I noticed that the steering was becoming a little vague on the vehicle so I checked the lower ball joints for wear as I had heard that there were problems with them. I found that they were very loose with almost a half inch of play in them. I took the vehicle to the dealer since it was still under warranty. The dealership tech said that nothing was wrong with the ball joints. I then showed him that there was play and looseness. It turned out that he was not checking them by the service manual procedures. The vehicle has been at the dealer for over a week and a half and assuming that they still have the bad parts I will be sending them to D.C. to be examined.

- Gainesville, GA, USA

While exiting a parking lot at about 10 mph the 2004 Jeep Liberty I was driving made a loud banging noise and then a grinding noise. I stopped the vehicle and got out to inspect the problem. I found that the lower ball joint had separated and was shocked to see that on a vehicle with 40,000 miles. I had the vehicle in the shop at 35,000 miles complaining of a creaking noise while turning and a clunking noise over bumps and they said they could not duplicate the problem and did not see anything wrong. I would highly suggest that this be a recall or at least a technical service bulletin for the mechanics. If nothing is done to worn the owners of these vehicles more people will be killed!!!!! I know the 2002 and 03 models were recalled and reading all these problems with the 04's it is painfully obvious that the problem was not corrected by the engineering dept. At dm. I just had the vehicle towed to my local dealer and if this problem (and the torn cv boot, trans seal and rim) are not repaired under warranty I feel there is a lawsuit in order. I think it should be an auto manufactures primary goal to keep there customers safety priority #1.

- Plain City, OH, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty only 43,000. Was backing out of driveway, heard loud bang, right front tire fell to ground. Could not move vehicle. Damage was done to right front fender. Car was towed. Right front ball joint fell out. Was told by dealership that this was not covered under drive train warranty. Notified Chrysler of incident, was also told by Chrysler Corp. That this was not covered under drive train warranty. Ask about a recall, and was told about a 2002 Jeep Liberty recall on ball joint but not on 2004 models. Found out there is a large number of other 2004 Jeep Liberty owners having the same type of problem.

- Shelbiana, KY, USA

Backing out of my mother's driveway and the driver's side front ball bearing broke into. The front of my Jeep was damages severely as well as the rim etc. My Jeep only has 50,000 miles on it. Very upset to read that other's have had this same problem and there is no recall on this vehicle. This is a major problem and Chrysler needs to recall this 2004 Jeep if it has happened to even one family.

- Horn Lake, MS, USA

In the weeks leading up to the lower ball joint failure, we noticed problematic steering (turning harder) and weird noises coming from the front end. (specifically "creaking" noises while turning the wheel at low speeds) on 6/17/06 we noticed the Liberty pulling hard to the right. Later there was a loud "clunk" and steering was lost. Got vehicle over to the side of the road and got out to inspect, didn't see anything. Got back in and turned the wheel to the left and right and the driver's side front wheel fell off of the Liberty. This was due to a lower ball joint failure. Luckily, no damage was done to the fender. Extended warranty (Liberty had 44,100 miles at the time of incident) covered ball joint repair.

- Centreville, VA, USA

My 2004 Jeep Liberty tire broke off. The mechanic's all said it was a right lower ball joint and cv joint on the passenger side. There was no suspension damage or tire nor wheel damage it has approx. 37,000 miles on it, leaving me with the shop bill of over $600.

- Summerdale, AL, USA

The ball joint of my left front wheel of my 2004 Jeep Liberty cracked causing the vehicle to collapse to the left front.

- Beachwood, OH, USA

A wobbling sound heard in front of vehicle while driving, along with noticeable wear on the inner portion of the front tires at 35,000 miles (or less), as well as the car pulling to the right, led me to bring the car into the dealership for servicing at which point they replaced the lower ball joints for both front tires. Wobbling still exists as an alignment or replacement of worn tires was not performed under warranty.

- Des Plaines, IL, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty lower ball joint failure. I had to replace (at my cost) the lower ball joints at approximately 40,237 miles. I believe the oem part is defective because failure was such low mileage. Original unservicealbe ball joints are in my possession.

- Glendale, CA, USA

At a recent visit to the Chrysler/Jeep dealership, (16021 miles on the odometer) I had them inspect the lower ball joints on my 2004 Jeep Liberty. They told me that they were leaking fluid and would replace them under warranty, which they did. They explained that there was no chance of failure, but felt it was better to replace them.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

I was backing out of a parking spot, and the lower ball joint gave way. From this the inside wheel was scored, the lower control arm scraped the ground, the axle came free from the drive, leaking fluid, and damaging the boot.

- Hilliard, OH, USA

The front suspension ball joints fell out while driving. Although the car was stopped immediately, damage was done to one wheel as well. The tow driver had to perform some service in order to tow the vehicle to the dealer service center. Once there, both ball joints and wheel were replaced.

- Cliffwood, NJ, USA

2004 Liberty steering problems. The consumer was informed by his mechanic that the lower ball joint had developed an unusual amount of slack. When the consumer took the vehicle to a dealer, they stated the vehicle was in good condition. The vehicle would not maintain an alignment after 30,000 miles. Updated 07/14/06.

- Columbia, MS, USA

The front suspension lower ball joint separation while driving, the arm came down onto the rim of the car, causing the rim to shread, my husband turn the wheel and the car veered to the left hitting the curb, and the left tire blew out, have asked the dealer before if there was any recalls on this car and the answer was no.

- Pascoag, RI, USA

: the contact stated the vehicle was taken to the service dealer about a year ago because there was a slight vibration in the front end. The dealer inspected the vehicle and determined the tires needed to be rotated. The vibration continued and progressively became worse. Today, while driving 30 mph the contact heard a loud grinding sound followed by the vehicle's failure to move forward. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but has not been inspected. Upon visual inspection, the contact noticed the lower ball joint was separated on the passenger side. Updated 7/3/2006 - the driver's side windshield wiper arm came loose twice. The wiper arm was realigned to factory specs and tightened to the correct torque setting. When the consumer used the turn signals while the headlights were on the headlights flickered. This is an intermittent occurrence. On another occasions the headlights remained on although the switch was turned off.

- Georgetown, OH, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty at approximately 40,000 miles has the front ball joint rusting off and wheel dropping completely down. As my daughter backed from parking spot the front right wheel fell off. The Jeep was fixed by dealership at no cost, however, the dealership has seen 10-12 Jeep with the ball joint rusting off since Jeep no longer has greased fittings. Both ball joints replaced, wheel replaced and wheel flare..............my daughter commutes to school and I think how terrible this could have been driving at 65 mph...............

- Howard, OH, USA

: the contact stated while traveling 10 mph the vehicle felt as though the front passenger tire was flat and a grinding noise was heard. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where it was determined the front passenger side lower ball joint fractured and needed to be replaced. Updated 5/23/2006 -

- Washington, DC, USA

I was driving along approaching a stop sign when suddenly the car lurched and stopped. When I turned the wheel to move out of the center lane, the ball joint fell out of the wheel and the control arm fell to the pavement.

- Frederick, MD, USA

2004 Jeep Liberty lower ball joint failure.

- Fall River, MA, USA

Wife was backing into our driveway, when she heard a sharp crack and then a grinding sound. When I got home to inspect, the right lower ball joint had broken and the control arm was grinding against the wheel. Called dealer but they had to toe the line and say "not under warranty" because Liberty had 49000 miles. Called DC and they were very nice and said they would take care of it. This failure would have been catastrophic if it broke during my wifes commute. She travels 40 highway miles one way.

- Bernville, PA, USA