OK, Grand Cherokees suck! Honda Pilot maybe?

[GilpinGuy]

(Kind of a rant but I'd like opinions of the Honda Pilot as well)

I posted a few times over the last few months about how harsh folks were on Grand Cherokees and I didn't get it. I mean, I had two Cherokee Sports and they were kick ass. Then I got an '05 Grand (ZJ) and ran it until 398K miles with very few problems. And I wheeled the hell out of that thing. I must have got lucky.

When my wife needed a new (to us) SUV I suggested a Grand and we got her an '04 (WJ). I'm a Wrangler (TJ) guy myself and had excellent experience with the old ZJ, so why not get a WJ and keep it in the family right? Wrong.

Before July of this year all I had to do was put in a new radiator, at about 100K miles. I was aware of shitty rads in Jeeps, so no surprise there. Then we had some other cooling problems which I learned weren't unusual, but fixable. All vehicles have their problems, so no big deal.

Granted, the WJ has 195K miles now, but here's what has happened since mid-July:

• New tires (OK, just a normal maintenance thing).
• Water Pump blows up without warning, luckily only a few miles from home.
• Battery dies, bought a new one.
• Front Brakes go to shit. Pads and rotors. This thing needs new brakes about every 7-8 months. Yeah, we're in the mountains but still...
• Something is loose in the rear drivers side door that squeaks non-stop. Drives me freaking nuts.
• Pistons that hold up the hood go bad, (probably cause I had to get in there so much lately) so I held it up with my head until I cut a 2X2 to fit to hold it up.
• Sensor in the Tranny goes bad, so we had to rev to 4000 RPMs to get it to move at all. Have to buy the entire "module" instead of just the bad sensor, so bend over. $700 installed at a local shop (not the dealership). I don't mess with transmissions, especially automatics.
• Rear Brakes go to shit. Pads only, luckily. Resurface rotors for cheap.
• Headlight goes out.
• Taillight goes out the next day (seriously?).
• Radio fries and is stuck on one station - of course the new teeny bopper shit the 15 year girl old listens to.
• Fuel Tank Vent gets plugged, so I could only pump about a gallon at a time before the pump would click off. Only a genius would put the vent right behind the rear wheel where mud and dust gets tossed every second the vehicle is moving. Took me 4 hours today to figure that shit out.

All of this from about the middle of July until today. 12 things go bad (11 if you don't count tires) in 9 weeks. I'M DONE and I admit that you "F-The Grand" guys were right! Never again.



My new baby girl is coming out in 5 weeks. So psyched. We need a reliable SUV with 3 row seating. Thinking about a Honda Pilot. Anyone have an opinion on those?

[Goodburbon]

What?

The only problem I see attributable to the wj is the Transmission. The rest of that stuff is just normal. Jeeps with solid axles wear through front pads every 20-35k, it's a given.

The rest of it is just you bitching about standard manintenance to an 8 year old 200k mile vehicle. I'm not a huge WJ fan but seriously...

[GilpinGuy]

Yes, I know some of this can be attributed to normal wear and tear. But the electronic stuff is a known problem for Grands. I've been doing a lot of reading lately about them (not by choice) and they have a bad rep for electronic problems (like the $700 tranny one).

Maybe you're right. Just pissed and frustrated it all happened all at once with kid 5 weeks away. Like I don't have enough shit to do right now? Still need a reliable vehicle and this isn't one any more (at less than 200K).

[Goodburbon]

As far as the Pilot goes, I'm sure it's great. It's a Honda. Just don't expect to be able to run cottonwood pass without ripping the underside out of it.

I was in XJs until the second kid came along. Not 100% reliable, but stout, I could fix any of it and the common issues were known so a small pack of spares was easy to carry. I decided to get the wife "reliable" transportation when I started traveling a lot for work.

[whiskeyjack]

Sorry to hear bout the bad luck bro. See you tomorrow.

[Dr_Fwd]

Pilots are good, 4runners are better.

[Clint45]

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the most unreliable POS SUVs out there. Everyone I've ever known who has had one has had major problems with theirs.

I second the advice to get a Toyota 4-Runner.

[GilpinGuy]

I second the advice to get a Toyota 4-Runner.

Do 4-Runners have 3rd row seats? Sorry haven't looked at them yet...

Gonna have 3 kids soon. I'm freaking nuts, but happy!.

[GilpinGuy]

Sorry to hear bout the bad luck bro. See you tomorrow.

Baaaah, just cars. Frustrating and a giant time sink is all. Oh yeah a money pit too. How's the new rig working out for ya?

Wanna trade a Grand for that Ford?

Wings and PBR (for me at least) tomorrow. Oh yeah.

[GilpinGuy]

As far as the Pilot goes, I'm sure it's great. It's a Honda. Just don't expect to be able to run cottonwood pass without ripping the underside out of it.

The TJ is what those trips are for. This will be for the wife mainly. Work, school, mall, repeat. But we're up here at 9,000 feet so a 4WD SUV is the only way to go.