Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Jeep Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I love my Jeep. However, I have the same problem many owners of the 2000 Cherokee with the 4.0 have. I have a cracked cylinder head. No oil in coolant, or vice versa, buit Jeep is parked and will not move until it is either sold or scrapped. Body is in good condition and everything works on the Jeep. I have rod knock on start up, and as the engine warms, oil pressure drops to zero. Revving engine to 2000 RPM raises oil pressure. The Jeep has 181,000 miles. I have heard from many people that the cylinder head cracking is very common in jeeps for 2 model years, yet Jeep has gotten away with a recall somehow. I am not happy. I bought the Jeep used and only drove it a month before the knocking started. The lady I bought it from did oil changes every 2 months, and took it in for service when ever something went wrong
Vehicle began to vibrate violently followed by a loud bang. There was smoke coming from the engine compartment. After shutting down the engine I found the plastic fan blades from the electric cooling fan had broken apart and were jammed into the fan pulley. I understand that there is a recall for the 2000 grand Cherokee model for the same problem. Why is it limited to that model when evidently it is happening to other 2000 model jeeps such as mine a 2000 Jeep Cherokee classic. The recall for the other model is virtually the same problem that I have experienced. Why the limit ?
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. While driving at 25 MPH, the temperature gauge indicated that the vehicle was overheating. The contact waited until the temperature gauge read normal and the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the shield intake manifold and the shield exhaust manifold needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 181,889.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. While attempting to start the vehicle, a loud ticking noise emerged from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the engine failed and needed replacement. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 173,000.
Low oil pressure: I change my oil as specified in manual. Now all of a sudden I have a drop in oil pressure. When driving the Jeep my oil pressure is now at no more than 25psi and it drops to zero when idle. On my last oil change I had the engine checked and there were no cracks and no misfire. I had a tune up done on the vehicle in sept 2008. Engine and everything was running fine. As for that day I have to get the Jeep to mechanic to take a look. This past summer the Jeep also would over heat in 90 degree weather and it mostly happened when the ac was turned on. Took it mechanic and couldn't find anything wrong we replaced the thermostat with a lower temp and seemed to fix the problem. Then about 2 days later the Jeep started to overheat again. Replaced the relay as it tested bad. While replacing the relay the fan broke. …
My vehicle has been losing coolant for quite some time. It has relatively low mileage to have head problems, but I now have coolant in my oil. I have done some research and found that daimler-Chrysler used 0331 cast heads on this model Cherokee (2000 w/ 4.0l engine). It turns out that these heads were a poor cast allowing cracks to form near the #3 cylinder area allowing coolant to flow into the oil. This results in a drop in oil pressure and eventually bearing and engine failure. I consider myself somewhat lucky that I discovered this problem before the engine seized up on me, however I am now looking at over $1000 in repairs that should not be necessary for a vehicle with just over 50K miles. I am very disappointed since I believed jeeps to be reliably built vehicles. …
I purchased my 2000 Jeep Cherokee from lehmers Jeep in concord, california in the spring of 2000. Ive had all the servicing done there as suggested. I take care of my car and drive it gently. In August of this year, during the week prior to my scheduled 60,000 mile servicing the car overheated twice. I immediately pulled over and let the car cool off. When the car was serviced the block was cracked, the water pump had malfunctioned. The service department replaced the block and told me that it was replaced with an improved block as the original one was known to crack easily. The bill for service and replacing the cracked block was $3364.19. I believe that I should be reimbursed for the cost of replacing the block. It was known to be defective. I have had all my servicing done at lehmer s Jeep per their schedule. …
At 7200 miles the engine check light went on flashing. This happened 2 more time over last winter. Each time the spark plugs are fouled and replaced, the computer reports misfiring in the engine. Then in July my car went on fire after driving 6 miles to the store. I parked my car went into the store only to be called out 5 min later that my car was on fire. The fire department had to break into the car because the hood release was burnt. Chrysler said it was a rodent that chewed the fuel injector harness. Now I'm out my insurance deductible and additional rental car charges. Then 2/1/02 after driving to work 7 mile my car again went on fire after parking. This time my boyfriend heard a crackling sound and saw smoke when he stopped and pulled the hood release, saw flames and throw snow on it to put it out. It's still in the dealing waiting to see what Chrysler has to say now.
I am the owner of a 2000 Jeep Cherokee classic with a 4.l 6cylinder engine. I am the second owner of this Jeep with 102,000 miles.all services always done on time, oil, brakes,flushes, fluids, ect. My oil pressure dropped one day while driving and my antifreeze started disappearing. I went to have the car looked at by a repair shop they told me the cylinder head between the 3rd and the 4th cylinder had a crack in it. I was also told it is a known problem by Jeep and it was due to defective machines that made the cylinder heads. I looked online and found over 10,234 blogs about this problem. So I went to a Jeep dealer thinking it should be a recall or defective part recall and Jeep is saying there is nothing they can do about it it will cost me 3200.00 dollars. I feel this many defective parts all with ( exact )same problem should be a major concern.
On December 17th of 2003, I brought my 200 Jeep Cherokee in for service at a local auto shop. He discovered through a diagnostic check that the engine was skipping on # 3 and # 5 cylinder. They replaced the engine coil pack and spark plugs. The vehicle at that time had 89,941 miles on it. On January 31st of 2006, that same Jeep was brought to the shop again with a skip in the engine. It was also determined through a diagnostic machine that the same problem was occurring. This time the engine had 126,350 miles on it. That is less than 40K miles in 25 months. I am not sure what the warranty is on this unit, but it would be greatly appreciated if someone could look into this manner. I have spent almost $600 in 2 years for the same problem. There must be some sort of an issue. Please let me know.
Engine complaints in other Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2000 Jeep Cherokee?
NHTSA has 65 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2000 Jeep Cherokee, 18% of the model year's 369 complaints. The component named most often is engine › gasoline (28 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Jeep Cherokee engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2000 Jeep Cherokee, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Jeep Cherokee engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 85,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 15 fires and 0 injuries to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.