Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that the driver side door latch fractured and allowed the door to open while the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 315,977.
Driving down freeway and drivers door pops open and won't shut. Have to pull over in a hurry to avoid accident. Found door latch hanging from door frame. Weak weld of latch had given way and door popped open. Very dangerous. Local Chrysler dealership couldn't help financially or otherwise and sent me to a body shop. Body shop said this is a regular problem on Chrysler products. They use a cheap metal and welding to attach door latch. I would like to be refunded the $1800 it is costing me to replac the entire door. Car is a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I would think this should last more than eight years.
This complaint was sent by a web user via e-mail. While driving the driver's door opened and would not close. Luckily no accident occurred, because consume r was able to control the car. Upon inspection noticed that the door latch inside the driver's door broke off from door frame by itself, was hanging, and not connected. When trying to shut the door it wouldn't shut. Consumer took the car to a dealership, and they said there was nothing they could do. Consumer took it to a body shop, and they said it would be $1636.75 to replace the door and latch.
While driving driver's side door popped open and would not close. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and was told that the vehicle was out of warranty and there was nothing they could do. The consumer then took the vehicle to an aftermarket body shop, and was told that it was the weld, which was very thin that caused the latches to pop off inside the door.
I have a 96 Grand Cherokee ltd 4x4 with 115K miles. Since it turned 65K miles I have replaced the brake pads and drums 3 times. I have water leaks in the seat belt wells, the passenger side window, and the belts are wet when it rains. Today, water is pooling in the floor of the driver's side. Water pours from just above the accelerator. Must be from A/C?the rear door hatch has jammed in lock position. The electronic mileage/ fuel readout (on ceiling module) fluctuates wildly and is inaccurate. The catalytic converter went out at 64,975 miles. Now have a crack in the exhaust manifold, quoted $1200 by dealer to repair. I have gone through stock 3 radios, tuner problems. Massive A/C problems in past. I paid a non dealer to repair it, the repairs held for 30 days and same problem started again. …
Problem... Driving down the road or stopped at light or in the middle of a turn or on expressway... It would shut off without warning, sometime it would restart immediately, sometimes not!!!... Extremely dangerous situations developed, which I was lucky!!! 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 4.0 , 6 cyl.... Spent 6 months doing repairs/ replacement parts and many ,many dollars spent tracking down part after part. Using diagnostics machine to determine faulty part... Problem was the power control module ( PCM or ECU same part) was defective and either was misreading codes or giving out bad codes to parts (like to the crank shaft position sensor or the coil, or the 01 or 02 ox sensors or it goes on and on and on). Not sure how it works but you get my drift. Since signing up with cnet.com, have found many people across America with the same issue on Jeep with different years (1994/2000) and models. …
The latch assembly fell into the door interior after the metal on the door assembly failed. The vehicle was taken to the body shop at dirk waltz Chrysler-Jeep, midland, mi. The estimator ( mario?) said that they had seen a rash of these failure recently. The service manager, scott therryl (?), looked at the door. Gregory taylor, damlier-Chrysler district ser. Manager, was contacted. The recurring problem was described by the estimator as a failed weld at the lower hinge that causes the door to mis-align. The mis-alignment causes the latch assembly on the frame to strike the door latch incorrectly. The repeated mis-strike causes the metal to fatigue, and the latch detaches from the door suddenly. There was no obvious problem until the failure occured. The door could have easily poped open in a very low speed collision. …
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee laredo. The contact stated that the lock on the driver side door failed. The contact stated the door only stayed closed by being tied shut. The dealer stated that the failure was due to normal wear and tear and that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The VIN was not available. The current mileage was 115,000 and the failure mileage was unavailable.
Hood latch failure, with out any pressure or while driving the hood would pop open, vehicle has been to dealer for repair, but has not been remedied. Dealer adjusted hood hinges and stops and aligned hood latch assembly. Consumer states at 2342 miles radio speakers cut out over bumps. Dealer replaced with exhchange unit. Door trim is coming off on the driver side doors.
Traveling at 50mph when hood flew open. Upon investigation saw that both main latch and backup safety catch were rusted and not functioning properly. Lex, ky dealer stated "no restrictions" to replace "hood, latch, and safety catch" but s.fla dealer wont cooperate (relocated to s.fla.) nor will Chrysler.
NHTSA investigations
Hood latch failure
Odi opened ea02-029 to determine whether a safety-related defect trend existed in the my 1997 Jeep grand cherokee hood latch assemblies.during ea02-029, there was no specific failure mechanism identified that could differentiate the my 1997 vehicles from other vehicles containing this same hood latch assembly or could account for their higher complaint rate.as a result, odi expanded the scope of this investigation…
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the locks & latches of the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2% of the model year's 893 complaints. The component named most often is hood › latch (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches recall for the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, though it has 6 recalls 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 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 95,000 miles.
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.