2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited from North America - Comments

30th Jun 2007, 16:52

2002 Grand Cherokee

98000 miles and have only had to turn the front rotors so far. No new pads (front or rear) have been needed. Only issus with the vehicle so far are: tires at 78k miles, power steering hose and rear shocks (did them myself in under 30 minutes. Pretty good vehicle so far :)

16th Jul 2007, 08:30

Not sure if it applies to this problem, but 'warped rotors' generally is a myth. It is ususally an uneven build up of brake pad binding resin on the rotor which causes the brakes to grab and let go. Of course machining or replacement fixes it, but so too will cleaning the rotor &/or switching to better quality brake pads. Mostly its poor quality brake material or excessive/erratic/undersized braking that causes it.

To warp a disc rotor it has to get glowing red hot and even then it's a maybe and it will not 'jerk the wheel' out of your hand.

11th Sep 2007, 13:11

20th Oct 2007, 12:02

I own a 02 GC Limited V8. Bought it new in 5/02. No issues with brakes at 65000 miles. Just changed pads. The rotors still are within specification. Since Jeep used two suppliers for calipers and pads on the '02 GC, makes me wonder if the difference the owners are experiencing is due to the OEM equipment installed on their Jeep. Based on reading many reviews, I would recommend a caliper change if you are only getting 10k on a set of brakes/rotors, I do not believe the dealer explanation that some drivers are causing the short life with their driving habits.

3rd Dec 2007, 23:15

I own a 2002 Jeep GC Ltd. Brakes have "squeaked" since the time it reached about 20,000 miles. We purchased it new. Dealer initially said that it was "brake dust" causing the noise, so they cleaned the brakes and put on some kind of solution which is supposed to quiet the squeaking. So far, so good... for about a month. Squeaking returned. More trips to dealer. Same remedy. No one mentioned warped rotors or anything of that nature to us. We finally resigned ourselves to living with the squeaking, as no fix could apparently be found. No further brake issues, but the posts here concerning warped rotors has me concerned and I shall be vigilant, in the event this happens to my car also.

Next, came a heating problem. One side of the vents began to blow only cold air, when the heat was on. A major issue in Winter. We had to shell out for this fix (twice), ourselves. First it was the driver side and then later, passenger side. The Jeep is not used for daily commutes so only has about 47,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, the bumper to bumper warranty had expired when the heating issue initially happened and Chrysler refused to cover it, of course. I vote that it's all the inferior crap (in addition to rush jobs on design and engineering) which manufacturers use anymore, which leads too many of the recalls and many other issues not included in recalls. My heating issues were due to some cheap plastic parts falling apart on the heater system. In fairness to the people at Jeep, it's not just them... all cars seem to suffer the same ridiculous issues of poor quality parts falling apart, just about the time the full warranty expires. Either that or the driver's driving habits are called into question, as an escape route in denying responsibility.

We've had two recalls on the Jeep thus far. Was reading of others on-line, but we never received notices of them, so assuming that our particular Jeep wasn't included? No idea. Plan to ring the dealer this week to have them run a check of any recalls which may pertain to our Jeep, just to be safe. Otherwise I've enjoyed driving my Jeep, but likely will get a different make, when I trade it in the Spring.

Am hoping that you guys with the warped rotors find a solution soon. My thought is that it appears to be so very common that Chrysler should INDEED issue a recall to remedy the issue! Heat is one thing... squeaky brakes are another, but something contributing to potential brake failure or poor brake performance, is clearly a safety concern and should have been addressed some time ago! So shame on Chrysler that this is still happening!

24th Dec 2007, 08:51

I think people commenting should state which motor is in their car. Perhaps that would help establish a thread. i.e. Hemi's or V8's with brake problems, etc. I own a 2005 Grand Cherokee with 41k and the 3.7L V6. Not a single issue with the brakes or anything else of significance. Only maintenance I have done is oil change every 5K. Had the computer reprogrammed because of sluggish shifting - under warranty and took 15 minutes. Car runs great; would buy another, but would like better overall gas mileage. Gets 16 MPG overall with 19-20 on the highway. Not really all that bad for a 4,000 lb vehicle.

4th Mar 2008, 08:37

I have a smell of anti freeze inside my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee (8 Cyl) and a film on the inside of the windows. I am pretty sure I have a leaky heater core and based on some research, believe it will cost about 1000 dollars to fix. It is also not a do-it-yourself type problem because of the difficulty in getting to the heater core. Anyone have similar problems? I also have the front brake rotor problem, but it is not severe enough to replace the rotors yet. I am hearing a few unusual sounds in the drive gear. I like the veh so far as long as I don't hear of common major problems, I plan to keep it and pass it onto my daughter this fall - she is about to get her license.

7th Mar 2008, 10:18

I own a 00 Grand Cherokee with an i-6, and had no problems with brakes until we changed the front rotors and pads due to squeaking. Still happened, so we changed the back rotors and pads. It ceased for a month, then we started feeling a shaking up front and through the steering wheel. I changed the front rotors again and noticed blueing sporadically around the rotor surfaces. It was also smelling hot at the front wheels and actually smoking! This current set (3rd) is showing the same symptoms in about a weeks time. It feels as if they are fine at first, then shortly into a drive they start swelling from continuous contact between the rotors and pads. I believe the calipers are not releasing fully and the continuous pressure(brakes always slightly applied)is heating then warping rotors. You can actually feel the drag increase and you can watch the overhead fuel economy mileage numbers go down to around 7 mpg! The dealership says my vehicle has no brake recalls on calipers or rotors.The undersized rotors theory sounds viable also. I have owned several Jeeps (89,90,00Cherokees, cj-5s, a Commando, J-20,and this 00Grand) and I find it sad from an enthusiast's point of view that Chrysler has let this obvious problem with their product go on for so many years!