Test drive Jeep Cherokee (Liberty) 2001 - 2005 SUV

Jeep Cherokee (2001 release)

Three years ago, in 2001, the third Jeep Cherokee in the history of Jeep Cherokee stood in operation. America recognized him under the name Liberty.
Three years ago there were two basic configurations - Sport and Limited. The SPORT version is easily recognized in appearance: the car has unpainted bumper and wheel arches, as well as the brilliant checking of Cherokee Sport on the front doors. In Limited, all external panels are painted in the body color, in the cabin - leather, polished aluminum and a lot of devices that increase comfort. Ungrained cladding plastic is a serious argument for those who will use the car not only on asphalt, but also in accordance with its ideological essence - outside the roads and directions. In case of damage to the replacement of any such part, it will cost about $ 100-150 cheaper than Limited-you do not need to paint.
Type effort. Cherokee is not a beach Fun Car and not a SUV. This is a real heavy SUV, its equipped mass is more than 2 tons-a 2.4-liter motor for it is weak. Not bad or unreliable, namely weak. He, of course, is lucky, but does not go. From this engine you can’t want more than it can give, and the owners wanted to, squeezed all the juices out of it and made various troubles.
From constant maximum loads, overheating, leaks and failure of the clutch are possible. There were no mass appeals for the service for these reasons, but they were taken by a note, and the clutch problems were recognized by the Chrysler by the warranty case, and if the car was sold by the official dealer and the warranty period did not expire, then the clutch will be changed for free. The option inadvertently parted with $ 500 (spare parts + work) in the absence of a guarantee extremely small - as a rule, everything has already decided the previous owner.
As for overheating and gaskets, the masters strongly recommend twice a year - in spring and autumn - to clean the radiators from dirt ($ 50) and reasonably use the capabilities of the motor.
The above also applies to a 2.5 -liter turbodiesel. Thanks to the solid torque, the Cherokee 2.5 TD won the dynamics of the gasoline four, and the hosts enjoyed it with joy, and then listened to the lecture of the service about the inadmissibility of the constant twisting of the diesel engine. By the way, in 2002, the volume of the turbodiesel was increased to 2.8 liters and added a 5-speed machine to it instead of the previous mechanics.
A 3.7 liter six -cylinder engine is the famous V8 4.7 Grand Cherokee, from which 2 cylinders were cut off and a balancer shaft was added. It is very reliable, and, perhaps, its most noticeable drawback is an excellent appetite.
Mechanical orange. A distinctive feature of Jeep Cherokee is a very limited presence of assistant electronics. Nevertheless, the wires in the car have and there is no extraneous intervention that is not tolerated, but they love delicacy. For example, unprofessional alarm installation can easily disable SKIM module (device that identifies chip-key). This system is arranged so that even the replacement of all its blocks will not allow the car. Resuscitation will require a new module ($ 600), take about two hours and will cost $ 100. But before that, it will be necessary to send data to the car to Alma Mater and receive in return personal codes for programming. But this can take more than one day.
The electrician does not present surprises. The placement of the windpoint keys may seem a little uncomfortable - on the inclined boxing panel between the front seats. But this is a matter of habit. I am glad that the unreliability of the electrical gas pumps of former models that has become the tongue remained in the past. The modern unit does not respond to fuel quality, and cases of its breakdowns have not yet been recorded.
Tracktop. Two all-wheel drive systems are installed on the car-with a free center differential (Select-Track) and without that (Command-Track).
When choosing a car, it should be remembered that Cherokee with the Command-Track system is an exceptionally rear-wheel drive machine whose front wheels can only be connected to overcome off-road. Such a configuration is evidenced by the absence of 4 Full Time inscription near the distribution. If you regularly travel on asphalt in all-wheel drive mode, then at one point the box will tell the owner of the Bai-by-seals fly, chains are torn. Lucky - resuscitation will cost $ 600 excluding the cost of spare parts. If you are not lucky, prepare $ 1350-1750.
The Select-Track system not only allows you to use all-wheeling hard coating, but also much stronger, despite a more complex design. The main thing is to comply with the recommendations for its maintenance.
By the way, it is advisable to trust the oil in the differential of the rear axle to trust specialists of the corporate service. The trick is that the Track-Lock differential is self-locking, and if you do not comply with a certain technology of its service, then the knot will elemently jam. Thank God, the issue is solved only by bulkhead, washing, drying and filling new oil, always with additives. Price - about $ 250.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. For the first time in the history of Jeep, the car received a completely independent front suspension. Possessing high -speed guarantees for a hard four, Cherokee has a huge potential for the endurance of the suspension. What kind of aluminum is there - the lower levers are not even steel. They are cast from high -strength cast iron, and the upper ones are forged steel. All this, along with the reptile stability stabilizer and the rack steering mechanism (also, by the way, applied for the first time), is covered from below with a powerful steel subframe of half a half thick. The services find it difficult to say by what time the suspension details may require replacements. On mileage machines about 100 thousand km even stabilizers, the stabilizers did not change.
The rear bridge is borrowed from Grand Cherokee. In the center, it is attached to the body of the V-shaped lever using ball-strip. According to the masters, she can start tapping after 4-5 years of operation.
The endurance of the car as a whole is the merit of the power structure of the body. Cherokee does not have a frame in the usual sense - instead of the engineers created a powerful frame made of high -strength steel with developed spars along the entire bottom, thanks to which the supporting body is as strong as the frame structure.
But very good - it does not happen. There is one problem that is inherent in almost all heavy SUVs - this is premature wear of the front brake discs. When this happens, there are two ways: try to do with a groove (about $ 70 per disc) or replace them with new ones ($ 340 per pair).
Spare option. With spare parts on Cherokee is a curious situation. Dealers can quite officially offer a choice of two options: from the central warehouse, where spare parts get from Europe through the official representative office, or directly from America, bypassing the intermediate instances. American spare parts, according to sellers, are cheaper, as they do not participate in the complex logistics of European supplies.
There are practically no non -original spare parts in the market. The maximum that you can count on is a limited list of consumables. The manufacturer requires for planned replacements and then use only the technical fluids and oils of the company Morar.
Text Sergey Samchuk, drawing Evgeny Zhukov

Jeep Cherokee 2.4 2.5 TD 3.7 V6
Working volume (cubic meter) 2429 2499 3700
Power (L.S.) 147 143 211
Maximum speed 174 164 180
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (c) 14.6 13.5 10.8
Fuel consumption (city/highway, l/100 km) 14.2/8.8 11.7/7.5 19.5/11.8
The cost of work for Jeep Cherokee 3.7 V6
Every 5, 15, 25, 35 ... thousand km $ 150
Every 20, 40, 60 ... thousand km $ 300--350
Then 50 thousand km $ 450
Then 100 thousand km $ 770
Norma at a branded sta $ 38
The cost of spare parts and consumables for Jeep Cherokee 3.7 V6*
Front pads $ 149 ($ 45)
Rear pads $ 192 ($ 32)
$ 23
Oil filter $ 7.5
Automatic transmission filter (2 pcs.) $ 30, $ 25
Front shock absorber $ 75 ($ 35)
 

Source: "Autopilot"