Problems with 2002 Jeep Liberty SEAT BELTS

Seat belt release button on drivers side seat belt sticks in the down position. it must be tapped with the male end of the seat belt to get it to pop up so the belt can be inserted and held in place. this is a recurring problem. *nm

Driver side seat belt buckle (female end) permanently stuck in "open" position. small red plastic piece fell out when looking at it. can no longer get seat belt to lock. called several dealers and was told that regardless of whether vehicle was still under warranty or not, they would not replace this part - ever. i was quoted anywhere from $150 to $350 parts & labor to replace. i am still deciding what to do about problem. seems to me that manufacturer has a responsibility to ensure that safety devices are in working order. *jb

Front seat belt buckle difficult to unlatch and red button is stuck in down position. *nm

The buckle assembly on the vehicle will not latch. *jb

Front passenger seat belt would not engage and had to be replaced in june 2006 now the drivers seat belt is doing the same thing. seat belt will not latch. jeep dealer said there is no recall and i had to pay for replacement seat belt latch.

The latch on the front driver's side seat belt of my 2002 jeep liberty is stuck in the depressed position and will not release making it impossible to wear the seat belt. i contacted dealer and was told that it was not covered by any warranty. ended up paying $300 to get it repaired. i want to know if there are any recalls in place, so that i may be refunded the money spent to repair. *jb

Seat belt hook for driver's side is not popping back up. the button stays pushed down and must be pried up. *nm

Drivers side safety belt will not return after being depressed.

Dt*: the contact stated the front driver side seat belt buckle assembly button remained depressed. the vehicle was taken to the dealership and the buckle assembly was replaced. updated 7/13/2006 - *nm

Seat belt release on the driver's side will not "pop" back out after releasing the seat belt. which will not allow the seat belt to latch back after releasing. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated that left front seat belt buckle did not latch properly. excessive force had to be applied to latch the safety belt. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer, where the dealer determined that the buckle needed replacement.

The driver's side front seat belt on my 2002 jeep liberty will no longer latch. there was no warning leading up to this failure. we have not yet been able to repair it. *nm

Driver's side seat belt latch does not always latch. release button regularly jams down and has to be pried up to latch seat belt. latch has been cleaned and lubricated with no improvement. *nm

The drivers side seat belt latch red button becomes stuck in the down position after the sea belt is released. the button must then be manually pulled up using a stiff piece of metal before buckling the seat belt again. i have noticed a piece of broken red plastic within the assembly.*jb

Front drivers side seat belt, stuck with pushbutton down; will not lock. *nm

Seat belt assembly. the drivers side seat belt latch sticks not allowing to fasten seat belt. i have to bang on it so it will release in order to fasten the seat belt. i have not had this problem fixed yet. i wanted to come here first to see if there was an investigation going on with this problem. *nm

2002 jeep liberty front driver's side seat belt buckle "button" stuck. unable to use seat belt. *nm

Driver's seat belt failed; could not buckle the seat belt at all. *nm

I have two seat belt clips that have depressed and will not accept the safety clip. the first is in the backseat, on the passenger's side of the vehicle. this happened after only a few uses (maybe 10), however i didn't report it because i rarely have more than 4 people in my car. the second clip is at the driver's seat. *nm

Dt: the contact stated the drivers side safety seat belt buckle assembly failed. this happened without incident. he took the vehicle to a dealer who replaced the buckle assembly. the dealer could not determine what caused the failure. he paid out of pocket for the repair. *ak updated 12/27/2005 - the driver's seat belt would not buckle. the consumer was reimbursed by the manufacturer for the repair. *nm

The front drivers side seat belt buckle will not latch properly. the button will not return after being depressed unless it is pushed back up. *jb

Drivers seat belt does not clip into the female portion of the mechanism. the red release button stays depressed not being able to re-accept the male portion of the mechanism. *nm

Dt: the consumer stated that the 2002 jeep liberty had a problem with the seat belt latching. the seat belt on the driver's side malfunctioned. theconsumer took the vehicle to the dealership to have the vehicle fixed. the approximate cost to the consumer was $151.72 for the repairs. the manufacturer has not been contacted. *ak updatd 01/04/06. *jb

2002 jeep liberty ref. nhtsa action # pe 05-046 driver seat belt latch will not latch . red push button is stuck down. sounds like piece is loose inside latch . am needing to get new latch assy. broken assy will be available. *nm

Driver seat belt would not latch part replaced. *nm

Seat belt on drivers side is at times hard to unlatch. i reported it to milton ruben jeep today and was told it needed to be replaced at a cost of over $130.00. i told them it was a safety concern that should not require me paying for it and i did not have the item replaced at this time. i asked if it was a recall item and was told no.

