1998 JEEP CHEROKEE Complaints

MY NAME IS [XXX]....BOUGHT A 1998 JEEP CHEROKEE LIMITED APPROX. 2001 FROM A PRIVATE OWNER...FROM NORTHBORO MA.....MINT CONDITION...ONLY 11,000 MI. ....OWNER TOLD ME HE BOUGHT IT FOR HIS WIFE SO SHE COULD PLOW THEIR QUARTER MILE LONG DRIVEWAY.....HE INSTALLED A SMALL PLOW ASSEMBLY ON JEEP....WHEN ASKED WHY HE WAS SELLING HE TOLD ME IT WASN'T ENOUGH TRUCK TO GET THE JOB DONE.....DRIVEWAY HAD MULTIPLE SHARP CURVES AND A SIGNIFICANT INCLINE....I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY WIFE TO RUN LOCAL....GROC, SCHOOL, ETC.....SHE LOVED IT.....NEVER ONCE HAD IT ON THE FREEWAY.....I TOOK IT ONE DAY ON THE I-495....HIT A DIP WHERE THERE WAS A BRIDGE...GOING ABOUT 65....THIS VEHICLE STARTED SHAKING SO VIOLENTLY I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO LITERALLY FALL APART AROUND ME.....VERY SCARY [XXX]....SUBSEQUENTLY HAD THE FRONT END LOOKED AT.....FOUND SOME LOOSE [XXX]....SOLID....WIFE NEVER HAD IT ON HWY....I TOOK IT AGAIN A YR LATER....SAME [XXX] THING....I THOUGHT MAYBE THE PREVIOUS OWNER DID SOME DAMAGE INSTALLING THE PLOW ASSEMBLY.....SOLD IT AS-IS WITH VERY SPECIFIC CONCERNS ABOUT THE FRONT END TO THE BUYER......WHAT DO I DO.....I BUY A 2001 CHEROKEE SPORT....MY WIFE LOVED HER JEEP...."I WANT ANOTHER ONE!"....OK HONEY...FIGURED WAS A ONE TIME PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE PLOW ASSEMBLY.....WRONG....3 MOS IN.....IM GOING DOWN HWY....SAME EXACT [XXX] THING....LIKE WHEN THE SECOND PLANE HIT THE OTHER TOWER ON 9/11....NOT A COINCIDENCE....NOT 2 JEEPS IN A ROW....THAT'S WHEN I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH..."DEATH WOBBLE"......IM LUCKY TO BE ALIVE....YOU'VE GOT TO DO A RECALL ON THIS BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I THINK MY JEEP IS REMOTELY BUGGED SOMEHOW, ABS LIGHT COMES ON AND MY BRAKES WORK, ABS LIGHT GOES OUT AND MY BRAKES MAKE NOISE AND PEDAL GOES DOWN FURTHER LIKE I HAVE NO BRAKES. ALSO, TEMPERATURE GAUGE IS STEADY THEN SUDDENLY IT GOES UP AND DOWN. I HAVE CHECKED FLUIDS, HAD BRAKES INSPECTED (REPLACED PADS AND FRONT ROTORS) I WENT TO POLICE SAID THEY HAD NO WAY OF TESTING FOR BUGS.

