Faults:

2000 Cherokee bought used in 02'. Having the vibration from 50 to 55 miles per hour. bought stabilizer, helped slightly for a few weeks then got worse. Bought some new tires and the vibration almost went away, just a very slight and acceptable vibration. After 3 months with the tires, its coming back. My guess is that it is a combination of things.

I am also having the passenger side window switch problem. It only works for the passenger once in a while.

Air condition works for 10 minutes then shuts off.

Faults:

Air conditioning went at about 40000 k. Replaced AC compressor pulley assembly.

Replaced you joints at 62000K.

Replaced purge cellinoid at 52000k.

New tires at 73000k.

Vinyl ripped under driver's seat.

General Comments:

Reliable and not too expensive to repair.

I find, as with everything, you are your own best advocate and I've had to push the mechanics to find the problems and fix them.

Just got 4 brand new tires and that has solved all the "jitters" I felt in the steering wheel.

Love the boxy styling, has never let me down.

Faults:

Hatch lock was broken when purchased; dealer replaced as part of sale.

Latch on centre armrest lid was broken. New part was $9 at the dealer and I replaced it in their parking lot.

Brake discs went at around 95,000 miles. Got aftermarket replacements and pads; seem to be holding up OK.

Right front main speaker has no sound, but the tweeter (this one has the factory Infinity sound system) still makes noise. Opposite problem on left front. Speakers are OK, seems to be a wiring problem I need to investigate further.

Air conditioning system blew the high-pressure hose leading into the compressor at around 105,000 miles. Suspect an obstruction in the system.

2000 model-year Cherokees with the 6-cylinder engine had a recall for heat soak causing rough idling on warm starts courtesy of the #3 injector getting too warm. The fix was to put a heat shield on top of the intake manifold. The heat shield has mostly disintegrated, so the problem occasionally recurs. The dealers have been no help whatsoever in sourcing a replacement, so I'm probably going to end up ordering heat wrap and fixing the issue that way.

Power seat switches decide when they do and don't want to operate; appears to be an issue with the (sealed-unit) switches themselves, not the wiring. The window lock has a similar issue, which is annoying for passengers if they want fresh air. Everything still works from the driver's switch panel, however.

General Comments:

I'm a huge fan of the Cherokee, having bought this one to replace my totalled 2001 Sport. It hasn't been as reliable overall as the old one, but the previous owner wasn't as strict on maintenance as they had been with my previous vehicle - there was an inch of muck in the bottom of the coolant overflow bottle when I got it, for example, and the transmission fluid was easily 20,000 miles past where it needed to be changed.

Having said that and the issues above aside, it's been a great workhorse and desert / mountain basher. Power is excellent for its size, and I've regularly towed medium-sized cars behind it on a flat trailer with no real problems.

Off-road ability is fantastic: people are always surprised at the places you can get a stock Cherokee into and out of again, having considered them to be a grocery-getter cousin to the Wrangler. Quite frankly, the Cherokee is a lot better to live with than a Wrangler in terms of noise, on-road manners, and cargo space, and has nearly as wide a variety of options available for modification.

Fuel economy isn't great: mine averages around 16mpg - but I'm willing to live with that because of what the rest of the package offers.

As a general-purpose, do-everything workhorse that won't beat you up while using it, it's easy to see why these vehicles remained consistently popular over their 17-year lifespan. There's nothing in the current Jeep lineup that compares, and I plan on holding on to mine until it explodes.