Problem with the driver's side seat belt latch - especially difficult to unlatch seat belt (button remains pushed in). concerned about this as being more of a safety concern rather than an anything else! *nm

The seat belt latch on the drivers side is broken. the button sticks down and does not come back up after unlatching the seat belt. i am afraid this is going to cause the seat belt not to work if i have a crash. *nm

First problem: on march 31, 2004, we took my 2002 jeep liberty to the jeep dealer due to a loud squeaking noise in the front. they diagnosed a bad lower ball joint on the left front side and replaced it. note - my jeep had the lower front ball joints serviced under a recall notice at the end of 2003. it was supposed to have had the lower ball joints replaced and a heat shield installed. second problem: without warning on july 28, 2005, the front right lower ball joint broke while attempting to drive the jeep into our garage, and the front end collapsed onto the pavement and the disconnected wheel. there was no noise or any indication of a problem before this happened. the events leading up to this: i started up the engine, backed the jeep up a few feet to straighten my approach, and attempted to pull it into the garage. however, i noticed a strong resistance to roll forward so i stopped, got out and looked around to make sure i wasn't running over something. after seeing nothing in the way or under the vehicle, i tried again to pull forward, but it wouldn't roll and the wheel skid. so i put it into reverse and tried to back up. that is when the front end dropped with a load crunch onto the wheel that had came off. the jeep dealer paid for the new ball joint and several other parts that were damaged due to the incident. another problem: on december 12, 2003, the right rear seat belt latch had to be replaced because the release button was jamming (sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't). *nm

Dt: the contact owned a 2002 jeep liberty. at 36,300 miles the driver's side seat belt failed. jeep told contact it was too bad. there was no accident. the seat belt would not stay latched. all other seat belts in were working properly. driver could not t latch the seat belt in the buckle. could not hear anything when trying to latch the seat belt. the buckle was free of dirt and other contaminants. the seat belt was repaired because he purchased a replacement and put it in on july 26, 2005.*ak phone interview update: the complainant experienced trouble getting the driver seat belt buckle to disengage. the problem worsened over time and the relase button had to be meshed down hard to release. eventually, the problem got so bad that mr. or mrs. gilbert had to use a key to pry up the relase button to disengage the tongue.

Jeep liberty pulls to right, will stop dead in its tracks while in drive, hard to control, thumping noise, metal to metal grinding from front end, seat belts do not work properly, hard to start, front seat covers rippled, paint peeled on hood, tailgate, breaks only work some of the time, shakes and hard to control on speed above 35 mph, all interior weather stripping came off. same complaints from 1/7/03 ball joints replaced on recall on 1/10/03 still had pulling to right problems, shaking,. weather stripping all fell off on interior of car, acts like wheels are binding. 3/4/03 same complaints pulling to right, stops dead in its track, hard to control, wheels bind, dealer could not duplicate complaints (did not write up work order) 3/27/03 dealer installed interior weather stripping, same complaints as 1/10/03,3/4/03. again on 6/2/03 took jeep liberty to dealer took a test drive could not verify complaints. did not write up a work order. 1/16/04 jeep liberty hard to start, pulls to right, jeep shakes & vibrates hard to control, seat belts do not work, seat rippling, car stops dead it its tracks, dealer fixed lower ball joints again on 2/13/04 at 23,850 miles. 2-13-04 picked up car from dealer still had same problems" dealer stated " this is how jeeps drive" they are nuts! 11-04 dealer took test drive was still having problems claimed everything okay. did not right up a work order. 5/27/05 had massive problems brakes would go to the floor, sometime would work and other time not. took to nearest brake place pads, okay, but wheel cylinder leaked. claim it could be a intermittent failure of master cylinder, called dealer ship no part available. 7/5/05 took to dealer again with same problems,r they had not even looked at it. removed jeep and took to private auto placed,ut with intermittent problems you could replace most of the parts on the car & you may not cure the problems. *jb

Dt: the seat belt buckel on the front driver's side seat will not buckle unless the orange button is first lifted up. *ak

driver's side seat belt retractor failed . as a result, the driver was not restrained properly. the cause has yet to be determined. *ak

