Questions and Answers

Grand Cherokee Brake Shimmy Q. I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with 53,000 miles on it. It has a 4.7 liter V-8 with automatic transmission and quadratrac II all time 4WD. When I press the brake pedal it pulses through the pedal and the entire vehicle lurches, similar to if you were pushing and releasing the break over and over.

The front end also shimmies when applying the breaks. At first I assumed that the rotors were warped so I took them in to get them turned. The front discs could not be turned, so I purchased new discs and pads for the front. The back discs were also warped, but they could be turned so I had this done and also purchased new pads.

Now that this was complete, the pulsing seems to be worse. The shimmy is gone at low speeds, however, when the breaks are applied at over 40mph, it is worse and feels like the entire front end is going to fall off. Any ideas what could be wrong?

Thanks for your help,
Chris

A. There are two TSBs out on this problem.

Number:
05-005-01 Rev. A

Group:
Brakes

Date:
September 14, 2001

Subject:
Brake Roughness Or Pedal Pulsation When The Brakes Are Applied.

Overview:
This bulletin involves installing a brake pad repair kit and turning the brake rotors with an on-car brake rotor lathe or replacing the rotors it an on-car brake rotor lathe is not available.

Models:
1999 - 2002 Grand Cherokee (including International Markets)
2001 - 2002 Grand Cherokee (International Markets)

Symptom/Condition:
The customer may experience a vibration of the steering wheel, floor, seat, instrument panel, or a minor pedal pulsation (brake roughness) under light to moderate pedal application. This can be caused by excessive thickness variation on the rotor surface.

And...

Number:
05-003-02 Rev A

Group:
Brakes

Date:
June 10, 2002

Subject:
Front Brake Pulsation During Light To Moderate Brake Application

Overview:
This bulletin involves the replacement of both front brake rotors and caliper assemblies.

Models:
1999 - 2002 Grand Cherokee

Symptom/Condition:
The customer may experience a vibration of the steering wheel, floor, seat, instrument panel, or a minor pedal pulsation (brake roughness) under light to moderate pedal application. This condition may be caused by excessive thickness variation of the brake rotor surface.

So I would suggest a visit to your dealer to get this resolved once and for all.