My 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited is, without a doubt, my favorite of all the vehicles I’ve owned. Of all the vehicles I’ve owned, this is the only one that has had people telling me, “That’s a nice looking rig.”
When this thing rolled off the assembly line it had every option available at the time; power windows, power door locks, automatic headlights, automatic temperature control, cruise control, sun roof, heated leather seats… everything.
Unfortunately, over the last 13 years, it has developed a few problems, some routine, some not so much so, that I should have fixed. Some of these repairs are cosmetic, some are safety issues.
- Tires – Three of them are just bald, one has steel belt showing, and the spare is a slightly different size than the rest and has slipped a belt.
Anti-Freeze leak – The leak is either in the heater coil or the hoses leading to and from it. As long as the heater isn’t running, leaks about a drop every 15 minutes. When the heater is on, it’s almost a steady stream.Engine service due soon – According to the display below the heater controls, the engine is due for an oil change and general servicing in about 1800 miles or, the amount I drive, around January, 2012.- Windshield replacement – It has a crack that runs from driver’s side, about 2 inches from the bottom, to the passenger’s side where it curves up for about 4 inches, then heads back toward the driver’s side for about 8 inches.
Wiring check – Two of the dash lights are out, the rest tend to occasionally go dim for a second and come back up, and, when driving at night, sometimes the left turn signal isn’t working, sometimes it is.- Cruise control repair – The cruise control hasn’t worked since I got the Jeep last year. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a car with working cruise control and I doubt I’d actually use it if I did, but as long as I’m listing things I’d like to have fixed, let’s go ahead and throw this in, too.
- Door seal replacement - The rubber seal that goes around the driver’s door frame is damaged and should be replaced.
- Headliner repair or replacement – There are a couple of areas where the headliner is held up with 60,000 thumb tacks. Whomever did this had the sense to use tacks which matched the color of the headliner but, let’s be honest. It looks … (wait for it) … tacky.
- Leather repair or replacement – The seats have a few small tears that should be repaired before they become major rips. The dashboard and the arm rest on the driver’s door have cracked because of the sun.
