10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
13 / 2
Average Mileage:
79,964 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee brakes problems

brakes problem

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2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Owner Comments

problem #14

Apr 062020

Grand Cherokee

  • 187,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

One Monday the 6th driving North. It was raining. So, I had full 4wheel drive engaged. A car cut me off. I was on the transition from the 5 N to the 55N. A car from the left lane cut into my lane to try and exit onto 4th street. To avoid an accident I slammed on the breaks and veered right. But the car would not stop. I pushing down on the breaks as hard as I could. The car was still accelerating and did not slow down. Trying to obtain control over the vehicle I "fishtailed" from going right back to left and hit the side of the car and then hit the center divider. The car kept accelerating and I hit the center divider and flipped around. I was then facing opposite traffic towards the divider. I threw the car into park and held the breaks strong. The back wheels were still spinning out. I look down and the keys were not in the ignition. Luckily, I had a spare key in the center console and shut it down. I found the keys on the ground but not anywhere near the pedals. I talked to the dealer and they said they had never heard of it. The only thing they could verify is that the key could come out wile the car is still on. According to them this happens as the key wears down or gets old.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

problem #13

May 102017

Grand Cherokee

  • 155,500 miles
The engine cranks and runs fine but after you drive for a while the engine shuts off. It happens while you are driving or coming to a stop. It is random. It usually starts back up and runs fine until next time. When the engine dies, you do not have steering assist or brake assist. It is very hard to steer it off the road. A woman may have a hard time steering it or stopping it. I don't let my wife drive our Jeep much at all. It doesn't matter if you are driving in the city or on the freeway when it decides to shut off. Our Jeep is a 4WD with automatic transmission.

- Dallas, GA, USA

problem #12

Mar 242017

Grand Cherokee

  • 134,000 miles
The contact owned a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving 35 mph, the brakes failed without warning and the vehicle crashed into an electrical pole. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. The contact's daughter sustained a broken rib, broken pelvis, three fractures to the left hand, the back shoulder bone was sticking out, and her spleen was bleeding. Medical attention was required. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 15V046000 (air bags). The contact had an appointment with the dealer to get the air bags replaced, but the crash occurred prior to arriving at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 134,000.

- Frankfort, IN, USA

problem #11

Oct 112013

Grand Cherokee 4WD 8-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I filed original Oct 4 2016 NHTSA complaint and also objected to restriction NHTSA imposed upon complaint (2000 characters in total, and total mb of attachments 5mb or less) because Oct 4 2016 complaint is insufficient, incomplete. NHTSA investigation requires more information from me (reports, testimony, dozens of critical police photos) necessary for NHTSA investigation of my complaint. On Oct 4 2016, I demanded NHTSA investigation unit contact me by email, so that I may document data my submission to NHTSA, as part of my complaint. To date, NHTSA refuses, it has done nothing to investigate because NHTSA stonewalls me for information. NHTSA investigation units endangers public safety with deliberate lack of data, resulting in bogus non-investigation. On Oct 11 2013, 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, VIN no [xxx], had vehicle malfunction event, unintended acceleration, high speed start, high impact and high energy collisions, defective BTSI (brake transmission shift interrupter), no brake throttle override, no safeguards to stop vehicle, high rate of speed crashing over and over, in throttle wide open, no software or hardware upgrade to stop or prevent unusual acceleration while in park, inability to brake vehicle to stop at such high rate of speed. Tires vaporized, chunks of rubber broke, metal rim remnants of tire skidded sidewalk and street, in series of horrific collisions, documented by photos and reports which NHTSA deliberately refuses to acquire from me as part of my complaint, to manipulate the outcome of bogus and deliberately flawed pseudo-NHTSA investigation. Due to height mismatch square box Jeep and subcompact cars, Jeep was battering Ram against subcompact cars effectively without impact bars (bars to low) in such malfunction event, wreck subcompact cars, endanger lives and health of occupants of small cars who absorb impact (instead of distributed forces via impact bar), grave collisions. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *

- Bronx, NY, USA

problem #10

Apr 012016

Grand Cherokee

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving approximately 20 mph, the ABS indicator suddenly illuminated and the braking system malfunctioned. When the brake pedal was depressed to stop the vehicle, the pedal traveled to the floor and the vehicle failed to immediately stop or slow down. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 115,000.

