Jeep Grand Cherokee WG/WJ (1994-2004)

Great car if you get a good one..Jeeps are the most recalled car in the world – Have a 2003 wj limited 4.7lt. Got it for $7500. At 95000 km. Excellent condition. Since owning I have had to put in new radiator. Brake cable snapped twice.. A/c electronics repaired. A/c compressor replaced. A/c hose split. On its 3rd starter motor. Wobble in back end cost me a fortune and never completely went. Drivers heated seat crapped… Read more

itself. A/c flap in dash on passengers side , when you turn the car off ,after about a minute makes the loudest creaking sound for about 10 seconds as it seems to be shutting . Warning lights come on and can easily be reset to go off but creep back on. Drivers foot room for left foot(RHD) is cramped at best. Fuel economy really sucks . Single din stereo was replaced by a 3k touch screen with bells and whistles. Brake discs and rotors replaced and now it's decided to drip oil.. Great if you get a good one but soooooo many lemons with jeeps

Reliable, cheap, capable – I've had four of the 4.7 V8 version. Trouble free and all sold at high mileage. I've had a lot of Jeeps as there is nothing else that gives the same performance for so little money. I've had the Overland, Ltd and Laredo models. I prefer the Laredo with the simpler air conditioner/heater controls.

Best 4WD I've had – I've had Jeep Grand Cherokees for 15 years and they've been great. First was a 1998 ZG and all since have been WJs My current one is a 2002 Overland I purchased with 161,000 klms. It was a well looked after one family owned car in great condition. It's my first Overland and as much as I've liked my Limited ones, this one is way ahead of them.… Read more

The previous post by the guy who said E10 fuel damaged his engine is puzzling because it is well known that WJ Overlands MUST use Premium fuel ( 98 ) It is not a problem because they are very economical. They all used the high output engine and are very economical with the higher gearing. 100 KPH in overdrive is 1700 RPM. Much more economical that the standard 4.7 Most critical thing about the 4.7 is that the cooling system MUST be properly bled after any event which caused the cooling system to have been drained. Failure to properly bleed when refilling will likely cause overheating and engine damage or destruction. The other thing people just can't seem to get through their heads is that when a modern car overheats you STOP. They do a belt or a hose and think "it's only 8 klms home or it's only 10 klms to the service station / repair shop - it'll be ok" Well it WON't be ok. Most cars have alloy heads these days and many have alloy blocks as well. They can not survive severe over heating. Even an expensive tow is very cheap compared to a new engine. As for Jeep knockers, they're a great help - keeps the cars cheap for us !!!

smooth and powerful V8 . love it – Always did like the WJ shape and finally got one , had many 4wds new and old , and consider my $5k purchase to be the best 4WD ever owned. nice looking medium SUV that has clever little designs like rear glass lid opening etc ,heated seats ohh nice indeed female friendly to drive and park, not bulky or cumbersome . I would consider myself a… Read more

occasional off roader so the jeep is like a comfy town car with off road capabilities, quadra-drive or quadra-trac both good . best seats ever so plush and drive is very comfortable, V8 rumble sounds very nice and pulls my boat easy. ive found jeep is very easy to work on with the help of you tube videos and best to maintain yourself as labour and parts can be costly , do your research and watch what the parts sellers are selling you , can easily make a mistake here regards to fluids mainly , different transfer cases and power steering changes to look out for, same as the diffs, many changes to suit the quadra-drive or trac or trac 2 options. they need oil changes at 3000klm . dont read to much into the valve seats dropping when they get hot etc , most of it was bull they built over 3 million engines over 15 years but if your concerned then aim for a model built after 2003 . for the budget dont think you can buy better i mean solid axles ,electrics at your finger tips, good clearance . many after market mods cant go wrong but you have to know how to turn a spanner or you will get taken to the cleaners. V8 fuel economy is somewhere close to a ford falcon , but cheaper than a ford territory. i love planting the foot and hearing the sound which is close to a holden v8 pushrod motor sound . ive since bought a second one for a donor car and successfully rebuilt the top half and was my first engine rebuild and so smooth now and this was like old school way sanding the heads on glass panels, polishing valves , reseating valve seats, man oh man its so smooth now , even the timing chain is easy to do, although there are three of them dont let that scare you , watch the videos closely and youll nail it. also turn the key (cycle) it three times to bring up any fault codes so you pinpoint the remedy quickly , for a driving experience to enjoy do yourself a favour and test drive one of these jeeps , think you may be impressed . i know i was cheers

Best 4x4 I have driven – Purchased for 20k at 3 years old ex lease. From 60k odd original price. I’ve owned since 2006. In 12 years and endless family holidays deep into the bush through water up to 700-800mm steep rock crawls, with diff hits, sill touches and now big tyres, long range tank, raised suspension, under body protection upgrades, diff reduction lockers, all… Read more

work is done in the driveway at home, I’m no mechanic but YouTube is my friend. Cheap parts, heaps of after market parts and options, cheap proper scan tools etc made this car the best 4wd I’ve ever had. I’ve had Toyota land cruisers and hilux Nissan patrol and navara and Mitsubishi I’ve driven The best part is the ride is like a car but ability is like a patrol. and reliability, I have only had one problem that was not just ware and tare (or my own fault) running a fuel pump dry while using gas. Whoops and that was caused by a botched job by the first and last mechanic I used to do upgrades. but the ease of repair using YouTube back up on EVERYTHING. Worst part is politely listening to all the warnings and jeep horror stories about a friend of a friend.

Don't knock it till you try it – The WJ/WG Grand Cherokee is probably the most versatile family 4x4 on the market, ever. Seriously. Before I tell you why let me make one thing clear.... If you maintain them properly, they will last a lifetime. 99% of the Jeep haters have never owned one, or owned one with a checkered past/didn't maintain them correctly. Jeeps are horribly… Read more

expensive if you only go to the dealer for maintenance and repairs, but are probably the cheapest car to live with if you do it yourself.

