Jeep Liberty: Problems & Solutions

beginner99

I wanna buy a Jeep Liberty, but I don't know whether I should choose this car. Could everybody here give me some advice? Thank you very much!!!

glhperformance

I have an 05 liberty v6 with a 6 speed, i get an average of 20 mpg just taking short drives to work, the new diesel people are seeing close to 30 and with the addition of of a chip to the diesel they are gettting an average of 34 hope this helps u out, my last jeep had 250k on it when i got rid of it later Sam

clwoolst

Last update on my Liberty nightmare. Purchased my 05 Liberty Sport 4x4 at the end of June...I had it towed to the dealer a total of 5 times in the 2 months I owned it. I was in a rental car pd by the dealer more than I was in the Liberty! The car would shake violently at speeds of 55 mph & above...then the transmission would race and it would go into limp mode...Was told there was a problme with the transmission wiring and the brakes (how scarey is that!)...came to an agreement with Chrysler and no longer own it and will never own another Chrysler product! :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:

nomorejeeps

DON'T BUY a jeep. Stick with a toyota. It was love at first sight for me when I bought my baby (a silver '02 limited edition liberty) in Nov 01, but since july of this year at about 70,000 miles, i have been in and out of the dealer like there was no tomorrow. It started with just the cabin light. It kept going off and on for no reasons. I took it to the dealer three times. THey can't figure it out; it's STILL doing that. Then it stalled every time i came to a stop. They thought it was my battery so they replaced it. The next day, it stalled on me on the way to work so it went back to the dealer. They kept it 3 weeks. They said they couldn't figure it out and had to have the design engineer come out to take a look at it. Turns out it was this one tiny part in the transmission. The dealer told me they had to take the entire transmission apart to find this little part that rarely broke down...and of course, which was not covered by my extended powertrain warranty. After a month, I finally get it back. I drove it off the lot and noticed that my AC wasn't working. So back in it goes. They said it was the wires; fortunately they only kept it for two days. When i got it back, the AC once again didn't work so back to the dealer it goes. This time it was a leak in the pump. I prayed that that would be the end of my problems. But noooooo. A month later, my car stalls on the freeway...during RUSH hour. I plugged up a major interchange in LA and had a lot of pissed off drivers behind me. Turns out my whole engine was falling apart; they found crushed metal in my engine. How? I have no idea; I'm a woman..they might as well be speaking latin to me when they explained what was wrong with my car and what they did to which parts and why. Anyway-- I just got the car back a week or two ago. Now it creaks like an old boat everytime i brake so i turn on my radio real loud to drown it out. I'm scared crazy that something else will go wrong...needless to say, i'm very broke at this point... so I'm gonna trade it in for a Toyota first chance i get, which is breaking my heart, cuz i love the design and roomy interior of my liberty; nothing else looks as nice in that price range.

So to buy or not to buy? I'd say NOT...but if you decide to try your luck, buy a bumper to bumper warranty.

jwjeep

No problems with the steering, but I just found out that I have to have my ac compressor replaced also - according to my mechanic he has seen this problem quite a bit w/Jeep Liberty's - I have about 85,000 miles, just pavement driving. The part alone is $540, can't get a remanufactured part, because they are so unstable. It will take days to get the new part.

frankc55

I have had my jeep for over two years now. Very few issues at all.

We have been very happy with the truck and I would buy another.

