While driving down the main road in our town at 30mph driver heard a loud noise and then lost control of the steering in 2004 Jeep Liberty. The car was swerving and the driver had no control of the vehicle. The car went off the right shoulder of the road, scraped a metal mile marker and finally came to a stop. It has been determined that the left rear lower control arm had corroded and broken. This could have resulted in a very serious accident.

- Delmar, NY, USA

The rear trail arm rusted through and fractured making the Jeep nearly impossible to control. I had to call a tow truck.

- Pardeeville, WI, USA

The car did not feel right when I was driving home one evening and the whole back end jumped to the right when going over bumps or traffic passed my car. I got off the freeway and as I turned a corner the whole back end just slid and the vehicle was hard to keep control of. I had to drive 10 mph on city streets to get home and the car was difficult to control, it wanted to keep sliding to one side or the other. I found, on getting home, the rear lower control arm had rotted out and failed. It looked as though it had been in salt water for 25 years. If I had been at freeway speeds when it failed there is no doubt in my mind it would have caused an accident and very likely a fatal accident to me. I have seen 20 year old cars that do not have this kind of rot on critical parts like this and feel there is no way this should of happened on a 7 year old car. I have spoken to Chrysler and they will not help me on the repair as it is out of warranty but the real concern is to the pre-mature failure of this critical part. I have kept the part they removed if anyone would care to inspect it. I hope this may help other owners inspect this part and prevent a serious accident. I hope someone from the NHTSA contacts me so I can further express my concerns. Updated 05/12/11 updated 1/5/12

- New Berlin, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The contact stated that the left rear lower control arm broke while the vehicle was traveling 30 mph. The failure occurred because the control arm was rusted. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear right control arm was about to also break due to rust. The dealer stated that the broken control arm needed to be replaced. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 76,000.

- Toshocton, OH, USA

My husband is a mechanic. He and his employer were trying to maneuver a 2004 Jeep Liberty into the work stall from the parking lot. The Jeep had a broken ball joint (a condition that they later found was under recall notice) and would not steer, so my husband was guiding it with a floor jack while his boss was behind the wheel, braking when necessary to help control forward momentum. The vehicle was idling. This is standard procedure, one carried out many times by both men. Both men have at least 25 years of experience each as auto mechanics. There is a lip just at the door of the shop to prevent water from coming in, and when the Jeep came to this lip, the vehicle tipped slightly, and the right front tire touched the ground. Instantly, the engine revved and the vehicle jumped forward at full power. The boss literally stood as hard as he could on the brake but to no effect. The vehicle left a long black skid line behind it where the back tires were trying to brake, but the front tires were continuing to accelerate. My husband was hit and dragged fifteen feet then crushed against an upright support. According to both mechanics, the front wheels should not have had power to them, since the vehicle was not in four-wheel drive and cannot put itself into four-wheel drive: A lever must be raised manually. My husband had to be life flighted to emmanuel hospital where he was diagnosed with a collapsed lung, broken nose, broken collarbone, nine broken ribs, and a broken ankle. He also suffered general crushing of most of his body. A broken left rib was diagnosed two weeks later. The Jeep was taken to a local Chrysler dealership for repair of the broken ball joint and the transmission pan, damaged in the accident.

- Mcminnville, OR, USA

I have a 2004 Jeep Liberty and I have had this front end shaking when you get up to 40 plus mph and the front tires seems to drag. I have taken my car to a Chrysler dealer ship but the problem was not repaired but the flushed the radiator, changed the oil and charged me $372 and I have not found out what the problem is with this 2004 Jeep Liberty.

- Garland, TX, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty sport has loss of power and is quitting customer states that he has had multiple parts fixed and replaced and now the vehicle has the same failure problems as last year. ** the consumer has had 2 fuel pumps replaced, a wiring harness in the firewall, cruise control sensor replaced, the entire module replaced, ball joint replaced and now the vehicle is losing power and quitting again. The consumer further stated that the speedometer and tachometer both are going crazy.

- Hurricane, WV, USA

I was driving my mother's Jeep Liberty on Thursday morning and I accidentally veered over to the right and went over a sandbag on the road. The car flipped over and spun out of control and I was unable to grasp any control of the car. The car was completely totaled. However, I do feel that this loss was not a cause of hit such a small object on the road but rather that the suspension on this SUV was not reinforced properly. I was not aware at the time, until after researching this vehicle that a recall was found for this make and model.

- Moreno Valley, CA, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty sport with only 37K miles. Driver's side ball joint fell off while driving. Subsequent hole in wheel caused blowout & had to be towed. Fortunately vehicle was going only 30 mph and traveling straight, otherwise, serious injury or death could have resulted.

- Bloomfield, IN, USA

My 2004 Jeep Liberty, with 37,000 miles, failed when the front ball joint snapped, sending the undercarriage into the concrete. Upon inspection, it was found the other ball joint was ready to snap as well. I understand this is a common Liberty problem. I have been in contact with Chrysler and my lawyer. Had I been going faster than 10 mph, I could have been killed. I would hope Chrysler will have some compassion for their customers and fix this problem before someone dies. They should also repair, at no charge, this defect immediately.

- Elkland, PA, USA

Driving to my child's school when I heard a grinding noise, stopped the car and found the left front wheel collapsed and turned in. It was towed to by aaa to perkins in crestwwood ky. ( a Jeep dealer) left ball joint separated causing the collapse was reported to me and supposedly fixed. A couple of days after picking up my car I heard a rattling noise from the front of the car and took it back to the dealer. They found nothing. On March 24 2006 I heard a popping noise while driving and decided to take the Jeep in to the nearest dealer who was neil huffman in louisville.the mechanic reported that the right lower ball joint was loose and it needed to be tightened. I left the car with them so the could fix the problem. On March 30,2006 I was pulling out of a parking lot and turned my car when I heard a grinding noise then a pop. I got out of my car and found the right front wheel collapsed and towed it in to by aaa to neil huffman Jeep dealer wear they found the right ball joint collapsed. I did not have to pay for this job since I just had it in. The 2001,2002, and 2003 Jeep Liberty's were recalled for faulty ball joints. The 2004's have not been yet. Maybe this is a design problem!

- Prospect Ky., KY, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty suspension problems. The consumer heard a grinding noise while making a turn.

- Coltons Point, MD, USA

Complaint received via E-mail, I'm sure I'm not the only one with a Jeep Liberty that pulls to the right. My family has 2 2004 Liberty. One brought February this year and came straight out of the showroom, pulling badly to the right. I had to take vehicle to the dealer 3 times, and finally was sent to an alignment place. Bought another Liberty in June, and it's pulling to the right. This is dangerous."

- Camden, SC, USA