The 21st Century Corvair: Why This Jeep Grand Cherokee Was America's DEADLIEST Car
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
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Today I drive what could be one of the least safe cars ever made - the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Here we had a vehicle with not just one, but a catalogue of failures that might have killed off any other company. But Jeep, somehow, survived.
#Jeep #GrandCherokee #moosetest
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I have driven a 2014 Jeep Cherokee laredo 3.7 v6 in Houston.. it is a pleasant driving car, but do agree with you on the transmission lever design
Actually the compact cars from GM were dramatically more dangerous. There are plenty of cars that do poorly in the elk tests and moose tests, but as far as actually KILLING is customers, GM clearly wins that "honor" for their ignition key scandal. They admitted accountability for at LEAST 124 deaths and no less than 300 likely deaths linked to their scandal, with the unreported total estimated as high as 600-800 crashes. GM knowingly made compact cars where the ignition key could turn from the run to off position if you have anything on your Keychain, and lock the steering wheel and turn off the car in the middle of driving. Look it up on Google. what's even more infuriating is that GM literally KILLED PEOPLE and only got a 300 million fine by the department of Justice (not including death settlements) but when volkswagen got implicated with the diesel scandal, they were fined 15 BILLION dollars by the US EPA. Definitely a case of favoritism by US courts. Anyway, good video, but kind of overblown about the "safety" concerns. And yes, for the record, I had a 2015 grand cherokee with that transmission. (Same transmission as an Audi A8 or BMW, by the way) and I actually miss that shifter, because you could activate sport mode just by pulling back a second time while already in drive. Which is great when you naturally rest your hand in the shifter anyway. Also, that jeep actually handled great with the basic coil spring suspension. It drrove like a tall volkswagen GTi. Awesome around corners and onramps. Only the air suspension models or tow package models were "floaty". Moral of story, this car gets a bad rap because it got dragged through the press by the media because they smelled blood and needed a scare piece story. Total shame because there are very few cars that are as good a value as a grand cherokee for people who DO like to mix offroad and onroad diving and carefree fun. Great car.
Do a video on the infamous GM ignition switch. It went on killing people for ten years and GM never bothered to carry out a recall.
I rented one of these on a trip to the USA back in 2019 and was very impressed with the build quality and the way it drove and handled. Probably the best car I've ever rented over there.
It's a Mercedes ML platform vehicle
@@Devocated I thought it was a GL.
Build quality????????? They are the worst piece of junk any of the big 3 has thrown together.
you are full of it@@angrysoybean1012
@@angrysoybean1012 have you owned one before?
A couple years ago I declined buying one of these ( the same trim same engine) thinking it may be "unreliable" ...( Never knew about the shifter danger)....Instead . I finally ended up buying a Jaguar F-pace.... ..."That should be better" I said
....6 months already, still in the repair shop 😅 ( and cost me a fortune to repair too)
While travelling by bus for 6 months already, eternally waiting for my Jag to be done, I still wonder why I didn't buy that Jeep ✌️😄
Heeps aren't reliable, but they still blow Jag out of the water. 😣
I feel sorry for you!
Insane! I have Jag too but never been to shop for more than few days and i have 3.0 V6 diesel 200 000 km crossed this week
Lemon Law
No offense, but a few corrections are necessary. Firstly, body-on frame vehicles are known for their attenuation of NVH due to the isolation of the body from the frame with rubber isolators, so to say that a unibody (actually "un" on a grand cherokee) is reducing NVH, not necessarily true. There was no 3.7 v6 in these model years. It was a 3.6. Yes, the recall for the monostable/polystable transmission lever was to apply the "safe hold" feature which, as you mentioned, automatically stops the vehicle if a door is opened while in "D". I admire those of you who have the time etc to be CZcams contributors, I just feel that you really did a hatchet job on a best selling SUV, and it's more your perception, than actual fact. Yes, sadly, a semi- famous person was killed, and you said it was a "design flaw" in the Jeep but "operator error" in the Audi comparison example. I always respected those mid 80s Audi 5000s (my parent had a few) but there were some flaws too related to a unintended acceleration... engine idle stabilizer issues, originally they never moved the brake pedal over, or made the pedal larger for automatic cars v. Manuals that had space for a clutch and brake pedal. So in the big picture, it was a flawed design that had corrections made such as new idle calibrations, automatic tranny equipped cars got a repositioned and larger brake pedal and if you want to know where the idea came for drivers side floor mats that are"clipped down" to the floor v. Just laid on the floor? Well, that was Audi and the 5000/100.
Anyway, wishing you well.