Seat belt buckle failed to latch, had to be replaced. *jb

Dt: the contact stated they have two defective seat belts. after they had their vehicle for one month, the passenger back seat belt became defective. the second seat belt which is the drivers seat seat belt became defective last tuesday. they had no problem putting it on, but became trapped and could not disconnect their seat belt when trying to get out of their vehicle. the contacts coworkers had to get her out with a swiss army knife and wd40. no further damage done to seat belt. a mechanic said this was caused by a weak spring. they have been using this seat belt since, but it is not operating functionally. seat belts are free of dirt and contaminents. no pictures available. the contact also stated that their radio became defective about two months ago. the radio took the juice out of the battery causing battery to die.

My 2002 jeep liberty limited is having the same problems described in defect investigation #ea05022. my driver's seat belt buckle sticks in the "down" position when depressed fully, and must be pried up using a screwdriver or similar device before being able to latch the belt again. this has been going on since about june of 2005.jb

Driver side seat belt will not latch; would not 'click.'

Drivers seat safety belt does not latch. the latching mechanism is stuck in the close mode. i cannot fasten my seat belt anymore. also notice a month ago, that the belt when latched was slightly sticking. now does not work at all.*ak

Defect in drivers side seat belt latch, and i have a chrysler service contract and they say that its not covered, its a factory defect. phone interview update: the driver seat belt buckle will not easily unlatch. the problem is intermittent.

Driving 25 mph, the front lower ball joints failed causing the front end to drop onto the front wheels. the vehicle was towed. *jb the passenger's side lower ball joint failed causing the front end to drop onto the passenenger's side front wheel. the seat belt did not retract. *sc

2002 jeep liberty, 49,000 miles, divers seat belt latch stuck in open position and will not latch; a small plastic piece insdie the buckle has broken. the dealer (van dyn hoven, automotive) would not replace it at no charge, told me that i was out of warranty. i went to another dealer (kolosso, jeep) purchased, paid for and installed the defective seat belt latch myself. isn't this totally erroneous on the dealers (van dyn hoven automotive) part or chrysler to not cover this at any mileage? *la

Driver's side seat belt latch sticks in down/release position and must be pried up in order to latch seat belt. *nm

Drivers seatbelt latch broken. *ak

Drivers seat belt latch broken. the car is less than two years old and chrysler/jeep will not repair it. i feel that this is a major safety problem. we must pay to have this latch replaced. would you like me to send the broken latch assembly to you? if so,where do i send it? a plastic piece broke off inside the buckle. the buckle will not latch. *la

Consumer's son was involved in a frontal collision and neither air bag deployed. also, neither seat belt held the driver and passenger in their seats. dealer notified. *ak *scc *jb

The vehicle accelerated foward and collided with another vehicle, also the seat belt failed to restrain the consumer properly and was subsequently injured. *jb

While driving 40 mph the vehicle hit a large patch of deep slush which pulled the vehicle off the road. as a result the vehicle hit a tree head on. the vehicle air bags did not deploy and the seat belt did not properly restrain the driver. the driver hit her head on the dash and experienced swelling in her left knee, a stiff neck, headaches and bruising of the left leg and forearm. the manufacturer indicated the air bags performed as designed since the damage to the vehicle was centered on the left side of the vehicle. *mr *nlm *jb

Seat belt and air bag failure during head-on collision.*jb

Failure of airbag to deploy and driver side seat belt to lock.

Upon making a slight lane correction at approx. 60 mph, my daughter's 2002 jeep libety began swerving uncontrollably. she felt no resistance to the steering wheel as she tried to stop the swerving. at no time did she apply the brakes. witnesses said it appeared she had a flat tire. eventually, the vehicle entered the grass median and rolled 2.5 or 3.5 times coming to rest on the roof facing on-coming traffic. the complete rear end(tires and differential) separated and ended up approx. 75 feet from the vehicle. the right front axle or cv joint was broken. neither her passenger or her air bags deployed. the driver's seat belt was broken at the end of the motion of the rolling. both occupants were bruised and cut. we believe the axle failed and caused this potentially fatal accident. this vehicle had approx. 3000 miles on it. at 1800 miles the engine had thrown a rod and the engine was replaced completely. the jeep liberty is structurally unsound and of poor design particularly in the area of the rear suspension. daimler-chysler has lowered the suspension in obvious response to roll over incidents.*jb..*ak