Jeep Liberty

1evilduck · March 2003

Sounds like you need to find another dealer. I bought my 02 Lib last October. I got it for $2000 under invoice, due to factory rebates and other incentives. If you look at a web site, www.fightingchance.com, he gives great advice on new car buying. You pay about $30.00 for his info packet, but it could save you hundreds or even thousands. I dealt with the Fleet Manager, not the internet flunkie. The only time I set foot in a dealership was for my initial testdrive, and to sign the papers. I might have spent an hour total at the dealership.
Good luck

10north · March 2003

I bought my Liberty a couple of months ago. I didnt really have to negotaiate the price. I showed them a printout of the exact model and options of the car I wanted. They ordered it for me at the Edmunds TMV price.

jimlockey · March 2003

Went to the Dallas Auto show yesterday so I could crawl in an out a few vehicles. I'm tired of not much room. At the present I'm driving a 2002 Beetle diesel. The diesel is wounderful with excellent performance and excellent mileage, but no room for anyone in the back. The Jeep Liberty has very good room, not too big and with a 2.8 diesel engine being added this summer should make this vehicle very appealing. I also looked at a VW Passat station wagon which will also have a diesel this summer too. Both are very good vheciles, but I think the Liberty will be much more versatile. I talked to Chrysler and ask them how much more they would charge for the diesel engine and they said probable no more for the first diesels they sell. It looks like Chrysler really want to sell the diesels. For sure, the Liberty gets poor mileage with the gas 3.7 V6. The best I could figure, the Passat would cost from $5,000 to $6,000 more with a diesel. VW adds $1,000 for the diesel. Why the diesel? I've had three and like the mieage and the performance you get with a diesel. The new rail diesels will be even better. This is one persons opinion.

jeepster6 · March 2003

Just following up on my experience at Jay Wolfe in Lee's Summit, MO. The salesman called me and agreed to sell me the Liberty at the price I offered. Things turned out pretty well in the end. Thanks for all the input.

bmw323is · March 2003

Since there is little activity here, does anyone have any other web sites with information about Jeeps (particularly the Liberty). I've been to the manufacturers site - jeep.com. Any others?

jregen7243 · April 2003

Try www.jeepsunlimited.com and then click on Forums.

-Jon

oceantoad · April 2003

Try this one.

http://www.kjjeep.com

tidester · April 2003

The topic is the Jeep Liberty. The topic is NOT other forums! Thanks.

tidester, host

bmw323is · April 2003

if only anyone posted anything on this forum!

oceantoad · April 2003

Hey, I am a Wrangler guy so I have no stories to post. I am checking out the Liberty for a second vehicle, but am waiting to see more on the diesel version. I am real curious to see what the towing capability will be along with the cost of the diesel.

Still a happy camper with the Wrangler.

jlitterer · April 2003

Can anyone tell me what type of gas mileage they have been getting on their Jeep Liberty

Thanks Jeff

renoliberty · April 2003

17.1 to 17.5 mpg for driving composed of 75-80% city (start-up idling, stop-and-go, etc.) and 20-25% highway calculated on an operating time basis (rather than by mileage traveled). This is for cool to cold-weather driving with the V6, 4WD, standard transmission with less than 2K miles on the engine.

jimlockey · April 2003

The guys with the automatic transmission don't get what you guys with stick shifts get. They get 15 and below. When people start driving the Liberty with a diesel they will see the average MPG go up about 30 percent. Those of us who have driven diesels for a while use a term called torque and understand what it means. For example, when you are cruising down the highway with a lot of hills you don't get near as much down shifting with a diesel as gas engines because of the extra torgue. Even around town, after you shift into the last gear, it is much easier to hold a 40 or so MPH with little down shifting. The extra torque keeps our vehicles in overdrive much longer. Therefore better MPG, and on long trips this results in more miles without refueling. Yea, I know, diesel is hard to find and stinks. Well so does gasoline and you learn how to buy and deal with diesel. Believe me, it is not hard to find. You learn how to love it.

stever · April 2003

The Editors' Review has been recently updated.