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #9

Oct 112013

Grand Cherokee 4WD 8-cyl

  • 0 miles
See attached diagram. I was driver of car stopped at red light. Jeep Grand Cherokee (VIN # [xxx]) engine revved at high throttle, while BTSI in park. The driver may be hard of hearing, may have been distracted to hear the noise or know comes from her car, may have had windows shut and been insulated from the sound, but she changed gear from park to drive as the tires were spinning as observed by witnesses who saw or heard those tires spinning while the car was in stationary position. Jeep speed forward about 70 feet to rear-impact my car and crush the rear of car inward. It distorted frame from rear to front or car, and rear impact caused damage to front of car. Prior to impact, my foot depressed hard on brake because I braced or stiffened hard for impact, when I heard the squeal of tires of stationary car nearby, and people leaving a carnival were nearby. After Jeep crushed my car inward, it accelerated again against my car and my efforts keep the brake pedal down, and it propelled my car forward, and then continued on its path of destruction. It wrecked my car, itself, another car, and collided with a another two cars, it hit pedestrians, caused fatality, caused injuries, knocked down parking meters, skidded dozens of feet, broke off its front tires in chunks, skidded its metal rim because that was all that was left of the tire, skidded pieces of rubber of tire, and finally got stuck after last impact, while its engine revved and its tires spun, causing yaw scraping of tires on sidewalk. _police dept found the BTSI defective, and the skid marks show that the brakes were ineffective or inoperable as Jeep's engine continued to accelerate. Jeep driver ran from it after it got stuck because she thought it would explode. The wheels stopped spinning when the motor got shut. Sudden uncontrolled acceleration, ineffective braking, defective BTSI..updated 01/04/17 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Bronx, NY, USA

problem #8

Jan 012015

Grand Cherokee

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have had ever light on my truck fixed and I still have not found the right thing. And I am seeing am not the only truck that is have that problem.

- Forest, MS, USA

problem #7

Mar 022015

Grand Cherokee

  • 175,000 miles
The engine stopped while driving took it to a mechanic and they said all fluids were filled it was just a "bad engine" I paid 2700 dollars to have engine replaced. The truck still wasn't running right it was having trouble starting took it to the mechanic and he changed the fuel pump 700 dollars. The truck still dose not run right ive had brake lines replaced that broke with no impact or accident ive been told the master cylinder needs replaced there is no brake pressure my wiring is messed up and now both my brake lights are out ive checked fuses and bulbs the truck takes several tries to start it its in the shop more than I drive it its dangerous and I never know if its going to stop in traffic or if people behind me know when im trying to stop I have 6 kids I drive to school every day and I worry about their lives every time we have to get in the Jeep I feel like buying this vehicle was a huge mistake

- Evansville , IN, USA

problem #6

Jun 232014

Grand Cherokee

  • miles
The contact owns a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 14V154000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the part needed to repair the vehicle was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- San Dimas, CA, USA

problem #5

Mar 162014

Grand Cherokee

  • miles
I work at a dealership washing cars. We just sold a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I was running the Jeep through the carwash. My foot was on the brake, and suddenly the vehicle accelerated propelling me into a wall, and the airbag deployed. I was injured in the accident and went to an urgent care.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #4

Oct 032012

Grand Cherokee

  • 163,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

J'ai un probleme de feinag a faible vites les rous qui bloque voiture pique a lavan derap veillez expliquer merci.

- Marseille, AE, USA

problem #3

May 152013

Grand Cherokee 6-cyl

  • 190,000 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. The contact was driving 30 mph when the front brakes began smoking. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the brake rotors, calibers and pads needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 190,000.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #2

Oct 282012

Grand Cherokee 4WD 8-cyl

  • miles
Chrysler has issued over 10 recalls on my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee and have failed to complete any of the required recall service. They have not received any parts from their suppliers to replace the defective parts covered under the recall. The amount of affected vehicles are over 950.000 Chrysler has still failed to resolve any of the outstanding recalls on my vehicle, and has not offered substitute transportation after 9 months that the numerous recalls were issued, and not resolved due to zero availability of replacement parts. This is a major safety liability that Chrysler is conveniently ignoring updated 06/4/13

- Great Neck, NY, USA

problem #1

Apr 152012

Grand Cherokee

  • miles
Driving my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee on 4/15/2012, I approached a stop sign and proceeded to apply the brakes. As I applied the brake pedal, it functioned as normal for maybe 2-3 seconds. The brake pedal then lost it's pressure and dropped to the floorboard. I pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and opened the hood. No evidence of brake fluid was visually apparent at the master cylinder, though the fluid was approx. 1/2" low in the reservoir. Looking under the vehicle at each wheel to see if brake fluid leakage was evident at any of the caliper(s), I noticed brake fluid leaking from the stainless steel brake line fastened along the frame rail on the driver's side of the vehicle. There was no evidence of corrosion or damage of any kind, the brake lines were still bright and shiney, the way stainless appears, and there was no evidence of rust or corrosion on the frame of the vehicle either. I cannot verify that the leak was indeed coming from the brake line, as the vehicle was not on a lift for a better visual inspection. I'm questioning if the brake system has been a problem with other Jeep vehicles and if anything has been documented information concerning this issue.

- Williamstown, NJ, USA

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