This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. While the vehicle was stationary, the brake lines became severely rusted and corroded. The dealer (cueter Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in ypsilanti, Michigan) was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 223,827.
I was at a stop sign, proceeded to accelerate, arriving at a stop-light when vehicle would not stop, brake pedal was pushed all the way to floor, pedal seemed to have no leverage to it. I coasted to a safe place to pull over, had to use emergency brake to stop. Checked all fluids and pads, those components seemed to be fine. And had to get vehicle towed it was unsafe to drive.
No crash, no accident this is a complaint on safety and lack of availability to a "do it yourself" (diy) certified mechanic on brake bleeding. I am a certified aviation mechanic and well versed on bleeding brakes. On the Jeep listed there is a requirement to use a scanner (the Chrysler drb III scan tool) which plugs into the obd-2 system to run the pump in the ABS system. This running of the ABS pump should move any air within, into the lines so that subsequent bleeding of the wheel lines will remove the air. The scanner cost is prohibitive for the diy mechanic and the owner is forced to take the vehicle to a dealer for proper bleeding of the brakes. Even a used scanner is valued at $3977 on ebay this date. There are various "tricks" to get the ABS pump to run, such as a panic stop on a slick grassy surface and that will get the pump to run, but the brakes must be bled immediately to get the desired results, on the slick, grassy surface. This complaint is about the disservice to the mechanic in the field and the great safety issues that could arise with improperly bled brakes. Without the ABS bled properly, the brakes are mushy and even after pumping, are not the brakes they should be for the safety of nearly a two ton vehicle. There should be an affordable scan tool that will do the job for the basic mechanic who wants to do their vehicle him/her self and those same folks shouldn't be forced to take the vehicle to the dealer just to achieve the proper safety standards.
The rear brake line (steel) not the rubber line failed while pulling the vehicle out of the garage. It was completely rotted through, despite routine maintenance (bleeding of old fluid) being performed. It was determined both the front and rear lines needed replacement due to severe rot. These should have been made out of a corrosion resistant metal.
Near miss rear end collision due to brake lights and turn signal lights working intermittently. At times either the turn signals left and right will not work or the left and right rear brake light lamp assemblies will not work. Found a electrical grounding issue with left and right rear lamp assembly with regards to brake lights. With regards to the turn signals working intermittently problem unresolved. In addition, when vehicle is parked and locked at night the headlights and tail lamps come on and off for unknown reason.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Whittaker, MI, USA