10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 18 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 12 / 1
- Average Mileage:
- 32,562 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
2003 Liberty ball joint separated. The lower ball joints were replaced previously at 16,000. The upper ball joints also needed to be replaced.
- Chardon, OH, USA
Driving in far left hand lane on NJ tpke at 65 mph. Suddenly felt car lurch forward to the right, hit the ground, tire blew out & began to fight to maintain control of vehicle. Traffic was incredibly heavy, due to mother's day weekend. Because of my training as a police officer for the past 28 years, I took my foot off the accelerator, held the wheel tightly and was able to keep control of the vehicle and skid for approx. 1/4 mile across 3 lanes to the roadside. The vehicle was spewing sparks, which caused others to slow behind us and avoid a collision. I still cannot believe the vehicle did not flip & kill both of us. According to the dealership where it was towed, I suffered total ball joint failure on the right front & near failure of the left ball joint. Fyi, the tires were fairly new--Michelin tires with 8,000 miles on them. The vehicle is still under review to see if repair is possible due to the extensive damage.
- Atlantic City, NJ, USA
The car was inspected for ball joint problems (recall) @ 20,000 miles, the dealer said all was good and the work order states that the recall was performed. At 56,000 miles I was leaving turning around in my neighbors driveway when the lower ball joint on the passenger side broke, totally separated. There was no little warning before the joint broke. When the joint broke the suspension gouged the inside of the rim deeply. The car was towed to the dealer. I have yet to speak to them (this just happened and they are closed); however, I anticipate collateral damage to other suspension/steering components as well.
- Denver, CO, USA
Lower ball joint failure - 2003 Jeep Liberty the lower ball joint recall was performed on the 2003 Jeep Liberty at approximately 11,000 miles. At 39,000 miles the lower ball joints where reported to need replacement by a local mechanic during routine maintenance. The Jeep was then taken to a Chrysler dealership who conferred the lower ball joints need to be replaced. Since the 3/36,000 mile warranty had expired the dealership contacted Chrysler for approval to re-open the recall and replace the ball joint. Chrysler denied the claim to re-open the recall and replace the ball joints. The ball joints where then replaced at approximately 40,000 miles by a private mechanic which resulted in out of pocket expenses on a recalled item.
- Huber Heights, OH, USA
Upper and lower ball joints have gone bad after only 31K miles on Jeep Liberty. I talked to the service manager at outten Jeep and he informed me it was not covered. I feel this is a danagerous and premature failure of this part and should be covered by warrentiejust for safety alone I.
- Allentown, PA, USA
: the contact stated while turning the steering wheel at various speeds there was a grinding noise in the front end. The dealership determined both front lower ball joints needed to be replaced. There was NHTSA recall # 03V460000 regarding the lower ball joint. However, the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN. Updated 05/30/06.
- Orion, IL, USA
2003 Liberty sport- lower ball joints were replaced due to recall notice. I took the vehicle to a dealer at 24,000 miles with a complaint of ball joint wear. The dealer improperly inspected the ball joints for wear and said there is no wear and they are within spec. Also, at the same time inspected the vehicle and passed it. Approximately 5000 miles later, after several inspections of the ball joints by myself in the way they specified resulting in no play, the lower ball joint failed and separated. The vehicle crashed to the ground grinding the cv shaft into the ground. The vehicle was towed from the travel lane to the nearest garage. I am looking for input on what my next step should be. I have since called several Dodge/Jeep dealers and inquired about the procedure to inspect the ball joints and each do it incorrectly. One technician offer to look it up in the Jeep Liberty service manual and explained the proper way to me. Sounds like gross negligence to me....
- Meshoppen, PA, USA
2003 Jeep Liberty, 34K miles (never off-road), left front lower ball joint failure. Failure @ 20 mph. No injury but lucky not faster speed. Kids in back scared. Rim split, tire blown. Wrecker to return to dealership. Two associates with similar model (early 2003 Liberty) have now had joints checked last week and both needed rt. & lt. Lower ball joints replaced. Potentially catastrophic defect!!
- Westford, MA, USA
Ball joint failure on left front end. Wheel separated when exiting parking lot. Towed to dealer for repairs. My 2003 Liberty was not part of the recall group.
