Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Sudden unintended acceleration and loss of braking while driving in parking lots. When driving at slow speed in parking lot, turned right to pull into parking space. Gave accelerator a slight push to give Cherokee enough gas to move into uphill parking stall. Quickly moved foot from accelerator to brake pedal, when car motor revved, speed increased and front end of car hit concrete retaining wall. Braking unable to stop or slow the car before impact. Second incident on 11/12/2011 with approximately 78,000 miles driven when driving at slow speed through parking lot, turning right to drive down parking lane, placed foot on brake pedal to slow even more to move further to right side of lane to avoid oncoming car. With side of foot, felt accelerator pedal drop away causing motor to rev, speed to increase. …
Tl contact owns a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While shifting out of neutral, the vehicle surged forward. The contact depressed the brake pedal with both feet, but the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle crashed into a pole, flipped over three times, and landed on a business sign. Smoke began to rise from the engine and the fire department used the jaws of life to rescue the contact from the vehicle. She sustained injuries to her back and left leg. A police report was filed and the investigation concluded that the failure was due to the accelerator pedal becoming stuck. The speed and engine size were unknown. The VIN was verified and appears to be valid. The vehicle was destroyed, therefore no current mileage was available. The failure mileage was 60,000.
I started my Jeep, noticed my hatch was not closed, got out while it was running, the second I closed my driver door, my Jeep went into reverse on its own, and kept accelerating higher, this vehicle took off very aggressively, luckily my wife was in the passenger seat, she put it in natural, and shut the car off before anything was struck, now due to I believe the rapid acceleration it runs horribly when I put it in drive. This Jeep is an 2003 , well broke in and maintained, there's no other reason as to why it "became self aware" I have a lot of vehicle knowledge and this is virtually and unfathomably impossible , please review every aspect of this vehicles complaints as this is very unsafe
Tl contact owns a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee. While driving approximately 5 MPH on a dirt covered road, the engine began to rev excessively followed by unintended acceleration. The vehicle failed to slow down and struck a metal pole. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver was transported to the hospital and sustained moderate injuries to the neck and back. The police were called to the scene and filed a report. The vehicle was completely destroyed and was towed to an authorized dealer. The insurance company was notified and is investigating the failure. The cause of the failure has not been determined. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 72,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated to 70 MPH without warning. The contact shifted into neutral to stop the vehicle. The failure was recurring and on one occasion, the contact had to steer into a row of bushes to stop the vehicle from accelerating any farther. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic several times for the failure. The failure was contributed to a sticking accelerator and the throttle body was replaced twice however, the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,346 and the current mileage was 146,000.
I was at a bank drive through teller and had placed my vehicle into park to do my paperwork. When I finished I placed my foot on the break and placed the car into drive. The car took off like a rocket. I applied the breaks and the emergency break with very little or no effect. The car produced over 40 feet of skid then vaulted over a drainage ditch about 15 feet wide. It the impacted on the far side of the ditch with sufficient force to rip off my front license plate. The car continued to move until it struck a brick retaining wall. The ABS system and the air bags did not work at all. The total distance traveled was well over 200 feet.
While the car was stopped in a parking lot, the idle suddenly started racing at well over 1000 RPM. Even max pressure on the brake pedal was not enough to prevent the car from moving. I shifted into neutral from drive to prevent running over a pedestrian. The idle returned to normal several seconds later. The accelerator peddle was not in any way involved. A more limited racing occurred when I first began the trip while I was making a slow left turn from a stopped position at a traffic light. I have been driving safely for over 54 years and have never had an experience to compare with this one. It was truly a while knuckle ride!
After conducting business at a drive in bank consumer proceeded to leave. Consumer placed foot on the accelerator and the vehicle accelerated. Then, he applied the emergency brake, however, it did not stop the vehicle. It stroke a four foot embankment, the only thing that stopped the vehicle was a concrete retaining wall, which was struck at 30 MPH. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy, the emergency brake and the anti lock brakes did not kick in.
Just recently in the last three months front passenger window fell while driving and back driver window fell while driving while it what snowing while my son was in the car. Have a popping noise in steering or somewhere in front end. I can't use my accelerate button on steering wheel while it's in cruise because it won't stop acceleration once you press it. I was going about 55 and was trying to accelerate to 60.
Vehicle experienced unexpected acceleration problem. Owner was pulling out of the garage and vehicle lunged forward, crashing into the parked vehicle in the garage, and forcing it through the wall of the garage. The consumer stated that the right back tire dug into the gravel up to the gravel.
Acceleration complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 32 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 4% of the model year's 762 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2003 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 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 56,000 miles, and 27% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 12 crashes, 1 fire and 5 injuries to speed control & acceleration 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.