And there's a Special Report on Diesel Developments that may be of interest.

Steve, Host

jsstover · April 2003

I will have to agree with Jim on this, but diesel isn't as bad as its made out to be. My wife has the diesel jetta and we absolutely love it. Its a little loud when its first started and cold, but once its warmed up, purs like a kitten. We average between 48-50 mpg with and automatic. She's pretty easy on the accelerator, so it might not be quite normal.
Diesel isn't too difficult to find here in Columbus, Ohio. It just takes a little "re-programming" to look for it. I hope most commerical stations begin to offer the USLD fuel, or maybe even 80/20 blend with biodiesel.

ozone1 · April 2003

After 12000 miles in 60-40 City/Highway driving in hilly terrain, we are averaging 16.1 MPG

tiredofmanual · April 2003

Thanks for the link, however I believe it has some inaccuracies. Biodiesel is indeed available to the American public. There are lots of people running around with biodiesel-powered VWs and trucks, and there is an oil company a mile or two from my house that will sell biodiesel to anyone with money (an occurance that is seemingly getting more rare these days unfortunately).

I'm personally looking forward to the diesel Liberty, and I have been entertaining thoughts of picking up a used one as a second vehicle in 3 or 4 years. By then, we may have that low-sulfur diesel and the really nice diesels from Europe may have replaced the current crop. In that case, I may go for a new diesel Liberty. Well, I have plenty of time to think it over.

Sporin · April 2003

Is there an ETA on the diesel Liberty?

My mom has a 2003 Sport and I was really surprised by how much I liked it. Nice styling, plenty of room, good ride, etc.

I could never deal with the MPG in a DD though. but I would definitely consider the diesel version.

jimlockey · April 2003

Acording to a UK site the 2.8L diesel gets 34+ highway, 21+ city and a combined 28+MPG. All that depends on how hard you push it! When Jeep goes with the diesel it will have the best mileage of all the SUV's.

As for the ETA, I've heard July, but don't hold me to that. I figure it will be August or September.

bmw323is · April 2003

I recently test drove a Liberty and 4Runner back to back. I am probably going to buy one of them. My thoughts and questions are:

The Lib's seats seemed narrow and short on thigh support (in the Limited). Like you were sitting on top of them instead of in them. Any thougts? Are the Sport seats better?

Foot room also seemed lacking in each seat. In the rear, toe room was a problem. In the front, the space was very narrow in the footwell. And the floor isn't very flat anywhere.

On the plus side, low end torque seemed much better than the Toyota. How is the high end? On my test drive I couldn't get much past 45 mph.

The Liberty's ride was more sporty, but more bouncy than the 4Runner, which is probably expected (kind of like a small car compared to a bigger car) although the Liberty is only a few hundred pounds lighter. Is the ride and comfort satisfactory on longer trips?

For off-road, I expect both vehicles to do well. The 4Runner has a little more ground clearance, but the Liberty has a shorter wheel base.

It's a tough decision. The Toyota is bigger and better equipped. The Liberty is more fun to drive. Both are now offering nice incentives. The Liberty would be about $5,000 less cost (for me) and lower insurance, although it depreciates much faster. I appreciate others' thoughts.

jondavid · April 2003

The new Toyota wasn't out or at least I didn't know about it when I bought an 02 Liberty Limited.

Thoughts:

Seats - I too found them short compared to my 90's model accord, but still comfortable. Took me a while to get used to them, but I have taken several highway trips, some as long as 12 hours and found it to be very comfortable (Limited model). I have also seen shorter seats in other new models. Suspect "games" are being played with interior measurements - shorter seats means more leg, knee room etc. I sat in a Sport model, and found the seats very thin and uncomfortable. Not sure how they feel on a long road trip.

Jeep ride is somewhat truck-like, but to me it feels smooth and comfortable. Some trucks aren't. I would think the Toyota could be more comfortable with a longer wheelbase.

