Who here has come from a recent model Grand Cherokee?
- Thread starter cb1111
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MAXISTYLES
New member
Short term fling
I recently rented a Trailhawk with a Hemi. It was super fast, awesome to drive. It had adjustable height suspension which my kids constantly made me put up and down, also fun. Drove up some hills and dirt roads nothing crazy. Nice truck with lots of bells and whistles I keep my vehicles long time which is why I have a Toyota. If I had to lease the Trailhawk for 3 years for a great price I would do it, otherwise I’m sticking with a 4 Runner.
I recently rented a Trailhawk with a Hemi. It was super fast, awesome to drive. It had adjustable height suspension which my kids constantly made me put up and down, also fun. Drove up some hills and dirt roads nothing crazy. Nice truck with lots of bells and whistles I keep my vehicles long time which is why I have a Toyota. If I had to lease the Trailhawk for 3 years for a great price I would do it, otherwise I’m sticking with a 4 Runner.
Tuco Ramirez
New member
Same experience when we rented one. It was pretty fun, maybe because it was something different, but one cannot deny the Jeep dependability factor. I doubt I would even lease one. While it was fun, it did not instill me with any confidence that it would last.
bring_it_on
New member
My wife has a leased 2016 Grand Cherokee Limited that we turned in last summer. It was a good vehicle and over the three years we had it, it gave us no significant issues and we put in around 42K miles on it. It drove and rode very much like a car or a crossover and I personally prefer the more truck like ride of the 4runner. We would get around 21-22 mpg on the highway and about 17-18 mpg in city driving. In my 4runner the best I've gotten is 19.3 mpg over very long distance and around 16.7 in the city with a steel bumper, steel skid plate and some weight in the back (though I've most likely killed that now with a roof rack and a lift) but we don't drive so much for it to make a huge difference on the pocket (plus we live in central texas). I towed with it when we moved from Maryland to Texas and I don't think it would tow as well as a 4runner or the 200 series (I have towed with the 200 series but never with my 4runner). We wouldn't go back (would probably pick a 3 row crossover if we go for a second large vehicle) but I can't say we had a bad experience with it.
cb1111
Member
Thanks for the insights so far. How did the on-road comfort compare?
It sounds like the reliability might not be as horrible as the reputation Jeep has had in the past - although I've not been overly impressed by the service departments.But then again, the Toyota service departments aren't anything to write home to mother about either.
How does the on-road ride compare?
It sounds like the reliability might not be as horrible as the reputation Jeep has had in the past - although I've not been overly impressed by the service departments.But then again, the Toyota service departments aren't anything to write home to mother about either.
How does the on-road ride compare?
ForRun
New member
I used to love Jeep until Fiat ruined them. Read the news, 2019 and 2020 Wrangler the frames have faulty welds and are rusting bad.
Back to the WK2.
I loved it until one ran over the Star trek dude back in early 2016. Fiat who can't write software if you paid them double rolled out a premature software update that ruined my tranny.
Only thing I miss is the hid stock headlights, combined with the srt oem fogs was freaking amazing.
Other than that, I forgot to mention, they also ruined my 15 Cherokee KL trailhawk and had to buy it back due to ....here it is. A software update cashed the tranny. 3 tranny's later and 2 months of rentals sucked
Back to the WK2.
I loved it until one ran over the Star trek dude back in early 2016. Fiat who can't write software if you paid them double rolled out a premature software update that ruined my tranny.
Only thing I miss is the hid stock headlights, combined with the srt oem fogs was freaking amazing.
Other than that, I forgot to mention, they also ruined my 15 Cherokee KL trailhawk and had to buy it back due to ....here it is. A software update cashed the tranny. 3 tranny's later and 2 months of rentals sucked
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I had one as a work vehicle for a bit. Loathe the shifter. Took forever for me to get used to since it doesn’t mechanically settle anywhere, it always returns to the same center point. Drove me insane.
