I have owned a 2012 Jeep Liberty Limited - Jet Edition since it was purchased new (with just 6 miles on it) in early 2012. The rig has extremely low miles to this day (Just 53K miles) as I normally garage it in the winters and drive my 2023 Range Rover HSE in the brutal Montana winters.
Last year my boyfriend and I took a trip to my parents summer home in San Clemente CA from our home in Boise, ID. The Jeep did fantastically all the way down, and for the three weeks we were in Orange County. On the way home, we drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, NV and stayed the night at The Palm. Still no issues, and we got on the road late morning. By the time we reached Wells Nevada around 6:30pm the temperature outside had dropped significantly from where we were travelling from. It was 85 in Vegas and the Jeeps external temp gauge said 48 degrees as we entered Wells after sunset. About 20 miles prior to arriving in Wells, the boyfriend tried to turn on the heat, ( i noticed that it was blowing colder than normal), i checked the heat gauge right smack between C and H, and thought the car might be low on coolant, have a heater core blockage, etc.
After arriving in Wells, we stopped at a Truck Stop off the freeway to get gas and so I could take a look at the coolant level. It was full, and there was no antifreeze mist being spewed out of the vents (so no heater core cracks). I noticed a noise when I was down under the dash ensuring the temperature cable (that runs the blend door, hadn't come detached) and it sounded like stripped gears grinding.. hmm. As we were coming back from vacation I didn't have all my tools, being only 3.5 hours from home, we decided to tough it out and ran in to buy sweatshirts and socks (I had been driving shirtless, in running shorts, and he in a tank top, and shorts for the last 3 weeks). We continued on home with no other issues (unless you count 80mph with the windows down (so the windshield wouldn't fog up) in a 3xl Hoodie and socks in 40 degree weather.. no issue).
This had happened once before many years earlier while the Jeep was still under warranty, and the fix was a coolant system flush, which was done, and I can only guess that the rarity of driving it, as well as not normally driving it in winter months was the only reason the blend door issue did not plague me like all the other posters.
I took it to my uncle who owns the Jeep Dealer in Nampa, ID (outside Boise). I explained the issue and he suggested the coolant flush fix, I explained that had been done previously and not fixed the issue. He had his lead mechanic take the Jeep home with him that night, and the next day called. He explained that there is a cable that controls the blend door (the mechanism that either shunts cold/warm air -- depending on the selection, to the cabin, and that it was no longer taut. They replaced the cable for parts only price and bam. Never had an issue since, SO IF THIS HAPPENS WITH YOUR LIBERTY --- IT IS THE BLEND DOOR :) Hope this helps!
I have owned a 2012 Jeep Liberty Limited - Jet Edition since it was purchased new (with just 6 miles on it) in early 2012. The rig has extremely low miles to this day (Just 53K miles) as I normally garage it in the winters and drive my 2023 Range Rover HSE in the brutal Montana winters.
Last year my boyfriend and I took a trip to my parents summer home in San Clemente CA from our home in Boise, ID. The Jeep did fantastically all the way down, and for the three weeks we were in Orange County. On the way home, we drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, NV and stayed the night at The Palm. Still no issues, and we got on the road late morning. By the time we reached Wells Nevada around 6:30pm the temperature outside had dropped significantly from where we were travelling from. It was 85 in Vegas and the Jeeps external temp gauge said 48 degrees as we entered Wells after sunset. About 20 miles prior to arriving in Wells, the boyfriend tried to turn on the heat, ( i noticed that it was blowing colder than normal), i checked the heat gauge right smack between C and H, and thought the car might be low on coolant, have a heater core blockage, etc.
After arriving in Wells, we stopped at a Truck Stop off the freeway to get gas and so I could take a look at the coolant level. It was full, and there was no antifreeze mist being spewed out of the vents (so no heater core cracks). I noticed a noise when I was down under the dash ensuring the temperature cable (that runs the blend door, hadn't come detached) and it sounded like stripped gears grinding.. hmm. As we were coming back from vacation I didn't have all my tools, being only 3.5 hours from home, we decided to tough it out and ran in to buy sweatshirts and socks (I had been driving shirtless, in running shorts, and he in a tank top, and shorts for the last 3 weeks). We continued on home with no other issues (unless you count 80mph with the windows down (so the windshield wouldn't fog up) in a 3xl Hoodie and socks in 40 degree weather.. no issue).
This had happened once before many years earlier while the Jeep was still under warranty, and the fix was a coolant system flush, which was done, and I can only guess that the rarity of driving it, as well as not normally driving it in winter months was the only reason the blend door issue did not plague me like all the other posters.
I took it to my uncle who owns the Jeep Dealer in Nampa, ID (outside Boise). I explained the issue and he suggested the coolant flush fix, I explained that had been done previously and not fixed the issue. He had his lead mechanic take the Jeep home with him that night, and the next day called. He explained that there is a cable that controls the blend door (the mechanism that either shunts cold/warm air -- depending on the selection, to the cabin, and that it was no longer taut. They replaced the cable for parts only price and bam. Never had an issue since, SO IF THIS HAPPENS WITH YOUR LIBERTY --- IT IS THE BLEND DOOR :) Hope this helps!
- that_big_buck, Missoula, US