My dad's got a 2020 3.0L petrol version of JGC in the lowest trim possible. It has fabric seats, no air suspension and fuel consumption might be not so good(13L/100kms on average), but the car itself, as a whole, is really really nice. It is very plushy, it's very off-road capable, interior has a lot of space and the feeling of it is actually nice. In 110000kms/69000miles it hasn't had a single issue (except for a multimedia system repair and ABS reprogramming) and car still feels really solid. Power is enough, engine likes to rev and it sounds decent too(not as good as a V8 though). Overall nice car, he's happy to have it and i am happy that he has it as well, cause i get to drive his old 2L Ford Focus🤭
I grabbed a 2011 hemi overland last year, I love it, and I can’t stand how rough the air suspension is over broken pavement. Engine has endless power, and took it offroading in the mountains, didn’t skip a beat!
I have a 2015 v6 version with 91000 miles and 9 winters in rural Northern Illinois. Having dodged quite a few deer, and several cars, I can honestly say that I never experienced anything like what was presented in the video. I usually receive 19 mpg in the summer and autumn, less in snow, with a mix of town and country roads with some interstate highway thrown in.
We've had three Grand Cherokees, 1992 Limited, 2004 Overland and 2012 Overland. They have all been great vehicles, and still own the 2012 which is awesome. It has the 5.7 hemi, we have 118k miles on it, I've driven it twice now from Toronto to San Diego. I runs the interstates at 80 - 90 mph with not issue, taken it out in the desert and extremely capable off roader and up to ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada's that require 4WD or chains. With the V8's these are pretty fast vehicles, in the hands I bad drivers certainly could be an issue. But really, I lower the suspension, very stable at high speeds.
I had a Grand Jeep Cherokee 55 plate with an Lpg conversion along with a petrol 5.7 hemi engine. It was superb. And great fun when you put your foot down. omg, the sound was fantastic, although the fuel disappeared quickly.
Thank you!
I was only 55 years of age when I heard, for the first time, someone actually say "commensurate", and not just read it in a legal document or Victorian Novel.
Please keep up the amazingly good work that you do.......
It's just a car sales term just used to ptretend they are clever , rather like 'per sec'
Because Britons use the language while we Americans express ourselves thus: "You gon win game, Bro?" Remember, verbs are so passé.
@@melb6528 Actually, it is a word used by non-ignoramuses. Some years ago, I worked with Ukrainians who had far better English vocabularies than we Americans.
@@melb6528what an imbecilic thing to say.
@@IcelanderUSer Have you been in a used car sales outlet in the UK recently
Drat, I was going to offer you my WK2 5.7 Hemi (only UK supplied example still registered).
The 5.7 V8 Hemi was dropped from the price list in the UK for the WK2 generation. I saw one for sale and thought it must be a mistake. It wasn't and I bought it. I later did some research and discovered that although the 5.7 was dropped, it was available to special order. Jeep UK sold two. According to HowManyLeft, mine is the only one still registered. It's UK supplied and RHD. It has the air suspension and, as far as I know, the Overland spec had this as standard. Being a 2011 model, it has the earlier 5 speed box with the non-fatal gear selector. It has lots of flaws, and requires quite a bit of maintenance, but I love it and it is still going strong at 124k miles.
Future video
You should send an email
That’s sick!! I love unique cars like that! Seems like the only other one dipped just a couple quarters after first being registered, I wonder if it was wrecked or exported
I think your title is a bit harsh. I reviewed a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with a gasoline V6, and found it a very good suv. Living in the US, these are everywhere. The one I drove handled much better than I expected. Just voicing my opinion. Love what you do.
The title is clickbait. These are far from the most dangerous car on the road. In fact, they’re one of the best selling suvs in the country.
It’s a British thing. The Brit’s love shitting on anything American because we own them. 😂
VM Motori became part of the FIAT Group, in fact a wholly owned subsidiary from 2013, now of course all wrapped up in Stellantis.
Yes they also did the notorious 2000 5 cylinder diesel which was really a fishing boat engine, designed for a nice constant supply of cold sea water.
0:43 That's still a first-gen ZJ.
Yes the badge on the door shows it’s a 5.9 V8. That engine wasn’t fitted to the 2nd generation WJ which generally was a 4.7 V8. The 5.7 HEMI mainly featured in the WK1. I currently have one of those in Overland trim. Not too many came to the UK and it’s even rarer in the WK2. Another comment says he’s got the only UK registered example. Perhaps James should go for an SRT8 6.4 WK2 a bit more affordable than a Trackhawk and still pretty quick?
