Problems · by component
2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee equipment problems
29 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee cite equipment, 2% of all 1,476 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
29
2% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
6
Reported by owners
What owners say about the equipment
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I FILED ORIGINAL OCT 4 2016 NHTSA COMPLAINT AND ALSO OBJECTED TO RESTRICTION NHTSA IMPOSED UPON COMPLAINT (2000 CHARACTERS IN TOTAL, AND TOTAL MB OF ATTACHMENTS 5MB OR LESS) BECAUSE OCT 4 2016 COMPLAINT IS INSUFFICIENT, INCOMPLETE. NHTSA INVESTIGATION REQUIRES MORE INFORMATION FROM ME (REPORTS, TESTIMONY, DOZENS OF CRITICAL POLICE PHOTOS) NECESSARY FOR NHTSA INVESTIGATION OF MY COMPLAINT. ON OCT 4 2016, I DEMANDED NHTSA INVESTIGATION UNIT CONTACT ME BY EMAIL, SO THAT I MAY DOCUMENT DATA MY SUBMISSION TO NHTSA, AS PART OF MY COMPLAINT. TO DATE, NHTSA REFUSES, IT HAS DONE NOTHING TO INVESTIGATE BECAUSE NHTSA STONEWALLS ME FOR INFORMATION. NHTSA INVESTIGATION UNITS ENDANGERS PUBLIC SAFETY WITH DELIBERATE LACK OF DATA, RESULTING IN BOGUS NON-INVESTIGATION. ON OCT 11 2013, 2002 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO, VIN NO [XXX], HAD VEHICLE MALFUNCTION EVENT, UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, HIGH SPEED START, HIGH IMPACT AND HIGH ENERGY COLLISIONS, DEFECTIVE BTSI (BRAKE TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERRUPTER), NO BRAKE THROTTLE OVERRIDE, NO SAFEGUARDS TO STOP VEHICLE, HIGH RATE OF SPEED CRASHING OVER AND OVER, IN THROTTLE WIDE OPEN, NO SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE UPGRADE TO STOP OR PREVENT UNUSUAL…”
“THE VENTILATION SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING CORRECTLY, IN THE FACT THAT THE AIRFLOW WHETHER IT IS HOT OR COLD IS OBSTRUCTED SOMEHOW. HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO KNOW WHAT MY OPTIONS ARE. YES THERE IS A NOISE COMING FROM THE DASHBOARD, SOUNDING LIKE A MACHINE WINDING DOWN. PLEASE HELP ME. *JS”
“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!!! *TR”
“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 JEEPS, 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. *TR”
“IN MARCH, 2005, WITH 59,000 MILES, MY 2002 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE OVERLAND, WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN AUGUST 2002, NEEDED A NEW REAR DIFFERENTIAL. A REPLACEMENT WAS ALSO NEEDED AT 80,000 (JULY 2006), 86,000 (MARCH 2007), AND 98,000 (APRIL 2008). AS OF THIS WRITING, THE DEALER HAS HAD THE VEHICLE FOR OVER 3 WEEKS. IN REPLACING FIRST THE BEARINGS, THEN THE GEARS, AND THEN THE "ENTIRE REAR END", THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT CHRYSLER HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. NO ONE AT THE 800 NUMBERS CAN OFFER ANY SOLUTIONS. I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY, SO THE REPAIRS HAVE BEEN COVERED, MINUS MY $100 DEDUCTIBLE. BUT, I DON'T THINK THE NUMBER OF REPAIRS IS QUESTIONABLE. I'VE FOUND A NUMBER OF SITES WITH OTHER INDIVIDUALS REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM ON THIS PARTICULAR BODY STYLE/MODEL. PERHAPS THERE IS A WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM.. *TR”
“TL*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.”
Showing 6 of 29 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.