I am to signing on the dotted line on a 2001 Jeep Cherokee.  I'm used to a full sized GMC extended cab 4x4, so this smaller Jeep will take some getting used to.

I'd like to hear from some of you who have experience with Jeep Cherokees.  This is not the Grand Cherokee yuppie mobile, it is a Cherokee Sport 4x4 with the in-line 6 cylinder engine and automatic tranny.

What say ye - ?

Thanks,

Bud

Friend had one-no offense, but it seemed kinda cheap/cheesy compared to say a blazer.  It just seemed like everything was cheapo plastic and the doors were very light compared to blazer.  I am sure the blazer costs more though.

Happiest day of my life was the day someone bought mine and drove it away.
Then the bastid has the nerve to come back and ask for advice concerning HIS Jeep. I told him to get that pos out of my driveway and park it on the street, He looked hurt.
I had just cleaned the last bit of oil that that thing leaked all the time. All the subsystems took a dive at one point and just plain stunk up the driveway.

I have no experience with the Sport, but did purchase a used 1993 Grand Cherokee V8 in 1995 and can tell you that it's a fine, reliable vehicle.  We live off a rough dirt road, and Mr. Jeep gets put to the test constantly, with no problems.  Good Luck.

az_paul

One of my buddies at work bought a New Jeep Grand Cherokee limited V8 at the same time I bought my new Nissan Pathfinder LE.

His has been in the shop with electrical and tranny problems 7-8 times, and that is a $38,000 vehicle!  My Pathfinder hasen't had any problems.  Consumer Reports also rates the Grand Cherokee as THE least reliable vehicle.

As for the regular Cherokee, my finaces father has a 95 and hasen't had any major problems.  I have driven it and I have to say I hate it.  The tranny area pushes to far into the footwell, the brakes suck, the back seat is hard to get in and out of and everything looks like plastic.

Personally, I never buy American for the reliablity and quality issues.  If you must buy American, get a Ford Explorer or new Escape.

It's all personal preference and experience I guess, I've driven Explorers and Jimmy's(Blazer's) and they both ride like dogs compared to a Grand Cherokee with just the 6 cylinder.

The nicest riding SUV out of the 4 I've driven IMO was the Durango with the 5.9 V8.

Owned a 93 with a standard shift for a while, my only complaint was that the speedometer cable broke on a regular basis.  The in-line six is an awesome engine!  LOTS of torque for pulling through mud and snow.  I'd like to get the truck version in the future...

shaz-the blazer is NOT comparable to the Grand cherokee- also thr durango is the ultimate gas hog of all SUVs-including even some full size.

Go here: [url]http://www.carreview.com/reviews/suv/[/url]

Read the reviews from many different owners.

Wish I went there before I bought my Blazer...

Fucking American cars...

It's a Jeep.  You have to be willing to accept some idiosyncrasies.

I had a Cherokee Sport with the Offroad Package and every option, but leather seats.  I had what I'd call a love hate relationship with the vehicle.  It has a nice sporty feel for an SUV.  It is not like being in a big Expedition or Yukon.  Even with all the options it will never be as luxurious as the big SUV's and it won't tow as much.  That said, It is a far better off road vehicle than the big SUV's or the "Sport-cutes" from Honda and the like.  The Cherokee has nice clean lines that always appealed to me and have a timeless classic look.  I'd say it is one of the more manly looking SUV's on the road, despite it's smaller size.  

On the negative side, your back seat passengers will tell you what a friendly vehicle it is, 'cause it wipes their butt every time they get in and out.  The hump for the rear wheel coupled with the high step up, really requires your backseaters to be on the agile side.  Another negative is the full sized spare cuts into your cargo space, especially if you opt for the larger tire/wheel combo that comes with the Offroad package.  As others have noted, the Cherokee's trim is slightly on the cheesey side compared to more upscale SUV's.  They do have a pretty kick ass stereo option available (that is one of the things I miss most about mine).  My final grip was my Cherokee also squeaked like gaggle of pigs at the feeding trough(that's why the good stereo is so important).

Now all things considered, I'm not sure that I wouldn't do it again, if I were buying a SUV in that price range.  For the money, I think the Cherokee is probably the best "real" offroad vehicle in it's price class, and is better than most in all classes.  

