The third generation of the Jeep Grand Cherokee - the penultimate one, produced from 2004 to 2010, was significantly different from its predecessors, because it was built on a platform from a Mercedes.

It uses independent front suspension, rack and pinion steering and a lot of different electronics. Now we will see how reliable and durable all this is, and whether it is worth buying such a car.

They released the third generation Jeep Grand Cherokee in Detroit (USA) and Graz (Austria). You can distinguish in which country the car was assembled according to the index: for American cars - WK, and for Austrian cars - WH. Regardless of the country where this model was assembled, you should not worry about the durability of the body - the body is an excellent cook and very high quality painted. Only on the earliest cars sometimes there are fine points with rust at the bottom of the front wings. On the body, the manufacturer gave 7 years warranty, so this rust under the warranty could be eliminated for free.

Exterior chrome quickly loses its presentable appearance due to road reagents. As a rule, after a couple of years, many owners have changed the moldings, radiator grille and trim on the trunk door under warranty.

In the salon, materials of the highest quality are used, the skin after 4 years of operation becomes slightly worn, and there are very few machines that use fabric finishing. Sometimes leather combined with leather substitutewhich often just cracked in 3-4 years.

But in general, the interior is not poor - a lot of hard plastic on the front panel, on the doors and on the center console. Over time, all this plastic begins to creak when the car is driving on an uneven road surface.

In addition, the noise in the cabin adds squeaks from the seats, the trunk lid lock, gurgling fuel in the tank, and when you turn the steering wheel - the moving contacts also rustle in a peculiar way.

Luggage door can maliciously play a trick in the winter - after 5 years of operation tailgate gas springs weaken and in the cold can hit the back with a lid. Therefore, the trunk, and the hood should also be opened with caution.

Another trouble is the humidity in the cabin. Water enters the salon through clogged drainage hatch. Sometimes the hatch gets stuck due to a swindling control module, in order to fix it - you need to reflash this module. It is also extremely rare, but there have been cases that through the glass of the 5th door moisture got into the cabin due to an unreliable seal. It happens that the rails flow on the rear mount.

Many more surprises can be expected from the electricians: the motors can refuse and the mirrors will no longer develop. We'll have to change the whole mirror for $ 280. And rust can destroy the boards in the rear lights, change one lamp - minus $ 150 from the budget.

Often there were cases that the warranty changed the microclimate control units and the radio tape recorders, which were intact, and all because the light bulbs were blown. Now it does not make sense to change such expensive details, it’s enough just to turn to the masters on the soldering, they’ll solder light bulbs for only $ 100.

With the climate in the cabin, too, it happens that problems happen - because of a failed control relay, the motor on the “stove” will not turn off, and at maximum speed it will spin until it breaks. And it happens that on the contrary, the “climate” does not show any signs of life. Here, at first, you just need to look at the instrument panel, and if you can see that all the control lamps are lit, then you shouldn’t worry much - just solder the contact group at the ignition or make it a replacement for $ 85. It is clear that we are talking about dorestaylingovyh models, after restyling this situation will not arise.

Variety of engines for Grand Cherokee

Another popular disease that affects the early Cherokee Grand Cherokee is starters who refuse to work. But this is all nonsense, the most important thing is that the engine works like a clock. Grandov has no problems with engines - gasoline engines are very reliable due to their simple design. These motors easily serve 350,000 km each. without any major repairs. But we must, of course, care for them properly and not do stupid things. For example, it is better not to drive into deep rivers, because in this generation of Grandees the design of the air intake is slightly unsuccessful, if the water bumper overflows a little, then you can get a water hammer.

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Timing chains maintain for a long time, if not to participate in races around the city. The more intense overclocking, the faster the chain will stretch and will require replacement. Usually, street racers change a set of chains, accelerators and tensioners already after 90,000 km and pay about $ 900 for such a set. This applies to engines with a volume of 4.7 liters, on other engines the timing chain can be said to be eternal.

As for the winter, then it will be necessary to pay attention to the crankcase ventilation system - there will be a lot of oil in the receiver inlet box. The fact is that condensate freezes and the check valve is open in the open position.

