Fuel gauge or level sensor failure on the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee
When fuel gauge or level sensor failure gets reported
Owners of the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee report fuel gauge or level sensor failure at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 105,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 70,600 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
20% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34,500 miles | 36,000 miles | 64,500 miles | 89,000 miles | 105,100 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$1,200 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2017, at a median of 1,000 miles, and latest on the 2005 at 205,000 miles.
By volume the 1997 carries the most reports, with 107; the 1998 has 41. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Fuel sending unit failed. As a result: the check engine light will not go off, therefore I can not pass emissions test in my state. I am also constantly running out of gas. The sending unit is necessary for correct gauge readings. This has happened at the worst time for me as a single mother suffering from job losses in the state of goergia. The estimates to repair the fuel system has averaged 700.00 dollars I am also filing a complaint about the transmission that slips too. The transmission will not go into 2nd or 3rd gear with out a lot of extra effort. There are times I have to take back roads and access roads just because I was nearly hit several times trying to access the express way. Suv's are horrendous in gas mileage but a SUV with a slipping transmission is burning even more gas! I am still trying to pay for the car and can not afford the repairs. I wish I would have bought an import. I have met quite a few jeep owners who have experienced the same problems.*jb
Fuel sending unit failed. As a result: the check engine light will not go off, therefore I can not pass emissions test in my state. I am also constantly running out of gas. The sending unit is necessary for correct gauge readings. This has happened at the worst time for me as a single mother suffering from job losses in the state of goergia. The estimates to repair the fuel system has averaged 700.00 dollars I am also filing a complaint about the transmission that slips too. The transmission will not go into 2nd or 3rd gear with out a lot of extra effort. There are times I have to take back roads and access roads just because I was nearly hit several times trying to access the express way. Suv's are horrendous in gas mileage but a SUV with a slipping transmission is burning even more gas! I am still trying to pay for the car and can not afford the repairs. I wish I would have bought an import. I have met quite a few jeep owners who have experienced the same problems.*jb
The vehicle ran out of fuel three times, due to the fuel gauge reading incorrectly. Dealer determined the fuel sending unit needed to be replaced. There was a recall regarding the issue, however the vehicle identification number was not included in the recall. *jb fuel gauge registers 1/8 to 1/4 fuel levelwhen tank is empty. Have to refuel at 1/4 tank full or higher. *tt
Also reported on the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Other powertrain problem
Premature brake pad or rotor wear
Other body or interior problem
Other fuel system problem
Differential or transfer case failure
Other engine problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 41 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does fuel gauge or level sensor failure happen on the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel gauge or level sensor failure on the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
41 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed