2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee problems
NHTSA has received 890 complaints about the 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 29% of them involve air bags. Next are wipers, windshield & visibility (19%) and brakes (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 890 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 60 and 17
- Injuries and deaths
- 73 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 574 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 | 71 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 73 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 95 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 82 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 68 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 54 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 37 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 42 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 23 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 23 |
What the data shows
Of the 574 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 71,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 111,000 miles (92 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 60 complaints mention a crash; 17 complaints mention a fire; 73 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 23rd most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Jeep Grand Cherokee with enough data (393 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
2003 jeep grand cherokee. Consumer writes in regards to occupant restraint control module filter circuit recall notice. *smd the consumer no longer owns the vehicle, because his daughter was involved in an accident and the vehicle was totaled and destroyed by his insurance company. The consumer believed the death of his daughter was possibly due to a faulty vehicle.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. While shifting out of neutral, the vehicle surged forward. The contact depressed the brake pedal with both feet, but the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle crashed into a pole, flipped over three times, and landed on a business sign. Smoke began to rise from the engine and the fire department used the jaws of life to rescue the contact from the vehicle. She sustained injuries to her back and left leg.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. When the driver side seat heater was activated, it overheated. The failure caused two different drivers of the vehicle to sustain slight burns. According to the manufacturer, the vehicle is not included in recall # 06v197000 (seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler). However, the contact felt his vehicle should be included as part of the recall. The current mileage is 40,000 and failure mileage was 32,000.
Consumer complaint concerning 2003 grand cherokee notification code f17 heated seat elements. The consumer had aftermarket DVD player/lc screen installed in headrest. The consumer refused to pay to have the aftermarket items removed in order for the dealer to do the recall, therefore recall work could not be done. The consumer indicated that all accessories were included in the price of vehicle at final signing. The accessories were installed later due to unavailability as a factory installed product.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 jeep grand cherokee. While stopped at a traffic stop, the contact noticed that the driver side turn signal was not illuminated. The contact replaced the fuse for the turn signal however, the failure continued after the repair. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. Updated 05/02/12 the consumer stated on occasion, the right blinker failed to operate as well.