1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Complaints

I HAD RECEIVED A NOTICE TO CHANGE/FLASH COMPUTER PROM BY CHRYSLER, SO I TOOK IN TO DEALER, IT TOOK ABOUT 5 MINUTES. BUT AFTER THIS THE VEHICLE STARTER TO MISS ONCE IN WHILE, BUT NOT STALL AT THAT TIME. THEN IT STARTED TO GET WORSE, IT STALLED AT LOW SPEEDS, ON THE CITY STREETS, HIGH SPEEDS ON THE FREEWAY, RIGHT AFTER STARTING OR IF IT HAS RUN FOR AWHILE, THEN ACTS UP "THROW CODES" BUT NOTHING TO THE REASON WHY FUEL BANK OR SPEED SENSOR, NO SPARK. I LOOKED UNDER HOOD AND SHOOK WIRES AND IT WILL DIE OR RUN BETTER. NOW IT IS DOING IT TOO MANY TIMES, SOME TIMES IN WILL RESTART RIGHT AWAY, BUT SOME TIMES IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO RESTART. I BURNED UP A STARTER, AND TWO NEW FRESH BATTERIES WITH THIS. WIFE CAN NOT DRIVE IT ANY MORE I HAVE REPLACED DISTRIBUTOR, CAM SENSOR, CRANK SENSOR, REMOVAL CONNECTION BLOCKS AND SOLDERED UP THE WIRE CONNECTIONS, WHICH ONLY HELPED TO GET POWER BACK IN THE BATTERY. I CAN STILL SHAKE THE WIRE LOOM, AND IT DIES OR RUNS BETTER TO THIS DATE. SO AS YOU SEE IT HAS NOT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER TO MAKE IT RUN BAD, WE CAN NOT DEPEND ON THIS ONLY VEHICLE NOW. I AM A POST ASE CERT AUTO TECH, W/ COMPUTERS AND I CAN NOT FIGURE OUT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE VEHICLE STALLS AND HESITATES SPORADICALLY. THE FAILURE OCCURS EVERY FEW DAYS OR MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY. IT ALSO OCCURS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IDLING OR PARKED. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THROUGH ONLINE RESEARCH, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FOR THIS SAME DEFECT ON HIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. HE BELIEVES A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE IS 78,000. UPDATED 12/10/08 *CN THE REPAIR MECHANIC STATED THE PROBLEM MAY BE THE CRANK SENSOR. UPDATED 12/17/08. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE HESITATED AND THEN SHUT OFF. IT WOULD NOT RESTART IMMEDIATELY. THE NEXT MORNING, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 150,075 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.

A NEW GOODYEAR WRANGLER RT/S TIRE (NOT AT/S AS SHOWN ON YOUR PULLDOWN MENU), DISINTEGRATED WHILE TRAVELING ON I-81 IN VIRGINIA AT APPROXIMATE 65 MPH. THE TIRE WAS ONE OF TWO WRANGLER RT/S TIRES INSTALLED ON THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE EARLIER IN THE WEEK AT CHANDLER'S AUTO REPAIR IN HERNDON, VA. THE DRIVER MAINTAINED CONTROL AND PULLED THE VEHICLE (1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE) SAFELY TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I CHECKED THE INFLATION BEFORE WE DEPARTED ON OUR TRIP AND IT WAS 34 LBS. THE OCCUPANTS IN THE VEHICLE REPORTED SEEING NO OBJECTS ON THE ROAD, POTHOLES OR OTHER ROAD HAZARDS--JUST A SUDDEN POP AND THEN PIECES OF BLACK MATERIAL FLYING BY THE VEHICLE. I DO NOT HAVE THE REMNANTS OF THE TIRE, WHICH WAS REPLACED AT THE WAL-MART IN STAUNTON, VA, BUT I DO HAVE PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AT THE SITE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF EXIT 225 (SOUTHBOUND) ON I-81. THIS IS APPROXIMATELY 160 MILES FROM OUR HOME. ALLOWING FOR A FEW ERRANDS BEFORE DEPARTING ON OUR TRIP, I DOUBT THE TIRE HAD MORE THAN 200-225 MILES ON IT BEFORE IT FAILED. THE WEATHER WAS FAIR AND DRY AND THE AIR TEMPERATURE 86 F. I-81 IS SMOOTH AND IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AT THE LOCATION OF THE FAILURE. WHILE I DID NOT REPORT THE FAILURE TO THE POLICE, A VIRGINIA STATE SAFETY PATROL VEHICLE STOPPED AND MAY HAVE A RECORD. THE TREAD WAS RELATIVELY INTACT BUT APPEARS TO HAVE SEPARATED FROM THE REST OF THE TIRE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED, BUT STALLED AGAIN A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD. THE FAILURE OCCURRED THREE PREVIOUS TIMES. A LOCAL MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,003.