Room - Liberty seems more compact to me, but I don't have any problems riding to work or on road trips, either in front or rear seats. Some Jeeps are narrow by tradition, if you ever go off-road and see some of the road width's you'll see why. Easy to see some off road heritage there. If the extra width is important to you, go with the Toyota. I came from an accord, which felt as if it had much more interior width, but I don't miss it.

Power seems fine to me, but you really should try both vehicles on an interstate - I'd steer clear of any dealership that won't let you.

I bought the G package, with all the bells and whistles (heated leather seats, radio controls on steering wheel, sentry and theft alarms, smoked glass, power heated mirrors, power steering, abs brakes, Selectrack 4wd, speed controlled locking doors, towing and off-road package, outside temperature, compass, gas mileage, distance to empty and so on). If the Toyota has much more, it must really be loaded!

Off road, I took my Liberty up a narrow road from a friends cabin in the Tennessee mountains. Road width was only a few inches wider than the Liberty, with drop-offs several hundred feet down. The liberty climbed a very steep, angled, muddy road with little to no effort at all, in 4 wheel drive.

My only concern was reliability when I bought it. More than a year later, it's still trouble free, quiet and fun to drive. I just finished a thorough underside inspection this past weekend. I especially checked every metal to metal joint on the engine, transmission, transfer case, and front and rear differential pinions. Not a leak, in fact not even any weeping at the joints.
Bone dry. This after 6 months of almost daily driving over Interstate under construction that is broken, pothole filled and very rough in stretches 10 miles long. So I'm pleased so far.

Engines - I prefer cast iron engine blocks in vehicles that can go off road with a low range transfer case, as they can get to some places that will cause your vehicle to really take a pounding.

Fortunately, you get that with the Liberty and the V8 model Toyota. If you don't ever plan to off road, I doubt it would matter.
Touch choice - Toyota looks like a great vehicle. I think if you get the V8 equipped Toyota, you'll have more torque than the Jeep. I'm guessing since I haven't driven one. Looks like it comes down to price and preference.
&;
Sounds like you might like the Toyota a little better already. I'd go for the Toyota if you like it better, even at 5 grand more. The only thing about the Toyota I wasn't sure of when I saw the first pictures was the cladding on the non Limited models. I like the Limited models much better in both the Jeep and the Toyota.

bmw323is · April 2003

Great post - thanks for all of the input.

Seats - I think you are right in the seating size versus legroom theory. I'm coming from a '95 Ford Ranger STX and it has more room and bigger seats.

Room - the Liberty looks and feels pretty small, but others have complimented it on its roominess. It is certainly much taller than most small/mid size SUV's. With the back seats upright, there isn't much room behind them.

The 4Runner has more electonic gizmos, like traction control, stability control, hill decent control and hill start assist - all standard. Some of those have value to me and some don't. I wasn't planning on buying a loaded Liberty. I just can't figure out why Jeep doesn't put ABS and Cruise on their base models. Even the Limited doesn't have ABS standard. The dealer tells me that ABS generally comes packaged only on the higher equipped models.

Engines - I was planning on the V6 4Runner with 245 HP and 283 ft/lb. of torque. I know it is a new aluninum engine, but Toyota has an excellent track record so I'm pretty comfortable there. I will do some off roading (live in Colorado) and the size and shorter wheel base of the Jeep would be beneficial in that regard.

Toyota has realized their design error on that cladding. They have stopped doing the gray wheel and bumper cladding. Now they all look like the Limited style on the outside.

You're right that I'm leaning toward the Toyota. Reliability was going to be my deciding factor. I'm glad your Liberty is problem free. Thanks again the your thoughts. This is one quiet board!

colorado1974 · April 2003

I've had a Liberty for about 18 months now. I've had it in 3 feet of water (amazingly none leaked inside), bounced over river rocks, jumped over sand dunes and have climbed through many hair raising off road trails in central washington. Not once has it stalled, lost traction (even with the street tires), it has no squeeks, rattles or other signs of wear. This thing is built like a tank. Plus I get 16 mpg around town and an astonishing 24 on the hwy (according to my overhead computer).

