Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
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 the vehicle was parked and shut off, it began to roll out off the contact's driveway and onto a hillside field. The vehicle traveled down the hillside and into a lake, where it struck several large rocks in a shallow portion of the water. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failure. A police report was filed. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The speed was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 68,000.
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.
I took my vehicle in for the routine oil change at the dealership I purchase the vehicle. After that day, the vehicle vibrates to the point you cannot play a cd. They are telling me this is how the vehicle performs. I have been to the dealership many times with the same response. I also have taken it to other Chrysler dealership with the same answer, it seems that the answer is the same after they look at the repair history. I also have met with the Chrysler marketing rep twice, and the dealership told me that the Chrysler technical rep drove the vehicle. Yet when I requested a encounter with him they declaim and said there is no technical rep. I also met with the general manager from the dealership twice, sales manager many times, I need this to be look into because I think my vehicle was tampered with, because if it was running like this when I bought it I would have not bought it. …
On 03-19-04 I took my Jeep for repair because the brakes were pulsating. On 07-12-04 I made a return visit because the brakes were pulsating again. On 04-13-05 I return because the brakes were pulsating again. The third trip to salerno duane came nine months later, on April 13, 2005 at 22,731 miles. Again, service advisor reported that the front rotors were rough and were resurfaced. When asked if this work would be covered by a warranty as well, which was obviously necessary due to past experience, manager said she believed it would be. When I requested documentation as proof to that statement, she refused. I then asked to speak to the service manager, a mr. G who was, less than professional is an understatement, just plain rude is more accurate. He refused to warranty the work that had been done on my vehicle stating the problem was not salerno duane, but possibly a Chrysler defect. …
There is either a design or manufacturing defect in the brake rotors/calipers of the recent Jeep Grand Cherokee. The brake rotors have been replaced on three separate occasions in the first 18 months (July 2003, dec. 2003, June 2004), and I have just been informed by the dealer, on February 10, 2005, that the brake pads are thin and the front rotors are rusted and warped and need replacement again. This will be the fourth time, and my car presently has 28,000 miles on it. It is a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I purchased in October 2002 from central auto group in norwood, massachusetts. The warranty does not cover future repairs, and I have been told by the manufacturer, daimler Chrysler that there is nothing it can do but that I will need to have the rotors replaced at my own cost. …
I own a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited, which I purchased brand new, and I have had to replace the front brakes and rotors at least four to five times. The car only has 43,000 miles on it and it is now in need of new front brakes and rotors again. Every time the brakes have been replaced, they have been done at no cost except for the last time. We had to pay for the parts and the dealer paid for the service. The dealer at that point advised us that we were on our own after that. Needless to say, we have been greatly inconvenienced by this and don't feel that it is fair to have to replace the brakes and rotors so often after normal use. Furthermore, we feel that this is a design flaw with the vehicle and we have been told by the dealer that they can't do much about this and that a lot of people have the same problem and that Chrysler hasn't stepped up to the plate to do anything. …
When applying the brakes at high speed the vehicle would shake and vibrate violently. At low speeds using the brakes the vehicle would pulsate slowly forward while removing pressure from the brake pedal. The conditions continued to get worse especially the vibrations and shaking at high speed braking. I brought the vehicle back to the dealership at 19,000 (roughly) where they proceeded to tell me that the rotors were severely warped and would need to be replaced along with the pads. I asked why they are warped beyond serviceability and they stated this is a know problem. I wrote to diamlerchrysler as well trying to get some type of refund back after spending $550 on the parts and labor for something that I feel was a quality issue to begin with. They stated rotors warp due to various driving conditions. I disagree, it is poor quality materials being used. …
At approximately 14,000 miles, my 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee began to pulse when I hit the brakes. This caused the whole car to shake and scared my wife, and my two young daughters. I took the car to the Jeep Chrysler dealership. They said the rotors had to be resurfaced. For a brand new car, I feel the rotors are defective. They should not need resurfacing so soon. They also claimed that nothing was wrong with the brake pads. This implied that I was hard on my brakes. I have driven a Ford, a Toyota, a Saab, Mercury, BMW and other models. This has never happened before. I also found in my research that other people have had the same experience with the Jeep Grand Cherokee as I have-low mileage the rotors had to be resurfaced. I contacted the Jeep Chrysler company. They have refused to admit wrong doing. I feel this is a safety hazard due to a defective product. …
Brake pad and rotor failure after one year and four months of vehicle service. After further research, it has been determined that this is a known problem with the Jeep Grand Cherokee - all years (internet based research) the manufacturer was contacted and they said that these parts (brakes and rotors) are only warranteed for one year or 12K miles. Most other parts are warranteed for 3 years and 36K miles. This problem is known by the manufactuer (Chrysler) and they have had this safety problem for years of production with this model. Both the dealership and the manufactuer refuse to repair the vehicle under warranty. Due to this known safety issue by Chrysler and their greatly reduced warranty coverage on just these items (which indicates their knowledge of the problem) it is determined that a safety issue exists that could have or already has caused injury to others.
Brake complaints in other Grand Cherokee years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
NHTSA has 71 complaints about the brakes of the 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 9% of the model year's 762 complaints. The component named most often is foundation components › disc › rotor (50 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes 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 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 20,000 miles, and 70% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to brakes 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.