Jeep Grand Cherokee opinions

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I have never driven a GC 3.7. We have a Libby with the 3.7, and while it works fine, I wonder if the (heavier) GC would be a bit under-powered with it.
 
Just my opinion, but I would stay away from any Jeep product going on 10 years old.
Just thinking of the issue my buddy had with his 2008.5 JGC 3.0L diesel - while under warranty.
Continued to have issues after warranty was up - traded it in.
 
The 3.7 will be underpowered. We traded in our 04 grand Cherokee limited, owned since new with 236000 miles. Had the 4.7 which still ran great. Used M1 with 5000 oci. We replace, PS unit, alternator and an axle seal. The valleys and sensor module in the trans. Those are the only repairs. The Mecha at the dealership gave us 1500.00 for it and his daughter is driving it back and fourth to college.
 
I'm a Mopar fan, but not a fan of Daimler era vehicles. That said, the 3.7 seems to be pretty durable. How much is this Jeep?
 
Originally Posted By: pacem
Let's say 2008

With the 3.7 V6 engine.

Fuel economy?

Main areas of concern? How does the transmission hold up? etcetera


We have an 08 Liberty with the same engine, the engine and transmission have been flawless. I've read a lot about the transmissions not being that good, but so far we've been lucky. The engine has enough power for the Liberty, although the newer 3.6 [never offered in the Liberty] blows it away. It would be a better choice in the GC, if you can step up a few model years. The 3.7 might be a little under powered for the GC. Gas mileage is not one of the 3.7's strong points.
 
I have that motor in my Commander. It definitely is under powered but I didn't buy it to win any race's.
Just push that long,thin pedal on the right a little harder.
laugh.gif

It's more than capable of getting out of it's own way.

As far as gas mileage, I am averaging 15.3 MPG as we speak. (See above)

As far as reliability,the only items replaced (not including normal wear and tear items) were my Cooling fan, inside blower motor, and the O ring on the NAG1 transmissions electrical connector.

I am a firm believe in preventative maintenance. I truly believe that this is the reason my Commander has been almost trouble free over it's 11 years of ownership. (/knocking_wood)
 
They aren't bad. A bit under powered, but still adequate. Comfortable and still pretty capable in snow with a decent amount of space inside.

My aunt had a 2009 Laredo GC with the 3.7L V6. They just traded it in on a Frontier. The Grand Cherokee had ~170k miles on it. She never complained about repairs, just the gas mileage.

I'd try to find one with the 4.7L V8 if you are looking for a bit more power. Some of the early 5.7L Hemi engines from those years had valve seat problems.

To be honest, I'd rather own the previous generation (1999-2004) Grand Cherokee with the 4.0L engine if you are looking for a 6 cylinder. The 2003-2004 are the best model years. The 4.0 Grand Cherokees drive so much better than the 3.7L V6 in my opinion.
 
If you find one you want make sure it has not had the "N23" recall done.

Chrysler fried the 4WD low capability with this recall and has not been able to cure it. It happened to me. Try to put the vehicle into 4WD low and you'll get an error message. My GC and others went from "Trail Rated": to "Mall Rated". Most owners are not even aware that the problem exists.

Read 325 pages about it here:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f777/n23-recall-issue-no-4-low-1561787/

And if you do buy one with the 3.7 or 4.7 don't let it overheat.

I've read that the 3.7 is the 4.7 but with 2 less cylinders.
My 4.7L with over 146000 miles has been trouble free since 2006 with just normal maintenance.
 
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This is the only generation of GC I don't like. I'd buy an older or newer one...Daimler really did a number on Chrysler while they owned them.
 
Originally Posted By: pacem
what about the old 5.2L engine, is that available?


That was found in the 1993-1998 Generation.

