1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee consumer reviews

I own the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4 v8. My dad bought it certified pre-owned and it was the cheapest car on the lot. We've had it for about 20 years now, and it still runs. It was eventually passed down to me after he bought a new car. I drove it to high school every day and I begged to take it with me to college. My parents gave in, and it made it the four hours to get here. The trunk is huge and the back seats fold flat. I was able to fit everything I needed to move into my first apartment. It's made the four hour drive home back and forth multiple times with virtually no problems. It drives great and it's super comfortable. I also like how pretty much everything in the car is removable/easy to fix. The passenger window stopped working (which was a problem because the AC also doesn't work), and all I had to do was take off the door cover and replace the regulator. It was beeping about some sensor being bad, so my boyfriend opened up the dashboard's electronics and resoldered a connection. The only issues are that it's old and the gas mileage is terrible. For a poor college student driving to class every day, it's not the best decision as I average about 15 mpg. The backseat is super roomy-I've fit 4 people in the back at once before. It's fun to drive and has tons of power. It has about 146,000 miles on it and repairs are starting to cost more than it's worth, so I'll be getting a new car eventually. I'll be sad to see it go.

I acquired this car by force of my parents. Who decided to sell my car that had decent 25mpg and forced their old car on me after promising to buy me a new car for an entire year. This wouldn't be a problem if the jeep's mpg wasn't 14 miles to the gallon. This is exactly 2 miles per gallon more efficient than a 1.5 ton Ford Excursion; and 11 miles per gallon LESS efficient than a modern 2015 Hummer. This means that I, a college student, had to acquire 2 additional jobs along with the one I already had in order to support the $300 per month gas cost of this car. This car is over a dollar a mile to drive anywhere, and has become a financial burden to my independence (and my life).

My Jeep has wear and tear and 250,000 miles but, still runs perfectly. The 5.2-318 V8 is the most reliable engine ever built. I've driven my Jeep for 7 years in all weather conditions and never had any serious problems. The Jeep durability is very good and reliability is excellent. If you keep up with oil changes and maintenance the Jeep runs forever.

If you are looking for a sleek, fast, cool, efficient, and stylish car, a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee might not be the car for you. This car is slow, heavy, and the fuel economy is usually around 12 miles per gallon. The rust will start to pop up under the doors, and will definitely take underneath the cars body. The shocks will blow out and become rusted. The doors will fall apart in different ways (I?m on my 3rd drivers door in the past 6 months!). Many of these cars seen on the road will have different color panels and doors like mine. And if you want to listen to loud high quality music, forget about it, the speakers have been blown and make noises comparable to rice crispies and crinkling a bag of chips. As far as the electronics go in the car, you are likely to have a couple issues. My sunroof once got stuck open while it was raining causing me to cover the car with a tarp for a couple days of rain and then to pull down the headliner and jump the motor to get it back sealed. And if that was not bad enough, sometimes once a week, sometimes once every couple months, the car alarm will go off always in the middle of the night maybe even multiple times. There are options like cruise control and heated seats, and air conditioning that are not functioning in this car. Sometimes while driving down the road the interior lights will flash on and off multiple times, as if the car has a mind of its own. In addition to all of those things, the doors only lock when they want to, not according to the remote. And maybe the craziest part might be the heat situation. It only comes out in one temperature and it is HOT! The heat in this car is unlike any other; it is controlled by a small white piece of plastic under the glove box which you know has fallen out when the heat goes from HOT to very cold in a matter of seconds. The fix to this problem requires one to stop the car, get out and lie on your back in the passenger side floor and feel around to stick the plastic back in. With all this said, someone would think I dislike this car. That is definitely not true, it was my first car, and at the age of 16 I purchased it in cash. It is the perfect car for my first car, or a cheap car that one wants for running around, or maybe even a winter car to drive around in. This car is about as reliable as a car gets. Change the oil every 3000 miles, and you should be smooth sailing. While looking for a jeep like this, you will find that many are for sale with 180,000 miles, 250,000 miles and sometimes you will even see one up to 300,00 miles. Try and find a modern day car that will be almost maintenance free and last that many miles, I bet you will have a hard time doing that. I have had this car for 5 years now and all I have paid for is 2 new doors, and brakes. That is pretty amazing in my opinion! Also, if you are looking for a good car in the snow and the bad weather, this car has 4x4 all time and is an absolute animal in the slippery conditions. I live in New England, and have yet to get stuck in this car whether it be driving through a mud pit or driving around in a snowstorm, this car has traction. This car might be rough around the edges but if I had to go back in time I would not hesitate in buying this very car. It was worth it.