I went the opposite direction from you, from the Cherokee, to a F250 4X4 Supercab.  I moved to a rural area where I have to haul the trash to the dump weekly.  Having week old trash in your vehicle sux so a pickup was the order of the day.  I also need to pull a trailer to move my bikes and take the tractor in for service.

Depending on how you use your vehicle, may have more of a problem adjusting than I did.

Thanks for all of the input thus far.  I did not mention that it is my intent to drive this for a couple of years and then pass it down to my teenagers.  My 16 year old daughter is intimidated by the size of my current truck (which I offered to give her), so I decided to "downsize" for a few years and then pass this on to the rest of the kids as they get older.  I

Has anyone had problems with brakes on their Cherokee?  I keep hearing that that some Cherokees like to eat calipers and rotors on a too-frequent basis.

I appreciate your comments.

Bud

I have a 1994 Cherokee sport 4x2 with 108,000 miles. Great vehicle, no surprises, or major problems. Six cylinder is reliable, tranny by Renault works and hasn't broke. Cooling system has been good, only one water pump replaced, radiator is still in excellent condition. Mine looks new, engine compartment is detailed cleaned every six months. Replaced oil pan gasket and O-rings in filter assembly recently after spotting leakage, oil tight now. I have good opinion on Jeep products.

Also, brakes are still original and were checked last week and were in great shape but then I'm easy on brakes, no dragging, just braking when braking is needed,

I had a 1990 Cherokee bought new and put 175,000 miles on it with no significant problems. I sold it for $2500 when I bought my new "yuppie" Grand Chereokee Limited July of 1999.  This now has 54,000 trouble free miles on it and the V-8 honks.  I use it to blow off real yuppies in their BMWs.  

Had one. Got rid of it. Total POS. Never again will one of these monstrosities darken my driveway. Besides, they are for chicks. (nomex on). [:D]

I've got a 94 cherokee with 80,000 miles. Runs great, the inline six has plenty of horsepower and torque. Mines well built and has run alot of the trails at moab, didn't see many blazers there on the tough trails :). Even with the automatic transmition it handles large tires well. Check and see which rear end it has and what gearing. You can step up to a heavier dana 44 axle and go with a limited slip in the rear end. This will make it much more trail worthy. With a few mods. you can give it quite a bit more power and fuel economy, I'm getting 24 mpg with a decent lift kit and tires.  There is a tremendous amount of aftermarket toys for the jeep, try finding all those toys for a blazer or exploder!!  BTW, the cherokee is discontinued as of this year, they are introducing a new model called the liberty that will be out this fall. It looks like a rig to compete with the xtera and other wanabees. It doesn't have a solid axle in the front which is realy going away from the jeep tradition of tough off-road vehicles. With that in mind you may be able to deal a little better since this is a closeout unit you are looking at. E-mail me for any specific ??

idaho-ar15

I've got a 1990 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 with auto., and the in-line six 4.0 litre engine.

It's got about 185,000 miles, with no problems.

When it does develop problems, I'll get a new one just like it.

Eric The Hun

The short wheelbase is handy.  It can make incredibly tight turns, better than most compact cars, and the 6 has adequate power.

Mine has 180,000 miles on it and is twelve years old.  Had some transmission problems a few years ago, which took about $750 to fix.  The emergency brake never passes inspection and has to be fixed evey year.  Those are the only significant mechanical problem, which I consider a very good record.

All lot of the little things, like the electric windows, have failed in the last couple of years.  A door also fell off.  But none of these problems arose withing the first 10 years.

I do not think it is as well made as my Chevy (I looked at the Chevy's door, and the attachment is much stronger), but the Jeep is much more compact and easier to drive around town.  Because of the short wheel base, it rides pretty rough though.

People have had big problems with the paint jobs; I am not sure if they have that ironed out.

My mom's Cherokee had an electical fire and it blew up.  She got an Explorer after that, which had a series of transmission problems.

I had a 97 SE 4x4 4dr.  I liked the way it drove and the milage was good for the 4.0 six.  It was too light to do much towing which is prob why it got good mileage.  I had it two years and it did fine.  The only bad thing about it was it started leaking water in the interior from somewhere.  The dealer supposedly fixed it but I traded it before I could find out.  No major problems.

That reminds me.  Mine Also leaked.  I traced it to the rear door and the dealer found my vehicle had left the factory sans the gasket seals around the upper tailgate hinges.  Water just got funneled in every time it rained.  They had to remove the tailgate and install the gasket material, but I never had an issue after that.

Mine was a 97 and I traded in late 99 w/ about 38k on the odo.

We have two Cherokee Sports...a 96 four door and a 99 two door...both 2WD V6s and we have not had the slightest of problems with either of them.  Both have worked great for us, and I don't regret buying either for one minute.

Had a 1997 Cherokee Sport 4dr 4x4 with a manual transmission - POS. Everytime I took it in for an oil change, I had them fixing something else. The clutch failed at about 10k miles. I got it back after they fixed it, they forgot to put the transfer case back together, so when I pulled that lever nothing happened - bad feeling. Various electrical and accessory problems were continuous. At 56k miles I was driving back from Las Vegas and was within about 30 miles of home. I went to drop out of 5th gear and the stick wouldn't move. I had to kill the engine, coast to a stop, and call roadside. The mechanic said that the 5th gear had actually exploded all over the gear box. That was about $1700 in repairs. I fixed it, drove it away from the mechanic, and onto a Ford dealership. Picked up a Ranger 4x4 supercab, and I've been very very happy with that.

-Andy

I still have a 92 cherokee with 120,000 miles, the only money I've spent on it is brakes,tires, and shocks.  The straight six will run forever.  If your going to tow a medium sized fishing boat it will be hard to beat with another compact suv.  I also had a Jeep squad.  It took a beating and kept running.

My wife bought a new 96 Grand Cherokee Laredo before we married.

I really like the vehicle and since I have driven Eddie Bauer Explorers for comparison I have to say the the Cherokee is ver very nice.

She got the leather and the infinity system and all but the only prob. I have with ours is that my wife did not get the V8 or the 4x4.

Other than that it has been a very good. Have drive to Michigan and to Florida in it and find it very comfortable to travel in.

You should really enjoy yours.

Update.

The dealer just called.  To move this out, they will go to $100 over invoice.  On top of that, I get the $1000 rebate plus either 0.9% or 2.9% APR depending on length of the contract.

Decision time....

96 Sport here. 4x2, and other than a few little MINOR issues, it's great!  The minor quirks are simple little things, like the warning light that you are low on windshield wiper fluid starts blinking and annoying when the bottle is half empty.  Stuff like that...

I'm bummed that they're gonna kill the line, but I'll be praying that they'll bring it back.  Otherwise, I'll be inspecting the rest of their line for a suitable replacement.  

i have 1999 Cherokee Sport 4x4 with all the bells and whistles.  
Good side
Great gas milage, fun to drive, can go just about anywhere I want with it, Easy to park, Not to big, Not to expensive,
Bad side
Power window have broken twice already, It has less than 15,000 on it
warped rotors
Came from the factory with the front end out of alignment
The warranty has taken care of these problems But?? who knows whats next.
Not much leg room

Overall not a bad vehicle and at least its an American made product.

sportsmans supply

Your rotors where likely warped from uneven tightening of the wheel lugs. When ever I have had one of the tire monkeys at the shop mess with them I loosen all the lugs  and retighten with a torque wrench.  This info. came from the jeep newsgroup a while back.

idaho-ar15

IDAHO AR15 You have a good point there. I still think my wife waits till the last minute before she stops to apply the brakes. To much heat. I will try out your suggestion. Thanks Gary

hey bud

i had a 1997 cherokee sport up-country and i loved it.  dealer service blew, but overall my experience was good with my first american built car.  i now have a 99 discovery and i really like that too - but the jeep had it's pluses.  trucks should be square!  anyway, if you do get it and live in so cal - let me know asap as i have some extras i will give you from mine.  

steve

steve

That is the best available package for the Cherokee. The inline 4.0L 6cyl is a strong reliable engine. Way better than their little V8.

I have a 90 with 4.0 and auto tranny.
170,000 miles
leakes nothing
burns nothing
Good power, good handling, the ride is a little stiff but that is what comes with solid axles.  My wife( its hers) has had it in snow up to the door pulls and didn't get stuck. She swears her next vehicle will be another cherokee.

Hey Bud,

I say go for it.  I have a '90 4.0 2wd 5spd with about 125k.  Had problems with the tailgate leak and had my fuel injectors crap out on me but other than that it has never let me down.  I average 20mpg and on the  freeway get 23-24.  It is a managable size and fairly functional.  Suspension is tougher than most of the new stuff out there.  Just pounds the back a bit on bumpy roads.  My wife keeps trying to get me to sell it and get something new but I have yet to find a reason.  It is great for the dogs as well.  I think they are one of the best bargain SUVs out there right now.  Pull the trigger man.

I have a '98 6 cylinder with 2 wheel drive.  Haven't had any problems with it.  Installed a tow package and an auxilliary transmission cooler for towing my flatbed trailer.  Runs great, and hauls a lot more toys than my Geo.

DO IT!

I have two of them, basically identica.  I bought my 87 used a coupleof years ago (4.0, AT, 4WD) and haven't regretted it at all.  It is easy to work on (unlike damn near anything else!) has OUTSTANDING hauling and tow capacity, and great handling for a lifted truck.  My wife liked mine so much we found her 89 about six months later, same drivetrain.

 If you want to get more info on the Cherokee from owners, see us over at www.naxja.org.

FreeFireZone

5-90, NAXJA member #215

I love my grand cherokee have had chevys they were not to bad no experince with fords

Alright, guys, it's a done deal.  Looks like I'm a newly baptized member of the Jeep fraternity.

Although quite a bit smaller than my old pickup, this little thing is fun!  Its the 60th Anniversary edition (whatever that means).  My wife commandeered it to "run a few errands" within 5 minutes of my arrival home.

Thank you very much for all of your input.  Hey, Steve, I'm in Texas, but I truly appreciate the offer of the "extras".  Maybe a road trip to Cali is called for sometime in the future!  [;)]

Now I get to check out some new websites on Jeep.  Just what I need, another $$$ hobby!   [:D]

Bud

Just goes to show you that some people can have problems with just about anything and other never have problems at all.  I guess it depends on what you call a problem. Anyway I've had Jeep's, Dodge's, Chevy's and Ford's. Have never had a major problem with any of them and I drive the crap out of them.

I had one a while ago.  It was a very capable vehicle that did great double duty as a "station wagon" type vehicle.  Jeeps have a pretty well known reputation of having little things go wrong with them.  Little aggrevating things, but rarely anything major.

I would opt for the best warranty you can get as well.  Any probelms you'll have are usually the result of poor workmanship or faulty components.  You'll probably have to take it in a couple of times for little things.  Seems par for the course with new Jeeps.  Still, nothing major ever seems to break.  Just chump stuff, like idiot lights working or not, or whatever.  

The good thing is the old Cherokees remained true to the off-road capability of the Jeep moniker.  Can you buy a better off-road vehicle?  Yes, but probably not at that money.  Should you settle for a vehicle that will have to have warranty work done to it?  You shouldn't have to, but that's the way most American cars are nowdays.  All things considered, the combination of performance, comfort, and price makes the Jeep Cherokee a great buy.

Ross  

Had an '86 4x4,4dr,4.0l,5-speed. Bought it new and got a smokin' deal on it. Salesman thought he was selling us an '85 leftover. Heard he got is ass chewed good by the manager. We 4-wheeled the hell out of that truck in CA. Besides nickel/dime stuff,only major thing we had fixed was the transfer case. Had 170k miles on it when we traded it in. Sometimes I wish we kept it just for 4-wheeling. [:(]

Bud, My wife has a '97 Grand Cherokee Ltd. I know, not the model you're looking at. But her's  does have the same engine; straight 6 with select-trac. She has 62,000 miles on it and we haven't had a problem yet. Just keeps going. The 8 has more hp. but the six is no dog. We've pulled a large pop-up camper through hilly PE at 70 mph with out straining at all. My first Chrysler product and I've been pretty impressed. My only complaint is that I may never use that 100K mile extended warrantee I paid extra for.