Parts are ridiculously cheap online, even genuine from the USA (freight can be a killer for heavy items like whole engines etc)

Full set of front hub bearings.... $70 delivered. Go ask Toyota how much a prado set of hub bearings are...

As for the WJ/WG:

The off road ability of these, even in stock standard form is remarkable. Suspension travel is far better than anything else (except for maybe the Wrangler). With solid axles front and rear, coils all round and a single point rear upper control arm assembly, the articulation keeps the tyres on the dirt and traction at max.

With anything from a mild 1 inch lift to a 12 inch long arm lift kit available, you can make it as tame or as wild as you like. (Once again for the Jeep haters... a cheap spring spacer kit from eBay probably will give you death wobbles. Every lift kit needs to be done CORRECTLY for safety sake. Including offset bushes, springs AND shocks, wheel alignments etc)

This suspension design coupled with the Quadra Trac 2 or Quadra drive 4x4 system makes it feel like a worked Cruiser or Patrol with lockers..... well that's what I usually met at the top of the tracks we frequented.

The drive system was well beyond it's years with what is essentially a similar system to the top end skylines.

The vehicle runs in rear wheel drive normally, and only when it detects wheel spin does it engage the front axle. It does this flawlessly. No chatter, no fuss. Try and spin the tyres on a dirt road it feels exactly like taking off on bitumen. For the tougher stuff, engage low range and all four wheels are permanently locked in 4 wheel drive. Even hill descent in low range, and an auto are surprisingly slow and controlled. This was also the first production car in the world to come standard with a 6 speed auto (Google it).

The 4.7 engine is the pick of the bunch. It is lighter than the straight 6, has much more power and low down torque and is one of the smoothest driving engines going. The engine actually won many awards for design, ingenuity and performance. In 1999-2000 Holden was still running a 5L v8 making 195kw after years of tweaking and improvements. This was brand new making similar power, better economy, 100kg+ lighter and euro smooth operation.

All the important bits (alternator, air con compressor etc) are mounted high up on the front of the engine to stay out of the water. Sensor failures only cause an engine light but not kill the engine if the computer can use a different sensor as a back up (eg. If the crank angle sensor fails, it won't leave you stranded. It will run off the cam angle sensors and throw up an engine light.)

The whole package really was designed to be as reliable and bush friendly as possible with only the worst of failures leaving you stuck. Not even Nissan or Toyota can claim this level of back up in their vehicle systems, not even today.

Interior: such a comfortable and quite place. Super comfy american (fat) butt seats, everything is in reach, cabin noise was shockingly quiet.

Has all the bells and whistles most people would need like cruise, electric windows, mirrors, seats, air con, trip computer, tyre pressure monitors and climate control were options on the lower spec vehicles, standard on the higher ones (this is in the late 90's and early 2000's too remember)

Round town it is smooth as a Euro(Handling was tuned by Porsche by the way... once again, Google it), easy to park due to the extremely good turning circle, great visibility and good on fuel (for petrol V8)

Off road it will surprise anyone who hasn't owned a Jeep.

For their age now, it is becoming buyer beware to find a good non-mistreated example as mentioned before, missed services, lack of maintenance will destroy your fun very quickly.

Get a full inspection done before purchase (inc compression testing) for peace of mind.

For the price nowadays, you get far more bang for your buck than any other vehicle on the road.

You may have seen the slogan stuck on other Jeeps that reads "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand".

Believe me, I didn't understand either until I bought one.

110% would recommend

I love my WJ Jeep GC 4.7L – I purchased the JGC LTD in 2014 with an apparent engine ticking noise, 147,00km on the clock and the body and interior in perfect condition. The ticking noise cost $4700 (Full reco engine) Now with all the bits fixed its great to drive on long trips. What was fixed, All by me, I'm a qualified Mechanic: Engine, the tick was a knock, spun main… Read more

bearing - engine replaced

Dual heater blend doors replaced - full dash out

Steering box reco - too much free play

Drivers side door mirror - someone screwed a bolt through the wiring harness

Passenger side door mirror - wiring was disconnected

Radiator - dual core full welded alloy replacement

Tail gate and rear window struts - replaced new

Hand Brake cable - snapped - replaced new

Hand Brake switch - broken - replaced new

I bought it for $1000, spent $5700 on the fixes then rego and insurance

I have a great 4WD where everything works and it loves to go. It is my weekend/long drive car.

My other car (daily drive) is a 2002 Subaru WRX. I first purchased it new in 2003, sold it 2008, purchased it again in 2015 with a fully reconditioned engine and turbo, I have my old toy car back. I really love both of these cars.

older jeeps are not repairable – I bought a Jeep and for the last couple of years it has been very hard to get the remote control to work so I sent it in to the local Jeep dealership for repair and they charged me over $700.00 but when I got the Jeep back it was the same as it was before I sent it in for repair. I decided to contact the head office in Sydney of the company who… Read more

repaired the Jeep and a woman who told me she was one of the owners of the business told me to take it somewhere else and get it fixed. I would tell anyone who is thinking of buying a Jeep don't bother because they don't care about your problems and cant fix them, there is a person on the internet who will help you to burn your Jeep could be a good solution to a unsolvable problem so think twice before buying a Jeep I never ever had an older car that I could not start.

Under rated. As reliable as any Holden or Ford – Providing services were done on time, and even the Jeeps that were neglected are reliable. The 4.0 ltr you should get around 11 to 12 ltrs per 100 k's (inline 6 cyl Hemispherical) In town. 14 to 16 ltrs p/100/k V8 expect 11/13 lp100k hwy. 13/16 around town. (Yes a little thirsty but. There is almost 2 metric tonne of car..) Parts are easy… Read more

to obtain n are reasonable priced . Melbourne Bris & Hervey Bay have new and used parts.

Always make sure the tyre profile is exact on the front n rear. Dont replace just the fronts. Or rears.

They are an AWD meaning 2 differentials 2 tailshafts with front shaft connecting to a transfer case, then to front diff, and the rear, transmission to diff .Its crucial the correct fluids are used in gearbox n trans case.

