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 fall every year, from 22.07 for 2005 (2,052 complaints across 93 listings) to 2.23 for 2010 (118 across 53), against a generation median of 10.25. 2005 is 2.2 times that median, and 17 of 63 enriched ads (27.0%) mention a problem against a 23.6% median, and with the 'rust' flaw excluded it is 9 of 63 (14.3%) against 11.3%. With 93 listings it clears our minimum, so our rule flags 2005. Owners most often name the electrical system, then structure and the power train.
| Miles | Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| any | Transfer case electrical failure can shift into neutral (recall 13V175000) | Free at a Jeep dealer when the recall is open | NHTSA's record says a transfer case electrical failure may result in an unintentional shift of the transfer case into neutral, on 2005-2010 Grand Cherokees built from February 2004 to March 2010 (and Commanders). Confirm the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Separately, RepairPal prices a Grand Cherokee transfer case shift motor at $548-$1,198 across model years. |
| any | Ignition switch and the air bag system (recall 14V438000) | Free at a Jeep dealer when the recall is open | NHTSA's record says the defect can affect the safe operation of the air bag system, and until the recall is done drivers should leave clearance between the knee and the ignition key and carry only the key on the ring. It covers 2005-2007 Grand Cherokees built from February 2004 to July 2007. CarReliabilityReport tells WK buyers to make sure recalls, 'especially the N23 and the ignition switch', were handled. |
| not stated | Rear axle and differential failures on a 2005 5.7L (one owner's report) | Not verified - no source priced it | One BobIsTheOilGuy poster says their 2005 Limited 5.7L had rear differentials or housings replaced three or four times before the Jeep was bought back. That is one family's experience, not a pattern we can confirm. Listen for whine and clunk from the rear on the test drive. |
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.
Complaints add up over a car's whole life, so older years in a generation can look worse here than they are. Read this flag next to the complaint details below.
| Year | Complaints | Top components | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2,052 | Electrical System, Structure, Power Train | |
| 2006 | 1,297 | Electrical System, Power Train, Structure | |
| 2007 | 1,109 | Electrical System, Power Train, Engine | |
| 2008 | 734 | Electrical System, Engine, Power Train | |
| 2009 | 138 | Electrical System, Power Train, Engine | |
| 2010 | 118 | Electrical System, Engine, Power Train,electrical System |
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.