Jeep Grand Cherokee question

[Not greg b]

Any of you have a newer Jeep Grand Cherokee with high miles?? Are they decent or are the shit piles?? Looking at a brand new to wear out in 3 years. I put 50-60k a year on my vehicles and you can get a lot nicer grand charokee for less money than a 1/2 ton 

[Legend]

If it the MB designed chassis, they are decent. I have a Durango for wifes DD with the 3.6, 8 sp and its been pretty good. A/C condenser leaked and was replaced but other than that no issues in 128K miles. GC should be almost identical, other than a little shorter wheelbase and grill. 

[Not greg b]

43 minutes ago, Legend said:

If it the MB designed chassis, they are decent. I have a Durango for wifes DD with the 3.6, 8 sp and its been pretty good. A/C condenser leaked and was replaced but other than that no issues in 128K miles. GC should be almost identical, other than a little shorter wheelbase and grill. 

I am basically looking at the one that is basically a re badge Durango. Does it tow ok?? Most i would tow is 4500 pounds at the most maybe once a year. It’s the L model. I am assuming the L means. Long 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Not greg b

[Legend]

2 hours ago, Not greg b said:

I am basically looking at the one that is basically a re badge Durango. Does it tow ok?? Most i would tow is 4500 pounds at the most maybe once a year. It’s the L model. I am assuming the L means. Long 

I have only towed with it 2 or 3 times. And it was a 4 seat rzr on an open steel trailer. So maybe 3000ish lbs? It was fine. Mine has the tow package with the load level shocks or whatever they are called, so no squat. Engine wise they will all have more than enough power. 

My brother had a R/T hemi durango and often towed his boat to the lake. 21 foot Sea Ray tall heavy looking thing. He said it was good. 

[Deephaven]

Bought my wife an 18 High Altitude V6 last year.  Towed the 6900lb wakeboard boat back and forth to the farm, towed a 4600 lb Ranger all over the state and has pulled the 2up Triton a few times as well.  It is anemic and under braked but otherwise deals really well with it.  To be fair I have 16.5" Wildwoods and a Whipple on my Escalade which I have been using for towing.  It tows well enough I am going to send the Escalade down the road and build another fun car instead.

[Palu49]

I talked my girlfriend into an eco diesel GC to replace her 4 door wrangler (the worlds most awful vehicle) it’s loaded up  with all the bells and whistles and is probably one of the nicest vehicles I’ve been in. I’ve towed my sleds and my trans am on a car trailer with it. It’s got auto load level which I believe all the higher end packages do and is rated at 7500 I think the gas units are rated at like 72 with the auto level. Like deep haven said it definitely seems a little light on brakes when towing heavier things but it’s stable and does a good job other than that, obviously the diesel helps in towing so can’t say how the gas v6 does.

 

I’m pretty sure the grand Cherokee L like you’re talking about is 100% a rebumpered Durango so I would get some opinions on them to for a real world review.

[Crnr2Crnr]

call me tomorrow

power is going to go out at any moment

[Deephaven]

I should add that it tows significantly better than my last Silverado did.  Brakes are better.  Power is about equal.  The wheelbase was more stable on the truck but that is about it.  I don't remember feeling the Escalade was better in the brake department pre Wildwoods but it was better power wise but it is always hard to remember what half the horsepower feels like preupgrades.

[Cwhite138]

12 hours ago, Not greg b said:

I am basically looking at the one that is basically a re badge Durango. Does it tow ok?? Most i would tow is 4500 pounds at the most maybe once a year. It’s the L model. I am assuming the L means. Long 

L is the new chassis beware. very first year, weird half year thing.. THe all new 22 is the L of 21 

I'm not sure how major the changes are but its not the same under the dash and has some different electrical stuff going on on the trottle side. That is the extent of my knowledge. 

caught me off guard on a install as I though the L meant long as well. 

there are two pretty big recalls out on them too... Airbags and then something not so important.. IIRC
 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Cwhite138

[J. Jackson]

I'd go with a Highlander. Pretty much guaranteed 200k with good maintenance. Jeeps, not so much.

[Cwhite138]

Just now, J. Jackson said:

I'd go with a Highlander. Pretty much guaranteed 200k with good maintenance. Jeeps, not so much.

highlanders are probably double the money... and cant tow as much.. 

[J. Jackson]

7 minutes ago, Cwhite138 said:

highlanders are probably double the money... and cant tow as much.. 

Depends how it's equipped. Highlander is rated at 5k where the GC is 3500 std. In the states they're both compatible pricewise.