I thought it drove and handled great though. Paddle shifters were responsive and nice. Never took it off-road. It had the stock tires on it as well, nothing special. I actually took it to a driving road course and drove it as hard and fast as I could and I was seriously impressed.
I would never personally own one, I prefer how the 4runner feels and handles, really don’t miss anything about it.
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I thought it drove and handled great though. Paddle shifters were responsive and nice. Never took it off-road. It had the stock tires on it as well, nothing special. I actually took it to a driving road course and drove it as hard and fast as I could and I was seriously impressed.
I would never personally own one, I prefer how the 4runner feels and handles, really don’t miss anything about it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Well.... I have one of each, so here goes:
The JGC was mine till I retired, then my wife commandeered it (she loves the JGC). Mine was a 3.6 with front wheel drive.
Why did you switch and what were your experiences? / Ride comfort on road? If you are looking for a SUV / CUV comfort ride the JGC is more plush than the T4R. Whenever i drive the Jeep now, "it just feels light" it also is ALOT more responsive off the line.
Off road ability? sorry i'm not taking the FWD grocery getter / home depot hauler off road, the T4R owns this.
Reliability? Jeep has been good, had a sensor go bad shortly after i bought it. Fixed by the dealer at no cost. That said i do have Jeeps lifetime warranty, but if she tires of the JGC i'll probably just get her a Lexus RX / GX.
Features? / What do you miss? I miss the power liftgate, and the JGC interior is real leather (you can tell the difference). The 8" screen, uconnect has both pluses and minuses over entune. The gas mileage 28 - 30 mpg.
What don't you miss? I personally like driving the T4R as it feels bigger and heavier. In someway entune is better that uconnect.
Would you/will you switch back? For now i'm happy with the T4R, and Toyota reliability and value.
JGC - comfortable grocery getter / home depot hauler.
T4R - way more rugged, more "planted" on the road. Also can double as a grocery getter / home depot hauler.
The JGC was mine till I retired, then my wife commandeered it (she loves the JGC). Mine was a 3.6 with front wheel drive.
Why did you switch and what were your experiences? / Ride comfort on road? If you are looking for a SUV / CUV comfort ride the JGC is more plush than the T4R. Whenever i drive the Jeep now, "it just feels light" it also is ALOT more responsive off the line.
Off road ability? sorry i'm not taking the FWD grocery getter / home depot hauler off road, the T4R owns this.
Reliability? Jeep has been good, had a sensor go bad shortly after i bought it. Fixed by the dealer at no cost. That said i do have Jeeps lifetime warranty, but if she tires of the JGC i'll probably just get her a Lexus RX / GX.
Features? / What do you miss? I miss the power liftgate, and the JGC interior is real leather (you can tell the difference). The 8" screen, uconnect has both pluses and minuses over entune. The gas mileage 28 - 30 mpg.
What don't you miss? I personally like driving the T4R as it feels bigger and heavier. In someway entune is better that uconnect.
Would you/will you switch back? For now i'm happy with the T4R, and Toyota reliability and value.
JGC - comfortable grocery getter / home depot hauler.
T4R - way more rugged, more "planted" on the road. Also can double as a grocery getter / home depot hauler.
I came from a 2011 Grand Cherokee
Why did you switch and what were your experiences?
The reliability of the Jeep was the worst I ever had.
Ride comfort on road?
Jeep was great when it was running.
Off road ability?
Not really off road, lets talk snow. I drove the Jeep over Snoqualmie pass (WA state) in the middle of some crazy snow storm and it performed excellent.
The T4R has been great so far but hast been in the same conditions yet. Well see what this next week brings.
Reliability?
T4R will take this hands down.
The Jeep was bought used and very quickly went out of the factory warranty and the Lemon Law did not apply. Luckily I had the Chrysler Max care so the pain I am about to describe was covered with a minimal deductible.
- Motorized rear hatch would close short by about 6 inches then open again. I could manually push it down but due to the motor it was really difficult with a bad back. It took the dealer multiple times over a couple years, everything was replaced at least twice, would work for a while then do the same.
