Problems with 2002 Jeep Liberty SUSPENSION

On may 2004 consumer received a recall letter regarding the lower ball joint. dealership still does not have the parts available to conduct the recall. dealership asked to the consumer to check every other week to see if they have the parts. *ak

Structural failure on 2002 jeep liberty. *mr the consumer was able to avoid a collision. the lower ball joint had come apart dropping to the roadway and dropping the vehicles body of the front wheel. the vehicle careened of control across both lanes twice before coming to a halt on the berm. the consumer had previously complained about stiff steering, there were also noises in the front end. the service dealer suggested that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. *sc *jb

After making an appointment to have the lower ball joint recall 03v460000 repairs performed consumer was informed that the parts weren't available, and they were on back order.*ak the repair date has not been rescheduled. *nm

The ball joint axle broke as the consumer exited the vehicle. as a result the left front tire came off of the truck. the vehicle was towed to a local shop who advised the consumer that there was a recall. *nm this occurred while the consumer was pulling into a parking stall. *sc *jb

2002 jeep liberty upper ball joints were found to be defective. *mr the consumer experienced a loss of steering control which caused the vehicle to spin around on the highway barely avoiding a collision. the front and rear tire had both deflated and detached completely from the rims. the mechanic informed the consumer that the ball joints were defective. *sc the consumer received a recall notice regarding the defective lower ball joints.

While driving at 30 mph the steering suddenly pulled to the right which resulted in a crash. *mr after the replacement of the damaged right wheel, the driver hardly managed to drive the vehicle home. sc the consumer believed the accident resulted in the failure of the lower ball joints in which currently there is a recall on. recall# 03v460000. *jb

Recall for lower ball joints on 2002 jeep liberty.*mr when the consumer arrived at the dealership, she was told the parts were not available. *jb

Lower ball joint failure or suspension defect. i rolled in a jeep liberty 2002 2 wheel drive, towing according to specs. on the model. driving the 25 miles below the speed limit, slight swerve to avoid an obstacle in the road,had no control of the steering and flipped the jeep 2 times.

While driving approximately 15 mph, the driver lost power steering. the driver was able to maintain control the vehicle and pulled over. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the driver that both upper and lower ball joints needed to be replaced. please provide further details. *jb

Complaint regarding recall on lower ball joints. *mr the right front wheel of the vehicle had come off of the axle when the vehicle was backed out of a parking spot. also, the container busted when the ball joints broke which could be in reference to the warning signal that the windshield wiper fluid was low. recall #03v460000. *sc *jb phone interview update (oct 5, 05): the complainant's husband said that they did not recevie a recall notice.

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle was traveling in the middle lane of three lanes heading in the same direction during dry normal road conditions. the contact would not make a guess as to the speed of travel. another vehicle sideswiped the left side of the contacts vehicle, causing loss of control. the contacts vehicle swerved across the left lane and hit the center divider causing the vehicle to flip over onto the roof and hood. all occupants were restrained by the seat belts. emergency medical, police and fire department personal responded to the accident. all members of the vehicle were taken to the hospital. the 58 year old female driver sustained 3-4 broken ribs; the 34 year old contact injured the right hand, elbow and shoulder requiring surgery. there was nerve damage to the right hand forearm and shoulder. there were cuts on both feet. the 15 month old female from the right rear seat vomited due to the pressure of the restraints of the car seat. the 64 year old male in the left rear sustained some bruising. on receipt of recall # f23 for the suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joints may have been a factor in loss of control of the vehicle. the manufacturer was not alerted due to the vehicle being totaled in the accident. a police report and photos were taken.

