2001 Jeep Cherokee: problems, recalls and reliability
8 recalls and 229 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is service brakes, hydraulic (20% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall May 2009
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 229 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The stock seat belts located in the rear seat of the vehicle do not lock in order to properly and safely install child safety seats. This is not a one time thing as they will not secure after being fully extended. I have already contacted a dealer after finding an old recall but was told they would not fix as they didn't know what I was speaking of.”Owner report · Seat Belts · Feb 2020
“Cpsc: purchased a set of the above pistons to replace pistons on a 2001 jeep cherokee sport. The first set failed on the second opening causing minor vehicle damage to the lift gate. The locking clip did not have sufficient strength to hold onto the provided bracket. *dt *js”Owner report · Structure · Jun 2018
“As with many other jeep owners with the 4.0 engine (hundreds that I have seen) my 2001 jeep cherokee's cylinder head cracked. Mine was at 117k miles, and the average mileage for failure seems to be 100k - 120k miles. This is a definite design flaw. My jeep was well maintained and should not have had a cracked cylinder head. I ask NHTSA to contact current owners of jeep 4.0 engines to really see how often this fault occurs. Chrysler seems to take no responsibility for this, which is why I am asking the NHTSA to investigate.”Owner report · Engine · Jan 2017
Show 7 more owner reports
“In the 2000 and 2001 cherokees with the 4.0 engine head casting 0331 chrysler knew about the cylinder heads cracking. In 2002 they contracted with tupy manufacturing in brazil to remake the head casting that ran until the 4.0 was stopped being used by them. Mine has since cracked and chrysler says that no factory recall was done and such I'm stuck with a cracked head that they knew was faulty.”Owner report · Engine · Dec 2016
“2001 jeep cherokee. Consumer writes in regards to several vehicle recalls and airbag malfunction during an accident. *smd”Owner report · Air Bags · Mar 2016
“Takata recall-- I had an accident january 7, 2016, I hit a pole. The airbags did not deploy. I did a search and I found out there was a recall on this jeep. I only had liability insurance. I got in touch with the company they had the car towed to a dealership and supposedly had it checked out but I don't believe it. I myself and my girlfriend was injured and under doctors care. My car is tore up in the front. Why? Those airbags did not deploy. They could not tell me. I was traveling on rte 49 east.”Owner report · Air Bags · Jan 2016
“Got home shut off vehicle opened liftgate went to bathroom looked out window a fire started from interior light within 10 minutes was a total loss. *tr”Owner report · Exterior Lighting · Mar 2015
“Tl* the contact owns a 2001 jeep grand cherokee. The contact received a notification of NHTSA campaign number: 06e011000 (fuel system, gasoline); however, the part needed to perform the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall part. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The VIN was unavailable.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Nov 2014
“Tl* the contact owns a 2001 jeep cherokee. When the vehicle was powered off and restarted within five minutes or longer, the vehicle would hesitate to start or have a rough start and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the third cylinder failed. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 02v104000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 155,000.”Owner report · Engine · Aug 2014
“After loosing coolant at about a 1/2 per week, finally decided to pull the head and check to see if it has the famous jeep 4.0l, 0331 head casting and is known to be weak. Yep, I have the bad head with cracks. There should be a recall for this as it has a high failure rate..... *tr”Owner report · Engine · Jul 2014
When filing, owners marked a crash in 25 of these complaints and injuries in 19 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 8 campaigns
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 225, "CHILD RESTRAINT ANCHORAGE SYSTEMS." SOME OF THE OWNER'S MANUALS FOR THESE VEHICLES ARE MISSING INSTRUCTIONS THAT PROVIDE A STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE, INCLUDING DIAGRAMS, FOR PROPERLY ATTACHING A CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM'S TETHER STRAP TO THE TETHER ANCHORAGE.
Remedy: OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH AN ADDENDUM TO THE OWNER'S MANUALS.
DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.
Remedy: DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
CERTAIN AFTERMARKET BRAKE HYDRAULIC MASTER CYLINDERS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT BRAKE CYLINDERS FOR CERTAIN FORD, DAIMLERCHRYSLER, AND JEEP PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE BRAKE CYLINDERS WERE SOLD UNDER THE BRAND NAMES OF NAPA, RAYBESTOS, AIMCO, AC DELCO, CARQUEST, BENDIX, AND WAGNER. ONLY PRODUCTS THAT WERE MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 27, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 17, 2006 (DATE CODES 0529 THROUGH 0602) ARE SUBJECT TO THIS RECALL. WHEN SUBJECT TO VERY COLD TEMPERATURES, AN INTERNAL SEAL IN THE MASTER CYLINDER COULD LOSE FLEXIBILITY AND MAY CAUSE BRAKE FLUID TO LEAK.
Remedy: AFFINIA (BRAKE PARTS, INC.) WILL REPLACE THE SUBJECT BRAKE HYDRAULIC MASTER CYLINDERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 20, 2006. OWNERS CAN CONTACT AFFINA GROUP CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-323-0354.
CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Remedy: PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
CERTAIN AJ MOTORSPORT COMBINATION LAMPS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LISTED PASSENGER VEHICLES. COMBINATION LAMPS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.
Remedy: AJ MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 31, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AJ MOTORSPORT AT 626-618-2026.
CERTAIN AFTERMARKET AIRTEX ELECTRIC FUEL PUMPS INSTALLED FOR USE AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR CERTAIN 1997-2004 JEEP WRANGLER; 1997-2001 JEEP CHEROKEE; 1997-2004 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE; AND 2000-2003 DODGE DAKOTA VEHICLES. THE PLASTIC ELECTRICAL GROMMET CONNECTORS AT THE TOP OF THE FUEL PUMP MODULE ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH AUTOMOTIVE FUELS AND MAY DEGRADE CAUSING A POTENTIAL LEAK PATH FOR FUEL.
Remedy: AIRTEX WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED FUEL PUMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 25, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AIRTEX CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT 1-800-880-3056.
SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.
Remedy: SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 4.0L ENGINE ONLY, THE DESIGN OF THE INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLDS COULD ALLOW DEBRIS TO ACCUMULATE AT THE #3 CYLINDER LOCATION.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A MANIFOLD SHIELD TO MODIFY THE AIR FLOW CHARACTERISTICS AND TO PREVENT THE ACCUMULATION OF DEBRIS IN THE AREA OF THE #3 CYLINDER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MAY 13, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2001 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Cherokee by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2001 Jeep Cherokee reliable?
NHTSA has 229 owner complaints and 8 recall campaigns on record for the 2001 Jeep Cherokee. The most complained-about area is service brakes, hydraulic (20% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2001 Jeep Cherokee problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 60,000 miles or less.
Does the 2001 Jeep Cherokee have open recalls?
8 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning child seat. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.