2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo from North America - Comments

My 2000 JGC lift gate actuator started quacking a couple of weeks ago.

Ordered an OEM replacement (part 5018479AB) from http://newjeepparts. com = $76 including shipping.

Great instructions and pictures found here -> http://www.wjjeeps.com/liftgate.htm.

Great site here, I learned lots and found many very helpful suggestions/links.

WOW! I had no idea so many people had the exact same problems my Jeep is giving me!

I too have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the broken rear passenger door lock. I called two different Jeep dealerships and both would sell me the door lock actuator latch for $95.

I have had numerous problems with the brake lights. I had the brake light switch replaced in December 2006 after my battery was drained when the brake lights wouldn't go off after I shut the car off. I found the brake light switch at AutoZone for $5 and my friend fixed it for me. Simple fix!

I have replaced the entire brake light units on both sides numerous times. My brake lights just don't work at all, day or night. I do not want to replace the units again this time as it isn't a long-term fix.

I will be trying the quick fix posted earlier on this site tonight! I hope it helps.

Thank you everyone for all your posts!

Follow-up to my earlier post on the lift gate actuator quacking problem...

Received the OEM replacement. Installation is a breeze if you have basic automotive repair skills + a Philips/Torx driver. Took me 20 minutes start-to-finish. It would have taken me longer than that just to drive to a Jeep dealer... and then they would have charged > $200 while I waited several hours...

All I have to say is I'm glad I stumbled across this before I took my car to the dealer. My tail lights had been acting funny for a while now, sometimes they would work and sometimes not. I had replaced the bulbs a few times, but they kept going out and this week the brake lights stopped working when I had my headlights turned on, and the tail lights wouldn't come on regardless of the headlights. Well, I tried bending up the contacts on the tail light housing for the bulbs like was suggested here and everything works fine now. Thanks to this site.

I'm just reposting what my friend last year gave as a suggestion to stop replacing bulbs... THANKS A LOT!!!

1st Jan 2005, 14:02.

I own a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and I too had the same problem on the left tail light/brake light. Thanks to this website, I've regained my sanity (and stopped changing light bulbs). Additionally, I was not going to pay for a part unless I absolutely had to, and I was able to repair the light with info from this website. In return, I thought I'd post how I did it.

1. Remove the tail light assembly. Most of you know how to remove the light assembly if you've changed bulbs, so I won't cover that.

2. disconnect the wiring harness by sliding the red locking clip to the side in order to press the side of the male connector and pull apart.

3. Once you've got the tail assembly away from the vehicle and on a bench, remove the light socket for the tail/brake light. You will see 3 silver contact points inside the black plastic ring. 2 are grouped together and there is one that is opposite of the 2. The one by itself is the ground; the other two are the contacts for the tail light and brake light. The problem lies with the ground connector. (BTW, I tested continuity with all lights and contacts including the turn signal and the reverse light to verify that the circuit board itself was good, and it was).

4. clean all contacts with a Q-Tip and some sort of contact cleaner - rubbing alcohol will work.

5. You should notice that the ground contact is depressed into the plastic and the plastic itself is slightly warped down. I was able to use a small pair of needle nose pliers that have a 45 degree angle to press up on the contact from underneath using the opposite lip of the hole as leverage (very carefully). Once it had moved up a bit, I was able to wedge a mini-flathead screwdriver in between the metal contact and the plastic to force the contact up even further (again, very carefully). Once it looked even with the rest, gently reinsert the connector and test.

Hope this helps...

Jrdahle@yahoo.com.

Fix the spelling and grammar.

Delete this comment.

I can attest to the brake light fix mentioned above. I changed out bulbs several times prior to finding this solution. The mechanic I visited told me that the entire light assembly had an internal circuit board that had gone bad, and that the unit would cost in the $250.00 neighborhood. Needless to say, I didn't think too much of him or his skills.

