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#BS-1998-JEECHE-1720

1998 Jeep Cherokee

Based on reports from 553 owners and 11 recalls for this exact model.

Complaints
553
Crashes
42
Fires
5
Recalls
11
TSBs
80
🛑

Preliminary Verdict

Red Flag

Based on 553 complaints, 42 crashes, 5 fires, and 11 recalls.

See full verdict with buy/skip conditions

Top reported problems

1

dashboard gauges fail intermittently

5 complaints • Severity 6/10

$X,XXX
2

steering is dangerous has a mind of its own

1 complaints • Severity 10/10

$X,XXX
3

death wobble

1 complaints • Severity 6/10

$X,XXX

Preview: What's in your full report

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Mechanic Inspection Checklist

!Check the Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:rotorHIGH

42 owners reported service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:disc:rotor issues — failures commonly reported around 117K miles.

!Inspect the Fuel SystemMED
Look for symptoms of wear and premature failure
+ 6 more items in full checklistUnlock

Failure Timeline by Mileage

7
0–30K
12
30–60K
15
60–90K
16
90–120K
16
120–150K
29
150K+

Peak failure range: 150K+ miles (29 reports) • Median: 117K miles

Full report: which components fail at each mileageUnlock

30,000-Mile Cost Projection

Best Case

$X,XXX

Most Likely

$X,XXX

Worst Case

$X,XXX

Top cost driver: Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:rotor (42 reports).

Includes fuel costs, common repairs, and recall riskUnlock

Also in your report

Owner Intelligence

AI-synthesized themes from real complaints

Buyer Lot Checklist

Questions, test drive checks, walk-away triggers

Negotiation Talking Points

Data-backed dollar deductions

Buy / Skip Verdict

Final recommendation with conditions

10 sections total in the full reportUnlock all

Where the complaints fall

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:rotor42 (8%)
Fuel System32 (6%)
Airbags26 (5%)
Power Train:automatic Transmission25 (5%)
Electrical System:wiring:interior/under Dash17 (3%)
Electrical16 (3%)
Other16 (3%)
Air Bags:frontal15 (3%)

1998 Jeep Cherokee: Known Issues & Problem Areas

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:rotor Issues

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:rotor complaints account for 8% of all reports filed for the 1998 Jeep Cherokee, with 42 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. The median mileage at time of complaint is 117,000 miles, suggesting issues tend to surface around the 117K-mile mark.

Fuel System Issues

Fuel System complaints account for 6% of all reports filed for the 1998 Jeep Cherokee, with 32 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. Owners should pay attention to fuel system-related symptoms during test drives and pre-purchase inspections.

Airbags Issues

Airbags complaints account for 5% of all reports filed for the 1998 Jeep Cherokee, with 26 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. Owners should pay attention to airbags-related symptoms during test drives and pre-purchase inspections.

Power Train:automatic Transmission Issues

Power Train:automatic Transmission complaints account for 5% of all reports filed for the 1998 Jeep Cherokee, with 25 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. Owners should pay attention to power train:automatic transmission-related symptoms during test drives and pre-purchase inspections.

Data sourced from NHTSA owner complaints and community reports. The full report analyzes severity, repair costs, and failure patterns for each category.

Complaint trend by year

108
00
81
01
68
02
43
03
19
04
7
05
6
06
3
07
3
08
3
09
4
10
3
11
5
12
3
13
12
14
25
15
3
16
3
17
2
20
1
21
1
24

Complaints filed with NHTSA by year for the 1998 Jeep Cherokee. Recent trend: stable.

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Repair costs • Negotiation scripts • Mechanic checklist • Buy/skip verdict

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Recall History (11 recalls)

00V105000May 2000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE-INACTIVE

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. WATER AND/OR ROAD SALT IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE COULD LEAD TO CORROSION.

00V136000Jun 2000

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER AND MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF CONNECTICUT, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT, OR WISCONSIN, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. THE FRONT DISC BRAKE ROTORS CAN EXPERIENCE SEVERE CORROSION IF OPERATED FOR AN EXTENSIVE PERIOD IN THE "SALT BELT." IF THE ROTORS ARE NOT REPLACED, THE CORROSION CAN EVENTUALLY COMPROMISE THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE STAMPED STEEL CENTER HUB SECTION OF THE ROTOR.