IT STARTED WITH THE LIGHTS TURNING OFF WHEN I HIT A BUMP. THE WHOLE JEEP WOULD GO DARK. INSTRUMENT PANEL, OVERHEAD LIGHTS, DRIVING LIGHTS, ALL OF THEM! THEN AFTER PARKING THE JEEP, DAY OR NIGHT, THE ALARM SYSTEM WOULD GO OFF ALL BY ITSELF. THE DOOR SWITCHES LOCKING AND UNLOCKING WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THEN THERE WAS THE RADIO THAT WOULD TURN ON AND OFF BY ITSELF. THEN THE WINDOWS DECIDED TO STOP GOING UP AND DOWN. WHEN I WOULD START THE JEEP THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GAUGES WOULDN'T MOVE, TURN ON. SO, I WOULD TURN OFF THE JEEP AND RESTART IT. SOME OF THE GAUGES, WOULD TURN ON BUT OTHERS, WOULD NOT, LIKE THE FUEL TANK GAGE, SPEEDOMETER GAGE. DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, THERE WOULD BE A PUDDLE OF WATER ON THE PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR BOARD. I STILL TO THIS DAY DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSED IT TO HAPPEN EVERY DAY AND EACH TIME IT WAS TURNED ON. THEN THERE IS THE TRANSMISSION AND REAR END THAT STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS. IT STARTED TO SLIP OUT OF GEAR AND THE REAR END MADE A NOISE. I HAD ALL THE OIL LEVELS CHECKED OUT, BUT STILL IT WOULD HAPPEN. I DO RECALL GETTING A FLYER IN THE MAIL, REGARDING A RECALL, BUT IT ALSO SAID THAT THE DEALER, DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WHY WOULD YOU SEND OUT A FLYER THAT YOU HAVE NO WAY OF FIXING BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET THE PART'S? ! AND ARE YOU EVEN CONCERNED ABOUT THE WORRY YOU PUT ME THROUGH? IT BECAME ANOTHER REASON TO PARK THE JEEP. HOW COULD YOU DO.THIS, TO SO MANY PEOPLE? WITH ALL THESE STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING TO THE JEEP, I HAD TO DO WHAT WAS BEST FOR MY SAFETY, AS WELL AS, THOSE WHO WERE ON THE ROAD DRIVING AROUND ME. I JUST COULDN'T LIVE WITH MYSELF, KNOWING THAT I COULD HAVE COST SOMEONE OR MYSELF INJURY OR DEATH, BY HAVING THE JEEP ON THE ROAD KNOWING IT WAS HAVING SO MANY PROBLEMS. IT HAS NOW BEEN CLOSE TO THREE-YEARS SINCE THE LAST TIME I DROVE IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 JEEP CHEROKEE. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, ALL THE DOORS BECAME DIFFICULT TO OPEN. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY FORCE TO THE PUSH BUTTON ON THE DOOR HANDLES IN ORDER TO OPEN THE DOORS. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

THE IGNITION SWITCH STICKS, PASSENGER DOOR LOCKS DOORS WHEN OPENED AND CLOSED, PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW FRONT AND BACK WILL NOT GO DOWN ALL THE TIME AND SOMETIMES THEY WILL.

GOT IN THE VEHICLE TO GO TO AN APPOINTMENT, AND THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. ALSO, I NO LONGER HAVE CRUISE CONTROL, OR THE USE OF THE HORN. I WAS TOLD BY CHRYSLER THAT THERE MAY BE A FUTURE RECALL ON THE CLOCKSPRING MECHANISM THAT CONTROLS THESE ITEMS. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT WHILE IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY, THERE IS A CHANCE THAT THE AIRBAG COULD INADVERTENTLY BE DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON. I AM STILL WAITING FOR A RECALL TO BEGIN. THE PART TO REPAIR THE CAR IS OVER $250. I AM STILL DRIVING THE CAR AS I AM ON SOCIAL SECURITY AND CAN'T AFFORD THE PARTS. MY HOPE IS THAT I DON'T HAVE A TAKATA AIRBAG ON TOP OF IT ALL!! *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 55MPH VEHICLE BEGAN WHAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED BY OTHER JEEP OWNERS AS "DEATH WOBBLE', A VIOLENT SHAKING IN THE FRONT END THAT ONLY GOES AWAY AFTER SLOWING DOWN. I DON'T RECALL HITTING ANY HEAVY BUMPS, JUST THE USUAL ROAD CRACKS COMMON ON HIGHWAYS IN SOUTHERN OREGON. AFTER THE FIRST OCCURANCE, EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE REACHES APPROX. 55MPH THE SHAKING REOCCURS.I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS IS CAUSED BY POORLY DESIGNED COMPONENTS IN THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE CHEROKEE (XJ) MODEL AS WELL AS OTHER JEEP MODELS USING THE SAME FRONT SUSPENSION DESIGN. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THIS IS VERY COMMON, AND THAT CHRYSLER SHOULD HAVE ADDRESSED THIS LONG AGO, BUT DID NOT. WHEN WILL THEY FINALLY ADDRESS THIS ISSUE?

MY JEEP IS LOSING SPEED AND STALLING .I HAVE ALREADY REPLACED SENORS AS WELL SPARK PLUGS WIRES AND ROTOR CAP BUTTON ETC IT IS STILLSTALLING OUT. *TR

BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE NOT KNOWING OF THE GAS TANK DESIGN PROBLEM AND NOW IM STUCK WITH A VEHICLE THAT I DON'T DARE TO DRIVE OR SELL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 JEEP CHEROKEE. THE VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A PLASTIC FUEL TANK LOCATED NEAR THE REAR BUMPER. A TRAILER HITCH HAD NOT BEEN INSTALLED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.