The 1997 Jeep Cherokee has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,344,107 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 496 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the fuel system, gasoline. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM08V0560002008-02-06107 affected
Defect
U.S. DRIVE RIGHT IS RECALLING 107 MY 1994-1998 RIGHT HAND DRIVE, 4-WHEEL DRIVE JEEP CHEROKEE VEHICLES. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 101, 'CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS;' NO. 108, 'LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT;' NO. 111, 'REARVIEW MIRROR;' NO. 114, 'THEFT PROTECTION;'…
Consequence
THESE VEHICLES DO NOT MEET THE REQUIRED STANDARDS.
Remedy
U.S. DRIVE RIGHT WILL MAKE ALL THE REQUIRED MODIFICATIONS. A REPRESENTATIVE WILL TRAVEL TO THE CUSTOMER'S LOCATION AND MAKE THE MODIFICATIONS ON SITE. THE RECALL WILL BE PERFORMED ON A REGIONAL BASIS BEGINNING MARCH 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT U.S. DRIVE RIGHT AT 1-888-632-5936.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC00V1360002000-05-10589,000 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER AND MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF CONNECTICUT, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT, OR WISCONSIN, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. …
Consequence
THE REDUCED STRENGTH CAN ALLOW THE CAST IRON WEAR SURFACE TO SEPARATE FROM THE HUB, REDUCING THE BRAKE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VEHICLE.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THESE ROTORS WITH ROTORS THAT ARE COATED WITH A CORROSION PROTECTION.
AIR BAGS00V1050002000-04-11395,000 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. WATER AND/OR ROAD SALT IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE COULD LEAD TO CORROSION.
Consequence
SUCH CORROSION CAN LEAD TO ILLUMINATION OF THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT OR COULD ALLOW INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAGS.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE AND LOCATE THE NEW MODULE ON THE TOP OF THE TRANSMISSION TUNNEL.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MULTI-PURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE FUEL TANK MOUNTED FUEL LEVEL SENDING UNIT ACCURACY CAN DEGRADE OVER TIME, INDICATING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE FUEL IN RESERVE THAN IS ACTUALLY PRESENT.
Consequence
OWNERS MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT THEIR VEHICLE IS LOW ON FUEL INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH IF THE VEHICLE STOPS DUE TO NO FUEL.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL LEVEL SENDING UNIT.
Complaints by component
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
51
1fires
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
41
1crashes1fires
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR
29
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
18
14crashes4injuries1deaths
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
18
2crashes1injuries
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
18
6crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
17
2crashes
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
16
2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
12
1crashes3fires4injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12
3crashes4injuries
Total complaints496
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 jeep cherokee. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, both the driver side and passenger side air bags erroneously deployed. During the incident, the contact sustained a head injury which required medical emergency treatment. The cause of the failure was…”
“Takata recall when I engage high beams or turn on my right blinker my hazards flash quickly in the back only. I have been pulled over multiple times due to this issue. Have had multifunction switch replaced.”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 jeep cherokee. Upon depressing the brake pedal, it traveled to the floorboard. The contact stated that there was a complete loss of brake power. The dealer (cueter chrysler jeep dodge ram in ypsilanti, michigan) was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not…”
“Vehicle has hard starts and frequent hesitation and stalling, at all speeds city street driving as well as highway driving. I have had a new distributor cap, rotor, plugs, wires, coil, installed, yet symptoms persist. Sudden deceleration at highway speeds is a seriously dangerous condition. My…”
“Vehicle has hard starts and frequent hesitation and stalling, at all speeds city street driving as well as highway driving. I have had a new distributor cap, rotor, plugs, wires, coil, installed, yet symptoms persist. Sudden deceleration at highway speeds is a seriously dangerous condition. My…”
“Vehicle has hard starts and frequent hesitation and stalling, at all speeds city street driving as well as highway driving. I have had a new distributor cap, rotor, plugs, wires, coil, installed, yet symptoms persist. Sudden deceleration at highway speeds is a seriously dangerous condition. My…”
“I went to a local dealer ship because I had looked up on this site my recalls one was brakes they did happily and would call me when the parts came in for the fuel it has been over a year and it's a 1997 how can they not get the parts to fix it yet I ran out of gas a total of 4 times on busy…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 jeep cherokee. While the vehicle was undergoing routine maintenance, the technician diagnosed that the exhaust manifold cracked and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP97003 Opened 1997-07-10 · closed 1997-11-13
FAULTY GAS GAUGE INDICATORS
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA12005 Opened 2012-06-12 · closed 2014-11-14
Crash Related Fuel Tank Fires
ODI has completed an extensive analysis of rear crash fuel tank system integrity data for the subject Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Liberty vehicles (SVs).As of June 2013, ODI knew of 56 post-collision fatal fires, 28 non-fatal fires, and 6 fuel leak incidents (totaling 90 incidents, 75 fatalities and 58…
InvestigationEA12005 Opened 2012-06-12 · closed 2014-11-14
Crash Related Fuel Tank Fires
ODI has completed an extensive analysis of rear crash fuel tank system integrity data for the subject Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Liberty vehicles (SVs).As of June 2013, ODI knew of 56 post-collision fatal fires, 28 non-fatal fires, and 6 fuel leak incidents (totaling 90 incidents, 75 fatalities and 58…
InvestigationEA12005 Opened 2012-06-12 · closed 2014-11-14
Crash Related Fuel Tank Fires
ODI has completed an extensive analysis of rear crash fuel tank system integrity data for the subject Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Liberty vehicles (SVs).As of June 2013, ODI knew of 56 post-collision fatal fires, 28 non-fatal fires, and 6 fuel leak incidents (totaling 90 incidents, 75 fatalities and 58…
InvestigationEA12005 Opened 2012-06-12 · closed 2014-11-14
Crash Related Fuel Tank Fires
ODI has completed an extensive analysis of rear crash fuel tank system integrity data for the subject Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Liberty vehicles (SVs).As of June 2013, ODI knew of 56 post-collision fatal fires, 28 non-fatal fires, and 6 fuel leak incidents (totaling 90 incidents, 75 fatalities and 58…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Jeep Cherokee as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.