Yep that's a 5.9 known as a niner, it was made only in 1998 actually was the fastest SUV in the world that year, I had one I still missed that truck
Had several Jeeps living in eastern Canada, where Moose dodging was a thing. 2 were Grand Cherokee’s, Limited variant. These were a series1, with 5.2 V8 and the second with the 5.9 litre hemi, both pre air suspension. Great cars -lots of power in their time - unstoppable in snow, mud, gravel, etc that were encountered in eastern Canada driving, and comfortable. Also surprisingly good off road, got me into some pretty hard to reach fishing spots without a lot of mods that other vehicles encountered in there seemed to require.
Is the moose test failure car problem or a wheel/tire problem. It blew a tire but didn't roll. There are different wheels available for these and many different tire options. So which is it? Wouldn't be so quick to blame the car without addressing the question.
Great review. I've had a 2018 3.6 petrol Grand Cherokee for the last three years. Jeep had sorted out the gear selector by the time mine was made. It's a car that dislikes being pushed too hard, but I find that trying to do that sort of erodes the whole point of the thing. It's designed to be a comfortable place to be and, as in your review, at national speed limits (plus a bit) it'll effortlessly eat up the miles. I reckon on about 26 mpg (UK) of mainly highway driving which I suppose is OK for what it is. Overall it's been a great car to own.
The Viper had a v10 . The Crossfire had a v6 . The top dog supercharged hemi was found also in the Hell Cat Challenger and Charger .
Dodge Durango hellcat, Ram TRX as well
@@jakey20022 Yes very true .
I had one several years ago with the Hemi as a police car. I had the same problem with the gear shift lever. Otherwise it was a very dependable and comfortable vehicle.
The first gen Land Rover Discovery failed the elk test, it actually fell over, that's why the face-lift model came out with that new anti roll technology that was supposed to keep the Discovery upright more of the time
I believe Air suspension was standard on anything above the Limited trim. I've always like my GC's, and prefer the looks of the WK2 over the WK by far. But I struggle with the lack of headroom for us taller folk, especially with the sun roof. I also prefer this 3.0 v6 diesel by FPT/VM over the Merc unit in its predecessor, it's more refined and more reliable. I had a WK and everything that went wrong with it was Merc based, the Chyrsler stuff on it was clunky but robust. I wish they'd brought some of the smaller petrols here though, Im not really a fan of diesels and I didnt want a big v8 as it's obviously expensive to run as a daily and a bit overkill for my needs... Also i wouldnt say the moose test was an epic fail, not enough to put me off, but the electric gear lever, yeah, they replaced that kn 2016 MY onwards.
Always gives me a craving for toast when I see the front view.
I have a 2014 Summit model I love, will never sell! The car puts itself in park if you open door! Ive had to swerve significantly twice in 67000 miles with total confidence! I have had several jaguars and currently drive a SLK! Your sensationalized review’s are fairly good once you toss out the sensationalism!
One of only two big 4x4 I would buy with my own money along with the later L322s (which I fell in love with after the Head Vs Heart video) 😊 In late 2016 the shifter is replaced with one not too dissimilar in function to the 6-speed L322s and in late 2017 the infotainment is updated to include better resolution and Carplay/Android Auto.
“Big” lol
Correction: big for European roads. The pick-up truck and full-size SUV crowd is oddly sparse here. Might have something to do with the fact that in Europe roads are narrower and parking spaces- smaller.
Anyone who considers any of these "performance" SUV's as "good handing" is just kidding themselves, that is, until they discover the considerable difference between a sedan and a "Sports Utility Vehicle." (a foot higher than need be.) this will occur usually after telling a buddy, "watch how this thing takes this on -ramp!"
Yet for some reason there's an endless appetite for powerful versions, despite this fundamental handling flaw. People eh...
The JGC is not an SUV like a Toyota 4Runner. It’s a CUV, basically just a tall wagon.
They actually totally switched engine on the Diesel. The early one attached to the 5 speed was indeed still a Merc unit, the later is from VM (which I think you'll find branded 'eco diesel' in palces).
I have a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I bought it on 2018 and have put 100k miles on it. It’s the most comfortable, luxurious car I have ever had. I have always worried about its reliability but it has been solid. I have gotten 27 miles per gallon on a long trip. I am currently looking at new to me vehicles now and surprisingly few compare! I am genuinely surprised. Currently looking at a 2021 Lexus GX 460. Such incredible timing on this video. Thanks, James!
