1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Complaints

REOCCURRING WARPING OF FRONT BRAKE ROTORS, CAUSES EXCESSIVE VIBRATION IN FRONT END, AFFECTING CONTROL OF VEHICLE WHENEVER BRAKES ARE APPLIED. *AK

VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY STALLS WHEN AT A STOP.DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE CAUSE.PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

HELLO NHTSA, I AM WRITING TO FILE A COMPLAINT ABOUT MY 1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PURCHASE (NOT LEASE) OF MY GC, MY WIFE AND I NOTICED A STRONG JOLT IN THE REAR END OF THE VEHICLE WHENEVER WE CAME TO A STOP. I BROUGHT OUR VEHICLE BACK TO OUR DEALERSHIP 2 TIMES FOR INSPECTION BUT EACH TIME MY DEALER, MANHATTAN JEEP (A 5-STAR DEALER IN NEW YORK CITY) TOLD US THAT "ALL OF THE NEW '99S DO THAT" AND THAT "ALL THE ONES WITH THE V8 DO THAT". THAT WASN'T WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR BUT I THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT GO AWAY AFTER A FEW MORE MILES. I NOW HAVE OVER 7,000 MILES ON MY VEHICLE AND THE PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE. I HAVE WRITTEN TO CUSTOMER RELATIONS AT DAIMLERCHRYSLER TO REPORT MY PROBLEM. I DO HAVE A CASE NUMBER WHICH THEY'VE ASSIGNED TO ME. I WAS TOLD BY CUSTOMER RELATIONS THAT I SHOULD TRY ANOTHER DEALER. SINCE I WAS GETTING NO SATISFACTION FROM CUSTOMER RELATIONS, I CALLED THE SALES DEPARTMENT AT DIFEO CHRYSLER IN JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY AND SPOKE TO A SALES REPRESENTATIVE. I POSED AS A POTENTIAL BUYER OF A 2000 GRAND CHEROKEE. I ASKED ABOUT THE QUALITY PROBLEMS THAT THE 1999 MODEL HAD AND I WAS TOLD BY THE SALESPERSON THAT ALL OF THE 1999S PRODUCED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1999 HAD A DEFECTIVE DRIVESHAFT AND THAT THEY SHOULD BE REPLACED. HE ASSURED ME THAT THE DEFECTS HAD BEEN CORRECTED FOR THE 2000 MODEL YEAR. SO NOW I HAVE CUSTOMER SERVICE DENYING THE PROBLEM WHILE THE SALES DEPARTMENT WAS VERY WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. I NOW SCHEDULED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT AT BAYSIDE CHRYSLER-PLYMOUTH-JEEP IN BAYSIDE, NEW YORK. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT BAYSIDE IMMEDIATELY KNEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS AND I WAS TOLD THAT I NEEDED A NEW DRIVESHAFT #52099487AC. WITH SUCH A LARGE NUMBER OF VECHCLES AFFECTED, SHOULDN'T JEEP HAVE NOTIVIED OWNERS AND NOT JUST DEALERS ABOUT THE DEFECT? *AK

TRANSMISSION PARTS ORDERED AFTER REPEATED REPAIR ATTEMPTS - DAIMLER CHRYSLER HAS NO REPLACEMENT PARTS AVAILABLE UNTIL LATE FEBRUARY. *AK

THE BULK OF THE PROBLEMS THE CAR HAS WERE RECOGNIZED BEFORE 583 MILES. THE ENGINE STALLS WHEN DRIVING IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE MAGNIFIED IF THE CAR GOES FROM HIGH SPEEDS TO AN IDLE . THE CAR BEGINS TO IDLE BELOW 500RPM AND THEN DIES. AFTER BEING IN TO REPROGRAM SEVERAL TIMES, NOW THE VEHICLE IS HARD TO START, IT TAKES FROM 5-10 SECONDS TO START. THE CAR HAS TRANSFER CASE PROBLEMS THAT MAKE THE CAR SHUDDER AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN TURNING. TRYING TO FIX THAT ISSUE CREATED A LEAK FROM THE TRANSFER CASE. THE CAR ALSO HAS A HOLLOW GRINDING NOISE OR RESONANCE AT 1200RPM IN 1ST GEAR WHILE UNDER A LOAD. THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED SIX TIMES. THESE ISSUES STILL REMAIN. *AK

VEHICLE HAS SUFFERED FROM WARPED ROTORS WHICH WERE REPLACED TWICE ON THE FRONT AND ONCE ON THE REAR. NO PROBLEMS SINCE 12998 MILES. BUT I CONSIDER THIS TO BE DUE TO POOR QUALITY. MAIN ISSUE REOCCURRING ,STALLING PROBLEMS WHILE STOPPED IN DRIVE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THREE TIMES FOR CHECKS TO THROTTLE BODY (CLEANED AND ONCE REPLACED), SOFTWARE REVISIONS AND OTHER SETTINGS, BUT STALLING CONTINUED TO MANIFEST ITSELF. HAS STALLED 3 TIMES IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS. CONTACTED DAIMLER CHRYSLER WHO KEPT REFERRING ME TO THE DEALER. BUT AFTER MULTIPLE VISITS I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THEIR ABILITY TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. *AK

