1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Summary:

Brake disaster

Faults:

The brakes on this car are horrible. I've had the car for 2 years and I am on the 3 set of rotors.

Steering wheel was shaking so I brought the car to the dealer. I needed new u-joints, front and back brake pads and they machined all my rotors. Yesterday the steering wheel started shaking when I went over bumps. I thought I had a flat tire. It kept shaking for about 5 seconds after the bump. Not sure what that will be, but I didn't happen before I took the car to the dealer.

I had an incident where I was driving on the highway during a downpour. I went through a large puddle at a high rate of speed, and when I went to apply the brakes they didn't work for a few seconds. Kind of scary, but dealer says it's "normal" when water gets into the brakes.

I also have the problem where the anti-lock brakes kick in when I go over a bump and brake at the same time. You lose your brakes for a moment, but I've learned to not brake over bumps!!

General Comments:

This car has serious brake issues and I would never buy a Jeep again. It is a dangerous vehicle in my opinion.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th July, 2003

4th Dec 2003, 22:13

Sounds like you needed to change pads more often than you did?? also ABS functions a lot different than your typical old fashion piston caliper brake lines. be realistic stick to the facts and leave the opinions for the water tank at work.

13th Jan 2004, 22:35

I have Grand Cherokee TSI 98 and have exactly the same problem. I changed brake pads before 2000km and still braking is awful and some noises are heard when the car is cold. Steering is a little shaky. I have been told this is because it is full time 4x4. I am getting scared to drive this car and try to sell it now.

6th Apr 2004, 09:04

I have a 1998 Grand Cherokee TSi and the front end shakes after hitting a bump. Most of the time, when it starts shaking, it gets very violent and I have to pull over to make it stop! No mechanic can seem to find anything wrong. I have not had the rotors replaced... could this be the problem?

12th Nov 2004, 09:40

I had the same shaking problem with my Jeep, after numerous times of taking it to the mechanic we finally figured out that the stabilizer in the front of the Jeep needed to be replaced. You might have them try that next. It wasn't too expensive.

6th Feb 2005, 10:55

"I had an incident where I was driving on the highway during a downpour"

Getting water on the brakes of any car, would cause them to act like that.

20th Oct 2005, 19:04

Re: Going through a puddle would make any car act like that.

Not true, clearly not every car acts like that, at least not the cars I have owned.

17th Sep 2006, 01:23

Actually if the water gets in between the pad and the rotor, it can happen to any car. Also, keep in mind that barreling through any sizable puddle at a high rate of speed creates other problems. It's a nice way to ensure that you'll have to realign your wheels.

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0 I6

Summary:

Man's best friend in ND!

Faults:

Nothing so far :) Haven't had it long enough anyways.

General Comments:

People who have Jeeps know it is a love hate relationship. I had a 93 Gr Cherokee for some time and then on one bad day I decided to sell it and get something different. So I ended up getting a 98 mountaineer with low miles. It was heckuva deal though. The dealer was asking for 13500. I wanted to end the deal so I said I could not pay more than 10K and hung up. She called minutes later saying hey, come pick it up!!! Anyways to cut a long story short I will never buy anything Ford again. It is for fat middleaged semi-rich who want something which is bigger than their neighbors'. So I traded it in for a 98 Gr Cherokee a week later. I missed my girl when we broke up, but I had withdrawl from the Jeep!!!

This thing is so fun to drive. I have heard about the quality and reliablilty problems, but never had any myself so far. All I did on the 93 was replacing a speed sensor. The 98 is going strong.

In the part of the country I live in, having it is next best thing to being God. It is SOOOOO good on snow covered roads. I never installed a block heater. It started right up every morning. Temps get 15 to 30 below in winter and I was parked in the lot full of snow.

It may not be as comfortable as your Buick, but it rocks. I plan to keep the 98 for a couple years and save money to buy a newer model afterwards;)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd July, 2003