2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Reviews

Would I recommend a GrandGherokee? Well, my first 'rokee was a 76 S model, then a 94 LTD, 95 LTD, 98 LTD, and now a 2005 LTD Hemi. I also have a 2006 custom Wrangler built up for off-roading. Needless to say, my wife "owns" my GC... My review is more of a correction of misconceptions in other peoples reviews, being an "old hand" at owning AND working on these workhorses in tuxedos. Yes the 8 cylinder engine versions do drink more than the 6's do there is a reason for that. They put out more torque, essentially for heavier towing than the 6 cylinders. Increasing the octane of the fuel does help,despite what the so-called eperts claim. I've spent years and hundreds of thousands of miles proving this, not only in Grand Cherokees but in High-Performance Street Rods as well. In the Hemi, the owner manual specifies midgrade (silver) gasoline. Use regular and MPG drops by 3 to 4 miles per gallon (driving by tac). The next issue is the shimmy at highway speeds. This is commonly called "the death wobble" and it happens on all 4wd vehicles that do NOT have independent front suspensions. Jeeps that are susceptible to this are those that are the ones built for brute strength. It is a symptom of a bad front end alignment. Nothing more. Take care of it before it messes up your front tires that's it for that shimmy. The next point is leaking sun roofs. Go to your local home improvement store and buy a generic roll of star-shaped nylon weed wacker replacement line. Open your sun roof all the way and clean out the gutter all around the frame in the roof. While cleaning it you will find 4 holes meant to drain water out of the gutter. Check the weed wacker string to make sure it fits into these holes without knocking the drain hose off the other side if its too big exchange it (I've found the "standard size" to work fine). Cut an 8 foot piece off the roll and feed this down the drain hole, turning it all the way around as you"snake" out this drain. IF you see the end of it under the car by all means, pull it through! If not, push a fresh piece (uncut) through until it hits the ground, and then cut it about 2 ft above the roof. The reason for 2 pieces is the short piece can be cut to a sharpened if needed if the drain becomes hard-packed and even turned by a rechargeable drill if you need to.( I only had to do this once) On to the heated seats. First, check the power connector under the seat, (google it's location) and check with a METER, (put the probe tips into the back of the connector first on the seat side and a second time on the switch side) to see if it is getting voltage when you turn the switch for it on. If you are reading power (12V) on both sides of the connector the warming element in the seat is broken and is extremely difficult to replace. Ive seen people buy heated seat pads, cut the cales for them off, and then cut the seat side of the connector for the seat heater off and wire that to the seat pad and plug that back in under the seat, running it under the seat adjuster rail so they don't cut the wire with the electric seat. This puts the control and timer right on the dashboard next to the other control. These are the issues Ive dealt with and how I fixed them and how I helped others.I'm 62 years old and enjoy working on cars, Ive worked on my Grand Cherokees LESS than any other vehicles have ever owned, with the exception of doing custom sound and communications installations (I'm a ham radio operator) I cant recommend a Grand Cherokee enough to anyone Especially living on the shore of Lake Michigan!

The car is great! Very comfortable, fun to drive and it does very well in the snow. It is extremely reliable. The front seats have warmers, the A/C works a little to well, for me anyway. The windows have a slight tint which keeps the interior from fading. The rear seats fold down for loading bigger items, there is also a roof rack. This model has a towing system, I've only towed once but it was a breeze. There is traction control which is great for wet roads. And also, a back up alert system (this is before backup cameras). The car came with a stock stereo system and the sound is great! There is also a phone answering device, this is pre-Bluetooth but it works well and informs when you have an incoming call.

It's very comfortable to drive. It has a dim setting on the rearview mirror to enhance visibility from the headlights on the car behind you. It has heated side view mirrors. The water pump and belt did need to be replaced, which is apparently common. Another common problem is that the interior door handles and sunglasses holder are not very sturdy, they cracked and broke pretty easily after a few years. I wish it had an auxiliary port for the radio, but the setup of the console is nice. Gas mileage isn't great.

