Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-66
31,300 Miles- Check engine light came on. The diagnostic check at the dealer diagnosed it as a misfire on cylinder #1 from cold start. The recommendation was to have a tune up and replace the spark plugs and wires. Went to my trusted small town mechanic and was told this is nonsense and that the plugs and wires should last more than 31,300.
Front, driver side speaker in the door no longer works. Have not diagnosed the problem yet. Hoping it is only a bad connection, but am prepared to replace the speaker.
Rain gutter on passenger side of vehicle is already starting to rust, up near the front door, right at the weld joint. The water must sit in here and has no way to drain out. My friend has a 97 Cherokee with the same problem, on the same side of the vehicle. Coincidence?
45,000 Miles- Had the serpentine belt changed. This vehicle does not have self-adjusters, and as a result, you need to re-tighten the belt several times, over a period of several weeks, as the belt stretches. My mechanic was going to change out the fuel filter, but unfortunately for me, the filter must be inside the gas tank and is not easily serviced. Did not have this done as a result.
50,500 Miles- Noticed a bad grinding sound in the right, front wheel when making slow, sharp turns. My trusted, small town mechanic had to replace both front axle u-joints. The original joints did not have grease fittings. The replacements have grease fittings and will hopefully last much longer. Also, the Pitman Arm grease boot, located on the steering assembly, is shot and will need replacement. Mechanic could not get the part right away.
At this point, the vehicle is nearly paid for and I am seriously thinking of trading it for a Japanese brand truck. My fear is that I am now going to nickel and dime this thing until I am broke. This vehicle is never driven off-road, only to work and around town on road surfaces. It seems to me that Daimler-Chrysler cut corners on the quality of this vehicle and at 50,000 miles, it is starting to show. I am fortunate to have a small town, independent mechanic that can perform my Jeep repairs, for a reasonable cost.
Very happy that it is nearly paid for so I can look forward to trading it.
I would be more than happy to take that Jeep off of your hands since you obviously do not know how to take care of it. If you want to throw away a perfectly good Jeep for a Japp. tin can, I hope you know what you're doing. Keep in mind the Honda CRV has had a few recalls this year. If you drive your Jeep like a sports car, it will break. If you drive it like a Jeep, treat it like a Jeep, and respect it, it will last you forever. This is why The same engine was put in the Jeep Cherokee for over 10 years. They obviously did something right when this engine was designed.
To the first responder, you are obviously in love with the Jeep brand, through good times and bad. That is fine and I can respect your brand loyalty. Having said that, I have a hard time understanding how I could have avoided the problem with the check engine light, rusted rain gutter, speaker, and u-joints. I am not sure how any of these problems can be from a lack of proper care for the vehicle. Was I not supposed to use the radio? Was I supposed to carry a towel in the back to dry the rain gutter after each rain event? How do you properly care for a SEALED u-joint? I wrote that the replacements have grease fittings, the originals did not. In my original review I forgot to mention my passenger side fog light that had a poor seal and soon rusted out due to water infiltration to the bulb area, around 30,000 miles. These are examples of inferior parts, NOT lack of proper care. And, I am not sure how my mention of the vehicle being driven primarily on pavement means I drive it like a sports car, where did that come from? I drive approx. 20 miles to and from work, on the expressway, at a fixed 65mph. This is hardly a stressful situation for a modern vehicle. I wonder what would break if it was subjected to a rough trail? And before you get angry, I realize that all Jeep names can handle the Rubicon Trail.
To sum it all up, I wish I had purchased a Toyota Tacoma quad cab pickup back in 2001. If I had, I would nearly own a reliable, well engineered truck that would be worth nearly $20,000 today. Unfortunately, I went for the Jeep that is only worth about $9,000 on a trade. I should have known that a Chrysler product was a bad idea. Luckily, there is time for me to dump it before the repairs get too extensive and costly.
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee as well, and the driver's side front speaker also stopped working. Can you tell me what was wrong with your speaker; was it a loose wire or a more serious (and expensive problem)?
I have owned both a 91 Cherokee and 2000 Cherokee. I have had all of the problems that have been complained about on this website. I have had rust on the rain gutters, u-joints went bad on both vehicles, front speakers don't work. If you own the vehicle for a while and live in the rust belt, the bottom of the vehicle will disappear. Also, the rear leaf springs began to sag badly on my 91 jeep after about 80,000 miles. Its amazing that they built this vehicle for so long and never corrected these problems. the only reason that I bought the 2000 was because it was so cheap. I will only by the Jap vehicles from now on, over the long run you will pay less and have less aggravation along the way.