1ST OCCURRENCE - PLACED VEHICLE IN PARK ON A FLAT PARKING LOT, REMOVED KEYS, AN DWENT INTO RESTAURANT. APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES LATER, WAITRESS ASKED IF ANY OF US DROVE A NEW JEEP, JEEP ROLLED APPROXIMATELY 2 FEET OUT OF THE PARKING SPACE. GEAR SHIFT WAS FOUND IN DRIVE. HAVE WITNESSES. 2ND OCCURRENCE - PLACED VEHICLE IN PARK ON LEVEL PART OF DRIVEWAY, REMOVED KEYS FROM IGNITION, REMOVED PACKAGES FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, CLOSED HATCH, WENT INTO THE HOUSE, IMMEDIATELY WENT BACK OUTSIDE AND VEHICLE WAS NOT IN DRIVEWAY. VEHICLE ROLLED OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY, ACROSS THE STREET, DOWN A 75 FEET ENBANKMENT INTO A CREEK. DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH DAMAGE VEHICLE INCURRED. CRYSLER REFUSES NEGLIGENCE DUE TO NOT HAVING EMERGENCY BRAKE SET. CRYSLER WANTS MY INSURANCE TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGE. GEAR SHIFT MOVES WITHOUT PRESSING RELEASE BUTTON AND KEYS ARE REMOVED FROM IGINITION. I HAVE THIS DOCUMENTED ON VIDEO, AND I HAVE SEVERAL WITNESSES. VISITED SEVERAL JEEP DEALERSHIP IN KANSAS CITY NOT ONE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS SET IN THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE. *AK

I AM AN OWNER OF A 1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LIMITED V8. I HAVE ENCOUNTERED MANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE BUT SOME HAVE ALREADY BEEN RESOLVED UNDER MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY. A COUPLE PROBLEMS STILL EXIST THOUGH. ONE MAIN PROBLEM IS THAT MY VEHICLE OCCASIONALLY STALLS OUT ON ME AT RED LIGHTS. IT IDLES VERY SLOW (@400 RPM) AND THIS IS USUALLY WHEN THE VEHICLE FAILS ON ME. I'LL LOSE POWER TO THE TRANSMISSION, BUT ALL THE ELECTRICAL ITEMS WILL STILL WORK, SUCH AS THE RADIO AND HEATER. WHEN THE ENGINE DIES OUT, THE CHECK ENGINE AND AIRBAG LIGHTS WILL DISPLAY. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF TWO DEALERSHIPS BUT HAS NOT YET BEEN RESOLVED. ANOTHER PROBLEM I HAVE IS THAT I WILL FEEL A BIG CLUNK WHEN I AM ACCELERATING, USUALLY WHEN I FIRST START TO DRIVE OFF. THE SECOND TYPE OF CLUNK I FEEL IS WHEN I PUT THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE TO DRIVE. I WILL FEEL A BIG BANG LIKE SOMEBODY HAD HIT ME FROM BEHIND. THIS WILL SPECIFICALLY HAPPEN DURING THE SHIFT FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE. THE THIRD PROBLEM I ENCOUNTER HAPPENS WHEN I HAVE MY HEATER ON. I WILL HAVE THE CONTROL SETTINGS SET @80'S AND THE AIR CONDITIONER WILL OPERATE. I DO NOT HAVE THE SETTING AT DEFROST MODE. IT IS IN REGULAR MODE AND WHEN I WANT THE HEAT, THE AC PLUS THE HEAT WILL TRIGGER. I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF THESE PROBLEMS WERE LOOKED INTO. THANK YOU. *AK

VEHICLE EXHIBITS A DANGEROUS LEVEL OF SIDE TO SIDE SHUDDER AS WELL AS A NON-LINEAR DECELERATION WHICH MAY RESULT IN WHIPLASH WHEN EVENLY APPLYING BRAKE PRESSURE. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM IN JEEP TSB 05-03-98, "MINOR BRAKE PULSATION" IS A GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT. THE LEVEL OF SHUDDER MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, ESPECIALLY WHEN DECELERATING FROM HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *AK

WHILE TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT APPOX. 65 MPH I BEGAN TO APPLY THE BRAKES, THE ENTIRE VEHICLE AND STEERING WHEEL SHOOK VIOLENTLY. THIS CAME WITHOUT WARNING, AFTER A FEW GENTLE PUSHES ON THE BRAKE IN THE NEXT FEW MILES THE SHUDDER WAS LESS VIOLENT. IT NOW FEELS AS IF THE ROTORS ARE WARPED, I HAD THE ROTORS TURNED AT 6500 MILES AND NOW IT SEEMS AS THEY ARE WARPED AGAIN. IN RECENT DAYS I HAVE BEEN CAREFUL TO NOTE THE VEHICLES BEHAVIOR, IT SEEMS THAT AFTER 5-6 STOPLIGHTS OR BRAKING PERIODS IN QUICK SUCCESSION THAT THE NEXT FEW STOPS ARE ESPECIALLY VIOLENT, AND THEN A FEW STOPS LATER IT GOES AWAY. THE VIOLENT SHAKING IS STRONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE PROBLEMS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, I AM NOW CONFINED TO <45 MPH UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS INSPECTED NEXT WEEK. *AK