Of course, you should also keep an eye on the cooling system, clean the radiators so that the motor is cooled properly. If overheating occurs, the aluminum cylinder heads, which stand on the cast-iron engine blocks, will quickly warp. Replacing aluminum heads will cost $ 850 each.

The junior engine for the Grand Cherokee is a 6-cylinder 3.7-liter engine; there are no complaints about it at all. Machines with such a motor are about 20% on the market.

But there is a motor and more serious - V8 varieties HEMI with a volume of 6.1 liters. This is installed on models of Grand Cherokee, designed for street racing - this is the top-end SRT8 (Street Racing Technology) modifications, about 8% of such cars. The power of this car is 425 liters. with. - this means that you have to pay a lot of taxes, plus the fuel consumption of such a motor - more than 30 liters per 100 km. the way, if you go in the "patsansky" style, but on such a machine to go differently and fail.

Further, the motors that do not go to extremes - 8-cylinder engine with a volume of 4.7 literssuch cars about 13%. This engine is familiar to all of the previous generation Grand Cherokee. After restyling in 2008, the power of this engine increased, and all problems with the control unit were eliminated.

But it is worth remembering that models released before 2008 may require a flashing of the electronic control unit. The motor can act up - take and stall in the middle of the road, if you take your foot off the gas.

And if suddenly there will be a sharp roar under the hood, then the fastening pins of the exhaust manifolds are likely to break. The studs themselves cost $ 15 each, but the work will pull $ 300 because of the need to drill out and get the remains of these studs out of the car.

Then again comes the engine from the Chemie family with a volume of 5.7 liters, here the main feature is the function that turns off half the cylinders if the car is traveling in quiet mode. Such a system is called Multi Displacement System, the engine with this system requires 5W20 oil, it is low-viscosity, it is not worth pouring in other oil so that the valve gap lifters do not break.

In 2008 there was a restyling of this generation of Grandees, there was a lot of things improved both internally and externally. Outwardly, especially - the main headlights and fog lights have become different, the shape of the bumper has changed and other little things have been improved. And internally - many “childhood diseases”, “tupnyaks”, and various problems with motors were corrected.

For example, in dorestaylingovyh versions, with a motor of 5.7 liters, an electronic throttle was installed, which slowed down. Because of this, a car older than 2008 was clearly blunt to rectify this situation - it was necessary to install a new damper drive and an accelerator pedal unit for $ 650. And these parts are not cheap - $ 650 and $ 600, respectively.

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Not without a diesel engine, Grand got mersedesovsky turbo diesel OM642 (EXL)It is rather high-torque and quiet, its volume is 3 liters. Cars with this engine - a whole lot - about 50%. Among all the engines for the Grand Cherokee, this is the most problematic. And this engine is installed in many models of the brand Mercedes: CL, CLK, ML, E and C classes. Therefore, this diesel engine is very well known at service stations.

Every owner of an older Grand Cherokee diesel engine knows what a Swirl motor is and how much it costs. And for those who do not know - this is the actuator actuator valve intake manifold and it costs $ 350. Already earlier than 160,000 km. a drive electromotor may fail, causing the diesel engine to lose power.

There are cases that the servo does not stand to turn the flaps, which accumulated a lot of soot. And jamming the flaps leads to the fact that will have to change the intake manifoldwhich costs 700 dollars. In cars manufactured before 2008, there is an untight sealing ring at the inlet of the turbocharger, which causes oil to drip onto the servo motor.

As for the exhaust manifold, it is a two-layer, and its inner layer is often destroyed, because of which disrupts the turbocharger.

After about 4 years of operation, this diesel engine can lose oil through the sensor connectors, exhaust manifold, pan gaskets. The sign will be gray smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. Oil can also escape through the filler cap. By the way, if oil flows from the filler neck, then it is very dangerous, as well as careless topping up the oil. And it is dangerous because it immediately flows onto the generator, which will quickly fail if oil gets onto it. A replacement generator will cost $ 400.

After about 6 years can burn out glow plugseach of which costs 25 dollars. They need to be changed immediately, because if at least one candle is faulty, it will entail the failure of the control unit. And to change it, you need $ 300.