Me again. Not sure what the problem is with the speaker. I have simply chose to live with it for a while longer, until I trade it.
One addition to the problem list, my other fog light is now shot. This light also fell victim to water infiltration. Now I have two rusted out, non-working, fog lights on my jeep. Let me also mention that I have not been able to find replacements from anyone other than Chrysler. Guess what they cost, $100+ each. Wow, what a surprise.
I guess I expected better quality from a vehicle that cost me $25,000 brand new, not even 4 years ago.
Guys, as for your front speakers. I ran into the same issue. I removed the door panel to find that the one of the connectors had gotten loose. (probably from me slamming the door) I reconnected the wire and it was good as new. I have also experienced the Fog lamp issue. I replaced them with a twenty dollar pair that mounted up to the OEM brackets. As far as the quality of the vehicle, you get what you pay for.
My driver's side front speaker and window lock button stopped working on my 2001. I pulled the door panel, pulled and replugged the window control connections and the window lock button started working again. With that success I pulled the speaker to discover the same solution didn't work.
I ran a wire from the connector to the speaker, and viola, the speaker worked. With that knowledge, I cleaned the speaker connection, but that didn't work. I tried wiggling the connection while it was plugged into the speaker and discovered that would make the speaker work, so I pulled the connector and bend the prongs so they'd push firmly against the connector. Bad-a-bing, it worked.
Admittedly, I think the Jeep Cherokee has more problems. Mine squeaks and rattles and I think the front bearings are going, but it's a Jeep. That's part of the charm. Anyone who bought a Cherokee from 1994 onward should have known about the characteristics of the car, since at that point it had already been out for 10 years. If you didn't know about the problems, then you should have researched the car better before plunking down the dough.
I would like to try to help. There is an extraordinary amount of on-line support for Jeep Cherokees (and other Jeep vehicles), but the best of it is from private individuals on public forums, NOT from manufacturers. Also, my experience with Chrysler dealerships has been unpleasant.
So, to fix your problem with the Check Engine Light, I did a search on a forum and found Chrysler Service Bulletin #0900303 might apply to your problem. You can find a summary of it on the jeep forum (the forum is open to public viewing, but not public searching, yet registration is free -- there are many such forums where you can find similar information) : http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72181&highlight=misfire.
Other Service Bulletins that might apply: 1801301, 1801001, 1803103.
Regarding front U-joints problems. This is typical of Jeep Cherokees. It occurred about every 2 years on my 1992 Cherokee. I replaced the non-greasing type by greased type, but they didn't last any longer. However, the joints aren't very expensive and I put up with the problem.
My front right fog light is also rusted out and Chrysler charges $215 Canadian) per light. It's a rip-off. I will try adapting another type of fog light instead.
Both of my front speakers don't work any more. Will try to repair it myself following the useful comments on your forum.
I would recommend keeping the Cherokee since the typical problems are not serious. The vehicle has a fine and reliable engine and transmission and the body may last a good while if you rustproof them with a quality product. I use synthetic oil and have no engine durability problems with any vehicles. Most vehicles have some problems. I owned two Toyota Land Cruisers that rusted right through in less than three years and Toyota wouldn't do anything about it and had manual transmission problems when a part came loose inside and ran through the gears. My 1992 Cherokee started rusting through around 1999. I also owned an Isuzu Trooper and the engine head cracked. Once repaired properly (the second time), it was a very reliable vehicle even beyond 250,000 km.
The Cherokee may not be as refined as the Japanese brands, but is a dependable and worthy vehicle considering the price and average repair costs (compared to the Japanese brands, ex.: $800 Canadian for a fuel pump on a 1979 Trooper).
Good luck!
Ray Strokowski
Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada.
2001 jeep cherokee
i had the same problem with the driver's side front speaker; it was just disconnected. haven't had any other problems until 60k. now there is a vibrating sound from the passenger front tire area, and the engine emissions light indicates a problem that nobody can solve, and the idling gets jumpy when it's warm. any ideas?
I also have a 2000 Cherokee Classic with 95K miles. The only problem I have had with it is door rust where the outer door skin is tack-welded to the inner door. The seam was not caulked prior to painting and consquently moisture from the weep holes has rusted the flanges over time. I am currently getting estimates to have all the doors repaired. Everything else about the Jeep has been great. Runs good, looks good, has great off-road presence for a stock SUV, rides nice and is tight (even at 95K miles, does not leak and does not sag. If I can get the doors repaired, I'll drive it another 100K miles. One other thing I'll mention, I have an 87 GW with 126K miles and a 99 Wrangler with 44K miles. If you own a Jeep, or any SUV, be prepared to be a DIYer when it comes to maintenance' you'll save yourself a lot of money in the long-run.
