1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee problems
NHTSA has received 1,433 complaints about the 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 23% of them involve fuel system. Next are brakes (15%) and transmission (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,433 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 143 and 28
- Injuries and deaths
- 112 and 9
- Typical mileage
- 120,000 miles 277 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 12 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 18 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 39 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 44 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 36 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 28 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 29 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 15 |
| 200k+ miles | 33 |
What the data shows
Of the 277 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 120,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 122,000 miles (57 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 143 complaints mention a crash; 28 complaints mention a fire; 112 injuries reported; 9 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Jeep Grand Cherokee with enough data (815 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Courtesy copy of pgk sent to ditlow/cfas jeep grand cherokee defect petition 09-005 (dp-09-005) file update and inquiring if chrysler group declared the bankruptcy order void note: document given to randy for further review. 1997 jeep grand cherokee. *tgw the person that examined the vehicle, believed the fire was a direct result of a defective rear-mounted unprotected zj body fuel tank system.
When the gas tank was filled to it's capacity, gas leaked from the top side of the tank and filled the nozzle connection to the tank. Daimler chrysler refused responsibility. *scc
I purchased this vehicle and noticed the fuel gauge was fluctuating excessively so I check if there were any recalls for this vehicle . When entering vehicles VIN # it states 0 opened recalls for this vehicle, not sure if it was previously repaired. Please help me resolve this issue. Electrical issues were with rear drivers side window constantly gows down on its on every time I started the ignition. Please help. Thank you