One of biking pals gave me a run around Fife in his Trackhawk, very impressive
I too have a 5.7 hemi Trailhawk (2017) that I really like. It pulls heavy car and moving trailers, it has a decent amount of cargo room inside, it is very comfortable on long trips and is absolutely fearless of any weather condition. The air suspension (which I think was standard on the Trailhawks) is certainly not designed for cornering but it seems to works brilliantly otherwise (for how I use it anyway). I think it fairs better here in the US with the much bigger and straighter roads (I have a Jag F-Type R for the curvy ones). As far as being unstable, well maybe we got lucky but my wife was driving and we hit something in road (at night, in the rain, at highway speeds, on a corner) and cut down a front tire. Admittedly she is great diver but she had no problem steering through the corner and coming to safe stop on the side of the road. Where I had to change out the tire.....
We had a 2016 with the revised shifter from new in the USA and had no problems with it over 4 years of ownership. Ours was a fully kitted out Limited with the 20" wheels - I didnt want the air suspension of the Overland - and I found it went and handled well. Rode nicely, too (sounds like I was right not to get the air suspension). I still love the design of these - very handsome, solid and timeless with a nice interior, only let down by the hard plastics in the lower areas of the IP and doors. First new "family" car I ever bought with lots of fond memories of trips to the Oregon coast ferrying our then baby son in his car seat.
We looked for one in the UK when we moved there, as my wife loved the thing, but didn't want a Diesel.
Funny you should mention the U Connect HMI system being familiar to Maserati owners, as we ended up with a Levante. It is actually a good, very intuitive system, so no objections. The power window switch units are also shared with the Levante.
BTW, the problematic "static" shifters introduced with the 2014 facelift were absolutely horrible to use. I test drove a used JGC with one and can see how the young actor that died thought his car was in park and not reverse. I am in the automotive industry and cannot understand how such a poor (and dangerous) piece of design was ever signed off. In the USA I believe a recall meant most were upgraded to the newer (and very satisfactory) post 2016 m.y. conventional shifter.
I would definitely recommend the JGC of this generation - post facelift and shifter update.
I leased a 2015 Summit and experienced the gear shift phenomena. The dealership did the software update to automatically shift to park when door opens. I specifically didn’t purchase the lease out due to the shift design.
Hi Jay,having had a grand Cherokee diesel limited since 2015 (a 2014 model with8 speed) i have found that pressing the eco button on the lower console tightens up the throttle response ,I use this in built up areas!
The gear selector update works fine!
The sprung suspension is quite firm with 20" wheels but suits me!
The car has always been dealer serviced,and therefore always has updates as and when needed.
I recently test-drove a BMW I4. When stopped at a stoplight in Brake (B) mode, a single upward flick of the gear lever:
• Places the transmission into Drive (D) mode if the driver’s foot is off the brake pedal;
• Places the transmission into Reverse (R) mode if the driver’s foot is prudently on the brake pedal.
I almost hit the car behind me when the light turned green!
Great review , thank you. I really enjoy watching your channel. This reminded me of the ‘ best car I wish I hadn’t sold ‘ a V8 Grand Cherokee 😢. Lots here I didn’t know.
I actually requested this video from Matt of High Peak Autos on Monday. Little did I know James is busy cooking it up for me. Thanks👍🏾
I don’t think I could drive something that I knew would fall over if I had to swerve.
Not defending them, but I don't think it was going to flip over that easy.
But using that low of a profile tyre, and that thin was the issue.
Maybe just chasing 0.5 mpg more or something.
Still, very dangerous...or very inconvenient at best 😂
Best not drive a truck then. Sometimes the handling is better on cars that can flip over as they don't have all the mush and understeer built in to stop them flipping. As long as you can feel when it's near the tipping point.
So you won't drive any toyota bigger than a nissan qashqai then..
@@tattttu9best to get a 25 year old citroen then!
By which I mean “drive” as in own and transport my family on a regular basis,
Lot's of American thought this looked more like a Mercedes SUV than the actual Benz SUV, especially in the tail lamps.
I currently drive a 1st gen, 1995. Love the simplicity & reliability, it's still a 90s Chrysler product though 😅
I worked at a multi franchise dealer over here in Oz a few years back and developed a real soft spot for these also, despite them being the most recalled car in Australia. I believe they were based on the 2nd Gen Merc ML platform being developed during the Daimler Chrysler era, same battery position under the drivers seat etc.
It's worth noting that the facelift model that you are driving had an updated traction/stability control program and passed the moose test, the gearbox also (as you said) automatically goes into park if the drivers door is opened. The unfortunate slow speed accelerator control can be resolved by either switching off eco-mode or putting it into sport. The default Eco mode appears to dull the throttle responses giving the unexpected sudden jabs of power when say in car parks - switching off eco mode - or just running in sport mode sorts out this problem. Overland and up had air suspension as standard and putting it into sport mode drops the suspension by an inch or so and does sharpen up handling.