I would like to mention my overall disappointment with my Jeep. It seems that they have many "well known" problems that Jeep does not acknowledge or care about.

- Warping rotors! Two completely new sets over 5000 miles. That's 5000 miles for both sets! Both turned after less than 2000 miles and still squeaking. I know what you're thinking; no I do not fly into stops.

- Buzzing / Broken door lock actuators. (Another cottage industry in after market sales.)

- Light fixtures

- Lurching transmission

- I tried to buy American again and I got burned

Warping Rotors are my PET PEEVE!!! I understand completely what you're talking about my friend! Quacking noise, popping sounds when I open the door too widely, lurching transmission, power windows losing power!!! Its really upsetting!

This is for all of us. If you feel as upset, as I do, about the defective door locks, brake lights, & rotors. Go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration web site and file a complaint. It is listed under the "Vehicle Owner's Questionnaire"

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

It takes about 15 minutes. Is 15 minutes worth your time to resolve these safety issues?

I am having most of the same problems as everyone else. The Duck Doors, the warping rotors, the blown tweeters..etc.

But the most annoying of them all is my LEFT DIRECTIONAL works intermittently. Most of the time it doesn’t work at all, then I will hit the hazards (which always work) and sometimes the Left directional will work for a few minutes then shut off again.

Do you know how annoying it is to have to hit the hazards every time I make a left turn?

If anyone has this problem or information how to solve it, please email me.

Core44D@aol.com.

LEFT DIRECTIONAL works intermittently. Most of the time it doesn’t work at all, then I will hit the hazards (which always work) and sometimes the Left directional will work for a few minutes then shut off again.

I FIXED THIS!!!

Undo the steering column, and you will see an 3 fuse boxes. The very top one has cube fuses. The largest one of the cube fuses was defective. I took it out replaced it, and BAM!!! Blinker works like a charm!

I have a 2000 Jeep grand Cherokee and have had more problems with this car that anyone I have ever talked to. The list is HUGE!! I am now having the same taillight/brake light problems I have been reading about on this site. I don't know what to do!!

The fix for the tailights works for a while, but then breaks again. I'm taking (during daylight hours so that I don't get a ticket) this quacking (door lock problem) Jeep to Acura to trade it in.

OK with me.

I just wanted to take the time to let you know that I had the same problem with the brake/tail light. The brake light worked, but the tail light didn't. I slightly bent the contact and it WORKS!!!

The Internet is a wonderful thing, otherwise it probably would have cost me $100 for a garage to look at it.

Thank you for your help!

Brake light trouble:

First, thanks to all who have posted to this website.

I have edited a previous post to save time. I hope the original poster does not mind.

I own a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee and I too had the same problem on the left tail light/brake light. I was able to repair the light with info from this website. In return, I thought I'd post how I did it.

1. Remove the tail light assembly. Most of you know how to remove the light assembly if you've changed bulbs, so I won't cover that.

2. disconnect the wiring harness by sliding the red locking clip to the side in order to press the side of the male connector and pull apart.

3. Once you've got the tail assembly away from the vehicle and on a bench, remove the light socket for the tail/brake light. You will see 3 silver contact points inside the black plastic ring. 2 are grouped together and there is one that is opposite of the 2. The one by itself is the ground; the other two are the contacts for the tail light and brake light. The problem lies with the ground connector (the single one).

4. Clean all contacts with a Q-Tip and some sort of contact cleaner - rubbing alcohol will work.

5. You should notice that the ground contact is depressed into the plastic. I was able to very carefully lift up on the contact itself from the side using a dental pick, it almost felt spring loaded (like it wanted to return to the recessed position it was originally in), I then slid a thin shim of aluminum approximately the same size as the contact 1/16” thick under the contact (the shim I used was sticky on the back, it was actually a peice of thin aluminum signage that I cut a piece from). I gently reinserted the connector and tested.

Hope this helps...

Mgmason (remove this) @wans.net.