1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE Electrical System Problems

CAR USUALLY RUNS FINE COLD BUT WHEN IT GETS TO OPERATING TEMPERATURE IT STALLS UNEXPECTEDLY AND IN DANGEROUS MOMENTS WHILE DRIVING ON ANY ROAD OR FREEWAY AT ANY SPEED. I LOSE ALL POWERED FUNCTIONS LIKE STEERING AND BRAKES. IT WON'T START AGAIN FOR HOURS UNTIL IT HAS COOLED ALL THE WAY DOWN.

THE VEHICLE STALLS UNPREDICTABLY IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ON THE ROAD ENDANGERING LIFE AND SAFETY. IT ALSO EXHIBITS EXPLOSIVE BACKFIRES RANDOMLY WHICH DESTROYS THE MUFFLER AND ENDANGERS SAFETY. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES WHILE IN MOTION ON THE STREET.

ENGINE OVER HEAT GET WORSE WHEN A/C IS ON AND IT ALSO HAVE A ELECTICAL PROBLEM THAT KILLS THE BATTERY AFTEN AND ITS NOT THE ALTENATOR REALLY TIRED OF THIS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 196,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. ...UPDATED 05/14/15 *BF

WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF AND WILL NOT START UNTIL THE VEHICLE COOLS AND WILL RUN FOR A WHILE AND SHUT OFF BUT THIS TIME IT WILL TAKE HOURS BEFORE IT STARTS AGAIN WHICH IT WOULD BEGIN TO REPEAT THE PROCESS OF SHUTTING OFF. I CHANGED ALL THE SENSORS AND HAD THE FUEL PUMP CHECKED OUT BUT IT STILL SHUTS OFF. *TR

FOR THREE YEARS, JEEP GC HAS GONE THROUGH 6 DIFFERENT BATTERIES. DRAIN OCCURS RANDOMLY BUT MAY APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO FACTORY REMOTE KEYLESS ENTRY. JEEP HAS ALSO EXPERIENCED OTHER ELECTRONIC POWER SURGES IN PAST (INTERIOR LIGHTS AND GAUGES GOING HAYWIRE, DRIVER/NAVIGATION CONSOLE LITERALLY GOING UP IN SMOKE.) SEVERAL AUTOMOBILE TECHNICIANS HAVE SERVICED THE VEHICLE AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE THE ORIGIN OF THIS PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM, ITSELF, COULD VERY WELL LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT, FIRE, AND EVEN FATALITY. *TR

THE JEEP WILL DIE AT ANY GIVEN TIME, PLACE, TEMPERATURE. NOTHING SEEMS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THE ONLY THING I CAN GET TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON WHETHER IT RUNS OR DIES IN PUTTING PRESSURE BY HAND ON THE NUMBER THREE COMPUTER PLUG. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, NO CODES NO NOTHING. JUST A FAULTY COMPUTER DESIGN THAT'S PUTTING MYSELF AND MY FAMILY IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 GRAND CHEROKEE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT ALSO INDICATED THAT SMOKE WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE VEHICLE WAS EXAMINED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ALTERNATOR WAS FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

MY HORN HAS NOT WORKED FOR MANY YEARS UNTIL YESTERDAY MY HUSBAND WHO DRIVES MY JEEP RARELY WAS DRIVING IT AND HAD A CLOSE CALL AND HE HIT THE HORN AND IT WORKED? HE TRIED TO DO IT AGAIN AND IT FAILED TO WORK. THIS IS A ONE OWNER CAR AND WE HAVE NEVER TAKEN IT IN TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT. NOT SURE IF IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE AIR BAG ASSEMBLY IN THE STEERING WHEEL OR WHAT IT COULD BE. PLEASE ADVISE IF ANY OTHER COMPLAINTS AND POSSIBLE FIXES FOR THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU *TR

1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO NOT BEING NOTIFIED ABOUT SEVERAL RECALL NOTICES. *SMD

JEEP ADVERTISES THAT THERE GRAND CHEROKEES CAN WITHSTAND WATER UP TO 20 INCHES DEEP. I BEG TO DIFFER AND I HAVE BEEN LIED TO. WAS DRIVING THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOOD ON MY WAY TO A BUDDY'S HOUSE A FEW BLOCKS AWAY, I HIT A SMALL PUDDLE ON MY WAY AND MY ENGINE JUST SEIZED UP AND EVERYTHING WENT BALLISTIC. MEASURED THE PUDDLE AND IT WAS A WHOPPING INCH AND A HALF DEEP. HAD MY BUDDY TOW ME BACK HOME TO CHECK IT OUT AND LOW AND BEHOLD, THERE IT WAS, ROD #1 STICKING RIGHT THROUGH MY OIL PAN ABOUT AN INCH. BENT TO HIGH [XXX] AND SHEARED RIGHT OFF (NOTE: ALSO NOTICED THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS SAID "JAPAN" AND WHEN I PULLED THE OIL PAN AND PULLED THE ROD, IN BIG BOLD LETTERS "CHINA" STAMPED ON THE ROD") NOW I HAVE A 6000LB PAPER WEIGHT SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY THAT I CAN...