Frank

nivekfalk

I have owned my '05 Liberty CRD Limited for two weeks as of today. On a road trip back from the mountains on I-70 (Denver) the vehicle was hesitating, almost lunging at 75 MPH in 2 wheel drive. The vehicle had been in 2 wheel drive for a week and even thought I had been in the mountains camping, it was all pavement driving. The lunging and hesitation seemed like a cylinder misfiring or bad gas and it went away after I backed off to 60 and back up to 75 a few times, so I dismissed the issue. After leaving the highway I drove through a few suburbs and parked the car in my driveway. The next morning, while taking my daughters to school and backing out of my driveway, the rear wheels bound up as though 4 wheel part time was engaged and then as I pulled forward, there was a loud squealing sound that seemed like a brake squeal but really felt like a drivetrain issue. I then backed up again and at what seemed like every 360 degree rotation of the tires, there was a thud that could be heard and felt. I drove forward and backward up and down my street (my neighbors now think I am insane) for a few minutes and it would not go away. I then engaged 4 part time and then 4 full time while going about 5 mph, drove a lap around my neighborhood, put it back into 2 wheel and drove back into my driveway and then backed out and problem is gone. Took the car to the dealership (furious at this point) and the next day they claimed that the emergency brake shoes had excess residue that had left residue on the rotor. They scuffed the shoe and rotor to properly seat the pad (their wording on the service sheet here) and they found the drivetrain to be free of issues. I have had the car back for 2 days, same thing backing out of my driveway, however, if it were the brakes, why would it not make the thud when going forward? Also, it seemed to be more frequent than every 360 degree rotation this time. Drove it to work and backed up at work and the thud was gone, thinking that once I hit a certain speed and amount of torque through the drivetrain that something in the gearing of the transfer case or axle is getting back into its proper position. Going to call the dealer and make them come get it for service, also a bit frustrated that my weekend plans to offroad near aspen will have to be done in my girlfriends car, oh wait, it's a Toureg, shouldn't have any problems at all. I've also had the tire pressure monitoring sensors come on for no reason, the interior lights refuse to turn off and the rear hatch glass had to be adjusted so that it would open with the key-fob. I tend to own cars for about 3 years, which means I have bought a lot of cars over time (12 between my ex and me) and I have NEVER had a car in the shop within the first six months, or even year that I can remeber. This is now twice in two weeks and I haven't even made a payment yet.
Looking for advice and resolution to problems that sound the same
Many thanks
Kevin

nivekfalk

One quick update to this issue, I'm remembering back to the first few days that I owned the Liberty and at one point, while accelerating from a stop at an intersection (I was turning but don't remember what direction) I heard and felt a loud bang as it lunged from accelleration after the bang...

nivekfalk

Update, taking the car back in today, talked to the service manager. Received the explanation that the transmission and other parts of the car need to "learn" about my driving and break-in. Getting back to my girlfriends Toureg (keeping in mind this is a $50,000 luxury automobile), it has an adaptive transmission, a drive-by-wire accellerator and a complex computer that monitors driving conditions, steering and she has 3 different modes on her dynamically tunable suspension. When I drive the vehicle, it responds differently for a while as it is used to her foot (almost as much lead in it as mine, and kinda why I like her a lot) and not mine. So I understand the basics of adaptive transmissions etc, however, that is all computerized and where in the learning process would the computer determine that some good metal-on-metal, and a thud here and a lung there while going 75MPH on the highway would be in order...

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you're experiencing with your Liberty. I have a 2005 Liberty Renegade Rocky Mountain Edition and I have experienced a "groan" once in awhile going forward in drive after being in reverse. I've heard it about six times. Five times after backing out my driveway and then putting it into drive. Once while backing out of a parking space while it was raining. All but one of those times, it was raining or damp outside and I suspect that has something to do with the conditions for what I'm experiencing but I'm not sure, yet. If it was some sort of oxidation on the brake pads or rotors, I'd expect the "groan" to stop when applying the brakes but my kids are always talking just at those moments so I'm still not sure if it goes away with pressing the brake or not. I, too, think it's in the drivetrain but it may be some sort of problem with the automatic brake adjustments while being in reverse. It seems to go away after the first braking at the stop sign at the end of my street. I also wondered if it had something to do with how "hard" I back out of my sloping driveway...as if maybe something gets jostled just enough while in reverse causes something to get in a bad position? It is an bad feeling after spending so much on these vehicles to have anything sound wrong within only a short period of owning it. I really like my Liberty so I'm hoping the "groan" is just some fresh brake pad wear-in issue or something. Please keep us posted on your issue and I'll post anything I learn. Unless the problem gets more frequent, I suspect I will wait to tell the dealer at its first oil change. Good luck.

