What are the weaknesses of a 2001 Jeep Cherokee?
It is 18 years old so who knows what the weakness of this particular 2001 Jeep are. Why do you ask ? If you are considering buying one the stock reasonable answer is pay a mechanic to look at it for you. That will at least improve your chance of not having immediate repairs.
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The sheer fact that it is 18 years old is its biggest weakness. The second biggest weakness it the previous owner’(s) adherence to a strict maintenance schedule.
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It sounds from your question that you are considering the purchase of a 2001 Cherokee. I would only add that any time a deal appears to be too good to be true it probably is. Otherwise, both responses above are correct.
Find a (perhaps) older copy of Consumer Reports car recommendations. Some people question their methods… but it would be at least some data for you on potential problem areas.
But I agree with the others, the vehicle being 18 years old is going to be your biggest concern.
Why do that. Any problems in a 18 year review could have been taken care of by now and different ones will show up .
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All concerns listed above are valid, but I believe that to some extent Mack is asking about the “family weaknesses” of this particular vehicle if somebody knows about them.
At some point I toyed with an idea of that generation Cherokee, so I made some prep-search on what to expect.
First and foremost, this is a Chrysler product, with all it entails 
Other than that, the 4.0-liter straight-6 engine there is very reliable and in 2001 model year it was actually relieved from the problem of cracking engine heads, so I would not expect much trouble from the engine, given it received due maintenance. I would never consider 3.7-liter equipped Jeep from the later years, as it was a real troublemaker.
From what I recall, transmission in 2001 Cherokee was also OK, no major problems if maintained properly.
Other than that, I will support all comments above: it is 18-years old car, so it will fail here and there and should not be considered for the primary/commute vehicle.
We owned an '85 Cherokee for 10 years, it served us well. Get a thorough pre purchase inspection, if it passes, and you like it, buy it.
In my opinion, the transmission is the weakest link. This was true for the 2001 trucks. I imagine the Cherokee trans is similar.
Rust can also be a problem.
Any vehicle thatg is nearly two decades old is subject to weaknesses unless it has been maintained to the hilt. Most cars are not maintained to the hilt so your question is impossible to answer.
The big unknown is automatic transmissions. Sheer age along with countless heating and cooling cycles affects the internal seals so any aged transmission may be subject to dying at any time even with religious services. Rubber only lasts so long.
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The fact that it is an 18 year old jeep.
My wifes friend told me a story about her grandfather who was driving his jeep and the brakes suddenly stopped working and he slammed into a pole or tree (not sure) and though he survived, he was left traumatized and scared to drive for many years. He was awarded money for the incident but even before i heard this story (which was only 2 weeks ago), I never really cared for jeeps. My friend who owned a 2015 jeep wrangler 4 door before moving to china would show me his car when we meet for golf and the interior seemed really cheap imo.
I am confident that you could find instances of brake failure on every make and model of car that has ever been manufactured. I would not want a Jeep for various reasons, but to believe that a Jeep’s brakes are more prone to failure than the brakes on other makes and models is bogus, pure and simple.
Yep, they are no different than other brands’ brakes.
In my opinion the Jeep XJ (that edition of the Cherokee) is one of the best Jeeps out there.
probably just an isolated incident. factory defect?
Was that during World War II?
Not sure. Doubt that far back
within the last 20 years is my guess
Could be something was worn out or damaged. No way to know without LOTS more information.