Jeep Grand Cherokee reliability?

[dwightparker]

Originally Posted by dwightparker

....60MPH in a snow storm....Spock, I think we have found the problem..... LOL

...FYI, the wife and I have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and love it and have had no problems what-so-ever..... but we only have 38000 miles on it so far.....and will probably get a Ford F150 or 250 with camper shell covered storage area when we upgrade out little Aliner LXE pop-up when the wife retires in a couple years.......

[Mike J. L.]

Consumer Reports rates the JGC middle of the road with 65 out of possible 100. The Kia Telluride and Toyota Highlander rate 25-30 points higher. I’d be wary. Consumer Reports, in case you’re not aware, accepts no donations or advertising from corporations but it supported by consumers. The ratings come from thousands of ratings from individual consumers as well as their own road tests.

[bailiej757]

I will never ever buy another dodge/jeep product. Had a dodge van and car and a jeep. Poor quality throughout. Just crap, built to last no more than 125K.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Telescopist

I agree with senior member Jack. The Jeep Cherokees are money pits. My childhood friend owns an auto parts store. He's reports that he sells more replacement parts for Cherokees than any other comparable vehicle...

Cherokee or Grand Cherokee?

The old straight-six Cherokees are a favorite of off-roaders who modify them heavily, abuse them badly, and run them forever. Not surprising they keep the parts stores busy.

The new Cherokees are Fiats and a different animal altogether.

The Grand Cherokee is a different model, not as commonly used for heavy duty off-reading, though it is fairly capable.

[Robert Reighter]

Originally Posted by Lmitc210

My wife and I are considering a 2016-2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited w/ tow package as an "new" TV for our 13'Scamp Deluxe, replacing our 2009 Subaru Forester. An alternate consideration is a 2017 Toyota Highlander XLE with an OEM hitch.

We tend to keep our cars for 8-10 years, so I'm concerned about the poor reliability ratings of the JGC, which, from what I've read, seems to be due primarily to more problems in the out years. However, I like that the tow package includes a 7-pin connector and pre-wiring for a brake controller. With the Highlander, I'd have to add a 7-pin connector and splice it into the TVs brake wiring (which I did myself for my Forester, so I'm not afraid to do that, but its just added work).

I'd be interested in hearing from any forum members about out-year reliability on later-model JGCs.

Our tow vehicle is a 2014 JGC Limited 4X4 w/tow pkg and Hemi v8. We tow a 2014 Casita Liberty DLX: Fully loaded we’re at about 3300 lbs. We couldn’t be more pleased!!!

The Jeep is rated at 7200 lbs. GTW w/ tongue rating of 750 lbs. The later models should have similar specs.

We’ve had excellent service and performance from our Jeep. Towing is effortless. We feel safe and secure. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

[ldsharp]

A few months ago my wife and I noticed a Grand Cherokee at an estate sale. 7 figure home, no shortage of expensive stuff and this Jeep in the driveway. I don't remember the year, but it had a bit over 90k miles, looked great, and had a brand new crate engine in it. We assumed a wealthy owner that took care of this vehicle, we drove it a few miles, found it to be very comfortable and looked to be a great tow vehicle for our Casita, thought we couldn't do too bad and sort of off-handed wrote a bid for a several thousand. Surprisingly we got a call to come get our jeep the next day. I knew it needed cv joints on one side, the driver seat was loose, and other small stuff, but the vehicle drove just fine (other than the cv clunking at times). We traded a check for the title and off we went... It was hot when we first drove the car and the AC was working great. When I drove it home, I rolled down the windows and turned off the AC. Within a few miles, steam was wisping up through the vents and the unmistakable odor of hot antifreeze was in the car. Once I looked up the procedure to replace the heater core (a common problem with these cars and requires a complete dash removal and disassembly, I was ready to start in with a dremel tool, etc. etc. My thought was simply my mistake to buy it and now my problem. My wife instead called the sale company owner and he immediately offered to cancel the sale and give back the check, not from guilt, but simply that he had no idea the car was needing $1000s in repair. At that time, I did my research and realized just what everyone is telling you - great comfort but could be very expensive to keep on the road....

[Richard Harris]

We have a 2016 JGC ecodiesel and tow a 2018 Parkliner and it a very good TV. We did a 6500 trip in May/June from N.C. to Zion, Yellowstone and places in between averaged 18 mpg never a problem. Our previous TV was a Honda Pilot and when we got to western mountains it was a gutless wonder

[Norman Hicks]

The Jeep and Ram names are now owned by Fiat Chrysler America (FCA). I turn wrenches on heavy equipment and keep tabs on several mechanics forums. FCA is pretty much uniformly disrespected by the guys who work on them. I agree the old straight six was a great engine, I owned one. Sadly, the electrical system, not so much. I traded it in during the “Cash for Clunkers” deal. I would stay away from the older 5.7 l Hemi engines as well. Many of them have developed issues with the valve lifters and FCA seems unwilling to issue a recall to have them fixed, even though popular opinion among those in the know seem to think it warranted.

[Dennis McMillan]

We have a 2005 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 Litre hemi. It will drag our 13' scamp all day @ 70 mph. Recently had a transmission repair, but @ 153K miles, not so bad.

