Thought on jeep grand Cherokee?

[carpsniperg2]

Thoughts on jeep grand Cherokee laredo sport? I am looking at rigs for my wife that will be a good mid sized rig. It's a 04 and has 89k on it. Was wondering if anyone runs one or you mechanics have anything to say. I know nothing about jeeps so I thought I would ask here. It has the 4.0 and was wondering on gas mileage as well. Thanks...

[Guy]

We had a '95 Grand Cherokee for nine years, until my teenage son rolled it. He came out fine, but the Jeep was totaled.

During those nine years, it was a very good vehicle for the most part. The 4.0 inline six worked like a champ. Usually got 18 - 22 mpg, which was pretty good since it had a full-time four-wheel drive system. Comfortable. Good handling. Surprisingly capable in dirt road use, even in fairly deep snow. Ours had the factory limited slip and what was then called the "up country" suspension, which was about a 1" factory lift and some skidplates.

Weak points:

Front door hinges sagged and bent - all on their own - no weird usage, just normal day to day use.

Automatic trans failed at about 110,000 miles. Replaced it with a factory rebuilt unit.

Factory header developed a leak, had to be replaced.

Those were the only three significant problems our Jeep GC had. The door hinges ticked me off, but everything else was pretty much expected. Ours was a '95 though - perhaps Jeep corrected that issue by the '04 models.

Regards, Guy

[wadu1]

My 94 Cherokee Laredo sport was a great rig we traded it in with 135,00 for a new 2009 Liberty. The milage on the 94 was 18-22 as mentioned above. Had the same door issues but so does my daughters 2001 Blazer; I think the doors are to heavy for the flimsy hinges they use. The only major thing that went south on mine was the power steering pump. Both of my hunting buddies have them one with the in-line 6 he has trany problems at 230,000+ the other with the V8 has issues with the short water return line to the radiator it cracks every two or three years.
All in all a good rig; I'm looking for a 2005-2007 Liberty for me, I want one with a manual shifter for 4X4, 2008 and on have an electronic shifter.
 

[seth30]

I had a jeep grand cherokee limited 2000.  Worked like a champ till it a 100000 miles Tranny was the first to go, and it seemed as soon as I got it out of the shop something new went bad, first and last chyrsler product I will ever own.

[longknife]

we own a 07, tranny went at 89k! $3,500 out of pocket because it is a 75k mile warranty!
Told that wife to stay away from a heep!!

[Bob Williams]

Son has a 2000 Jeep grand Cherokee..Bought it with almost 80 thousand on it..Previous owner had already replaced the tranny in it. We bought it less then 2 years ago and have since put 3 thousand worth of brakes and air conditioning system repairs into it and now in the month of August right before he went back to Pullman ( Baseball player for Wazzu) 2800.00 dollar transfer case.. I am ashamed of some of the products being produced by American manufactures...Not really workmanship issues, just poor quality parts being installed. Not designed and built to last... The stories are a lot of the same on a variety of message boards.. Which if you're researching a new car purchase, look at the message boards for consistent problems so you know what you could be getting yourself into..  And let me tell ya the prices of the cars nowadays don't reflect cheap details being put into them.. They are priced as if they are made of gold.. Sucks

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=pfwc&cp=26&gs_id=3i&xhr=t&q=JEEP+GRAND+CHEROKEE+ISSUES&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=JEEP+GRAND+CHEROKEE+ISSUES&aq=0&aqi=g1g-v3&aql=f&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=fc1f175dc4ba964c&biw=1280&bih=865

[FC]

Carp, to add to what others have said, that 4.0l motor is probably Jeep's best ever but it's a known oil leaker from every possible orifice. Transmission cooler lines are frequent leakers but easy to change, the biggest issues on the newer ones IMO is the heater core! The newer Jeeps are well known for eating heater cores on a pretty regular basis, I have been wanting to put a zync in a couple of these problem children to see if it will cure them.

If you are looking for an all around rig for her that is tough, gets decent mileage and is fantastic in the snow look at a Subaru but steer clear of any between 99-03 due to head gasket issues.

[carpsniperg2]

I appreciate it a lot guys. Just the kind of info I was looking for. I am the first guy that will always admit when I know nothing about a subject. This is one of them, so info like this is great! I am just looking for a good rig for her and this one poped up. Sounds like its kinda a 50/50 rig. Can be good or bad, plus sounds like tranny issues around 100000 is pretty common.

[The Weazle]

Everone I know with a GC without a V-8 wishes it had more power.  My wife has a honda pilot, and it has a V-6, and it is a great all around rig.  It gets decent mileage, the AWD system works well, and it has a 4WD system for under 15 MPH that works great in deep snow.  I have only used it twice, other than that the AWD system has performed great.  I has a lot of room inside for how small it is.  Good Luck!

[Dirty Mike]

I would do a trailblazer I own one and love it consumer reports  said it wad best running gear for years 2001 to 2007

[Dirty Mike]

The trailblazer is a 4.2l inline 6 297 hp we are getting 22mpg stock and it 4 wd

[Deep Forks]

Have to agree on the trailblazer.  Very good rig, only thing replaced was a starter.  Sold it with 150k and not a problem other than the starter.

Also 2005 outback, the maintance has been kept up and has not had any problems, none and it has just under 100k.

[xxlx7]

I own a 05 trailblazer with the inline 6. I would love to get 20 mpg.... I get about 15 on the highway, 13 in town, horrid gas mileage. Its all stock also. I love the ride though, and it looks good in my opinion, but sucky gas mileage. I also have sitting now a 90 jeep cherokee, it got 20 mpg, however I think the fuel pump went out so it sits there collecting rain.....

[jackelope]

The trailblazers were famous for their crappy fuel mileage.

Carp, to add to what others have said, that 4.0l motor is probably Jeep's best ever but it's a known oil leaker from every possible orifice. Transmission cooler lines are frequent leakers but easy to change, the biggest issues on the newer ones IMO is the heater core! The newer Jeeps are well known for eating heater cores on a pretty regular basis, I have been wanting to put a zync in a couple of these problem children to see if it will cure them.

 

They do leak.
The heater cores with the issues always seem to be in the Limited with the dual zone climate control. The same ones that have the heater box blend door issues. I could probably count the number of heater cores I've sold on non-Limited models on 1 hand. I've been dealing with these things for almost 10 years now. The most common issues with the WJ models from '99-'04 are the brakes warping rotors and the leaks. Thee exhaust manifold cracking issue is fixed with an updates manifold with a flex joint in them that all the WJ's should have.

Weak points:

Front door hinges sagged and bent - all on their own - no weird usage, just normal day to day use.

Automatic trans failed at about 110,000 miles. Replaced it with a factory rebuilt unit.

Factory header developed a leak, had to be replaced.

Those were the only three significant problems our Jeep GC had. The door hinges ticked me off, but everything else was pretty much expected. Ours was a '95 though - perhaps Jeep corrected that issue by the '04 models.

The door hinge issues are on the older ones. New body style started in 1999.  No more hinge issues.

Everone I know with a GC without a V-8 wishes it had more power. 

The 4.0 is kinda gutless but it is "torquey" for a 6 cylinder. I towed my 21' boat with one a few times and it did fine relatively speaking. The issue I had with it was the suspension, it would porpoise a lot but that's too be expected when you're pushing the limits of it's tow capacity.

Matt-
You might look at a Liberty too...not bad as long as you don't mind a rig a little smaller than a G/C.
 

[Dirty Mike]

Ok I take it back not all stock trailblazer, it has a k&n air filter