Alternator or charging system failure on the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee
When alternator or charging system failure gets reported
Owners of the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee report alternator or charging system failure at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 155,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 17th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 155,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 96,843 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.
8% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60,000 miles | 70,000 miles | 80,000 miles | 153,400 miles | 156,843 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 $450–$1,600 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 16 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2003, at a median of 40,000 miles, and latest on the 1996 at 220,000 miles.
By volume the 2012 carries the most reports, with 257; the 2007 has 13. 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.
I purchased my pre-owned 2007 jeep grand cherokee laredo 4x4 less than a month ago. I have had 4 instances of it not cranking. I took it back to the dealership where they replaced two sensors and reprogrammed the computer. I got my car back on friday. Today is monday and it isn't cranking again. All electrical accessories work fine but the car will not crank. The battery, alternator, and starter tested fine. The suspension makes a god- awful squawking sound every time I drive anywhere. *tr
Started truck shifted from park to drive. Started to drive, truck lurched forward and was unable to get it to speed over 20 MPH. Tried pulling over and putting in park, still was unable to get truck to drive normally. Had same issue previously, had truck repaired was told that it was the electronic shift module - along with the battery, transmission control module and alternator - this seems to be a problem with this particular model - when will they recall this - do we need to wait for someone to get killed before some realizes there is a problem? *tr
On four separate occasions my jeep has randomly not started after being turned off and parked. The first time I had to have it towed to the shop and have it checked out. The mechanic could find nothing wrong: starter, alternator, battery, & electrical systems all seemed fine. The car finally started with no repair work being performed. This has happened (3) more times since august, the latest being today. There is no rhyme nor reason to how or why it happens. I have since learned of the ignition switch recall by jeep/chrysler, and it supposedly affects the year and model of my jeep. I have been told that the ignition switch recall may very well be the reason for my problem, but as of yet I have received no official recall notice for my car. When I am out driving and have to park I am now afraid to turn my car off for fear it wont start again. Likewise, I am also afraid the car is just going to turn itself off when I am driving. I called the jeep dealership closest to me and was informed that they have not been officially notified as to how the recall process is going to work for the ignition switch issue, so they are unable to do…
Also reported on the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Other electrical problem
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure
No-start or intermittent start failure
Stalling while driving
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 13 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 alternator or charging system failure happen on the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 155,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is alternator or charging system failure on the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
13 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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