When driving at any speed consumer heard a knocking noise coming from of front. consumer took the vehicle to the dealership for inspection, and mechanic determined that that the upper ball joints failed". *ak

Lower ball joint failed while driving under 15 miles per hour. *jb

I ordered my jeep liberty 7/01 and picked it up 9/01. the morning of 4/4/04 i was driving home and started crashing into trees. the car was spinning, back and forth across the road - hit 3 trees, mailboxes and a telephone pole (hard enough that even though it was the last thing that i hit, it moved enough that it tore the cables out of someone's house). about 50 feet before the 1st tree, was my front passenger tire and about 2 feet of the axle (or whatever holds the rim and tire on the truck). the front of the truck from the right front quarter panel to 1/3 across the front of the truck is up inside the dashboard, the back driver's tire is blown out, the spare tire on the back is smashed, the 2 passenger side doors are smashed and the entire truck is off the frame. i told the tow driver and police about the recall that i'd just gotten that stated that the "a ball joint that has separated from the knuckle could result in loss of vehicle directional control and could result in a crash." i had an appointment to get it fixed 4/6/04...the accident was 4/4/04. my injuries: airbags didn't go off but i was wearing my seatbelt. i broke my arm (8 weeks in cast, 6 weeks in a brace and i'm still in physical therapy. standard seatbelt bruise that lasted more than 3 weeks, and the associated pain. my insurance is covering my medical and the replacement of the car (with financing, it paid exactly what i owed). so, even though jeep knew about the need for a recall in october 2003, i wasn't notified until march 2004. it was a clear dry night. i was awake and coherent, not speeding or drinking, and paying attention when i suddenly lost control. in fact, it's [xxx] lucky that i was only going 35-40. jeep claims they're not responsible. all i want is for them to admit that they were at fault. if they'd sent the recall notice in a timely manner, back in 10-11/03, it would have been fixed prior to another winter of snow and sleet and crap getting into that joint to corrode it! *la information redacted pursuant to the freedom

After the dealership replaced the driver side lower ball joints for recall 03v460000 the vehicle's alignment was off, and the front end shook and pulled to the right when speed reached and exceeded 50 mph. also, front tires needs to be replaced because they were cropping. *ak prior to repair, vehicle was operating fine. dealer refused realignment of the vehicle, per request of the consumer, because it was not covered under the scope of the recall. also, all four tries were replaced at 8,000 miles on vehicle. *la

While driving 5 mph left front tire collapsed. consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection, and mechanic determined that the left upper ball joint failed. *ak

1. repeated returns to the dealer to correct a noise in the suspension. . while driving the ball joint separated causing the fron wheel to fall off and vehicle to crash to the ground and skid to a stop.*ak 3. vehicle has not been repaired. damier chrysler and it's dealership will not accept responsibilty for failure and as of current date is sitting at dealership lot awaiting outcome of lawsuit.

On january 14, 2004 consumer received a recall letter regarding the ball joints. dealership did not have the parts available to conduct recall repair. *ak

I have a popping noise in the front end of my 2002 jeep liberty 4wd. i took it to jeep and after 2 days they took the front end apart and put it back together and the problem got much better but not completely gone. is there a recall on this and do other people have this problem. my car has 55,000 miles on it. *nm

Consumer received a recall letter concerning lower ball joints. dealership still does not have the parts available to perform recall repairs. *ak

Consumer received recall campaign 03v460000 for the lower ball joint arm. after taking the vehicle to the dealer for repairs and leaving it all day consumer was notified upon her arrival to pick the vehicle. also, that there was a special wrench needed to remove the ball joints, and that contact would be made as soon as they received the wrench. consumer currently received a second notification that the recall was not performed . no contact has been made by the dealership. *ak *nm

Consumer received nhtsa recall letter 03v460000 regarding lower control arm ball joints, dealership still did not have the parts available to conduct recall repairs. *ak

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 jeep liberty. while driving 60 mph, the steering wheel began to shake. the contact stated that the wheels began shaking very roughly and eventually detached from the vehicle. however, the vehicle continued to drive forward. approximately 3-4 years ago, the dealer replaced the lower ball joints. the current mileage was 59,000 and failure mileage was 44,081.

