1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Electrical System Problems

Source: NHTSA · Updated Mar 1, 2024 · 60 complaints analyzed

Owners have filed 60 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 6% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 116,000 miles.

60electrical system complaints
116,000median miles at failure
2mention a crash
0mention an injury
0related recalls
28%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph

At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?

Based on 33 complaints that reported the odometer reading.

Under 10k miles1 · 3%

10k–25k miles2 · 6%

25k–50k miles3 · 9%

50k–75k miles0 · 0%

75k–100k miles4 · 12%

100k–150k miles12 · 36%

150k+ miles11 · 33%

How serious are the reports?

Of 60 complaints, 2 mention a crash, 3 a fire.

Jeep Grand Cherokee electrical system complaints by model year

Peak: 2005, with 927 complaints

n = 7,478 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Model year	Electrical System complaints	Share of that year	Median miles
2026 Grand Cherokee	4	16%	10
2025 Grand Cherokee	30	39%	—
2024 Grand Cherokee	115	46%	14,000
2023 Grand Cherokee	178	45%	21,545
2022 Grand Cherokee	129	49%	20,450
2021 Grand Cherokee	115	28%	1,812
2020 Grand Cherokee	73	30%	12,000
2019 Grand Cherokee	84	23%	14,000
2018 Grand Cherokee	339	40%	27,750
2017 Grand Cherokee	87	24%	33,451
2016 Grand Cherokee	61	20%	33,570
2015 Grand Cherokee	138	10%	28,000
2014 Grand Cherokee	484	20%	37,000
2013 Grand Cherokee	376	47%	68,000
2012 Grand Cherokee	837	51%	70,000
2011 Grand Cherokee	780	48%	62,568
2010 Grand Cherokee	47	40%	85,000
2009 Grand Cherokee	47	34%	82,675
2008 Grand Cherokee	473	64%	78,000
2007 Grand Cherokee	658	59%	79,000
2006 Grand Cherokee	753	59%	90,000
2005 Grand Cherokee	927	45%	92,000
2004 Grand Cherokee	144	11%	92,000
2003 Grand Cherokee	55	7%	85,500
2002 Grand Cherokee	85	6%	102,600
2001 Grand Cherokee	42	5%	55,000
2000 Grand Cherokee	112	8%	104,000
1999 Grand Cherokee	84	5%	121,181
1998 Grand Cherokee	60	6%	116,000
1997 Grand Cherokee	56	6%	151,500
1996 Grand Cherokee	65	7%	148,000
1995 Grand Cherokee	40	6%	138,000

When owners reported it

Peak: 2001, with 7 complaints

n = 60 complaints · Source: NHTSA

Related recalls (0)

No safety recall lists electrical system for the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.

What owners report

Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.

Stalling while driving highway speeds. Noticed it stalls after engine warms up. Sometimes it starts back up, but sometimes it has to sit a while.
Received Jun 19, 2018 · NHTSA complaint 11102578

Vehicle will stall and lose power while driving. Can occur at slow and high speeds. Online forums have mentioned a possibility of faulty pcms.
Received Sep 17, 2017 · NHTSA complaint 11023902

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 mark iii jeep grand cherokee. While driving various speeds, the vehicle suddenly shut off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the main pcm located on the firewall was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The…
Received May 15, 2017 · NHTSA complaint 10985759

Frequently asked questions

Do all 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokees have electrical system problems?

No. NHTSA has 60 owner complaints about electrical system for the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee (6% of the 1,028 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.

Was there a recall on the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee electrical system?

No recall currently lists electrical system for this vehicle.

At what mileage do electrical system problems start?

The median reported mileage is 116,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.