2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee: jerking or lurching

Filed Jul 29, 2015 · Electrical · 190,000 miles · OR

Two or three times a year the left rear blinker will have to be replaced due to the housing melting the contacts and burning so it stops working. The two back doors will intermittently not unlock with the key remote (very frustrating!) the left back door window will stop going up and down and we are told by the one that repaired it that the wires for all of that is running through the drivers side door hinge from the dash and gets pinched off from being bent! The front end will growl when I make a left turn, I hear a howling from the rear end at speeds of 35 MPH and up. When I come to a quick stop and make a sharp turn it sounds and feels like the rear end shifts forward an inch or two. The brakes have always grabbed and jerked like they were warped while coming to a stop. I have owned it for three years and have had to put two water pumps in it. The wiper washers have never worked. The spare tire well use to fill up with water when it rained and one day my husband put a screw in the bottom of the back license plate and it stopped filling up with water! My brand new cd magazine has stopped working and I'm guessing its because of the location of the deck itself. Being right over the rear tire well the vibrations have probably wrecked havoc on the players eye. It seems as though over half of the repairs on this jeep have cost us at least $1000.00 each. I could go on for hours and I have receipts for every one of them! Now I think I am seeing what looks to be a leak from the plastic gas tank. I want to know why my year of this jeep, 2000, was skipped over from the recalls?

Filed Nov 19, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · VA

The truck seems to have lost power to drive and also to provide proper to the radio which goes in and out. While driving there was no engine light that came on and the truck started hesitating to keep going. At 0 to 40mph it was acting like it wanted to shut off but as I gave it more gas it seemed to get better and the music came in clearer but then it would jerk like it was going to shut down. I have had the starter, alternator, engine and spark plugs changed and checked but it still is doing the same thing. This is unsafe with my kids in the car and no warning light to say that anything is wrong. This needs to be addressed I've seen too many trucks with similar issues like mines.

Filed Mar 29, 2014 · Brakes, Engine · 92,000 miles · AZ

Engine started stalling without any warning while driving at any speed, first occurrence was at about 35mph. Lost power steering, brakes on a sharp curve! Dealer found ECM (engine control module or computer bad). That happened the first time in 2010. It has happened again in 6/2013 and now again in 3/2014 except the one of the last two times the car jerked and wouldn't accelerate as we started to pass someone on a 2-lane road. The jeep jerked, immediately started slowing and then the engine died causing loss of powersteering and power brakes and almost being hit from behind as we were not quite clear of the car we were passing and had no choice but to slow and move back into line behind the slower car ahead of us, as the engine died and two other cars were passing the slower car from behind us almost ran into us!!! Then we got the car started, drove about another 3 miles to a business, as we were on a rural road at the time of the incident. The car would die (twice more) and not go over 59 MPH or 2600 engine RPM. The dealer and our shop manager says "this is a habitual problem with a lot of chrysler products...they have poorly made engine control modules, the worst in the auto industry"! The shop manager says "it's a real safety issue that isn't being addressed anywhere!"

Filed Dec 15, 2006 · Brakes · 10,000 miles · CA

We experienced extreme pulsing and jerking while applying our brakes. This problem manifested at about 10,000 miles. We had the problem repaired (dealer said the rotors were warped). This problem is now occurring aging at 20,000 miles. The pulsing is extreme and we are not confident in the safety of our brakes. We are now forced to pay again to have this repaired. Jeep issued a tsb but not a recall - this is a very common problem and directly relates to the safety of their vehicle. They should issue a recall and fix the problem for everyone. A class action lawsuit has been filed as this problem is so prevalent yet jeep refuses to take responsibility.

Filed Jul 22, 2004 · Brakes · 7,000 miles · PA

The brake pedal pulsated when it was applied. In addition, the steering wheel jerked when the brake pedal was applied. The brake rotors were cut at 7,000 miles, replaced at 13,0000 miles and cut again at 19,000 miles. The failure has recurred at 28,000 miles. The dealership indicated this failure happened because of the quality of steel used combined with heat caused the rotor to wrap.

Filed Jun 7, 2004 · Brakes · 42,000 miles · CA · fire

The front brake rotors on my 2000 jeep grand cherokee warpe about every 10,000 miles. I am about to replace them for the third time at 42000 miles! At 31000 miles, the local jeep dealer installed a "fit" kit" which obviously has not worked. The brake problem is an obvious safety problem. The first time that this happened, I was traveling down a steep road in the sierra/nevada mountains and almost lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle experienced severe shaking and steering wheel jerking during breaking. I had to gear down and travel very slowly until I reached level ground. After intense questioning, the dealer (joe kerley: san jose ca) acknowledged the frequency of this problem. So has chrysler via the "repair kit". A call to chrysler indicated that they wont act because roters are an wear item. I bellieve that there is a design flaw that has the potential to hurt or kill someone. Please get on the ball and investigate and order a recall.