The air suspension came standard as part of the Summit trim level. It also came with the full transfer case and electric locking rear differential. The Mercedes connection was from Daimler-Chrysler, where it was designed prior to the Fiat purchase. The shift update was software based, and automatically puts it in Park when you open the door or turn off the engine.
I HAVE ONE AND I LOVE IT. ITS BEEN VERY RELIABLE TO ME. 2015 Overland with 122,000 miles. the only expensive thing i replaced was the shocks at 115k miles, battery, and regular wear and tear. But its been great. especially in snow.. too good!
Believe it or not I was the best jeep salesman in the country at one time ( my monthly record was 12 ) 😂. They always Broke down. I owned one personally for years and it was good when it was good and really bad when it was bad. Nice video brought back memories. Thanks James 👍
I had a 1996 Laredo in my late teens in the late 90s and loved it. I coveted the 5.9 limited with the sound and speed.
I have a Trailhawk 2017, it is a great car. There is no issues with the air suspension, it works fine. My problem is there are no cars on the market I would like. The new version of GrandCherokee is a plug in hybrid, with little electric range and a petrol engine. When renewing my cars I usually pick a diesel SUV, but very few are out there, because of CO2 releted stupid rules (Iceland) that brings the prices to the roof. Any advice?
Air suspension is standard as from the Overland and up. On the limited trim it is an option. The weight is more like 2.5 tons therefore heavier than its competitors such as the VW Touareg and Mercedes ML.
The Mercedes-Benz ML W166 shares a platform with this Grand Cherokee. I don't know what Jeep did to make it heavier than that car.
@@damilolaakanni the 4x4 system is much heavier
My dad got last year a 2019 example in the same engine but the Limited trim (with still has most of the options you listed minus the sunroof). Overall a nice car, but definitely not as luxurious and refined as his previous E60 530d. Also worth mentioning that this is our first SUV. It also appears that our car does have indeed the recalled, more traditional automatic shifter, thankfully.
I still have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The shifter did take a little getting use to, but I have no problem with it. The problem is, people somehow forgot that they should ALWAYS look at the indicator to see if they are actually in Park, Drive, Reverse, or Neutral. Does not matter if you have muscle memory, things can happen. Does not matter if it's mechanical or electronic. Does not matter if it's a lever, dial, or push button. On the Jeep, there is not only an indicator that lights up for park, drive, neutral, reverse, etc on the shifter, but there is also a display on the instrument panel that repeats the same info.
Say you have an old school, tried and true mechanical shifter, and for some odd reason it didn't go into park. The vehicle rolls and hits a tree. Do you blame the shifter for not being in park because you "thought" it was in park, or do you blame yourself for not actually checking to verify your selector was in park? I always leave my house with my phone on me. One day I was distracted and left home without it. I realized after driving an hour that I had left it. Do I get mad at the cell phone or myself for assuming it was where it should have been?
i really appreciate that you also say the nm so i don’t have to do the conversion. it’s the small things that count👍🏼
Apart from the obvious issues this car has, i still don't see the connection with the Corvair, which Corvair was more of a victim of an activist guy who had a generic knowledge of cars and was easy for him to blame and achieve his goal, to scare the unsuspected Americans, who at that time were already driving cars with mediocre handling and their main key factor for purchasing a car was how many tons of chrome it had and if the tail fins resemble the ones of a jet aircraft... The Corvair had no different handling characteristics and for sure Chevrolet worked and improved the car through the years of production.
Just here to chime in on the issue of Chevy Corvair. The whole affair was MASSIVELY overblown by Ralph Nader, who had political ambitions and hoped campign like this would earn him political capital for it (not my speculation, he admitted it in couple of interviews), and only 2 model years (and particularly station wagon or van variant) of the first gen of Corvair were iffy when came to handling (but not worse than VW Beetle, which was also pretty deadly). Second gen was much better but killed because of cost and introduction of camaro. Corvair was popular and got pretty good reviews in it's day, even after Nader's book came out. I think most of the disdain for Corvair is in retrospective, after GM mismanaged later cars like Vega or the whole X-body line.
Ran a fully-loaded Overland back in 2016 for a couple of years. Loved it, mainly due to the killer lease deal of £375pm on a 3+23, but the stupid gear shifter was a pain the the arse, and the air suspension made a loud bang when going over an average drop in the road. We called it a budget Range Rover, which was only semi-sarcastic.