06E011000Jan 2005

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

CERTAIN AFTERMARKET AIRTEX ELECTRIC FUEL PUMPS INSTALLED FOR USE AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR CERTAIN 1997-2004 JEEP WRANGLER; 1997-2001 JEEP CHEROKEE; 1997-2004 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE; AND 2000-2003 DODGE DAKOTA VEHICLES. THE PLASTIC ELECTRICAL GROMMET CONNECTORS AT THE TOP OF THE FUEL PUMP MODULE ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH AUTOMOTIVE FUELS AND MAY DEGRADE CAUSING A POTENTIAL LEAK PATH FOR FUEL.

06E022000Mar 2006

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

CERTAIN AFTERMARKET BRAKE HYDRAULIC MASTER CYLINDERS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT BRAKE CYLINDERS FOR CERTAIN FORD, DAIMLERCHRYSLER, AND JEEP PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE BRAKE CYLINDERS WERE SOLD UNDER THE BRAND NAMES OF NAPA, RAYBESTOS, AIMCO, AC DELCO, CARQUEST, BENDIX, AND WAGNER. ONLY PRODUCTS THAT WERE MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 27, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 17, 2006 (DATE CODES 0529 THROUGH 0602) ARE SUBJECT TO THIS RECALL. WHEN SUBJECT TO VERY COLD TEMPERATURES, AN INTERNAL SEAL IN THE MASTER CYLINDER COULD LOSE FLEXIBILITY AND MAY CAUSE BRAKE FLUID TO LEAK.

06E026000Apr 2006

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.

+ 6 more recalls in the full report

Recall severity analysis & seller scripts

The full report rates each recall's severity and gives you scripts for asking the seller about recall completion.

Unlock

The worst model year for the Jeep Cherokee is the 2019 — worth knowing if you're cross-shopping years. The biggest problem area is transmission.

1998 Jeep Cherokee vs. Class Average (Special Purpose Vehicle 2WD)

This vehicle

553

Class avg

437

Complaint volume is roughly in line with other special purpose vehicle 2wd vehicles from 1998.

Complaint counts correlate with sales volume — popular vehicles naturally generate more reports. The full report normalizes for this.

About this data

NHTSA Complaints

Federal database of owner-filed safety complaints. 553 records for this vehicle.

NHTSA Recalls

Manufacturer-issued safety recalls. 11 recalls found for this vehicle.

Repair Cost Data

Real-world repair costs from owner reports and independent databases.

Other Jeep Cherokee Model Years

202620252024202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994199319921991199019891988198719861985198419831982198119801979197819771976197519741973
View all Jeep Cherokee years →

1998 Jeep Cherokee: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common problem with the 1998 Jeep Cherokee?
The most commonly reported issue with the 1998 Jeep Cherokee is related to the service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:disc:rotor, with 42 complaints filed with NHTSA.
Is the 1998 Jeep Cherokee reliable?
The 1998 Jeep Cherokee has 553 complaints, 42 crash reports, and 5 fire reports filed with NHTSA. The full report analyzes whether these numbers indicate real risk or are proportional to the vehicle’s popularity.
How much does it cost to fix 1998 Jeep Cherokee problems?
Repair costs vary by issue. The full BumperScan report includes detailed repair cost estimates (low/median/high) for every major issue, plus a 30,000-mile total cost of ownership projection.
Does the 1998 Jeep Cherokee have any recalls?
Yes, the 1998 Jeep Cherokee has 11 recalls on record. The full report includes recall severity analysis and scripts for asking the seller about recall completion.
What mileage do Jeep Cherokee problems start?
Based on 95 complaints with mileage data, the median mileage at time of complaint is 117,000 miles. The highest concentration of reported issues occurs in the 150K+ mile range. The full report breaks down exactly which components fail at each mileage bracket.
What’s in the full report?
10 sections of AI analysis: severity-ranked issues, component scores (0-100), 30K-mile cost projection, failure timeline by mileage, recall details with seller scripts, owner sentiment analysis, mechanic checklist, buyer lot checklist, negotiation ammo with dollar figures, and a buy/skip verdict.
How is this different from free NHTSA data?
NHTSA gives you raw complaint text. BumperScan cross-references 2.1M+ complaints with community repair cost data, EPA fuel data, and recall records — then uses AI to synthesize it into actionable advice with dollar figures.
How is this different from Carfax?
Carfax is VIN-specific history ($45/report). BumperScan is model-level reliability intelligence — what problems this car is known for, what they cost, and whether you should buy it. Complementary, not competing.
What if the report isn’t useful?
100% money-back guarantee. If the report doesn’t help you make a more informed decision, we’ll refund you — no questions asked.
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10 sections of AI analysis based on 553 owner reports. Know before you buy.

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