If this thing can do this kind of work and survive only like a Jeep can, imagine how well it will handle normal every day driving.

Another bonus is the warranty. At the time it was a free 7 year/100,000 mile powertrain but now it is a 7 year/70,000 mile powertrain.

My advice is Get the Jeep and never look back.

bcmalibu99ls · April 2003

Fellas, if you fold down the rear seats, can you, theoretically, have a good sleep in a Liberty? I know that rear seats don't go all the way into the floor. How much do they stick out? And what's the distance between the back of front seats and the swing gate, inside the vehicle? Thank you!

smokeriser · April 2003

Does anyone kkow when the 2004 Libertys will be out??? I don't know if I should wait or buy now.

purduealum91 · April 2003

Inquiring minds want to know if there are any Chicagoland dealers dealing. Thanks!

Tom

nels1 · May 2003

ohmike1 · May 2003

I have an '03 Liberty Ltd. and the vehicle has been flawless....until the other day. At 6600 miles and without warning, it suddenly lost power, jerked violently and the engine raced (over 4500rpm) even though I couldn't go over 35mph. My local dealer says the transmission needs to be replaced. I'd appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. In particular, would a major repair like this in a new vehicle effect resale? Thanks in advance.

forestergump · May 2003

Try the internet sales manager at Continental Jeep in Countryside. I got a great price quote from him a couple months ago for a Liberty, but the deal fell through because I couldn't sell my current car for the price I needed.
-Bob

stever · May 2003

I think to Honda CR-V vs Jeep Liberty. Lots of heat getting generated over in there. Wear your flame suit!

Steve, Host

jregen7243 · May 2003

Anyone have a problem with wind noise from drivers side front door? I have a 01/03 build Liberty and the wind noise above 50mph is pretty bad....even worse when it's very windy out. I'm going to have the dealer look at it, but was wondering if it was just my vehicle.

-Jon

mitch55newyork · May 2003

Can anyone tell me how (or if) you can re-program features such as turning off the automatic door locking (at 24 MPH) if the vehicle does not have the overhead console (Electronic Vehicle Information Center).

Also, has anyone added the overhead console (at a dealer or after-market dealer). How much did it cost, how difficult is it to install.

Thanks for any help(or suggesting another website with this info)

azliberty · May 2003

Jon,

I've had the same wind noise on my Liberty. I just assumed that was normal. If you want some real noise try it with the rear windows down about halfway and the front windows up.

Rod

jglackin · May 2003

mitch55, your local dealer will have to hook up the computer (DRB) to the Liberty to turn that feature on/off.

azliberty · May 2003

Can anyone tell me if the front suspension skid plate still comes standard on the 2003 Liberty (4x4)?

dieselbreath · May 2003

Last wednesday, a local 13 year-old gir was killed when a Liberty rolled over.
At 1:30 in the afternoon, three sisters were in the libery (the 19 year-old driving) on a perfectly straight, flat highway in the fast lane (speed limit 100kmph/62MPH). They just crossed a small creek, (and the road has a gentle rise and drop over the bridge) when it suddenly veered over to the right shoulder for about 130 feet, then off the road and rolled. The 2 older girls survived, but the youngest one was pinned in the Liberty and died on the scene.

What's unusual, is that the RCMP have a specialist examining the vehicle, and in 20 years of reading the Vancouver Sun with fatal accidents every week, the only time I recall them mentioning a mechanical investigation is for brake failures on dump-trucks. I've never seen mention of an investigation of a passenger vehicle. So it sounds like the RCMP suspect a problem with the Liberty itself.

Has anyone encountered anything weird with the steering/suspension?

kullenberg · May 2003

One has to wonder if this could have been the result of a lower ball joint failure, that was discussed here, and elsewhere. dieselbreath, if you find out more, please post
Cheers
Pat

jondavid · May 2003

Do you have a link to the story?

thanks

tidester · May 2003

You can read the story at the Vancouver Sun.

