have diff whine, and mirror/seat problems. Gearbox problems, I had to advise the dealer what was wrong.

Brake disk warped after 3000 miles? New fitted + 15000 miles, squeaking like hell.

Toyota next time.

Our '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (2WD) has been very comfortable and reliable, but it has also suffered from a minor rumbling at highway speeds that appears to come from the rear axle. It's not really bad (may be normal), but I suppose I should have the dealer look at it.

I would not recommend the Toyota 4Runner (or at least not a high mileage one) - my uncle has a '96 model that has suffered several electrical and engine problems. According to Consumer Reports, the engines of some 4runner years are unreliable.

I just bought a 98 JGC 4WD Ltd this year. I've been pretty pleased until now. I noticed the "rumbling" from the passenger and rear sides and made my third trip to the dealer's service department to have it looked at today. The first time, I was told it was brake dust (my naivety allowed me to believe that). The second time, they replaced the rear rotors and worked on front brakes (at the dealer's expense) and told me the noise would subside in a couple weeks. This time, I find out that it's the rear differential (yikes). I've also noticed that the mirror memory is horrible, moody to say the least. I wish I'd done more research before purchasing. I was prepared for the poor gas mileage, but other issues continue to surface. I love the Infinity stereo system, but have noticed that the CD player sometimes rejects cd's with an error message on the display, only to play them at a later time.

I am concerned about some of the problems you've had... should I expect continued problems with the rear differential? And your seats had to be replaced? Wow!

Well after all the niggles and hassles with the dealer, my car has finally quietened down. The brakes have not caused any further problems.

The mirror memory is shot, the mid stage exhaust box has annoying rattle. I have decided that this car will now be used for what it was intended. Will ship it out to Africa, and treat all cosmetic happenings as irrelevant. I have come to the conclusion, that a high mileage secondhand Jeep is a better buy, as just about everything will have been replaced. They are now going for bargain prices second hand, and would be great to thrash in the Zambezi Valley.

I hired one in Zim, and apart from all the usual cosmetic failings, it still went very well with 160k on the clock.

That is what is important I suppose. But if they had sorted out all these faults at production, I have no doubt they would be the best selling 4x4 around. As it is you have to like it to keep it, it doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

Peter (JGC 97 40K miles)

I had all these problems on my 97 JGC (mirrors-twice, steering ball joints, rear axle, warped disks) but the garage fixed all, but the disks under warranty (the extended warranty is a must)!!! When the beast had 80K on the clock the front axle went noisy and leaked oil and at that point the dealer gave me a great deal on a new 4.7 V8 (to get rid of me I think).

No real problems with this 2000 model although I presently have vibration under braking diagnosed as warped front disks after only 33k of motorway driving. I am using the multitude of Internet complaints about disks to press for a contribution from Jeep.

I would still recommend the JGC, but get the extended warranty and keep on good terms with your local Customer Services Manager. Mine is the best dealer (MTB) I have ever come across including Audi (my last non-Jeep vehicle)

Folks who are having a rumble from the rear might try replacing the differential oil with a new synthetic variety. A few have tried it and saved much on replacing still serviceable parts.

I've had my rear differential / gears serviced about two yrs ago. Cost about $700 for new gear set and gear oil. Two years later (now), gears are worn again only this time noise is louder (a constant grinding). After going to about 4 shops they all told me my best bet is go get a used entire rear axle rather that rebuilding/replacing gears. Most cars, a rear axle from a salvage yard is only a couple of hundred dollars. But for this 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo-------$1200 used, and over $2000 new from the dealer. This is ridiculous. And that's only one of the 5 problems I am having now, which would be too lengthy to discuss now. If I could fix it cheap, I'd sell it right away, tired of the maintenance.

Folks,preventative maintenance is the key word here. 30,000 may not seem like a lot to you, but, for engines and gears, new oil just might help. This might not fix all of your problems, but, a good synthetic oil and routine services i.e. transmission, differential and engine fluids just might quite some of those rumblings.

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo problems-I bought my 1998 Jeep new and had problems similar to the ones yo mentioned. I took mine in under warranty to have the rear end noise checked and was told that it was normal. After my warranty ran out the rear end failed at highway speeds. I had perforformed regular maintenance and the rear end was checked only 3 months before. The dealership and Jeep would not repair it for free and I ended up paying $2000+ for a new rear end. After much research I found out that the original Dana Rear ends were inferior and most people replaced them immediately. If you're have a loud whirring noise in your rear end, be prepared to pay!!

Bought a 98 Grand Cherokee Ltd two years ago. Went for the extended service contract. Very glad I did.

What's been fixed:

Front differential. Front drive axles. Transmission. Transfer case. Brakes (twice).

Needs to be fixed:

Rear differential. Just about every gasket on it. Both front seats. Radio controls. Speakers. Transmission (again). Reverse light proximity sensor. Driver's side mirror. Cruise control.

For as long as I live, I will NEVER buy a Chrysler/Jeep product again. And I mean NEVER. Those people have absolutely NO idea what quality control means.

I have a 98 JGC. I loved it the first two years I had it. But even with the recommended service schedule I've replaced the rear axle twice, both front axle bearings, front differential, daytime running lights module (wires melted together so that lights would not go off, definitely a fire hazard, the smell was horrible), mirror memory is more of an annoyance than anything because you have to fix them everyday when I am the only person driving it. There's plenty more, but that's just what comes to mind. The rumbling sound is coming back to the front now so I think its time to dump it off and get a non-Jeep vehicle.

1998 JGC orvis bought at 5yrs old. After 12months rear axle exploded set fire to petrol tank, was told by insurance not insured. Bought second hand axle installed one week later front axle pinion collapsed, install all new bearings 20 miles later they also collapsed, bought second hand front axle installed, pinion also collapsed after 20 miles. Transmission company checked front axle set it up 20 miles later gone again at present running without front prop all OK, but don't know what to do or who to turn to next.

Good 4x4 though lovely ride.

I have a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee purchased new. Love the car... hate the problems! We are getting ready to make the third repair to the rear end. The last repair lasted less than 6 mos. This is my third jeep. The first one we had only 2 years. The second one had too many problems to list here and now this third one has the recurring rear end issue. Can't afford to fix it...can't afford to get rid of it. We are very disappointed.

I've had my Jeep Grand Cherokee for 12 months. Usual rear axle replacement, design fault caused by bearing not having inner race, but rollers mounted directly onto axle (bound to go again at some point and is already whining). Driver's seat needs replacing due to cracked frame (another design fault). Front diff whines at speed. Mirrors make their own decision on where they are set. I was hoping to keep my jeep for 3 or 4 years, but threatens to get expensive. This car could be the best on the road with a few design alterations.

Got a 98 JGC Ltd 5.2L in Fall of '04. Love it. The only problem I have had is that the dash lights seem to dim sometimes for no reason and stay dimmed and then randomly will come back. It's pretty wierd, but apparently acknowledged by the manufacturer, but it's like a couple hundred to fix and not worth the hassle. Other than that, I have had no to little problems. The guy I bought this from took REALLY good care of it (it had 143000 when I bought it and now has 148000 almost a year later).

My biggest complaint is the gas mileage, it's insane. I have thought about trading it in just for this reason, but I got it for 7k when it was valued at about 8.5k and what kind of car am I going to get for it? Nothing of equal value, I know that much.