Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My wife had the car in park, left the car to close our gate and the car came out of park and backed over her. When she got out from under the vehicle she came into the house brushed and cut. I called the ems and went out to move the vehicle. It still was in park with the engine running. Jeep's rep came out and looked at it and his answer was " the poerational mannal; states that when you leave your vehicle you must put it in park turn off the engine and remove the keys from the car. OK I May agree with that, but she was only closing the gate. What my concerns is that there must be something wrong with the trans for this to happen .
1st issue is the seat belt buckles are almost impossible to disengage. They hang up so bad our 10 yr old Grand daughter needs help to remove the belt. The belt for the driver has same issue to where it is even difficult for an adult to get it to unlatch. 2nd issue is the transmission slips when shifting from 2nd to 3rd when cold. When it has been driven for a few miles it shifts normal. This appears to be a problem a lot of Jeep owners have. It is a noted problem in other Chrysler vehicles with the 42re transmission. This issue should be addressed since it is so wide spread.
Tl contact owns a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While parked, the vehicle rolled backwards out of the driveway, drove over a retaining wall, and rested against a neighboring home. The door of the vehicle knocked the contact to the ground and caused minor back and wrist injuries. The gear position indicator failed, which caused the contact to believe that the vehicle was in park. The current and failure mileages were 114,000.
I would like to know why Jeep/Chrysler has not done any recalls or fixes involving the powertrain control module (PCM) since it is a known issue with Grand cherokees?!!! Instead they want customers to go out and spend approximately $200+ for a new one and even more $$ to have dealer install it. I love my Jeep don't get me wrong, but Jeep dropped the ball big on this one. Just about as bad as the gas tank issue.
Vehicle was left in idle when the consumer got out of the vehicle. After the consumer got out of the vehicle, it went into reverse and ran into a mail truck. Consumer didn't contact dealer because she thought she didn't fully put the vehicle in park. Consumer heard of a recall when the vehicle slips out of park into reverse.
I started my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the morning to warm up. The vehicle was in park, but the emergency brake was not on. I went back inside my house while my vehicle was warming. When I went back out to my vehicle I noticed it was no longer in my driveway. The vehicle was in my neighbors yard! I couldn't believe what had happened. When I got in the vehicle to move it out of the yard, it was in reverse. Luckily it did not have enough power to make it up the bank of the yard or it would have went through my neighbors house. No one was injured nor was there any damage to the Jeep. It jumped out of park and slipped into reverse on its own. I am 100% sure of this!! I bought the car bc I wanted something safe to haul my family around in...we just had our first child. Now, after this incident, I don't feel safe at all. …
Dt: 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The vehicle has 48,677 miles currently. At 14,754 miles they resurfaced the front brake rotors and replaced the pads, this was on October 18, 2000. Then on July 15, 2002, at 28,186 miles the front brake rotors had to be replaced and the pads. On May 3, 2004 at 42,123 miles, the rotors had to be resurfaced and replace the pads. On Monday, July 11, 2005 at 48,502 miles the vehicle was taken in for a lube job and the consumer asked to have the brakes checked because he felt pulsation in the brake. She was told the rotors need to be replaced again and new pads would be needed. The dealership states the brakes are not covered under the warranty because they are considered wear and tear items and only covered for 12 months or 12,000 miles. After speaking with the district service manager, she was reimbursed, $211, for the work done on May 3, 2004. …
When starting the vehicle and shifting from park to drive the transmission did not feel like it engaged. After not engaging the vehicle was put in park and shifted into drive again. The transmission still did not feel like it engaged. Not being sure I started to apply the gas with no forward movement. Suddenly when the RPM's reached about 1500-2000 RPM's the vehicle engaged into drive causing my vehicle to hit the parked car in front of it. Only minor damage was done since the vehicle to the front was far enough away and I was able to stop just soon enough to only tap the forward vehicle. Since the vehicle was new there have been loud banging noises coming from the rear while stopping,after stopping and releasing the brake or without the air conditioning, while stopped and the RPM's fall below 500 RPM's. …
While traveling down a mountain road, gaining speed, put car into 2nd gear in order to slow down and not over-use the brakes...car suddenly bolted back and brakes locked up and became unresponsive. I steered out of hitting the median , (it was a windy mountain road), but hit the back of a tractor trailor.. I was then hit from behind by another tractor-trailor and projected fowared. I was able to manuever over to shoulder of road. Placed car's transmission in park..but it continued to move foward !!! I had minor aches and pains, car sustained at least $9500 worth of collission damage. Told repair to check brakes and transmission...they said everything OK.. I did not do anything unusual in this driving experience. I am extremely fearful of the vehicle. It is still in shop waiting for final estimate. …
I will start by saying that in the past few months I have experienced a very scary situation while operating my Jeep. The problem that I've experiencing is while the vehicle is in reverse it will not stop. On a few occasions while backing into a parking space the Jeep will continue to roll backwards without stopping, this is while I have both feet on the brake to stop it. It has most recently happened two days ago (August 3, 2004) while backing into a parking space at work the very same thing occurred, the only thing that stopped the Jeep was a median that was behing my parking space where it is my fear that May have been the only reason the Jeep stopped. My fear is that someone May be walking behind or someone else's property will be behind me, and I will not be able to stop the Jeep in time. …
NHTSA investigations
Inadvertent rollaway in reverse park
Roll-away in reverse when parked
Daimlerchrysler has recalled the zj models to incorporate a secondary detent spring into the shifter.even though the wj 6 cyl. Vehicles use the same manual detent lever that as the vehicles in the recall population, odi believes that the wj redesigned shifter, which improves floor shifter functionality and ergonomics, helps to provide feedback to the driver to indicate whether ?park? Has or has not been…
Transmission complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 386 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 24% of the model year's 1,638 complaints. The component named most often is automatic transmission › park/neutral start interlock switch (142 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, though it has 4 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 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 70 crashes, 0 fires and 26 injuries to transmission & drivetrain 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.