- Laurel Springs, NJ, USA
2003 Jeep Liberty left front ball joint failure.
- Dublin, OH, USA
The car was inspected for ball joint problems (recall) @ 18,000 miles, the dealer said all was good. At 63,000 miles I was leaving a stop sign when the lower ball joint on the passenger side broke, totally separated. There was little warning before the joint broke. The car from time to time would feel odd (pulling to one side) slightly but this was intermittent. I never imagined that a ball joint was about to fail. When the joint broke the suspension gouged the inside of the rim deeply and bent the drive shaft against the suspension. The dealer has approved replacing the ball joints (both lowers) but is refusing to replace the wheel or the drive shaft at this time. The ball joints they refuse to give to us.
- Mill Creek, IN, USA
On or about 1/17/06 while driving the 2003 Jeep Liberty the front left lower ball joint separated, dropping the control arm onto the inside of the rim. At 71000 miles. Was told by my dealer that there was no recalls on that. After further research I have found that there was a recall on 2003 Liberty made B4 3/26/03, took delivery mid April 2003 also have found complaints on the 2004 Jeep Liberty. I had the repairs made by a local repair shop. I do not have the old ball joint. I am now experiencing front left noises yet to be diagnosed by a professional.
- Huber Hts, OH, USA
Driving my 2003 Jeep Liberty freedom edition down a very steep gravel driveway. All of a sudden the entire car hit the bottom of the drive with a big crash. I was unable to steer and went part way into the road. Had to move the car back to bottom of driveway as to not cause an accident in the middle of a mountain road. Oil was leaking and when I tried to drive the car to the end of driveway, metal shavings were coming from the bottom of the vehicle. It was impossible to turn the wheel more than about 1" at a time. The entire fender on the passenger side popped off also. My back, neck and knee were hurt as result of the car crashing to the ground. Had vehicle towed to Jeep dealer, where I was told all parts would be replaced. The front ball joint had totally separated causing this very dangerous problem. When I had first bought the car used in April of 2005, I heard about the ball joint recall on the 2003 Jeep Liberty's. when I called daimler Chrysler to ask about this, they told me the VIN on my car was not in the recall. However, the problem I had with this car was the exact same one that the Jeep Liberty's were recalled for. Obviously they have not fixed this problem. The manufacturer recall center was of no help with any answers and seemed totally unconcerned as I am still covered by the bumper to bumper(original) manufacturers warranty(only 26,000 miles on the car), and " it wont cost you anything to have it fixed". and was told "there is nothing we can do if it wasn't in the recalled vehicles".
- La Luz, ND, USA
: the contact stated while driving 10 mph the bottom of the vehicle hit the ground. There is a NHTSA recall, # 03V460000, regarding the suspension front control arm lower ball joint. The vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the VIN.
- La Luz, NM, USA
The contact stated lower ball joints failed while driving. Recall work was done on NHTSA recall campaign 03V460000 concerning the driver side lower ball joints in June 2004. The vehicle was towed to a local dealership were the control arm and ball joint were replaced. The contact spoke with the manufacturer about the problem. A spokes person from the manufacturer stated when the recall work was done by the first dealership they must have put the control arm ball joints on incorrectly. Updated 02/07/06.
- Kenosha, WI, USA
Routine check of vehicle during rotation of tires revealed lower ball joint movement, and right upper ball joint failure.
- Quakertown, PA, USA
03 Jeep Liberty limited ball joint replacement for the 2nd time in 58K miles.
- Meadville, PA, USA
Lower ball joints were extremely worn. Steering felt loose and vehicle was "wandering" on the highway a lot, making it hard to stay in my lane and keep my course. Original recall performed over 20,000 miles ago which only consisted of heat shields being installed. I brought in the Jeep and dealer agreed with lbj failure and replaced them under recall notice.
- Melville, NY, USA
(1) driving back from a camping trip in death valley, ca. (2) complete separation of the lower right ball joint when pulling away from the gas station. (3) I had the vehicle tow to a repair shop and had both lower ball joints replaced.
- Escondido, CA, USA
- Wadsworth, OH, USA