Jeep Grand Cherokee 2021

Jeep Grand Cherokee 2021 Q&As

Check out real-world situations relating to the Jeep Grand Cherokee here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• What car should I get to tow a 22-foot caravan around Australia?

  I wouldn’t be concerned about the cylinder configuration of a particular engine. What’s more important is how much power and torque that engine makes, and how towing-friendly that power delivery is. By which we mean how smooth and flexible is the delivery. What you don’t want is a peaky engine that needs to be revved before it delivers the good as that puts a strain on everything and make the vehicle tricky and unpleasant to drive.

  The good news is that all the vehicles you’ve nominated have good, solid powerplants that are well suited to towing a caravan. Modern turbo-diesels – especially with an automatic transmission – are ideal for this task.

  What you should go for, however, is the vehicle with the highest towing rating. In this case, that’s any of the Grand Cherokee, MU-X or older Discovery, all of which have variants that can handle a towed load of 3.5 tonnes. The Everest is almost as good with 3.1 tonne, but only almost. The problem is that the van you’ve nominated can easily weigh between 2.2 and 2.8 tonnes which, with a 3.1-tonne limit, leaves you very little headroom for water tanks and camping gear. You’d be amazed at how much a fully loaded caravan weighs, so don’t rely on the brochure, load the van and take it to a weighbridge to make sure the vehicle you have can legally tow it.

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• Jeep Grand Cherokee 2015: Blown automatic transmission.

  Perhaps a little strangely, the only recall I could find for this model to do with the transmission was one alerting owners to the fact that the unconventional design of the shifter handle could trick them into leaving the vehicle unattended without first selecting Park. But it doesn’t surprise me that you’ve had this failure as this generation of Jeeps has been plagued by all sorts of quality and reliability problems and, therefore, recalls and technical service bulletins (like a recall but not a safety-related issue).

  I would definitely be tapping Jeep on the shoulder as I don’t believe 85,000km is a reasonable expectation when it comes to the life expectancy of such a major component in a modern vehicle. However, your car is clearly out of warranty, so it could come down to a dog-fight between you and Jeep.

  I’d like to think that Jeep might meet you half way with the cost of repairs given the youth and full service history of your car, but there are no hard and fast rules here. You could also consider talking to Consumer Affairs over this.

  The other thing you can do is talk to a transmission specialist as opposed to a Jeep dealer. Chances are, the cost of a replacement or rebuilt transmission from a specialist might be a fair bit less than a dealership can offer. But I’d definitely talk to Jeep head office first.

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• Jeep Grand Cherokee 1996: Where can I buy a front tailshaft?

  The best thing to do it to call the experts at Jeeepart Recyclers (03 5448 8444). They will be able to help you with a front tailshaft for your car.

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• What SUV should I buy?

  There are many SUVs that would fit within your budget. I would suggest you try a Toyota Kluger, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Isuzu MU-X, Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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