Overview of the Jeep Grandcherokee
US 4WD brand Jeep built a bigger (and more upmarket) brother to its popular Cherokee model in 1993, though it took another three years for the Grand Cherokee to reach Australia. A big hit globally, the Grand Cherokee offers superb off-road performance via a range of all-wheel-drive systems. Jeep has also created more road-focused variants for the current-generation model (released in 2011 and sharing components with the Mercedes-Benz ML) - including V8-powered SRT and Trackhawk high-performance variants.
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE GENERATIONS (SINCE 1999)
1999-2005
2005-2011
2011 onwards
RUNNING COSTS
Fuel Consumption (2011 on)
3.0L V6 turbo diesel: 7.5 litres per 100km
3.6L V6: 9.9 to 10.4 litres per 100km
5.7L V8: 13.0 litres per 100km
6.4L V8: 14.0 litres per 100km
6.2L supercharged V8: 16.8 litres per 100km
= Highly economical.
= Good economy.
= Average fuel use.
= Heavy consumption.
Servicing
Every 20,000km or 12 months, whichever is sooner, for diesel models - with each service currently costs between $665 and $1195. For petrol models, servicing is every 12,000km or 12 months, whichever is sooner - with each service currently costs between $595 and $2175 depending on engine. Jeep Grand Cherokee parts and accessoriescan be found on Gumtree.
SIMILAR MODELS TO JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR: JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE (2011 ON)
Check V6 petrol versions for problems with the cylinder heads that can mean head replacement.
Strangely, it only seemed to be the left-hand head that gave trouble.
The first sign is a check-engine light and a misfire on any one of the left-hand cylinders, but it's only pre-2013 models that were affected.
If in doubt, have a workshop conduct a leak-down test on the left bank.
Jeep dealers were also carrying out reprogramming of the control module for the automatic transmission to cure complaints of harsh shifting. A dealer will know which vehicles have had the re-flash.
Check everything electrical from the power tailgate to the remote central locking to make sure it all works as it should.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee was also the subject of a huge number of recalls (more than we have space to list here). A visit to a Jeep dealer will identify which fixes a particular car needed and whether they've been carried out or not.