10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 54,483 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The heater on my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee only works approx. 25% of the time. The person I purchased it from said it only happened to her every so often, but that it had gotten worse. Since I've owned it, it has continued to get progressively worse. I'm concerned as winter is approaching and I'll need to see out the windshield and will need a heat defroster for it living here in Nebraska. This is a long known problem and I'm shocked that Chrysler has not recalled this problem as it poses major safety implications. I've worked on cars for 15 years and have never heard of a heater going bad. As any mechanic out there, heaters don't go bad unless the whole heater core is bad, in which case I'd have a floor full of anti-freeze, which I do not have. My Jeep has not lost an ounce of fluid and runs at perfect operating temperature. It's an obvious electrical problem that Jeep should be held accountable for! there are numerous posts on numerous forms with hoards of people having the same problem that Jeep is charging $1500 to fix. Talk about a scam!!!
- Springfield, NE, USA
My 2002 Grand Cherokee suddenly has no heat. The defroster works randomly and sometimes shuts down only blowing cold, outside air causing the window to fog up with no warning. After researching this issue online there are thousands of complaints about this, the dealer fix is to take off the dash ($1000+ in labor) to fix a $20 part. There are parts available online to do the fix yourself for $100. Seems to me that not only does Jeep know there is a factory default with their Jeep, they rip people off by charging exorbitant amounts of $$ to fix something simple. I searched through your database and there are pages and pages of complaints for the same issue. At this point I am going to fix it myself because I cant go through the winter without heat, but im sure as heck not going to take it to the dealer and get charged $2500. And im definitely never buying another GM car again.
- Hazlet, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the vehicle always swayed back and forth as if it were off balanced. While driving approximately 30 mph, she noticed that the engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument control panel. Smoke appeared from the vehicle. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the radiator fan cracked and caused the failure. The belt, radiator fan, thermostat, and water pump were repaired at the cost of $1,000. The manufacturer informed her of NHTSA campaign id number 06V199000 (engine and engine cooling: Cooling system: Fan); however, the contact never received a recall notice. The manufacturer only covered the expense of the fan, which was $265. The engine warning light is still illuminated on the instrument control panel and the air conditioning system does not work. The failure mileage was 91,000.
- Nutley, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact noticed that the heating and cooling system did not work. She called the local dealer and they instructed her to bring the vehicle in for inspection. While driving at an unknown speed to the dealer, she noticed freon rising from the instrument panel. As a result, other components of the engine and engine cooling system began to fail. The air conditioning and heater no longer worked. The dealer stated that not only had her blower motor and resister failed, but the heater core, evaporator core, actuator, and blend door (which no longer provided heat on the driver side of the vehicle) were corroded as well. The dealer further stated that the freon from the instrument panel originated from the evaporator core, indicating the presence of ethanol (toxic gas). The manufacturer has not offered any assistance and stated that the failures were due to lack of maintenance. Currently, the estimated cost that the contact has spent on repairs is $2,000. The vehicle is at the dealer and has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 91,000 and current mileage was 91,350.
- Dover, NH, USA
The heating/air conditioning system on 2002 Grand Cherokee was faulty. The vehicle has just over 65000 miles on it. I just had it repaired at a cost of over $1000 and it was still making noises that lead me to believe it will fail again. It wasnacceptable that a car company with as much experience as daimler Chrysler could not design a quality heating / air conditioning system.
- Kent, WA, USA
- the contact stated that when driving the 2002 Jeep grand at 45 mph on clear road conditions the air conditioner started to blow cold air on the passenger side. The problem occurred when he turned on the heater. Also caused cold air to blow onto the windshield. The cold air blew onto the windshield that caused the windshield to freeze. The contact was unable to see out of the windshield once it froze. When he attempted to turn the heater off it continued to blow cold air as long as the engine was running. The vehicle was being inspected by the dealership. The vehicle currently had 59000 miles.
- Cedar Falls, IA, USA
: the contact stated the air conditioning fan failed. There were no prior warnings prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the service dealer, who replaced the air conditioning fan.
- Sarasota, FL, USA
2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Steering wheel began making strange sounds. Steering gear and associated parts were replaced. Shortly after, strange sounds returned, the steering began to become completely unassisted at low speeds for a brief second. The problem causes quite a scare and causes temporary loss of control. This is associated with low speed idle. Damage is imminent without repair. This problem is well documented among Jeep chat rooms. Second well documented problem among Jeep owners. Faulty power window units that fail without warning and cause window to be stuck up or down. This causes driver to be forced to drive with open non responding windows in a variety of weather conditions, obvious safety and health hazard. Third chronic hazard well known to Jeep owners as well as Jeep. The blend doors on A/C consistently fail right after warranty period. This causes a failure of the defroster and obvious danger, as well as drivers are forced to drive with constant unheated airflow until costly repair. Jeep is well aware of these problems but refuses to acknowledge a consistent problem and offer correction for all affected vehicles.
- Etiwanda, CA, USA
After reading almost all complaints with other 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, I have to put in my two cents worth. I can relate to almost every complaint that there is. I just had both my front left and right window regulators replaced a month and a half apart, one just today at $327 with my employee discount. (I work for a car dealership) last month, I have had almost $500 worth of repairs for my power steering pump problems. I have had my brake rotors turned and resurfaced and am in need of doing it again. Then on the other hand, I have experienced problems with my dual control panel not working correctly which I have not have repaired yet because I don't have the money for that one and didn't know at the time that it was a problem. Then when my Jeep was under warranty I have had the air conditioner compressor replaced, new battery(for hard or no starting), amongst other repairs that I can't think of at the moment. I have also been experiencing hard starts with my truck and also the transmission not engaging or jumping (accelerating) while switching gears that the Jeep dealer has not been able to recognize as a problem. I feel that those new Chrysler commercials are not up to par as american and german engineering. Those germans know how to build vehicles in the first place and help repair them as the problem seem necessary.
- Ft Myers, FL, USA
Air conditioner was not blowing cold air. Dealership serviced vehicle. And technician noticed that evaporator core malfunctioned.
- Anderson, OH, USA
Air conditioner is blowing out of defroster ducks onto windshield. This causes water to build up on windshield, obstructing driver's view.
- New Port Richey, FL, USA
In hot weather air conditioner is on and it blows out water onto the windshield.this is very distracting.
- New Port Richey, FL, USA
- Albany, NY, USA