Here is the breakdown:

1993-1998 Grands: 4.0L I-6, 5.2L V8, 5.9L V8 (1998)

1999-2004 Grands: 4.0L I-6, 4.7L V8, 4.7L HO V8 (02-04 on higher trims)

2005-2010 Grands: 3.7L V6, 4.7L V8, 5.7L Hemi V8, 6.1L Hemi V8 (SRT model)

2011-Present Grands: 3.6L V6 Pentastar, 5.7L Hemi V8, 6.4L Hemi V8 (SRT model)
 
this is helpful. Interested in the 2005-2010 models. What's the verdict on 4.7L V8 vs. 5.7L Hemi V8?

Hemi must be nice but what about MPG, does it even make it to 17mpg

But my main concern is the transmission. How good / bad is it in the Grand? I know Chrysler products are notorious for transmission failure, for example consider the late 1990's through 2000s widespread transmission problems in Dodge Intrepid and other vehicles such as Minivans.
 
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We had a 2005 3.7 V6 GC Laredo and a loaded 2008 4.7 V8 GC Limited w/ all the bells an whistles. The '08 was mostly my car and I refer to is as "the Jeep that sold me a Range Rover"..figuring that if I was going to deal w/ a needy car and irritating problems, I might as well get what I really wanted. I was wrong; the RR has proven to be much better...and I was a Jeep fan from early on.


Plusses to both:
-both very capable in bad winters, especially w/ more aggressive tires
-decent for light off-road for what they are
-decent mileage for what they are and engine choices

Issues w/ the '05

-V6 was buzzy
-transmission leaks
-2 transmission recalls
-cloth interior stained way to easily...and we are a pretty clean

With the '08

-climate control panel failed 2x, was emitting burning electrical smells again when I got rid of the truck
-vinyl portion of seats cracked at 24K miles, garaged home and at work (seats not being full leather on this trim level is irritating)
-nav screen had intermittent issues (freezing, black screen, etc.)
-transfer box would intermittently pull itself into neutral after shutoff...this was the breaking point. I called the dealer and told them of the issue. They had me in that afternoon, gave me a rental and said '...not a common problem' when I asked them. There was a recall a few weeks later...

If I were to buy a used one I would go as simple/base as possible and make sure all recalls and SB's were done. Good luck.
 
I had a 2012 Liberty which shared a lot of parts with that generation of GC:

-The 3.7/42RLE combo had pretty good drive feel overall but mediocre power and gas mileage. I got like 16-18mpg in mixed driving. It's probably a little weak for the larger GC. I doubt the GC really gets any better mileage with the 3.7 as opposed to the 4.7/5.7. I had a recurring problem where it would often stumble and stall when started hot. This is apparently quite common and is usually the cam sensor.

-One extremely common failure point on this era of Jeep (including that generation of GC) is the climate control. Due to a combination of mediocre vacuum lines and cheap plastic gears on the blend doors, they commonly break into a state where only some of the vent positions work or the temperature gets stuck. Mine could not blow air out of the floor vents. Anything that was supposed to come out of the floor came out of the defroster instead. Mine also couldn't do middle-of-the-dial temperatures. It was always all the way cold or all the way hot. And replacing the blend unit requires taking the entire dashboard apart. If you test drive one, double check all the vent positions and the temperature dial.
 
I had an 09 with the 3.7...only Jeep I've had that had issues that seemed random and not related to use. In other words, I expect things to wear out on my Liberty since it gets used off road. The 3.7 was ok, it's a reliable engine. Not fast. I'd go for a 4.7 or a Hemi. Mine the evaporator core was leaking. Main reason why I traded it in on the new Cherokee. Never had an issue with the leather tearing but I see it a lot. Mine was also starting to go into limp mode randomly. Never even took it off road.

Otherwise it was pretty good. Never left me stranded!They're great vehicles overall. I'd actually look more towards an 06-07. 08-09s seemed to QC issues since they were made during the dark bailout days.
 
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I looked into that model a lot as I was strongly considering one as a replacement for the current one. My pick would be an 09 or 10 Laredo, or an 09 Limited with the 4.7 if I could find one.
 
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