Jeep Grand Cherokee safety issues...

Let me start by saying I am not a Jeep owner though I have always had a thing for them. Was seriously considering a loaded wrangler recently when I stumbled on this about the grand cherokee...SHOCKED ME! Just figured I would share this as I don't want to read any RIP stories on here any time soon.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaYFLb8WMGM]Jeep Grand Cherokee moose test -- the full story - YouTube[/ame]

 

The title says 'Moose test' but the announcer says 'elk test'. Perhaps the truck was calibrated for the wrong animal.

 

Pretty ugly stuff.

 

lol hysterical

It's almost like a 90's blend of the Montero and an Explorer with firestone tires

 

that makes no sense....would you not buy a 458 if you knew the California was dangerous?

anyway, I have a 2012 Grand Cherokee and I've never had a problem with stability. and I live in LA so I've done my share of quick reactions to avoid idiot drivers

the one thing that I think is an issue with the car they tested was the wheels/tires. I have 18" wheels with more sidewall and therefore more sidewall deflection.

 

A) I never said that I didn't buy a wrangler just because of this test! I would never own this generation of grand cherokee's though [sorry] because of this test.
B) This is 2013 no automaker should produce passenger vehicles that are this pitiful in a test with any type of optioning. What this test depicted is an unsafe vehicle. Doesn't mean every owner of this vehicle will experience what is shown. Just shows what might happen if the driver were in this type of situation...Take it as you will!
C) Clearly Jeep took this seriously enough that they sent engineers to attempt to "fix" the issue and even they failed.

 

ah, sorry, I thought you meant you didn't buy the Wrangler b/c of this test.

anyway, there have been lots of similar tests with other cars over the years...A-Class Mercedes, Smart cars, any number of crash test results, etc. sometimes with merit, sometimes without. as I said, I haven't had those issues and I don't know of any statistical evidence that a GC is any more dangerous than any other SUV. so, buyer beware.

and yes I find it amusing that Jeep sent their engineers over and got the same results.

 

Couple issues with the test. First, I would hope two different car based SUVs would handle better. And most SUVs would have rolled ten years ago.
Reminds me of the bronco II problems. You try hard enough, you can make anything roll.

 

Yeah the smart cars crack me up here in manhattan. Fifth gear's crash test of the smart called out the fatal flaw with rapid deceleration and internal organs. Sounds awful to me!

That is very true about most SUV's 10 years ago! CUV's have change the dynamic for onroad performance so much that it has become easy to forget what SUV's were made for.

 

I agree, I think the problem is that there are laws of physics for heavy, high center of gravity vehicles and people seem not to understand that any more. I had a Grand Cherokee, and it was very good offroad, but not something to fling through curves. SUVs are just a bad idea for most drivers most of the time.

 

But 4 wheel drive makes you invulnerable! You can drive through ice, snow, lava, meteor showers, and tsunamis without slowing.

...or at least that's what most 4WD drivers seem to think

 

Big SUV's. Same as trucks... People want a big 4x4 diesel. To drive to work and get good milage and ride like a Lexus... So they can never tow a thing.
Which is great if you like that sort of thing. But don't complain about the ride. I wouldn't be upset that my Ferrari couldn't make it up the rubicon trail...

 

WOW! Don't buy a jeep.

 

Pretty much, when driven like this, the tire can provide more grip in a shock load than the rim will hold onto. Looks like its a case of fitting bigger wheels for bigger brakes, reducing tire side wall, then a soft suspension with large travel to compensate. This test puts the suspension on the bump stops, the sudden load gives the tire more work and more grip, and it buckles and blows out.

Given that I race rear brake only karts, my natural reaction is to not slam the brakes and throw the steering wheel at the same time - that gets me wading in deep in do-do in a kart. I doubt this would be an issue for me if I were in the market for vehicle of its type.

Personally, although it'd be expensive, I like the Toureg. I'm not the SUV kind of guy though, I'd much rather have a pickup.

 

7 tire bursts- at first I thought they were just replaying the same tire burst from a slightly different angle. It would be interesting to see how the car behaved using a different suspension setting.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. The supsension seems way too soft, but I still don't think that would help, perhaps that would cause it to roll even easier.

 

update: my Grand Cherokee still hasn't fallen over.

 

I have two different Jeep Wagoneers, and this video kept me from buying a new one.

 

Mine too. 2011 model here. Turns out Elk and Moose are not a big portion of the population in San Diego.

 

•I Vote for industry standard blind cab driver avoidance testing•

Would take dodging elk or moose over taxi cabs any day!

 

Get a Suzuki Samurai...

 

my uncle had one of those (he used it as a hunting vehicle the way a lot of people use a Mule or other ATV's/side by sides).

fun little truck. it never fell over either