PROBLEM... DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD OR STOPPED AT LIGHT OR IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN OR ON EXPRESSWAY... IT WOULD SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING, SOMETIME IT WOULD RESTART IMMEDIATELY, SOMETIMES NOT!!!... EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS DEVELOPED, WHICH I WAS LUCKY!!! 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE, 4.0 , 6 CYL.... SPENT 6 MONTHS DOING REPAIRS/ REPLACEMENT PARTS AND MANY ,MANY DOLLARS SPENT TRACKING DOWN PART AFTER PART. USING DIAGNOSTICS MACHINE TO DETERMINE FAULTY PART... PROBLEM WAS THE POWER CONTROL MODULE ( PCM OR ECU SAME PART) WAS DEFECTIVE AND EITHER WAS MISREADING CODES OR GIVING OUT BAD CODES TO PARTS (LIKE TO THE CRANK SHAFT POSITION SENSOR OR THE COIL, OR THE 01 OR 02 OX SENSORS OR IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON). NOT SURE HOW IT WORKS BUT YOU GET MY DRIFT. SINCE SIGNING UP WITH CNET.COM, HAVE FOUND MANY PEOPLE ACROSS AMERICA WITH THE SAME ISSUE ON JEEP WITH DIFFERENT YEARS (1994/2000) AND MODELS. TO SEARCH... LOOK UP JEEP STALLS OR JEEP FIXED AND YOU WILL SEE OTHER TOPICS AND FORUMS AROUND THAT TOPIC AND YOU WILL ALSO SEE WHERE THE MANUFACTURE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM EITHER. ANOTHER POSSIBLE RECALL ISSUE IS THE SCREWS THAT HOLD THE PCM MIGHT BE TOO LONG AND ARE GROUNDING OUT THE UNIT AFTER PAINT WEARS OFF ON FIREWALL... IMPORTANT TO READ ALL ARTICLES AND DIFFERENT FORUMS!!! ... IS A MUST LASTLY... INSTEAD OF REPLACING PCM'S, IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE PCM RE FLASHED UNDER RECALL??? I'M STRETCHING, BUT MAYBE ELECTRICAL POWER STORMS AND RAIN IS CAUSING PARTS TO DEFECT??? LASTLY... JEEP PARTS CONSISTS OF MODULE POWER UNITS THAT WORK OR DON'T WORK BUT THE PCM READS THE CODES AND ADJUSTS THE WORKABLE OF THE MOTOR... ANOTHER ISSUE IS THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL ISSUES THAT WILL SHUT DOWN THE MOTOR BESIDES THE FORE MENTIONED PARTS... IE... ASD RELAY, THE SECURITY SYSTEM, DOOR LOCKS, STEERING COLUMN, THE ELECTRONIC KEY, THE BACK WINDSHIELD WIPER... *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING 65 TO 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN SHAKING ON THE FRONT END WITH EXTREME FORCE. THE BRAKES WERE WARPED AND CAUSED THE FAILURE. DRIVING OVER A BUMP IN THE ROAD CAUSED THE SHAKING TO BE MORE EXCESSIVE. A MECHANIC REPLACED THE FRONT BRAKES AND THE FAILURE RECURRED AT 120,000. A FIRESTONE MECHANIC REPLACED THE BRAKES ON TWO OCCASIONS AND THEY FAILED AGAIN AT 150,000. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALLS 00V136000 OR 06E022000. THE PURCHASE DATE IS UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 150,000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

I RETURNED HOME FROM A 1 MILE DRIVE TO PICK UP MY DAUGHTER. WE WENT UPSTAIRS TO OUR SECOND FLOOR APARTMENT. ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER I HEARD THE ALARM TO OUR 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE GOING OFF. I WENT OUTSIDE TO SHUT IT OFF, AND FOUND THE WHOLE ENGINE UP IN FLAMES. MY HUSBAND TRIED TO PUT IT OUT WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER, BUT IT WAS TOO LATE. BY THE TIME THE FIRE DEPT. GOT THERE IT WAS A TOTAL LOSS. *TR

VEHICLE WAS LOOSING POWER, CUTTING OUT AND DYING. WHILE ACCELERATING OR DRIVING AT A CONSTANT SPEED IT WOULD CUT OUT. WHEN YOU WOULD SLOW THE VEHICLE TO STOP OR TURN IT WOULD DIE LOOSING ALL POWER STEERING, BRAKES, ETC. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD TURN ON BUT SOMETIMES THE READING WOULD BE LOST BY THE TIME IT WENT TO MECHANIC. CRANK SHAFT SENSOR WAS REPLACED WITH A NAPA BRAND. STILL THE PROBLEM KEPT HAPPENING. SEVERAL OTHER PARTS WERE REPLACED OVER 3 YEARS TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT. FINALLY IN MARCH 07 THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE CRANK SHAFT SENSOR AGAIN BUT WITH A FACTORY PART. HAVEN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS SINCE. I AM UPSET BECAUSE I HAD TO PAY FOR A PART TO BE PREPLACED TWICE PLUS OTHERS, EXCEEDING $1000 BECAUSE THE AFTER MARKET PART WASN'T COMPATIBLE WITH MY VEHICLE. EITHER NAPA NEEDS TO STOP MAKING THIS PART OR JEEP NEEDS TO LET CONSUMERS KNOW THAT THIS PARTICULAR PART WON'T WORK. HAVE READ REPORTS OF OTHER VEHICLES HAVING SAME PROBLEM. MAYBE THIS COULD HELP THEM. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE PARTS FOR RECALL NUMBER E22 REGARDING THE MANDATORY EMISSION CATALYTIC CONVERTER ARE UNAVAILABLE. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PASS INSPECTION IN A TIMELY FASHION AND WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO DRIVE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE IS NO SPECIFIC DATE AS TO WHEN THE PARTS WILL BE AVAILABLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 145,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 144,000. *UPDATED 12/12/07 *BF UPDATED 12/12/07. *JB