No-start or intermittent start failure on the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
When no-start or intermittent start failure gets reported
Owners of the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee report no-start or intermittent start failure at a median of 55,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 25,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles, from 21 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 155,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 131,000 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
38% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25,000 miles | 25,000 miles | 55,000 miles | 125,000 miles | 156,000 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 $200–$1,800 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 26 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 1,900 miles, and latest on the 1996 at 165,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 carries the most reports, with 222; the 1999 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.
The vehicle would not start; engine cranks w/o starting. Initially it would crank for long periods, ie. 20 seconds, and start. Then not at all. Took it to dealer, who was aware of service bulletin issued re: fuel delivery system, at tank fuel pump problem. Repair was made at cost of appr. $400.00. I feel this should be a recall and repair should have been made free of charge.
Consumer complained about a transfer case problem. When driving at approximately 40 MPH there was a loud clanking sound coming from the front undercarriage. Consumer took the vehicle back to the dealer, and was told the vehicle had dusty brake pads, but that was not the issue. Then, consumer was told that the constant velocity joints were leaking. Also, consumer was told that the driveshaft needed to be replaced. Consumer felt that the dealership did not know what the problem was, and perhaps was covering up the real problem. *ak recall campaign; component: fuel system, gasoline:fuel injection system:injectors. The consumer stated that the vehicle would not start. The consumer stated that the engine had an extended crank before starting. Fuel pump assembly and pump crank repair kit installed. The consumer stated that there is a shimmy when the brakes are applied. When sitting at a stop light having the vehicle in gear it vibrates. The left outer cv boot was leaking. The engine light came on. The consumer stated that the transmission slams into gear. *tc
Consumer complained about a transfer case problem. When driving at approximately 40 MPH there was a loud clanking sound coming from the front undercarriage. Consumer took the vehicle back to the dealer, and was told the vehicle had dusty brake pads, but that was not the issue. Then, consumer was told that the constant velocity joints were leaking. Also, consumer was told that the driveshaft needed to be replaced. Consumer felt that the dealership did not know what the problem was, and perhaps was covering up the real problem. *ak recall campaign; component: fuel system, gasoline:fuel injection system:injectors. The consumer stated that the vehicle would not start. The consumer stated that the engine had an extended crank before starting. Fuel pump assembly and pump crank repair kit installed. The consumer stated that there is a shimmy when the brakes are applied. When sitting at a stop light having the vehicle in gear it vibrates. The left outer cv boot was leaking. The engine light came on. The consumer stated that the transmission slams into gear. *tc
Also reported on the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Premature brake pad or rotor wear
Other powertrain problem
Other brake problem
Other body or interior problem
Differential or transfer case failure
Other visibility 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 no-start or intermittent start failure happen on the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
Across 21 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 55,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 25,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is no-start or intermittent start failure on the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
41 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 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