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.
All 1999-2002 Grand Cherokee wj models built through May 10, 2002 came equipped with brake calipers made by teves. They are black in color with an open-sided bracket design. Due to poor caliper centering, the teves calipers caused the rotors to warp, a problem that has plagued Grand Cherokee. At the very end of the 2002 model year, Jeep changed to "fully-closed" style calipers designed by akebono. To address the warped rotor problem Jeep issued a tsb, #05-003-02. We believe it should be a full recall do to the major wheel shake to the point of the driver almost loosing control of the SUV do to this vibration. Jeep has long known about this issue & was sued in a class action law suit which they settled the problem is excessive rotor thickness variation generated by poor caliper centering. This causes steering wheel shake. Grand Cherokee brakes up through May 10th 2002 were designed by teves. Same brakes used on BMW & Ford Expedition but the Grand Cherokee was the first to use a twin piston caliper design. Chrysler wanted twin pistons because of the weight of the vehicle. The caliper spring causes the inboard pad to drag. It takes a lot of heat (cherry red) to warp rotors, so the main cause of rotor variation is not heat but uneven wear.
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee rear brake lights out because of defective design. Brake lights stop working when headlights turned on. Brake lights work fine when headlights off. Problem design is in the tail light assembly. When you remove the light socket for the tail/brake light in the light assembly, you will see 3 silver contact points inside the black plastic ring. Two are grouped together and there is one that is opposite of the two. 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. You should notice that the ground contact is depressed into the plastic and the plastic itself is slightly warped down. Most cars have light sockets with their wiring attached. The socket twists into the lamp assembly. On the Grand Cherokee, the socket does not have the wiring attached. Instead, the wiring goes into the lamp assembly and the socket has three electrical contacts that, when twisted into the assembly, will make the contact. What seems to be the most frequent malfunction is that the electrical contacts (which make contact with their respective electrical paths when they are inserted into the assembly) are pressed tight to ensure good contact with the assembly...and on many taillights, the plastic ring containing the respective paths often begins to separate from the fatigue of the contacts pressing so hard. Of the three contacts (rear tail light, rear brake light and ground), the ground is what most commonly loses its contact due to fatigue cracking. This is a serious safety issue because often drivers are unaware that there is a problem. It only happens when the headlamps are on, so if checked in daylight, the problem often goes undetected. Only when another driver or the police point it out does it looked at. This is a widespread problem that occurs for nearly every 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It is not an issue of will it happen, rather when is it going to happen!
My wife and I purchased a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee from the dealership. About two years ago the 4.0 liter 6 cylinder engine started using coolant and causing the coolant light to alarm. The oil pressure would drop to "0" and sound the check gauges alarm. We took the car to the mechanic shop for costly repairs and troubleshooting. They replaced the water pump, couldn't find any leaks, and replaced the oil pump and rear main seal. They checked the bearing clearances and found them within tolerance. The car is still using one to two pints of coolant every three days and the oil continues to drop to "0" after warm-up. We replace the 4 wheel disc brakes and rotors every two years. The hood gas shocks won't hold the hood up and the shocks cost $150 a pair form the dealer and only last one year. We to have electric door locks that screech and don't lock the doors as well as rear light problems that work off and on. The emissions are much higher than normal on our recent smog test. This is an indication that the #3 and 4 cylinder is using the mysterious antifreeze loss. As a retired mechanical engineer I also believe the oil problem to be related. My wife has the Grand Cherokee and I purchased a tj Wrangler new in 2000. I'm concerned this vehicle will develop the same problems having the same engine. We have invested over $50 thousand in these two cars. We need your help to help us offset this burden.
Both tail light assemblies stopped working and was cited by a police officer. Replacement was ~$500. Rear lift gate lock actuator is broken, so cannot open lift gate. Right rear door lock will not allow opening from inside. Shift sensor/solenoid has gone bad twice leading to problems with shifting from gears (revs really high before shifting). Rotors are constantly becoming warped and brakes have to be readjusted. Left blinker no longer works and to fix it, the dealership told me they have to replace this entire engine block for about $800. Power window lock no longer works. Other than that, car runs great :).