STARTED OUT TO GO TO WORK @ 6 AM TRAVELED WITH NO ISSUES TO THE KIDS SITTER'S HOUSE AND THEN CONTINUED ON TO WORK ON DOUBLE LANE HIGHWAY SPEED LIMIT 60 MPH. THE JEEP STARTED SPUTTER, JERK AND EVENTUALLY DIED, DIDN'T REALIZE IT HAD DIED SO PULLED OFF TO SIDE OF ROAD, TURN THE JEEP BACK ON IT KEPT SPUTTERING, JERKING AND DIED AGAIN. FINALLY, IT BACKFIRED 3 TO 4 TIMES AND STAYED STARTED. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WENT AND HAD THE CODE READ IT STATED IT WAS THE IGNITION COIL AND CATALYST SYSTEM. SO WE CHANGED THE IGNITION COIL AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER, ALONG WITH THE MUFFLER DO TO THE FACT THE BACKFIRING BLEW A HOLE PLUM THROUGH THE MUFFLER. STILL SAME PROBLEMS. HAVE HAD SEVERAL NEAR MISS OF CRASHES, AND BODILY INJURY. NOW IT DOESN'T WANT TO START AND YOU SIT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD LIKE...

DRIVER FRONT, AND BOTH REAR DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS HAVE STOPPED WORKING CORRECTLY. *TR

JEEP STALLS WITHOUT GIVING ANY WARNING SIGN SUCH AS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. CHANGED SO MANY DIFFERENT PART TO FIX PROBLEM NO ONE KNOWS WHY. WHEN IT DIES DURING THE LEFT TURN MANY TIMES I FEEL SO DANGER. PLEASE LET JEEP KNOW THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE IN DANGER BECAUSE OF THEIR FAULTY WORK. *TR

JEEP HAS BEEN STALLING FOR 2 YEARS AT LEAST. STALLS UNDER ALL CONDITIONS, IDLE, HIGH SPEED, COLD OR HOT OUTSIDE TEMP. RECENTLY THE PAST MONTH IT IS STALLING CONSTANTLY AT THE RATE OF 2-5 TIMES PER DAY, AVERAGE MILEAGE 25 MILES PER DAY. STALLS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ARE BAD, AND IN TRAFFIC CAN BE DEADLY. STALLS IN INTERSECTIONS ARE WORSE AS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO REACT AND GET THE VEHICLE AWAY FROM HEAVY TRAFFIC. BASIC RESEARCH WILL SHOW THAT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAME EXACT PROBLEM. *TR

ENGINE SUDDENLY CUT OFF WHILE DRIVING, POWER BRAKES AND STEERING WERE IMMEDIATELY LOST, ALTHOUGH LIGHTS AND GAGES REMAINED OPERATIONAL. BATTERY AND GROUNDS TESTED FINE. CAP, ROTOR AND PLUGS ARE ALL NEW, WIRES AND COIL TEST FINE, AND VEHICLE HAS NEW MOPAR CRANK POSITION AND THROTTLE POSITION SENSORS. RESEARCH ON JEEP TECHNICAL SITES FINDS IDENTICAL PROBLEMS BEING TRACED TO FAILURE OF POWER CONTROL MODULE PCM, SOMETIMES ALSO REFERRED TO AS ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM). *TT

THIS IS A COMMONLY KNOWN DEFECT WITH THESE JEEPS WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED BY THE NHTSA. SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET KILLED IF THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT HELD RESPONSIBLE. INFAMOUS STALLING PROBLEM. WHETHER GOING 10 MPH OR 70 MPH, VEHICLE WILL STALL WITH NO WARNING. GENERALLY WILL RE-START AFTER TURNING OFF IGNITION, BUT NOT ALWAYS IMMEDIATELY. ON MY JEEP, I HAVE REPLACED THE COMPUTER MODULE, CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR, FUEL PUMP, FUEL FILTERS, MAF SENSOR, DISTRIBUTOR CAP, ROTOR, PLUGS AND PLUG WIRES. I HAVE HAD THE COMPUTER MODULE WIRING HARNESS REWORKED. STILL STALLS, AND I HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PARK THE JEEP FOR SAFETY REASONS. *TR