Even more than distinguished grandees with diesel engines, so it is through rotting fuel tanks, and they are not cheap - 2500 American rubles! In the same gasoline cars gas tanks made of plastic, and they do not react to the accumulated dirt beneath them. And the dirt under the tank accumulates thanks to the mud-catching tank protection during off-road driving.

And for those who choose the Grand Cherokee for off-road driving, it is necessary to check whether this instance has a front axle, as there are cases that rear-wheel drive vehicles come from America.

Transmission

The most reliable all-wheel drive transmission is Quadra-Trac I, it has a simple design, only single-gear transfer case. Here the minimum amount of electronics and, as a result, the minimum number of problems. This box is installed on machines with 6-cylinder engines.

There is also a more complicated Quadra-Trac II transmission, which has electronic locking of all differentials. Here sometimes the control module crashes Final Drive Control Module (FDCM). After about 150,000 km. contacts in the wiring disappear, solenoids blocking cross-axle differentials and the servo drive for switching the transfer box modes can order a long life.

After a run of 150,000 km, the mechanical part of both transmissions of the Giants requires repair: the glands require updating, also razdatki bearings and bridges need to be changed, adjust the gearboxes both front and rear so that they do not buzz. Also, it will be necessary to change the handout chain for $ 400, which by this time has already stretched. And the front driveshaft with crosspieces will also require a replacement - minus another $ 600.

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Gearboxes are only automatic in 5 stages. Together with the V8 petrol engines, a 5-45RFE box is installed - Chrysler, and on all other engines there is a Mercedes 722.6 automatic (W5A580).

It is easier to maintain the American gearbox, it can even check the oil level with a dipstick. Both boxes are durable enough, can withstand about 250,000 km. But still, each has its own problems.

In the American box, the control unit is tupit and requires flashing. And in the German box after 100,000 km. contacts at the mode switch require you to clean their tracks, or completely change the selector, the price of which is $ 420. And after 150 thousand km. oil may leak through the electronic control unit connector. But the most problematic element of the German box is a hydrovalve block, the replacement of which will require to lay out 700 dollars.

It was noted that if off-road wheels are stalled, then boxes that are American, that German quickly overheat and emergency mode is activated. And after 100,000 km, when at least one of the ABS sensors fails, the “automatic” will stop changing gears. Replacing the ABS sensor will cost $ 80.

Suspension

There are no special surprises at the rear suspension - here the dependent suspension is the same as on its predecessor. It is necessary only after 120,000 km to change the shock absorbers for $ 65, Panhard thrust and all the levers. Fully bust back suspension will cost about $ 2,000.

Front - independent suspension, which is not as hassle-free as on the predecessor of the 2nd generation. In the early instances, the stabilizer bar, bushings and tie rods rarely survived to 20,000 km. After that, the manufacturer changed the supplier of these parts - the sleeves began to serve longer, but the racks, as before, do not stand for long. After 60,000 kilometers, it is necessary to change the front shock absorbers, each of which costs $ 110, wheel bearings for $ 80, brake disks for $ 115 and silent blocks of the front gearbox. But after 100,000 km. there are cases that the steering gear flows, to change it completely - to spend $ 1,100.

Ball bearings, as the lower and upper serve about the same - 120,000 km. True, the upper supports should be replaced with levers, each of which costs $ 400.

As a result, a lot of different problems in the 3rd generation of the Grand Cherokee, if compared with the Toyotas, the Jeep is far behind in terms of reliability. But the price for the Grand Cherokee is about 300,000 rubles less than the Land Cruiser. But if you take the Land Rover Discovery or Mitsubishi Pajero, then they have even more problems, although they cost as much as the Grand. But for those who decide to take a true American rogue, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is still suitable for this purpose, but it is advisable to buy a car after restyling in 2008 with a 3.7 liter engine for about a million - one and a half million rubles - the best option in terms of reliability and current expenses.

Before buying a used car, you should never forget about a test run - you should carefully look at the behavior of the vehicle on the road and listen to other sounds. To this end, we offer to see a test drive of the 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee and understand how professionals do it: