Problems with 2003 Jeep Liberty SUSPENSION

Tl* - the contact stated that he had the lower ball joints replaced in 2004 due to a recall 03v460000 on his 2003 chrysler jeep liberty. he also had the lower ball joint replaced in 2006 and after the left the repair shop a front wheel fell off. the contact received recall letter 06v288000 approximately 3 months later. the vehicle still has a vibration in the front end. the dealer said they could not find where the vibration was coming from and recommended the contact buy 4 new tires. the contact purchased the tires, but the vehicle still has the vibration in steering wheel. the dealer has refused to service the vehicle any further. the mileage is unknown by the contact. *jb updated 2/22/2007 -*nm

On or about 1/17/06 while driving the 2003 jeep liberty the front left lower ball joint separated, dropping the control arm onto the inside of the rim. at 71000 miles. was told by my dealer that there was no recalls on that. after further research i have found that there was a recall on 2003 liberty made b4 3/26/03, took delivery mid april 2003 also have found complaints on the 2004 jeep liberty. i had the repairs made by a local repair shop. i do not have the old ball joint. i am now experiencing front left noises yet to be diagnosed by a professional. *jb

Tl* - the contact received recall letter 06v288000 for the lower ball joints on a 2003 chrysler jeep liberty. the contact has been waiting for 2 months and is currently number 11 on the waiting list. the contact has not had any failures with the vehicle to date and currently has approximately 60,000 miles on the vehicle. *nm

Routine check of vehicle during rotation of tires revealed lower ball joint movement, and right upper ball joint failure. *nm

03 jeep liberty limited ball joint replacement for the 2nd time in 58k miles. *nm

Dt: the contact stated lower ball joints failed while driving. recall work was done on nhtsa recall campaign 03v460000 concerning the driver side lower ball joints in june 2004. the vehicle was towed to a local dealership were the control arm and ball joint were replaced. the contact spoke with the manufacturer about the problem. a spokes person from the manufacturer stated when the recall work was done by the first dealership they must have put the control arm ball joints on incorrectly. *ak updated 02/07/06. *jb

'03 jeep liberty upper left hand ball joint failed and separated while the vehicle was in motion at low speed in a turn. the upper control left front control arm was replaced. *jb

Lower ball joints were extremely worn. steering felt loose and vehicle was "wandering" on the highway a lot, making it hard to stay in my lane and keep my course. original recall performed over 20,000 miles ago which only consisted of heat shields being installed. i brought in the jeep and dealer agreed with lbj failure and replaced them under recall notice. *nm

(1) driving back from a camping trip in death valley, ca. (2) complete separation of the lower right ball joint when pulling away from the gas station. (3) i had the vehicle tow to a repair shop and had both lower ball joints replaced. *nm

Tl* - the contact received recall letter 06v288000 for the lower ball joint on a 2003 chrysler jeep liberty. she was put on a waiting list on 11/21/06, but the contact has not heard from the dealer. the contact stated that in october 2003, she began to have brake problems. the contact stated she was having difficulty putting the vehicle in reverse gear because she would hear grinding noises which, happened intermittently. the contact took the vehicle to dealer for repair on 10/13/05, and the failure was diagnosed as the left rear caliper freezing and causing the left rear brake pad to damage the rotor. updated 1/30/2007 - *nm

2003 jeep liberty ball joints replaced approx. 45,000 miles under manufacturer recall, at that time vehicle was making significant road noise from the front end suspension. dealer replaced lower ball joint assembly at that time. approx. 66,000 miles vehicle was taken to dealer to find source of front end noise again, dealer could not duplicate and stated there was no problem. approx. 71,000 miles vehicle taken back to dealer for same problem because it was getting worse. i had a factory authorized repair technician go on a test drive with me on september 23, 2005. within about a minute of the test drive the technician stated that it was most likely the lower ball joint assembly and that he believed the recall had been extended to lifetime. i scheduled an appointment to bring the vehicle in for repair on september 27, 2005. the dealership had the vehicle the majority of the day and could find nothing wrong. they stated that the ball joints looked fine. on sunday october 2nd, 2005 the lower ball joint on the driver's side failed. fortunately it was a speed of under 5 mph as we were turning out of a parking lot. the front driver's side suspension had collapsed. vehicle was towed to the dealership sunday evening. currently waiting on the dealerships response. this is a repeat failure and a major safety issue that to date the dealership has chosen to ignore. *jb

Dt: the consumer owens a 2003 jeep liberty. the consumer received recall 03v460000 on the ball joints. the consumer was traveling at 50 mph and the front right side dropped to the ground. the liberty pulled the consumer severely, and she was barely able to pull off the road and kept control of the vehicle. there was metal debris all over the road. the consumer got out of the vehicle and discovers that the right front wheel was bent and split in half, there were a couple of bars hanging out. the tire was half off the wheel base, and there was fluid leaking from the car. the recall was on the suspension; front: control arm: lower ball joint. the consumer had to have the car towed to the dealership. the serviceman told the consumer that the lower ball joint failed, separated and pulled away from the suspension. this was the ball joint that had been replaced on the recall. the consumer stated that the dealership was calling chrysler. the dealership said that daimler/chrysler would call the consumer. this vehicle was not used off road, or abused in any way. the truck was used to drive to work and home and used for driving in the snow. the consumer was scared to drive this car again. the dealership expected her to take off in vehicle and keep it. the consumer was lucky that she was not injured or killed in this incident. *ak

Dt: the caller found out there was a recall on ball joints. he had it checked, and they could not find anything wrong. on the way home the passenger's side tire fell off, and the lower ball joints failed. caller was driving 20 mph. the caller had vehicle towed to dealer. manufacturer has not been contacted yet. *ak

Dt: on august 13, 2005 the consumer's son was involved in an accident. while turning right and pressing on the brakes ,which acted like a sponge, the steering wheel locked, causing consumer's vehicle to slide into the curb. the vehicle is currently at the dealership. the dealership was unsure of what the problem was. they said that it was due to a driver error. someone came out from the manufacturer and did a report on the vehicle. they would not release the information to the consumer. however, the consumer found out that there was recall 03v460000 concerning lower ball joint. when the consumer contacted the manufacturer, they told him that this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. on september 22, 2004 the dealership performed recall repairs by only replacing the heat shield and not the ball joint. the contact was concerned that both parts of the recall were not performed. the manufacturer refused to repair the vehicle. *ak *nm

Dt: the contact owns a 2003 jeep liberty. the vehicle had a recall on the ball joints and they serviced the vehicle. but on august 10, 2005 while traveling about 10-15 mph the lower ball joint on driver's side fell out. about thirty minutes afterwards while driving on a very busy parkway at about 55-65 mph and if the ball joint fell out the recall work did not solve the problem . *ak

Dt: consumer received recall letter on the 2002-2003 jeep liberty on the lower ball joints (nhtsa camp id# not available at this time) and the possibly of water entering these joints and causing corrosion. the consumer had the recall repair work performed at 8,521 miles in december. on 7-17-05 while driving about 25 mph the front driver's side wheel came off without warning. there was noises coming from under the vehicle. the vehicle pulled to that side and consumer's son continued to drive for about a tenth of a mile or so and made it to his home. when pulling into the driveway, the wheel completely separated there in the driveway. the vehicle had to be towed to a dealer that made the original recall repair. the dealer did not know why this happened but it was an issue from lower ball joints and consumer feels this recall repair work may have not been performed properly. repairs have been made to vehicle by dealership. consumer did contact chrysler who said it was the dealers responsibility not theirs. *nm

Dt: the lower ball joint fell out while vehicle was in motion. there was no warning. while driving between 5-10 mph. the left side of the front of the vehicle came to rest on the ground. the ball joint bolt stuck out on the bottom and dragged on the asphalt. there was a physical mark on the ground where ball joint bolt scraped. there was an evaluation by insurance company. vehicle is in a repair shop in a lincoln dealership. *ak

Problems with ball joint equipment on the 2003 jeep liberty. ***no answer required***. *mr there were no indications that anything was wrong with the vehicle prior to receiving recall# 03v460000. all of the ball joints were replaced but then a few weeks later noises was heard when making turns. four loose bolts were found loose. the bolts were tightened. it was then determined that the vibration noise was traced to a loose control arm bushing. the lower control arms were replaced but some noise remained. the consumer requested reimbursement for the repairs. *sc *jb

While driving at approximately 20 mph driver lost control of the vehicle and the driver side wheel locked up. owner had the vehicle towed to the dealer, where it was discovered that the ball joint completely separated from the housing. *ak *bf *nm

Nhtsa recall campaign 03v460000, after taking the vehicle to the dealer for a recall repairs consumer received a call from the dealer stating that there would be a cost of $3,300, to make repairs on the lower ball joint. dealer contact: richard gordon. *ak vehicle was taken to dealer for lower ball joint recall repairs, however dealer found axle and bearings were frozen and needed to be replaced. dealer did not honor recall and wanted to charge consumer $3,300.00 for repairs. *tt

While driving 5 mph driver heard a loud knocking noise coming from the front. suddenly, the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. the driver pulled over, and the vehicle was towed to a dealer for inspection. the mechanic determined that the lower ball joint broke, and needed to be replaced. *ak *bf *nm

Dt: contact stated while driving the vehicle fish tailed. this, in turn, caused a minor accident. repairs were made to the vehicle. this problem recurred. it usually happened when the road was wet or snow covered. he took the vehicle to a dealership to have the vehicle checked. they could not determine what was the cause of the problem. *ak

While pulling out of a parking space the upper ball joints failed. as a result, the front end collapsed. the cause has yet to be determined. no injuries reported. vehicle was towed to nearest dealer for evaluation. *ak

While driving the vehicle suddenly began to slide and slid into a utility pole. *nm campaign id number : 03v460000 even though the consumers vehicle went in for service she believed that the cause of the accident is the the recall issue. suspension:front:control arm:lower ball joint. *tc

Consumer received recall 03v460000 concerning lower control arm ball joints. consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for an appointment. service manager refused to honor the recall because the vehicle was not purchased from that dealership. *ak

When braking front lower ball joint punctured the front driver's tire. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

Consumer received recall notice 03-v-460-000 concerning replacement upper control arm lower ball joints. consumer noticed after recall repairs were done that vehicle pulled to the left on its own. consumer notified the manufacturer . dealer informed consumer that the recall repairs were done in compliance with the recall. *ak *ts

Dt: contact received a recall notice for the lower ball joint and had the repair work done. seven months later the ball joint failed again while the vehicle owner's son was driving at 35 mile mph. the ball joint failed while driving over a bridge ,and t vehicle was damaged. vehicle had to be towed to the owners home, and then to the dealership for repairs. the wheel and brakes, both fell off the vehicle. the police were called. however no report was filed because there was no crash. repairs were done. . the owner noticed that before the ball joint failed. there was too much play in the steering. when the wheel is turned it takes the tire a minute to catch up. the owner is concerned that the ball joint is about to go out again. the replacement parts do not seem to be any different than the original parts. the caller heard a report of a lady dying with the same problem in her vehicle.*ak

I own a jeep liberty 2003(manufactured in apirl 2003). i have owned the car from january of 2004. couple of weeks before(july 17th 2004)i was getting in to the freeway entry ramp, the car suddenly veered right and i tried to adjust it but the car veered violently to the left and spun a 360 and a partial 180 before i ended up on the other side of the freeway crossing 4 lanes of traffic. fortunately, i did not get injured and the vehicle was not damaged nor did anybody else. i went on the internet later to find out that there was a major recall for the same incident for jeep liberties that were manufactured till march of 2003 and mine is manufactured in apirl. the scary thing about this is i cannont predict when this can happen again and it has already happed twice after the above listed incident on normal roads. *ak

Recall regarding the lower ball joints on 2003 jeep liberty. *mr the technician told the consumer that because of the recall that the vehicle would need a four wheel alignment. this would be an out of pocket expense for the consumer. recall# 03v460000. *sc *jb

I have a jeep liberty limited 2003 leased on october 2002. ive had to bring the vehicle in for service seven times for the same problem and the dealer has not repaired it. the problem is that while driving at speeds anywhere from 30 - 65 and while trying to accelerate from a complete stop the vehicle will start to buck and hesitate, the speedometer will swing back and forth and the vehicle suddenly loses speed and then regains it. i've almost been hit by another vehicle on the palisades parkway on three separate occasions. the failure started on april 28,2004 at 32,000 miles it now has 34,600 miles and it has reoccurred after all seven times of going in for repair of same condition after the dealership at central ave chrysler jeep in yonkers,claims to have repaired it. the dealership will not honor the warranty by properly repairing or replacing vehicle. *ak

On monday, april 5, 2004, i brought my liberty renegade farrish jeep in fairfax, va for my 18,000 mile service which included a tire rotation and other work. no one ever mentioned to me that my vehicle was under a safety recall and that work had not been completed.*ak on saturday, april 10, 2004 i was driving my liberty when i heard a loud noise that sounded like a shot gun going off and my car skidded to the side of the road and came to a stop. my tire was flat but upon closer inspection, i discovered metal shavings all over the tire and down the street along my skid path. my car was towed to the nearest jeep dealer which was heritage chrysler jeep in alexandria, va. greg anderson, from heritage jeep, called me on monday, april 12, 2004 and informed me that my ball joints had separated while i was driving the vehicle and that was the cause of the breakdown. he said my vehicle is under a safety recall for this exact problem. i have grave concerns about the safety of this vehicle and the manner in which customers are notified about potentially life threatening defects in their vehicles. 1. i did not receive a recall notice in the mail indicating there was a potential serious defect with my vehicle that may cause me to lose control of the vehicle and crash. 2. it is my understanding that all vehicles coming into the farrish jeep service department have a function 14 performed which would indicate any outstanding recalls on a vehicle. my vehiicle did not have a function 14 performed on it and not being notified that this work needed to be performed when it was just in for service 5 days prior to my ball joints separating is completely unacceptable. this liberty is my family car that i take my 6 year old and 4 year old sons back and forth to school in every day on the i-495 beltway. i can_x0019_t imagine what would have happened to me and my family, and other drivers around me, had my ball joints separated on the beltway at 60 miles an hour. *ak

2003 jeep liberty [xxx] manufacturer recalled lower ball joints (recall #03v46) replaced march 15th 2004 at 8900 miles on vehicle. june 17th 2006, 52,754 miles on vehicle same part is identified by chrysler dealership service as needing to be replaced again. currently at issue between myself, the dealership and chrysler is whether this part will be replaced under the recall. i find having to replace this part every two years an excessive inconvenience and expense. $195 labor alone. upon reviewing consumer complaints, a joint failure is likely to result in an auto accident and potential injuries and deaths. the initial recall did not "fix" this issue. *jb updated 07/16/2012 *js

On tues. march 9th, i was driving straight going slowly in a parking garage when my car made a grinding noise and would barely drive. to make a long story short, when the tow truck driver from aaa arrived and tried to drive my 2003 limited jeep liberty the front left side of the car collapsed on the front left tire. everything that holds the wheel to the car had seperated. the dealership said they had never heard of anything like this happening. however, i then checked out this site & saw the recall from nov. 4 2003 on my liberty. the recall i never received. when i called the service dept. later that day to inquire about the status of my car i dropped off the night before, i mentioned the recall. the woman i spoke with said she just found out about the recall. when i asked why i hadn't received the recall she said "sometimes they may be mailed out in increments so not to inundate the dealers". well the recalls were sent out dec. 15th, 2003, this event occured tues., march 9th 2004. after 2 days at the dealership my car was finally looked at. they said the lower ball joint had seperated. *ak phone call update: the consumer's phone number is no longer in service.

Dt: there was a recall concerning the lower ball joints. the consumer stated that there was no problem with the lower ball joints . there was a problem with the upper ball joints. the consumer heard knocking noises coming from underneath the vehicle. the problem started before 4-30-04. when the consumer took vehicle to the dealer previously they told them what the problem was. the consumer has not had the problem corrected as of yet. *ak

I was driving down a 2 lane country road, within speed limit, road conditions excellent. i have a pristine driving record. i rounded a bend and was approaching the straightaway and although i steered to straighten the vehicle, my jeep continued to go to the right. i turned the wheel harder to correct the direction and the jeep veered to the left into the oncoming traffic lane. i managed to get the car back to the right side of the road, but the car hit the gully on the side of the road and crashed into a tree stump. although i applied the brakes the car felt like it skidded to the right and the antilock brakes didn't engage. when i crashed into the side of the road i broke the front wheel and damaged the rear wheel, broke the lower control arm, damaged the suspension and steering knuckle, and did some body damage. when i queried the dealer about how this could happen, they said they knew of no defects on the 2003 liberty. after finding the information on the internet about the lower control arm/ball joint recall, and calling the dealer again with this info, the dealer said, oh yeah, they knew about that, but "don't pay much attention to recalls." i had the car serviced by my dealership on 12/16/03, the day after the recall notices were supposedly sent to customers (i still haven't received one as of 2/3/03), but they never mentioned the recall or scheduled the replacement of the defective part. i am available for contact if there are others out there who have experienced similar failures.*ak

Vehicle pulls to the right at all times on any road surface. vehicle has been taken to dealer 4 times since date of purchase (august 2003) with no resolution. alignment has been check every time. dealer claims to have adjusted the alignment more to the left in order to compensate the vehicle's pull to the right, but the problem still exists. the dealer rode in the vehicle and observed the problem. the dealer stated that older model jeep libertys tend to drive to the right, even when aligned properly. (this vehicle was manufactured in july 2002). this vehicle is difficult to drive because i must constantly pull the steering to the left in order to stay on the road, and i feel that i could lose control very easily.*ak

Ball joint failure three times. emergency brake on five speed never has worked properly. replace engine at 70,000. now the card end joint for the four-wheel drive is not working correctly. my biggest complaint is the ball joint failure for the third time. this issue also causes chain reactions in the tires i have had three sets of tires wear uneven and i wrote the company the first time to complain and got no response. i use my jeep to make my income and do not trust it any more. i do not recommend this vehicle to any one and will not pass it on to any family member. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 jeep liberty. while driving 45 mph, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a wall. the vehicle was destroyed. she suffered a concussion and her left arm was dislocated. she was transported to the hospital by an ambulance and a police report was filed. a mechanic stated that the lower ball joints were failing. the current and failure mileages were 10,000.

I have a 2002 jeep liberty. i am having a ball joint problem with my jeep by daimler chrysler similar to the dodge. i purchased my jeep (new) in january of 2003.i began hearing a "scrubbing" noise from the front of my vehicle in approx april 2003. i took it to a dealer near maxwell afb, alabama; they stated that because of recent rain something may have been wet/ moist. i continued with my trip back to dc. i didn't really notice the noise anymore. approx middle october i had a flat tire (front passenger). it was replaced by aaa contractor & fixed by a tire dealer. when i inquired what went wrong, they didn't/couldn't find anything. on october 31, 2003 i took my truck to be serviced at a alexandria, virginia jeep dealer for a 22,000 mile service (preventative care). so i dished out approx 270.00 for this service. two days later i noticed a "scrubbing" noise again. this time it was louder and was horrible! i visited the va jeep dealer furious that they just serviced my truck & i started hearing the noise. i was told that my front ball joint needed to be replaced, it just was a bad part and it was covered under warranty. i received a call the next day that the part was in but wasn't able to bring it in until two approx weeks later. the service tech assured my the truck was safe to drive but try to get the part replaced soon. i began to notice the truck pulling to the right & steering wheel violently shaking. the dealer don't provide loaner cars and i work on military base, i still couldn't get to work. at this point i blamed the dealer for my inconvenience. they put the part on december 10. they told my that it was recalled since the last time i had been in. the noise had stopped but not the shaking of the wheel and the pulling to the right. i returned my car to the service department (december 16). they performed a front end alignment. today is december 19 and my truck is still shaking and pulling to the right. i am available for contact if necessary.*ak

I only stopped to realize that there was a problem when i saw that there was an investigation going. we lost control of our 2003 jeep liberty in the winter of 2003. we did not report it as it was a hill that had ice. we had the car in 4wd low and never went beyond 2 miles an hour. the car continued to slide and slide and there was no control over it and we ended up hitting the mountain, the better of the 2 scenarios the other going off a cliff. every hill i drive i have the same problem mostly when there is snow on the ground (even fresh non-ice) snow if there is any degree of angle to the hill, i can not drive it. i have slipped several times on angled dirt roads but not to the degree that i continue to have with snow covered hills....after reading the report i realized that this could be caused to the recall and issues that are taking place...i am not certain, but am giving this information should it help in any way....thanks! *jb

'recall campaign' issued for 2003 jeep liberty lower ball joints. *bf while driving in inclement weather the consumer's duaghter lost control of her vehicle and it flipped front to back landing upright. the consumer believes the ball joint defect was the cause of the accident. no injuries were mentioned. *nm

I own a 2003 jeep liberty. i received a recall notice in the mail from jeep and even contacted them since i was experiencing problems before the recall was issued. the problem i am experiencing is that when i brake i feel movement in the front end. before the recall i brought it in and they said there were no reports of this problem which the service area called a bump stop. when i brought the vehicle in they said there were no open recalls on my jeep even though i received the notice, and was experiencing problems. i feel unsafe knowing that a recall was issued and that the dealership has no record of the recall and that i driving a car with a potential for disaster. can someone please help me with this issue? thank you in advance, sean siegel. *la

While making u-turn at an intersection front ball joints snapped, separating from the vehicle. vehicle was towed to the dealer, who was repairing the problem.*ak phone interview update (oct 5, 05): the consumer said that he had received a recall notice two months after he filed the complaint.

Loss of control of 2003 jeep liberty resulting in accident and personal injury. driving car on parkway. gently stepped on brakes, car pulled sharply to the right. took foot off brake and reapplied, car pulled sharply out of control and to the left into center highway divide. could not pull car off center divide as car skidded to a stop. no other cars involved. damage to car and injuries reported to police. contacted jeep, they are sending an investigator over. have not heard anything since. *ak

Request for reimbursement for damages to vehicle. *mr the consumer was in an accident during a down pour. the consumer lost control of the vehicle and it flipped over. the problem may be due to the ball joints. recall# 03v460000. *sc *jb

The left front ball joint fell to the ground while driving and without warning. *ak the left ball joint broke allowing the suspension arm to collapse in wheel. * cb *jb

Only 9000 miles on vehicle. left upper ball joint is worn and making noise. right upper ball joint is also showing signs or wear. notice: no serviceability of ball joints. there are no grease fittings on upper or lower ball joints.

Front ball joints clunking on 5 month old (8,000 miles) jeep liberty renegade. vehicle is stock (no lift kit or over sized tires) and hasn't been off road more than twice in light dirt trails. i've read that the dodge durango and other liberty's have similar ball joint failures and am looking for an improved design or fix from jeep.*ak

Dt: consumer received a recall concerning lower ball joints in the front. had repairs done at 12,000 miles , and currently vehicle has 24,000 and the ball joints were defective again. dealer will not replace lower ball joints under any kind of warranty or recall. in the state pennsylvania one has to have the annual safety test done once a year for the sticker to be put on vehicle. they will not pass the vehicle but jeep was saying it was safe according to their standards. *ak the consumer purchased and aftermarket ball joint and replaced it himself. *nm