[Cwhite138]

@J. Jackson
I haven't actually looked at pricing I just know Toyota's are expensive. 
 

you might be getting the Tow capacity of a Cherokee and a grand mixed up/ 3.6 4x4 is: 

Maximum Towing Capacity (pounds)
6200
Maximum Trailer Weight, dead weight hitch (pounds)
5000
Maximum Tongue Weight, dead weight hitch (pounds)
500
Maximum Trailer Weight, weight distributing hitch (pounds)
6200
Maximum Tongue Weight, weight distributing hitch (pounds)
620

Highlander is a van. 
GC is a SUV

Edited December 16, 2021 by Cwhite138

[Crnr2Crnr]

check availability for towing mirrors for a Jeep if you ever plan to pull an enclosed trailer, especially a clam

figured you'd go with a Ram now to throw a sled in the back after having your Silverado cancelled

good friend bought a loaded Grand Cherokee V6 (old body style) this past summer, she loves it far more than her Explorer

 

  

[800renegaderider]

Towing 4500lbs at most I would get a 4Runner it’ll last forever. Jeeps are junk. Bosses srt was a toilet all kinds of little dumb issues. Don’t even get me started on wranglers 

[J. Jackson]

40 minutes ago, Cwhite138 said:

@J. Jackson
I haven't actually looked at pricing I just know Toyota's are expensive. 
 

you might be getting the Tow capacity of a Cherokee and a grand mixed up/ 3.6 4x4 is: 

Maximum Towing Capacity (pounds)
6200
Maximum Trailer Weight, dead weight hitch (pounds)
5000
Maximum Tongue Weight, dead weight hitch (pounds)
500
Maximum Trailer Weight, weight distributing hitch (pounds)
6200
Maximum Tongue Weight, weight distributing hitch (pounds)
620

Highlander is a van. 
GC is a SUV

Sienna is Toyotas van.

[Cwhite138]

16 minutes ago, J. Jackson said:

Sienna is Toyotas van.

lol till ya open a highlander up 

[Cwhite138]

46 minutes ago, 800renegaderider said:

Towing 4500lbs at most I would get a 4Runner it’ll last forever. Jeeps are junk. Bosses srt was a toilet all kinds of little dumb issues. Don’t even get me started on wranglers 

I wouldn't trust anything made by a company called stellantis

Toyotas quality is dropping big time also tho. more and more stuff coming out of Mexico. I have heard from guys that work at the dealers they are seeing more issues on their PDIs than they ever have  

[Deephaven]

The highlander SUCKS for towing.  The Jeep is built on the Mercedes ML chassis and tows really well for it's size.  

[Cwhite138]

6 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

The highlander SUCKS for towing.  The Jeep is built on the Mercedes ML chassis and tows really well for it's size.  

Not the L. it is different. 
Now if they kept the same  basic design then they have a good base.
for example, on federal mogul catalog none of the 11-21 suspension parts they offer  (which is not a lot) fit on the L model.  granted.. maybe its not up to date.  

But yes the Highlander a people mover 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Cwhite138

[Deephaven]

4 minutes ago, Cwhite138 said:

Not the L. it is different. 
Now if they kept the same  basic design then they have a good base.
for example, on federal mogul catalog none of the 11-21 suspension parts they offer  (which is not a lot) fit on the L model.  granted.. maybe its not up to date.  

But yes the Highlander a people mover 

The Durango was built on the same chassis too, I'd bet money it just isn't an updated catalog.

 

[Cwhite138]

8 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

The Durango was built on the same chassis too, I'd bet money it just isn't an updated catalog.

 

one would hope they did not mess with the powertrain and suspension. 
But the rags are calling it a new Gen chassis and I know the steering column, dash support and accelerator pedal are all new. 

For the money they are good value.  I have not test driven a L, but I found it to look really nice inside. 
I spent some time in 19 Durango and a 20 GC V6's. Thought they were really good. 

 

something to add the Durango has not changed yet. only the 21 GC L and 2022 GC 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Cwhite138

[Deephaven]

I had an ML63 AMG.  That towed the Malibu extremely well.  The Jeep is a lethargic version of it

As for the changes, even "all new" is a slightly modified what they just had.  They don't have the bandwidth to really develop something completely new that isn't electric.

[800renegaderider]

46 minutes ago, Cwhite138 said:

I wouldn't trust anything made by a company called stellantis

Toyotas quality is dropping big time also tho. more and more stuff coming out of Mexico. I have heard from guys that work at the dealers they are seeing more issues on their PDIs than they ever have  

The 4Runner has been out for years with not much changed and a record of reliability. OP says he drives 50-60k a year I’d trust a 4Runner to last a lot longer than a jeep with those miles. I wouldn’t want to own a jeep with 100k plus with a toyota no problem. Lot of parts are made in Mexico and Canada especially for American cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the shit in a grand Cherokee is made in Mexico.

[Cwhite138]

1 minute ago, 800renegaderider said:

The 4Runner has been out for years with not much changed and a record of reliability. OP says he drives 50-60k a year I’d trust a 4Runner to last a lot longer than a jeep with those miles. I wouldn’t want to own a jeep with 100k plus with a toyota no problem. Lot of parts are made in Mexico and Canada especially for American cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the shit in a grand Cherokee is made in Mexico.

I agree. 
The sad thing is although I hear Toyota guys complaining about all the issues they are now finding on PDIs, compared to 5 years ago, its really just what other MFGs have always been like. 

I think Toyota is over rated though. As most fan boys base their durability on older models. Which wen you look at most components less robust and more expensive to repair than the big 3. just my thoughts