Problems with 2005 Jeep Liberty POWER TRAIN

My 2005 jeep liberty diesel suddenly and without warning loses power, and will either die or only move at under 10 mph. i have had this happen while driving down the interstate and luckily an accident was avoided. the same problem frequently occurs while in stop and go traffic and is especially concerning when turning left at stop signs and stop lights. i took the vehicle to the dealership and they told me the torque converter and transmission pump needed replacement, but it would be ok to continue to drive the vehicle. i expressed my concerns that continued operation of the vehicle with the problems its exhibited could potentially be unsafe. they told me the parts would be available the next week and it would be fine until then. *jb

***unsafe condition with 2005 jeep liberty limited crd transmission***** due to failure of transmission to properly lock-up at overdrive at 50-55 mph, the vehicle shudders, and has on several occasions caused the vehicle to stall. this is a very serious condition that is not being addressed by the manufacturer. there are only 11,000 diesel jeep liberties in production, and i think a recall is necessary immediately to prevent serious injury as the 2005 and 2006 models begin to experience an increase in failures. *nm

2005 jeep liberty crd 4x4 vehicle began shuddering upon acceleration. would hesitate and bog down when slowed from speed then resuming acceleration. very unexpectedly. more than one occasion while crossing lanes of traffic. dealer mis-diagnosed first time, brought back as problem got worse. dealer diagnosed as failed torque converter and failed fluid pump in automatic transmission. delay on getting repair parts due to common problem with vehicle and transmission. *jb

Tc converter and transmission failure on jeep liberty crd diesel when tc fails it can cause you to crash and loose control of the jeep,dc knows there is a problem and does not help the customer and the dealer has had my jeep for 3 weeks and still not fixed yet! *nm

2005 jeep liberty crd has intermittent and unpredictable issues with "shuddering" and "bucking" both on the highway and at low speed or stop. the vehicle sometimes dies unexpectedly at intersections, or hesitates when accelerating such as turning from stop at an intersection. the automatic transmission "gear hunts" between 50 and 60 mph, causing the vehicle to shudder and lurch unpredictably. most notably dangerous problem is that of the vehicle dying when the brake is stepped on while approaching an intersection, or dying when pulling away from an intersection. this situation could cause an accident, as the vehicle will stop without the brake being applied. the vehicle has been taken to the dealership 3 times for the same trouble. the hesitation problems seems to disappear for a time, but always return. the transmission shudder and "gear hunting" have never ceased. the dealer has repeatedly suggested that it is "turbo lag" or the "filters need to be replaced." filter replacement has done nothing. *nm

Transmission issues- 2005 jeep liberty manual transmission, would not stay in reverse and had to be forced in. then would not shift and ground in first gear going 5 mph. in shop 5 times all parts replaced still makes noise in reverse a thudding sound and only in reverse. makes other noises not natural going from 1st to 2nd and back to first. dealership replaced synchros twice, still not fixed. *jb

i almost lost my life on a cliffside corner on hwy 1 when my 2005 jeep liberty crd (common rail diesel) torque converter failed causing both rear wheels to lock up at 55 mph. happened again a couple miles later and then continued to repeat itself as i was attempting to get it to the dealership. it has been at the dealer 5 times to date for the initial problems (stalling at highway speeds and going into limp modes). i knew it was the torque converter preparing to go out because i had researched consumer reportings of similar problems online. the dealership, however, explained that they would only follow chrysler corporate's rules and corporate wasn't allowing them to replace the converter. instead the dealership replaced transmission solenoid, then transmission control module, then called to tell me it was my aftermarket installation problem (twice). each time this meant that they sent me out in a "fixed" vehicle that stalled on me and caused me to put emergency hazards on and drive in limp mode in right hand lane or on shoulder. then when the dealership service manager drove it and personally felt what a "safety issue it was", has now looked at the postings and is befuddled why corporate wasn't advising them of this problem. i believe that this is a design defect with these 2005 and 2006 jeep liberty crds and that chrysler is aware of it but doesn't know how to fix it. chrysler is putting its consumers at grave risk for loss of life. please keep in mind that (1) chrysler has stopped production of them in the u.s. and maybe we now understand why and (2) only 11,000 were sold in the u.s. i am a lawyer and will exercise lemon law right as this vehicle cannot be repaired because it is a design defect. however, all 11,000 of these vehicles will most likely fail and the potential for loss of life and property exists 11,000 times. *nm

The best way i can describe the problem is: our car has behaved like we've slowly released the clutch on a manual transmission vehicle while the vehicle was stopped. it has an automatic transmission. the car will lurch forward, hard against the brakes, the engine will start straining and finally stall out. fortunately, each time it's done this, we were in our own driveway or a place where there was no danger of causing an accident, or were able to hold the brakes hard enough to keep the vehicle from entering the roadway. it seems to do this when the vehicle has cooled off but not necessarily when it's completely cold. we have not been able to recreate the right set of circumstances for the dealer to see the problem (we are not sure what the right set of circumstances are). since no codes have been set, and it hasn't happened when the dealer drove it, no repair has been made or offered to be made. *nm

1. random event, vehicle start after overnight rest (min 8 hrs), cold start driveway. not affected by ambient temp or season. this has occurred since vehicle was purchased new and randomly happens once per week on the average. 2. vehicle started, either backed from garage or parking lot driveway , placed in drive and drive away initiated until stopped at intersection. transmission locks up and stalls engine at /or in intersection. since this is random , work around safety measures cannot be predicted to provide safe entry into intersection, hence sometimes we are in the middle of an intersection with a stalled engine. 3. vehicle has been to delivered to dealership purchased from . there has been 4 visits/attempts to repair with no avail. meeting with dealership resulted in dealership explaining they don't know what to do, nor does the jeep tech rep "john stick rod", and they have no solutions from jeep auburn hills service organization since they claim this is not a problem to their knowledge. we have submitted other internet acknowledgements of this problem to the dealership in order to educate them of the availability of this common problem on jeep liberty crd diesel models. *jb

Transmission locked up and killed the engine when putting the transmission into drive. was able to restart the engine after sitting for a couple of minutes, but situation was the jeep was in traffic and created a traffic hazard. *nm

12,000 odometer. transmission began shuttering while we were almost home from a trip with small 7.5 ft pop up camper. took to dealer and the jeep was "worked" on for a full week. i picked it up next week and noticed worse condition before getting out of the parking lot. co-owner of dealership was asked to ride in the jeep and while he was driving it the torque converter locked up and stranded us. thankfully, this didn't happen the previous week when we were 3 states away from home. this is the 3rd time the jeep has been in for repairs since i bought it in february 06. *jb

Since new with my 2005 jeep liberty crd (diesel) in sept. 2005 my crd has needed to have numerous technical service bulletins (tsb's) done to attempt to resolve transmission issues. these tsb's are numbered 18-008-06, 21-009-06, 21-007-06 and now a recall number f31 as an emission issue as the previous tsb's caused a situation where by scan tools could not "read" the vehicles computer for emissions testing. there is also tsb 18-023-06 and tsb 18-009-06. symptoms have been stalling and rough shift points for the vehicle. while driving in the blue ridge mountains on windy secondary roads my vehicle twice stalled at 40 mph, one occasion i has a semi behind me that narrowly avoided impacting my vehicle as it suddenly lost speed on a turn due to stalling. the dealer can not replicate the issue. it is fairly obvious after research online that there are known issues with the transmission system of the crd that they have been attempting to prolong the service life of transmission components by use of various "unofficial" recalls known as tsb's., thus total failure of the transmission, torque converter will occur out of warranty. in my situation i could have easily been killed when the vehicle stalled for no apparent reason. i urge you to investigate the situation and jeeps knowledge of transmission problems. it has become unfortunately obvious that jeep is hoping to "band aid" the situation until warranty periods expire in order to save costs. the danger is when these "band aided" components act up or fail the vehicle suddenly and with no warning stops. you i'm sure can see the safety implications. the liberty crd (diesel) was an extremely limited production run for jeep of only some 13,000 vehicles over a 1.5 year period. they no longer produce the vehicle for the us market. i'm sure due to the small production they feel this issue can be "handled" quietly, i fear that somebody will die. *nm

My 2005 jeep liberty crd has a transmission "shudder" and looses power between 55 and 60 mph. this appears to be a common problem with crd owners and jeep has issued several tsb's that consist of computer reflashes that have not corrected the problem. i am to the point where i do not transport my children in this vehicle because it looses power at 55 mph on highway merges and cruising. i am very concerned with the safety, because other crd owners have experienced transmission failure following the "shudder" symptom. jeep only made 11,000 crd's (discontinued in 2006, however still part of their marketing campaign!) and the owners are having a difficult time getting them to respond to several safety problems. the erg valve is another issue. mine has been replaced once, other crd owners have had multiple replacements. my jeep crd totally lost power when the egr valve failed. it was on an interstate traveling 65 mph. luckily i had a clear path to coast to the shoulder. *jb

1.a) ck engine lt came on, heavy black smoke, jeep would stall, fuel mil decreased,b) a/c quit working,c) jeep violently jerked while accelerating/braking, jeep would lurch after coming to a complete stop, jeep stalled during turns and in middle of intersections leaving the jeep stuck in the path of oncoming traffic,d) safety recall of lower ball joints,e) while out of state, driving home at pm on highway, the elect throttle and battery warning lights started flashing, electronics and lights on jeep failed, jeep stalled on highway and would not restart, f) after p/u the jeep up from the shop for a new starter and battery, within 30 miles, same warning lights appeared, electr quit, and jeep again stalled in traffic and would not restart, rear hatch opened and windows stuck down 2.a) wouldn't run properly, unsafe to drive b)a/c quit c)not safe operate jeep for 5 days until auth dealer could take in thejeep d) recall replacement e) had to have chrysler tow to shop (first site didn't even work on diesels, second didn't have a certified diesel tech in) f) had to have chrysler tow to shop 3.a)egr etc replaced but in shop for 5 days due to backorder on parts b) transducer switch replaced, refrigerant refilled; safety backup switch on a/c not replaced because part was on backorder,part installed a month later c) authorized dealer stated diagnostics showed transmission failure to include front pump, seals, and other misc. parts with the torque converter out of range, service bullentin issued by chrysler indicated parts were on backorder, parts installed after 10 days in the shop d) lower ball joint kit installed, in shop and unable to drive for 1 day e) installed new starter, let jeep sit for 1 day and was not able to start, put in new battery and stated jeep was fixed, unable to drive jeep 7 days f) jeep still there, no power, may be the alternator but because battery is dead, the failure history is unretrievable, not able to diag problems other thean prob electrical. *nm

Transmission on my 2005 jeep liberty crd diesel experiences on-going shudder and hard shifting when driving it. chrysler has issued several tsb's to correct the software issue, but the problem continues. many other liberty crd diesel owners experienced the same symptom before their transmission completely failed and required full replacement. i am afraid to take the car on long-distance trips from home for fear or being broken down on rural highways or roads and stuck hundreds of miles from home while a jeep dealer takes 2 or 3 weeks to replace my transmission. chrylser needs to fix this, please help! regarding the incident date, please note i just chose today's date because it has been happening ever since i got the jeep. *jb

2005 jeep liberty crd last spring i had shuddering and stalling due to the transmission. the dealer could not find a problem in july at just short of 25,000 miles the torque converter failed.. it was replaced along with a transmission pump, and transmission oil cooler. i am still occasionally getting some transmission shudder and clunking. *jb

When coming to a stop, my torque converter will lock up and stall my engine. this has been reported to the dealer who has replicated the issue and attempted to fix the problem by replacing the torque converter but the issue still exists. it has happened on many occasions (20 or more) for the last month and a half and is very dangerous because i have had the vehicle stall multiple times while in traffic. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle intermittently stalled without warning while driving various speeds. the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle operated at a reduced speed. the dealer and manufacturer were alerted. a factory representative inspected the vehicle and was unable duplicate the problem. the dealer suspected the combination of the diesel engine and the automatic transmission were the root of the problem. the vehicle is currently awaiting further inspection by the dealer.

Took my 2005 jeep liberty in to have them look at a shift shudder. the torque converter was breaking apart. if i had not taken it in who knows where it would have completely failed and what the consequences could have been. *jb

Drivetrain vibration at certain speeds, unsure if problem caused total failure of automatic transmission. *jb

I'm reporting a 2005 jeep liberty sport crd (4x4 diesel) transmission pump and torque converter failure with only 6000 miles on the odometer. this failure resulted in loss of shifting at 60 mph on the highway with the vehicle in 5th gear. after coming to a stop at a stop light my family was stranded at a desolate intersection in hot south texas. there was great potential for a collision and loss of life when vehicle control and acceleration was lost as well as while pushing the vehicle from travel lanes. the repair took 3 weeks leaving me without my new vehicle. i incurred greater than $1500 in expenses in hotel and travel expenses to retrieve my car from a dealership far from home. to add insult to injury, jeep was and is aware of transmission reliability issues and has issued a tsb "silent recall" but did not notify drivers therefore unnecessarily putting my family at risk. *nm

My 2005 jeep liberty diesel had a catastrophic transmission failure on the drive home from the purchase from the dealer. i bought it used with 18,000 miles and during the drive home i had irregular shifting followed by high engine revs and then a loss of power on the highway with multiple warning lights (almost as if i had lost a gear). after taking it to the dealer the first time, they replaced an internal component in the transmission, i drove it home (approx. 30 mi.) and had the same thing happen. the second time the dealer said that the originally, they did not replace enough of the trans. to fix the problem. i ended up needing a new torque converter and various other internal transmission components. this must have been quite the popular repair because the dealer had my car for 3 1/2 weeks as the part was on chrysler backorder. sometimes the transmission still seems awkward and i get an occasional shudder however, the occurrences vary and it is almost impossible to predict or pinpoint when something strange happens. *nm