If your tyres are not the same profile (front n rear ) they will chew out the drive shafts connectors . If more ppl had taken the time to understand the drive system ppl wouldnt have ruined an auto box then blamimng Jeep..

And there is no substitutes when its comes to transmission, gear box & transfer case and diffs fluids.

Still have to be one of the most comfortable AWD's to drive with both engines having sufficient power.

Live axles front & rear with coil overs (coil spring over gas/ oil shock)

The earlier Jeeps had the wiring lumes made in Germany by Bosch

Then it became confusing as a city in Mexico were building the electrics and this is when they started failing. Windows n fan speed resistor would fail . It was only the odd Jeep Laredo would suffer these faults.

All said. Like anything.service n take care of them & they will serve you well..

Way way ahead in technology for thier time.

You can buy a 2nd hand 2003 with 160 ks from $5000 to $10,000.

You get alot of vehicle for your money.

Get a thorough inspection done b4 handing over ya cash.

Be sure to check engine mounts.

Some models have heated seats anti fog mirrors, plus other accessories.

Great Vehical

Great buying in this day.

All parts still available readily .

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Maintenance – Jgc owners need to keep up their maintenence and be very resourceful.i have owned my 99 jgc for five years and have had to fix or replace lots of issues and i now know my jgc inside and out.i keep hearing that to replace parts are hard to get to and a pain.replacing fan relay is located behind the Rhs driving light.cam angle sensor is accessible… Read more

from inside on top of transmission mound.the death wobbles can b avoided by replacing worn and damaged parts before they get to that stage.yes it's a big issue but not if you are aware of the problems.jgc,s quadra trac 2 system performs better than most other standard 4wd,s.at a fraction of the purchase price.i tow an off-road camper in the bush on the beach.280000k,s still on original motor transmission and transfer case.so happy I bought a 99 model

04 overland – Car is basically very nice to cruise long distances as 4.7 motor is very smooth. Cruise control is easy to use. Seats are comfy and have two automated positions for different drivers at the touch of a button. Rear end suspension is a little floaty. On the beach = no worries however scuffs a little on deeper sections of sand and you need to… Read more

engage low before entering as it needs to be engaged while moving forward slowly.

Economy well its a v8.

Bought at 130k now at 160k and death wobble has appeared so rating may go up/down depending if its an easy fix... or not. According to forums perhaps not.

Aircon flow sensor has melted connection and is known problem so check wires under the glove box.

Jeep stealership is totally ineffective. Was told failed panhard rod bushing noise was totally normal. Uhm yeah right, even manager couldn't believe report. Airbag light was supposedly failed seat belt buckle and needed to be replaced $1k+, examined myself = loose wire and put it back in = fixed. Once and only once if you know what I mean.

Definately a slightly sour taste now its got the death wobble. Such a nice car to drive. Fix or trade? Will let you know.

Excellent overall value and performance – . I purchased my WG overland as a 3year old car with 30k on the clock from a dealer. Initially was a work vehicle with annual holidays in the bush with 3 kids, dog and all the luggage. As an all round multi purpose family vehicle it excelled in every aspect with limited range when off-road towing and carrying extra fuel being my only gripe. 3… Read more

years into owning the jeep and one day the engine made horrible noises, long story short blew a sizeable chunk out of number one piston with the rest of the internals looking like new! After all theories examined and experts consulted it would appear as though ethanol blended fuel was to blame. One jeep expert told me he had seen crystals forming in the oil pans of jeeps he serviced of people who regularly used ethanol based fuel. Of interest the fuel I used exclusively was removed from sale shortly after! Anyhow I sourced an engine from QLD and had extensive porting done to the heads, air intake, throttle body spacer, jet chip, 100cell Magna flow cats x3 a bit of a hamburger with the lot. Since then she has not missed a beat now with about 120k on that donk and still going strong. Will cruise highway at 9's (even towing 6x4 on flat) and 13.5 city. I suspect I can bring those figures down some more even with some decent headers as I'm still running stock manifolds. I've experienced pretty much all the issues spoken about here including death wobbles (I killed my steering dampener in the bush so that was an easy fix) blend doors, heated seats which failed under warranty but jeep claim is a moving part so wasn't covered? Now only after the car is 12+ years old am I having to replace control arms, I suspect I will have a few ball joints to do before long also. Why am I eating this car so highly? It has gone anywhere offroad a Toyota or Nissan has gone and done it easily. After visiting the uk a few times I noticed over there is all jeeps and land rovers and guess what parts are cheap in U.K. Now too. So my theory is all cars have a potential for being a lemon but if the vehicle does what you want, is pleasurable to drive and parts are cheap and readily available why wouldn't you own one. As I'm writing this the rear upper control arm bushs and ball joint just came delivered off eBay for $70. One last thing my only true negative about the wh / wg grand is lack of affordable "off the shelf" type accessories for off roading as is available for say wranglers. I put this down to 99% of people who purchase the grand new would not intend on off road use, those people more inclined to get a wrangler, so there's just not as many accessories...maybe I'm just bummed out at not being able to find a nice rear bar with Jerry can holders for all that fuel I need :-)

Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2002 – The missus had our jeep from 20,000k (2003) and 12yrs later decided she wanted a "new" car so I brought her a Subaru (which she likes but says she misses the view from the jeep) I fully refused to trade the jeep in as it was/is a far better vehicle than my car (Top of the line Tickford V8). The only things I didn't like about the Jeep were exactly… Read more ·  4

what my missus loved it for, for me it was just to American, Soft ride, comfortable cornering, smooth on bumps, traction control & and fine leather interior. (I like the interior) So on went the 2" lift and bigger tyres, Turned it into a fantastic 4WD (mine has the quadrotrac) It goes everywhere, Sand, Bush, 3/4 of wheel depth Water, Road, the hemi motor is just great (cant kill the old Chrysler motor) with just under 200,000km on it now and is regularly serviced. I think its just fantastic I would like to add an ARB bullbar and side steps but these are to expensive (nearly $2000 fitted)

The jeep now at 200,000k still has all the power you will ever need and reliability is excellent (never ever broken down), although some people seem to have electrical problems, not that Toyota's don't (our Prado had a full blown fire from electrical issue on Buladelha range that was fun) Speaking of which the Jeep has the remote double opening tailgate which has come in useful that many times it just isn't funny the Japanese models don't have the dual gate. In about another 14yrs time I'll probably buy another jeep because the bush & sand will have scraped all the paint off mine by then. PS; I know a few people with jeeps they all think there great, and value for money, bang for your buck they simply cant be beaten.

