294 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee cite power train, 21% of all 1,380 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“The contact owns a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power, prompting her to attempt to stop the vehicle. After which, with the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard, the vehicle failed to stop, only coming to a complete stop after going off the road into a drainage ditch and rolling over on its roof. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed from the scene but not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. A police report was not filed. No injuries were reported. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 250,000.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 02V053000 (POWER TRAIN) AND 13V252000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, STRUCTURE); HOWEVER, THE PARTS FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION WAS FAILING AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO LOSE POWER. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE GALANTA CHRYSLER DEALER WHO STATED THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE DUE TO NO PARTS BEING AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 165,893. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.”
“VEHICLE HAS HARD STARTS AND FREQUENT HESITATION AND STALLING, AT ALL SPEEDS CITY STREET DRIVING AS WELL AS HIGHWAY DRIVING. I HAVE HAD A NEW DISTRIBUTOR CAP, ROTOR, PLUGS, WIRES, COIL, INSTALLED, YET SYMPTOMS PERSIST. SUDDEN DECELERATION AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IS A SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS CONDITION. MY RESEARCH SUGGESTS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE JEEP CHEROKEE XJ. I NARROWLY ESCAPED A CRASH ON A BUSY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY THIS MORNING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS. JEEP OUGHT TO BE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, YET THERE SEEMS TO BE NO REMEDY FOR OWNERS. I WOULD AT LEAST LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. POSSIBLE REMEDIES (FROM MY RESEARCH) INCLUDE MULTIPLE PARTS AND MANY HOURS OF LABOR: O2 SENSOR, THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR, CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR, PLUGS, WIRES, CAP, ROTOR, FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR, ENGINE CONTROL MODULE, ALTERNATOR, NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH, BALLAST RESISTOR, TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, TORQUE CONVERTOR, POWER CONTROL MODULE, TRANSMISSION CONTROL SOLENOID, ETC. WHAT IS CAUSING ALL OF THESE VEHICLES TO STALL DANGEROUSLY?”
“ENGINE STALL/SHUT OFF ON A HIGHWAY AT 70 MILES/HR IN CENTER LANE OF A FIVE LANE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY WITH PLENTY OF GAS IN THE TANK. HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES ON DIFFERENT DAYS. I'M ORIGINAL OWNER. HEAVY FAILURE ANALYSIS DONE. ALLEGE THAT JEEP CUT CORNERS THAT RISK DRIVER SAFETY. THEY USED AND MAY STILL BE USING CHEAP CHINESE MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS IN THEIR PROGRAM CONTROL MODULES (PCM). FRED BAILEY FATAL ACCIDENT IS TELLING. HIS JEEP SHUT DOWN ON A BRIDGE. PLENTY OF GAS IN THE TANK. TRACTOR TRAILER PLOWS INTO THE BACK OF THIS JEEP (LIKE MINE). THE GAS TANK EXPLODES AND HE DIES. WWW.DYINGJEEP.COM SHOWS A JEEP VIDEO ACTUALLY DOING THE STALL/DIE ROUTINE. WWW.JEEP FORUM.COM HAS LITERALLY THOUSANDS ON POSTS/THREADS BY ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED OWNER WHO HAVE EVEN MUCH NEWER JEEPS THAT DO THE SAME THING. I PAID A LOT OF MONEY TO KEEP MY JEEP IN WORKING CONDITION. IT IS WORTH ABOUT $3,000 IF IT WAS RELIABLE. I DID THE FUEL TANK RECALL. BROUGHT IN THE JEEP. IT ALREADY HAD A TOW PACKAGE INSTALLED. THEY KEEP THE JEEP FOR HOURS. LIKELY DID NOTHING TO IT UNDER THE RECALL. DIDN'T GIVE ME $100 GIFT CARD. EDMONDS VALUE OF MY CAR WITH 247,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER IS LESS THAN $1,000.…”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V252000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, STRUCTURE) AND STATED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE WITHIN A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME TO SCHEDULE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER DID NOT GIVE A SPECIFIC DATE FOR WHEN THE PART WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER COULD NOT PROVIDE AN ESTIMATED DATE FOR WHEN THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WOULD RECEIVE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS ALSO INCLUDED IN TWO OTHER RECALLS THAT THE DEALER DID NOT MENTION FOR YEARS NOR DID THEY EXPLAIN THE REASON THE REPAIRS WERE NOT COMPLETED FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 02V053000 (POWER TRAIN) AND 97V194000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE CONTACT WAS NOT EXPERIENCING A FAILURE. UPDATED 12/03/15*LJ *CN”
“1997 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO RECALL NOTICES #13V-252 AND #02V-053. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN THE PART FINALLY ARRIVED, ONE BUSINESS SAID THE BOAT TRAILED HITCH WAS NOT SUFFICE, AND THE JEEP DEALER STATED THE PART DID NOT NEED TO BE REPLACED. *JB”
Showing 6 of 294 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, IF A DRIVER HAS NOT PLACED THE SHIFTER LEVER FULLY INTO THE "PARK" POSITION AND LEAVES THE VEHICLE RUNNING, THE VEHICLE MAY UNEXPECTEDLY MOVE REARWARD AFTER SEEMING TO BE STABLE.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.