What ownership is like, what breaks at what mileage, what the repairs cost, and what to check before you buy one.
← All Jeep Grand Cherokee generations
NHTSA complaints per catalog listing run from 49.31 for 1998 (1,430 complaints across 29 listings) to 245.50 for 1993 (982 across 4), against a generation median of 90.30. Those rates are not comparable with newer cars: these Jeeps have had 28 years to collect complaints and we track only 4 to 29 listings per year, so one more or fewer listing moves a rate a lot. Our rule needs 30 listings, and no ZJ year reaches it, so no ZJ year is flagged. NHTSA owners most often name the power train, the hydraulic brakes and engine cooling.
| Miles | Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| age-driven | Cooling system on the 4.0L and V8 (radiator, water pump, thermostat, fan clutch) | Not verified - no source priced it; one forum buyer budgets 'an easy $1000' in the first 18 months across many parts | A ZJ wiki says the 4.0L and V8 run hot and tells buyers to inspect the radiator, water pump, thermostat, fan clutch and shroud. A forum buyer's list names radiator and water pump among the first things to replace. Check for coolant stains, a cracked shroud and a temperature gauge that climbs in traffic. |
| age-driven | Transfer case (NV249 Selec-Trac): viscous coupler and mode selector | $1,900-$2,700 (an owner's repair quotes on a 1995, posted in 2015) | A buying guide says the NV249 can have viscous coupler or mode selector trouble and tells buyers to test every 4WD mode. A RepairPal question from an owner of a 1995 reports quotes of $1,900 up to $2,700 for transfer case repair. That is an owner's report from 2015, not a current estimate. |
| any | Fuel tank in a rear impact (recall 13V252000) | Free at a Jeep dealer when the recall is open | NHTSA's record says Chrysler recalled 1993-1998 Grand Cherokees (and 2002-2007 Liberties) because the fuel tank is at risk of failure and leakage in certain rear impacts. Confirm the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. |
| age-driven | Body and underbody rust in northern climates | Not verified - no source priced a repair | The ZJ wiki names rocker panels, floorboards, rear quarter panels and subframe areas. Get the Jeep on a lift and tap the frame and mounts before you talk price. |
No year in this generation was flagged. A year is flagged by our rule only when all three hold: (1) its NHTSA complaints per catalog listing is at least 2.0x the median for its generation, (2) the share of ads that mention a problem is above the generation median, and (3) we track at least 30 listings for that year. The cutoff was fixed before we looked. Ad mentions are not failures, and a flag is a reason to inspect harder, not a verdict on any one car.
| Year | Complaints | Top components | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 982 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Structure, Power Train | |
| 1994 | 1,135 | Structure, Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Power Train | |
| 1995 | 1,334 | Power Train, Engine And Engine Cooling, Structure | |
| 1996 | 1,342 | Power Train, Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Engine And Engine Cooling | |
| 1997 | 1,380 | Power Train, Fuel System, Gasoline, Service Brakes, Hydraulic | |
| 1998 | 1,430 | Power Train, Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Fuel System, Gasoline |
source: NHTSA complaints database (api.nhtsa.gov). Complaints are owner reports, not confirmed failures.
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We don't tell you to skip a year; we flag by a fixed rule (see 'Years flagged'), and five years trip it: 1999, 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014. For 2011, NHTSA complaints are 9.59 per catalog listing (1,640 across 171) against a WK2 median of 2.43; 2012 is 8.22 and 2014 is 5.48. The ad-mention margins on the WK2 years are small. Stivers CDJR's dealer blog also names 2011-2014 as the years to be careful with. 2013 had a high complaint rate (5.00) but its ad rate equals the median, so it is not flagged.
RepairPal prices an air spring replacement at $1,865-$1,945. A Jeep Garage thread says $2,000-$4,000 depending on what needs replacing, and one 2011 Overland owner was quoted $8,000 by a dealer to fix the whole system. YourMechanic lists an air bag replacement from $327. Only Overland, Summit and some other trims have it, so check the build before you worry.
Go-Parts says shop quotes run $1,100-$1,900 because the intake manifold has to come off. A 2017 owner reported almost $900 for an aluminum aftermarket part at an independent shop. Autos of Chicago says the plastic housing cracks past 60,000 miles on the 2014-2021 3.6L, though that is one shop's view.
Owners report it. CarCareCamp says a 5.7 Hemi lifter replacement can cost up to $3,500, and two owner threads report $6,000 quotes on Grand Cherokees. RepairPal prices a camshaft replacement alone at $1,172-$1,545. We could not find a source that counts how many Hemi Grand Cherokees are affected, so we do not claim a rate.
ZJ 1993-1998, WJ 1999-2004, WK 2005-2010, WK2 2011-2021 and WL 2022 to the present (Vehicle Bright, Elk Grove CDJR, CarBuzz). Production-date sources such as EncyCARpedia run each a year later. Model year 2021 had both: the outgoing WK2 and the new three-row Grand Cherokee L, and Wikipedia says Jeep still sold the WK2 alongside the WL for 2022.
Both. Car and Driver reports the outgoing Grand Cherokee continued for 2021 while the new three-row Grand Cherokee L launched, and MoparInsiders dates L production to March 2021 and a two-row WL to August 2021. Our generations put every 2021 in the WK2, so the 2021 figures (506 NHTSA complaints across 208 listings, 2.43 per listing) cover both. Check the VIN and the body style before you read a WK2 or WL guide for a specific 2021.