2byornot2by

I've just started looking for a small SUV and this one just caught my EYE!
I love everything about it, took one for test drive, but now I'm scared after reading all these bad things happening with yours and others...!
i have a 98 Toyota camry and I'm just tired of it, can't say why, maybe midlife crisis thing-y....had a celica for 14 years, so I know about reliability, dependability, holding their value, yadayadayada....but now I want some FUN in my life!
although it does not sound like you've had much FUN with yours!
how is it going, any better?
please give me some encouraging news!

glhperformance

Hi I got a Liberty, real nice, great mpg for a suv, would get another 1 in a hurry plus the added value of the 7/70k warranty, great value buy before employee pricing is overwith. I have the v6 with 6 speed manual real nice ride on and off road. hope this helps u out my last jeep had pver 250k on it when a deer finally got in the way. later Sam

moparbad

Jeep is selling 180,000! Liberty a year. Sell that many vehicles and there are going to be some problems. Do not be fooled by the number of problem posts on a forum. Liberty has average reliability ratings. Not bad, not great.

martyz

I have to disagree on this. I've had my '05 Liberty Sport CRD for just under four months (almost 5000 miles on it now), and I've experienced almost every major complaint listed on this forum: overheating, brake "groaning", hesitation and stalling when cold, exhaust smell, black smoke, hunting in-and-out of gear at 55, and one fun one that no one else has mentioned that was serious enough to require a tow (loose clamp caused high pressure hose to pop off).

Fortunately, I have a very good local dealer with a very good service department. My hope is that when they get all the bugs fixed, this will be a good vehicle. Let's just say that DC's concept for the CRD was good, but their execution sucks.

Of course I may be being too optimistic. If it turns out that the overheating is really due to a fundamental design flaw in the cooling system instead of just bad software running the TEMP gauge - as some here have suggested - then I will revise my opinion downward. Guess I won't find out until next summer when the weather warms up again.

My advice to the original poster who was unhappy about two visits to the service department in two weeks: get used to it.

pups4pals

Have an '02 Liberty. The glass warning light for the back flip up window will not go out although the glass is closed tightly. Anyone ever had this problem?

libertydrive

My 02 Liberty broke down with the same exact issue. Last oil change was less than 4,000 miles ago and now I need to replace the engine.

What were your options on the engine replacement?

aevans

Hi, I have been having problems with my jeep liberty 2002, 2wd . It was also dying just like yours. Coming off the highway at a light or dying when at slower speeds. I am not having issues with my air conditioner so I know it is not related. I got a new battery and that solved my dying issues. Here is the ironic part though, now I have a new battery and it is about 2 months old. It died on me last night and had to be towed to the dealership, this time it would not start back up. My lights, windows, and radio all work so the new battery is fine. If I were you I would replace the battery, as that solved my dying issues immediately. I will just have to wait til the dealership tells me today what the problem is currently.

aevans

Has anyone had a problem with their rear glass opening? Mine opens when I am driving, when it is in the garage and Im sleeping, basically it will openly randomly at any given time of the day. I have taken it to the dealership as this was a recall and they have replaced all the parts associated with the glass opening. They even replaced the body controller but it still opens. I am not sure now if it can ever be fixed. Any insight would be great!

rolla1us

I purchased a jeep liberty CRD about four months ago and have experienced the following:

Exhaust Leak on the Turbocharger.
Gear Searching at highway speeds.
Gear Searching with a "clunking" sound when decelerating at
lower speeds in town.
I do not get greater than 25 MPG on the highway.

I had the Turbocharger leak repaired ( It took a week for parts to arrive), but there was thick black soot coating under the hood that was not cleaned off. In addition,
there are some vital electronic components that were subjected to excessive heat
degenerating the insulating capability of those components, not to mention the heat dissipation aspects. The electrical components are still at risk of electrical failure due to carbon arching from the soot build up.

I am going to take the jeep back in for a check-up tomorrow and try to work out the problems with the Transmission anomalies.

By the way, I have 20,000+ miles on this liberty 19,000 exclusively highway miles.
I use this vehicle to drive to work and travel many miles per day.

On the lighter side, this liberty is a sound riding machine, with exceptional power at low RPMs. Handling is is effortless and it has a quick nimble feel when addressing turns at all speeds. Sway or yaw could use some finer tuning.

I plan on checking out or testing the claims made by chrysler concerning all aspects of this vehicle. I have all records of travel, maintenance, repairs and fuel.

I will be forwarding this and other findings to Daimler Chysler for reponses and action. I recommend that all customers do the same.

hschumann

Has anyone experienced a problem when starting the jeep? It starts just fine but will not remain idle once you take your foot of the gas. The dealer is trying to charge me $400 for a new battery and throttle body cleaning and is not even sure if it is the battery...any ideas?

caribou1

How does the bottom (fixed) part of the air filter housing hold onto the fender?
Are there any hidden screws or special mounting channel :confuse:

wroofyjeeper

Batteries supply power to start the vehicle... and run accessories in the event you want to use them when the vehicle isn't running(then it uses the alternator to supply voltage). A dealership that suggests your battery is bad when it can do these two things needs their liscense to do business revoked. The only situation where this wouldn't apply would be if there were a short in the plates that make up the battery itself. Usually this causes a 'rotten egg' smell to eminate from the battery and after a while the battery wouldn't start the vehicle at all. Under this circumstance, if you were demanding more power than the alternator could provide(ie using high blower, headlights, rear defogger.. all at the same time) the battery is supposed to provide a 'buffer' of power to back it up. Since the battery is unable.. the vehicle would shut off from lack of power to fire the coils-which fire the sparkplugs. Arm youself with this and go back to the service manager and ask him to research it a little better.

aevans

I had this same problem, you can get a battery for about 40 dollars and install it. As far as the throttal body cleaning that is a fancy term for cleaning the carburator. Replace the battery and it should stay started again. Do not pay the huge fee at the dealer as they wanted to charge me 140 for a battery when it only costs 40

div2

Normally you'd be correct, but on a Jeep a weak battery may be able to start the Jeep but the low voltage at start-up causes the idle control system to go AWOL for several minutes. That said, charging $400 for a battery and a TB cleaning is criminal.

renegader

Hallo caribou1
there are no bolts and no mounting channel on my CRD. I need only pull it up and waggle it. It sits in rubber seatings. I hope it helps you.

caribou1

Hi Renegader,
Thank you for the info.
By the way, I noticed my turbo hose going to the filter housing was ready to fall off the housing because the body of the metal fixation collar (which is almost flat underneath) had deformed the plastic material of the filter connection. It was shaped like a "D" instead of an "O". I got there just in time...
Do you still drive the 2.5L ?

renegader

Hi Caribou1,
yes, I do still drive my 2,5 CRD sport manual tranny. I have now 95.000 km (about 60.000 miles) on it. During summer 05 started light vibration somewhere in drivetrain. Higher temperature=more vibs, cold=no vibs. I feel it in the steering wheel. Didn´t find any reason. Chrysler people "cannot feel or duplicate it". Shafts were tested. Mileage 22-24 mpg depends on speed.
Im sorry to read here Chrysler did not eliminate the old problems in new trucks at all. It seems to me purchasing Liberty now is even greater venture as 3 years ago.

caribou1

Have you tried nitrogen gas (N2) filling in your tires?
I did this and the pressure is more stable between summer and winter because there is no moisture in the gas. You may have a different tire pressure from left to right if you drive fast during summer. I didn't believe it would make a big difference but I must admit I'm surprised. Here it costs 4 Euros extra per new set of tires.
I'm heading towards 60,000 Km without any problem except for the fan clutch the first year. I would buy a new Liberty diesel if I could get it without the electronics. A cam driven injector-pump system would please me more even if I had to loose a bit of torque.

glhperformance

has anyone ran e85 in there liberty with the v6 3.7L and seen any problems any help here will be helpful , the e85 is a great high octane fuel i know for FFV's but can it run in the liberty or do they have plans in the future of running it in there

sitherri

Hi,
I have a 2004 liberty limited. On the Highway keeping a strait line, if i release the accelerator the car pull to the right. If i correct the direction, and keep it strait, when i accelerate the car goes to the left. Any one has an idea?

renegader

I have nitrogen filling. I think vibrations are caused by bad balancing of the rear shaft after change of both rear cardan joints, which originally lasted 50.000 km. Profi tests/checks were made by too slow revs corresponding to big trucks (2000rpm = 100km/h), I´m driving to 150km/h=3000 rpm. Any idea except driving slowly? My shop won´t give any guarantee of disappearing vibs if I buy new shaft.

caribou1

Do you have suspension lift? In this case you could be beyond the acceptable working angle for the cardans.
When both cardan joints were repaired was it only replacement of the cross pieces and bearings? You could have too much play in the splined sleeve of the transmission shaft. I think you're reaching the limit of this design.

tmartins

My wife had been sitting in her parking lot at work waiting for them to open.. She had the truck running with the radio on. After 15 minutes of waiting she turned off the car and went to see if anyone was in her office to let her in. No one was there so she came back to the jeep. Now the jeep has no power whats so ever.. NO lights, horn, Nothing.. What could it be? Any help would be great as wife is stuck at work

caribou1

Get someone to move the battery connections!

renegader

Yes, I have 2,5 inch lift since 9.000 km. Both angles are the same, under 4 degrees, lowered Liberties do have aprox. 3 degrees. I had no vibs problem until joints change.
It was only replacement of those pieces as you write. First replacement was done by Chrysler and it was not good, but they "did not feel any vibrations". Then I buyed aftermarket joints with lubricators, installed them and it was better, near perfect. It held almost one year.
I tried to balance the shaft with two hose sleeves and their best position seems to compensate the original counterweights.
I´m thinking about buying new shaft, when DC can offer a balanced one.
You may be right with the play, but by the hand I don´t feel it.

bruticus

My sister has a 2003 Liberty Limited with sunroof. For the past 6-9 months the sunroof has been acting up. It opens just fine, but when you try to close it the motor will run for a +/- a second, then quit. If you hit the button again sometimes it moves a little more and stops again, or else it doesn't move any more at all. You can either keep hitting the close button, trying to move the roof an inch or so at at time, or you can open the sun roof fully (which happens just fine) and try again.

It's bad enough that she doesn't use the sunroof, but sometimes when her husband (or I) drive it we forget, open the roof, and then have to futz with it for 10 minutes to get it to close

It has 77K on the clock, so it's no longer a warranty issue and the cost to open up the entire roof on an exploratory mission (which a dealer would be only happy to do at $80/hr) would probably be very high.

Does this trouble sound familiar to anybody? Does anybody have any clues where the trouble might lie to help narrow it down?

TIA

Other than this issue and a couple dealership trips to tighten some stuff in the rear suspension, it's been trouble-free and she LOVES the thing.

DjB

craigk1

I bought a 2005 Jeep Liberty, 4-cyl (non-diesel) 6-speed a couple weeks ago. I've noticed a groaning/grinding noise coming from the area of the right rear wheel while backing out of my apartment parking space in the morning. It goes away by the time I reach the end of the driveway and doesn't show up the rest of the day. In fact, it runs great the rest of the day. The noise only shows up in the morning. Any ideas? Night temps have been running in the low 50s high 40s recently, if that has any bearing on this.

ree691

We are on our first windshield replacement. The crack is growing bigger everyday. :sick:

martyz

I had the same thing (so have several others here) on my '05 Liberty CRD Sport. The service department at the local dealer says it is caused by the metallic brake pads that are used on the Liberty, and that the only thing you can do is live with it. They say it will go away after about 5000-10000 miles. They claim there is no damage involved, just noise. Replacing the pads with a non-metallic substitute would get rid of the noise, but at the cost of reduced braking performance.

I tend to trust this particular service department, but I really have no idea if they're right or not. My mileage is around 5500 now, and the brakes still groan anytime I park the vehicle outside in cold weather.

Anyone else have thoughts on the validity of this diagnosis?

glhperformance

i have over 9200 on my liberty with 6 speed v6, never had any noise,I am in cold weather alot but i never have to back up when i start it up , what is everyone seeing with their Liberty for mpg I am getting 19 to 22 closer to 22 with the addition of the Jet Performance Chip , I have also tried e-85 in my liberty seemed to work fine anyone have input on any of these topics.

craigk1

Thanks for the information. To further clarify, the noise doesn't happen while I'm applying the brakes, but rather when I'm rolling either forward or in reverse. Again, goes away after a few seconds. Hope the diagnosis still stands.

craigk1

martyz

> To further clarify, the noise doesn't happen while I'm applying the
> brakes, but rather when I'm rolling either forward or in reverse. Again,
> goes away after a few seconds. Hope the diagnosis still stands.

