2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee: rotors or pads wearing out early

Filed Jan 2, 2009 · Brakes · 25,100 miles · CT

About 3,000 miles ago the brakes began to pulse when applied during highway trips. This grew worse as time went on. Now they pulse even in the cold weather in december in ct during short trips (2-3 miles). When they pulse, the steering wheel shakes badly (as does the whole vehicle) especially at higher speeds and on longer trips. I will no longer allow my wife to drive it on highways. Today I went to action motors (jeep dealership in danbury, ct) and discussed the issue with two service managers. I was told that this was "normal" and that when brakes get "hot' they overheat the rotors and the rotors warp. Action motors wanted to replace the rotors at my cost. They said there was no jeep recall on the issue. I mentioned that this was the identical issue that jeep grand cherokees had in 1999 through 2003 and why did I have to pay for the defective design (does jeep not realize that brakes get hot when they are used). They told me the only reason that jeep offered free repair to those model years was that it was a result of a "law suit" against jeep. They also tried to convince me that this was normal on all makes of cars and to expect it. I have owned many cars in my many years of driving and none have experienced this issue under any conditions or any mileage. Seems someone or many must die before jeep accepts responsibility. I do not wish to have jeep repair my brakes at my cost. I no longer trust their intentions or their commitment to safety. I would like to take it to another repair shop but do not know how that might affect any "recall" directed by the federal safety agency that may occur in the future. The brake repair will have to been done very soon to make the car safe to operate. Shame on jeep.

Filed May 4, 2006 · Brakes · MI

2004 jeep grand cherokee front rotors warped after 14,000 miles of mostly highway driving. In all my years of owning vehicles, I have never heard of such a thing being the fault of the driver as my dealership was trying to explain to me. The dealer wants to charge me $100.00 to machine the rotors. How will this prevent this from happening again??? These rotors are defective and should be recalled and replaced. I have owned three jeeps previous to this one and I have never experienced a problem like this. I think this will be my last chrysler product.

Filed Mar 17, 2006 · Brakes · 16,300 miles · NJ

Dt*: the contact stated the rotors warped resulting in front end vibration at speeds of 50 to 60 MPH. The brake pads and rotors were replaced by the service dealer three times. The replacement pads and rotors failed after driving about 6,000 miles and the contact is concerned this pattern will continue. The first time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, the front and rear brake pads and rotors were replaced. During the next two visits, only the front brake pads and rotors were replaced. The dealer was unable to provide an explanation for the wear until this most recent visit, 3/16/06, where it was determined to be caused by aggressive braking. Vehicle pulsated when coming to stop at traffic signal at speed of 25 MPH. Contact felt it was a safety problem because of failure to stop or loss of control. Vehicle vibrated excessively when slowing at speeds of 50 MPH or higher or for on/off ramps or traffic back ups on highways. It felt as if vehicle will not stop or lose control due to warped brake rotors. Happened on three occasions; 09/29/ 2005, 05/05/2005, and 05/16/2006.

Filed Dec 30, 2005 · Brakes · 15,000 miles · CA

I am reporting the second instance of front brake rotor warping on my 2004 jeep grand cherokee which has ~27,000 miles. The first occurrence was at about 15,000 miles. On braking at speeds of >35 MPH (even normal braking - not emergency braking), there is an excessive front end shimmy and chatter that seems dangerous. It seemed very unusual that the front rotors had warped at 15,000 miles, but the dealer said that brakes were not covered under the jeep warranty so we paid for turning them. Now the front rotors are warped again and will require service. The dealer again says that this is not covered under the warranty so I will have to pay for turning them again or replacing them. We do not pull anything with the vehicle and rarely use the brakes for anything but routine stopping, so the rotors should not warp so frequently. Clearly there are design problems with this that could create an unsafe situation when braking if I were not to have the rotors fixed so frequently. For example, if the steering wheel were not gripped tightly during braking the vehicle could easily go out of control.

