2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee acceleration problems

Filed Jul 5, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 198,000 miles · UT · fire

I was driving about 45 MPH when my jeep accelerated, I tried tapping the gas pedal in hopes that it would affect it. That didn't help, I had both feet on the brake, I pulled the e-break and it still wouldn't stop and I was redlining. I finally saw a redlight and decided to throw it in park and it rolled another 50 feet or so before finally coming to a stop. I jumped out and ran because it was still stuck and redlining. Everything under the jeep was red and finally flames started coming out of the exhaust. The fire department hosed it down for about ten minutes before taking the keys out of the ignition.

Filed May 29, 2012 · Acceleration · 120,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 jeep grand cherokee. The contact was driving 30 MPH when he removed his foot from the accelerator pedal and the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact applied the brakes and was able to slow the vehicle down. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and the mechanic was able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed May 9, 2011 · Acceleration · 151,000 miles · IA

Had cruise control on at 70 MPH in normal driving conditions on the interstate (70 MPH speed limit). Put foot on accelerator to speed up in order to change to left lane and better clear the traffic behind me. Initial accelerator push yielded no response, so I pushed further down on the accelerator pedal. When the pedal reached the floor, acceleration shot up and I took my foot off the accelerator. Cruise control was still engaged and I expected my speed to go back to the set cruise speed of 70 MPH. I noticed then that the acceleration continued to increase and I tried to break once on the break pedal. I got no response. I pushed harder on the break and felt the acceleration continue to increase and then smelled brake heat. I pushed on the cruise button to try to turn cruise off. No response. I felt the accelerator pedal which was flat to the floor and tried tapping it to get it to spring back up. No response. Then I shifted into neutral and saw the engine rev to the redline on the RPM gauge. I took it back into drive and still the acceleration continued as I held the brake harder and harder. Knowing I was not doing anything to fix the problem I called 911 that I was accelerating out of control and I needed their guidance. The 911 dispatcher told me to: (1) put the car into neutral and keep it there, (2) start pulling over as the car slowed, (3) engage the emergency brake, (4) pull the car over to the side of the interstate, (5) turn the ignition key off and brake to a stop. I asked the 911 dispatcher to send police who came and waited with me for a tow truck.

Filed Dec 17, 2010 · Acceleration, Brakes · 62,000 miles · UT · crash

I was driving in a mall parking lot looking for a parking space. I was turning the corner to go down the next aisle and all of a sudden I had no control of the jeep. As I turned to the left to continue looking for a park, the jeep was speeding out of control and I was slamming on the brake with both feet and the jeep just kept accelerating! I was unable to steer away from the vehicles I was heading towards. As I was heading towards the first vehicle that I hit, I was trying to steer away from it and then the jeep turned to the right and kept accelerating. I ended up hitting four other vehicles ( 5 vehicles total) and finally came to a complete stop after hitting the last vehicle. There is extensive damage to my jeep and to the other vehicles involved. We have not had the damage accessed yet, so we do not know how much this will cost to fix. I believe my jeep is totaled. We are thankful nobody was injured and that I am ok, just shaken up a little.

Filed Oct 3, 2010 · Acceleration · 130,000 miles · WA · crash

I washed my 2001 jeep grand cherokee at a coin operated car wash. I climbed into the car, started it up and shifted from park to drive. The car went to full throttle instantly on it's own. I applied brakes but that had little affect and the car rapidly accelerated out of the car wash stall toward a brick wall approx. 20 feet away. I steered the car into a tree as I felt it would be a softer crash as opposed to a wall. The car bounced off of the tree and continued at full throttle into the driveway of the car wash as I continued to push on the brake pedal as hard as I could. I finally turned the key off and stopped. This happened very quickly and I wish I would have reacted sooner. The left front fender and grill were damaged and I had the car towed to a repair shop. I feel fortunate that nobody was hurt and I am very interested in finding the cause of this .

Filed Feb 12, 2010 · Acceleration · HI

I was driving my 2001 jeep grand cherokee yesterday morning and had unintended acceleration!! I bought this vehicle in great condition about 3 weeks ago and had 0 problems with acceleration until this point, and a very sharp point at that! I was traveling uphill and went to pass another vehicle doing approx. 20 miles per hour, I accelerated past the vehicle and all of a sudden the gas pedal went all the way to the floor as if the cruise control came on, but when I tried tapping and then(when that didn't help) I was holding the brakes as far down as I could but would not stop this vehicle that was charging forward with the engine at high revs.. I eventually was able to get the vehicle into neutral which calmed this down. It took the whole length of the street to stop this, and if there were any other vehicles on the road, there would have been a serious-serious accident!!! I am hoping there is something I can do to correct this problem but my mechanic has no idea what could have caused this. I of course came home and googled on my computer to find out if anyone else has had a problem with this, and there are many, many with horror stories of major accidents! I would like to know if anything can be done as I love the vehicle but cannot put peoples lives in danger if this is to happen again.. I have had many cars over the years and have never had anything remotely dangerous as this happen, and I have had no accidents to this point!! With a v8 engine, this vehicle is like a tank charging, and very very very dangerous!! I was very luck, this time!!

Filed Jun 25, 2009 · Acceleration · 55,336 miles · WA

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 jeep grand cherokee. While attempting to apply the brakes at 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly surged forward. The contact stated that the failure occurred periodically. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 55,336.

Filed Jun 6, 2009 · Acceleration · 65,000 miles · SD

I own a jeep grand cherokee. Three of four times I have had unexpected acceleration due to the brake pedal and accelerator being pushed at the same time. I have read on the internet where this has happened on many jeep grand cherokees of nearly every year. I have not had an accident, but it could happen if in a parking lot. The possibility of people being hurt is great. I have kept it mind most everytime I move my vehicle, but it still has happened.

Filed Jan 21, 2008 · Acceleration, Electrical · 117,000 miles · PA

Noticed that the head lights would automatically come on while the car was in park and shut off (headlight switch on auto) the radio controls on the steering wheel would work once in awhile the same for the cruise controls plus the horn does not work at all know did work when I bought it in april 06. I noticed when I played with the tilt steering something is would work some wouldn't. I believe that this might affect the airbag from deploying if in a wreck.

Filed Sep 12, 2007 · Acceleration · 63,000 miles · VA · crash

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 jeep grand cherokee. The contact placed the vehicle in reverse, released the parking brake, and the vehicle accelerated to 60 MPH in reverse. The vehicle crashed into a guard rail, struck the wall of a garage, and stopped after crashing into an ornamental stone. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. Allstate insurance has photos. The current and failure mileages were 63,000. *updated 12/12/07 *bf updated 12/12/07