2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo from North America - Comments

Maintenance:

Brake rotors warped and replaced after 15,000 miles. Causing the steering wheel to shake violently. Dealer recall, and fixed without any questions.

A computer chip that controls the firing of the cylinders was replaced at 27,000. A pretty major problem. Took fours days to get my Jeep back. Still under warranty, so no cost out of my pocket.

Brake rotors warped again at 35,000 miles. Not replaced this time, because the warranty was up. Took my Jeep to a local shop and milled the rotors to make them true again. Cost $180. Not bad, but I feel Jeep didn't fix the problem in the first place. I was pretty angry that I had the same problem after a recall notice. Very bad business.

4 speed transmission acting like it's starting in second or third gear, instead of first gear. Had this problem show in the past, but it went away. Now resurfacing after the warranty expired. Coincidence?

During the same time as the transmission problem, the check engine light is now on. Of course this also happens after my warranty expires. So I won't be taking this problem up with Jeep. I'll visit my local car shop and have them diagnose the problem. Then decide how I want to fix it.

I only test drove Jeep's around the block of my local dealership. A big mistake. I'd recommend any future Jeep buyers, to take the vehicle out on the highway and city streets for a decent amount of time. I know that Jeep's are legendary "off-road" vehicles, but when driven for long periods of time on city streets is a total nightmare. Imagine yourself on a large boat in choppy water when driving this vehicle. The body roll and sway is tiring. Driving this vehicle in windy conditions is scary. First you feel that your forearms are going to give out, trying to keep the Jeep in it's lane, then the mental fatigue will kick in after a short 2 hours on the road, because of the fight your having with the steering wheel. I don't feel very safe behind the wheel of this SUV.

It's a shame that such a legendary vehicle with a such a great past, is succumbing to corporate greed and quality control problems.

I'll never buy another Jeep or Chrysler brand again.

Maybe? however my jeep is now a mercEDES and it is the best ever, uncomparable...its got the body the looks and style and a mercEDES engine... it really is different to your old style... do you agree... have you test driven the 2004 model???

I live in Kansas so I know about driving on windy days.I've never felt the jeep would go out of control nor have I ever felt fatigued after driving any amount of time. My engine is as smooth as ever, so is the transmission. The brakes are a problem, but the shaking is only an annoyance. If Jeep comes up with a fix I'll look into it or I'll get some aftermarket upgrade. This is my third Jeep my first was an AMC/Jeep.I get Jeeps for their off-road abilities not for a great city drive, fancy interior, sterio system etc.

Also it's a 4X4 not a yuppie SUV remember that.

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.

Hello Jeep owners

well as being a mechanic for many years, and driving my 87 cherokee for 14 years and 300,000 miles on a cast iron 6.

I bought another one with what I thought had the same equipment as my last.. well other than the engine and believing what the salesman said was not right. my Grand cherokee 2001 had the brake problems twice under 36,000 miles. and I had all the timely maintenance done etc,, but know with just 50,000 miles my tranny is going nuts, and the cost is mine because of the so called mix up that is was only warrantied for 36K miles, well this all proves one thing you can't trust Chrysler to keep what works working.

So its time to trade it in on a Tahoe, to think of it my 87 had many GM parts in it...??? steering column etc..

I hope this helps others, before they buy..

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!!!

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 tire rack.com. Excellent results that saved the car from a trade. Same experiance with the rotors. After the car was out of warranty, we used after market rather than Mopar and have had no problems since.

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.

I must say every experience I have had personally with Jeeps has been great.

My first Jeep was a 98 Jeep Cherokee I6 5sp manual, this was my favorite car ever. The power specs were not great, but in that little truck with the manual it flew; really it was fast. That car made it 250000 miles; the only major failure was I had to replace the tran at 135000.

My next Jeep was an 01 Grand; awesome car. Great ride, no sway like you all say. Also has the I6, the car is stock. And the brakes are great. I still have the car and it is running very strong strong at 145000. Never had to replace anything but a timing belt.

My newest Jeep is a 07 Commander with the 4.7 V8. Also a great car. Can't say much for reliability, I've only had it for 23000 miles, but no problem yet, not even a change in sound, vibration, acc, or anything yet. I would love to have the hemi, but the 4.7 is more than powerful enough; it gets up and goes and sounds great.

Jeep, bravo, you're doing good by me.

I changed out the front and rear differential on my 1996 Jeep GCL that have a different gear ratio from the original and now the shifting speed is higher. Can the shift speed be adjusted electronically?