23rd Jan 2005, 11:39
I purchased my 2001 Jeep Gr. Ch. Laredo on 12/31/04 and I'm ready to trade it in. I though I really wanted an SUV (at one time I had a 2000 Ford Explorer XLS-fun to drive, not terrible gas mileage: problem: transmission went...twice! Traded for 2002 Grand Prix). I really like the looks and interior of the Jeep, but that awful swaying and leaning!!! It's awful!! Windy conditions only intensify the effect!! If it wasn't for previously having the Explorer I would think any SUV would be that way, but I was wrong. I just can't get used to it. I'm now looking for an 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix!! I haven't had the Jeep long enough to experience any of the other problems that most everyone else has commented about, but now I don't intend to!! Back to General Motors for me!!!
5th Dec 2005, 00:17
We have had the same problem with the feeling of excessive body roll and general bounciness. We replaced the tires with a set of Kuhmos, as researched at tirerack.com. Excellent results that saved the car from a trade. Same experience with the rotors. After the car was out of warranty, we used after market rather than Mopar, and have had no problems since.
23rd Jun 2007, 04:02
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is not a Mercedes, nor does it have a Mercedes engine. It uses a Chrysler corporate 4.7L V-8 that is used in other Chrysler products such as Ram, Durango, and Aspen.
The chassis architecture is an evolution of the Jeep Cherokee from the early 1980's when it was owned by AMC.
The problems with American cars in general are the greedy shareholders and stingy accountants who's only motivation is their bottom line profit. No one would argue that a company shouldn't be profitable. The way they achieve this is through cost cutting measures such as poor engineering and substandard parts manufacturing.
An example: A part can be engineered to last 250,000 miles at a cost of $5.00 or it can be shoddily made for $1.00 and maybye last for 100,000 miles. Some may say why would they sacrifice $4.00 for such a margin of reliability? Take that $4.00 and multiply it by the several hundred thousand vehicles that this part would be installed, and you will come up with executive bonuses.
I believe that American car companies finally realize that Americans are not willing to accept junk as the standard. There was a time when the Big Three had no threat of competition, boy has that ever changed. It may be too little to late.
7th Jul 2004, 15:19
I originally wrote this review about this vehicle.
I never stated that the Jeep would go out of/lose control. I simply stated that it wasn't the most stable of rides. The weak anti-roll bars on this SUV cause a mushy, overstated body roll. I've heard that this problem is easily solved, by replacing the stock anti-roll bars with beefier ones. The same goes for the brakes. I can easily replaced the brake rotors with after market ones, and be rid of the problem. A lot of after market upgrades are available for this SUV. However, I was trying to write this review with the normal "daily" driver in mind. Who may not want to swap OEM parts with after market parts, to achieve a drastically improved ride.
I failed to mention in my original review, that I drive the 2WD model with the 4.0L 6 cylinder engine and 4-speed automatic transmission. Pretty much the bare bones of the Grand Cherokee line up. The engine is strong and acceleration is good. The 4-speed transmission is sub par. The shift points suck and considering it's only a 4-speed, you're constantly jumping in and out of the passing gear. From the sound of your paragraph you drive the V8 and 5-speed transmission setup.
Jeep's 4x4 prowess is unmatched. If I had the 4x4 model, I might let some of the problems slide. I wasn't in the market for a 4x4. I was looking for a larger vehicle, with larger space with some style and economy.
The Wrangler is a 4x4. The Grand Cherokee and Liberty ARE "yuppie" SUV's. They are considered "yuppie" because Jeep chose to make them "Luxury" SUV's.