My car has major problems and I can't afford to fix, then I find the problem that I have is due to the automaker's problem because the car is on recalls for the problems I am having. I received no notices on any recall, and when I got on the web-site to check for recalls there are as many as 10 major problems with my car and Jeep. Some could cause me to crash or even explode while driving. Where are my recall notices?
- Davenport, IA, USA
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The contact owns a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that she has to depress the brake pedal down to the floor in order to stop the vehicle. She replaced the brakes and cylinders on three different occasions due to squeaking noises and the increase in stopping distance. The contact experienced the squeaking and screeching noises while driving 25 mph and greater. The most recent failure occurred on May 16, 2007. The VIN, purchase date, and engine size were unavailable. The current mileage is 112,000 and failure mileage was 30,000.
On Jan. 10, 2007, I was in a head-on collision and my air bags did not deploy. The whole front end of my Jeep was smashed and I have to get a whole new front clip for it. Also, the brakes went all the way to the floor and didn't seem to work properly. I am very upset about these issues and would like to know why the air bags would not deploy in this type of collision.
: the contact stated while driving 50 mph down an incline on slick wet roads, the brakes shuddered when applied lightly. Prior warning of brake problems was gradual. The dealer was notified and mentioned similar occurrences with other consumers. The contact was directed to the tsb #0500302B after the dealer checked the VIN # for recalls. No recalls were found by the dealer. No examinations or repairs have been made.
My local Jeep dealer advises that my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with 19,000 miles has bad brakes, bad rotors, bad calipers, loose belts (Goodyear tires) and is unsafe to drive. He says that is why when I attempt to brake if I am going over 40 mph that the front vibrates or if I attempt to drive at 55 mph the entire car vibrates to the point that I feel a loss of control. I have been surfing the internet and it appears these problems are notorious with other 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners.
Consumer had to replace five individual brakes in five years. First was the front brakes and rotors, then it was the front brakes and rotors again about seven months later. Then almost a year later, had them replaced again. A year after that had the rear brakes and rotors done. Finally had the front brakes and rotors again. The mechanic told consumer that the rotors were warped, and that they could barely get them off of the car. When I first noticed this, the brakes started to seem like they were not as effective as they should be. Then, about a week later, the car will start to vibrate as I press the brake pedal, and the vibration starts in the brake pedal, and continue to vibrate until the whole car is shaking. It took a long time for the vehicle to crank. The dealer replaced the fuel pump O-ring and shims.
When applying brakes at speeds of around 30 mph or more the vehicle's front end shims violently. The vehicle shakes as the front wheels are seen oscillations from right to left, which results in a lost of steering. The dealer attributes this to warped rotors. While warped rotors may cause a braking issue they should not cause oscillations in the front wheels. Replacing the rotors and pads might temporarily improve the performance it will not correct the underlying problem or design flaw that causes the oscillations in the steering of the front wheels
Brake rotors and pads replaced every 10,000 miles. The last time vehicle was repaired, the rotors, pads and calipers were replaced. Consumer stated brakes were replaced three times. Dealer claimed it was nothing wrong with the vehicle.
When applying brakes the vehicle's front end shimmied, the pedal pulsated and the steering wheel shook. The vehicle was taken to several different dealser but none were able to permanently repair the problem.
While braking vehicle pulsated. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. This failure made it difficult for the driver to control the vehicle while stopping. The vehicle is only drive appr. 8000 miles per year yet this problem has occurred for the last four years. The vehicle's warranty has expired and the problem has not been fixed.
Steering wheel shakes when you apply brakes, and at the same time it make a weird pulsation. Chrysler made me replace a part and the car keeps having the same problem over and over and I have to keep paying to have parts replaced.
Front brake rotors have warped badly at 38,000 miles and again at 49,000 miles. Dealer claims that problem is not covered by warranty. Car has been driven a mix of city and highway miles. No off-road driving.
The vehicle had an ongoing pulsation problem within the brake pedal when it was depressed. The technical service bulletin 0500302rb dealt with this issue, and stated that the front rotors should be replaced because they warped. The dealership replaced the rotors. The pulsation recurred within 7000 miles, and rotors were turned. The pulsation recurred within 10,000 miles. Then the front rotors and calipers were replaced. Pulsation recurred within 10,000 miles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bangor, ME, USA