Yup, same with mine. I get the noise when I back up; no foot on the brake - sometimes it will even happen while going forward. Usually stops after 50-100 yards, but one time it lasted for several blocks.

rreidt

Could you explain more what the Jet Performance Chip is and it's function's? How expensive is this? What was your average miles per gallon prior to installing this? I currently get approx 16-17 mph and would like to increase this to optimum level. I have an automatic '03 Liberty Limited. Since I drive mostly 80% highway miles I wonder if this will really help-Thx

renoliberty

I had the grinding noise problem on my '03 Sport's brakes when backing up in the mornings. I thought that the noise was worse if the brakes were moist or if the humidity was high when it was parked for the evening. Concluded that the problem might be a film of overnight oxidation on the pads or rotors compounded by brake or road dust. Flushed the rotors and pads with a garden hose and then drove the Liberty around the block with a lot of braking to dry the rotors before parking it. This eliminated the noise in the mornings for a while until the pads got dusty again. The procedure had to be repeated. Mileage at the time was about 8 to 10K.

The noise should disappear with wear as was stated above. Flushing the brakes may hasten the end of the noise, but this may not work until the brake pads have worn in some.

ken1972

I bought a 2005 Liberty Renegade 4x4 3.7L auto trans. in Aug with the employee discount pricing. Great deal except.... since Aug 1 I've had it back to the dealer 3 times for brake noise (sounds like the brake pads haven't released from the rotors, almost a metal on metal sound) this is only when the brakes are cold once they warm up the noise goes away. I've been told that this is because the gov't mandated the removal of asbestos from the pads. They said that the noise will always be there and that I will just have to live with it. The problem I have with this answer is that I have a 2001 Ford Mustang that doesn't not nor has it ever made noise like this. I've changed the brake pads/rotors on my Wrangler recently and have never had this noise. On other cars/trucks as well. On top of the brake problem I've also had it in for the airbag light flickering on/off whenever it wants and now it's in for the tire pressure light coming on (tire pressure in all tires was at stated pressure). This is all in just 2 1/2 months. I'm considering looking into the lemon law, anyone have similar problems or advice? I have read the discussions before my note, sounds like a lot of us are getting the run around with these brakes

Ken

jayrider

Ask the dealer to drive several other 05 Libertys and see if the noise is there. If it isn't then they need to address the problem.

glhperformance

i have an 05 got it in february never a problem with brake noise

mrobins

Hi I work for the cook county court system and am a commissioner for the city of Elgin ILL. My brakes on the 05 lib. are terrible, at 5 or 10 mph. when the brakes are applyed, the whole car underneith, vibrates. After 3 dealer attempts to fix, I contacted the zone office which we are not supposed to do and got two managers. They sent out the D.M. and a special tech to fix it and told me it was a normal operating charactoristic of the vehicle. I have now found out from a Judge and law firm that this is what they say when they can not fix a DESIGN FLAW. My jeep has the disc brakes, not the ABS. Three more dealers between schaumburg ILL. and Cgo. have found others doing the same with the disc brakes. Chrysler needs to come clean with this and buy back my car to put me in one without a design flaw. Two General Managers from two diffrent dealerships felt this in my car and stated, this does not feel right. One of them tried to advise zone to purchase my vehicle back. I have contacted the Daily Herald and will be contacting all the network station investigative reporters to take on this story, how many more jeeps are doing this. Thankyou, Mike Robins.

glhperformance

the jet performance chip controls injection and oxygen sensors to create more power and if you have an automatic it helps improve shift points , i was getting about 19 to 20 before install and get 21 to 22 after install with a manual automatics see better improvement though, you can fin more info on their website i got mine off ebay for 150 from a jet dealer on their, it pulgs directly into your ecm takes about 2 minutes to install anyone can do it they recommend 89 or higher octane with it i always run 89 octane with 10 percent ethanol, and also have run e85 in it, i hope this answers your questions

hschumann

I took your advice and bought a battery from Sears and installed it myself. I did have the throttle body cleaned by the dealer, since I was already going to be charged $100 for them to just look at my car. I'm glad I did - my gas mileage has improved significantly (almost 20mpg now!) I think next time I will take it somewhere else though. Problem solved, my liberty has been running great! :shades: