Brakes for 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Nick1994]

Looking for opinions on good front brakes for my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4. Has 130k miles, same brakes on it as when we bought it at 102k. Good pad left and no shaking when braking.

They just don’t seem to have a lot of bite. Have had a couple emergency stops lately and they don’t hardly chirp the tires. They are Mopar pads, I could see the print on the back of them when I had the wheels off. Is it worth replacing the rotors or just doing a pad slap? Maybe Akebono pads?

 

[Jmlo96]

I put Akebonos on the rear of our 14 and they work well. The fronts we have only put one set of the Mopar OEM pads on because we were happy with them. If we still have the Jeep when it needs front brakes I’ll probably put Akebonos on.

 

[Rand]

too used to sporty vehicles? 5k+ lb gc isnt going to stop great unless you get SRT-8

That being said its possible they are glazed If you pad slap you might want to at least scotchbrite or sand the rotors lightly.

FWIW brake parts are so cheap from rockauto If I was going to take it apart. I would get new rotors and pads. Could also bleed the brake fluid no one ever does that.. and you bought it used?

 

[spasm3]

I would check out some jeep forums and see if you can do a brake swap. The 6.4 had bigger rotors, calipers. It might be a bolt on upgrade if it will clear your wheels.

The fact that the wheel bearings and hub are the same for the 3.6-6.4 makes me think its possible.

I put bigger rotors on my 2003 avalanche on the front from 10 inch to 12 inch, bigger calipers all from a 2014 tahoe listing, all bolt on.

 

[meep]

My 2008 Jeep GC had akebonos stock by the look of them. Akebono replacements felt exactly the same. they are not the grippiest pad in my experience, though they excel in low dust.

i wouldn’t hesitate to try raybestos element3 pads, or “Eht” (same thing), on it. They dust only a little, but it’s a gray, not rust, color. The pedal feel is excellent and they bite.

 

[Nick1994]

Thinking about Power Stop pads. I put some on my 15' Sonata and they were dusty, but there seems to be some more premium lines of Power Stop available too.

 

[Donald]

Less dust or more bite? Can't have both. I use Akebono ProAct pads in all my vehicles assuming I can get them. But I do not drive live a race car driver either. I drive kind of like a 68 year old man.

 

[atikovi]

Have had a couple emergency stops lately and they don’t hardly chirp the tires.

That's the ABS working. You can't lock up the tires anymore which is a good thing. You generate the greatest stopping power just on the verge of lockup but while the tires are still spinning, hence the chirping sound.

 

[Nick1994]

That's the ABS working. You can't lock up the tires anymore which is a good thing. You generate the greatest stopping power just on the verge of lockup but while the tires are still spinning, hence the chirping sound.

I feel like if I disabled the ABS that it couldn't lock them up. Just a lack of bite.

Glazed rotors maybe?

 

[atikovi]

Possible. Deglaze them with

 

[Nick1994]

Had to go out and change a flat tire on it just now, here's a pic.

I think I'm leaning on just starting fresh. View attachment 81294

 

[Dave9]

Is it worth replacing the rotors or just doing a pad slap?

I keep seeing people misuse the term "pad slap". A pad slap is a derogatory term where the brake technician didn't clean, derust, lube, nothing, just slapped new pads on in place of the old. That "pad slap" is never the right option, and has nothing to do with whether you replace the rotors due to them needing it or not. It's just a term for the mechanic doing the bare minimum possible to put "new brakes" on, to minimize time and maximize profit.

If your stock braking system is in good condition, good working order, it isn't supposed to chirp the tires. Automakers spent years researching minimal tire traction loss for ABS to work most effectively and a chirp is a failure for that to work as well as it could.

Maybe you drive agressively or haul loads down long mountain roads, then you might need a brake upgrade. I don't see any mention of that.

Replace the rotors if they are worn down too low or unevenly worn. If you do have a very demanding driving scenario and are potentially overheating the brakes, then it may be time to flush the brake fluid as well.

Without an extreme situation, your stock brake system in good working order does not need changed, certainly not for sane driving then a random emergency stop. If you pay loads of money trying to do it then abs kicks in anyway, you have not gained anything. Better tire traction to keep the wheels moving while the braking system absorbs that energy is the way to go if it's just for emergency stops, unless, again, if your brakes have some problem that could be fixed with stock/equivalent parts, or just some derusting and lube depending on what the situation is.

 

[GMBoy]

Wife has a 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4....I changed the OEM brake at the 80k mile mark (still had life left!) with my main go to pad - the Raybestos Element 3 EHT ceramic pads. They have been perfect and she has 130k now on them. They are silent, dust free and stop same or better than the OEM pads.

So - Raybestos element 3 is what I recommend but be sure to get the EHT version.

 

[demarpaint]

If it were mine I would use Raybestos Element3 pads and rotors.

 

[Skippy722]

I would check out some jeep forums and see if you can do a brake swap. The 6.4 had bigger rotors, calipers. It might be a bolt on upgrade if it will clear your wheels.

The fact that the wheel bearings and hub are the same for the 3.6-6.4 makes me think its possible.

I put bigger rotors on my 2003 avalanche on the front from 10 inch to 12 inch, bigger calipers all from a 2014 tahoe listing, all bolt on.

They bolt right on, but you’ll either need OEM SRT wheels to clear the calipers, wheel spacers with 20” wheels or 20” aftermarket wheels with the appropriate spacing (I can’t remember now off the top of my head).

I feel like if I disabled the ABS that it couldn't lock them up. Just a lack of bite.

Glazed rotors maybe?

My 2011 Durango was like that. The system is capable of locking them up as I learned the hard way once. Mine was under the brake booster recall and I had the booster partially failing (if I hit the brakes, let off, then hit them again I’d only have partial power brakes and ABS wouldn’t work) and managed to get them to lock up. New pads alone definitely improved the feel.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Mopar does sell a “value” line. I have no idea how good or bad they are, but maybe that’s what is on it now rather than OEM pads?

 

[Kuato]

Here, hope this helps:

 

[JTK]

If it were mine I would use Raybestos Element3 pads and rotors.

My recommendation as well. I installed them on the front of my 2019 Ram 1500 classic and wow what a difference in braking performance.

I also put them on the front of my wife's 2019 Nissan Pathfinder and she remarked on how "nice the brakes are". This is coming from a gal who does not notice these things. LOL.

 

[ad244]

Before throwing money at it, take everything apart and clean and grease. It doesnt take much time and you may be surprised at the benefits. I've done just this before only to find weird pad wear which was solved with a regrease and cleaning of the caliper pins. Measure the rotors while you're there.

 

[Jetronic]

Looking for opinions on good front brakes for my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4. Has 130k miles, same brakes on it as when we bought it at 102k. Good pad left and no shaking when braking.

They just don’t seem to have a lot of bite. Have had a couple emergency stops lately and they don’t hardly chirp the tires. They are Mopar pads, I could see the print on the back of them when I had the wheels off. Is it worth replacing the rotors or just doing a pad slap? Maybe Akebono pads?

I would think the GC has electronic brake dristribution? the ABS unit will limit brake pressure to any caliper that's about to go over a slip threshold. If you are tuned in to this you can feel it in the brake pedal, it suddenly goes harder if you try to brake progressively harder as you're pushing against a couple closed valves. This is done because threshold braking decreases the brake distance over ABS braking. EBD can limit or reduce brake fluid pressure to individual wheels. With the low amounts of slip that EBD allows you're not likely to get chirping.

Only when you truly mash the brake pedal down to the floor will the EBD not intervene and you get proper ABS activation. Which might also prevent tyres chirping.

And some tyres just don't chirp....

All this to say, is there really an issue? You can certainly increase the bite by changing to a more agressive pad, but you won't necessarily stop any sooner.