Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While driving at speeds around 48 to 51 MPH, you can feel the steering wheel start shaking sometimes if you take your foot off the gas petal it will stop but more than not it will go into a violent shake to where one can hardly hang onto the steering wheel. You have to try and get safely to shoulder and stop. Then you can drive away but when speeding up to merge back into traffic it does it again. When you just cant take it anymore you exit the freeway just to drive the city streets to where you get the small like shaking in the steering wheel. These past 2 weeks it seems to be happeing more often. I have had some work done as to what my guy thought it could be for it to not be fixed. I also now have the annoying air bag light coming on and beeping while turning any direction corner. …
Sudden stalling while driving or at idle. Applicable at all speeds from idle to freeway speeds. Sometimes the vehicle will restart and other times it will not restart right away. Sometimes it will restart if the vehicle sits for about 15 minutes and other times it has left me stranded for three hours or more. I have stalled in the middle of busy intersections and freeways. I have taken the vehicle in for repairs three times, have paid over $400 in repair bills to have parts replaced and the issue still occurs. There are many complaints in internet forums for the exact same thing and most seem to lead to a faulty engine control module. I have not yet replaced the engine control module myself since they can cost over $400 and the dealer cannot guarantee that this will fix it. …
For going on 2 months now my car has stalled at the most inconvenient times. Turning into gas stations, stopping at stop lights, driving on busy streets going up to 50mph. Usually I can just pop it into neutral and restart it but as of late, it won't turn back over until I replace the ignition fuse. I have replaced that fuse twice now, replaced the map sensor, replaced the fuel filter, yet nothing has offered a permanent solution to this problem. As you can clearly tell, this is a very dangerous problem to be having and by reading through these complaints I see I am far from alone. Not to mention the cost associated with having to replace all of these parts (per advice from mechanics) while getting nowhere. Please fix this or figure out what is causing it before someone gets seriously injured or worse. …
Driving with my daughters to the beach when suddenly my steering wheel froze as I was along a winding road. Towed truck to a mechanic who diagnosed that the gear box was broken at that point he repaired the gear box. Approximately 1 week later the same exact thing except that the truck caught fire, again towed the truck back to mechanic who replaced the gear box. I thought I was going to die when I experienced my steering wheel freeze and the fire was extinguished quickly so minimal damage was suffered. In 1 year that I own this vehicle the radiator has also needed to be repaired, the locks on my driver door stopped working, the fan in the cooling system has stopped working, I have been told that the muffler was improperly installed. I never expected so many faults or so much money spent in repairs on a so called certified used vehicle.
I own a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and while driving it the car stop suddenly without any notice. Car was unable to start again. Took car to a local dealer and they said it was the memory that needed to be replaced. Cost for the memory replacement $1000, 2 months later, Jeep stop again without any warning. Have not been able to fix it because mechanic cannot locate the problem that making the car not turn on. Changed batteries, brakes, fuel pump etc. Don't know what to do anymore.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. When the steering wheel was turned to the right, the steering seized. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called christopher's Dodge world at [phone] and was informed that there was no recall associated with the vehicle. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 99V312000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.
My Jeep shakes really badly. Has been going on for a long time but getting worse. I have to steer with a death grip on the wheel while it is happening. Have had Jeep realigned and tires replaced and balanced. Action is sparadic but is still doing it more often.
When this vehicle gets up to 60 it shakes very bad until I press the break. I have replaced all the front end suspension parts and it stopped for a few months and has now started again. This is very scary and I am worried about a possible crash.
In motion the car shakes violently. I was on the freeway and almost wrecked the car from the shaking. I have bad back pain and scared to drive. My 4 year old is terrified of getting near the car.
As I was pulling out of my driveway on the morning of Tuesday, June 5 and heard a loud clicking sound coupled with a sticking in my steering wheel as I turned it to the right. As I continued to my drive, I noticed the clicking and sticking almost every time I turned the steering wheel to the right (even on slight motions like when parallel parking). I took the car to the mechanic for fear the steering would stick and I would Ram into something or someone. He told me everything seemed fine on the outside (no signs of the typical wear and tear or any of the common leakage problems). However, he said this was a serious problem and the vehicle should not be driven. After careful inspection he found the interior of the gearbox cracked. …
Related recalls
Steering › Gear box (other than rack and pinion)
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. Some steering gear units were assembled with internal end-of-travel-stops that missed the heat treat process, resulting in soft internal travel stops.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the steering gear on involved vehicles.
Steering complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 48 complaints about the steering of the 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 3% of the model year's 1,447 complaints. The component named most often is gear box (other than rack and pinion) (14 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee steering problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 99V-312 (gear box (other than rack and pinion), Nov 4, 1999). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 93,000 miles, and 14% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to steering 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.