I bought my 2001 Jeep Cherokee Limited addition in 2003, used with about 30 thousand miles already on it. I guess that was mistake number one since I cannot have a clear history on the vehicle after searching such tools as car-fax. com and other searches using the VIN.
My engine makes a "chirping" sound every once in a while and has for years. I have taken it to my local, private mechanic along with the dealer who could find no reason for the noise. I have not had a real problem with that, just an annoyance.
At 40k, the engine light came on. I took it to the dealer who told me it needed a tune up and new spark plugs. Come on, at 40k!? The charged me 100 just to reset the light.
At 50k, the entire car was rattling so loudly that my neighbors could hear me coming down the street. Needed new ball bearings. I took it to my mechanic to be fixed.
At 75K, the passenger side automatic window buttons do not work. I have to adjust the windows for anyone in my car from the driver's side. The driver's side speaker in the door is blown too.
Recently, just before 80k, the engine light came on again. Since my car is no longer covered under warranty, I took the car to my privately owned mechanic. They told me that the code that came back was for a SMALL EVAP LEAK. They couldn't find a problem, but could not reset the light so that it would stay off. It turned itself off after 2 days. Now, I am just over 80, the engine light is back on and I am reluctant to take it to the dealer because I know that the price will be high, but I feel like I might get someone more knowledgeable about the car. No offense to my mechanic, but he doesn't specialize in Jeep repair.
Since my car is out of warranty, is there any benefit from bringing it into the dealer as opposed to my trusted mechanic?
I've got a 1984 Cherokee with 440,000 Kms - no, not a mistake, it's 22 years old now - and I'm going to replace it because I'm hoping to have kids soon, and it's a 2 door.
I too have considered Japanese trucks, and my friends have them. I will definitely get a Cherokee again, but not just because I like mine so much (bought it in 1994). Condsider the price of Japanese, and then shake your head as you walk awau from the rust and expense! A brand new Cherokee was worth, what, $25K? A brand new 4Runner was around $40K similarly prepped! Now, will you be spending the extra $15K (not counting the considerable interest on $15K over ten years!!!) on parts for the Cherokee? Hardly.
A new alternator? About $70 for the Cherokee, try about $190 for the 4Runner! An auto tranny for the Cherokee? About $2,500 (installed). An auto tranny for the 4Runner? Try closer to $6,000. My best friend bought a 4Runner the same year I bought my Cherokee, and he still has it too. It's on it's third engine (I'm on #2 after my mom grenaded the old one), third set of ball joints (I've never changed mine), third set of tire rod ends (I've never done mine), thirds alternator (I replaced my bearings for $20 bucks). U-joints do go every so often - $25 bucks each side. The 4Runner has CV joints - $175 a side! My friend is just about to install the third set of them too!
Have I babied mine? No, I 4X4, I tow, I go skiing on salty roads. Basically, don't worry about nickel and diming in a Cherokee, worry about refinancing the home in a Japanese truck!!
I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee sport 60th anniversary, and let me tell you, jeeps are like no other. I've had two Cherokees before this one. one of them a '94 two door se and a '95 sport 4dr. the 94 Cherokee I put 237,556 miles on it. off course I torn that jeep apart, I did everything on that car, even off roading even though it wasn't 4x4. but a jeep it's a jeep. I spent about $6000 on repairs, but check out the mileage. I got rid of it because I bought the 95 used which had less miles. the bottom of my 94 was almost gone, I was about to the point of moving my car like the Flinstones car, with my feet. my '95 Cherokee bought it with 56,000 and sold it when with 167k since I was going overseas. now with my '01 Cherokee I've had no problems so far, thank god. none of the above problems I've had. I do have my check engine light on now, and I've been told it's a gas sensor. at this point my jeep has 68k and runs great. I'm about to put in a lift kit next month.
Its the best decision I've ever made, buy a good reliable car, and like jeep there's no other, maybe that's why they say; Jeep there's only one!!! I've had a '96 4runner, but started to have problems and repairs were much more that my jeeps. so I got Ridd of it. if you think of getting a Japanese. go ahead. you don't know what your getting into. plus, it's a Jeep thing you wouldn't understand!
I own a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport also. The driver's side speaker quit working last year. At 85,000m the check engine light went on, for the third time, and the Zone told me there was both a small and large air leak. Mechanics told me I needed to replace to the pcv valve. Not sure if that even exists. If I unplug the battery and plug it back in, the light goes away for a few days.