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I just looked at a ‘99 grand Cherokee, 215,000 miles. Seemed to drive fine. 4WD works. New brakes all the way around. New exhaust. Some rust on the driver’s side rear fender. Tires are so so. Oil and tranny fluid are clean. Im just scared of the high miles. You guys that know Jeeps would you consider it given the miles or walk away?
I wouldn't want the thing if it had 115,000 miles on it. My sister has a 2000 Grand Cherokee. Talk about a money pit! Her's hasn't even hit 100,000 mile yet. Unless you just CRAVE a Cherokee, look for a completely different brand. Jeeps are not known for reliability and haven't been in decades.
My 2011 Grand Cherokee is still running strong at $110k miles.
It’s one of the most trouble free cars I’ve ever owned. I don’t know much about the previous generations.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100
My 2011 Grand Cherokee is still running strong at $110k miles.
It’s one of the most trouble free cars I’ve ever owned. I don’t know much about the previous generations.
I would not buy an older Jeep or Chrysler product with over 90,000 miles. I hope yours goes another 100,000 trouble free, maybe they are better now, but after my experience with a $3,400 transmission rebuild at 90,000 and many other issues on a 2002 Jeep we had, with the same transmission. That '99 has to be on borrowed time if not already rebuilt.
The 4.0L that Jeep made during those years is pretty reliable and cheap to work on. I've seen plenty of them go well into the 270k mile mark without a rebuild. Biggest thing to remember is that they don't like anything other than OEM parts. But no engine is trouble free and this one is no exception.
There are some small issues with the engine to be aware of and most all are centered around sensors:
1. Upstream O2 sensor failure - Use NTK only as that is what came on it. It doesn't like aftermarkets like Bosch or any other brand.
2. Coil rail failure - Again, use a factory replacement. They don't like cheap ones.
3. Spark plugs - They only like specific plugs... make sure to use the correct ones.
4. Cam sensor failure - They can fail. Easy to swap.
5. Valve cover gasket failure - Replace with the blue Felpro, torque to spec, and roll on.
None of these are expensive fixes, but they are potential issues. My 02 Jeep TJ has 125k miles on it and aside from the items I listed above it has been trouble free. I would jump in it and go anywhere. It also has the 4 speed automatic. Keep the fluid changed on time and ONLY use ATF+4 trans fluid and it will last.
I've heard that the GC's had some electrical gremlins (seems to be a Chrysler thing) so be aware of that possibility.
The 4.0L that Jeep made during those years is pretty reliable and cheap to work on. I've seen plenty of them go well into the 270k mile mark without a rebuild. Biggest thing to remember is that they don't like anything other than OEM parts. But no engine is trouble free and this one is no exception.
There are some small issues with the engine to be aware of and most all are centered around sensors:
1. Upstream O2 sensor failure - Use NTK only as that is what came on it. It doesn't like aftermarkets like Bosch or any other brand.
2. Coil rail failure - Again, use a factory replacement. They don't like cheap ones.
3. Spark plugs - They only like specific plugs... make sure to use the correct ones.
4. Cam sensor failure - They can fail. Easy to swap.
5. Valve cover gasket failure - Replace with the blue Felpro, torque to spec, and roll on.
None of these are expensive fixes, but they are potential issues. My 02 Jeep TJ has 125k miles on it and aside from the items I listed above it has been trouble free. I would jump in it and go anywhere. It also has the 4 speed automatic. Keep the fluid changed on time and ONLY use ATF+4 trans fluid and it will last.
I've heard that the GC's had some electrical gremlins (seems to be a Chrysler thing) so be aware of that possibility.
I had a few issues with my old 4.0L, but it was easy to work on myself. New valve cover gasket, coil pack and an alternator. Aside from the coil pack, nothing came from the dealer. I replaced the plugs once while I had it, used Bosch platinum plugs. Ran like a champ.
I just looked at a ‘99 grand Cherokee, 215,000 miles. Seemed to drive fine. 4WD works. New brakes all the way around. New exhaust. Some rust on the driver’s side rear fender. Tires are so so. Oil and tranny fluid are clean. Im just scared of the high miles. You guys that know Jeeps would you consider it given the miles or walk away?
The miles would scare me unless I got a real screaming bargain on it. My wife's best friend had a GC that she put 300K miles on it and she said it's the best car she's ever owned. My wife took her advice and bought a 2017 and she's already racked up 25K miles and so far flawless.
Trannys are a weak spot for sure. The first Cherokee I owned had a slipping tranny and I traded it
A friend of mine had a 2016..the transmission went out at 6,000 miles...never ran right after it was fixed or replaced..they traded it in for the Acura RDX. I looked at the 2019 Jeep Cherokee today. Your post makes me rethink even buying it now......
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