I have a 1997 Grand Cherokee TSI with the 4.0 Straight six. It has over 212'000 thousand miles and the motor is still running strong. I use only synthetic mobile one oil and have it service on time and everything the manual recommends from draining the coolant every couple years and flushing the transmission. If you take care of these Jeeps they will last forever. That said if you neglect them and treat them like third rate citizens, they will still last a long time but will give you heartache. They get less then 19 around town and they can get over 20 on the highway if you drive like a 90 year old woman on a Sunday, but who does that. I love mine and do my best to maintain her as best I can afford. If you buy one with a lot of miles on it be ready to invest some money to get her into a good stance but once there she'll treat you right.

I bought my 1997 V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited from a private party after it had a "soft rollover" off road, It was 10 years old and had 105,000 miles on it. A 3rd party replaced the windshield and front fender and did body work so that it looks fine from 10 feet away. I've used this Jeep as a daily driver ever since and it now has 211,000 miles. I've hauled stuff with it, towed other cars, driven in deep snow and even pulled the mailman out of the ditch with it. It sits outside all winter in the upper midwest and starts every day. Its comfortable and good power yet in the summer I can get 20 mpg combined driving. Its not perfect however, the A/C does not work, nor the rear wiper. During my ownership, I have replaced the muffler, front sway bar links, the driver seat heater and all the audio speakers. Its also had the intake gasket replaced. Overall, the dollars spent have been very small and it has been very reliable and more continues to perform very well. These are well designed and well built vehicles.

I paid nearly $2,000 over book value for this vehicle because of the low miles and one owner. However, after getting home with it I found several issues: (1) Brakes need replacing, (2) 2 of the electric door locks work intermittently, & (3) and most disturbing is the water leaking from the AC unit into cabin soaking the carpet. To date, the ordinary repairs for this problem have not solved the problem and I soaked a medium sized towel on a recent 40 mile trip. Very disappointing!

I went to find me an older jeep grand Cherokee,i found a 2001 ,it was perfect for what I wanted to spend.Cramer Castle was very helpful in taking care of me.I will buy from Bonham Chrysler again.

It was a great SUV. When it was running, it was running. I Purchased on May 11, 2006 with 123,259 Mile on it. Char-Gold, Tow Package 4x4. It got 17 MPG City and about 22.5 Highway @ 65 MPH. It was still getting that same Mileage when it was Wrecked on 02/21/12, w/233,109 Miles on it. The worse problem I ever had with it was the Computer, which took me 38 Days and $489.00 to figure out. Symptoms indicated, Fuel Filter, Crank Sensor, Distributor, Spark Plugs, Ignition Coil and Fuel Pump,......................................ALL Wrong!!!!! It began with sudden Engine Stalls, the it got harder and harder to Crank or it would run for 5, 20 or as long as 4 hours and Stall, only to start the next Day and start the cycle all over again. This Problem did not start until after about 205,000 Miles. Before that, the only problems I had was with the Starter, Alternator, Battery, Power Steering Pump and a small leak on the Passinger Top Side of the Windshield. If I had known the Problem was the Computer, I would have save time and Money. The Dealer really Sucks when it comes to diagnosing that particular Problem. With the help of the World Wide Web and a few Parts Store Mechanics, we narrowed it down. Other than that problem for that Year Vehicle, (1997), It was a Terrific Jeep. I will even go as far to say, if I had Purchased it back from the Insurance Company, I could have Parted it out and Made a minimum of $1200.00. I wish I knew then what I know now;o) Remember, When your 1997/98 Jeep starts have weird problems, check the Computer. When you Buy one be sure to specify if you have a Security System or not, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Important. All the Numbers will Match, but you have to know that. Hope this Info helps someone with a problem or questions they are having.

I had one of these years ago and sold it. Saw this one for sale with only 128,000 on it with a rebuilt trans., limited edition, runs like a new truck, fast as heck. The only thing is I had to change the cat. converter & muffler, replaced with FlowMaster and now it sounds like a BEAST. Leather every where, no tears. Would always recommend to a friend, family member or stranger.