- The air suspension was awesome until it wasn't. I would be driving down the road and out of nowhere all of a sudden my front end was up and my back end was low like a low rider dragging ass. This went on for a few years on and off. It would usually fix itself before I got it to the dealer and they could see the error code but wouldn't do anything if they couldn't see the problem. When they did see it they would replace something and say it was fixed.
One day I came home after a very long drive back form eastern WA where the error "check air suspension" was showing for about an hour. I parked and could hear the air compressor working. I figured ok, Ill put my bag in the garage and pull the fuse, here comes another dealer trip when BOOM! I turn around and see white smoke at the front right corner. The compressor literally blew apart. They replaced it and a week later the jeep was back in the shop for 4 months. They literally replaced everything twice, had the master tech (or whatever they call them) fly out and ended up reusing an original part to make it work.
BTW... the whole time they only gave me a loaner for a month.
- The flaps that route air for heat or cold would get stuck every couple years and they would need to get into the box to replace the seals that were melting in the heat over the summer and would get stuck.
- My favorite issue was the rainy day my wiper motor stopped. I was driving along and all of a sudden - no wipers.
- EVERY service dept that was anywhere near me (3 dealers) was always booked out at least 4 weeks.
- One of the early issues was a red fluid dripping. They replaced the power steering pump. I get it home, still leaks and then they replace the trans cooler. Long story here but they came out to clean my driveway after that one. A few days later its not shifting right. I take it back, they pull it around back and bring it over a few minutes later to tell me they topped off the trans fluid. Cool right. Nope. Same issue and a few days later I come back. Talk to a different service guy and he tells me they cant do that, its a closed system and needs to be hooked up to a machine. I need an appt. They freaking LIED to my face.
- Next time you see a Jeep GC look at the headlights. I dont mean when using a turn signal. You'll start to notice that a lot of the Jeep GCs on the road have one light out. Not when using turn signals, there always a light out. I think mine was always on the drivers side. There is clearly a design flaw and those things eat headlight bulbs. They are HID so you know they are expensive. AT least I do.
- Last one was some sensor that would get dirty and cause the Jeep to go into limp mode. If I stepped on the gas it would lag like it had no power and go nowhere. The first time it happened I was in front of a semi and needed to get out of the way. This happened three times and was traded in for the T4R after the third.
Features?
Jeep had more. When it was running the Jeep was nice. Not plush but damn nice.
What do you miss?
Heated Steering wheel.
What don't you miss?
The Jeep as a whole and the fear that I could be stranded at any moment. I wondered every morning what would happen today.
Would you/will you switch back?
I think the answer is obvious but if you need the answer... **** NO!
Why did you switch and what were your experiences?
The reliability of the Jeep was the worst I ever had.
Ride comfort on road?
Jeep was great when it was running.
Off road ability?
Not really off road, lets talk snow. I drove the Jeep over Snoqualmie pass (WA state) in the middle of some crazy snow storm and it performed excellent.
The T4R has been great so far but hast been in the same conditions yet. Well see what this next week brings.
Reliability?
T4R will take this hands down.
The Jeep was bought used and very quickly went out of the factory warranty and the Lemon Law did not apply. Luckily I had the Chrysler Max care so the pain I am about to describe was covered with a minimal deductible.
- Motorized rear hatch would close short by about 6 inches then open again. I could manually push it down but due to the motor it was really difficult with a bad back. It took the dealer multiple times over a couple years, everything was replaced at least twice, would work for a while then do the same.
- The air suspension was awesome until it wasn't. I would be driving down the road and out of nowhere all of a sudden my front end was up and my back end was low like a low rider dragging ass. This went on for a few years on and off. It would usually fix itself before I got it to the dealer and they could see the error code but wouldn't do anything if they couldn't see the problem. When they did see it they would replace something and say it was fixed.