Filed Oct 25, 2003 · Transmission, Visibility · 64,000 miles · TX

I purchased a 2000 jeep grand cherokee laredo in august 2000. Yesterday, my transmission failed and would jerk when shifted into reverse. Today, I contacted the dealership and was basically told "too bad," because my warranty was expired. I asked to speak to the gentleman that sold me the jeep, was placed on hold for several minutes and then transferred to someone else's voice mail. My jeep is 3 years old and has 60,000 miles on it (transmission failure!!!--I've had vehicles for 10 years with no transmission problems and three times as many miles). The business manager stated that she had seen vehicles with 3,000 miles on them fail (better watch out). The estimated cost to fix the transmission $1650. I purchased this vehicle new for reliable transportation and have had problems ever since. I have also had problems with the brakes and had to get the front rotors replaced as they were warped. My back windshield wiper hesitates before starting. It is sometimes hard to start and that has been happening since shortly after purchase. Staff at the dealerships are rude and unresponsive when notified of problems. Staff at the dealership informed me that repairs on my jeep for a wiring problem would take 3 days, and they ordered the wrong parts and kept my jeep for over 2 weeks (and then I had to take it back the next day due to wiring problems). I also hope chrysler is aware that they have just lost a loyal jeep owner/fan. I will never purchase another jeep and will certainly not recommend it to anyone. I can't wait to get rid of this piece of crap.

Filed Mar 19, 2003 · Brakes · 15,000 miles · CO

2000 jeep grand cherokee VIN [xxx] at approximately. 15,000 miles: front brake rotors warped resulting in a severe shimmy/jerking of the front tires which resulted in pulling the car off the road. Dealer said tough luck, expense included rotor repair and damaged front tires. Now at 40,000 miles problem appears to be returning. Based on previous recalls, talking to dealers, brake repair shops and reading many similar complaints on the internet as well as our local school van traveling with students having a wreck because of rotor failure, it is more than obvious that there is a known serious problem with inferior/unsafe brake rotors. Like most americans, I have been exposed to stories of how the auto manufactures are knowingly willing to trade a few hundred lives to avoid the expense of recalls and building cars with safe components. It doesn't take a real bright person to know that when the steering and braking system on a car fails while traveling at normal speeds and in my case on treacherous mountain roads that serious accidents may and will result. My goal is to have this problem addressed by daimler chrysler and industry-wide before, not after, the body counts start adding up. I have been in contact with daimler chrysler and was basically told where to stick my concerns and complaint. Any assistance will be appreciated by me and I suspect by other potential victims. Sincerely, [xxx] . *nlm information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Sep 18, 2002 · Acceleration, Brakes · PA

When brakes were applied to slow down/stop vehicle suddenly jerked forward. This problem would sometimes happen when backing up. Owner has taken vehicle to dealership, but problem has not been resolved. Please describe details.

Filed May 9, 2002 · Brakes · LA

Brake rotors on all 4 wheels prematurely warp causing heavy shimmy and lurching during braking. Original brake pads and rotors were replaced by dealer at 12,000 miles. Now replacement rotors are doing the exact same thing, but worse. Vehicle is now out of warranty. Vehicle has been driven primarily on interstate highways. Additionally I had the exact same problems with my 1996 jeep grand cherokee.

Filed May 7, 2002 · Electrical, Fuel system · OR

Transmission will automatically with gear while driving.*ak the transmission started jerking between gears 1-2 and 4-3. The sunfoof screeches when closing. The fuel chime light comes on at quarter tank. The overhead computer reads inaccurately.

Filed Apr 8, 2002 · Electrical · GA

11/2001 vehicle started stalling intermittently while stopped or at slow speed. Since 11/23/2001 has been out of service for 58 days - crank sensor, fuel relay, PCM, 2 wiring harnesses, clock spring, transmission have not fixed the problem, when it dies, it resets the computer and new one have developed, I.e. - almost dies then lurches forward, at speeds over 50 vehicle feels like the back tires hit ice and then catch (temp 60 degrees). Had 2 co-pilots - only shows everything shuts down, no diagnostics information.