Driving vehicle in rush hour traffic when transmission failed, locking wheels in middle of intersection, stalling vehicle. nearly rear-ended due to sudden lock-up of rear wheels and vehicle without warning. vehicle would not move, had to put automatic transmission in 1st gear and floor accelerator pedal to move at barely 1 mph. required 2 minutes to move vehicle out of intersection and onto roadside to avoid traffic accident. *nm

As a single mother of baby twins, i am both completely freaked out as well as gratefully relieved to have found this site. the complaints read like a checklist of past issues and god willing, preventable future issues. the gas tank cannot be "topped off"... all things considered, this was a seemingly acceptable issue. the engine light coming on accompanied by totally unexplained stalling every so often became a problem which would cease just as randomly as it occurred. finally (when pregnant and nervous) i brought it in after one too many times. apparently this jeep model/year is weather sensitive. rain seemed to be the catalyst, but i refuse to put one of those anal person car covers on becoming a slave to the weatherchannel. mechanic changed temperamental sensor which, so far, seems to be managed. the a/c fan only works at 3 and up, which is too much hot/cold for even the most anemic after more than five minutes. back to the weather, winter causes front struts to creak and moan like a geriatric beast. once again, this is annoying but seemingly innocuous. four wheel drive shift only works in part time hi (or low, don't recall), which is disappointing though again, not life threatening. the combination of these defects simply feels as if it was built with indifference to the consumer. now that i have two priceless passengers, i refuse to wait for the cv joints to disengage before demanding all repairs be made and double checked by my implicitly trusted mechanic (ironically also a twin). in closing, thank you to all who contributed their stories and enlightening me to caution regarding the dangerous flaws as well as commiserating our shared frustration with the problems, like the window track disengaging, which combined are one big expensive potentiality dangerous headache. *tr

Egr failure. tourque converter failure - requred tow and 8 days in service. 4 tsbs. *nm

My jeep liberty recall e14 has not been fixed. we have time numerous times to schedule the vehicle for the dealership to fix. however, they never have the part for the "transmission cup plug bracket". i even took a day off of work to bring the jeep to the dealership so they can tell me they ran out of parts. this is frustrating due to the fact that the dealer store is being negligent. *nm

I have had my 2005 jeep liberty in five times for the same problem. in each case there is a severe to very severe acceleration problem. in two cases had to have vehicle towed in because it would not accelerate at all, two times i had to baby the vehicle into dealership only once did i drive it in like an almost normal vehicle. engine seemed to be running fine in neutral but seemed to be maybe fighting with auto transmission or torque converter to move. dealership has replaced numerous parts on transmission, egr valve twice, reprogrammed something on torque converter and yet problem is still there on an ongoing basis sometimes slight but always apparent. one time it took me two minutes to get through a stop and go lights, that time dealership said computer said i ran out of fuel even though fuel gage said i still had a quarter of a tank and the week before i had run it to empty and had not run out of fuel. vehicle currently stutters at about 55-60 mph hour and has consistently gets no more than 22 mpg even though it has a diesel that should get 26 mpg and it is all highway miles. once when passing a vehicle it started to act up, you never know when it will lose acceleration. this vehicle is unsafe to drive and i have sent in a lemon law request which they acknowledged they received 10 days ago and stated someone from milwaukee office would contact me in the next two days or less but still have not heard from anyone even after i called two days ago asking why i have not heard from milwaukee office. *jb

Driving along in freeway traffic on the 405 in southern california when there was a horrendous shudder and a sudden loss of power. had to pull over to the shoulder real quick and just narrowly avoided involvement in several accidents. check engine light came on and then the vehicle seemed to drive normally. torque converter and misc. transmission pieces were replaced by the dealer, but there is still a weird shudder below 60 mph and some occasional loss of power. *nm

Recall e14 transmission cup plug bracket. *jb

I have been experiencing unusual drive line vibrations (24-26 mph). the dealerships service manager has acknowledged the presents of this issue although indicated that this is normal and hey cannot do anything for me, therefore refusing to do anything about it. i have driven several vehicles of exact year and type and i did not note the same condition. other than being an annoyance especially for a new vehicle, its my concern that this may indicate a pending drive line failure that would present a safety concern for my family. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated intermittently, while pulling in or out of the driveway, the vehicle will not respond. if the vehicle is in drive it must be put in reverse then drive to move and vice versa. also, the lights, interior and exterior, flicker on and off. the dealership replaced the multifunction switch and upgraded the software. this has not remedied the problem. there are no codes on the computer or black box and the dealership cannot duplicate either problem. when the vehicle was in revese it did move and then stopped. the consumer stated it felt as though the vehicle was in neutral. updated 02/21/06. *jb

Jeep announced a recall on 2005 jeep liberty's, recall #05v460000. the vehicle is being driven by my daughter who is a student at john's hopkins in baltimore. due to her work load, i flew from novi to baltimore md, to have the recall service completed and an appoint ment made on 12/9 when the notice was received. i arrived at the dealer , antwerpen and the time assigned and after hour i am informed that the part is not available. i politely asked that when my daughter returns the car to be repaired the next time that they provide her with transportation, since we made an appointment and i flew out to get it done. granted i was there to help her with other issues, but this was the main reason for the trip. they informed me that this was not possible. i the contacted daimler chrysler (case number 14424386). they called me back several hours later to tell me that they support the decision of the antwerpen jeep in baltimore and will not provide transportation. i understand that recalls happen, but my issue is that if i take time to make an appointment, and then they can not perform the service on a safety recall, daimler chrysler or antwerpen has to assume the liability of providing my daughter transportation while the vehicle is returned for second time. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 15 mph, the vehicle had difficulties accelerating. the vehicle was taken to the service dealer, who determined it was a transmission problem. the contact attempted to get assistance from the service dealer several times, but the parts were unavailable.

Automatic transmission would remain locked as vehicle came to stop, similar to a manual transmission if you did not depress the clutch. this would cause the vehicle to continue moving forward until the engine stalled. it is important to note that this vehicle has a diesel engine and it doesn't go down without a fight! *jb

My 2005 jeep liberty with 44,000 miles has both lower control arms rust out, the right side rear lower control arm has buckled due to this corrosion and nearly cause an accident. the vehicle has not been abused or modified in any way that would cause this premature corrosion. the driveshaft also has sever rust and perhaps there are more parts that i could not see that are exhibit premature corrosion. the vehicle is garage kept and i don't snow plow or off road this vehicle. *tr

We have a 2005 jeep liberty with automatic transmission. we put the transmission into 1st gear manually and it shifts out of 1st and into second gear while going down steep inclines. this creates a serious safety issue for us since we live on a steep incline and drive on snow and ice. the transmission will start out in 1st and then after reaching about 1200 -1600 rpm it will shift automatically into second gear (without movement of the gear shifter) and then shift back down to 1st after 3600 rpm. i have taken it to the dealer, but they claim that they don't have a hill gear. i have went to the chrysler web site and filed a complaint asking for assistance and telling them that this is a serious safety issue, but they fail to respond competently. they continually tell me to go back to the same dealership that told me that jeep doesn't have a hill gear. i insisted that this is a safety issue and that this vehicle is made for four wheeling up and down steep inclines and the transmission can not come out of the gear that will let you safely negotiate the terrain. they responded with they don't have enough information to make an assessment. we are talking about the life of my wife and i here, but they don't care or understand. i have own 4x4 vehicles all my life and none of them have acted like this. the dealership has run their computer diagnostics on the transmission and failed to find anything wrong, but they failed to test drive the vehicle. i believe that this is a problem across the board with the jeep liberty and chrysler is trying to cover it up, by giving bogus answers like we don't have a hill gear and we don't have enough information to make an assessment. *jb

Constant problems with shifting, acceloration, transmission issues, a/c alternator etc.

I stopped my 2005 jeep liberty in the driveway of my home and put the car in park removed the key and opened the door. the car started rolling backwards. the dealer has told me that the hole for the park slot in the transfer case was drilled too large, i feel if that happened to my car how many others have a hole too large, a child could be run over. there was no warning whatsoever. *nm

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 jeep liberty. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start unless the vehicle was in neutral. the failure occurred on several occasions. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Dt: the contact complained about several problems. the first problem occurred when slowing down to 50 mph, the vehicle jerked. the second problem involved the egr valve which was replaced. the third problem concerned the check engine light illuminating. there was a popping noise in the rear end when reversing. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer, and an oil leak was discovered coming from the return line on the turbo. no repairs have been made. *ak updated 01/04/06. *jb

1) driving vehicle 2)vehicle stalls, engine cuts out, stumbles 3) reflashed computer numerous times, torque converter and clutch pack replaced. *nm