LIKE MANY OTHER JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE FROM 95 - 99 MY JEEP HAS STARTING CUTTING OUT FOR NO APPARENT REASON. MANY COMPONENTS HAVE BEEN CHANGED. THIS IS A WIDELY DOCUMENTED PROBLEM OF POOR QUALITY CONTROL LEADING TO SOLDER JOINT FAILURES ON THE ECM BOARD. THIS CAUSES AN INTERRUPTION OF THE SIGNAL AND CAUSE THE VEHICLES ENGINE TO DIE OR SPUTTER AT ANY SPEED OR TIME. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HASN'T BEEN RECALLED WHEN THE PROBLEM IS SO WELL DOCUMENTED ON NUMEROUS JEEP WEBSITES. THIS JEEP ALSO SUFFERS FROM THE 50MPH SHAKE. *TR

1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LTD., 4.0/6CYL./AUTO TRANS. RANDOM INTERMITTENT STALLING AND/OR BUCKING WHILE DRIVING, STALLING AT STOP SIGNS, RESTARTS IMMEDIATELY SOMETIMES (OR NOT). STALLING AND/OR BUCKING MAY OCCUR AT 70 MPH OR 35 MPH. JEEP WILL BE RUNNING PERFECTLY FOR MILES AND THEN JUST STALL (AT 70 MPH ON INTERSTATE WHILE MERGING WITH ANOTHER INTERSTATE IS VERY STRESSFUL AND DANGEROUS.. IE. I75 AT KNOXVILLE, TENN. OR I71 AT I 270 IN COLUMBUS, OHIO. MANY TIMES IT WILL STALL WHILE CROSSING A STATE HIGHWAY FROM A STOP SIGN ON A COUNTY ROAD. ALSO OCCURS ON COUNTY ROADS WHILE CRUISING ALONG AT 45 TO 55 MPH. IT IS TRULY A RANDOM AND INTERMITTENT PROBLEM ...AND VERY DANGEROUS. I HAVE BEEN HONKED AT, CURSED AT, NEARLY BROADSIDED,/REARENDED TOO MANY TIMES TO EVEN BEGIN TO COUNT. PROBLEM HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR 4 YEARS. REPLACING THE PCM WORKS FOR MAYBE 2 MONTHS THEN PROBLEM RETURNS...

RANDOM STALLING, SUDDEN TRANSMISSION SLAMS AND DROP DOWNS. *TR

STALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC WHILE DRIVING. ALMOST KILLED ME AND MY KIDS TODAY. *TR

MY VEHICLE STALLS WHEN IT IS HOT OUTSIDE. I HAVE HAD THE COIL REPLACED THEN I HAD THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED AND O2 SENSOR AND IT STILL STALLED ON START UP. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND IT STALLED AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS MY FUEL PUMP. I SPENT 965 ON A FUEL PUMP I DIDN'T NEED BECAUSE IT IS STILL STALLING AND THEY HAVE NO CLUE WHY. I SEEN THIS PROBLEM ON MEAN FORUMS. I THINK THE DEALER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND SHOULD KNOW HOW TO FIX THEM NOT MAKE SOMEONE SPEND A THOUSAND DOLLARS ON A MIGHT. *TR

1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HAS BEEN STALLING OUT FOR OVER A YEAR. REPLACED COMPUTER LAST SPRING AND WORKED OK FOR A FEW MONTHS. BEGAN INTERMITTENT STALLING AGAIN. MECHANIC REPLACED BAD PRONGS ON PLUG TO COMPUTER. WORKED FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS BUT STALLED AGAIN ON MY WAY TO WORK TODAY. NO ACCIDENTS (SERIOUS OR NOT) AS YET BUT IS SCARY TO DRIVE. SOMETIMES WILL JUST ACT LIKE IT IS STALLING AND AFTER A FEW SECONDS WILL KICK BACK AND I CAN GO ON MY WAY. HAVE TRIED BACKING OUT THE SCREWS ON THE COMPUTER AS DIRECTED ONLINE BUT THAT ONLY WORKED FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. *TR

FAILURE: VEHICLE RANDOMLY STALLS OUT AND CUTS OUT. CAN OCCUR AT ANY TIME AND HAS NEARLY CAUSED A COLLISION ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AT INTERSECTIONS AND ON FREEWAYS. VEHICLE CAN STALL AT IDLE, OR ANY SPEED. CAUSE OF FAILURE: THE WIRING HARNESSES AT THE PCM BECOME LOOSE CAUSING THE PCM TO LOOSE CONNECTION WITH THE ENGINE, THUS CREATING THE STALL. I BELIEVE THIS IS DUE TO FAULTY LOCKING TABS ON THE HARNESS, WHICH SECURE THE HARNESSES TO THE PCM. CORRECTION: REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM DEALER ONLY. I HAVE CONFIRMED THIS AS THE CAUSE BY GENTLY TOUCHING THE HARNESS WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, THE SLIGHTEST MOVEMENT CAUSES THE ENGINE TO CUT OUT AND STALL. I HAVE INCLUDED THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE DATE, HOWEVER THE PROBLEM HAPPENS ON A DAILY BASIS AND I WILL NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE UNTIL IT IS REPAIRED DUE TO THE SAFETY RISK FOR ME AND MY FAMILY....

