Faults:

1) All A/C actuators/valves failed - repair is near impossible as the dash needs to be removed so hacking is inevitable here (cutting holes in A/C ducts and joining hot/cold air doors together etc).

2) Starter fails to engage on 1 out of 10 starts - repaired but still fails, live with it (Chrysler should have used a Bosch starter, not go cheap with one of theirs).

3) Read axle oil leak (diff oil) - replaced.

4) Extreme noise from both front drive shaft CV joints - replaced.

5) Heated seats don't work - live with it.

6) Diesel injectors (Bosch) replaced - have to drop the entire engine and gearbox down, so hacking (cutting a hole in the body near the wipers) is inevitable.

7) Poor corrosion protection.

8) Power steering hoses leak - replaced (hydraulic engine fan using steering pump... come on Chrysler who does that???)

9) Heating fluid circulation pump driven by the belt fails - live without it.

10) A/C cooling agent leaks and needs refill every 3 months - leak cannot be found, so refill every June and hope to last till the end of hot days.

11) Engine glow plugs short and solder themselves to the head - replacing is impossible as you need to take the head down... so I live with 4 good out of 5 now.

12) Engaging low gears is impossible with a running engine (have to stop, switch and start engine).

13) Remote locks control hardly works from a meter of distance and the alarm will not sound when armed and the door gets opened.

14) Alternator pulley fails to rotate free in the opposite direction and a squeak is heard whenever you stop the engine - needs replacing.

15) Power windows and locks failed - bad contact at the door hinge connector.

ALL that is just for 1 year of having this Jeep and 13,000km.

General Comments:

Pretty much everything Jeep/Chrysler in this car will fail around 10 years of age or sooner. The Mercedes engine will hold longer, but injectors need replacing and this is EXPENSIVE. Cars come to Bulgaria to die and this Jeep came in young at about 10 years of age from Italy. I don't think it will live long.

Still it's great off the road, spacious, good looking and good value, but you have to be a professional or amateur mechanic to keep it going after the warranty :)

Faults:

I have replaced oxygen sensors twice.

Air/Fuel Mixture sensor.

Shock absorber all round.

Catalyser needed replacing.

The rear right window and the front right door lock mysteriously stopped working.

The air conditioning does not work at all.

The brakes seem to have a life of their own.

General Comments:

I recently purchased my aged Grand Cherokee and even though I know a fair bit about cars and how they work, I started thinking that I had bought a complete dud. That is until I spent a few hours reading the other reviews on this web page and realized that as Jeeps go, mine is actually not too bad. I have clocked 5000 miles and today is the 6th trip to the mechanics. We are hopefully going to find the cause for the rough idling at stoplights and the high fuel consumption.

After shopping around for an SUV to make driving on bad Bulgarian roads a little more bearable, I had finally narrowed it down to two choices, the Jeep and a diesel Nissan Patrol. As I drive a Nissan 4x4 Pickup I decided that the Patrol was too much like my other car and decided on the Jeep. Woe the day I moved away from Japanese dependability and decided to buy this oversized and over engineered horror. Every trip is fraught with worry. Will I get there?? Will it stop when I apply the brakes?? Will I be able to turn into the parking space without the front end sounding like its tearing itself to pieces?? And most recently: Will I get the doors unlocked?? Make no mistake, I do actually enjoy driving the car, but I have had to teach myself to accept certain things with the more universal approach of: It is what it is.

In spite of the problems others are having and I am expecting to have, I have decided to give the Jeep another shot and when my patience finally fails me, I will, at least, have built a solid relationship with my mechanic.