Huerito said:
There are plenty of proffesional vehicle reviewers, documents and overall data that will disagree with you. Just Google the overall ratings for your Cherokee year.
.......As for the tunr signal issue, run a search on this site.. to reveal at least 4 pages of similar inquiries. Most noted is the clutch fluid spilling into the fuse compartment.
The older XJ's, unfortunately, are NOT so reliable, as you note. The newer ones appear to be as good as most other brands.
My 2000 model year, according to J.D.Power, is rated as "better than average" in "overall long-term dependability". My former vehicle, a 1992 XJ, rated only mediocre in the same survey.
One of the things that always amazes me is that when doing a survey on ANY type of car, the complexity of the vehicle is not taken into account.
For example, it's a fact that a 4WD vehicle has more components in it's driveline than does a 2WD vehicle. Thus, statistically, there are more opportunities for failures in 4WD vehicles than in 2wd vehicles. So, in two vehicles of identical quality, the 4WD one will have more "problems" in it's driveline than the 2WD one. This is just based on pure statistics.
Unfortunately, when they do reliability surveys, OWNERS expect their 4WD vehicles to be just as trouble free as they would a 2WD vehicle, even though their are many more opportunities for problems. So....when a 4WD vehicle has a problem, even if the issue appears at no greater rate than the average for a 2WD, the owner squawks more because of the increased chances due to the greater mechanical complexity.
This is one area where owner surveys are slightly flawed. Consumers expect ALL cars to be equally reliable in ALL areas, regardless of design intent, or intended use. That expectation is slightly unrealistic, and skews the reliability data on certain types of "nitch market" vehicles, notably 4WD vehicles, high performance cars, etc.
PS>>>>I may be wrong, but the connector damage due to brake fluid issue of which you speak does not apply to the later XJ's. Your 1994 would be one of those where it was NOT an issue.