Performance: poor gas mileage, but great in the snow! Very reliable in all weather conditions. Problems: currently needs a water pump replacement - a common issue with keeps Comfort: Excellent! The leather seats are comfy and easy to clean. Very spacious! Perfect for traveling with pets. The skyroof is a nice feature. Reliability: very reliable. It has nearly 200,000 miles and runs well. Powerful engine! Features: standard radio, Bluetooth capability, automatic headlight shut off

This is a good midsize SUV for general purposes. I have never tried any real off reading with it, but it handles just fine in everyday use. The back seats fold down and the front seats recline all the way back, so it would be great for camping or a road trip. It does have rather low gas mileage, being a V8, though. The windshield is also somewhat small and the space between the windshield and the front side windows is a bit thick, making a blindspot that is larger than I'd like. It takes some getting used to, but overall I have no other complaints.

I love the amount of storage space I have, but the ceiling of the car is very low, so if I have my hair up on top of my head it will hit the ceiling even though I am not a tall person. Other than the lack of headspace, the car is very comfortable. I haven't had many issues with the vehicle since I've owned it, but I have had several issues with the battery, and every time I get it checked out, I hear similar responses from the mechanic that Jeeps often have battery issues and need attention for that specific issue. I wish it had better gas mileage as well.

For a vehicle that is 14 years old, my jeep runs quite well. It gets pretty decent gas mileage-I'd say about 20-25 mpg. The back seat folds down in sections, so it is good for hauling stuff and still being able to take passengers. It does have some performance issues when it gets hot out. It idles very roughly, and is absolutely unable to run smoothly on speedway gasoline. My fiance does pretty much all maintenance work himself, and finds it relatively easy to do so. It does seem to go through spark plug replacements a little faster than one would hope. It is seen a lot of miles, and overall is a very comfortable long-haul vehicle.

The beast has four-wheel drive, power steering, a V-eight, and has made 2 long distance trips in the two years we've owned it. We also have heated seats, which for an arthritis sufferer like me is marvelous on cold days. We bought it used, and it has been a mainstay of our lives. It holds my electric mobility device and a month's worth of groceries easily, can go through the deepest snow without getting stuck, and is reasonably showy (for those who like such things.) Having bought it used, we found it had been neglected, yet we were able to continue driving it while making the necessary repairs. On the latest trip home from a long-distance trip, one of the two drive shafts developed a problem, yet we were able to get home safely and drove it about a week before the replacement part came in and we were able to get it fixed. It drives easily and reliably. It's a good vehicle.

I like the all wheel drive, the vehicle height, the turn radius, the seats, the notification system, the Bluetooth, GPS, quick acceleration, anti skid system, comfort, color scheme, leather upholstery durability, spacious cargo area, high capacity towing ability, durable roof luggage rack, fold flat rear seats, auxiliary power outlets, DVD entertainment center. Some of my dislikes are noisy ac, difficult to program navigation system, gas mileage. Complaints I have are the serious recalls.

My Jeep Cherokee is an all wheel drive. We have really bad winters and it always takes a four wheel drive to get out of my driveway. But my Jeep goes right out without spinning a tire. I was, (to say the least) so surprised. I was so proud of my Jeep , because all the neighbors was having a difficult time just driving on the roads, and I never had any difficulties. It goes great. It is dependable and very reliable. I will be getting another one if anything happens to mine.

It is very spacious and comfortable. I am able to have up to four riders with me at one time and I still have plenty of enclosed storage space in the back. My particular vehicle is fully loaded with leather seats, seat warmers, and a sun/moonroof. I have only had this vehicle for a few years but the leather and carpet interior is in excellent condition. I have driven this vehicle for multiple trips. The longest has been from Houston to Dallas. The vehicle has 100, 000 miles on it, but with me having each oil change using high mileage oil, it runs extremely well and is very reliable.