The lease deal wasn’t the only thing that was a killer
I just picked up a 2015 in this same color. Mines a “Limited” model with the 3.6L. Has the overland appearance package with the 20” wheels and a few trim parts not found on all the limited models. Fully loaded otherwise. The electronic shifter takes some getting used to but it’s something I’ll get used to. I don’t drive like a hooligan so I’m not worried about handling. I’m sure the newer ones with the new style shifter is a better option but there is also a big D stating it’s in drive and I like the look of this shifter better. I love mine. A lot of car for the money.
I use to work at a jeep dealer and months before the tragic accident from our movie star happened . I did submit a report to Chrysler about the problem of the shifter because I almost got killed by the same vehicle while working with it, unfortunately by the time the recall came out was too late but Chrysler ended updating the software to avoid this kind of accidents I hope this vehicle was recalled for the update which is very important to be done. You will know if is done , when you open the driver door while on gear and release the brake the car automatically goes on park, if is not doing it better take it to the dealer since is a safety issue.
I own a 2011 Overland Summit in the US. The shifter change came when Fiat bought Jeep. Mine is the earlier, Mercedes era, with the amazing 5.7 Hemi and standard shifter. Yes, the shifter problem is tragic and dangerous, but not nearly as life-threatening as the air suspension. Even though I like the feature of being able to lift, or lower, the vehicle in off-road or heavy snow, the air bags and compressor tend to catastrophically fail! My compressor has failed twice, which often will immediately sink the vehicle to its lowest ride height locking the front wheels in place. Yes, you heard that right.. You cannot turn the steering wheel! Luckily, for me, both times it happened overnight in my garage and not at highway speed, or while navigating an intersection. The air suspension bags also wear out over time at high pressure, so another time, I was pulling a trailer with a vehicle loaded when my rear passenger bag suddenly blew out, causing the Jeep to sink and locking up the rear wheel. Again, luckily, I was already backing the trailer into the lot and not traveling at highway speed.
I happily drove the 2nd gen (a 2001 4.7L) for 15 years. Fantastic off-road, perfectly fine and comfortable on it. It was a proper SUV/4x4. It looked very good, too, though I guess that is always subjective. The Park slip fiasco was really horrible, but blowing a tire on the test was hardly "spectacular". Spectacular would heave been and endo followed by an explosion, this falls into a "meh" category. Anyway, my point is I loved mine to bits and indeed, it was an absolutely brilliant car.
Have a 2020 Grand Cherokee Limited with the luxury package ( so is similar to the one you tested option wise but w/o the air suspension ) & 3.6L Pentastar engine. Great car. Lots of moose here in Canada but haven't had to swerve around one yet LOL. Don't know when they changed the shifter but mine has a regular one. Haven't had any issues in the 4 years I have owned it.
As a technician, Grand Cherokees are some of the most reliable cars around. Almost never see them in the shop!
When I bought my 2014 GC, the rollaway was the active recall I had to take it in for.
Highly intriguing when the ZF transmissions are apperantly hydraulic and perpetually "in park" until pressure is applied, i.e. powered on AND THEN pushed into a drive gear.
I will say, I've always found it mildly unsettling how much "give" it seems to have whne in park and the parking brake applied. Slighly freaky indeed.
Own a US-spec 2018 GC Limited 4x4 (2-speed transfer case). 3.6L petrol/gas V6, base non-air suspension. Really like it a lot. I don’t off road much but the base suspension has a decent amount of clearance. And the base suspension does have a better ride and handling than the air setup.
We don't have moose in Australia, but we do have plenty of kangaroo, unfenced roads with cattle and occasional camels. I fitted a bullbar to my GC. It's been great.
I also wondered why the poor young fellow didn't use the parking brake?
I had the same experience as the presenter with a test drive of a GC with air suspension - it felt unsettled. The ride in my 2018 with the standard coil springs is quite excellent.
At least in the States, the Overland, TrallHawk, and Summit trims came with air suspension, while optional on other trims.
I had one of those and I remember as if it was today when I put it to the “Moose Test”, Thankfully, everything went ok. I little wobbly, tough.
How can I forget?
The day was December 14, 2012 and I was driving through route in 15, Connecticut and got distracted by the shocking news I heard on the radio.