[Norman Hicks]

https://youtu.be/inPUz3pCHa0

My MIL’s GC is showing signs of this failure on the #2 cylinder. It’s a $4700 repair.

[Uplander]

You might check Consumer Reports reviews on Jeep products.
I would avoid Jeep products having been burned by the brand.
Your Subaru as a brand has just earned high marks by Consumer Reports
and is now equal to the gold standard in quality...TOYOTA.
Moving from Subaru to Jeep will be disappointing to say the least.

Happy Camping!

[floyd]

Don't limit yourself to those two choices, unless you just love one of them.
I have found that most Toyotas require the mechanic to be a three handed ambidextrous contortionist, which may be why comparable repairs cost much more.
For example...
My DIL had a Scion with a broken knock sensor, jobber's price for the
part...$160. with labor to install...$1200 at dealer, $800 at local repair shop.
The price for labor was due to the sensor being INSIDE the intake manifold.
The price for the part was due to Toyota simply overcharging for parts.

I priced a knock sensor for a Jeep recently...
Price for the part...$19
Replacement involved 2 minutes and a screwdriver due to the knock sensor being prominently placed on the front of the head in plain sight.


Over the years I have found Toyota parts prices and labor to be way higher than most others.


If you must have a Pacific Rim vehicle...
Honda parts and repairs are generally pretty competitive.

[thrifty bill]

V8 Toyotas also have the starter inside the manifold.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Uplander

You might check Consumer Reports reviews on Jeep products.
I would avoid Jeep products having been burned by the brand.
Your Subaru as a brand has just earned high marks by Consumer Reports
and is now equal to the gold standard in quality...TOYOTA.
Moving from Subaru to Jeep will be disappointing to say the least.

Happy Camping!

"All that glitters..."

[Jim J.]

We had the current generation Grand Cherokee and loved it. It was the perfect combination of comfort and capability. It all went well until it hit 100k and we had all sorts of reliability issues. I won't bother going through the list, but we were sick of having it in the shop every couple months. We ultimately got rid of it after having to cancel or nearly canceling several trips and thousands in repairs.

My thoughts? It was the perfect vehicle for us - when it worked.

[Glenn Baglo]

Curious what 100K is since you're in Canada. Is that 100,000 miles or 100,000 kilometres or 100 kilometres?

[hp in va]

Originally Posted by hp in va

We bought used a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with the OEM tow package (Yes, the controller harness was in the glove box & easy to install.) to tow our Parkline 15. We have put over 30K miles on it that are mostly towing miles. Not one problem with the Jeep to date but there was one factory recall for reprogramming the cruise control. We get 16-18 mpg towing.

We went shopping for a pickup with OEM towing, but changed after we found that my 5'3" wife could not pick up her feet high enough to even get onto the running board. That meant to us that a pickup would not be a good long term solution. We then started looking at SUV's with OEM towing, a V-6 and at least a 4,000 lbs tow capacity. The Jeep's running board was just reachable for the wife.
After we bought the Overland GC Jeep, we discovered that it had adjustable suspension that lowered for entry/exit, raised for highway aero driving and even more for off road. It came with both 4-pin and 7-pin electrical connectors (handy as we also have a utility trailer to tow). With the camper on the vehicle, the suspension self-levels, compensating for the hitch weight. One time, the trailer jack was at max height and I wondered what to do to match the heights to hook up. Then I remembered that I could lower the Jeep with a push of a button. Problem solved. Our Jeep has other features that we came to appreciate only after a few road trips. To date, our only and minor regret is that the Jeep does not have a CD player.

[Phil Murray]

From a former jeep and current Subaru owner, you have heaven, don't buy hell.

[Jim J.]

I wish it was miles, but was kilometers.

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Curious what 100K is since you're in Canada. Is that 100,000 miles or 100,000 kilometres or 100 kilometres?

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by floyd

Don't limit yourself to those two choices, unless you just love one of them.
...
If you must have a Pacific Rim vehicle...
Honda parts and repairs are generally pretty competitive.

We’re a two-Honda family (‘06 CR-V and ‘11 Pilot). The CR-V has 195K miles and the Pilot 170K. Aside from the Takata airbag recalls and a set of lower compression bushings on the Pilot at 98K (covered at no cost under a warranty extension), we just had our first unscheduled, out-of-pocket repair on either vehicle ($320 part and $200 labor for a cooling fan motor on the CR-V).

I have no idea how that compares to a similar repair on another brand, but my point is the cost of repair has to be balanced against the frequency of repair. Though expensive for a fairly simple part, one $500 repair on a 13-year-old vehicle with almost 200K miles wasn’t too hard to swallow. Beyond cost there is an inconvenience factor in frequent visits to the shop, especially if you’re traveling.

One reason we chose the Pilot over a Highlander as our primary tow vehicle was the ease of towing set-up. It is factory pre-wired for 7-pin (and in 2011 it also came standard with a factory integrated hitch and auxiliary transmission cooler). A Pilot, the shortened and raised 2-row Passport (if you can get past the ugly), or even the Ridgeline might be worth adding to your short list of suitable tow vehicles for small and mid-sized molded trailers.