1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Complaints

EXHAUST MANIFOLD CRACKED, ALLOWING FUMES TO LEAK INTO PASSENGERS COMPARTMENT. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER STATED IT WAS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM, REPLACEMENT PART WAS MODIFIED DUE TO DEFECT AND DESIGN OF ORIGINAL PART. *AK *SLC

FIVE YEAR OLD CAR WITH LESS THAN 25,000 MILES WOULD NOT START. DEALER REPLACED FUEL PUMP AT COST OF $800. ONE MONTH AND 300 MILES LATER SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED WITH ADDITIONAL NEED TO REPLACE FUEL TANK. TWO LETTERS TO CHRYSLER HAVE GONE UNANSWERED. IN ADDITION TO A COSTLY ENGINE FAILURE, SAFETY COULD BE A PROBLEM IF PUMP FAILURE HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY. I SHUDDER TO THINK ABOUT THIS FAILURE TAKING PLACE ON THE CAPITAL BELTWAY.*AK

I HAD HEARD THAT THE 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH ITS FUEL PUMP. NOW I AM FINDING OUT THAT THERE IS A COSTLY PROBLEM, AS WELL AS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ONE WITH MINE. ONE MONTH AGO I HAD TO REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP, BECAUSE THE CAR WOULD NOT START. NOW ONE MONTH LATER, THE NEW FUEL PUMP HAS GONE BAD AND BOTH IT AND THE FUEL TANK HAVE TO BE REPLACED. $800 THE FIRST AND PERHAPS A $1000 OR MORE THE SECOND TIME. CAN'T SOMEONE DIRECT CHRYSLER TO RECALL THE 1996 JEPP GRAND CHEROKEE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM? LETTERS TO CHRYSLER DO NOT EVEN BRING ABVOUT A RESPONSE.*AK

ON 11-12-01, I DROVE MY JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE UP TO MY WORKSHOP BEHIND THE HOUSE. I GOT OUT THE JEEP LEAVING THE DRIVERS DOOR OPEN, THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING, AND THE SHIFTER WAS IN PARK ! AS I WALKED IN FRONT THE JEEP, IT SUDDENLY STARTED MOVING BACKWARDS. I RAN AROUND TO THE DRIVER SIDE, BUT IT WAS PICKING UP SPEED. IT MOVED BACKWARDS ABOUT 10 -15 YDS BEFORE I CAUGHT UP WITH IT AND JUMPED INSIDE THE DRIVERS SIDE TO APPLY THE BRAKE. HAD I NOT REACHED THE BRAKE, IT WOULD HAVE SLAMMED IN MY NEIGHBORS HOUSE. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. I REPORTED A SIMILAR INCIDENT IN AUGUST 2000. AT THAT TIME IT DID BREAK THE TAILLIGHT ON THE JEEP, DENTED THE TAILGATE STRUCTURE, AND SCRAPED THE PAINT WHEN IT KNOCKED DOWN MY PUMP HOUSE. BASICALLY, THIS IS A DANGEOUS SITUATION! AS I SAID, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED AND I WILL NEVER LEAVE MY ENGINE RUNNING WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK. I STRONGLY SUGGEST THIS MATTER BE LOOKED INTO. I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THE JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE AND NOW I CAN NOT TRUST IT IN PARK. KNOWING THIS, I WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE, NOR SUGGEST ANYONE ELSE BUY ONE EITHER!*AK

MY CAR WAS IN PARK AND IDLING WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE CAR TO GET SOMETHING OFF THE GROUND. WHEN I GOT OUT, THE CAR STARTED ROLLING BACKWARDS AND HIT A CAR PARKED BEHIND ME. WHEN I GOT BACK IN THE CAR, TRANSMISSION HAD SLIPPED INTO REVERSE. *AK

OUR JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE PINNED OUR 2 CHILDREN AGES 2 AND 4 BETWEEN IT AND ANOTHER CAR AFTER BEING PLACED INTO PARK AND JUMPING INTO REVERSE. IT REQUIRED BOTH TO BE AIR EVAC'D TO MARICOPA MEDICAL CENTER FOR EVAL AND TREATMENT. WE ASKED THE DEALERSHIP TO CHECK THE TRANSMISSION BECAUSE IT HAD JUMPED INTO REVERSE, THEY COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM AND STATED THEY COULDN'T RECREATE IT. NO ONE WAS IN THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME THAT IT POPPED INTO REVERSE. I HOPE THIS PROBLEM WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF, WE WERE TOLD UNLESS SOMEONE DIES NOTHING CAN BE DONE, FORTUNATELY WE DID NOT SUFFER ANY FATALITIES. WE HAVE SINCE TURNED IN THE VEHICLE, IF NECESSARY I CAN TRY TO PROVIDE THE VIN NUMBER. *AK

FUEL PUMP FAILED IN MARCH 2001 AND IN OCT 2001, DEALERS BELIEVES FUEL TANK IS DECOMPSING, CAUSING FUEL PUMP TO FAIL, REPLACING FUEL TANK. *AK

ENGINE RPMS DROP EXTREMELY CLOSE TO 0 WHEN BRAKING AND FRQUENTLY NEARS STALL... AND SOMETIMES DOES STALL. I'D HAVE TO RELEASE THE BRAKE IN ORDER TO PREVENT CAR FROM STALLING. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN MY INTENTION IS TO STOP OR SLOW THE CAR. THE RPM FLUCTUATES WILDLY BETWEEN 0 AND 600 WHEN STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT OR IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC OR SLOWING DOWN. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN COMING OFF OF A CURVED FREEWAY RAMP... THE ENGINE STALLS... POWER TO THE STEERING WHEEL IS LOST. I'VE REPORTED THIS TO MY JEEP DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND EACH TIME, THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. PLEASE HELP. THIS PROBLEM STARTED OCCURRING W/IN THE FIRST YEAR OF MY CAR PURCHASE WHEN THERE WAS VERY LITTLE MILAGE ON IT.*AK

A PRIVATE MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT INTERIOR OF FUEL TANK CORRODED WHICH EVENTUALLY CAUSED A FAILURE OF FUEL PUMP. *AK. *ET

THREE DIFFERENT INSTANCES OF TIRE FAILURE: 1) BUMP OF SIDEWALL INTO CURB AT 10 MPH RESULTED IN HOLE IN SIDEWALL REQUIRING REPLACEMENT OF THE TIRE (OCCURRED AFTER 3 MONTHS OF USE). 2) "BLOW-OUT" OF SIDEWALL OF A TIRE AT 60 MPH - REQUIRED REPLACEMENT OF TIRE (AFTER ABOUT 25,000 MILES OF USE). 3) PUNCTURE OF TIRE WHILE DRIVING OVER DIRT/ROCKY ROAD (PUBLIC ROAD - NOT "OFF-ROAD") AT 15-20 MPH AFTER 25,000 MILES OF USE (ABLE TO BE REPAIRED). (DOT NUMBER: Y7WAP1C??? TIRESIZE: P225/70R16)