Unfortunately, it doesn't contain much detail.

tidester, host

colorado1974 · June 2003

Sounds like careless driving to me. I can see how an unexperienced driver can overcorrect with a slight fluctuation in the road as you described. Any car in that situation would act the same way if one tire got caught in the soft shoulder after the terrain you described.

jeepster229 · June 2003

Dieselbreath,
As a Jeep Liberty owner, and a cop, I can tell you that in any traffic fatality, the vehicle is always looked at as the possible cause of the accident. In my experience with vehicle accidents, especially SUV's, 99% of accidents are due to driver error. It's always possible that something went wrong with the Liberty, but it's more likely that the driver went off the road, over-corrected, and lost control. I saw the exact same thing happen in a Wrangler a few years back, and all four in the Jeep were killed. The inexperienced driver went slightly off the road, over corrected, came back into traffic, and hit an oncoming Orka truck at 65mph. The Wrangler actually stayed in pretty good shape, but they weren't wearing seatbelts and the top was off. it was an ugly scene to say the least.

Anyway, the gist of this message is that atleast here in the U.S. (Colorado), the vehicle is ALWAYS looked at as the possible culprit. Not sure how our brothers up north do it.

rock1 · June 2003

Just purchased a 2003 Liberty Limited with the 3.7 V-6 engine.
I have owned a number of Jeeps since 1983, and this one is the best , hands down.
Does anyone know what type of oil filter wrench is needed to remove the oil filter?
I tried using the old style straight arm with loop at the end but there is no clearance to loosen or tighten the filter.
My Jeep has the off road group which includes the skid plates. I don't know if this makes a difference regarding not being able to reach the filter easily.
Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

yada · June 2003

I have been in every discussion out there & nowhere do I see anyone saying anything (positive or negative) about the front air deflector on the Liberty. I bought one from the dealer (Mopar) & am leery about putting it on because:
1. requires drilling (rust potential?)
2. rubber guards stuck to hood (do they say on? ruin the paint on my hood? are they necessary?)
3. inability to keep hood clean w/o removing it
4. does it really keep bugs off windshield?
5. does it make noise at high speeds?
6. will it really decrease my mileage?

Can anybody help me out there????

colorado1974 · June 2003

All it will really do is protect the leading edge of your hood. It will not protect you windshield and it will create more wind noise at highway speed. Drilling will also open the door for rust, especially in the "salt belt". I would recommend the vinyl hood cover but if you are set on installing it make sure stick the rubber bumpers on the guard, not your hood as the directions say. Other than that, debris can collect at the bottom edge where it is extremely hard to clean it.

The vinyl hood protector however is easily removed for cleaning. If you keep a thick coat of wax under it, you will not have any scratches. This is what I would suggest.

71charger · June 2003

Getting that filter off the first time was a cast iron b!@#$. I have a filter wrench that swivels and was able to get it on the filter reaching over the radiator. The filter started to crush before it started to turn though. But it came off. I hope the Pure One I put on comes off easier.

yada · June 2003

Thanks for the info, Colorado1974 it's going back to the dealer tomorrow

ranger38 · June 2003

I am looking at the Jeep Liberty (waiting on the 2004's). I picked up a brochure at the dealer describing the Nav system my Mopar. It's the same as on the GC. Has anyone ever purchased on and how is it? It's available on the limited version.

jglackin · June 2003

Nav system is excellent. The same one is used/avail. in all of our products. We actually just put one in a Liberty Sport last week. I sell them. I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have.

tidester · June 2003

I sell them.

But the question was "has anyone ever purchased one?" We don't want to discourage dealers from participating on the boards but let's not use them for drumming up business - it's against the rules.

tidester, host

jglackin · June 2003

sorry for any confusion. I am not soliciting a sale, just offering help with this newly available piece of equipment that the folks on this board may not have experienced yet. To make it clear, I have not purchased one, but have been extensively trained on them. Don't want to offend anyone.

Jeep Liberty

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