The 2001 Grand Jeep Cherokee, Best ever Made – I have typed about my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee before, It now has 283,000ks on it & still going strong. Many people complain about All Jeeps, well I tell you that they are Great. the Problem is Most don't service them enough, A good Jeep Must be looked after like your best friend. This being my second Jeep, So I feel I can make comments. The… Read more

number one thing with the jeep is get good springs, good shockers, & also the steering dampener must be watched close, Cheap to replace, but a bugger if your broke down in the desert with the death wobble. Actually that's the main reason for the death wobble. Most of my time with the jeep it is either of road or out back Australia in the desert country. I would enjoy showing you all the tracks I go on or post links, Unsure if that's allowed. My jeep has crossed 3 Deserts on one trip, Simpson, little stony, and stresleki. Unsure if I type the last name right. But you get the picture. Again I can NOT stress enough about service, even over service, wont hurt it. I run cooper ST tires, second set in 2 years, not to bad. & hope to have many more years driving this wonderful 2001 Jeep. Just a tip, every trip just run your eyes around the car & under the hood & feel & see if there is any thing out of place. All my electrics still work. All running fine, all due to maintained right. Finally mine is the 4.7 litre Motor, & has also towed a 18 foot Caravan, not a Problem, for over 1000 ks @ a time averaging 100ks.in 40c temps .Now that I mentioned towing the caravan, I must tell you that the fuel takes a hiding. So be sure to always carry extra fuel in the out back if towing, you can loose 100s of kilometres of fuel, especially with a head wind, that's the only down side with the 4.7 engine. Yet isn't the power great. I would like to write some other time. & I hope you have enjoyed this small read. Tas.

I love my Jeeps – My first jeep was a 1975 CJ5, three-speed manual, part time 4wd and was unstoppable. The next Jeep I had was a 1978 CJ7, this had a Chrysler 289 V8 which I did further work to and also altered the full time Quadratrack system to part time 4wd and put an overdrive in it. Absolutely awesome on the beach and anywhere off road. Next Jeep I bought was… Read more

a new 1995 XJ Cherokee Sport. Never did more than service it in the 90,000 k's I did in that with lots of off road and beach driving.

A few weeks ago I sold my BMW coupe and bought a 2002 WG Jeep Cherokee Overland as I actually didn't want to buy a new vehicle, and actually prefer a live axle front end to the independent suspension on newer models.

After burning thousands and thousands of dollars on new cars over the years I have decided to buy older good condition vehicles. The WG has 100,000 k's on it and everything works, the car is like new besides a few small scratches here and there.

The previous owner I found had put bigger spring spacers in and the car was about 5 inches higher than standard which caused the ride to be more "jiggley" than is usual for these models.

I knew about the death wobble that can be experienced with a live front end, it affects quite a number of different make and model live front axle 4wd's. The WG got an attack of the death wobble but only after I took it into a national wheel and tyre dealer to have the wheel alignment checked. They adjusted the toe in and that triggered the problem. I had already checked the front end over and it was as tight as a drum, no movement in tie rod ends or ball joints.

Having owned Jeeps before I knew that most mechanics know nothing about them as all they ever work on are Toyotas and Nissans. I took the car to a non dealer jeep specialist to have the front end looked at and the toe in re checked. At the same time I had the track rod replaced with an adjustable one, and had all 4 shocks replaced.

I have since taken the car over the bad sections of road that triggered the wobble and nothing...good as new.

Personally I'd never buy a Japanese 4wd, the Jeeps will walk all over them off road in standard spec...and are so very comfortable. Most parts are available after market if required to avoid dealers, They have their quirks for sure, but so do their Japanese counterparts...

Worst car I have ever owned continued – I originally posted on this site about my nightmare Jeep experience about 3 years ago, and I still get a shudder when I occasionally think about my 1999 WJ JGC. I am now a dedicated Toyota man and will never change. Nothing has gone wrong in the 2 years I have owned the RAV4, the only money I have spent is for regular preventive maintenance…all… Read more

new fluids, belts, hoses, plugs etc (just as I have done with all the used cars I have ever owned, not that it made any difference with the Jeep).

I would just like to point out how dangerous WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee's are. I want to warn people about this car as it may help others who read this and have the same problem occur.

Searching the US Jeep forums online for faults is the best thing ever for finding fixes for the problems (which there are many) you get with these cars. The American owners seem to have just as much trouble as we do in Australia. Just Google “Jeep death wobbles” and you can find literally dozens of people having the same scary experiences I had on the highway with this car(and it's not just Grand Cherokees that have this problem, Wranglers and standard Cherokees get it too). You can be travelling along smoothly at around 80 or higher and if you hit a bump or pothole that’s all it needs to set it off, the whole car will begin to shake and rattle so bad you think the windows will shatter and the car will shake itself apart, that’s if you don’t crash first. The only way to stop it is to slow down as fast as you can, and at around 50 or 60 kms/hr it will just go away, then everything is normal again. As I explained in my original post the problem is wear and play in the solid axle front end, which means replacing hubs, ball joints, tie rod ends and all rubber bushes, but the most important thing to repair and the main culprit is the track bar which goes from the right hand side of the front diff diagonally up to the frame on the left hand side. If there is any play at all at the large bolts at each end you will get death wobbles (parts cost to repair and replace all the front end to a reasonable standard would have cost me about $1500, including US postage. If I had not done all the work myself you could probably count on that amount again in labour. Lucky I am a mechanic). What worries me is most WJs must be getting over 200,000 kms now, and their front end suspension and steering must be wearing and will cause a lot of people the same grief I had. In my opinion these cars are dangerous and should be taken off the road and the owners compensated by Jeep. Interesting how Chrysler/Jeep/Fiat or whoever owns them at the moment will not recognize that there is a big problem with these cars.

Another common fault I had, but fortunately not so dangerous, is one day I stopped the JGC only to find the electric radiator fan still spinning. 15 minutes later it was still on…had to disconnect the battery before it went flat. Problem is an electric thermostat relay located front left hand side under the bumper, you have to remove the bumper bar to get to it, big job and bad engineering(And again 2 week wait for the part to come from the USA).

Sell your Jeep now and buy a Toyota and get your sanity back! You have been warned!

Great value, easy to maintain, reliable, powerful – I have had x2 of these WJ Grand Cherokees, both 4.7l v8. First one was a 2003 Limited with the Quadra-Trac 4wd system (open diffs). I purchased it in 2007 with 70,000km . After being let go during the GFC I sold the Jeep with 140,000km a few years later. During my time owning this vehicle I set it up for offroading with a total of 4"… Read more

lift, 32" tall tyres, rear diff locker, etc. I travelled all over WA between Exmouth and Esperance. My wife and I found this Jeep to be extremely capable and reliable mechanically.

The only issues we had were the heated seat heater stopped working (extremely common as the wires burn out and can be replaced easily but we never bothered), the blend doors in the heater and AC unit broke (extremely common on vehicles with dual climate control systems) and I fixed this myself with aftermarket improved parts from eBay (US) for approx $150, front driveshaft from transfer case and front diff had a CV joint wear out (due to 4" lift height) which I replaced the CV joint (same part number as a Holden Adventra 4x4) for approx $100 (however at this lift height I really should have upgraded the whole driveshaft), and lastly the rear passenger window regulator broke and I replaced myself with an after market improved version from a Sydney company for $220.

Other than the above, the Jeep was so beautiful to drive, the v8 was strong and torquey (for a 4wd/SUV) and fuel efficient when compared to other 4wd's esp if they're petrol. We averaged 14-16l/100km in city driving (adjusted for the bigger tyres), and 9-11l/100km in country driving.

I maintained the Jeep myself including all servicing and and necessary repairs as mentioned above.

Sourcing parts for me was not a problem, a little research on the internet and you realise that these vehicles are so common in the rest of the world and parts are ridiculously cheap.

After selling the first WJ Grand Cherokee, and then owning another couple of 4wd's in between, I bought another in 2012 really really cheap. This was a 2001 v8 Limited with 270,000km and I still have it today now with 300,000km.

I was initially looking for another 4wd but could not pass up this Jeep at the price I bought it for. Plus after driving different 4wd's overtime and test driving others etc I could not turn down the level of comfort, power, and relative fuel economy that these Jeeps have.

I bought this one with a leaky radiator and the engine light on the dash. I determined that the engine was on because of a faulty MAP sensor (simple google search will tell you how to read the engine codes on the dash really simply on Jeeps), and with a vehicle with this many kms I was always going to have the cooling system serviced anyway.

The MAP sensor I purchased from the US and arrived 1 week later for $50 (incl shipping) and the radiator I bought here in Aus (Sydney I think) for $350. The MAP sensor was easy to replace. While doing the radiator I also sourced everything needed to overhaul the entire cooling system (water pump, fan, belts, thermostat) from the US as it was so much cheaper (approx $400 all up). After fixing all this, I had a perfectly functioning Jeep with a reliable cooling system.

This Jeep I have left relatively stock with no real mods at all apart from replacing the shocks with some secondhand cheapo US ones that I bought from a guy wrecking his WJ after an accident. Also I fitted 31" tall tyres.

This Jeep also has the Quadra-Drive 4wd system which is, for its time, an amazing 4wd system. It basically means you have extremely good LSD's in both diffs (almost as good as diff lockers).

This Jeep has been amazing for us, the interior is still in really good cond (leather) as well, and takes me everywhere. Since my first Jeep I now travel more remotely in WA. So far, touch wood, it performs so good.

Fuel economy is a little higher in this Jeep (I put it down to the higher kms) with 14-16l/100km in city and 10-12 in the country.

For the that you can buy these Jeeps for you just cannot beat the value. Even if they were the same price as Landcruisers and Patrols etc, in my opinion they're still the better vehicle. Aussies talk trash about them because they don't understand them, even mechanics. A little research will show that Jeeps are all over the world and are as common as Commodores in the US. When Americans want to wheeling, they don't go for the Toyota or Nissan, they get a Jeep and there is soo much info on them because of this. I have not had many issues at all with my Jeeps (had 3 now), and with whatever issue I've had I have been able to research and diagnose and fix it myself with the help of forums and walkthoughs on the internet.

In my group of friends, I was the only one with a Jeep, and I was also the one who would always lead the group to remote places etc etc, now after many years of them seeing what is possible with my Jeeps they have all either warmed to the idea of them or have actually bought one themselves haha.

When looking for a secondhand WJ Jeep, just be diligent in the initial checks and test drive. Any vehicle, esp a 4wd (cos there;s more to go wrong with them) at this age will have its issues. If you find a perfect one then thumbs up to you. Common faults to look for are:

- CV joint boots - if boot is worn then you can bet dirt has got in and damaged the joint itself

- Blend doors in the heater and AC system - test for hot and cold air from both zones

- Check for engine codes (google how, its a simple key sequence) to see if any sensors or whatever may be faulty.

- Other than than check for the usual stuff like oil leaks and coolant leaks, and basic overall operation.

Jeep Service & Repairs Townsville-Pickering Mob-Terrible – Our 2003 Jeep was great and first salesperson fantastic, then service any repairs disgusting. One specialist Jeep tradesperson, spread thinly, charged top $$, not ever properly repaired. Taken in many times for recalls-airbags{M35} not correct parts. No phone calls or lied and said they had or will??? or are Gunna.ring to pick up or advise on… Read more

parts,absolutely Terrible. Can NEVER buy another Jeep and will never recommend mates to buy one as before. Can't... It's a shame as they could be a good car.

pcm/ecm wj 2003 grand cherokee – pcm / ecm are available in Australia for the princely sum of around $1800 - $1900 plus coding around $100 plus around $70,00 for each key coded depending on who you buy through

Not so bad but getting long in the tooth nowdays – I still can't believe people are whinging about a car that was designed in the mid 90's and has stopped production in 2004. As good as 10-14 years old now. Like dljacko "I purchased this 2003 in sept 2012 and to date it has been on the road for approximately two weeks" [censored word removed] why did you buy that one. What do you expect fool.… Read more ·  1

They are old and will require maintenance, which is obviously too much for people to grasp. I am not a mechanic and have been able to do all repairs and serving myself. Unless you buy a newish car that is less than 5 years old, you are going to run into maintenance or abuse issues. Problem is people don't look after cars and then sell them to the next mug that comes along. With the ridiculous wages in Australia it has become prohibitive to fix often simple problems. And the WJ has plenty of these little niggles but get onto them guys, fix them.

I have done Perth-Darwin-Alice-Laverton-Perth in my lifted WJ and only had a power steering 'o' ring begin to leak on the Great Central Rd which is hell on 4WD's. Fixed that for $50 at Enzed back in Perth. It has done serious 4WD bashing in the bush whilst prospecting and served family duties for family of 5 and 2 dogs for over 7 years. The WJ has designs cue's from the early to mid 90's era and guess what people, it's an old car!! And don't tell me a Toyota or Discoverer from that era is any better on parts or fuel economy. The Disco has kept the tow truck industry alive and well. I have had them in the past and the parts were and are horrendously expensive too. Blown/cracked heads were common in the Tojo's. Fuel economy of equivalent Tojo or Land Rover V8 was also just as poor as the WJ with way less performance. You buy a 4.7L V8 that can tow 3 tonnes, go offroad and then complain about 17 L/100 km?? Maybe the O2 sensor was faulty, there is 2, Or buy a diesel mate or perhaps a Prius (Like to see a 15 yo Prius still on the road).

So in 7 years of current ownership of my 02 WJ and 120,000 kms total, I have done the following. And bear in mind I bought it second hand so can't vouch for the abuse the previous owner has done to it, as it did have some repair evidence. I have not included costs in adding some offroad bits as this was all optional and also done by me.

- Since new its on its second set of brake pads, skimmed the front disc's when I did the pad ($250 all up). This is normal wear and tear type stuff.

- Two batteries replaced but now on a Yellow optima for deep cycle duties in bush.

- Passenger window motor went 6 years ago (Genuine Mopar one $500 incl labour) a bit pricey but going to be same with all of them.

- Just done a radiator after 11 years (started weeping) service, used a genuine Mopar one - $400 which I put in myself. More than likely from the Great Central Hwy crossing but also fairly common after 11 years.

- Struts all round done a few years back. What car doesn't have these issues after 7 years. Commodes/Falcons are all the same.

- Replaced the daggy headlights with some beauties from ebay (But hey, I saw a 5 YO Rav4 with yellowed sun damaged HL's). OZ is horrendous on plastics and this is common no matter who makes them.

- LHS top ball joint worn out through corrugated road abuse. Replaced for $110.

- And yes, 100% failure rate for the Jeeps aircon/heater control door or splitter doors. They cam be fixed for $70 with a kit found everywhere on the net. If you do it your self. Probably $1500 by an Ozzie mechanic!

- Serviced with good oil Penzoil + filter every 10K but make sure you do the gearbox, transfer case and diff oil every 50-60K.

-A lot of things can be just simple earth/power supply issues ie the aircon power lead is where the passenger feet stick up and can be dislodged (poor location).

Absolutely no problem with engine, gearbox, diff or transfer case.

Here's a link of the 'ol girl

[link removed] Good for the family in its day but new stuff available Good when new but now old. Old design heritage. WK the go.

Do not buy a jeep for the outback – Due to the cost of towage and repairs I thought I should write a comment about our friends 2004 Grand Cherokee Jeep purchased for $21,000. They purchased the vehicle and a caravan in Brisbane with their dream of travelling around Australia. We decided to join them in our 2007 Jeep Commander having done extensive trips around and up and down… Read more

Australia in the past 26 years in mostly Toyotas. The 1st part of our trip was from Brisbane to Weipa and their computer on the 2004 Grand Cherokee went into limp mode and closed down to a crawl approx 150ks from Weipa. The towage and repairs by the mechanic (1 litre of oil) cost $1,550-00 and they said only needed oil and because the oil level sensor was set to high was the reason it went into limp mode.

The next time it went into limp mode was coming across the Barkley Highway and they managed to crawl into Tenant Creek. The mechanic used a scanner and said it was the Turbo part broken and a clip holding the hose had come off so we waited a week for another hose fitting from Melbourne. Part finally arrived but no clip so they wired it up and said all ok to continue cost all up $220 very reasonable.

We got as far as Mataranka and Jeep went into limp mode again so arranged another tow by local company to Darwin Jeep cost of $2000. Darwin Jeep charged $180 to scan said it was the turbo again but couldn't touch for a week and only used new parts from America to take up to a month to arrive.

We secured the turbo so it couldn't move with clip we fortunately found inside guard and went for a 2 hour run part off road to test. Jeep finally went into limp mode again and we fortunately got towed out to a caravan park disconnected battery and left overnight.

Next morning all ok and drove back to Darwin and around town next day went into limp mode again so decided to tow to auto electrical to get a scan $75-00 fix and result poss computer but have to wait a week before testing. Finally a week later assured by auto electrical computer has intermittent fault and new cost $8,000 to replace. My friend then decided to trade the Jeep on a Toyota and got $5,000 for it and the local auto electrician only charged $100 in sympathy. Moral of the story is Do Not Buy a Jeep for the Outback.

computer and parts are to dear

WJ 2.7 Diesel Grand Cherokee – I purchased this 2003 in sept 2012 and to date it has been on the road for approximately two weeks. CRD injector pump $1300, oil filter complete $145, CRD pressure relief valve $440 and the list goes on. I am now considering wrecking the thing. I am lucky that I kept my 1991 Hilux diesel, it has done over 400,000km's and has never failed to start… Read more

and has been very reliable on several round Australia trips and out-of-the-way places (this is why they keep their value).

They are called Grand Cherokee because everything costs you a grand. My niece has a V8 version and has had no engine drama at all and wouldn't drive anything else. I only purchased this piece of trash because I previously had a CJ5 Renegade from 1994 until 1993 and only having to replace the brake linings in all that time. To add insult to injury Jeep Australia sent me a recall advice, it appears that the side curtain air-bag could go off at any time.

[censored word removed] mercedes 2.7 diesel engine which should never have been put in an American car which incidently was made in Austria!

Good Value – At $10,000 you can pick up a limited with around 120,000km's on the clock with all the bells and whistles. Compare this to a similar year LandCruiser which you would still pay $20g's for with twice the km's and none of the extra's. Car drives well and have only had one major issue and that was the timing chain guides in the v8. This was due to a… Read more

previous owner skipping on the services. Also found that previous mechanics had put wrong oil in the transfer case. I'm a mechanic by trade that quite honestly doesn't know a hell of a lot about Jeeps, but am quickly learning via internet forums.

Three things to bear in mind if you buy one.

1 - get it serviced by somebody that knows about Jeeps or at least is a cluey mechanic. There are heaps of cowboys out there that are licensed but have no idea.

2 - if you have to replace parts on the engines, such as sensors or cam/crank pulse wheels that send signals to the computer, always use genuine parts. Jeep engines don't like aftermarket electrical parts as I found out the hard way after I fitted a new throttle position sensor and camshaft tone wheel which caused the dash to light up like a christmas tree.

3 - in relation to number 1, have it serviced regularly at the correct intervals. Jeeps like many other cars do not like a lack of maintenance. Do these 3 things and I'm sure you'll have many years of trouble free motoring. Appointments, comfort, fuel economy for a large v8, power, offroadabilty Small glovebox and centre console feels cheap. Toyota and Nissan 4x4 owners will make fun of you.

Ok, not great – On the plus side the car was cheap low km's and in very good condition, however at 110,000km's the fan motor went, no big deal easy fix. The 4x4 system is good and works in most situation with out fail, quadratrack 2 is capable on sand, mud gravel and rocks, off road its great. However on road is a little different. The ride is bad, very wobbly… Read more

even for a 4x4, the car rolls like a boat round even gentle corners and any bumps in the road send the car bouncing along, unfortunately the only way to improve this is with new suspension, an expensive job. It's a comfortable car with a few nice touches, electric front seats work well and the spare tyre is hidden nicely under the boot floor and the on board computer gives some good information on mpg, trip distance, distance to empty as well and compass and temp. However the interior looks cheap and plastic, no mp3 slot in my 04 model, very little compartment space and below average boot space for a car of this size. The fuel tank is small and the engine (4.7 V8) is thirsty at the best of times meaning quite a short range and expensive trips. To sum up it's an ok car if you find a good one for little money, but there are far better alternatives such as the land cruiser Prado, LandRover Discovery, Nissan Pathfinder, if you want to do some good touring on all terrain, and if you spend more time on the bitumen then in the dirt then this car is far exceeded by the Subaru outback. Power, electric seats, trip computer, 4wd system, comfort Small compartments, thirsty, small tank, below average luggage space, looks and feels cheap, bad on road handling.

Good – In addition to my previous review, I would urge all people considering buying any diesel vehicle to think again. Not only do they need servicing more and the cost of the servicing is more, if something goes wrong it costs a fortune. My Jeep has done 210,000km and has blown an injector seal. If the injector is broken during removal (high… Read more

probability) than the cost of 1 replacement injector is $1100. It is a Bosch injector and this cost is the same as a Prado. Price parts for a 3L Patrol while your at it. An injector pump rebuild for a 3L rodeo will set you back $3000 and apparently thats cheap by comparison to a late model Hilux or Navara. To give you an idea, an exchange 4.7L V8 for a Jeep is $4500, and they will last 500,000k if you look after it. Give me a Grand V8 on injected gas any day over a diesel. Fuel Economy. Build quality, features, engine torque. Price of maintaining a diesel.

Excellent – Overall I would say its a good 4WD for anyone who likes something different with the tough V8 sound. You wont be unhappy with the power. Some may say that its more of a car than a Nissan or Toyota 4WDs but least you have a very powerful powerplant! A basic lift and decent tyres and your off to where the others go. I have a 2001 Limited with… Read more ·  2

160km and a new motor fitted by previous owner (they missed two services). Average 14L per 100km, Tows the 1000kg boat with ease..

Great family car! Power from 0-100km. Unreal sound of the hemi V8 (has duel exhausts fitted). Street appeal. Reliability. Very comfortable seating. Excellent off road ability. Goes really well on the beach! Diff locks are great in the mud! Loads of torque and weighs heaps less than other big 4WDS! Blinkers are on the opposite side, leaks oil and steering fluid, etc (like a Falcon or Commodore doesn't!). Gearbox clunks, door trims are loose poor fitting design. Speakers are poor quality.

Worst Car I have ever owned – Warning do not buy a Jeep unless you are a mechanic, have endless amounts of spare cash, and love spending all yr Sundays working on the faults, and you like to torture yourself! In the 2 years I have had this piece of rubbish car it has cost me thousands of dollars in parts. Fortunately I am a mechanic or it would have cost me thousands more in… Read more

labour. And cost of the parts (if you can get them) for these vehicles are ridiculous. Try $140 for 2 radiator hoses from Repco! I have learnt to get the parts from the USA as even with the freight it is still half the cost than it is from the stealership. Once these vehicles get to 200,000kms everything starts to break or wear out. These are the common faults you will get on this vehicle... car pulls to the left constantly (comes out of the factory like this!). And can’t be fixed as there is no camber and castor adjustment on these cars, only fix is to install offset ball joints or adjustable lower control arms, both expensive options), brake disks warp with the early TEVES calipers which constantly seize up (the only fix you have to fork out a small fortune to get the Akenono calipers from the USA), Death wobbles are common and downright dangerous (fix is to replace everything in the front end, including balls joints, tie rod ends, hubs, control arms and all rubber bushes). Rear axle seals will go at about 200,000kms too. When driving your airbag light will constantly come on and an annoying chime to tell you so, the problem is a part called the Clockspring in the steering column, a $300 part. Power windows will play up, oil pressure light will come on due to blocked pressure gauge. Radiators leaks and needed replacing. Every time you fix something you can guarantee next week something else will go wrong! And I won’t even bother listing the numerous other small things that have gone wrong! Oh and I forgot the headlights are made of a cheap plastic that degrades in the sun, so they get this cloudy coating on the surface, so it blocks the light coming out at night, downright dangerous as you can hardly see! New headlight from the stealership $500!!!!(thats for 1 headlight!!!). Brand new pair(2) delivered from the USA is $220AU!!!! Don’t even bother going to the dealer for parts, they have the worst attitude, and rip you off! And get this I went to Jeep dealer to see what they would give me for my car, and they offered me the lowest price any of the car yards offered me for it!!! So they even know their cars are crap!!! ! In my opinion Jeep needs to be held accountable for this dangerous and lemon of a car!

Expensive parts, Hard to get parts, Extremely unreliable, thirsty. Dangerous handling

OK – Overall the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a great Jeep and fun to drive. But the cost and the recall that it has and some of the complaints that I have heard about the Jeep are honestly not worth buying in my book. The objective of buying a Jeep is knowing that you own a Jeep that has won numerous awards in customer satisfaction but some of the… Read more

production models came out with a few defects. That coupled with the poor gas mileage just not the right buy for me and many people like me. Great Jeep fun to drive. Nice on the inside and out comfortable. Besides the transmission leak the nag connector that controls the electrical part of the transmission. That is a minor recall tat is done to some of the Jeeps that is easy enough to fix all you need is an area to lift the jeep and one 3*4th ratchet with a good extension and a 7mm socket and two o-rings and that will take car of your transmission leak.

Good – We've had our V8 Laredo for 120,000km now. 50% of the time its driven hard and fast on outback country roads, mostly unsealed. The reminder on sealed highways and cities. The vehicle's build quality is very good, no rattles or looseness and doors still close with a thunk after all this hard work. The vehicle is a great touring vehicle, very… Read more ·  1

quite wrt engine and road noise, comfortable, great sound system. It's relatively smaller size vs Toyotas, Nissans, etc is a great benefit to fuel economy, performance and maneuverability in the city and towns. No problems with the smaller cargo area either.

The 4WD system (with the optional hydraulic diff locks (Quadradrive) is quite simply the best stock 4WD system we've driven (and we've had most of them). On wet unsealed roads the 4WD system performs flawlessly and coupled with the vehicle's power and torque is quite amazing in these conditions. The vehicles size also helps in these conditions.

The steering is too twitchy however. It's not too bad on sealed highways but its small number of turns lock to lock coupled with the ball type system makes it a handful to hang onto on rough roads. Under brakes on unsealed roads the vehicle can be quite disconcerting at times. These problems are not apparent on sealed or smooth roads.

The stock suspension the vehicle comes with is garbage (but so are most other 4wds). The vehicle being tuned to US specs wallows and sways all over the place. Don't just replace the shocks to address the issue - wont work. Once the springs are uprated to 30% stiffer and some beefier high pressure monotubes are added things will be amazingly different. Much more control and safer and these changes will not detract from the vehicle's inherent comfort. Oh, and stay away from the aftermarket dual tube shocks that are made for this vehicle - their design does not synergies with the Jeeps suspension system. High pressure monotubes are the only thing to use (we've tried them all). Comfort, performance, size, 4WD system, build quality. Stock suspension, steering

Excellent – Very pleased with the power and drivability of the vehicle. Nearly got caught out for the first couple of times by the unexpected power when the turbo kicks in. Fuel economy is excellent. Down as low as 8.6 litres per 100 kms on the highway with cruise control set on 100 kph. When driven on very dusty roads not a speck of dust got into the… Read more

vehicle. Power, comfort, handling, offroad capabilities, price, ride and the very simple but practical instrument cluster a top overall vehicle. The 5 cylinder diesel engine hooked up to the 5 speed auto box returns fuel economy of 8.6 per 100 kms highway running and 9.6 litres per 100 kms through the mountains and forrests. There is none

Good – The Jeep Grand Cherokee is available in 2 or 4 wheel drive which makes it a real flexible beauty! The fact that it comes with a 4.0-liter pushrod 12-valve six in line with 195 brake hp or a 4.7-liter Single Overhead Camshaft 16-valve V-8 with 235 brakehp and a 4-speed automatic transmission means the builders to the much appreciated multivariate… Read more

approach in order to cater to speed racers as well as people who love the simple ruck of this trucking beast! It lives up to its name as a 'grand' 4WD, and is the answer to all the cliched soft focus SUVs that have flooded the market in the 2000s. There's nothing like a real jeep, and a 4x4 which doesn't come pre-fabricated by an outstanding pretentious Sports label like Porsche or BMW with their Cayennes and X5s. It stands for what it is- a great Jeep; not an SUV. Few negative gliches except for the handling, which couldn't have come in any other way considering the leverage given in other areas.