After being schedule for 2 appointments with the dealership to have the lower ball joint recall 03v460000 performed, the consumer was informed that the parts were not available. the consumer felt that the dealership was performing the recall on the vehicles of the consumer's who bought the vehicle from them first. *jb *sc *jb

My 2002 jeep liberty lost control & smashed to the ground, the ball joint snapped and the axle fell out/tire fell off on 2/4/04. i had no warning or any idea what was happening? i was unaware of the recall because i never received a recall about it from chrylser. however, i have a long story to follow this in regards to how they have handled this, poorly. my jeep is still sitting in a service station parking lot & i'm still driving a rental car because the company took it's time in contacting me appropriately to handle this, and then when they have contacted me, they are trying to get away with doing the absolute minimum to help me out of this problem and it is costing me a lot of money in rental fees & storage fees, as well as the tow for the jeep. this matter is still unresolved after repeated attempts asking to please help me out. i finally received a recall notice on 2/18/04! if this was discovered back in 2003, why did i just receive a notice!?of course the notice got sent to me 3 months after it was discovered originally and now i'm stuck with all this trouble related to it?? after they put myself & my family in harms way, this was negligence! chrysler doesn't care about its customers, they just want to get out of the situation doing as little as they can. i'm still trying to get them to help me as of today. i haven't heard from them and i most recently faxed them on 3/11 & 3/15, asking them to please settle this for me and it goes by each day for me with more fees and they don't care! *jb

When turning the wheel sharply to the right, and in both reverse and forward, there is a loud popping sound. dealer corrected situation under the recall for the ball joints. however, less than 2 months later it was occuring again with more frequency.*ak

Recall 03v460000 concerning lower control arm ball joints. consumer received the notice and made an appointment with a dealership. upon arrival, the dealer refused to perform the repairs. no reason was given.*ak

The consumer received a recall letter nhtsa#03v460000. the dealer replaced the front control arm and ball joints. however, the dealer indicated the consumer had to pay $100.00 for a front end alignment. *jb

Dealership did not have the part to perform upper ball joint recall 03v460000 repairs, and didn't know when they will be receiving the part.*ak

Lower all joint recall in jan.04. sept 04 i have it in the shop again for ball joint problem.also had the a/c tensioner fixed twice.this is an 02 jeep liberty sport.

The dealership will not have the parts or tools available to perform the recall on the lower control arm (03v460000) until april. *nm

While driving 30 mph lower ball joints broke, causing the steering to fail. as a result, driver lost control and collided with oncoming traffic. no report of air bag deployment. as a result, driver sustained severe neck and back injuries. *ak phone call update (oct 5, 05): the complainant is no longer living there.

Right front suspension control arm lower ball joint separated from the steering knuckle without warning while turning around in a driveway, causing damage to the cv joint, front axle, tire, windshield wiper reservoir and front right fog light.

2002 jeep liberty is inherently unstable. at almost any speed, the rear end of this vehicle tends to "spin out" resulting in lost of control. recently, this occurred as my wife was driving this vehicle. as a result, she lost control of the vehicle, struck a guide rail, and rolled the vehicle twice. *jb

Re: nhtsa campaign id #03v460000 (daimler chrysler # c36 i purchased my jeep liberty sport vin # [xxx] on 4/24/2002 and buy virtue of the purchased date it was built before 10/4/2002.the recall states loss of control of the vehicle can occur with minimal warning.i frequently travel highways at highway speeds,according to this recall myself,my family and anyone else riding in my vehicle is at risk.....with that said ....i have contacted daimlerchrysler on two (2) occasions, 11/12/2003 ref.#11814774 and 12/8/2003 ref.# 11880586 about this recall. their response on both call were ; the recall has not been "published". your sight dates the recall as 11/04/2003, that's before either of my calls to them. i feel daimlerchrysler is not responding to their obligation to me in a timely manor. your help will be appreciated.*ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

I have a 2002 jeep liberty. the ball joint separated and caused me to crash into a cement wall on i-77 in west virginia. i picked up the car after it was repaired in wv and brought it home. i had to have more work done after i got back because it still was not right. the ball joints have been replaced at least 4 times. i was told by one of the mechanics that they were still using the joints that were causing the problem because they had not figured out how to re-design them. the last time i had it repaired they (hopefully) put ones on that are a new design. i have had to have it towed because it was unsafe to drive because the joint was so bad -- i check it regularly! my insurance company is progressive. chrysler settled with them and paid for all the repairs after the crash. *tr