This wasn't even close to the most dangerous. In fact, there were only 41 injuries reported, and as far as I can find, only one death (from the gear selector issue), which was the actor mentioned in the video. I'm sure there were more for other things, but it wasn't the most dangerous. Purely for people killed, it would be the Corvette as they are fast and weren't the most crash worthy cars for many of the generations. This, of course, is mostly due to people driving them too fast and not so much a design issue, though they used fiberglass for body panels, which isn't very durable. From a design isssue cause of death or danger, it was probable the Early Ford Explorer with Firestone tires issue. In fact, it was one of the inspirations for so many tests on if cars would roll over in crash avoidance maneuvers. Caused by a relatively high center of gravity and the fact that the Firestone tires designed for the Explorer had a tendency to come apart unexpectedly and much earlier than anyone would expect.
I love my ‘15 gas “killer” JGCO, which is my 3rd Jeep. Within about 6months of that unfortunate and horrific death , my dealer did the software update to alleviate that problem, but I still carefully look at the stick when putting her in P. Interesting that the non-U.S Overlands don’t have the front chrome hooks, which I really like. And, yes, even with a very slight rolling forward motion and you open any door, it will jerk to a very , almost violent stop into P. I absolutely love the styling, seat comfort, power and radio system of my WK Jeep: in short , I am a Jeephead. Lol! I Now have WL short body Summit Reserve: BTW , even with the McIntosh sound system, I like the WK one better, but , imo, the UConnect 5 is way better and more responsive than the older one, especially putting addresses in(much more intuitive). Love the countryside views. Nice vid!
Wk2 dash leather loved shrinking and peeling off. Me friend had one from new. Put 100,000km on it. Air ride compressor failed, 2 water pumps. Left him stranded 2x and he gave it away. Epic turdbox. Now has an infini
I worked as a detailer back when these were pretty new and saw them go rolling more than once, one almost rolled out into 50mph+ traffic
All Summit, Overland, and Trackhawk trims come with the air suspension as standard..
Had a 99 4.7 vortec was super fun to drive I was living in Missouri back in 15 and was stuck in a construction site mud area I was young so if my mom found out I was she would have been mad but the truck was stuck but thankfully the 4x4 found it’s way out of the mud so for that I love these suvs
These are everywhere around where I live. I have never heard of one rolling. Second generation Explorers and 3rd Generation 4Runners had a bit of rollover problems when mechanics thought they knew better than the engineers about tire selection and pressures.
I had a track hawk when I worked for Chrysler. So much fun, it just feels weird having a euro review on something we love here in North America
The S in SRT stands for Street btw
I think the low speed suspension wonkeyness is more due to the twenty inch wheels rather than the air suspension. My wife has a similar model without the air-ride and it does the exact same thing...crashing sounds over potholes and manholes in the pavement. I've driven a couple with seventeen inch wheels with more tire sidewall and they seem to ride fine.
I've had a couple of Grand Cherokees; one 4·7 & one 5·7 both V8s. Both very good but, nowhere near as good as my Jeep Cherokee Golden Eagle 5·9 V8 Wagoneer. That was a truly luxurious, fantastically capable 4x4 Quadratrac. Best of the lot - by a very long way
I have a 2014 Summit with the 5.7 Hemi, and I love it - except the shifter. I don't love that. I also made the mistake of stepping out while in gear, but I had the fix already in place so it yelled at me and shifted into park. Yeah, it's no joke, if you have one, make sure it's fixed!
I had one of these and daily drove it for years. That diesel engine is amazing, and everything about it just fit my lifestyle. Unfortunately, the air suspension broke and it cost an arm and a leg to get Jeep to fix it. We no longer saw it was worth the money and sold the car for cheap.
Without the air suspension, the vehicle would have been perfect (and would still have been my daily 'til now.)
Regarding the transmission lever layout, I am reminded of the the book "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman, who is an American usuability expert yet I was required to read his tome for an HCI course at the University of Nottingham. At its most acerbic it will rail against designs that are horrible, confusing, and even potentially dangerous with a sarcastic swipe of "It probably won an award."
I have a 2016 summit. It’s unfair to say the car is dangerous. What happened to Anton Yelchin was a terrible accident. But it’s human error. It’s not the most tactile, but it’s shown on both the selector & on screen. People just don’t look, and of course if one applied the parking brake, it wouldn’t have happened either. The image shown at 14:37 is also the interior prior to facelift.
The recall made the transmission instantly shift into park if the door is opened.
I gave my 2016 Overland to my son and I got a 4Runner which has a much better ride than the jeep although the jeep handles much better and is significantly faster.
I can definitely say that the GC is a very good car indeed.
They eventually went to using mechanical shifters after 2016. That way if you shift into park, you'd be sure you did. Now they use a rotary dial shifter like most Fords and RAM trucks.
No one reviews a car like u
Keep it up 👍🏻🔥
I had three of them and covered 250.000 Kilometers and never had a problem. The guy who bought my last Overland had an accident and told me afterwards that he was so lucky to have been in tank. And off-road that car was unbeatable.
I own a 2015. We love it. We have that dreaded shifter, no it still doesn't go into Park. It beeps and warns on the dash. I still think it was user error.
Have you ever tested an i3s. Unfortunately I live in the USA otherwise you could try mine but I'd love to hear your thoughts compared to.other small/ev cars
I owned a JGC Overland with the Trailhawk package (e.g. everything for offroad except the Trailhawk badge) with the 5.7 Hemi and the US model never used the bizarre gear shift lever that they stuck on models sold in Europe. Not sure how the US actor didn't see the shift position, but it wasn't because of the selector issue mentioned in this video. Also, the fast-swerve tire blowout problem only happened on factory tires. Many people (myself included) fitted BFG AT KO2 tires or equivalent with Kevlar sidewalls and those things are tough.
My 2014 Grand Cherokee diesel makes a truly superb tow car. Independent suspension and the 8spd auto makes towing effortless. Works even better if you ditch the factory suspension! Diesel is strong yet achieves great economy. Despite the hype though its not as capable off-road as my 2009 Cayenne.
I didn't even know they sold these in the UK, lol. These sold very well in America and were quite nice in the mid 2010s. On the surface they were on Land Rover's level, before Land Rover upped their game.
God bless Sergio Marchionne. We all wish he were still here making FCA great again.
This SUV was built on the same platform as a Mercedes ML.
I have had my SRT for six years and I love it.
When my wife and I were early in our relationship, we visited Available Car Castle Donington and had electric seat races in the 3rd Gen Grand Cherokee. Surprisingly spacious lol
My mom had hers drive through her garage door, u missed part of the problem it is a combo of the shifter and the stop go feature. When u hit the break the engine shuts off automatically and restarts when u take your foot off the break
I can remember the late 90's crash tests that the Voyager and I think this Grand Cherokee or the one before, the crash tests were so bad it forced Chrysler into redesigning the cars to add in better crash safety
I had a Mk1 4.0 and then a 2nd gen 4.7 - both lovely cars. I found the 3rd gen a bit tacky TBH. Then circumstances stopped me getting the 4th gen. They look nice though!
One of those cars I very nearly did but changed my mind, always thought they looked quite good if you like 4x4 stuff.
I saw a Hemi grenade itself at Castle Combe a couple of years ago. He managed to crawl back to the paddock. Must have been an expensive day out.
GAH! THE CORVAIR WASN’T UNSAFE!!! EVERYBODY STAHP!!!
The 3.7 didn't last long in the WK2 chassis, they eventually replaced it with the 3.6...that's if the WK2 even got the 3.7 V6 from the start.
I have had the 2005 WK a brilliant car and no major issues. Then bought a 2012 Overland Summit and had the recall done for the Park issue however as I always use the (hand)foot brake the issue would never have affected me. Our biggest concern with the 2012 was that the alternator packed in and the car came to a dead stop and nothing operated! This was a known fault in the States and a recall, but in the UK the issue was ignored as no one had been killed! If it had happened on a motorway while towing our caravan, it would have had serious consequences! Currently have a 2018 Overland
air suspension came standard on overland, trailhawk, and summit grand cherokees! (at least on the US market). but over here in the US the 3.0 diesel is VERY rare. i work at a jeep dealership and have only seen 2 (and of course they were both broken down because ya know.. jeep)
My 2009 Dodge Nitro 3.7 V6 in the UK had that same stupid gear lever. Thankfully i always used the handbrake like we do over here.- US folk not so much... That was a fairly decent SUV to be fair, and the 4x4 was excellent in the heavy snow we had back in 2010. Only downside was the 18mpg, it was horrific on fuel. Somewhat offset by the UK 3yr lease which was £120 a month !. They were giving them away.
If you can get your hands on a SRT4 Neon or SRT4 Caliber you would like it. I don't know if the UK ever got them but I'm sure some one has imported one there by now.
It doesn’t appear to have manually selectable gears, this is a massive issue off road.
Most 4x4s (and indeed many modern cars) will fail the moose test.
Overland and better models have real wood and height adjustable suspension.
The 5.7L Hemi is the sweet spot, fun to drive, not very thirsty and able to tow decent loads.
Only the 2014-2016 models had the shifter that returns to the center.
The air suspension needs a calibration and then it will be fine. And the V6 wasn't 3,7L. That was in the previous generation. The V6 in this generation was Pentastar 3,6L.