Jeep Grand Cherokee vs Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: which is more reliable?
The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is clearly ahead of the Jeep Grand Cherokee on the federal record: 80/100 against 64/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Jeep Grand Cherokee
- 15 model years scored
- 11,387 owner complaints on record
- about 88 complaints per year on the road
- 136 recall campaigns, 70 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (85/100) · worst 2014 (28/100)
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
- 6 model years scored
- 3,516 owner complaints on record
- about 56 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (90/100) · worst 2020 (58/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Grand Cherokee against Wrangler Unlimited
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Electrical System — 3,838 complaints
- Engine — 2,087 complaints
- Power Train — 1,489 complaints
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
- Engine — 875 complaints
- Power Train — 747 complaints
- Electrical System — 629 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Grand Cherokee's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Wrangler Unlimited's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Jeep Grand Cherokee — avoid: 2014.
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Jeep Grand Cherokee prices at about $44,100 and a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited at about $28,800 — the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is roughly $15,300 less, and they return 22.0 against 20.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited scores 80/100 against the Jeep Grand Cherokee's 64/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited carries about 56 complaints per year on the road against 88 for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Which Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited years should I avoid?
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 2014. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Grand Cherokee is Electrical System (3,838 complaints); on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited it is Engine (875).
Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Grand Cherokee prices at about $44,100 and a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited at about $28,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.