Filed Jun 28, 2005 · Brakes · 20,050 miles · MT

2004 jeep grand cherokee - all four brake rotors warped at 20,000 miles of normal driving (no trailer, etc.). Dealer machined the rotors. Suspect warping will occur again in less than 20,000 miles as less metal on rotors now. Dealer measured brake pads at 60% rear and 50% front, so those components seem ok. There is something in the design and/or manufacture of the brakes that causes warping. Fortunately, no accident.

Filed Jun 24, 2005 · Brakes · 34,255 miles · WY

Brakes developed vibration at highway speeds when trying to slow down. I am suspecting warped rotors which should not happen at 34000 miles.

Filed Jun 3, 2005 · Brakes · 8,000 miles · OH

Our 2003 model year jeep grand cherokee has terrible brake rotors. The jeep is used by my wife for a daily driver. We live in ohio in a fairly flat area. The vehicle is driven in town 95% of the time. The vast majority of that time is on the same road with a speed limit of 35mph. It is not a congested area that requires significant and or sudden braking. The rotors began to warp around 5,000 miles. The next scheduled oil change was around 8000 miles, and we had them replaced at that point. The rotors warped severely again around 20,000 miles. At which point the dealer fooled my wife into paying them for replacement chrysler rotors as the brake warranty was neither covered under the 3/36 bumper-to-bumper warranty nor the 7-70 powertrain warranty. If I had not thought them to be under warranty, I would have never had the dealership replace them with components of such shoddy quality that they will warp again inside of one calendar year. The service manager told my wife that rotors should only last 10,000 miles. I am an automotive mechanical engineer. I uinderstand that the factors that contribute to rotor warpage are only heat and installation. Given the use of this vehicle (we don't even have a tow package), excessive heat can be eliminated. The failure mode eliminates improper installation. Poor quality material, not enough material, and inadequate manufacturing processes could cause warpage with significnatly lower heat threashold. Since chrysler and now dc has been having the problem for decades, and they have changed the calipers in the '02 model year, I suggest that the federal safety agency pressure dc to upgrade the quality of the rotors. All they have to do is shed heat and take the wear of the brake pads on their surface. It is one of the more simple components in a vehicle. I would suggest that they not only replace the rotors for all grand cherokee owners, but replace them with a reputable name (non dc oem) rotors. This would alleviate all issues.

Filed Apr 6, 2005 · Brakes · VT

I leased a 2004 grand cherokee in march of 2004 and less than a year later I had to have the front rotors replaced due to warping. The vehicle only had 7984 miles on it. My mother bought the same year model and her is at 16000 miles and her front rotors are warped. I owned a 1999 grand cherokee prior to the one I have now and traded it in because it had the same problem with the rotors, I was told that the new 2004 model had fixed the problem. I was lucky enough that the brakes were still coverd by warranty but my mother isn't, I am beyond angry with jeep. Do not buy a jeep grand cherokee!!!! Almost every person I know with a grand between the years of 1999-2004 have had their rotors warp every year and jeep refuses to fix the flaw or replace the brakes when they warp prematurely. I am heartbroken because I love how they look and ride but because of the brake problems I will never buy another.

Filed Aug 31, 2004 · Brakes · 18,000 miles · NJ

Problems with warped rotors on vehicle. *mr ten months and 18000 miles after the vehicle was purchased, the early warning symptoms of warped rotors surfaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the rotors were indeed warped. The manufacturer refused to honor their basic warranty. The consumer has owned three other jeeps in the past all of which experienced some type of rotor problem

Filed Aug 25, 2004 · Brakes · FL

(1)violent shaking occurs while braking at various speeds (2)brake failure,rotors warped. (3)taken to dealership, will not repair due to 15,000 miles on vehiclehad repairs done by private individual,will not take this vehicle back to dealership!!rotors turned and repaired $130.00.

Filed Apr 12, 2004 · Brakes · 7,650 miles · NY

2004 jeep grand cherokee warped rotors at 7800 miles.