2002 jeep liberty : my wife backed liberty out of driveway & as she was turning steering wheel driver side front wheel collapsed causing extensive damage to liberty . liberty has been at dealer waiting to be inspected by chrysler/jeep. *ak

While driving in clear weather at 50 mph, the front passenger tire separated from the axle, according to the insurance representative. *ak. a little after the accident had occurred there was a recall issued on the 2002 jeep liberty's by chrysler, so the dealers will now replace the defective front lower ball joints and with modified assemblies. *cb the wheel assembly at the ball joint broke, which caused the tire assembly to come off. *cb the vehicle flipped over twice and consequently the consumer suffered injuries. *jb

While driving at 45 mph right passenger wheel fell off. consumer was able to pull over to the shoulder. the driver suffered neck injuries, and was transported by ambulance to the hospital. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. mechanic noticed that upper ball joint was corroded and needed to be replaced. *ak consumer was upset that chrysler would only waive the cost of the parts since the vehicle was out of warranty. his wife believed that since the incident occurred as a result of a defective upper ball joint, then chrysler should assume full responsibility. the general manager stated they should be glad that's the only problem they had so far. *ph

While backing out of the driveway, the consumer heard a loud booming sound and the vehicle lurched to the left. the consumer walked to the front of the vehicle and discovered the upper ball joint laying on the ground. the weight of the left side of the vehicle was resting on the affected wheel. *ak the consumer also stated that there had been a recall issued for similar problem with her jeep and has filed complaints to chrysler. *cb *jb

My wife was turning around in the driveway and the front driver side lower ball joint fell out to the ground and the wheel well was resting on top of the tire. *jb

Vehicle pulls to the right. has been taken in for repair repeatedly. all dealership does is realign but does not look into why this keeps happening. *la

Noticed that upper ball joint on front driver control arm is very loose, ready to give out. lower ball joint on front passenger control arm is also has play in it. jeep liberty 4x4 sport, 23,000 miles, lifted 2.5 inches. 245/75r 16 tires. lift and tires should not affect the ball joints.*ak

Upper and lower ball joints failed with less then 25000 miles on 2002 jeep liberty. [xxx]. *ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Lower control arm bolt on front passenger side broke off, causing lower control arm to come loose during low speed travel travel, causing total loss of steering.vehicle had just been serviced in mid june, including alignment.*ak

The left ball joint on my 2002 jeep liberty failed while i was traveling in canada. repairs were delayed because, according to the dealer, chrysler-daimler "engineering" canceled the order for replacement parts because there had been a rash of ball joint failures on the jeep liberty (and engineering wanted to determine the underlying cause before continuing to use existing parts). concerned that we may experience additional ball joint failures, i wrote daimler-chrysler to inquire regarding my experiences and the frequency of ball joint failures on the jeep liberty. daimler-chrysler has refused to provide the requested information, claiming that the data is either unavailable or considered proprietary. they suggested i go to my local library! i would like to know if there have been other similar problems with the jeep liberty. *la

There are currently 3 recalls on my liberty. i have made multiple attempts to get service for these recalls from bcp jeep dealer in smyrna, delaware to no avail. i am told over and over that the parts are on back order and we'll contact you when they are available. i have a recall on my air bags-they may deploy driving down the road. my air bag light has been blinking for years, which is a symptom of this recall. i also have a part on my suspension that may break due to rust. that recall is 11 years old and still not fixed. now i have a recall on the fuel tank, which may burst into a ball of flames in a fender bender. i am currently driving a death trap and cannot just go trade this vehicle in. i want jeep to take responsibility for these recalls and fix them. i am sick and tired of them giving me the run around. i cannot give you exact dates of when i contacted bcp. i have called them many times over the years. i also tried to contact the jeep dealer in dover, delaware and spoke to a very rude individual who was no help to me. *tr

While traveling on the highway and turning vehicle steering wheel has a squeaking noise coming from underneath. *ak *ts

I have a complaint about the lower ball joints on the jeep liberty. i am very worried they are going to drop out. i took my jeep to the dealer today and they said i have worn lbj(lower ball joints) so this is a very scary thing to me. i think this should be fixed under warrienty.

Lower joint failure on new jeep liberty. *nlm