I am currently looking at 00-04 Grand Cherokees to buy one for the old lady and was wondering if any of those years had any major issues. I have always been a dodge fan (currently own a 99 dakota 4x4), but don't know much of the jeep side of things. Looking to get one with around 40-50K miles on it, most I have seen in that mile range have been 03-04's, but will go older if they were better in older years, like the dakotas.

Any input would be great.....

 

I currently have an '04 Grand Cherokee with the 4.7 and 65,000 miles. It's a great vehicle & I've had no problems other than a leaky seal on the differential a couple months ago. I had a '99 GC with the 4.0 L 6 that I sold to my step son with 108,000 on it. It now has almost 170,000. He's replaced the front wheel bearings & radiator & that's about it, other than brakes & exhaust. If you get one, check the service record. If they're serviced as scheduled, running gear seems to have few problems.
Roger

 

If you get one stay clear of the quadra-drive. My 2000 with 63,000 miles, the tranny went! heard many others had the same problem. just my.02

 

I bought my 2000 with 69K, now has 89K, here is what I had to do to it (I think it had a rough life)

Rear pinon seal
Water pump
Tie rod ends (which also means alignment)
Brake booster
Front rotors/pads (Was a class action lawsuit on the rotors)
Driver side window motor
Painted the hood as a result of stone chips
Plus all the other typical tune up stuff
Plugs
Oil
Air fliter
Flushed brake fluid
Coolant
Transmission service (fluid and band adjustment)
Tires (I think the stockers are good for 65-70K)

Current issues
Rear exhaust hanger rattles
Rear head rests rattle (took them out)
The 4.0 6 banger sounds like a diesel (normal from what I hear)
Passenger power door lock does not work (easy fix, I just do not care about it)
Hood shocks are bad, have to prop hood open (rather prop it than spend $50 on new shocks)
Wiper arms are bad, not much spring left so they do not get pushed against the windows very hard, results in front wipers jumping and rear wiper not making complete contact with glass.

Umm, that is about it.....

 

I had a 99 Grand Cherokee and had a never ending problem with the brakes. I would have to have the rotors resurfaced every 3 months because of the poor design of the calipers. My grandfather has a 04 Grand Cherokee and has the same problem. Thats honestly the only problem I had on the Jeep besides replacing the TPS for the 80k miles it had on it before I traded it.

 

there was a recall on the calipers for a couple of production years that seems to have corrected that issue...

all in all anything between the 03 and 04 production years has any of those problems worked out, and they have proven to be pretty excellent vehicles as long as you take care of them and keep up on the maintenance. i highly recomend them(especially if you find one with a HO4.7 they have lots of ***** and are fun to drive)