One day I came home after a very long drive back form eastern WA where the error "check air suspension" was showing for about an hour. I parked and could hear the air compressor working. I figured ok, Ill put my bag in the garage and pull the fuse, here comes another dealer trip when BOOM! I turn around and see white smoke at the front right corner. The compressor literally blew apart. They replaced it and a week later the jeep was back in the shop for 4 months. They literally replaced everything twice, had the master tech (or whatever they call them) fly out and ended up reusing an original part to make it work.
BTW... the whole time they only gave me a loaner for a month.
- The flaps that route air for heat or cold would get stuck every couple years and they would need to get into the box to replace the seals that were melting in the heat over the summer and would get stuck.
- My favorite issue was the rainy day my wiper motor stopped. I was driving along and all of a sudden - no wipers.
- EVERY service dept that was anywhere near me (3 dealers) was always booked out at least 4 weeks.
- One of the early issues was a red fluid dripping. They replaced the power steering pump. I get it home, still leaks and then they replace the trans cooler. Long story here but they came out to clean my driveway after that one. A few days later its not shifting right. I take it back, they pull it around back and bring it over a few minutes later to tell me they topped off the trans fluid. Cool right. Nope. Same issue and a few days later I come back. Talk to a different service guy and he tells me they cant do that, its a closed system and needs to be hooked up to a machine. I need an appt. They freaking LIED to my face.
- Next time you see a Jeep GC look at the headlights. I dont mean when using a turn signal. You'll start to notice that a lot of the Jeep GCs on the road have one light out. Not when using turn signals, there always a light out. I think mine was always on the drivers side. There is clearly a design flaw and those things eat headlight bulbs. They are HID so you know they are expensive. AT least I do.
- Last one was some sensor that would get dirty and cause the Jeep to go into limp mode. If I stepped on the gas it would lag like it had no power and go nowhere. The first time it happened I was in front of a semi and needed to get out of the way. This happened three times and was traded in for the T4R after the third.
Features?
Jeep had more. When it was running the Jeep was nice. Not plush but damn nice.
What do you miss?
Heated Steering wheel.
What don't you miss?
The Jeep as a whole and the fear that I could be stranded at any moment. I wondered every morning what would happen today.
Would you/will you switch back?
I think the answer is obvious but if you need the answer... **** NO!
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cb1111
Member
Yep. FCA didn't do the brand any good. The current GC is built on an older Mercedes chassis, so the "bones" are mostly sound but the rest is FIAT quality.
cb1111
Member
AMC ruined everything it bought.
cb1111
Member
Thank you so much. This has bee very helpful.
It is too bad that they dropped the lifetime warranty - although lifetime with some Jeep products can be measured in single digit years.
How is entune better? Reviewers generally give the uconnect system high marks.
cb1111
Member
Thank you. You've verified that getting a reliable Jeep is a bit of a crap shoot and dealerships are a bit iffy.
I think the Jeep is off the table. I was a bit mesmerized by all the features that you don't get on the 4R (full speed ACC, park assist, heated steering wheel, air suspension etc.), but remembered that all that stuff breaks - and a lot more frequently on the Jeep.
cb1111
Member
As a kind of telling note, I posted the same question both here, an Acura forum and the Grand Cherokee forum.
Here and on the Acura forum, the answers have been leaning towards the 4R. I was a bit surprised by that on the Acura forum, thinking that I'd get a few recommendations for the RDX)
On the GC forum, there have been almost 90 views and zero responses...
Here and on the Acura forum, the answers have been leaning towards the 4R. I was a bit surprised by that on the Acura forum, thinking that I'd get a few recommendations for the RDX)
On the GC forum, there have been almost 90 views and zero responses...
ForRun
New member
Actually the 1st software update was causing them to have erratic operation and bricking the damn things. I traded mine in that day before word got out. Never looked back and I won't until someone buys them from fiat and fixes the mess
cb1111
Member
Sad, because they look great, have nice features and decent fit and finish (except for paint).