I HAVE A 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO. IT TURNS OFF AT EVERY STOP OR WHEN I START TO SLOW DOWN. I'VE PAID OVER $500 TO GET THIS PROBLEM FIXED & NOTHING!! I'VE HAD THE COMPUTER CHANGED, COIL CHANGED, TUNE UP, EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE! MY MECHANIC HAS NO CLUE WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT & WHEN I GOOGLE IT I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON WITH THIS EXACT TYPE OF VEHICLE & THIS EXACT KIND OF PROBLEM. IT STARTED OVER A YEAR AGO I HAD THE COMPUTER CHANGED. IT WAS WORKING GREAT FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS. THEN THE PROBLEMS STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN ONE DAY WHEN I WAS SITTING ON THE FREEWAY IN TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE STARTS TO SHAKE, THEN IT WILL SHUT OFF. SOMETIMES IT'LL SHAKE FOR ABOUT A MINUTE AS IF IT'S ABOUT TO TURN OFF, YET IT'LL STAY ON. IT HESITATES SO MUCH & I'M TIRED OF THIS...

MY 1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LIMITED STALLS INTERMITTENTLY FOR NO APPARENT REASON AND WITHOUT WARNING. NORMALLY THE CAR WILL STALL WHILE IDLING EITHER IMMEDIATELY UPON STARTING OR WHILE SITTING AT AN INTERSECTION. I HAVE READ ONLINE WHERE MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WHICH SEEMS TO BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR A MECHANIC TO DIAGNOSE. I HAVE INSTALLED A NEW STARTER, DISTRIBUTOR CAP AND WIRING WITH NO LUCK. MANY PEOPLE ARE VERY ANNOYED ABOUT HAVING TO SPEND MONEY ON MECHANICS "GUESSES" AND STILL NOT GETTING THE PROBLEM SOLVED. THIS STALLING PROBLEM IS OBVIOUSLY VERY DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY IF IT OCCURS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AS IT WOULD BE VERY EASY TO GET REAR-ENDED. FOR THIS REASON, I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE. *TR

FOR YEARS WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR HEATING UP EVERY SUMMER. AS SOON AS THE AIR CONDITIONING GOES ON THE CAR HEATS UP. AND EVERY YEAR WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TRYING TO FIX IT. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WE A COPIES OF ALL OF OUR BILLS. IT'S HOT AGAIN AND WE HAVE A PROBLEM AGAIN. *AK

WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. WHEN THIS OCCURRED, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND THE BRAKES FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT THIS WAS CAUSED BY AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM SENSOR FAILURE.*AK THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND APPARENTLY THE PROBLEM WAS THE OXYGEN SENSOR, ALSO THE MONITOR LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD BLINKED WHICH INDICATED THERE WAS A REAR LAMP FAILURE EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO FAILURE. *JB *NLM

WHILE TRAVELING, THE DASH BOARD INDICATION LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. *JB

APPARENTLY SOME FAILURE OCCURED WITH THE JEEP THAT CAUSED SMOKE TO ENTER THROUGH THE VENTILATION SYSTEM. THE COMPARTMENT FILLED WITH SMOKE. THE SMOKE HAD AN ARROMA OF ELECTRICITY. EVERYTHING THAT CONSUMER HAD RUNNING SUCH AS THE BLOWER MOTOR/AC WERE TURNED OFF. MRCONSUMER FEELS THE VEHICLE DESIGN ALLOWED DEBRIS TO ENTER THE AIR CONDITIONING AIR BOX AND COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE BLOWER RESISTOR. THIS CAUSED THE DEBRIS TO IGNITE FORM THE HEAT SOURCE, ALSO THE ENGINE GASKET WAS LEAKING OIL. *JG

ELECTRICAL ERROR MESSAGES ON HEATER DISPLAY.

ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION RESULTED IN EAR LAMP/HEADLIGHT/RADIO/CLOCK FAILURE.

AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND WON'T GO OFF/ RADIO IS WORKING INTERMITTENTLY, AND ALL WINDOWS WON'T COME DOWN DUE TO A SHORT WITHIN VEHICLE. *AK

THE JEEP IS HAVING SERIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS ONE AFTER ANOTHER AND THIS COULD BE A POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARD. *AK

ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

BROUGHT VEHICLE INTO DEALER ON FOUR DIFFERENT OCCASIONS FOR VARIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. *AK

ELECTRICAL SHORT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL 6 TIMES.