I have owned 3 Jeeps now.

A '95 Grand Cherokee Laredo that blew the rear end, then a month after spending big bucks to have it rebuild blew the tranny @ 260K (this was a commuter about 100 miles a day). That one pissed me off and server the rest of its life in my back yard as a target for sighting my hunting rifles.

a '97 Grand Cherokee Laredo that is currently having hard shifts or not shifting at all in cold weather, even after fluid/filter change AND new output shaft sensor. I no longer trust this vehicle as nothing short of a new tranny may make it trustworthy again. 132k miles.

And finally a 2001 Cherokee sport that is apparently about to grenade it;s rear axle, after having no issues at all @ 155k miles.

I am wonder how many other people have experienced similar problems with their Jeeps. I have heard one mechanic say "I've never had those problems" and another say "Jeeps have bulletproof engines but the rest of the drive-train is paper thin".

Please state in your post after voting if you use your Jeep for the trail or for everyday driving. All of my Jeeps have been everyday drivers and never seen a trail.

 

Well in my opinion its how the jeep is taken care of/maintained. Not saying you havnt. But you never know with previous owners. My 96 Cherokee has the 4.0 high output, auto tranny, and the Chrysler 8.25 rear end. Zero problems. The first owner took care of it, second....not so much. But luckily he only owned it a year before selling it to me. Who has replaced a whole lot on it and have/will be keeping up on the maintenance. I'm a mechanic so that's easy for me. Mine has 155k and is a DD. only issue right now is my sagging leafs. A fellow mechanic I work with has a 95 two door with 235k miles....still running really strong.5 speed tho. But every jeep is cared for different. I'd say a Cherokee is more dependable in my opinion then a grand Cherokee. But that's just me. Never liked the grands.

 

I would agree with that. I picked up the grands only because of the room and ride. I used to install satellite and have to drive 100-150 miles a day with a bunch of equipment, the Grand was more suitable for this than a Cherokee. More comfortable ride as well, though they always had more problems and horrible gas mileage for a 4.0 (like 15-16 MPG I can get better in certain V8's!).

 

It wasn't mine. But my parents, had a 2001 I think Jeep Grand Cherokee..
A little over 100k miles, the rear end started grinding. They took it in and had the rear end replace. What that included I have no idea. They just said they replaced the rear end. 2 months later, it did it again, they had the rear end done again.. A few thousand miles later they sold it because they thought it was coming back again.

Also the guy I get my parts from at the store, has a Grand, and his rear end is grinding now too.. Sounded like it was doing the same thing Mom and Dads did.

I'm guessing it's probably something common, with maybe made on a certain date or something.

 

Ya maybe all the Grand Cherokees made on fridays have problems. Haha. No idea really. But at my shop we joke about that. I mean it could be possible I guess. People being less aware maybe on a Monday then usual. Anxious to get out on Friday so they hurry. Never know....makes ya wonder.

 

No problems with mine (knocks on wood) and it's my daily driver. I do some light offroading (for now) and go ice fishing.